Signs & Wonders Blog

During a 1996 renewal meeting at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship , I received a healing in my nasal cavity I didn’t know was needed. Before that night, one of my nostrils was always plugged whenever I breathed through my nose. That would alternate. I used to think that was normal until feeling a “pop” in my sinuses. Sixteen years later, I stayed for a couple of weeks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Another guest named Conrad talked about his suspicion of “faith healers.” When I testified of God healing me of a deviated septum, Conrad told me he had the same problem. So I laid my hand on his nose. Soon he was able to breathe through both nostrils.  During a church service the following night, I testified of Conrad’s healing and mine. Afterward, a young man visiting from the capital city of Columbia approached me with the same nasal problem. I laid hands on Chris three times until his healing manifested. This past Thursday at Calvary Campground, I talked with my...

One thing I respect about Word of Faith preachers is they typically avoid “naming names” when talking about individuals living in sin. In contrast, critics often share sound bites of their sermons they disagree with in attempts to expose them. Is it ever appropriate to name names? Scripture gives us some guidelines. Jesus didn’t specify individuals as false ministers though He regularly stood up against the scribes and Pharisees as a group. In Matthew 23, he repeatedly called them hypocrites.  In Acts 13, Luke named a false prophet that Paul confronted…  6 Now when they [Barnabas and Saul] had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,  7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.  8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from th...

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 ...

In my late teens, I developed a serious interest in computers. That was stimulated by my high school library having an Apple II where students could run educational programs stored on floppy disks. Soon I took a computer programming course. Occasionally, I played games plus created a few of my own.  In college, I was initially a computer science major before drifting into music. I used an early MacIntosh in one of my electronic music classes. Years later when using computers on the job or at the library, they were usually PCs. Then in 2006, a friend gave me my first MacBook Pro. I’m now on my fourth one. Apple aficionados will advise computer shoppers to “get a Mac.” When people ask me what kind they should buy, I give this answer: If all you want is a computer to browse the Internet and type simple documents, a PC should suffice. It will cost less money. However, if you want to get into music and video production, then I would recommend a Mac. Applications for those purposes (G...

To  avoid spam and robocalls, I’m selective with who receives my cell number. Instead, I use Google Voice as my primary phone number. I’ll list that when needing to give out a phone number on paper and online forms. Nevertheless, telemarketers and fraudsters occasionally call me. I refuse to answer if I don’t recognize the incoming phone number. If it’s someone I need to talk to, they can leave a message for me to call them back. I also state in my outgoing voicemail for both numbers that they are registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. Yesterday while online with my laptop, I noticed someone mistakenly sent a text intended for another person to my Google Voice number. At first, I replied by telling the sender they had the wrong number. Then I realized this was a witnessing opportunity. Here’s how the exchange of messages went (my comments are in bold): Maria, how was your trip to Virginia? You have the wrong number. I'm not Maria. I'm lsabella, don't you ...

The reason I don’t evangelize more in shopping centers is preferring the freedom to hand out tracts. Because malls are “private property”, the distribution of literature is usually forbidden. Even if tracts aren’t given out, mall employees try to stop Christians from sharing the gospel because they consider that “soliciting.” Jesus said in Mark 16:15,  “Go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”   That includes the largest shopping center in the United States. The Mall of America near the Minneapolis airport attracts visitors from many states and countries. Therefore, it’s a ripe harvest field. I’ve ministered there numerous times with a local church, especially when the weather wasn’t cooperative. My friend Bob Lutsey (nicknamed “the Maller”) frequently goes to the MOA and leads countless numbers of people to Jesus. However, it’s resulted in occasional conflicts with security personnel. Bob has gotten kicked out a few times, but he still goes back ther...

Years ago, a shampoo had television commercials in which a woman claimed if she told two friends about it, they would tell two friends “…and so on, and so on.” Word of mouth has been called the best form of advertising. Nevertheless, large sums of money are spent by advertisers believing that will increase business for their clients. A 30-second commercial aired during the Super Bowl now costs over $6 million. Some Christians question the effectiveness of evangelizing through the media and large gatherings. As someone who has done street ministry for three decades, I agree one-on-one interaction is usually more effective. Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries told me about the time he ministered to a congregation of approximately 1,000 people in Mobile, Alabama. Rick asked, “How many of you got saved through mass evangelism?” Only seven hands went up. That’s less than 1%. However, we shouldn’t discount mass evangelism just because the percentage of conversions isn’t as high as with pe...