クリスマス　パーティ~ Celebrating the Savior

国際学生大会「パッション２００７」２万人参加へ　日本など１２カ国から
ここをクリックして下さい。
この音楽を聞くためここをクリックして下さい。
Louie GigglioさんのWONDERFUL message click here!

クリスマスの意味
ここをクリックして下さい。

BOWLING FUN!

The First Christians
CNN brings a quality look at the topic.
Watch here or on T.V. on Dec. 20th in America.

Amazing Grace movie
Click here to see the trailer.

I thought I would post this again for my Japanese friends...
I adapted this from John Piper's "A Quest for Joy"

聖書は喜びについて、何と書いてありますか？

すべての人間には、一つの共通点があります。
みんな幸せになりたいということ。喜びが欲しいのです。
なぜなら、こういうふうに造られたからです。
ただ神様しかこの欲望を完全に満たすことはできません。

イエス様の教えの目的（中心）は人のための喜び　（神様によって）
ヨハネ１５：１１- 「私がこれらのことをあなたがたに話したのは、私の喜びがあな
たがたのうちにあり、あなたがたの喜びが満たされるためです。」

イエス様を信じる時に神様の喜びは私達の心を満たします。
ローマ１５：１３
『どうか、望みの神が、あなたがたを信仰によるすべての喜びと平和をもって満たし、聖霊の力によって望みにあふれさせてくださいますように。』

神様の御国は喜びです。
ローマ１４：１７『なぜなら、神の国は飲み食いのことではなく、義と平和と聖霊による喜びだからです。』

聖霊様の実の一つは喜びです。
ガラテヤ５：２２『しかし、御霊の実は、愛、喜び、平安、寛容、親切、善意、誠実、柔和、自制です。』

クリスチャンというのは素晴らしい宝物を見つける人です。
マタイ１３：４４『天の御国は、畑に隠された宝のようなものです。人はその宝を見つけると、それを隠しておいて、大喜びで帰り、持ち物を全部売り払ってその畑を買います。』

聖書というのは本当の喜びを見つけることができる本です。
詩編１９：８『主の戒めは正しくて、人の心を喜ばせ、主の仰せはきよくて、ひとの目を明るくする。』

神様こそが私達の喜びです。
詩編４３：４、１６：１１
『こうして、私は神のさいだん、私の最も喜びとする神のみもとに行き、たて琴にあわせて、あなたをほめたたえましょう。神よ。私の神よ。』

『あなたは私に、いのちの道を知らせて下さいます．あなたの御前には喜びが満ち、あなたの右には、楽しみがとこしえにあります。』


イエス様を信じるなら、本当の命と喜びがもらえます。
ヨハネ１０：１０『盗人が来るのは、ただ盗んだり、殺したり、滅ぼしたりするだけのためです．私が来たのは、羊がいのちを得、またそれを豊に持つためです。』

神様は全ての国と民族を呼んで、その喜びを与えたいです。
詩編６７：４、６６：１
『国民が喜び、また、喜びうたいますように。それはあなたが公正をもって国々のたみをさばかれ、地の国民を導かれるからです．』

『全地よ。神にむかって喜び叫べ。』

福音というのはよい（喜びある）知らせです。
イザヤ５１：１１
『主に購われたものたちは帰って来る。彼らはよろこび歌いながらシオンに入り、その頭にはとこしえの喜びをいただく。楽しみとよろこびがついて来、悲しみとなげきとは逃げ去る。』

天国に行ったらイエス様に会って、永遠の喜びに入ります。
マタイ２５：２３
『その主人は彼に言った。『よくやった。良い忠実なしもべだ。あなたは、わずかな物に忠実だったから私はあなたにたくさんの物を任せよう。主人の喜びをともに喜んでくれ。』

唯一、創造主の神様は喜びなさいと命令します。
詩編３７：４、３３：１、３２：１１
『主をおのれの喜びとせよ。主はあなたの心の願いをかなえてくださる。』
『正しい者たち。主にあって、喜び、楽しめ。すべて心の直ぐな人たちよ。喜びの声をあげよ。』
『主のはかりごとはとこしえに立ち、御心の計画は代々に至る。』

聖書の焦点
＃１　神様の栄光のために人は造られました。
（人は神様の栄光／良さ素晴らしいさを見て、喜ぶこと。）
イザヤ４３：６−７
『わたしは、北に向かって「引き渡せ」と言い、南に向かって「引き止めるな」と言う。わたしの子らを遠くから来させよ。わたしの名で呼ばれるすべての者は、わたしの栄光のために、わたしがこれを創造し、これを形作り、これを造った。』

＃２　全ての人が唯一の神様のために生きるべきです。
１コリント１０：３１
『こういうわけで、あなたがたは食べるにも、飲むにも、何をするにも、ただ神の栄光を現すためにしなさい。』

＃３　全ての人は神様の栄光を無視して、自分の神様を作ります。
（罪の意味）
ローマ３：２３
『すべての人は、罪を犯したので、神からの栄光をうけることができず。』

＃４　全ての人は公平な罰をもらいます。
ローマ６：２３
『罪からくる報酬は死です。しかし、神の下さる賜物は、私達の主キリスト・イエスにある永遠のいのちです。』

＃５　神様のひとり子を送る理由は人の罰を支払って、永遠の命と喜びを得るためです。
１テモテ１：１５
『「キリスト・イエスは、罪人を救うためにおの世に来られた」という言葉は、まことであり、そのまま受け入れるに値するものです。私はその罪人のかしらです。』

＃６　イエスキリストを受け入れて、信じるなら、救われます。
使徒１６：３１
『ふたりは、「主イエスを信じなさい。そうすれば、あなたもあなたの家族も救われます。」と言った。』

The Grinch

Yes! I finally found my childhood Christmas favorite
Click here to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"!

As I watched for the first time in many years, I started
to think how truly Christian this story is! The Grinch
(or Satan) tries to ruin our day by taking away physical
things (sometimes by giving them!) but as the "Who's"
focus on relationships with others and with God, they
have no reason to lose hope or joy! Christmas comes
like usual - with joy!
It reminded me of Job who said, "'Naked I came from
my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The LORD
gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name
of the LORD.' In all of this Job did not sin or charge God
with wrong." (Job 1:21-22)
Enjoy!

Baby Wolter at 14 weeks!
We are thankful for your prayers.
Psalm 139:13-14
For you (God) formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.

Search the Scriptures - by Alan M. Stibbs
Click here for a great resource for your quiet times.
Review:
"I have been a born again believer now for over 22 years, and have continually failed to
maintain a consistent, daily walk with Christ through reading the Bible..I was fine with joining Bible studies, or just hearing the Word on Sunday mornings, but have always struggled by finding anything that was relevant and easy to understand on a daily basis.....until this book. This book will change your life by allowing you to DAILY read the scripture and apply its truths to your life!

