Signs & Wonders Blog

This Wednesday, Apple Computer Company celebrates its golden anniversary. It was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Today, Apple’s product range encompasses smartphones, tablets, and various electronic devices, alongside laptops and desktop computers. Some Christians have raised concerns about certain aspects of Apple Inc. Their first computer was priced at $666.66. While I can understand how a believer might feel uneasy purchasing a product with all sixes in the price, it’s not the Mark of the Beast . Buyers didn’t have that stamped on their right hand or forehead. Wozniak himself claims that he was unaware of the connection between the number and the beast mentioned in the book of Revelation. He came up with the price because he liked “repeating digits.” The Apple logo has also been a source of controversy. Some Christians believe the bite was inspired by the forbidden fruit consumed in the Garden of Eden. However, the Bible doesn’t explicitl...

Even before committing my life to the Lord, I knew homosexuality was wrong. The thought of same-sex couples having intimate relations repulsed me. Nevertheless, I grew up around at least two guys who I discovered years later were homosexuals. One was a neighbor who lived two houses away from   my childhood home   in Moorhead, Minnesota. David was a bit eccentric. He had tall plants growing in his front yard that looked like a jungle. A year after I moved to Minneapolis, David died of AIDS. My parents told me he had admitted to them of being gay. Another was a junior high classmate whose locker was next to mine. Thomas seemed popular with the girls and even became class president. So it surprised me when I eventually learned of him becoming a homosexual. In 2011, Thomas died unexpectedly of a heart attack at 46. Although he wasn’t friendly toward me at school, I still hate to think of this guy being in hell. Three years before his death, Thomas got “married” to his long-time pa...

Dear Amy, I’m an evangelist who appreciates your contributions to Contemporary Christian Music. When I used to program an Internet radio station , your songs were on my playlist. I also saw you perform at a Billy Graham crusade in Minneapolis. Years before, your music planted seeds that later resulted in my salvation. In 1984, my sister bought a copy of “Straight Ahead” after seeing you in concert. I wrote a mostly positive review of your album for my college newspaper and predicted you would hit the Top 40 in a couple of years. The following year, I got excited when “Find a Way” debuted on “ American Top 40 .” Six years after that, I found The Way (John 14:6). It’s sad when religious folk become judgmental of us. I remember you got criticized when you started recording more secular songs such as “Baby Baby” (which hit #1 a month after I got saved). I can also relate to the flak you received for getting divorced and remarried. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of going through ...

Two days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made a 6-3 decision to overturn the controversial Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973. That doesn’t outlaw abortion in this nation but will make it more difficult in states that decide to ban it altogether. In my birthplace of Fargo, North Dakota, the state’s only abortion clinic has already made plans to move across the Red River to Moorhead, Minnesota. While I haven’t been as passionate about pro-life causes as some of my friends, I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision. Abortion not only terminates the lives of unborn children but scars the lives of women who get one. Nevertheless, numerous celebrities are speaking out against this decision. Some individuals have responded with violence. What’s tragic is how political figures are reacting. Joe Biden (a professing Catholic) called the Supreme Court’s decision “a tragic error.” Former First Lady Michelle Obama said she’s “heartbroken.” Hillary Clinton borrowed a phrase from Franklin Roosevelt by saying t...

It’s sad when a loved one dies. That includes our pets. I remember as an 11-year-old crying heavily after our family cat Yo-Yo got hit by a car. Last year, a chihuahua owned by a close friend died of old age. I perceived Gracie’s death was imminent. Therefore, I didn’t grieve that much but loved her enough to make this  memorial video . Then last Wednesday, a cat belonging to the pastor I’m staying with died. Calico was only five years old. She often had a “cattitude” (hissing at me when I tried giving her affection). Still, I will miss her as well.  Calico’s death stimulated a short discussion with my pastor about seeing pets again in eternity. We both recalled the  Jesse Duplantis  video “ Close Encounters of the God Kind .” Jesse saw animals in heaven that included dogs. His book of the same name also mentions large cats like lions. My former pastor Mac Hammond  filmed a  teaching  about pets in heaven. It’s his opinion we will be reunited with the...

The first time I heard of someone having a sex change was while listening to “American Top 40” in 1979. Casey Kasem talked about a musician named Walter Carlos who was a pioneer in electronic music (his 1968 album “Switched-On Bach” was one of the first successful recordings to feature a synthesizer). Walter dropped out of the public eye for a number of years and had gender reassignment surgery before emerging as “Wendy Carlos.” I was shocked when Casey wished “her” luck and looked forward to “her” upcoming work. At 15 years old, I couldn’t believe someone changing their sex was something to be taken seriously.  Fast forward forty years later. We now live in a society of gender fluidity. Individuals of all ages can suddenly change their sexual identity at the drop of a hat. Facebook now offers users 58 different ways to identify their gender. The proofreading app Grammarly recently published a blog article about “how to use gender pronouns respectfully” because “it’s Pride ...

