Obedient Children
When I think about the words “Obedient Children,” I think of the third commandment. “Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.” Since it was recently mother’s day, I thought I would write about the other half of that mother-child set. Just like the strong mothers, there were children who have been talked about in the bible who were strong in their faith and righteousness, even in the roughest times, and were incredibly blessed for it.
The first example I can think of is Joseph, the second-youngest son of Jacob, who was incredibly obedient and loyal to his father. He was so loyal, in fact, that Jacob made him a magnificent multi-colored coat, which made his older brothers very jealous. Even his father scolded him when he told his family of the dreams he was having.
Genesis 37: 9-10 (Message) He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: "I dreamed another dream--the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!" When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: "What's with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?"
When he was sold into slavery by his brothers at around seventeen years old, Joseph continued to remain strong in his faith in God, and continued to be blessed with the gifts of receiving visions and translating dreams. In this way, he showed that he was not only obedient to his parents, but also to God. Through his constant obedience, throughout the temptations he faced (Potiphar’s wife), the hardships he endured (being thrown into prison after being falsely accused), and being brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams, Joseph was blessed with a powerful life. He used not only his influence, but also his God-given gifts, to save thousands of people from starvation during the seven-year famine, including his brothers and their families.
After many years, Joseph and his father were finally reunited, and Joseph was able to give Jacob a comfortable life for the last seventeen years of Jacob’s life. In Genesis 47, at the end of his life, Jacob makes one final request of Joseph.
Genesis 49: 29-31 (Message): When the time came for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said, "Do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh, a sign that you're loyal and true to me to the end. Don't bury me in Egypt. When I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me alongside them." "I will," he said. "I'll do what you've asked." Israel said, "Promise me." Joseph promised. Israel bowed his head in submission and gratitude from his bed.
Because of this promise, and because Joseph hand been a great asset to the kingdom of Egypt, Pharaoh allowed Joseph to take his father’s body back to Canaan to be buried, sending dignitaries and high officials of Egypt along with him to give Jacob a grand funeral procession. Talk about fulfilling your father’s last wish!
In my Mother’s Day post, I talked about Hannah being a strong mother, giving her oldest son, Samuel, to the service of God. Well, Samuel himself is another very strong example of obedience at a young age. Because of the wickedness of the sons of Eli, who were influencing the people to do bad things, God needed a new face of righteousness as an example to the people. Because he was honoring his mother’s promise to God, Samuel strove to do everything correctly, unlike what Eli’s sons were doing. One night, God visited Samuel.
1 Samuel 3: 4-18 (Message) Then God called out, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Yes? I'm here." Then he ran to Eli saying, "I heard you call. Here I am." Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." And so he did. God called again, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, "I heard you call. Here I am." Again Eli said, "Son, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." (This all happened before Samuel knew God for himself. It was before the revelation of God had been given to him personally.) God called again, "Samuel!"--the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, "Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am." That's when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, "Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, "Speak, God. I'm your servant, ready to listen.'" Samuel returned to his bed. Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak. I'm your servant, ready to listen." God said to Samuel, "Listen carefully. I'm getting ready to do something in Israel that is going to shake everyone up and get their attention. The time has come for me to bring down on Eli's family everything I warned him of, every last word of it. I'm letting him know that the time's up. I'm bringing judgment on his family for good. He knew what was going on, that his sons were desecrating God's name and God's place, and he did nothing to stop them. This is my sentence on the family of Eli: The evil of Eli's family can never be wiped out by sacrifice or offering." Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then rose early and went about his duties, opening the doors of the sanctuary, but he dreaded having to tell the vision to Eli. But then Eli summoned Samuel: "Samuel, my son!" Samuel came running: "Yes? What can I do for you?" "What did he say? Tell it to me, all of it. Don't suppress or soften one word, as God is your judge! I want it all, word for word as he said it to you." So Samuel told him, word for word. He held back nothing. Eli said, "He is God. Let him do whatever he thinks best."
Even though that must have been a very difficult message to relate, Samuel passed the test, and went on to be the prophet of the entire Israelite nation. Imagine having to tell your boss, or even your pastor, that because of the sins of his children, he would lose his company or his pastor-ship of the church. Unfortunately, many family businesses do go under because the children are dishonest and steal from the company, making it so that the company loses money and is not able to keep up with expenses without going into debt.
Other examples of obedient children include David and Daniel. They were both quite young when they began their walks with God. David obeyed his father, who gave him the task of taking food and check up on his brothers who were in the army, and was instrumental in saving the entire nation for slavery under the Philistines by defeating Goliath. After becoming an outcast by King Saul, he was anointed as the next king of Israel, and people began to fall in to back him up, forming an army of rebels, although they ultimately worked to help King Saul’s army defeat the Philistines and free the Israelite nation again.
Daniel was taken from his home in Israel to Babylon along with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (their original names were changed upon arriving in Babylon). They refused to eat the rich foods served to them by the king. There was a certain health code within the Law of Moses that they refused to go against. At the end of a ten-day test, the four boys were proven to be much healthier than the other boys who had gone against that health code. Because of their obedience to God’s laws, they were granted high positions of knowledge within the king’s court, and they were found to be much more insightful and wise than any of the other advisors.
Another is an unnamed boy who gave up his five loaves of bread and two fish to Jesus, who used them to perform a miracle, feeding the large crowd and leaving enough for twelve baskets of bread. The faith and obedience of one little boy gave Jesus an opportunity to do a miracle that benefited countless numbers of people. How’s that for faith?
