Signs & Wonders Blog

Over the last few days, controversial billboards have appeared in California and other states claiming: “THE BIBLE SAYS…JESUS IS NOT GOD.” The billboards were paid for by World’s Last Chance. This organization promotes other heretical ideas, including the belief in a flat earth . One man in Los Angeles responded by covering the “NOT” on one billboard with black paint, so it read: “THE BIBLE SAYS…JESUS IS GOD.” Many Christians have applauded what some label “evandalism.”  I certainly don’t agree with the billboard’s original message. However, defacing them will likely lead to vandals doing the same to billboards advertising churches and evangelistic crusades. A better response would be to display counter billboards proclaiming the truth about Jesus. During my recent seasonal stay in the Tampa Bay area, I briefly ministered with another street preacher who frequently pasted Christian stickers on various surfaces, including road signs, light poles, public toilets, and other propert...

I enjoy science fiction movies, particularly those attempting to predict the future. Probably my favorite is the “Planet of the Apes” franchise. Since the original came out in 1968, numerous sequels have been produced plus two television series (including a Saturday morning cartoon). Starting in 2011, a reboot of POTA films was released. The central character is an intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar, who led a multitude of apes from human captivity to form a civilization of their own. Three days ago, I watched the newest release “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” One part I found interesting was an orangutan named Raka who talked about following the true teachings of Caesar. Another ape named Proximus Caesar had formed a colony, which perverted what Caesar originally taught them. That had me thinking about how some believers talk about following the true teachings of Jesus. Critical Christians are quick to label ministers they don’t agree with as false teachers. Some focus too mu...

Last month while riding a train through Baltimore, I saw a billboard like this one advertising “Moshiach is Here.” Moshiach is the Hebrew word for “Messiah.” The man seen on these billboards in various cities is an Orthodox rabbi named Menachem Mendel Schneerson (a/k/a Lubavitcher Rebbe), who passed away in 1994. Followers of him believe he is the Messiah despite being dead for almost thirty years. Jesus warned in Matthew 24:4-5, “Take heed that no one deceives you.   For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Occasionally, I meet individuals claiming to be God or Jesus. I expose these imposters by pointing out they don’t have nail prints in their hands. I also ask false Christs how many hairs are on my head since God has them numbered (Matthew 10:30). Some religious groups claim the Second Coming has already happened. Jehovah’s Witnesses preach that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914. Revelation 1:7 says otherwise,  “Behold, He is comi...

Last Wednesday, I received an email via Messenger from a young man currently living in the city where I was born. I hadn't met this man before and initially wondered why he contacted me. A glance at his Facebook page revealed he is a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His profile photo shows him wearing an elder badge. I figured he wanted to have a conversation in an attempt to convert me to his religion. At first, I didn’t respond to his greeting of “How’s a going.” Then last night while organizing computer files, I came across a video produced ten years ago in response to the “I’m a Mormon” campaign happening then. So I sent the YouTube link to this man. Here’s the transcript of the video… I was born in Fargo, North Dakota where my parents took my sister and me to a traditional Lutheran church. There I attended Sunday school and went through confirmation but didn’t like it very much. Deep down in my heart I wanted to believe in God but he wasn’t re...

A recent surge of friend requests I received on Facebook included members representing the Church of Almighty God, an organization I hadn’t heard of before. Their graphics accompanying their posts reminded me of those used by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Therefore, I suspected this group is a cult. To find out more about this “church”, I watched a BBC documentary about them that looked rather disturbing. Then I logged onto their website . Immediately, a chat window opened up. I decided to respond to the other person online. Here’s how the conversation went (my comments are in bold)… Hello, and welcome to the Gospel of the Descent of Kingdom. Think back on the “Your kingdom come” prayer that we have often made in the past. Now, God's kingdom has already descended, and God has returned in the flesh to express the truth and carry out the work of judgment in order for us to be able to come face to face with God and listen to His voice with our own ears! Do you want to understand the de...

One day I went to a mall to receive computer training at the Apple Store. While walking around on a break, I noticed another store called True Religion Brand Jeans. I suspected this store didn’t honor the true living God. That was confirmed when I went inside and saw a guitar–toting Buddha on the wall. Out of curiosity, I asked an employee about the origin of the store’s name. She told me the founder stated, “This is only one true religion. Everyone must wear jeans.” The New Oxford American Dictionary lists the following definitions of the word religion … • the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods • a particular system of faith and worship • a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance In addition to Christianity, the secular press often categorizes Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism among “the world's great religions.” In recent years, new religions have emerged ranging from Eckankar...

This Friday I turn 53 years old. To this day I still enjoy receiving gifts on my birthday including restaurants offering free drinks and food (but don’t care for the silly songs some employees sing). As kids, most of us got excited when we turned another year older. Perhaps you got to eat cake and ice cream plus open presents. Sadly some children are deprived of these things. A couple of weeks ago while some friends and I were hanging out at McDonald’s, two Jehovah’s Witnesses sat in the booth next to us. One of them was a little boy whose birthday happened to be that very day. When one of my friends found out about that, she offered to buy the boy an ice cream cone. The older JW said they don’t observe birthdays citing Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” The Watchtower often uses Old Testament verses taken out of context to support their unorthodox beliefs. It’s not a sin to acknowledge days spe...

An objection that often comes up when sharing the gospel is there are many religions in the world. One I’ve seen advertisements for is Eckankar, a Minnesota-based group that labels itself the “ Religion of the Light and Sound of God.” Literature put out by ECKists claim: “Singing ‘Hu’ (pronounced “hue”) draws us closer to God.” I was skeptical of this and decided to do some online research.  According to Wikipedia, Hu is Arabic for the English pronoun “He.” In Sufism (a mystical form of Islam), Hu or Huwa is a pronoun used with Allah. So “Allah Hu” means "God, just He” or “God Himself.” Eckankar’s current leader Harold Klemp professes Hu is a “...word people anywhere can use to address the Originator of Life.” He also declares, “Jesus stands out so prominently and so brightly because he loved God back equally...true Masters all have love for God.” Jesus is not one of many masters but “...the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Eckankar’s web site states, “Regar...

During the past few days I’ve exchanged emails with another blogger who’s tried to “unconvert” me. This man is a former born again Christian who now considers himself an agnostic. He equates Christianity with magic and even labels it “a cult.”  There’s a clear difference between true Christianity and cults. One dictionary defines cult as “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious.” This wouldn’t describe Bible-believing churches and ministries who aim to preach the Word of God without intentionally distorting it. Examples of cults would include: Church of Scientology Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) David Koresh’s Branch Davidians Unification Church (Moonies) Watchtower Bible and Tract Society ( Jehovah’s Witnesses)  Most of these groups preach truths from the Bible but mix in other doctrines that pervert the gospel. Galatians 5:9 warns, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” One warning sign of a cult is members being told they...