The How, When and Why of Creation
Listen to this head-on message by Dr. John MacArthur.  I found it very helpful in my own study of creation.

(Note:  Stay tuned until the end of the message when you can learn how to receive a free copy of the book, "How Can I Trust the Bible?")

Go to/ Pray for Passion Tokyo 2008!
Click here for more!

Phillip Johnson - An interview with NOVA (PBS)

"A philosophy of naturalism or materialism is what generates the Darwinian theory. It's what generates the certainty that only unintelligent natural forces were involved in evolution, which is to say in the creative process that brought our kind into existence as well as all the animals and all the plants. That is all a non-negotiable claim on their part. And why is it a non-negotiable claim? Because if the naturalistic starting point isn't valid—if it isn't completely correct—then something else must have happened. What is that something else? It's something that they don't like that might get a foothold in science itself.

"Maybe the creator is something more than an imaginary projection of people's minds. Maybe a creator is a necessary part of reality."

Q: Are there social consequences to this philosophy of naturalism or materialism that you describe?
Johnson: Yes, absolutely. Now, these consequences may be good or they may be bad. And they are attractive to some people and unattractive to others. For example, the naturalistic viewpoint is praised by those who like it for its tendency to liberate us from religious authority.
Q: But what's the negative side? My understanding is you see not the positive side of materialism but the negative side.
Johnson: I'm happy to concede that there is a positive way of looking at something and a negative way of looking at something. The negative side is that the naturalistic viewpoint leaves the way open for a kind of freedom from divine authority, a kind of moral anarchy."

Read the whole thing here.
This article was also helpful in remembering that ideology plays a big role in media (ie. PBS) as well as in "science".

Which Battle is more Real?

Before I got home tonight I was listening to a CD from the David Crowder Band.  One of the songs had this refrain:  "Life makes it so hard sometimes to know what's real."   I was reading a general missionary prayer card today when one line struck me.  It read, "Missionaries are like soldiers on the front lines of a fierce battle."

The two phrases came together and hit me so hard that I had to get it out in writing.  What blew open my heart was the sense that we should be saying and feeling something very different about missions.  Wouldn't a phrase like this be much more accurate:  "Missionaries ARE (not like) soldiers on the front lines of a fierce battle, bigger than any other."

Now hear me out.  Missionaries do not use guns or bombs, but the spiritual battle that we fight together with God's people is more real and more crucial than any physical battle!  (See Ephesians 6) The spiritual battle for souls going on around us every day is infinitely more important and more costly than the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan.  I can say it that bluntly because people who die in this battle don't just lose an 80 year earthly life, they lose an ETERNITY with God in heaven!   It is time for us Christians to wake up to this fact and reckon with its implications for our daily lives.  Which battles do you spend more time thinking about and praying about?  Political or spiritual?

Ten years ago, before I came to Japan, I read a book called, "Unveiled at Last - Discover God's Hidden Message from Genesis to Revelation" by Bob Sjogren.  The book was so-so, but its content was what has changed the course of my life.  In the book, Sjogren highlights this heart-exposing story:

  [I was] seated in one of the largest fundamental congregations in the country.  The morning service was smoothly orchestrated; I had relaxed in genuine meditative praise while enjoying a sweeping choral anthem in preparation for the biblical message.  Glancing at the order of service in the bulletin, I saw that Greg Livingstone was scheduled to give a "missions minute."
  "Right," I thought.  "This guy's really going to be able to say something significant in 60 seconds.  The one-minute missionary."
  The anthem ended and a square man who looked like a boxer stepped up to the podium.  Without so much as an introduction he asked, "How many of you are praying for the 52 American hostages in Iran?"
  I, of course, raised my hand.  All present raised their hands.  "Wow, that's terrific," he said.  "There must be 4,000 people here."
  "Now, let's be honest; Jesus is watching.  How many of you," the boxer continued, "are praying for the 45 million Iranians held captive in Islam?"
  One hand slowly went up.  Two hands.
  "What?  Only two people?" he yelled.  "What are you guys Americans first and believers second?"  The ensuing silence was not smoothly orchestrated.  It was a powerful 60 seconds I will never forget.  He closed by saying, "And I thought this was a Bible-believing church!" and then sat down!

Don't know about you, but I'm off to pray for my Muslim friends!  (... by the way, feel free to join me by going to the 30 days of prayer team as I share about below.)

Moral Disqualification

Why Barak Obama fails the test to be president.

This is perhaps the most important post that I have ever seen about why no sane person should vote for Barak Obama.  Be sure to watch the video at the end.

HT: Vit. Z

Pray for Muslims

1.4 billion (1 out of every 5 people on the planet) are Muslim.

