Signs & Wonders Blog

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...

At the end of every year, the media reflects on the numerous celebrities who passed away during the previous twelve months.   One who died this year was singer Donna Summer.   The “Queen of Disco” succumbed to throat cancer on May 17 th  at the age of 63. Donna grew up in Boston and originally sang in churches but gradually drifted away from the things of God until she rediscovered her Christian faith in 1980.   That year she released an album called “The Wanderer”, which contained the track “I Believe in Jesus.”   Donna’s recordings from the late 1970s appealed to me not so much because of her voice but because of the innovative sounds created by her producer Giorgio Moroder.   His use of synthesizers in songs such as “I Feel Love” was ahead of its time.   It was one of the things that inspired me to later create my own electronic tunes. However, the anointing of God was certainly on Donna Summer’s voice.   A few yea...

Before committng my life to the Lord in 1991, I worked primarily as a nightclub disc jockey.   Bar owners were usually difficult people to work for.   The first five clubs that hired me let me go after a short period of time, mostly for not talking enough.   I felt that club DJs should simply shut up and play the music. The Bible has much to say about the power of the spoken word.   But that doesn’t mean increasing the amount of our words will make more of a difference.   Ecclesiastes 5:2 commands to “…let your words be few.”   When God spoke creation into existance, He didn’t utter a bunch of words but simply said, “Let there be…”   In Mark 4:39 when Jesus rebuked the wind, all He said to the sea was “Peace, be still!” Consider these other Scriptures… “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” - Proverbs 10:19 “He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is o...

Before I recognized the call of God on my life, I studied a lot of self-help materials while attempting various business opportunities and sales jobs.   One author I gleaned from was Zig Ziglar who died this past Wednesday at the age of 86.   Zig was famous for exhorting the importance of having a “check up from the neck up” to get rid of “stinkin’ thinkin’.” Growing up in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Zig had Christian values instilled in him by his mother who made sure the family went to church three times a week.   However, Zig didn’t become born again until he was 45 years old. W orldly people advised him not to talk about his faith claiming it would hinder his success as a public speaker.   Zig had a clever way of witnessing during his speaking engagements.   Ziglar pointed out a key to success in sales is learning how to ask questions.   A book that can help one in this area is the Holy Bible.   Jesus was the greatest sales and mark...

While riding a bus in Tampa, Florida a few weeks ago, I briefly browsed through a newspaper someone left behind.   One particular article  by a New York-based freelance writer named Jill Filipovic grabbed my attention.   I was inspired to search for her Facebook profile and email her this reply… Dear Jill, This is in response to your article “ The Moral Case for Sex Before Marriage.”   I first read an edited portion of it in a Tampa newspaper.   Later I went online and found the full version on your blog. I used to frequently have sex outside of marriage. Had I read your article when I was in my early twenties (I’m 48 now), I would have agreed with most of what you wrote.   But after having been infected with venereal disease twice and being forced to pay child support for a daughter I never raised, I see things differently now.   While I agree there are benefits of having a healthy sex life , I must take issue with many of ...

Last weekend at a prayer meeting in Massachusetts, I w as waiting on the Lord when I had a disturbing vision of Barack Obama’s face.   I noticed the president had evil-looking eyes and then the vision zoomed in on his forehead.   Minutes later I exhorted the congregation to pray daily for our government leaders to have the mind of Christ, so they make godly decisions (1 Timothy 2:1-4).   Those who continue to enact policies contrary to Scripture need to be voted out! The morning after Election Day, a Facebook friend shared with me a Bob Jones prophecy from earlier this year declaring Mitt Romney would become the next U. S. president.   Although I was disturbed that it appears Bob’s prophecy won’t be coming to pass, one thought went through my mind.   Romney may have been the candidate God wanted to win this election but all His people didn’t do their part in voting.   According to the latest statistics I’ve seen, fewer people voted in the 201...

Ever since I was a kid, the Minnesota Vikings have always been my favorite football team.   However, actions by one of its players have somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for them. Punter Chris Kluwe (pronounced “Clue-ee”) has spoken out publicly in favor of same-sex marriage in response to a marriage amendment that’s on the Minnesota ballot for this Tuesday’s election.   Chris even posed shirtless for the homosexual magazine “Out” despite claims not to be gay himself (he has a wife and two daughters). Kluwe and other same-sex marriage advocates have campaigned for “marriage equality.”   If homosexual marriages do become legal throughout the United States, it’s possible polygamous and incestuous marriages will be as well.   When one university professor was arrested for a three-year, consensual affair with his adult daughter, his attorney noted, “It’s OK for homosexuals to do whatever they want in their own home.   How is this so different...