This guide is simple..it allows you to go through the ENTIRE Bible in three years...each day is only 10-20 verses and only asks 2-3 RELEVANT, meaningful questions. Each study can be done in as little as 30 minutes, but you go away feeling like you have really understood the passage and can now apply it to you life.

Believe me, it is worth every penny....you will reap so many rewards by just spending this DAILY, PERSONAL time with Jesus!"

The Lightlings - by R.C. Sproul

Nice Christmas gift here
Kids will love it, and others might as well!

Great Quote
The goal of the Christian life is not external conformity or mindless
action, but a passionate love for God informed by the mind and embraced
by the will. So the path forward is not to decrease one’s affections but rather
to enlarge them and fill them with “heavenly things.” Here one is not trying
to escape the painful realities of this life but rather endeavoring to reframe
one’s perspective of life around a much larger canvas that encompasses all of
reality. To respond to the distorting nature of sin you must set your affections
on the beauty and glory of God, the loveliness of Christ, and the wonder of
the gospel: “Were our affections filled, taken up, and possessed with these
things . . . what access could sin, with its painted pleasures, with its sugared
poisons, with its envenomed baits, have unto our souls?” Resisting sin,
according to this Puritan divine, comes not by deadening your affections but
by awakening them to God himself. Do not seek to empty your cup as a way
to avoid sin, but rather seek to fill it up with the Spirit of life, so there is no
longer room for sin. - Kelly Kapic (Preface to "Overcoming Sin & Temptation"
by John Owen)

Go Deep

Don't Waste Your Life

Go here for a great video message of the passion
behind missions:

http://www.268generation.com/ramfiles/piper-56.ram

John Piper will have you motivated!

A New Bundle of Joy!

A new joy is soon coming to the Wolter family... This is to announce that Maki is pregnant!
We wanted the whole world to know, but we had to wait until we were in a stable period.
Since we are into the 2nd trimester we can say now that we are expecting at the end of May or early June.
Please pray along with us for this new creation being put together by God inside Maki!
It is truly a miracle to see a little heart beating! Only God could have invented such a magical
mystery as a new life.

This was our baby at 9 weeks!
Only 23mm!

Fears of Offending Non-Christians?

New Line Cinema says it was dropped as sponsor of German Christkindlmarket because city officials worry ads for upcoming film 'The Nativity Story' could offend non-Christians

Click here for more

Revitalize Your Quiet Times
I have been enjoying reading, and
then later in the day listening to the
Bible. In this day of FREE Bible
study tools, please make use of this
to reflect on and apply your Bible more.
Click here to check out the wonderful
resource from BibleGateway.com

Young People's Happiness

Sun Nov 19, 2006 7:08 PM ET

By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - Young people in developing nations are at least twice as likely to feel happy about their lives
than their richer counterparts, a survey says.
Indians are the happiest overall and Japanese the most miserable.
According to an MTV Networks International (MTVNI) global survey that covered more than 5,400 young people in 14
countries, only 43 percent of the world's 16- to 34-year-olds say they are happy with their lives.
MTVNI said this figure was dragged down by young people in the developed world, including those in the United States
and Britain where fewer than 30 percent of young people said they were happy with the way things were.
Only eight percent in Japan said they were happy.

"The happier young people of the developing world are also the most religious," the survey said.

"Racial Differences - They are only skin deep"

Click here to listen to a 30 sec. blurb
by Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis.

Evolutionary thought has aided the expansion
of racism. Click here to listen to "Racism in our Textbooks" by Ken Ham.

College Cell Group











Please pray as Mark begins to lead a group of five college guys in bible study, prayer and
fellowship. Pray that we would grow in love and good deeds. I thank God that one of the college students already expressed a burden to go do evangelism together at the station. Please pray for these young Christian men to grow together. I believe these guys can impact Japan greatly for Christ in the future!
Nozomu, (to the right of me) hasn't been involved with many Christians before, but yesterday at cell group he said that he wants to continue to come and also start to read the Bible for himself. Please pray for him and for Yoshiya, Yuki, Naoya, Alex and I also!

Retired Husband Syndrome
A growing problem in Japan.
Click here for the article.

Gospel for Asia
Get great FREE downloadable missionary messages here!
http://www.gfa.org/gfa/kpaudio

"I Ascribe My Change Wholly to God"

"When I was coming to Christ, I
thought I was doing it all myself, and
though I sought the Lord earnestly, I
had no idea the Lord was seeking
me. I do not think the young convert
is at first aware of this. I can recall
the very day and hour when first I
received those truths [of the doctrine
of election] in my own soul—when
they were as John Bunyan said, burnt
into my heart as with a hot iron, and
I can recollect how I felt that I had
grown on a sudden from a babe into
a man—that I had made progress in
scriptural knowledge, through
having found, once for all, the clue
to the truth of God.
One week-night, when I was
sitting in the house of God, I was not
thinking much about the preacher’s
sermon, for I did not believe it. The
thought struck me, How did you
come to be a Christian? I sought the
Lord. But how did you come to seek
the Lord? The truth flashed across my
mind in a moment—I should not have
sought him unless there had been
some previous influence in my mind
to make me seek him. I prayed,
thought I, but then I asked myself,
How came I to pray? I was induced to
pray by reading the Scriptures. How
came I to read the Scriptures? I did
read them, but what led me to do so?
Then, in a moment, I saw that God
was at the bottom of it all, and that
he was the Author of my faith, and so
the doctrine of grace opened up to
me, and from that doctrine I have not
departed to this day, and I desire to
make this my constant confession,
'I ascribe my change wholly to God.'"
— Charles Spurgeon

The Haggard Tragedy

"...it is a logical fallacy to conclude from this that the message that Haggard brought on behalf of evangelicals is somehow discredited. Or to allow it to be watered down in the embarrassment of it all. Jesus reserved some of his strongest criticism for the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. But he in no way condemned the righteousness that they stood for in public. Matthew 23:1–3 records:

‘Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practise and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.’

Thus the charge of hypocrisy was not an attack on the morality they preached but on their failure to live up to it. He actually told his followers to be even more righteous than them (Matthew 5:20).

In fact, the very pain of hypocritical actions in a preacher has something to do with our innate recognition that something intrinsically good has been debased and let down by his failure to meet the standard that he proclaimed. Hence the saying, ‘Hypocrisy is the compliment vice pays to virtue.’ It stands to reason that saying the right thing and doing the wrong thing is better than saying AND doing the wrong thing.

Indeed, what would have happened if Haggard had come out of the closet on his own and bashed the church for repressing gay sexuality? Judging by its record of lauding gay bishops, the generally anti-Christian media would be hailing Haggard as a brave maverick who had boldly thrown off the chains of organized religion to embrace self-actualization. We would hear very little of his hypocrisy of not following the book he claimed to believe in, or of betrayal of his family. About the only thing that the media seems to have against Haggard is that he now seems to be repentant, spoke out against homosexuality while practising it, and has not resiled from that."