As previously stated in this blog, I don’t go to many movies . Still, I want to be supportive of quality faith-based films being shown nationally. Pure Flix previously released a number of successful motion pictures including the “ God’s Not Dead ” series. Their latest production “Unplanned” came out last weekend and finished fourth at the box office. It grossed $6.1 million from only 1,059 theaters. I went to see it two days ago. “Unplanned” is based on the memoir of Abby Johnson, a young Texas woman who worked at Planned Parenthood for eight years. During her tenure there, Abby went through a divorce and two abortions. Later after remarrying, Abby surprisingly found herself pregnant despite using birth control. Although her supervisor suggested otherwise, Abby went through with the pregnancy and gave birth to a daughter. Often when Abby arrived at work, anti-abortion demonstrators had gathered outside her clinic's fence. A few of them made harassing remarks while holdi...

Until someone gave me my first MacBook Pro in 2006, I was mainly a PC user. That was usually my only option when using a computer at the public library. Since then I’ve grown to appreciate Apple products. Currently, I’m on my third MacBook Pro. Last fall I purchased an iPad primarily for its extra features in GarageBand (which is used to create my music). I’ve also owned two iPods. Unfortunately, some issues have dampened my enthusiasm with Apple Inc. Whenever possible I avoid doing business with companies that support abortion and the homosexual agenda. When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, AT&T (a longtime sponsor of the Gay Games) was the only long-distance carrier that worked with it. That plus not wanting to be locked into a contract discouraged me from getting an iPhone. The following year, Apple donated $100,000 to oppose Proposition 8 that defended traditional marriage in California. I didn’t know about this until two years later. After Apple co-founder Steve J...

A war continues against Christmas and traditions associated with that. It’s bad enough the PC police insist on people saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas ”  to avoid offending non-Christians. Now a liberal-leaning publication has gone to faultfinding a popular animated classic many of us watched while growing up. The HuffPost criticized “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” for being “bigoted” and “seriously problematic” because of bullying scenes. It was even labelled “homophobic.” That reminded me of an exchange of emails I had around Christmastime eight years ago. It involved a disc jockey familiar with my old novelty songs still being played on Dr. Demento’s radio show . A New Yorker who calls himself A-Log didn’t like a YouTube video he saw of me preaching against same-sex marriage. He thought it was hypocritical to talk about God’s love but not accepting alternative lifestyles. What I find hypocritical is LGBT activist s campaigning for equal rights but tryi...

During my childhood, I was never a Boy Scout partially because of my lack of interest in camping and other outdoor activities. Nevertheless, I believe in the ideas the Boy Scouts of America have promoted for over 100 years. Their well-known motto is “be prepared.” Sadly, the BSA didn’t prepare for what Christina Hoff Sommers calls “ The War on Boys .” Five years ago, singer Carly Rae Jepsen and the band Train were scheduled to perform at that year’s National Scout Jamboree. Both backed out because of then-BSA policies forbidding homosexuals. Jepsen stated, “As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer.” If I was attending that jamboree, I’d rather hear Fred Flintstone sing “ Old MacDonald Had a Farm .” The Boy Scouts of America have since amended their policies. First, they allowed “openly gay youths” to join at the beginning of 2014. Then in July 2015, the BSA ended their blanket ban on h...

Every minister who takes the gospel to the public occasionally comes into conflict with authority figures. Even in the United States where the Constitution guarantees “freedom of religion”, various laws and ordinances have been passed in an effort to hinder God’s word from going forth. Two weeks ago in Crystal, Minnesota, I was with a group of soul winners sharing the gospel at a carnival. Although it was in a public park, a carnival supervisor came up to us saying we weren’t allowed to evangelize there because we didn’t have a permit. We continued moving and witnessing in the park until a policeman told us “no preaching”. We then moved outside the park perimeters and talked to individuals walking towards or leaving the carnival. Then this past week at the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, I passed out tracts along Main Street and struck up conversations with other ministers doing the Lord’s work. One Baptist group was promoting a motorcycle giveaway. When I ...

44 years ago today, the U. S. Supreme Court issued the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion in this country. Since then, over 55 million unborn Americans have been killed. Fortunately, we have a new president who is pro-life and plans to appoint conservative judges. Other politicians have campaigned to defund Planned Parenthood, an organization that uses taxpayer funds to terminate pregnancies. Nevertheless, abortion advocates continue raising their voices. Yesterday in our nation’s capital, the Women’s March took place. Thousands of women protested i n Washington and other cities for  their “right to choose.” Prior to this march, a group called New Wave Feminists was removed as an official sponsor because of their pro-l ife stance.  Much misinformation is spread by women’s rights groups. Many of them claim “the pro-life movement is anti-women.” A 2010 Rasmussen poll revealed that 58 percent of women believe abortion is morally wrong in m...

I’ve never had much interest in hunting. The only time I’ve done so happened when I was 19. One day I went for a country drive with a friend who brought along his BB gun. Just for fun he shot at birds sitting on road signs and telephone lines. My friend encouraged me to take a few shots and I killed just one bird. Since then, the closest I’ve gone hunting was playing Duck Hunt, a video game featuring a dog that laughs every time a player fails to hit any ducks. This past week a huge controversy erupted over a Minnesota man’s recent bowhunting trip in Zimbabwe. A dentist named Walter Palmer killed a lion that was part of an Oxford University research project. This lion named Cecil had been lured from the grounds of a wildlife preserve by Palmer’s safari guides.  In response to accusations of poaching, Dr. Palmer issued a statement saying he thought he had hunted legally and offered an apology. Nevertheless, the dentist received death threats plus had hundreds of protester...