Signs & Wonders Blog

Years ago, a friend wore a T-shirt that said “Addicted to Space Invaders.” For a while, I was hooked on video games . One of my favorites was “Dr. Mario.” I would spend up to $10/day on that game. That was when most video games still cost only a quarter to play. One dictionary defines  addiction  as “relinquishing ourselves to the control of something or someone else.” An addiction usually doesn’t happen immediately. Alcoholics often start with just one drink. If they don’t know how to “hold their liquor," they gradually drink more and more until they cannot control themselves.   Everybody gets addicted to something. Some may choose drugs, pornography, gambling , food, sports, or watching TV for hours. A few of the latter could be called “news junkies” (or “headline stress disorder” according to a Northwestern University Medical School article). They have an obsession to know the latest current events.  I’ve heard people declare they have a caffeine addicti...

As a boy growing up in the 1970s, I preferred watching older cartoons on TV because they were funnier and had better animation. Most of the newer cartoons then were lifeless by comparison. During the late 1980s, animators seemed to run low on ideas. Miniaturized versions of established characters came out like “Muppet Babies”, “The Flintstone Kids”, and “A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.” By the 2000s, all the major networks ceased airing cartoons on Saturday morning. A few were still seen during prime time such as “The Simpsons.” Occasionally, reboots of classic cartoons have been released. Earlier this week, the streaming service HBO Max announced it will show new “Looney Tunes" cartoons except the characters won’t have guns. A sample posted on YouTube shows Elmer Fudd chasing after Bugs Bunny with a scythe. One man tweeted: “Elmer Fudd without his gun, is like Yosemite Sam without a mustache.” This appears to be an attempt by left-leaning producers to undermine support for the Sec...

This past Tuesday morning I had a dream in which I was witnessing to actress Alison Arngrim who played Nellie Oleson in the TV series “Little House on the Prairie.” In the dream I started quoting a Scripture to Alison. She then requested I read it directly from my Bible. Later I asked Alison if she knew where she will spend eternity when her life ends. Alison was reluctant to answer my question. Hours after I woke up from my dream, I found out actor Richard Bull (who played Nellie’s father Nels Oleson) had died the day before. I was in third grade when I first heard about the original “Little House on the Prairie” book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My teacher read a few pages from it during class after we went through one of Laura’s previous books “Little House in the Big Woods.” The “Little House on the Prairie” television program debuted on national television just over a year later in September 1974.   During its run on NBC, I often watched “Little House on the Pr...

This year the Trinity Broadcasting Network celebrates its 40 th anniversary.   I used to watch TBN often especially during the early 1990s.   Their programming (as well as teachings from other ministries) helped me grow as a young Christian.   For awhile, my then-pastor had his TV program broadcast on TBN.   In 2003, I got to tour TBN’s headquarters in Santa Ana, California .   During which I met an evangelist named Edward who usually visited TBN once a month but hadn’t been there in three months.   That morning the Lord specifically told Edward, “Go to TBN!”   After buying one of my Evangelism 101  books, Edward said he would teach from it that night in a prison he ministers at.   That would explain why I went through a lot of spiritual warfare that day. Then in 2006, an incident occurred that didn’t set well with me.   While watching one of TBN’s Praise-A-Thons, I called to make a donation but asked them not to sen...