Click here for the rest of the article from Creationontheweb.com

Unstoppable Live @ Bethlehem Baptist

This was refreshing for me to see

Guy's Night



Christian men are a huge rarity in Japan. Super busy schedules
may be the biggest reason for this. Japanese men simply do not
have time for anything!
Both in an attempt to get more fellowship for myself, and as
a way to encourage other guys in Christ as well, we have been
doing "Guy Nights". Once a month we are trying to get together
outside of the busy church environment, to simply relax, eat
together, study the Bible and share our lives. Last time we
threw in a little worship time too. All to say, God has really
blessed us all with this time. I hope that these men will
continue to see our home as a place to rest and be encouraged.
Please pray for this precious minority as we continue to meet!

My Pilot Missionary Friend
God sometimes sends certain people that just make your life a little
easier. They encourage or help in such a way that you just can't help
but say, "Thanks!"
Rudy Vaughan, a pilot/missionary who works for UPS is one of these
types of persons in my life. Rudy wanted to be a missionary, but he
also wanted to be a pilot. Then God called him to be both! Rudy flies
for a living and then gets to stay in foreign countries for a few days
where he encourages missionaries and churches.
Two weeks ago Rudy came to rescue! Rudy spoke on "Getting a Vision for
your Christian Life" to our college Christians. We asked him to speak on
this because we leaders felt this is what God wanted us to emphasize. He
did a great job. It was refreshing to hear from a person outside of our
ministry. Many college students commented on the way his talk encouraged
them. The next day, Rudy presented a cool lesson on flight for my 4th and
5th graders. (Picture) He also encouraged the kids to think about how
they can serve and glorify God with their future jobs like he is doing.
We were all happy and thankful for Rudy.

Click here to look at
Rudy's ministry.

Reformation Evangelism

As I read through Numbers, one thought keeps coming back to my mind: God is
Holy! He is quick and decisive in executing judgement on
people who dishonor His glory. In this period of grace, it is sometimes
hard to imagine how HOLY God is.

While thinking about this God led me to watch the 2003 movie, "Luther".
Of course Luther was quite literally struck by God's holiness and judgement
in a thunderstorm in 1505. From then on he vowed to give himself to God.
As a young monk Luther was zealous to be holy. Increasingly he realized,
however, that he was not holy and never could be!

There is a tendency to think that the Catholic Church, with its ritualistic
ceremonies is somehow more "holy" than Protestant churches. However, by the
true definition, people who try to be holy for God, turn out to be the least
holy! Like Luther, we need to be aware that only God is holy and then be
AMAZED at the wonderful grace and holiness of God to judge His Son on our
behalf so that we might be MADE holy!

Please pray as I use this movie in my Sunday English class. Pray for good
discussion and for people to see through Luther what true faith and love is.
Pray that they could see that the only Holy One is God Himself. May they be
drawn to this transcendent majesty!

...And have a wonderful Reformation Day - October 31st.

The Need for Cultural Immersion


- I hope this helps you as you think and pray about how to love the people around you.

Listen to Mark's testimony (w/Maki's translation)

just click here!

If you want to look for the CrossRoads Chapel podcast (most messages are only in Japanese), go to the podcast search and type in "Ogaken".

A short hiatus from English...
I adapted this from John Piper's "A Quest for Joy"

聖書は喜びについて、何と書いてありますか？

すべての人間には、一つの共通点があります。
みんな幸せになりたいということ。喜びが欲しいのです。
なぜなら、こういうふうに造られたからです。
ただ神様しかこの欲望を完全に満たすことはできません。

イエス様の教えの目的（中心）は人のための喜び　（神様によって）
ヨハネ１５：１１- 「私がこれらのことをあなたがたに話したのは、私の喜びがあな
たがたのうちにあり、あなたがたの喜びが満たされるためです。」

イエス様を信じる時に神様の喜びは私達の心を満たします。
ローマ１５：１３
『どうか、望みの神が、あなたがたを信仰によるすべての喜びと平和をもって満たし、聖霊の力によって望みにあふれさせてくださいますように。』

神様の御国は喜びです。
ローマ１４：１７『なぜなら、神の国は飲み食いのことではなく、義と平和と聖霊による喜びだからです。』

聖霊様の実の一つは喜びです。
ガラテヤ５：２２『しかし、御霊の実は、愛、喜び、平安、寛容、親切、善意、誠実、柔和、自制です。』

クリスチャンというのは素晴らしい宝物を見つける人です。
マタイ１３：４４『天の御国は、畑に隠された宝のようなものです。人はその宝を見つけると、それを隠しておいて、大喜びで帰り、持ち物を全部売り払ってその畑を買います。』

聖書というのは本当の喜びを見つけることができる本です。
詩編１９：８『主の戒めは正しくて、人の心を喜ばせ、主の仰せはきよくて、ひとの目を明るくする。』

神様こそが私達の喜びです。
詩編４３：４、１６：１１
『こうして、私は神のさいだん、私の最も喜びとする神のみもとに行き、たて琴にあわせて、あなたをほめたたえましょう。神よ。私の神よ。』

『あなたは私に、いのちの道を知らせて下さいます．あなたの御前には喜びが満ち、あなたの右には、楽しみがとこしえにあります。』


イエス様を信じるなら、本当の命と喜びがもらえます。
ヨハネ１０：１０『盗人が来るのは、ただ盗んだり、殺したり、滅ぼしたりするだけのためです．私が来たのは、羊がいのちを得、またそれを豊に持つためです。』

神様は全ての国と民族を呼んで、その喜びを与えたいです。
詩編６７：４、６６：１
『国民が喜び、また、喜びうたいますように。それはあなたが公正をもって国々のたみをさばかれ、地の国民を導かれるからです．』

『全地よ。神にむかって喜び叫べ。』

福音というのはよい（喜びある）知らせです。
イザヤ５１：１１
『主に購われたものたちは帰って来る。彼らはよろこび歌いながらシオンに入り、その頭にはとこしえの喜びをいただく。楽しみとよろこびがついて来、悲しみとなげきとは逃げ去る。』

天国に行ったらイエス様に会って、永遠の喜びに入ります。
マタイ２５：２３
『その主人は彼に言った。『よくやった。良い忠実なしもべだ。あなたは、わずかな物に忠実だったから私はあなたにたくさんの物を任せよう。主人の喜びをともに喜んでくれ。』

唯一、創造主の神様は喜びなさいと命令します。
詩編３７：４、３３：１、３２：１１
『主をおのれの喜びとせよ。主はあなたの心の願いをかなえてくださる。』
『正しい者たち。主にあって、喜び、楽しめ。すべて心の直ぐな人たちよ。喜びの声をあげよ。』
『主のはかりごとはとこしえに立ち、御心の計画は代々に至る。』

