Signs & Wonders Blog

Twenty years ago I made my first visit to Calvary Campground in Ashland, Virginia. One of the speakers for their Winter Campmeeting was a Brazilian named Silvania Machado. After standing on the platform for about twenty minutes during praise and worship, Sister Silvania brushed gold dust out of her short blonde hair plus had oil flow from her hands. I didn’t dismiss these signs but questioned the purpose of them. A few people in the congregation later testified of being healed. I’ve seen gold manifestations at other places. The year before during a church service in Oklahoma, the fillings in my mouth changed from black to a whitish-gold color. Other people supernaturally received gold teeth (I later met a man in Germany who received four of them). I’ve also seen gold dust appear on ministers such as Joshua Mills while they are preaching. Although I don’t seek after signs like this, gold dust has shown up on my face and in my Bible. One time with the latter, I found some w...

When you step out to fulfill the Great Commission, be prepared for some Christians who will challenge your motives. A former Facebook friend I never met personally once wrote accusations against me on my wall based on erroneous information. I emailed a message to him offering to discuss his concerns privately. Instead, he posted another public comment “warning” other people about me.  Sadly, another Facebook friend I had been ministering to chose to believe this man’s lies. Before I could email her an explanation, she blocked me after sending a message complaining about my “boast posting” (referring to my evangelism reports). This is how Satan can use believers to “sow discord among the brethren” , which the Lord hates! (Proverbs 6:19) The dictionary defines boast as “talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements.” It’s not wrong for a believer to testify what the Lord has done through him as long as He gets the glory. Psalm 34:2 says, “My soul sh...

One time I was with a fellow missionary at a park in Tampa, Florida where groups of people prayed with us. It was a challenge keeping a correct count of salvations because some kids followed us around and prayed again. Still, I made sure I didn’t write down two salvations for each person praying twice. It grieves me when I see ministers inflate their numbers to where their praise reports aren’t truthful. During another outreach I took part in, nine of us led 46 people to the Lord. On our way back to the church, one woman mentioned praying with 21 people five days before. Later that night, one of the other laborers posted this on Facebook: “We gained 67 new brothers and sisters in Christ tonight ." One man who filmed various Christian events with audiences in the hundreds noticed the evangelist claimed “thousands attended.” There were other events where thousands showed up but was later reported as “tens of thousands.” This practice has been jokingly called “evangelisti...

Last year I read a book given to me in which the author (a well-known Word of Faith pastor) wrote about living by faith instead of foolishness and presumption.   Afterward, I offered the book to a friend thinking it would minister to her.   She refused to read it because she only wanted to study materials about the “finished work of the cross” and mentioned several preachers, a few of whom I know personally. I agree we need to be selective in who we receive impartation from.   There is a lot of spiritual junk food out there.   But it can also be a form of pride if a person insists on receiving from only one stream of ministry.   1 Corinthians 1:10 points out that God doesn’t want divisions within the Body of Christ but that we “…be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Before Jesus died on the cross, He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)   What exactly did the Lord finish?   Earlier in John 4:34, Je...