Signs & Wonders Blog

Among my favorite motion pictures are the “Rocky” franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. One thing often shown in those movies is the boxer running up stone steps toward the east entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A bronze Rocky statue now sits just beyond the first set of steps. When I went to Philadelphia last Tuesday, I climbed the steps and had my picture taken next to the statue.  An hour before after arriving at the train station, I prayed with a man who mentioned being part of a boxing club. Then I thought of 1 Timothy 6:12, which tells us to “Fight the good fight of faith.” To live for Christ is an ongoing battle. I once heard Jerry Savelle compare our spiritual walk to paddling a canoe upstream. The world will always try pushing people away from the things of God.  1 Timothy 6:12 goes on to say, “…lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” The New Living Translation sa...

Years ago during a Sunday morning church service, a picture flashed through my mind of a Fisher-Price Corn Popper, a toy some of you might have played with as a child (I remember having one). The interpretation of this vision is that many Christians have colorful gifts that will remain dormant until they start moving. Then those gifts will “pop.” Look at 2 Timothy 1:6-7… “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Many believers quote verse 7 by itself. Truths in Scripture are often revealed when we read particular verses together. Chapter and verse numbers in the Bible were not part of the original Hebrew and Greek texts but were added by translators to help God’s people find specific passages. One reason many Christians are shy and fearful is that they are not using all the natural and spiritual gifts God has put into them.  Tw...

@ Rhema in 1994 Romans 13:7 tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. In this article, I want to express gratitude for fifteen preachers who played a big part in my spiritual growth. This list is in chronological order to show the progression of my Christian walk. 1) Mac Hammond - Mac is the founder and senior pastor of Living Word Christian Center in suburban Minneapolis. I started attending his church in February 1991, just before committing my life to the Lord. Later that year, I became a member of Living Word. Every weekend I looked forward to listening to Pastor Mac. I was impressed with his speaking abilities and knowledge of the Bible. Pastor Mac repeatedly reminded us from the pulpit that we come to church to hear from God and not man’s opinion. Because Living Word is a megachurch, I never really got to know Pastor Mac personally (discipleship mostly came from associate pastors and lay leaders). Nevertheless, I consider him my first spiritual father . 2) Jerry Savelle ...

I believe one reason some people shy away from Christianity is seeing passive believers. The Lord doesn’t want us being idle wimps until He returns. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He said, “Go ye,” not “Sit ye.” Many Christians need a greater revelation of their authority in Christ. As a young believer, I heard my then-pastor share a powerful truth regarding what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18,  “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”   Religious people misinterpret this verse to mean the church is to huddle together while withstanding demonic attacks. However, gates don’t attack anybody. They just stand there.  It’s the church that is to be on the attack. As Jesus said in Luke 19:13 (KJV),  “Occupy till I come.”  To take spiritual ground, we must put on equipment described in Ephesians 6… 13  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be a...

July 4th is a memorable day for me not only because I’m an American. It was also my grandmother’s birthday. Leah Post was born on this day in 1908 (she passed away 92 years later). My family often got together with her on Independence Day before seeing fireworks that evening. My grandparents were devoted members of a Methodist church (though Grandpa Post wasn’t sure of going to heaven until I prayed with him in 1996). One gift they gave me as a boy was a storybook based on these words by Jesus in Matthew 7… 24   “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  25  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26   “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  27   and the rain descended, the floods cam...

Muslims believe Jesus was only a prophet . The New Oxford American Dictionary defines prophet as “a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.” A prophet sent from God will tell the truth regardless of the hearer receiving it. So if a true prophet doesn’t lie, let’s examine some of Jesus’ words from the Bible (which was written 500 years before the Koran). First, Jesus said in John 14:6, “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Notice Jesus said He was THE truth…not a truth. He also said in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Followers of Islam argue that Allah (their word for God) had no son. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of God in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son , that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” He later said in...