聖書の焦点
＃１　神様の栄光のために人は造られました。
（人は神様の栄光／良さ素晴らしいさを見て、喜ぶこと。）
イザヤ４３：６−７
『わたしは、北に向かって「引き渡せ」と言い、南に向かって「引き止めるな」と言う。わたしの子らを遠くから来させよ。わたしの名で呼ばれるすべての者は、わたしの栄光のために、わたしがこれを創造し、これを形作り、これを造った。』

＃２　全ての人が唯一の神様のために生きるべきです。
１コリント１０：３１
『こういうわけで、あなたがたは食べるにも、飲むにも、何をするにも、ただ神の栄光を現すためにしなさい。』

＃３　全ての人は神様の栄光を無視して、自分の神様を作ります。
（罪の意味）
ローマ３：２３
『すべての人は、罪を犯したので、神からの栄光をうけることができず。』

＃４　全ての人は公平な罰をもらいます。
ローマ６：２３
『罪からくる報酬は死です。しかし、神の下さる賜物は、私達の主キリスト・イエスにある永遠のいのちです。』

＃５　神様のひとり子を送る理由は人の罰を支払って、永遠の命と喜びを得るためです。
１テモテ１：１５
『「キリスト・イエスは、罪人を救うためにおの世に来られた」という言葉は、まことであり、そのまま受け入れるに値するものです。私はその罪人のかしらです。』

＃６　イエスキリストを受け入れて、信じるなら、救われます。
使徒１６：３１
『ふたりは、「主イエスを信じなさい。そうすれば、あなたもあなたの家族も救われます。」と言った。』

We want to bless you too!
Over the years many of you have so personally blessed our lives through your prayers and love.
Recently in talking with my brother Gary, he made a generous offer that I thought might help our ministry in Japan and you, if you live in Iowa.
If you know of someone who is thinking of buying or selling real estate, my brother Gary, and his wife Melynda Wolter, have been helping people like you for over 5 years now at Skogman Realty. Gary & Melynda have agreed to donate 10% of all money earned in your name to our ministry for every real estate referral after it closes. Please visit GaryWolter.com to learn more about them and their services. - Thank you Gary!

WHITEFIELD ON EFFECTUAL CALLING

Let George Whitefield, the great revivalist from the 18th century, preach to you here on Ephesians 2. This blunt, unvarnished message is so different from the saccharine, feel-good sermons often heard from today’s pulpits:

“Come, ye dead, Christless, unconverted sinner, come and see the place where they laid the body of the deceased Lazarus; behold him laid out, bound hand and foot with graveclothes, locked up and stinking in a dark cave, with a great stone placed on top of it. View him again and again; go nearer to him; be not afraid; smell him, Ah! how he stinketh. Stop there now, pause a while; and whilst thou art gazing upon the corpse of Lazarus, give me leave to tell thee with great plainness, but greater love, that this dead, bound, entombed, stinking carcase, is but a faint representation of thy poor soul in it natural state;...thy spirit which thou bearest about with thee, sepulchered in flesh and blood, is literally dead to God, and as truly dead in trespasses and sins, as the body of Lazarus was in the cave. Was he bound hand and foot with graveclothes? So art thou bound hand and foot with thy corruptions; and as a stone was laid on the sepulchre, so there is a stone of unbelief upon thy stupid heart. Perhaps thou has lain in this estate, not only four days, but many years, stinking in God’s nostrils. And, what is still more effecting, thou art as unable to raise thyself out of this loathsome, dead state, to a life of righteousness and true holiness, as ever Lazarus was to raise himself from the cave in which he lay so long. Thou mayest try the power of thy boasted free will, and the force and energy of moral persuasion and rational arguments (which, without doubt, have their proper place in religion); but all thy efforts, exerted with never so much vigor, will prove quite fruitless and abortive, till that same Jesus, who said ‘take away the stone” and cried “Lazarus, come forth,” also quicken you. This is grace, graciously offered, and grace graciously applied. Or as the Confession [Westminster Confession] originally puts it, “grace offered and conveyed.”

CrossRoads Fall Picnic



After lots of planning and help from Maki and others
it has been a joy to start putting on more activities
for our young adults. As you know, I have had a vision
for getting more natural opportunities for ministries
outside of events at our building. The purpose is to
love people where they are at and show them the love of
Christ as we do things together. Praise God that many
other friends seem to be feeling the need for the same
things!

On Sept. 23 we had a little fall picnic, which God
blessed with great weather and several not-yet Christians
whom we were happy to see enjoy the day with us.
A personal highlight for me was the nice game of touch
football and of course the opportunity to get
to know one of the guys (Yuzo) a little bit better.



On the 26th, Maki and I had the privilege of teaming up
to give the bi-lingual message at CrossRoads Chapel. I
shared my testimony (which is recorded below for you - It
should be coming to Ogata's podcast soon also) and
afterwards I was able to talk to Yuzo who had some questions.
God seemed to use this story (really the story of HIS work
in my life) to speak into several people's hearts. May He
continue to be seen as wonderful and full of grace in everything
we do. Through this we can rejoice even when we struggle or even
when we mess up. God uses all of this to show His greatness,
mercy and love. To God alone be all the glory - Alleluia!

"I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south,
'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called
by My name, and whom I have created for My glory,"
- Isaiah 43:6-7

Maki's B-day

As some of you know, I do not like sushi.
My first experience, while I was still sick with
jet-lag, probably didn't help matters.

Maki, on the other hand, loves sushi. Therefore,
it was inevitable that for Maki's birthday she would
want to go to her favorite sushi restaurant!



Here was the bevy of treats that Maki picked out.



Here she is living it up sushi style!



I was eyeing the cantelope, which is a rare treat in Japan!



I had to let it go, but not without regret. :)



In the end I settled on some "chowan mushi" and a some fabulous soba.



After our splendid meal, we traveled to a worship night in Osaka. Very refreshing.
Maki had a good birthday, even though she ended up not feeling well the next day. I won't say it was the sushi!

What is "Free Will"?

Are we really free to choose anything we want? Yes, we are!
But we are not free to choose the inclination or desire that
determines what we want!

If you were standing at Baskin Robbins you have 31 choices.
You think you are free to choose any - and in fact you are,
except for the fact that you aren't interested in all of them.
(At least to the same extent!)
The fact that you make a decision means that you have a stronger
inclination or desire for the flavor you choose. If you did not
have this, you would never be able to make a decision. Our wills
are determined by what we are most desirous of. This "prevailing
desire/inclination" we do not choose.

This has helped me understand God's sovereignty and our responsibility better.
Our wills have been cut off from righteousness by the fall. Now we are
wholly desperate for God to revive us so that we can choose Him.

In trying to understand how God can be both holy and free,
we must understand that God cannot act any
differently than what he does. He is the blessed (happy) God
(1 Tim.1:11). Everything He does is the best, and this is why He
is so free! There is no conflict in His will over a good and a
bad desire. God has such freedom precisely because his will is
clean of any and all wrong desires that would keep Him from doing
anything less than what is perfect in every situation.
This is the freedom we should long for!

