Signs & Wonders Blog

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used for good or bad. That includes missing person alerts. Many posted online have the added plea, “It only takes seconds to share.” Verifying that a missing person report is legitimate and still active also takes a few seconds. For years, I’ve noticed many of these cases have been resolved and need to stop circulating .   In recent months, more missing child alerts have become phishing scams. Facebook posts about so-called missing children are later changed to something one might be selling or lead to a link to extract money from people. Unless it’s your child or someone you know, it’s best not to share these alerts until you do some research. A website called TinEye allows one to do a reverse image search. There’s also a national database available to verify if a child is missing.  Here are some red flags to look for when you see a missing person alert on Facebook: The post came from a “buy and sell” group instead of a law e...

Criminals continue to come up with new schemes to steal money from people. One way is through hacking social media accounts. Before leaving the house this past Wednesday to get my morning coffee, I briefly went on Facebook with my iPhone. I saw this question from a fellow missionary’s page: “My cousin is looking for an old-fashioned name for her baby girl! What is a classic grandma’s name for a shot at $2,500?”  Although most online giveaways I’ve seen are phishing scams, I decided to participate in case this was legitimate. I typed “Ethel” in the comments section. Moments later, “Sandy” replied, “Inbox me right now for your payment.” My suspicions increased because another woman had posted a claim this wasn’t a scam and included a screenshot of receiving over $2,200. I examined Denise’s Facebook page and noticed questionable posts, including her own giveaway. I waited a few minutes to see what else might happen.  “Sandy” soon inboxed me asking for my CashApp info. I waited...

In the classic police drama “Dragnet,” Sergeant Joe Friday (portrayed by the late Jack Webb) implored informants, “All we want are the facts.” Parodies have paraphrased this to where many believe Friday frequently said, “Just the facts, ma’am.” The truth is he never uttered that exact phrase on radio or TV. However, it was used to promote the 1987 movie “Dragnet” and as the title of an authorized biography of Jack Webb. As stated before in this blog, I refuse to pass on chain letters . They often contain outdated or inaccurate information. A new one that’s appeared in my Facebook news feed is Tim Tebow warning us about the government preparing us for a cashless society. I don't believe Tim wrote this. It resembles a meme falsely attributed to another well-known Christian.  For years, a prayer request has circulated with Joyce Meyer’s name attached to it. It claims twenty churches got burned down in an Indian province called Olisabang. There are no provinces in India. They have...

During this election season, many are quick to believe every negative report about the candidates they don’t want to win. A few of my Facebook friends have shared a post claiming vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said, “American churches are propaganda centers for intolerant homophobic, xenophobic vitriol.” Many fact-checking sites are calling this a false statement. I couldn't find an article confirming she said this. One Christian musician that was a Facebook friend posted the questionable quote on her wall. A friend of hers even claimed to have heard Harris say that. I wrote a comment asking when and where that happened. The musician accused me of being “rude” and blocked me. Wanting to remain on friendly terms with her, I sent an email via her website explaining my intent to verify the truthfulness of this statement. She responded by saying the Lord showed her this in her dreams and “…the Deep State already took it down.” I still have my doubts but won’t challenge s...

It’s often been said, “Think before you speak.” As James 1:19 says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Nowadays with texting and emails, we should think twice before typing and posting something online. In the words of one pastor friend: “Put brain into gear before putting mouth/finger into action.” Too many people quickly share stuff on social media without checking its veracity. As a result, hoaxes have circulated for years such as the “ 22 Christian missionary families that will be executed today in Afghanistan. ” I have a policy not to forward any chain letter or meme and will block (but not unfriend) individuals who persist in sending me these messages. One type of chain letter that can have negative consequences is those involving missing people. I’ve received messages with pleas such as, “If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get.” If it was my child and he/she was found, I wou...

Anyone who knows me will tell you I enjoy comedy. Jesse Duplantis and Kenneth Copeland get me laughing with some of their preaching stories. Worship leader Roy Fields would make a great stand-up comedian with his impersonations of fellow ministers . In my monthly newsletter , I used to publish jokes in a “ Holy Humor ” column. Nowadays, I usually share a “Friday Funny” on Facebook and Twitter. As Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine…” However, Christians should avoid humorous materials that contain profanity and conjure up immoral images. Colossians 3:8 says, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” The next verse goes on to say, “ Do not lie to one another , since you have put off the old man with his deeds.” It grieves me to see believers share misleading news stories on their social media pages even if it's meant to be a joke. One source of that is Babylon Bee, a satir...

Since I started using email in the late 1990s, electronic chain letters frequently show up in my inbox with the exhortation to “pass it on.” They vary from inspirational stories to virus warnings. Often these messages contain partial truths mixed with false information. For years I received online petitions against Madalyn Murray O’Hair campaigning for all Christian programming to be taken off the air , even though O’Hair had been dead since 1995! More recently, a couple of Facebook friends posted a prayer request for a 22-month-old boy who supposedly shot himself in the chest with a nail gun and was near death. Upon seeing this, I started praying about the situation and immediately perceived it was an e-rumor. A search on truthorfiction.com revealed this prayer request has circulated online since 2010 (meaning the boy would be 8-9 years old now). The validity of this is in question since no places are mentioned or even the boy’s name. I’ve also received emails containing...

One morning a young man came to my door promoting his tree-trimming business. I took the flyer he offered and then handed him a gospel tract, hoping to have an opportunity to lead him to the One who died on a tree for his sins. Instead this man said he believed in evolution because “it makes sense.” I then asked if he had any proof that evolution is true.  He replied, “Lucy.”  I then asked “Who’s Lucy?” Certainly he wasn’t talking about the Peanuts character. This man was referring to a so-called missing link discovered in Ethiopia over 40 years ago. “Lucy” is the nickname assigned to several hundred pieces of bone representing about 40% of the skeleton of a female hominid that supposedly lived 3.2 million years ago. I’ve heard other nonbelievers tell me, “I believe in science.” Well, so do I. True science never contradicts the Bible. Various archaeological discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls have proven the validity of Scripture. Many famous scientists hav...

Five years ago while I was walking through a business district in Bethesda, Maryland, a man from Greenpeace asked me to sign a petition to protest global warming. This man claimed the whole planet is getting warmer because of increasing  carbon dioxide emissions . I responded by saying the global warming issue is a hoax and made reference to Genesis 8:22,  “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”  The Greenpeace activist (who I found out knew the Lord) admitted he couldn’t contest that Scripture. Still, there are activists trying to pressure people into preaching a global warming gospel. Last year the state of Maryland passed what became known as the “Rain Tax.” One Maryland county went so far as to  offer churches an exemption  if they preach on global warming. Over 30 churches have applied for this exemption, which could save them an average of  $744 per year . S...