Signs & Wonders Blog

Earlier this week while getting coffee at McDonald’s, my receipt indicated I was customer #300. That reminded me of bowling since 300 is a perfect score in the ten-pin version of the game. During my childhood, Dad often took our family to the bowling alley on Sunday afternoon. I was also on bowling leagues in junior high, high school, and college. I managed to win a few trophies.  Since then, I’ve occasionally gone bowling with friends. One Saturday in 1993, my friend Steve suggested we do so and kept saying, “I’m going to beat you.” I didn’t tell him of my previous bowling experience. Steve wasn’t happy when I beat him with scores of 161 and 216. He even suggested I cheated. That was impossible since the bowling alley had electronic scoring. I’ve bowled other games over 200 but never came close to 300. A bowler has to get twelve consecutive strikes to achieve a perfect game. One dictionary defines perfect as “having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or charact...

While evangelizing, you will sometimes encounter individuals who claim nobody can know if they will spend eternity in heaven. Yet many Scriptures guarantee eternal life for those who know the Lord. Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Verse 13 from the same chapter reads, “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” Whenever someone tells me no one can know their eternal destiny, and I have a friend with me, I turn to my friend and ask, “Do you know for sure you’re going to heaven when your life ends?” After my friend answers “yes,” I boldly declare that I’m spending eternity in heaven, and that God confirms His word in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Then I quote 1 John 5:12-13,  “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. T hese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of...

(Family Worship Center Churches) Every October, I read and hear various rants from Christians against observing Halloween. Certainly, I don’t celebrate the holiday with its demonic connotations. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV) commands us to “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”  For me, it’s another day to share the gospel. Yesterday I passed out tracts before, during, and after a Halloween parade along with a few other soul winners. I got to lead 27 people to receive salvation. One part of Halloween I’ve always liked is seeing the costumes people create. Of course, I disapprove of the scary-looking outfits many individuals wear. But if I were raising children, I wouldn’t mind them going to a “Hallelujah Party” or an alternative family-friendly gathering. Growing up, I remember having fun dressing up as somebody else.  A few years ago, I made myself look like Jesus to reach out to trick-or-treaters . Some costumes are labeled as  disguises , which the dictionary defi...

Next Saturday people around the world will celebrate Halloween. Christians have responded to this holiday in different ways. Some church-going parents allow their kids to go trick-or-treating not seeing anything wrong with that. Others ignore the day completely as to avoid “every form of evil. ” (1 Thessalonians 5:22) Then there are parents who send their kids to a “Hallelujah party” or some other alternative event. I’ve even heard of believers having “hell houses” (instead of haunted houses) to show people what eternity will be like if they die without knowing the Lord. Since becoming a Christian in 1991, there were a few Halloween nights when I went out street evangelizing. Another time I attempted to give out tracts instead of candy to kids who showed up at my door. I quickly realized this wasn’t an effective way to reach children for Jesus. I remember trick-or-treating as a kid and would have been disappointed if an adult offered me a tract without any candy. Six years a...

This week I returned to Fargo, North Dakota where I was born (but raised in the bordering city of Moorhead, Minnesota). For several days prior to arriving here, I had recurring thoughts of sharing the gospel at North Dakota State University, a college some of my family members attended. My late grandfather also taught entomology there. Two days ago as I was preparing to leave a Caribou Coffee shop in West Fargo, I noticed a young man working on his laptop and felt impressed to minister to him. Tito wasn’t sure of his eternal destiny but prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Tito is originally from Manhattan and I noticed him wearing an MSUM (Minnesota State University Moorhead) shirt. But strangely enough, Tito is a student at NDSU. I took that as a confirmation that God wanted me to minister there that day. After riding my bike to NDSU and briefly resting in the Student Union, I went out evangelizing and set a goal for 10 salvations. Nine more names were a...