Once we get to heaven, we will have a REAL free will.
To not have the desire to sin anymore will be freedom to really
enjoy God! Let us make it our aim then to build more and more
desire for God! Only by this will we have true freedom to love
and to enjoy everything He has prepared for us!

May "God work in us to will and to act according to his good purpose"!
(Philippians 2:13) Overcome our wills with a holy desire for You O God!

Part 4 (final part) - My Life Story - by Mark
(Scroll down for the beginning of this story)

God had freed me and had filled with me such love, joy and peace.

After becoming a Christian I saw my brother reading his Bible and thought, “Maybe I should read my Bible too.”
As I read I couldn’t believe the difference.
Before becoming a Christian, when I had tried to read the Bible it was so hard to understand and very boring!
Now it began to make sense!
As I read the New Testament I felt that God was speaking directly to me!
“This is exactly what happened to me!” I thought.
I began to have a real relationship with God, not just religion.

This was the beginning of the most thrilling life I could imagine. As Paul in the Bible says, “I was sorrowful, but I was always rejoicing.”

I had tried to quit drinking for a year, with God’s strength I was able to stop.
I didn’t need it anymore.
God filled my thirsty soul.
Before I had become a Christian I feared speaking in front of a crowd.

I would skip speech class and get C’s and D’s rather than speak in front of others.

After becoming a Christian I realized that I had found what everyone is looking for in the wrong places.

It was a joy for me to share this great news with others.

I was able to speak in front of many groups about God.

I wasn’t nervous at all.
God has helped me overcome my fear of people.
I became less shy and was able to share with many people about my faith in Christ. Some of them also became Christians.
In receiving so much, it is natural for us to want to give to others.
God’s love and joy has become like a spring that overflows from within me.

I long to help other people know Him and His great plans for which He made us.

Through meeting Japanese friends on my campus, through the Bible and through other mission trips, God put it in my heart to come to Japan.

I wanted to help people in Japan find the full life I have found in Jesus.

6 years ago I came to Japan with the Navigators Christian mission.
At first it was very difficult to live because I didn’t know any of the language!
God gave me strength and hope to study and to start to learn, even though it was hard. But my desire was to help Japanese people know this wonderful God.
I learned a lot from the Navigators and have many friends in the Navigators but I saw something was missing

We saw a lot of college students come to Christ, but they graduate, get a job in another city and often times stop being a Christian because there is no church there.

On a trip to Kansai I was introduced to chapel and became friends with some people here.

I felt it was important to have a place for people to continue to grow after becoming Christians.

I am very happy to help people find a home at chapel now.

One of the bonuses of coming to chapel was that I met my wife here.

When I first came I started to get to know a wonderful Japanese girl named Maki.

We started to date and about 2 years later we got married. God was faithful to give me a partner for the work He called me to.

I had desired to be married, right after college; but God had other plans for me.

In His perfect plan God had chosen a wife that could be a wonderful helper in my ministry to Japanese people.

It is another story about how all that happened.

Of course I still have problems even though I am a Christian.

But now I personally have a relationship with a God who fills my heart and will never fail me, even after I die.

Please learn from my experience.

Truly there is no created thing that can compare with the Designer.

Mass media makes many promises that are simple lies.

Don’t believe them. Only God can satisfy you fully forever.

He made us that way.

You will live a empty life and die without God.

However, if we come to know God and live with Him,

Psalms 16:11 says this: “In His (God’s) presence is fullness of joy, and His right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Full living with God will never end.

Part 3 - My Life Story - by Mark

In my hurt and in anger, instead of turning back to the true God, I turned to drinking and to partying.

Through this I thought I could ease my pain and find fulfillment.
I had a lot of fun with new friends who drank a lot.
We did a lot of crazy and exciting things, some of which were illegal.
However, my heart just kept getting harder and harder.
I wasn’t sensitive to other people and I only cared about myself.
Just like I had used God, now I was using people to get what I wanted.
I didn’t like who I was becoming.
My heart was thirsty, but all I could I find was dirty water.

Often I would wake up with a hangover along with even more pain and regret.
My parents too were being hurt by the kind of life I was living.
I started listening to all kinds of bad music to make myself less and less sensitive to the pain that was in my heart.

When I got to college, away from my high school friends I realized I needed to quit drinking.
I tried for a year to stop, but I couldn’t.
I was addicted and locked into the party culture.
My twin brother Doug also was heavily involved with partying and he also wanted to change.

One day he told me that he was going to work at a Christian camp during the summer break.
He had met some Christians that invited him to come.
Of course, I couldn’t imagine why he would want to do that.
“You are not going to have any fun this summer!” I told him.
I was going to go and make lots of money and party with my high school friends,

I thought that they would restore THE HAPPINESS I USED TO HAVE.

However, when I went home, my friends were also pretty depressed-looking people
.
They tried to enjoy drinking and partying, but I could tell that in their hearts, they were just like me: Unsatisfied.

I worked hard that summer work and made a lot of money.
I bought a new music system and tried to fill up my heart with that.
I spent a lot of time on my physical appearance, lifting weights almost every day and buying the right clothes
.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t fill my heart.
Sometimes I would come home at night and just cry because I was so empty.

At this time my twin brother came back from the summer camp.
When I started to talk with him I could tell he had changed.
For the first time in our lives, we were completely different people.
I noticed right away that he had joy, peace and a wisdom that I didn’t have.

I tried to be happy, but I wasn’t.

As I went to bed that night I thought to myself,
“He must have read the Bible, maybe that is why he has so much wisdom.”
I dusted off my Bible
and prayed, “God, my life isn’t going well.
Please show me wisdom like Doug has?”

I flipped open the Bible randomly
and the first verse that I saw was Prov. 9:10.
It says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
I was shocked!
I had just prayed for wisdom and here was the answer!
Stunned, I read the verse again.
I realized that I had not been fearing or respecting God at all.
I prayed again, “God, I know that I am not respecting you, but please help me to!”
I flipped randomly to another page in the Bible
(by the way I don’t recommend this type of Bible study,

God doesn’t always work this way.

However, that night he was.)

The next verse said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit whom is in you, whom you have received from God?

You are not your own, you were bought at a price, therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

I had learned, like I said, growing up that I was bought by Jesus sacrifice on the cross for my sins.

I belonged to Him.

However, the thing that stuck out was the part that said: “You are not your own”.
I sunk to my knees and told God, “I am not doing a good job of leading my life.
Take over, lead my whole life O God, it is yours. I can’t do it myself.”
I asked God, “Please forgive me for living like this,

“By my lies, selfishness, pride and immorality I am apart from You.”

As I prayed, God’s Holy Spirit filled the emptiness of my heart with his love.

It was an unbelievable experience.

