Signs & Wonders Blog

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...

Last month in Moorhead, Minnesota where I lived during most of my childhood, a Catholic schoolteacher named Trish Cameron (pictured here) lost her job because of expressing support for same-sex marriage.  Several letters to the editor have since appeared in the local newspaper calling the school’s action “bigotry.”  One letter writer questioned why some religious organizations continue calling homosexuality a sin when they have supposedly changed their views regarding other “abominations” such as wearing clothes of mixed fabric (which applied only to the children of Israel in Leviticus chapter 19) and slavery. There’s a clear difference between forced and voluntary servitude.  During Bible times, some individuals willingly became servants of others because they received provision and personal safety not available otherwise. Unlike other ancient cultures, the Law of Moses provided rights and privileges for slaves regardless of their ethnic background. While it’...

This past Thursday, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often referred to as “Obamacare”) is Constitutional. Unless this law is repealed or modified, virtually all Americans will be required by 2014 to have health insurance or face fines imposed by the IRS. Personally I am disgusted with this legislation because it gives the government more power over individual liberties. Obamacare could also set the stage for the Mark of the Beast being introduced to this country. No, I don’t believe Barack Obama is the antichrist. But I am grieved that the President professes to be a Christian while continuing to promote policies contrary to Scripture. Obamacare could fit in this category since it encourages people to look to doctors first instead of Jehovah Rapha. It would be advisable for President Obama to read 2 Chronicles 16:12-13, “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady w...

Long bus rides are not my preferred form of transportation.  Still they provide evangelism opportunities.  On one such trip from Rockford, Illinois to Minneapolis, I got to minister to a fellow passenger who was going to Rochester, Minnesota.  Originally I approached Ross while he was smoking during a meal stop in Mauston, Wisconsin.  I handed Ross a tract and asked a few questions regarding his eternal destiny but he wasn’t receptive to the gospel. Later during our bus ride, Ross moved up and sat across from me to initiate what became a lengthy conversation.  I found out Ross grew up Jewish but had since become a pagan.  Although he was still resistant to committing his life to Jesus, Ross thanked me for listening to him and not being pushy like other “religious people” he previously encountered (specifically mentioning Jehovah’s Witnesses).  A final seed was planted when I gave Ross a Mark Cahill book explaining the difference between Christi...

Whenever I lead someone to the Lord, I usually take an extra minute to encourage the newborn believer to pray, read the Bible, and attend a good church. When I specifically talk about the Bible, I will ask if he (or she) has one at home. If he doesn’t, then I ask, “If I give you one, will you read it?” Sometimes people will answer, “Probably not.” In cases like that, my next question for them is, “What would happen if you stopped eating food?” They usually say they will get weak or die. I then point out the same thing can happen to them spiritually. Reading God’s word feeds a person’s spirit. Don’t think someone’s salvation isn’t legitimate just because he doesn’t immediately get excited about reading the Bible. One reason may be this person thinks he has to read an older translation like the King James Version that can be hard to understand. Another reason might be some people think they are supposed to read the whole Bible like a regular book. Although that’s a good habit for...

Proverbs 11:30 says, “He that wins souls is wise.”   One of the benefits to sharing your faith is that it’s a continuing education.  No matter how long one has been doing evangelism, you can always learn new ways to approach people and overcome objections.  A soul-winner must also learn to rebound from mistakes made on the streets. One afternoon in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, I handed out tracts while running errands.  As I was about to walk across a bridge back to the house I was staying at, I offered a tract to a man approaching me on his bicycle.  Sometimes bike riders will snatch tracts out of my hand like a baton from a relay runner.  Originally this man passed by me without taking the tract but then suddenly stopped.  A second later, a woman riding closely behind crashed into him, fell onto a grassy area next to the sidewalk and started crying.  At first I didn’t say anything as I was stunned by what just happened.  Meanwhile, the ma...

Here’s a prime example why one must rightfully divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).   This past week in West Virginia, a Pentecostal pastor named Mark Wolford died as a result of handing a rattlesnake that bit him during an outdoor service.   This tragedy should have been avoided especially since Pastor Mark saw his father killed three decades ago from doing the same thing.   Snake-handling Christians justify this activity by quoting Jesus in Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them...”   But that doesn’t mean God wants His people purposely handling snakes.   That would be like drinking a bottle of arsenic to see if it won’t kill you.   God would protect a believer only if he accidentally drank a toxic liquid or someone tried to poison him. One migh...