Yesterday, Muslims around the globe started RAMADAN- the holy month of fasting.

Muslims will fast from dawn til dusk each day- not eating or drinking anything during the day. They will often break fast together. They will also try to read thru the entire Quran.

The purpose of Ramadan is purify one's self and draw near to God. 

Below is a link where you can sign up to get a daily email over the next 28 days- it will be a short story and/ or description of a Muslim country and then ask you to pray.

Please consider joining us as we cry out for these precious people who are created in the image of God- just as we are- and desperately need Jesus - just as we do!

 

You can subscribe at this website:   http://lists.bfp-listen.de/mailman/listinfo/30-days

WingClips.com

This looks to be a super helpful resource... and it is FREE!

WingClips.com basically gives short clips of movie scenes that one could use to spark discussions or aid in Bible studies or messages.

Speaking in Iowa

I have enjoyed casting the vision for missions at several churches this summer. I pray that it causes many to groan less for their own little pains and more for the pains of the world Christ came to save. I pray that we would live less for our own little kingdom, and more for the great kingdom of God. This world ends, but God's kingdom never will. May we live with an eternal perspective in all we do.

Going back to Japan will be tough. It is never easy to leave your own country and your own dear family and friends. However, when I look at the big picture and the big kingdom, there is not a more exciting work and a more important place that I could be than in Japan. I am thankful that I can be one part of God's great team that is extending His kingdom in this world. This team will one day win the only gold medal that will never tarnish. Alleluia!

Men's Bootcamp

男の人はみんな、本当の男になりたいと思ってる。他の人からの尊敬と憧れも欲しい。でも、神様の目から見て本当の男って何だ？

Every man wants to be regarded as a "real man". We want to feel as if others look on us with respect and admiration. What does it take to be a real man in God's eyes?

Watch this series of messages from Japan's fastest growing church to learn more. How badly is this message needed in Japan and in America today!

Dying Protestantism

This was a powerful article on why mainline Protestant churches are dying.

The Heartbeat of God
UPDATE: Listen to this message here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
(This is the message I will give tomorrow at my parent's church in Iowa.)

First and last words are important.

What was the first instruction that God gave to mankind?

Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” and v. 28 says, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth...”

So from the very beginning God had a very clear reason for making people. They were to be missionaries - emissaries of His blessing and goodness.

His purpose was to make little reflectors of His goodness and glory. First he would bless them in His goodness and glory, and then they would multiply and fill the earth - to bless the rest of the earth with His goodness and glory.

God’s plan was never for His people to stay in one place and simply revel in their own blessing and glory.

He planned and still plans for us to go public with his amazing glory and goodness in all the nations.

Of course we know that the people didn’t go along with this, they sinned and soon the whole world was corrupt.

Genesis 6:5 says, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

This is very sad, but as we will see God is sovereign and his plans do not fail.

God started over with the same promise to Noah after the worldwide flood.

Genesis 9:1 says, “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

Do you see any pattern here? It is not hard to see what is on God’s heart. This isn’t just Mark’s missionary deal.

Then at the tower of Babel the people purposefully decide to stay in one place and build a tower for their OWN glory! This is the exact opposite of God’s initial plan.

Of course through men’s sin, God highlights His own mercy and sovereignty as He scatters the peoples and their languages, making great diversity which one day would become a beautiful tapestry of diversity in God’s kingdom.

Finally God chooses one man, named Abraham to bless, so that he and his seed after him would bless the whole world.

God said, “Go (Abraham) from your country (LEAVE)... to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, SO THAT you will be a blessing... in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3)

Notice the words, “so that”. God blesses us for a very specific reason: So that we get to enjoy being a blessing to others also.

Has God blessed you today financially, or spiritually? You are also blessed to enjoy being a blessing to all the nations.

This great promise God made to Abraham, was promised again to Isaac and Jacob and David - that through their seed/ offspring, blessing would come to all the families of the earth.

In reading Galatians we see that Jesus is the seed who would fill all nations with his salvation and glory.

And as Christians this blessing has become ours.

Remember last words are important?

What were Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven?

“All authority has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 28:18-19)

This is the heartbeat of God you can see over and over throughout the Bible. God has a plan that CANNOT fail and it is guaranteed with promises.

For example, Psalm 86:8-9, “All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O LORD, and shall glorify your name.”

And Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

In Revelation we are allowed to see the fulfillment of God’s grand purposes, even before it happens,
“And they sang a new song, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9)

Jesus will fulfill all the promises of God and God’s plan will not fail.

I want to be a part of that invincible plan of God, don’t you?

Seeing this great plan in the Bible for myself was one of the key things God used in my life to get me to Japan as a missionary 9 years ago.

