Signs & Wonders Blog

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 ...

One of the things that repelled me from Christianity during my youth was seeing religious folk look unhappy and speak against those wanting to have fun. It’s unfortunate some God-fearing people don’t know how to enjoy life. That’s why I appreciate fellow ministers like Jesse Duplantis , Rodney Howard-Browne, and John Scotland. Their meetings are often filled with joy and laughter.  My birthday is coming up in two weeks. That got me reflecting on how as kids most of us got excited when we turned another year older. Perhaps relatives and friends celebrated with you while you ate cake and ice cream plus opened up presents. Sadly, some children are deprived of these things. Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays at all (as well as Christmas and other holidays). The Watchtower calls that a pagan practice. However, the Bible does not say anything against observing birthdays.  The truth is the Lord likes to party. The Bible mentions various feasts and celebrations t...

As a Christian, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of going through two failed marriages . My first wife left me after we’d been married only a few weeks. She then initiated an adulterous relationship with a close friend of mine before filing for divorce. Soon I had believers giving me conflicting advice. One minister told me if my ex-wife ever wanted to reconcile, I had to take her back. Another man suggested she was never officially my wife because of her being previously divorced. My second marriage lasted a little longer but still had an acrimonious ending. My new wife became verbally abusive and tried controlling various aspects of our relationship including what we did in the bedroom. Since she wouldn’t agree to counsel, I separated from her but remained open to reconciling. That wasn’t possible since it was basically “her way or no way.” She eventually emailed me claiming to have remarried but never sent divorce papers. I had to file myself to be free from what became an...

There are increasing news reports of homosexuals walking into Christian-owned businesses and threatening legal action if refused service. One pizzeria in Indiana was set up by a local TV station but that ploy backfired. The owners temporarily closed their doors after receiving all kinds of threats for announcing they wouldn’t cater food at a same-sex wedding. Someone launched a GoFundMe page for this pizzeria to help offset lost income resulting from this fiasco. In just a few days, almost 30,000 people donated over $840,000! One of my Facebook friends recently posted a photo suggesting Christian bakers make TWO wedding cakes when approached by gay couples because Jesus told us to “go the extra mile.” I believe this is a misapplication  of God’s word. Christians are not to affirm sexual immorality but flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18). Years ago I worked as a disc jockey at a variety of places including wedding receptions. If I was still doing that today and someone asked m...

Recently I came close to getting hitched.   For personal reasons, my then-fiancée and I talked about having a minister oversee a private exchange of wedding vows and later get the marriage license.   Fortunately we didn’t follow through on that idea.   Unresolved issues eventually surfaced that prompted me to cancel our marriage plans.   Two cannot walk together unless they are agreed (Amos 3:3). Years ago I knew a man who secretly exchanged vows with a woman and moved in with her but had a public wedding ceremony a few weeks later.   Although that marriage lasted, similar unions haven’t.   I knew a woman that  “married” a man who quickly withdrew his affection after their exchange of vows.   That relationship fell apart without them ever getting a marriage license. Until the 16 th Century, Christian churches accepted the validity of a marriage based on the couple’s declarations.   Nowadays, a person’s word isn’t va...

In a Yahoo News article entitled “Going Cohab? 8 Survival Tips For Staying Together”, it pointed out how more unmarried couples are bypassing the altar.   New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of opposite-sex unmarried couples living together had increased by 13 percent from 2009 to 2010. “Shacking up” has become commonplace today even among some Christians.   Because I wasn’t aware of this practice specifically mentioned in Scripture (later discovering John 4:18), I used to think there wasn't anything wrong with that.   At the time I recommitted my life to the Lord in March 1991, I shared an apartment with my then-girlfriend.   Eleven months later we were still living together but sleeping in separate beds.   I knew it wasn’t God’s will for us to get married.   Still I was reluctant to end the live-in relationship because I enjoyed the affection this woman gave me. One day my girlfriend experi...

It’s no secret that the sanctity of marriage has decreased in our society. U.S. Census data released two months ago showed that marriages hit an all-time low of 52 percent for adults 18 and over. Among the reasons for this are a higher number of divorces and the increasing number of unmarried couples cohabitating. Last week, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that 39 percent of its respondents now believe marriage is “obsolete." Yet Hebrews 13:4 says, "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." Once while riding a train in Florida, I sat next to a divorced man who vowed never to marry again because of the pain he experienced from his ex-wife. I can relate as I’ve gone through two short marriages with women who weren’t faithful to me. Still I haven’t given up hope of finding a godly woman to spend the rest of my life with. One thing that I find annoying is when people suggest I can ...