Just over a month ago, a friend forwarded to me a sixteen-minute video that went viral. Dana Coverstone is the pastor of an Assembly of God church in Kentucky. In his video, Dana testified of God giving him dreams about America’s future. He warned of foreign soldiers on the ground, hyperinflation, and cities burning during September, October, and November of this year. At first, I seriously considered what Dana shared. The previous week, a prophet I know saw a war coming to the United States. Dana doesn’t claim to be a prophet but talked of having previous dreams of disease and protests that came to pass. He advised, “Let's see what happens through November and see if I’m right about this.” So I shared Dana’s video on my Facebook page (later removing it) and added the comment: “Perhaps this can be averted through prayer and fasting.” Jonah prophesied the downfall of Nineveh but that was delayed because of its inhabitants repenting. Many pundits have predicted the demise ...

Christians in the United States are becoming increasingly discouraged from sharing the gospel in public places. Because of fears over the coronavirus, politicians have also placed limitations upon church meetings. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently issued a ridiculous ban from singing and chanting in places of worship. Yet Ronald Reagan (who was also a California governor) stated, “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. When our Founding Fathers passed the First Amendment, they sought to protect churches from government interference.” This country was founded mostly by Bible-believing men who intended to keep the government out of the church, not God out of the government, In a statement made to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia in 1778, James Madison (the chief architect of the Constitution) said, “We’ve staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have sta...

This past week at the church I’ve been working with, we had a visiting evangelist named Joe Jackson. That had me thinking of famous people with that name such as Michael Jackson’s father, a baseball player with the nickname “Shoeless,” and a British singer whose biggest U. S. hit was the Grammy-nominated “Steppin’ Out.” As I watched the music video of that song for the first time in years, I suddenly realized how Joe Jackson’s tune could be turned into an exhortation to obey the Great Commission. The hardest part about evangelism is simply getting started. Even after doing street ministry for over twenty years, there are times I don’t feel like talking to people. But once I get over myself and start sharing the gospel, the Holy Spirit flows through me and I feel much better afterwards. Back in the early 1990s when I was involved with network marketing, I heard a sales trainer point out if we only do things that are comfortable, we are “screwing up big time.” One way we matur...

Not too long ago during a prayer walk, I stopped to witness to two young men waiting for a bus. Both of them thought they would go to heaven for living good lives. Eventually Sayma told me he was Muslim but still prayed along with his friend Sam to get born again. Since Sayma didn’t have a Bible, I gave him a gospel of John pointing out it reveals a more accurate picture of who Jesus is. The Koran has some verses about Jesus that agree with the Bible... Jesus was born of a virgin (Surah 19:19-21) Jesus taken bodily into Heaven (Surah 3:55) Jesus was a miracle worker (Surah 2:253) Jesus said to obey him (Surah 43:63) However, there are Koranic verses about Jesus that conflict with Scripture... Surah 3:59 claims Jesus was created . John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Surahs 4:171 and 5:75 claim Jesus is no more than a messenger of Allah. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life....

Recently while evangelizing on the streets of Tampa, Florida, I talked with a man who claimed God told him he would never die. He affirmed this belief even after I quoted Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” It amazes me how some individuals think they will be an exception and live forever on this earth. Although God wants us to have a long life (Psalm 91:16), we still live in a cursed world. People die unexpectedly every day from diseases, accidents, murders, and other tragedies. John 11 contains a passage that appears to be contradictory... 25 Jesus said to her [referring to Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” Scripture shows there are two different ki...

Occasionally when fulfilling the Great Commission, you will encounter individuals who claim the Bible has contradictions. I often respond to this objection by pulling out a Bible and asking, “Will you show me one?” Many times these folks cannot think of any. Others will point out something in the Scriptures that they consider a contradiction. I had once such incident tonight while taking out the trash. Three boys were coming up the sidewalk and seeing this as a witnessing opportunity, I put down the bag of garbage and handed out tracts. The boys continued walking away as I attempted to minister to them more. It appeared they were focused on going somewhere. Not long afterwards, a man watching me asked what I had just said to his son (this is why in some situations it’s best to avoid witnessing to young children unless you receive their parent’s permission first). I replied that I was a minister sharing the gospel. Then I proceeded to ask this man where he would spend etern...