No one wants to join a company that they know will ultimately go bankrupt. No one joins a team knowing that they will never win.

We want to be part of a championship team and we never want it to end. This is the team and the work that God wants you to join.

You cannot waste time or money or energy investing in this work.

The promise is definite and as we read these verses from Revelation, some people FROM all ethnic and languages and people groups will become Christians before the end.

Will you be a part of God’s great unstoppable plan for the world?

Now I am not saying that everyone here should be a missionary in another country.

What I am saying is that not participating in some way in God’s heartbeat is disobedience and a surrender of your greatest joy on earth.

We need senders – people to pray and give and mobilize, just as much and more than we need people who go.

Actually, to make it possible, we will need more people to stay than to go.

We need people who are passionate about going and people passionate about giving.

We need people like my friend Curt who makes lots of money so that he can give lots of money to the global cause of Christ.

He realizes that all that he has is a gift, not simply for temporary selfish pleasure, but for him to enjoy blessing others eternally.

There is a battle going on right now. It is a battle over what you will do with this message. It is a battle for eternal souls in all the nations, over real people who have never heard the good news of salvation in Christ.

This battle is a war and it is bigger than any war going on now. It is bigger than World War 2 or any possible World War 3, because the people who die in this war don’t just lose an arm or a leg or an earthly life, they lose their soul in hell forever.

John Piper, a man who has inspired me a great deal into missions writes:

“The crying need of the hour – every hour – is to put the churches on a wartime footing. Mission leaders are crying out, “Where is the church? Where is the mighty army, moving ahead with God’s glorious plan for all the nations?”
The answer is that it has been swallowed up with a peacetime mentality. Thousands of Christians do not hear the diabolical bombs dropping and the bullets zinging overhead. They don’t cringe or weep over the thousands who perish every week apart from the gospel. In fact, it is not dark, they say. It is bright and comfortable and cheery – just look at my home and car and office and cabin and boat. And listen to my stereo and look at my new video equipment. The need of the hour is a global wartime mentality.”

The weapons of our warfare are not guns and bombs, but they are prayer and the loving ministry of God’s Word, which has the power to save and bring life.

So how do you look at Japan, for example?

Do you simply see a peaceful and prosperous nation? Or do you see it as a place in great need of salvation?

Let’s look at this map. The red shows the places where 97% of the people who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ live. Sadly only 25% of all foreign missionaries go to these areas.

How does God look at the world? He sees in general a very blessed and wealthy America, and a very needy Asia and Africa.

He has given us great spiritual and financial blessings in order that we would be a blessing to these nations.

He has allowed many nations to have poverty, sickness and hunger, and even a need for English (like in Japan), so that Christians might meet these needs and have an inroad to share their greater need of salvation from hell.

Let us not divorce missions from the good news, ever. Let us not turn missions merely into a humanitarian effort.

On the other hand, let us not be people who simply come with words and not with practical blessing.

God has blessed you materially and spiritually, to be an eternal blessing to the world.

Do not be like the people at Babel: rich, fat and lazy; eager only to make a name for themselves and their own successes.

I encourage you to use your resources of time, money and energy to make a name for God among all the nations.

Make His glory and the news of His great salvation the main passion of your life. This is only plan that will ultimately not fail.

Now some of you are being called to become missionaries today. It takes no guesswork in a congregation of this size. Don’t let that calling go by without talking to someone about it today.

At first I did not want to go to Japan. I love my family and my friends and I love Iowa! But God showed me that the greatest blessing was not in these things, but in the blessing that He has for me as I follow Him and His plan.

There is not a more wonderful and exciting, or safe place you can be than in God’s great plan for your life.

For the majority of you who are not called to become overseas missionaries, I want to give a final word of application and encouragement.

I want to encourage you to be a champion whose dream does not fail.

In your giving and in your heart of prayer for the nations, leave a legacy to your kids that will last as you enter eternity. Don’t simply leave a legacy of worldly successes.

Use your youth, use your retirement, use your strong years to further God’s great work.

Lastly, please check out the great ministries here today. We would love to have you partner with us in reaching Japan for Christ. Missionaries cannot do it without your love, encouragement, prayers and contributions.

Take our prayer card and sign up for our monthly e-mail updates.

You will never regret joining in God’s grand purposes for the nations.

Let’s pray. – Dear God, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. We pray that you would send workers into your harvest field. Not just missionaries, but senders and prayer warriors. Ultimately, you do the work God, in us and through us. We can do nothing apart from you.
Thank you that we can be involved with a plan and a dream that cannot fail.

