Hope Story
Many people in Japan live like this man once did - without any hope. They know that money and materialism is not enough. And then sometimes, all of a sudden, a miracle happens to start to change everything.

Testimony of Pastor Sato from Fukushima
He lost his four chapels, his house, all of his possessions, many friends and his whole community; but he has not lost His hope and love for God.
Listen here.

Why You Should Consider Long-Term Missions over Short-Term Missions
by Darren Carlson
I have seen with my own eyes or know of houses in Latin America that have been painted 20 times by 20 different short-term teams; fake orphanages in Uganda erected to get Westerners to give money; internet centers in India whose primary purpose is to ask Westerners for money; children in African countries purposefully mutilated by their parents so they would solicit sympathy while they beg; a New England-style church built by a Western team in Cameroon that is never used except when the team comes to visit; and slums filled with big-screen TVs and cell phone towers.
I have seen or know of teams of grandmothers who go to African countries and hold baby orphans for a week every year but don't send a dime to help them otherwise; teams who build houses that never get used; teams that bring the best vacation Bible school material for evangelism when the national church can never bring people back to church unless they have the expensive Western material; teams that lead evangelistic crusades claiming commitments to Christ topping 5,000 every year in the same location with the same people attending.
Short-term missions is fraught with problems, and many wish such trips did not exist, at least in the common form today. Writing in his book Toxic Charity, Robert Lupton says, "Contrary to popular belief, most missions trips and service projects do not: empower those being served, engender healthy cross-cultural relationships, improve quality of live, relieve poverty, change the lives of participants [or] increase support for long-term missions work."

Read the rest...

10 Tools to be a Great Father
Great stuff here. Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there... especially my own. Love ya, Dad!

Unchurched Cities in Japan
For those who are praying for Japan, please pray for these cities - and for missionaries and the gospel to go there!

70 Years Ago, This June
The Battle of Midway was nearly lost. Japan had by far the more experienced, well-armed and equipped Navy. So what happened? Now you can view the battle in an incredibly modern way (see below).

Personally, I see the providence of God all over this battle. When I think of our spiritual battle against the evil spiritual forces in Japan, this kind of video gives me much insight. I encourage you to watch.

How I Pray each Morning
I commend this prayer to you (that I learned from John Piper). Personally, it has allowed me to focus on the things I should focus on as I approach the Bible each morning:

"I use the acrostic I. O. U. S as I come to the Bible.

I. Incline my hear to your testimonies. Psalm 119:36 (Since my heart is inclined to sleep and to work and to lots of things other than the Bible.)
O. Open my eyes to see wonders in your word. Psalm 119:18 (Since my heart is so often dull and blind to the wonders of the word.)
U. Unite my heart to fear your name. Psalm 86:11 (Since my heart is often divided and distracted in many directions)
S. Satisfy me with your steadfast love. Psalm  90:14 (Since my heart is so tempted to be satisfied in other things.)" - John Piper

I encourage you to print this off. As you begin praying this each day you will soon memorize the verses and will not the paper any more.

Families who are Together stay Together
One of the main things I got from a recent conference was this thought: "It is not the actual things you do together a family so much as the quality of time together as a family that makes the difference."

Are we vegging out in front of a TV together, or am I truly communicating with my wife and children and enjoying them personally?

I used to believe that "the family that prays together stays together." Obviously that is quite simplistic and unrealistic. In truth, the family that spends enough quality time together in communication will be able to form the depth of relationship needed to grow together and pray together each day. Even for families that are really busy, simply turning off the TV and shutting down the computer for an evening or two a week can do wonders!

My kids and wife need to see me live my life for Jesus, not just hear a good message or devotion time. They need to see me repenting for my mistakes, not just hear me telling them what to do. My kids and wife need to see practical acts of love, not just words and good intentions. The crux of the issue: My family is the best way for me to grow, the most important ministry to be involved in, and my most important legacy. What we do at home, with the family, really matters.

Letter to a 12-Year-Old Girl About the Eternal Destiny of Those Who Have Not Heard the Gospel
From John Piper:

Dear [Sarah],
You asked what happens to people who live far away from the gospel and have never heard about Jesus and die without faith in him. Here is what I think the Bible teaches.

 God always punishes people because of what they know and fail to believe. In other words, no one will be condemned for not believing in Jesus who has never heard of Jesus. Does that mean that people will be saved and go to heaven if they have never heard of Jesus? No, that is not what God tells us in the Bible.

The main passage in the Bible that talks about this is Romans 1:18–23. Here is what it says. Then I'll make a comment or two.

 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Notice several things: All people "know God," even if they have never heard the Bible. "What can be known about God is plain to them" (verse 19). "Although they knew God..." (verse 21). The way they know God is by the way God has made the world and their own consciences (verses 19–20). Even though they know God, no one who knows God anywhere in the world "honors God as God or gives him thanks" (verse 21). Instead, they "suppress the truth" (verse 18). That is, they resist the truth deep in their hearts and "exchange it" for other things that they would rather have (verse 23). Therefore, they are "without excuse" (verse 20). That is, they are guilty and deserved to be punished.