God was with me!
For some reason the next day I woke up and I almost completely forgot about the night before.
I didn’t understand that Jesus had become my Savior and the Lord of my life.
I was saved... but I didn’t know it.
I remembered a party was that night and I got all ready to go.
As I was driving there I started to think,
“I shouldn’t go to this party.”
I started to drink a little and realized, “I shouldn’t be here.”
I left and I asked God to forgive me again.
Then I remembered the prayer that I prayed and that the Holy Spirit of God had come to me.

I realized that already the Holy Spirit of God was already beginning to actually lead my life the best way!

For about the next year I never had a bad day.

Part 2 - My Life Story - by Mark

From a young age my brothers and I would spend hours playing, watching and thinking about American football and other sports.’

In my school, American football was very important.

In the space of 9 years MY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM was state champions 3 times and NUMBER TWO 2 times.

Unknowingly, football gradually became my god.

Football, and not the true God became my focus for satisfaction.

For a while it worked.
Football seemed to make a good god.
I was really happy playing football.

I could have thanked God for giving us the game of football and my ability to play it,

Instead I used God to get what I really wanted...

“God,” I would pray, “Get me on the starting football team!”

Next, I would pray for the other new god that I was forming in my heart.

God give me a girlfriend!

I had never had a girlfriend and really wanted to have one.

Every night I would pray, “God give me a girlfriend and make me a starter. Amen”

As a senior in high school God gave me what I wanted.
I got a position on the starting team playing defensive back.
It was so great!
Often times we would play in front of thousands of fans.
I got to appear in the newspaper and on T.V. and was well known at school.
Little kids even asked me for an autograph once!
My pride slowly got bigger and bigger.
I got my first girlfriend and felt fully content.
Then I forgot about God.
The football season suddenly ended and we had not won the championship.
A week later my girlfriend broke up with me.
My heart was so broken!
My two precious false gods had been destroyed.
I had never experienced such pain inside.

My life story - by Mark

I had been waiting for this moment for years.

I was a high school senior playing high school football.

Like many boys, playing under the lights of Cedar Rapids’ 15,000 seat Kingston stadium had been a dream of mine since I was young.

It was where I had grown up watching my high school’s football team as they went on to 4 state title games in 6 years.

Here I was, a starter on a famous team.

All the TV stations and newspapers were present.

That night and every Friday night, play after play, I got to level opponents, intercept passes and be known as a Linn-Mar Lion.

I had popularity and friends.

I was loved and respected.

Beyond my wildest dreams, in the years that followed I was able to find something even better than sports.

Today I want to tell you how I became a Christian AND WHY I AM
IN JAPAN

My name is Mark Wolter

I am from THE STATE OF Iowa

THAT IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF AMERICA

I’ve been happily married to Maki for a year and a half.
I grew up in a happy family with good parents.
Of course my parents were NOT perfect but they loved God and they loved me.

As a boy I saw that everyone around me had many problems, mistakes and sins, including my parents and myself.

I realized that this world was NOT a perfect place,
And even Christians were not perfect.
But I learned through the Bible that God IS perfect.
Our whole family went to church every Sunday.

There I learned about and personally experienced God’s love through other people.

I came to believe God is the God who made the world and everything in it.
As I grew a little older I learned that the first man that God made, Adam, rebelled against God.
Ever since then, doing wrong things and going away from God has been natural for humans.

I came to believe (as the Bible says) that God came to earth as a baby (Jesus) to live and die on a cross for the punishment that my sins deserved.

In junior high I learned that if I would confess my sins against God, He would forgive me
.
Though I had all this information, it was just head knowledge.
I thought that God was for after I died, not now.
God wasn’t related to daily life.
Christ was not my Lord.
I was in charge of my own life.
Rather than seek God, I would pray only to get things for myself.
I began to seek what the media and current culture says I should seek in the world.

I thought that if I had money, popularity, and fun, then I would be satisfied.

To be continued...

In a Terrorized and Troubled World, Where is God?"

Many people do not believe in God because they cannot reconcile his existence with the existence of suffering and evil. Can these two be reconciled? If so, what does all the pain in this world mean?

Click here to listen or read an excellent message called, "In a Terrorized and Troubled World, Where is God?"

School is just starting for us today!

Please pray for these precious kids to know
the Savior personally.

Here are some more fun pictures from our
summer camping trip. Enjoy!

ジョン・パイパーさんは『快楽主義のクリスチャン』になってほしいです。

John Piper wants you to become a "Christian Hedonist".

もっと知りたいならここをクリックして下さい。

To know more click here

To Preach Where Christ Has Not Been Named

After God Himself, this is the passion of my earthly life. As J Campbell White said, "Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ in a believer than the adopting of this passion."

John Piper says, "Not everyone of you is called to go like Paul. But you can't be a loving person and not want your life to count to meet this need."

Click here to watch this wonderful message from John Piper (Holy Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Has Not Been Named)

Free Derek Webb CD download
Good news for us Caedmon's Call fans.
Derek Webb, from Caedmon's Call is offering a new album that
can be downloaded for free - click here

Watch great live worship and messages by the folks who gave us the Passion conferences.

Did Christ die to make me feel good about myself?

... Or did Christ die to free me from thinking so much about myself and start
to focus on what is truly satisfying, what is truly gloriously wonderful beyond all
things - God? Is this the gospel you are hearing? If not I recommend this book.

"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:11-12)

日本語の同じような本もお薦めしたいと思います。

Christianity in China

Here is an interesting article from TIME magazine.

Spurgeon Quote of the Day
"One thing is past all question; we shall bring our Lord most glory
if we get from Him much grace."

I welcome your comments.

10 New Baptisms!

We rejoice in what the Lord is doing!






Atsushi (Achan) is a good friend of mine who is growing a lot! He is always rejoicing. Praise God!



Yuta (on the right) was saved in December and is really growing!



Hide was baptized last year. Atsushi (his good friend) saw Hide's life and began to seek God!



Naoya is a good friend who is leaving for North Texas soon. Please pray for him!

Mission Trip... to Japan!

Below: Our good friend Ta-chan became a Christian (on the left)! Praise God for His work! Thank you for praying for Him. On the right of me is another guy who I am helping: Nozomu. Nozomu is a Christian that I am trying to help grow in Christ and learn English. Please pray for both of these great brothers in Christ!



Maki and I really enjoy being missionaries. One reason is that our job is to do what we love to do, namely to know and love Christ more and share Him with others. What a privilege it is to fill up with the greatest Being in the Universe and share His perfections with our friends here!

We just got back yesterday from our 12 day "mission trip" to Japan. First we spent 3 days with our college students camping and hiking in the mountains and being a part of the "Northstar" Ministry (ridenorthstar.com) Then we took off for Tokyo along with one of our non-believing students Hiro-chan. On the way we were able to have a great 2 hour discussion about God and the gospel! Please pray for Hiro-chan.

Here is Maki during one of our "Trust-fall" activities. Hiro-chan was really moved to thought through this event. (Not just by gravity!)