The Confessions of St. Augustine - Free

When a book sticks around for 1600 years, you know it is an important book! As for me, I have been greatly benefitted by Augustine's thought and amazing God-centeredness over the years. Here is one quote that has made me think a lot: "He loves Thee to little, O God, who loves Thee together with anything else, which he loves not for Thy sake."

In my love for family and friends in America, and America itself, I must not forget to love them all IN God and for His sake. If I love them together with God, for their own sake, (independent of God) I get very tempted to stay in America and forget to pursue the great blessings God has for me and for the people of Japan. Not only do I end up loving God less, but I love my friends, family and country less. That being said, there is a lot of pain in following God's best and most wonderful path.

To download the free audio book go here, look for the free download section, and put in the code AUG2008

The Modesty Survey

I have been reading a little bit of "Do Hard Things - A teenage rebellion against low expectations" by Alex and Brett Harris, two teenage guys who are challenging their generation to not coast through the teenage years. Their message is a much needed one for any culture - especially America and Japan.

Being that it is summer, I thought the survey they made might be helpful for women to understand men, and how we think, more.

Check out their great website here.
Check out the "Modesty Survey" they conducted here.
Buy the book here.

Memories of Foundations being Laid

Being back in Iowa I am being reminded of many things that I have not thought about or seen or tasted(!) in years. A couple days ago I bought a book of poems that I remembering hearing read to me by my teacher in 1st grade. Of course the poems brought back a lot of memories themselves. It is good to see how the moral of some of these poems set me up to value what I do today and devalue the lesser "kings" that the world tries to set up for us.

Listen to this poem by Shel Silverstein:

The Search
"I went to find the pot of gold
That's waiting where the rainbow ends.
I searched and searched and searched and searched
And searched and searched and then -
There it was, deep in the grass,
Under an old and twisty bough.
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine at last....
What do I search for now?"

Watch Rudy's Missionary Videos
Now you can watch all of Rudy's videos online in an easier way. Click here to see our missionary video, as well as other trips Rudy has made to see us and bless us.

Family Picture Time

Christianity in the World Today

Last Day of School!

Happy 4th!
I love the U.S. and I love Cedar Rapids.  We can't wait to see you soon.

I'm sure you've seen this before but...
I hadn't.  Maki and I were both so impressed that these days one can literally reach the world!  Just being able to dance and share joy with people from so many countries multiplies joy in amazing ways!  What would it mean to share the full and eternal joy of Christ with all the nations!  This is the amazing plan that God welcomes us into!  What a wonderful plan.

How significant is missions?
"How should you feel about the global purpose of Jesus Christ to be glorified among all the nations? You should feel like this cause is the consummation of your significance in life. Many other things are important in life. But this is the largest cause of all. Every follower of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings embraces this purpose and finds the consummation of his reason for living in being a part of this great purpose of God to be glorified among all the nations."   - John Piper


Listen, watch or read the entirety of this recent message.

This is a good sign.（命のパン）

"Kakure Kurisuchan" - Hidden Christians of Japan

For nearly 300 years Japan was the most closed country on the face of the earth. Read a brief history of what happened to those families who decided to hide their faith and who they are today.

The Bible in Kanji (Chinese characters)?



Many Japanese Christians know that hidden in many of the Chinese characters that Japanese use are pointers to Biblical history. The tower of Babel, Noah's flood, etc. can be seen in this ancient text. If you have never heard of this before, I encourage you to take a look here. I don't agree with a lot of what this blogger wrote, but I do get excited about the origin of kanji! I think it is a great tool to show the authenticity of Biblical history.

If hell is real, how can God be loving?

As I was watching ABC News online today, the story about George Carlin's death came up. They "tried" to play some of his less blasphemous work. The final sketch was of him joking about why religion is such a farce. He said, "How can there be a man in the sky watching everything I do. He watches and says, 'Keep these 10 rules!' If you don't he says, 'You will go to a burning hell forever!' Then he says, 'But wait, I love you.'"
The next shot is Melissa Vargas laughing right along. I just shook my head in sadness.

So what is the answer? Is the answer that God is not loving? Is the answer that there is no real eternal hell? No. Neither of these answers are Biblical. The answer is that God's love is not George Carlin-centered. God's love is gloriously God-centered.

Listen to John Piper answer here.

Water-Powered Car Demonstrated in Japan

Click here to learn more.

Japan's suicide rate nears record high

Japan is still a spiritually poor country. Please remember our dear Japanese friends in your prayers.

It is interesting to note, where atheism reigns so does suicide and abortion.

Good-O-Meter

More Evolution Foolishness

I guess we can't go fishing anymore. I might kill my relatives!

Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

Listen to my friend, a pastor in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, speak of the hope
we have in the midst of a 500-year flood.

Listen here to Eric Schumacher