Signs & Wonders Blog

Years ago, a friend wore a T-shirt that said “Addicted to Space Invaders.” For a while, I was hooked on video games . One of my favorites was “Dr. Mario.” I would spend up to $10/day on that game. That was when most video games still cost only a quarter to play. One dictionary defines  addiction  as “relinquishing ourselves to the control of something or someone else.” An addiction usually doesn’t happen immediately. Alcoholics often start with just one drink. If they don’t know how to “hold their liquor," they gradually drink more and more until they cannot control themselves.   Everybody gets addicted to something. Some may choose drugs, pornography, gambling , food, sports, or watching TV for hours. A few of the latter could be called “news junkies” (or “headline stress disorder” according to a Northwestern University Medical School article). They have an obsession to know the latest current events.  I’ve heard people declare they have a caffeine addicti...

When the Lord allows me to, I head down to Tampa, Florida for the winter to avoid the colder weather up north. Usually, I stay at a missionary house in a low-income neighborhood referred to by locals as “Suitcase City” because of numerous transients that live there (someone once left a suitcase pictured here by the fence surrounding the property). The area has become a mission field for me.  The first time I resided in this neighborhood of mostly Hispanics and African-Americans, quite a few of the latter approached me asking, “Hey, man! You straight?” Suspecting they were drug dealers, I always replied, “Yeah, I’m going straight to heaven. How about you? If you died right now, where would you go…heaven or hell?” Usually, they walked (or in some cases ran) away from me.  Two days ago I was asked again by a stranger, “You straight? ” After I turned the conversation into a witnessing opportunity, this man swore and walked toward a bar. Minutes later when arriving at B...

Debates are going on right now in the U. S. regarding the legalization of marijuana. In recent years, a few states have decriminalized pot to varying degrees. Some allow only small quantities for medical usage. Others such as Colorado and Washington permit recreational usage of cannabis if purchased from authorized dealers. While in high school I heard this saying: “Man made booze, God made grass. Who do you trust? God.” Even some Christians try to justify marijuana usage because of what God said in Genesis 1:29, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” Keep in mind this statement was made before the Fall of Man. Not every plant is beneficial if taken internally. Poison ivy, poison oak, and poisonous mushrooms are also plants. The latter is good for breaking down dead wood but certainly bad for eating. Even cocaine originates from green leaves. Hemp is ...

Back in February 2007, a fellow missionary I was traveling with started talking about “smoking the weed from heaven.”   He would pretend to have a joint of marijuana between his fingers and have “smoke breaks with Jesus.”   He also encouraged other believers to take “hits.”   I was a bit uncomfortable with this idea but didn't contest it. Then in October of that year, I heard John Crowder preach on “toking the Ghost” at a church in my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota.   I was inspired to make a video with John to share with my missionary friend.   During the filming, I experienced much laughter. I decided to make the video public figuring other people might enjoy it also. Two weeks later at a church in Minnesota, I heard Benjamin Dunn share testimonies of people getting healed from “toking the Ghost.”   This was just before he and John Crowder started ministering together.   I believed this was God confirming His word in the mouth of ...

Last weekend on the day before the 54 th annual Grammy Awards, Whitney Houston died unexpectedly at the age of 48. Although I was never a fan of the singer, her death sort of hit home since she was only a few months older than me plus I had played Whitney’s records while working as a disc jockey in nightclubs and roller rinks. One of Whitney’s biggest hits was “The Greatest Love of All”, which talks about self-love.  The second verse of that song goes like this… Everybody's searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs A lonely place to be So I learned to depend on me  A Christian could easily find fault with the lyrics above. 2 Timothy 3:1-4 warns us that in the last days, “men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” On the other hand, Jesus commanded us in Mark 12:31, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  People cannot truly love...