When we got to Tokyo we were able to spend time with Hiroshi (whom you remember as my good friend who came to Christ after I first came to Kyoto) and his wife Carol and their new baby daughter Anathasia. (means "Resurrection") It was great to see how the Lord continues to be working in their lives and producing fruit in Tokyo where we cannot be. We were again reminded of the importance of spiritual reproduction and not just making converts. Hiroshi is a great testimony to many of his co-workers and fellow Christians in Tokyo. We are excited what God has planned for this little one too. (So cute!)



Next, we were off to Yoshimi and Brandon's house (a couple who especially Maki has helped as new Christians before they moved to Tokyo) It was a pleasure to be at their church and see them growing. We got to take part in an International couple's small group and get to know some of the great people at Jesus Life House Church. It was great to be a blessing and be blessed at the same time with these wonderful people. At the church we were also able to meet up with Makoto, our dear friend whom you have been praying for. He is still close to becoming a Christian and seems to be making some Christian friends in Tokyo. Please pray for him not to get too busy that he leaves out church and fellowship with Christians! (Brandon & Yoshimi are pictured to the left of us.)



The following 3 days we were up in Utsunomiya, spending time with old-time UNI Navigator friends. One of our friends, Tom VanSickle has been getting closer to marrying his girlfriend Ai-chan, a wonderful Japanese girl there. It was great to spend a lot of quality time with them and be an encouragement to their relationship. It is great that Maki and I can identify with so many International couples in Japan. It is a true blessing to support and be supported by so many great people!



In Utsunomiya we also met with some new Christians (God is really blessing their work there) and meet with UNI friends, Ruth Ann Hurd and Ryan and Angie Foster. God bless you and your work for His Kingdom!

Finally we were back to Tokyo to go to a Wed. night Christian Cafe/ Church (Kickback Cafe) that is led by a famous author, speaker, singer and pastor (as well as principal) Marre Ishii. We thoroughly enjoyed his message about how Jesus is the center of the Bible and not religion. Jesus is not concerned about religiosity, He is concerned about loving the loveless and the needy. If we are needy and in need of love, He will fully receive us and show us His infinite love and salvation.




On the way home we got to stop in Aichi prefecture at the church of another best-selling author and pastor in Japan and go out to lunch with him as well. (By the way a best-selling Christian book in Japan is having 2,500 copies sold!) It was great to talk with Ishihara-san about cell groups and there importance in Japan and hear him talk about "Hikikomori" a specifically Japanese problem where thousands of people in Japan simply cannot leave their houses and face the world. Over and over Japan is confronted with the need for Christ. Many are hearing and turning by God's Spirit to Christ! They just need the chance to hear. - On our way home we stayed in a town that has 22,000 people and not one church. Maybe there are pockets of believers here and there, but without a church, how do people consistently hear the gospel? We need your help in helping our Japanese friends.

Being encouraged and encouraging others (as well as just relaxing) was a wonderful way to spend this year's summer vacation. Please check out this site for one way you can learn about Japan and join the mission to Japan more. "God's Fingerprints in Japan" is a FREE video (just $4 for shipping) that will give you a great vision to pray for Japan or use with your friends or church to stir them up about Japan. Check out this site for more info: www.alohakeakua.org

Until next time!

Since ancient times no has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. -

- Isaiah 64:4

What is your view of grace?
Do you feel that your life must produce something or else you will be punished?
Do you do ministry in your own strength to somehow "give back to God"?
Are you thankful that God did not call you to be a pastor or a missionary?
I hope your answer is "NO" to these questions. One thing I keep realizing more and more is how much God has given and how much more He was wants me to receive. I am not talking about material things, I am talking about grace! He has put me in Japan to experience His work first hand and to see Him work... around me, through me, in me and inspite of me! What a privelege it is to be under the fountain of God's work and grace. These are where I see God use my talents for His glory, and not for mine. He gets all the glory and I get all the joy. What a deal!

Let us no longer "work hard for God". Let us rather join Him where He is working and experience His love every day afresh. Let us stop trying to pay back God, which only dishonors Him, and keep being the receivers of grace and free ditributors of it for His glory and our joy. I love John Piper's quote, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

What a joy it is to be in Japan and apart of God's work. We are thankful to be able to welcome others into this joy and into these blessing.

"Let him who serves serve in the strength that God provides so that in everything God may receive the glory." - 1 Peter 4:11

Dating & Marriage

Maki and I are by no means pro's when it comes to this topic.
We went through various struggles before seeing that God was
leading us to get married. Though marriage has been a
wonderful gift from God, we have just begun: We are only a
year-and-three months into our adventure!

Even so, God has seemed to be calling us to help younger
dating couples as well as singles who would like to be married.
We are happy that God is using our marriage as well as our times
of struggle for his glory. And yes, we still do have some struggles!

One of the struggles that is the hardest to see in yourself but very
easy to see in your partner is pride. This is the biggest enemy of
true love in my opinion. It is the voice that says, "I am too busy
to help you with the dishes." (even though you know that you are not!)
It is the voice that says, "Get up and get your own glass of water.",
when your spouse asks. It is the sin living within each of us that
needs to be put to death. As C.J. Maheney writes, the best way to
do that is to reflect on the cross and on Christ. There no pride
can live.

If you are dating or thinking of marriage someday, please take my advice:
Get a cross-centered, Christ-centered vision for your life. Without it
I can't see how you can have a successful marriage. If you are looking
at marriage as simply a way to make yourself feel better, you are in for
trouble. Hopefully marriage will help you to enjoy life, but that is not
the point. The point is to look at Christ and the cross and gain the
POWER to enjoy/love your spouse and others when it is not easy. Enjoy
making much of Christ and your marriage will thrive.
That is what I have found.

If marriage is about your happiness apart from Christ, watch out. Don't
get married until you are so full of Christ, that all you want to do is
give. Then you will be ready for the challenges marriage brings.
Without this your future marriage or dating relationship will fail.
I am not saying that you will divorce or break-up necessarily, but
it will fail. The reason it will fail is because it is not love.

Let's remember 1 Corinthians 13:8 - "Love never ends..."

And, 1 John 4:7-
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever
loves has been born of God and knows God."
Look to Christ and seek to know and love Him. When I have lived for Him
and His love, I know it, and Maki knows it, and marriage is an extra joy
to add to the love we have in Christ.

How do we know how to determine the figurativeness / literalness of
Genesis?


Obviously, this is one of the most important books to interpret
correctly since it is the basis of our teaching on sin, its origin, curses
and hints of salvation from it. As we have found in Japan, if you take
away the literal interpretation of Genesis, you cut the very foundations
of the gospel away from your message. There is no message.


Without Genesis we have no gospel.


In Japan (and increasingly in America) we cannot even share the gospel
until we first talk about Genesis. How IMPORTANT it is then to know how
to correctly interpret Genesis! Also, if we take a figurative view of
Genesis (the flood for example - Progressivists like Hugh Ross often
claim that the flood was only local) how in the world can we expect an
unbelieving world to take the message of the Bible seriously? I don't
think we can expect that from them. My view is this: Let us take the
Bible for what it is- the Word of God.


