"You have blessed me with the feast and You have led me through the famine...You are good."
30 November 2008
07 November 2008
I Heart Tokyo
Passion Tokyo 2008!
I really want all of you to know how awesome Passion Tokyo was a few weeks ago, but since I lost my video camera and I am awful with words I'm not going to write anything. I'm going to leave it to Louie. He always says it better than I do anyway. Just go to iTunes and download Passion Podcast "I Heart Tokyo." Louie Giglio takes you through the entire night of Passion Tokyo. It was amazing to see and hear all of those beautiful Japanese praising the Lord together in the heart of Japan!
Hope you enjoy!
Isaiah 45:5-6
02 November 2008
Happy Halloween from Japan!
Here are some pics from Halloween and also the Pumpkin Parable. We invited our Japanese friends over to carve a pumpkin, eat American candy, watch scary movies, and just hang out. We had such a good night and such good conversations. One of our Christian Japanese friends was able to share the Gospel with another Japanese friend at the party. Our God really is so good. Hope you enjoy the pics and the parable!
"THE PUMPKIN PARABLE"
There once was a farmer who owned a pumpkin patch. He had many pumpkins, but one day he was looking for a very special pumpkin. On his search he found a pumpkin that he knew would be just right. He took the pumpkin to his work shed and washed the outside of it. Then he cleaned out all of the inside until it was empty. After that, he took the pumpkin and put a smile on his face. The best part of all is when he put his very own light inside the pumpkin. The pumpkin had so much joy knowing that he was the one that the farmer chose. Now as a jack-o-lantern he shines so bright everyday for all of the world to see.
27 October 2008
Radiant Faces
Asakusa temple: one of the largest Buddhist temples in Tokyo
I wrote this in July after my first visit to the temple. I hope it challenges you as it did me.
Radiant Faces...
Listening to the sound of coins clanging against an empty metal box combined with the chants of men’s tongues to idols and beating drums only causes our cries to the LORD to be louder. Standing in the midst of Japanese and foreigners with cameras throwing coins in a box, wishing for good fortune from an empty idol, absolutely broke my heart. And I thought about how much more it must break the heart of God to watch His creation, made in His image, worship something other than the Creator. I did not know darkness could be so thick in the middle of a sunny summer day.
At the Asakusa temple watching idol worship, I stood there praying for the temple to be destroyed and for hearts to turn back to God and at time the only word that came to my mind was the name of Jesus. As the chants got louder and the drums stronger I wanted to scream “stop!” at the top of my lungs. Yet all I could do was stand, crying within my soul. One of the hardest things to watch was the faces of those, who had just thrown their coins into a box, walk away unchanged with the same hopelessness that brought them up the steps of the temple. They come looking for hope, peace, joy, healing, love and leave with empty pockets and emotionless faces.
After Moses came down from being with GOD his face was “radiant.” (Exodus 34:29-35). It was literally all over his face that he had been with the LORD. Even though we have not literally stood face to face with GoD or even seen the edge of His back, do we not have His Spirit living within our very being? So in the same way should our faces not be radiant? Shouldn’t others be able to clearly see that we are with the LORD? No wonder the world chooses to worship empty idols. They see nothing different in our faces. We are not showing the radiance of GOD’s glory. As the beloved of GOD we either get caught up in being “relevant” and forget to be Holy, to stand out or we either try to be too ”perfect” and forget we are human. We are still on this earth to live life to the fullest; to radiate His glory so that our faces are different. If we truly lived others would desire to do the same.
09 October 2008
06 October 2008
02 October 2008
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