 So I don't think the Bible teaches that people can be saved without hearing the gospel. Look at what Paul says in Romans 10:13–17. You need to hear the gospel to be saved. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

So let's pray for missionaries and ask God if maybe we should be one. The world really needs more people to tell all the lost people in the world about Jesus and the amazing good news that he died for sinners so that whoever believes will be saved.

Thank you for your good question. Keep praying and reading your Bible. God will give you growing understanding.
Pastor John

Jim Downing on Meditation
Back in my early 20s, I met Jim Downing of the Navigators at a training program. What a rich store of wisdom Jim passed into my life. Immediately I made Bible reading my #1 priority every morning and every night. What a difference this has made to me. Now at 99 years of age, Jim passes a lifetime of close walk with God to us in this video. You can get his e-book for only $1.99

Finish the Mission: John Piper interviews David Platt

"More to Life than That"

Let's Keep Praying for Japan!
Great video and information here.

Is Japan Really Unreached? Japan has Toyota, Sony and McDonald's. Surely it has Jesus, right? Wrong. Is Japan really an unreached country? Could such an advanced, rich country truly be unreached? The short answer, yes. In fact, Japan was only recently passed as the largest unreached people group in the world. (It is now #2.) In the scale below, Japan is rated as a 1.2.  Please pray for us and for Japan.

Stage	Level	Level Description
Unreached / Least-Reached Less than 2% Evangelicals and Less than 5% Christian Adherents	1.1	Very few, if any, known Evangelicals. Professing Christians less than or equal to 5%.
	1.2	Evangelicals greater than 0.01%, but less than or equal to 2%. Professing Christians less than or equal to 5%.
Formative / Nominal Church Less than 2% Evangelicals and Greater than 5% Christian Adherents	2.1	Very few, if any, known Evangelicals. Professing Christians greater than 5%.
	2.2	Evangelicals greater than 0.01%, but less than or equal to 2%. Professing Christians greater than 5%.
Significant / Established Church Greater than 2% Evangelicals	3.1	Evangelicals greater than 2%, but less than or equal to 5%.
	3.2	Evangelicals greater than 5%.

Baby to 12 in 2:45.
Check this out - 12 years in less than 3 minutes. This mom took a short video once a week for 12 years. Wow, talk about patience!

Chuck Colson's Story

Be Fully Missional

Why Disbelieve a Young Earth?
The issue of science and the Bible is increasingly becoming vital in our desire to help the secularized to Christ. It is for that reason I post the following.

Dr. Jud Davis:

I would ask my evangelical brothers some basic questions. If the text of Genesis 1-2 does not mean to teach traditional chronology and twenty-four-hour days,

1. Why does Jesus take Genesis 1-2 as teaching history (Mt. 19:4, Mark 10:6)?
2. Why does Paul take it as history (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 11:8-9; 15:21-22; 15:45; 1 Tim. 2:12-14)?
3. Why do nearly all world-class Hebraists assume that the writer of Genesis intended normal days and the text as history?
4. Why did the ancient, medieval, and modern church- until about 1800- have few commentators (if any) who believed in an ancient universe?
5. Why do all of the ancient translations and paraphrases, such as the Aramaic Targums, take the words at face value and translate them as "days," with no hint that they might mean "ages" in Genesis 1?
6. Why is there little or no classical Rabbinic support for an ancient universe?
7. Why are there well-qualified PhD scientists who still support physical data as consistent with young-earth view?

Nobody has provided me with answers that point to anything but a traditional view of the original meaning. Anyone who says that a closer study of Hebrew leads elsewhere is simply incorrect.

-Quoted from Answers Magazine, April-June, 2012.

20 MILLION TONS OF DEBRIS

By Neil Verwey, long-time missionary in Japan:

Up to 20 million tons of tsunami debris floating from Japan could arrive on Hawaii's shores as early as 2013 according to estimates by the University of Hawaii.

Jan Hafner, a scientific computer programmer, told The Associated Press that the research projections show the debris would reach the coasts of Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Canada by 2014.

The field of debris is spread out across an area that's roughly 2,000 miles long and 1,000 miles wide.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake produced the sort of devastation Japan hadn't seen since World War II, leaving more than 21,000 dead or injured. The tsunami that followed engulfed the northeast and wiped out entire towns.

The waves inundated the Fukushima plant, triggering the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. However, it's highly unlikely that the tsunami-generated debris is contaminated with radioactive material.

“We are trying to get across our message that the debris is coming and it's about time to start planning some action,” Hafner said.

There is something more crucial than 20 tons of debris to prepare for!

For in the days before the flood,

people were eating and drinking,

marrying and giving in marriage,

up to the day Noah entered the ark;

and they knew nothing about what would happen

 until the flood came and took them all away.

That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Therefore keep watch,

because you do not know on what day

your Lord will come

(Matt. 24:38-42, NIV).