I end with a short testimony from a book by Ken Ham:
"Several years ago, your ministry played an important role in bringing me
to the God and Savior of the Bible. If I was going to believe in God, I
first
had to acknowledge His existence. And if I was going to believe in the God
of the Bible, it had to be proven to me that the Scriptures were not in
error.
Your material addressed the evolution vs. creation (issue) and provided me
with the literal truth of the Word."
V.B. New York

p.s. I would love to hear your thoughts on the "local flood" that Hugh Ross
proposes. I don't see how anyone can arrive at this position!

Father's Day Focus
Maki and I were pleased that Maki's whole family (10 people total!) could come to our house for some family time on Sat. night. (We had such a good time we forgot to take pictures!) It was a good time again to just live out the gospel: talking, sharing, listening, cooking, cleaning, and serving Maki's family. Particularly I felt like we are getting closer to Maki's Dad and Maki's sister Naomi and her boyfriend. After the party, Maki's Dad said that he was so thankful to be able to come to our house. Yesterday he again said thanks. I honestly felt a little embarassed, but I think he just wants us to know how happy he is.
Please pray for my family too, as of course I could not be with them during this time. May God's love and glory be spread in our presence as well as in our absences.

Thank you for your prayers for Maki and I as we spend time
with Maki's dad, her brother Norihiko, and his son Sora.
The Bible study with Maki's dad is going well. Each time I
feel he is coming closer. He is beginning to pray on his own.
I would like to start praying with him during before and after
our Bible study. Please pray for that.



Yesterday at Bible study we talked about God's desire to give us joy -
the fullest and deepest joys available. He was really amazed how wonderfully
the Bible spoke about life and he thought what I showed him was really true.
Right now, he can't experience it for himself though. Maki gave some good
insights about how when you first start something it is hard to see how you
can enjoy it. After awhile, you start to understand and enjoy it. This really
made sense to him.
This summer, as I have some time off from part-time teaching, I would like to
help Maki's dad with his construction business. Having life-on-life time may
really help Maki's dad to see the joy and love of Christ lived out even more.
We are also praying that this would affect Norihiko too, as they work together
most days.

Let's let God have His say before
the theory of evolution. I like
this one!
http://www.answersingenesis.org/aftereden/cartoons/20010820.gif

The Da Vinci Code and The Origin of the Species

It is interesting how much dust has been raised about all of the "facts" that are so clearly lies, presented in the book, The Da Vinci Code. While I am also disgusted at the gulliablity of the world in general, and the ignorant denial of obvious truths, it is nothing new.

"The Origin of the Species", written by Darwin almost 150 years ago, is still doing far more damage to the truth of the Bible than Dan Brown ever could. The sad thing is is that his "facts" are just as silly. I challenge you to examine the Biblical 6 day creation again. The refusal to believe Genesis has led to the marginalization of the Bible and its credibility throughout the world. As a result, morals and God are no longer absolutes, they are merely figurative stories.

I urge you to get educated - I myself was brainwashed by evolutionary theory. Here is a good place to start - Check out these free online videos from respected scientists.

http://www.theapologiaproject.org/video_library.htm

"Scripture is quite definite that God created the world, and I for one believe that to be a fact, not fiction. There is no evidence, scientific or otherwise to support the theory of evolution." - Sir Cecil Wakeley, K.B.E., C.B., LL.D., M.CH., Doctor of Science, F.R.C.S., past president of Royal College of Surgeons of Great Britain.

Does Creation Matter to you?

Satan knows that how people view Genesis will have a great impact on how they view the rest of the Bible. If he can cause us to give in to "Science", he can in turn cause us to question the whole Bible as a literal book. "Why not assume that the rest is not figurative as well, especially if there is 'Scientific Evidence' to back it up?"

Let's support our Biblical foundations by being educated!
Watch this (2 hour) debate to learn about the side that you usually are not allowed to hear: the Christian perspective:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5704936945236828793&q=creation+debate

If you just want hear some shorter answers that the media and public schools don't want you to hear, here is a short online video (1 hour):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8629177331136877922&q=creation+debate

God at the Zoo

Being a science teacher (part-time) at KIU, I have studied about evolution quite a bit, especially lately. Nothing however convinces me more of the utter impossiblity of macro-evolution than seeing real living examples in action. (See below) How utterly creative our God is to make so many things "after their own kind"! They are all so different!

You don't see mixes of birds and reptiles. You don't see half monkeys and half humans. You see birds, you see reptiles and you see apes. All are disctinctly made and separate. Of course you do have varities; even my 2nd graders know this. Is a zebra related to a horse? YES! Of course they certainly came from a similar ancestor, since they are able to breed with one another. (Their offspring are almost always sterile, however.) Their common ancestor was likely taken on the ark before the flood, thus preserving the "horse kind".

What amazes me is that some people still think that human beings from different races come from different ancestors. For example, Maki and I were talking to a friendly man at a restaurant last week. He commented that Europeans probably came from the Neandertals and Japanese probably came from Peking Man or a simlar species. How foolish! (Not to mention that Neandertals were proven to be fully human genetically and Peking Man(kind?) is little less than a few shattered fragments of bones) I told him, "Did you know that the difference genetically between any two human beings on this earth is less than the difference between any two monkeys living in Africa greater than 20 miles apart?" (according to the Discovery Channel special on this topic) That is an amazing statistic that shows that all of mankind must be traced to the same ancestors. Of course, we who believe the Bible already know that. It is Adam and Eve!

I encourage everyone to continue to make yourself aware of the innummerable falacies and outright lies that many teachers of evolution are teaching our students today. It is an outright attack against Genesis and the trustworthiness of God Himself and will have eternal ramifications. In the meantime, please enjoy God's wonderful creation as captured at the Tennoji zoo in Osaka.

Check out this wonderfully useful message on evangelism in Japan!


http://www.answersingenesis.org/events/bio.aspx?Speaker_ID=7

All-Star for God

St. Louis Cardinals 1999 All-Star pitcher Kent Bottenfield recently came to our church and school in Japan! I thought that he was simply coming to help out and minister to our baseball team (which he did for a whole week), but then I was surprised to hear that he is also a professional Christian singer - and a VERY talented one at that. It was a true joy to be able to personally talk with him after his "mini-concert" at our church. He took the time to talk with me personally for 15-20 minutes after the service and more later too. He reminded me so much of my brother Gary, so I told Kent that I miss my brother Gary so much being here as a missionary. He told me that he would send a CD and an autograph picture to my brother Gary, who was also a good pitcher (not All-Star level though!) and collects autographs. He ended up giving me a free CD too! Please listen to this very kind, very humble and very talented man of God on his website www.kbott.com - Enjoy!

May God use each of our talents, big and small to show His love to others for His glory.