Signs & Wonders Blog

A boy once asked his mother for a bicycle. She replied, “Maybe if you pray, God will bring you one.” So he knelt and prayed, “God, if You give me a bike, I won’t sin for a year.” The boy then walked outside and saw his mother’s statue of the Virgin Mary . Suddenly, he felt guilty because he couldn't avoid sinning for that long. Instead, he grabbed the statue, hid it in his toy box, and declared, “God, if You ever want to see Your mother again, give me a bike!” Some God-fearing people own replicas of Mary, Jesus, or other characters in the Bible. It’s one thing to honor the Lord or departed saints. It’s another to bow down to statues that have no power. The Bible calls that idolatry. 1 Corinthians 6:9, Ephesians 5:5, and Galatians 5:20 say that no idolaters will inherit the kingdom of God. It amazes me how some people can worship idols or figurines t h at are just plain ugly. Not far from my former home church and a friend’s place in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, there’s a buildin...

One thing that kept me away from Christianity during my younger years was religious ideas regarding music . Some church folk preaches against genres of music they hate, such as hard rock and rap. After becoming a believer, I learned of one denomination that prohibits musical instruments during worship services. They only allow a cappella singing. A meme circulating online lists the following reasons why some believers are against instrumental music for worship (along with Scripture references to defend their beliefs): Was not commanded by Christ (Matthew 28:18-20, Colossians 3:17) Goes beyond the doctrine of Christ, and adds to the Word of God (2 John 9-11) Makes worship vain (Matthew 15:1-9) Is not a part of true worship (John 4:24) Is not a part of “the truth” of the Apostles (John 16:13; 17:17) Is not walking by faith (Roman 10:17) I find these narrow interpretations of God’s word ridiculous. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones aren’t in the Bible. Wouldn’t that mean one shou...

Psalm 100:1 (KJV) says,  “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”  Even if Christians cannot sing well (I admit to being one of them), God is pleased when we do it for Him. However, worship leaders should at least be competent musicians. Some churches are better off using recorded music from YouTube or Spotify. I’d be embarrassed to bring someone to a meeting where the musicians played their instruments poorly, and the singers could not carry a tune. Last weekend I attended a church service where a visiting evangelist led the praise and worship. His singing was okay, but I didn’t care for his guitar playing. It sounded like he hadn’t practiced enough even though he recorded CDs of his music. This evangelist had a woman singing with him. They were out of sync much of the time. One song performed was a favorite of mine: “We Will Dance.” This David Ruis classic has a waltz rhythm. The evangelist and the woman attempted to sing the verses in 4/4 time.  Many of the other songs...

T his past Wednesday, I attended a Volunteer Appreciation Night at Living Word Christian Center . Since I still occasionally evangelize with them, Pastor Nick Kinn encouraged me to attend this event. The gathering began with free pizza, a taco bar, and other refreshments served in the lobby. Then we moved into the sanctuary for a special meeting. One thing we did was play a trivia game via our smartphones. Among the questions shown on the video screen was “Which worship song does Tim Amstutz (the worship leader) like the least?” The correct answer was “He Is Exalted.” That reminded me of an article I recently read titled “10 Worship Songs I’d Be Fine with Never Singing Again (And Why).” I thought of compiling a list of my own but didn’t want to publicly criticize songs the Holy Spirit has used to minister to others. Then again, just because a song is “Christian” doesn’t mean we have to like it. I’m sure the Lord doesn’t like religious songs with lyrics embalmed with unbelief. Plea...

One thing that repelled me from Christianity during my youth was outdated-sounding music in churches, Christian nights at roller rinks, and on religious radio stations. After committing my life to the Lord in 1991, it took me awhile to appreciate praise and worship songs. Eventually, I started an Internet radio station and shared some of my favorites. Here are a few that I still like to this day: “A Shield About Me” - When first attending Living Word Christian Center , I wasn’t fond of their worship band’s repertoire. One exception was this song based on Psalm 3:3. I particularly liked a synthesized string sound the keyboard player added to the arrangement. Unfortunately, the Living Word band never recorded this song for one of their CDs. However, I found this version by The Maranatha! Singers. “Right Now” - In March 1995, Bazil Howard-Browne held a series of meetings at a church in Elk River, Minnesota. His worship leader David Vanderver often sang this song about feeling the Ho...