The return of the Son of God is imminent!

Are you eager and ready to welcome Him, the Creator of the universe, with open arms?

Stories of Great Hope Beginning to Come
God always brings spring after the winter. He always brings flowers after the frost. Enjoy these moments of grace.

Funny Statement of the Day

The extent of the neo-Darwinist deception is painful at times.
Fox News:
 "A catastrophic flood on Earth is spoken of in many ancient cultures: in Sumerian, Babylonian, Greek, Hindu, Gallic, Scandinavian and Chinese legends. Some even predate the Old Testament.

The odd thing, Zimansky says, is that even though there are written accounts of the flood in all these cultures, archaeologists have yet to find evidence of it."

Read more

Our "Small" Part in God's Kingdom
If you've ever felt insignificant in your work for God's kingdom, I encourage you to read this post from a good friend of mine who is a fellow missionary:

My brother owns a construction business and builds houses.  He skyped me this week and we got to talking about God’s timing and our faithfulness.  We don’t always know His timing or at what stage we are in His Kingdom planning in the history of a people group.  He said the architect has the idea and plan in his mind of how he hopes the finished house will look.  The construction starts, and you don’t always notice all the different stages a house goes through when its built.  And all the different kinds of people that prepare it and work toward its completion.  And those who are there to showcase the house in all its glory often hear the oo’s and aahs’ of those who see the finished work of the house.  Yet we often forget about the critical work of those whose work we can’t really see anymore.  For example, the foundation of concrete, those guys are the first one’s out to dig the site and fill in the basement, but they’re long gone by the time the finishing touches are being put on the place. But every stage, like that of the concrete guys, is so crucial.  Again, we each play just a small part in His overall, big, sure plan for His Kingdom.  May we each embrace our ‘small part’ and be faithful in it.

The Messiness of Meaningful Relationships

Today I read Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

This verse reminds me of the old adage, “No pain, no gain,”  though I believe it cuts a bit deeper.

Last Sunday I preached a message on God’s sovereignty.
Though it is a tough topic to cover in such a short time, I knew it would be worth it. Because it is not a simple topic it could result in some messiness,
and yet it could result in people seeing and savoring God’s majesty more.
I hope that it did more of that than the former!

Though relationships with other sinful people may also sometimes be hard,
and though sometimes we may want to run away from all the messiness,
people are also worth it. They are worth the frustration, disappointments and struggles.

I am encouraged by this verse to stick with people through their messiness.
Someday, even later today(?), I may be quite messy as well.
I sure am glad God sticks with us, by His grace and love.
It would be easier not to have an oxen, and not have to clean up their mess so often, but the abundant blessings that come only through hard times would never be found.

UPDATE: Here is a good follow-up word.


(This blog is cross-posted at the ICM blog.)

Rejoicing in God's Sovereignty
For those of you who are interested, here is my message from last Sunday.
May it fill you with greater joy in our great God.

Interesting Exchange  
 One News Now:
Ray Comfort, a Christian evangelist of The Way of the Master, chatted about his book, Hitler, God and the Bible, and the film, 180, when he was invited on Carole Lieberman's radio program, "Dr. Carole's Couch." When he discussed with Lieberman the motives behind the Holocaust, the issue of abortion, and Charles Darwin, Comfort left the psychologist struggling for the right words:

Comfort: Do you think it's a baby in the womb?

Lieberman: At a certain time it is. It isn't at the beginning.

Comfort: Well, at what point does it become a baby?

Lieberman: Well, you know, I can't remember right now -- like five weeks or something. There's some point at which it has a heartbeat, and at that point is when -- and I think that that's around five weeks.

Comfort: Yeah, you're right. It's about five or six weeks… So, finish the sentence for me Carole: 'It's okay to kill a baby in the womb when ...'

Lieberman: Before, well, I mean, you know, again, I can't say; I'm not going to say that it's just okay before five weeks, if that's what you're getting at.

Comfort: No, no -- they kill babies right up to about 19, 20 weeks. So, there's really no justification for killing a baby. Just have it adopted.

What is Being Done Now?
Great work being done by these guys.  I'm thinking about joining with them the first week in April.

This is Amazing
Watch with new technology how a baby miraculously develops.

Born to Save Us

  "Hiromi Sato holds her son, Haruse, as they pose in front of a destroyed Minamisanriku town hospital, where a boat still perches atop the 5-story building, in Minamisanriku, on March 3, 2012. Hiromi gave birth to her son at the Ishinomaki Red Cross hospital on March 11, 2011, the same day the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. In a fortunate twist of fate, her husband Kenji Sato, a wiry descendant of fishermen in his coastal hometown of Minamisanriku, took time off from work to see their third child, Haruse, born at the hospital in the nearby port city. A year on, the Satos, who all survived the tsunami are planning a quiet birthday with some cake and ice cream for the child who, his grandmother Kazuko insists, "was born to save us". (Reuters/Yuriko Nakao) # 

See more pictures & stories here.