“Welcome Home” Copyright 2011  Danny Hahlbohm Over the centuries, many have speculated what Jesus looks like. Artists have created stained glass depictions of the Lord as well as paintings like Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Artwork like this can minister to people. On the night of my conversion, I saw this painting in the home of my sister and her husband. To this day, it holds a special place in my heart. It’s a reminder of how much the Lord loves us. Recently I turned down a friend request from a young man whose Facebook page promoted religious ideas that go beyond mainstream Christianity. Among them was criticism of Christians having artwork of Jesus. This man considers that idolatry. Let’s examine the Second Commandment…  “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”  - Exodus 20:4-5 (KJV) One could misinterpre...

A few years ago I spent the weekend at a Christian retreat center in central Minnesota. In the sanctuary, Terry MacAlmon’s “Precious Lamb of God” was repeatedly heard on a CD player in between meetings. This is one of my favorite songs by Terry. However, I chose to stay away from the sanctuary as much as possible. It’s happened before when I got tired of a song because the pastor, worship leader, or person in charge overplayed it. One minister I know habitually plays the same song over and over on his iPod at the end of his meetings. A favorite of his is Roy Fields’ “In the Presence of Angels.” I liked that song when first heard at the Lakeland Outpouring meetings in 2008. Now I cringe whenever hearing it. That’s unfortunate since it’s really an anointed song. Another tune that’s become annoying to me is the David Ingles composition “Lord We Magnify You.” There’s a church I’ve attended for many years that (in my opinion) still sings that hymn too much. At one recent worship ...

At UNITE Twin Cities Dear Brothers in Christ, I’m an evangelist who mostly does one-on-one witnessing in reaching individuals with the gospel. Still, I appreciate brethren who step out to do open-air preaching . It definitely brings a Christian outside his comfort zone particularly amongst audiences that sometimes become hostile. This past Thursday night, the UNITE  gathering led by   Pulse Movement  took place outside US Bank Stadium. After doing some witnessing in downtown Minneapolis that afternoon, I arrived at the stadium early to get a seat at one of the purple tables across the street. My legs were tired from walking and would have preferred not having to stand while watching the service. Just before it began, your group set up a loudspeaker and banners in front of where I was sitting. Your subsequent preaching hindered me from hearing what was being said from the stage. As I walked closer to the stadium, one of you offered me a gospel tract. Ev...

Until I gave my life to the Lord in 1991, I didn’t have much appreciation for contemporary Christian music. During the 1980s I worked at roller rinks that had a Christian Skate Night. Most of the songs I heard then sounded lame and outdated compared to the secular stuff I loved so much.  Although there’s now a greater variety of quality Christian music to listen to, I’ve noticed an increasing number of songs with the repeated syllables "oh" and “whoa.” Two Sundays ago I watched a worship service online. During which many “whoas” were sung. They were even added to the Delirious classic “Majesty (Here I Am)”, which doesn’t have “whoas” in the original recording.  I don’t want to be critical of brethren who put their hearts into worshipping the Lord. Still, I’m turned off by the excessive usage of these filler  syllables.  Can you imagine praying with a bunch of “whoas”? (“Father God…Whoa Whoa”) The word whoa is also a command to make a horse stop or slo...

One night while evangelizing in a park in suburban Minneapolis, I got into a lengthy conversation with a young Muslim couple.   Some Muslims I've talked to became belligerent when hearing the truth of the gospel. Fortunately, this couple was quite cordial.   One issue they did bring up was the divinity of Jesus.   The man actually offered to become a Christian if I could show him in the Bible that Jesus was God.   I responded by reading to him this passage from John 20… 24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.   Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peac...

Whenever I need a spiritual kick-start, one thing I like to do is play the song “Undignified” on my laptop computer and dance around the room.   This Matt Redman song has been recorded by a variety of Christian artists.   My favorite version (and the first one I ever heard) is from the 1997 album “Catch the Fire 4” released by Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship.   Here’s a portion of the song’s lyrics… I will dance I will sing To be mad for my King Nothing Lord is hindering this passion in my soul And I'll become even more undignified than this Some may say it’s foolishness but I'll become even more undignified than this The song’s lyrics are based on passages from 2 Samuel 6… 14 Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 20 Then David returned to bless his household.   And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, unc...

One major reason I shied away from Christianity during my youth was outdated-sounding Christian music heard on the radio and at roller rinks. Fortunately, there's now a greater variety of Christian music I enjoy. I’ve grown to appreciate modern worship music. That’s one of the things that inspired me to launch an Internet radio station. Unfortunately. there are modern worship songs with religious lyrics.   Some may quote Scripture but taken out of context.   One of which is “Blessed Be Your Name”, written by Matt & Beth Redman and recorded by a variety of Christian artists.   I would like this song better if these lyrics weren’t included… You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name How many times have we heard Job 1:21 quoted to explain away tragedies such as the death of a child?   “ The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away” is not a statement of truth but a comment Job made ...