Of course, the greatest example that I can think of in terms of childlike obedience is Jesus Himself. He knew that the end of his mortal life was going to be very tough. He even asked God the Father to get him out of the situation if possible for His plan, but also knew that it was necessary that the things that were about to happen were absolutely essential to the salvation of the entire world – past, present and future – and if these things weren’t done, everyone that had, did, or would live on Earth would be forever damned. There were second thoughts, and Jesus didn’t want it to happen, but he was absolutely obedient, dying on the cross to save everyone.
When I was growing up, there was a song that I grew up singing in kids’ church called “Jesus Once Was A Little Child” that goes like this:
Jesus once was a little child,
A little child like me,
And he was pure and meek and mild,
As a little child should be
He played as little children played
The pleasant games of youth,
And he never got vexed when the game went wrong
And He always told the truth
(Chorus)
So, little children, let’s you and I
Try to be like him, try, try, try.
I’m going to do something that the pastors and speakers at Jesus Lifehouse always do at the end of their messages, and include a prayer for anyone reading this that this has touched, to ask God to grant them the strength, as well as the humility, to once again dedicate themselves to obey God’s word.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the people who are reading this message. Thank you for the opportunity I have to share the word that you have put on my heart to share on my blog. Lord God, if there is anyone reading this right now that needs to recommit themselves to obeying your words, and honoring their parents, bless them with the determination to do that! You’ve said, Lord, that unless we become like little children, we can’t enter your kingdom. Bless these people who may have their hands up and their hearts open to you, Lord Jesus; bless them so that they will continue to improve their lives by following your word in the Bible. I’m including myself in this request, Lord God. I too need to improve myself, with your help, in obeying your commandments and laws more fully. We all need to improve, including me, and I know that through you, all things are possible. We know that no one but you is perfect in the entire universe, but through you we are made free from slavery and death. Thank you, Lord God.
Lord God, I also ask you to touch the heart of anyone reading this who isn’t a Christian yet, who may have been invited to read this blog by a friend, or were guided to find this blog by something else. They may be searching for an answer to some of life’s big questions, or they are facing challenges in their lives that they just can’t seem to overcome. Please, open their hearts to want to know you, to know that you love them. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
If that’s you, then I encourage you to pray the following prayer. It’s a prayer that we encourage everyone at Jesus Lifehouse Church who raises their hand to receive Jesus to say.
Dear Jesus, I believe in you. Thank you for forgiving me. Come into my life, and I will follow you.
If you’ve prayed this prayer, please, tell your Christian friend about the decision you’ve made to become Christian as well. They will be able to continue to guide you. They’ll pray with you, and you’ll be able to begin a whole new life!
Thank you so much for reading this blog! Please, share it with others! This is for the entire world!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
This is an awesome day! Each year, the world recognizes the millions of women who have either been or acted as a parent to a child. That includes all of these:
*Women who have had children and given them up for adoption
*Women who are happily married and raising their own children
*Women who are single mothers, and
*Women who are helping to raise children who are not biologically theirs.
I’m one of the latter, having taken on the challenge of helping my husband to raise his two children. Because of some of the things that have happened to them, Ashley and Vincent have really needed a mother figure in their lives that they know isn’t going to hurt them or allow anyone else to hurt them. Shortly after Kurt and I announced our engagement, they started calling me Mommy. It wasn’t anything that I had asked for, and I was incredibly touched by a comment I heard with Ashley over the phone a couple of months before the engagement even started. “Vincent and I want you to be our mom.” I honestly didn’t know what to say, and all I could do was thank her.
The first example of motherhood in the bible was the first woman, Eve.
*Genesis 3:20 (Message) “The man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.”
*Genesis 4:1-2 (Message) “Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!” Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.”
After the death of Abel and the cursing of Cain, Adam and Eve had Seth and several other children, leading to the beginnings of the population of the entire world.
*Genesis 5: 4 (Message) “After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years, having more sons and daughters.”
Another example of a strong mother is Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She was a barren woman, and her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, had children. Pininnah was cruel to Hannah, flaunting the fact that she had children and Hanna did not. When the family went to Shiloh for a feast and sacrifice to God, Hannah decided to go to the tabernacle to pray.
1 Samuel 1:10-11, 20 (Message) “If you’ll take a good, hard look at my pain, if you’ll quit neglecting me and go into action for me by giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unresentfully to you. I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline. (20) “Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining “I asked God for him.”” Another translation says that Samuel’s name meant “God has heard.”
Would any of us who are mothers be willing or able to be that strong, to give up our children to a life in the service of God at such a young age like Hannah did? Thanks to her sacrifice, not being able to watching her oldest son grow up at home, Samuel grew up to be a prophet for God.
Other examples include Elizabeth, the mother of John The Baptist, Rachel and Leah, the mothers of the 12 sons of Israel, and Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. But the one mother who is most often recognized for her strength was Mary, the mother of Jesus. This woman was not yet married when she discovered she was with child, which could have gotten her killed if Joseph hadn’t understood the position that Mary was in. She had to give birth in a stable, not in the comfort of her home, and she was forced to flee into Egypt with her family to protect the baby from being killed by Herod’s men. She had to watch her son be tortured and killed before her very eyes. Would we have the strength to do all of that?
Several years ago, I heard someone speak about how much he loved his son, and said that if he was asked by someone to give up his son to be killed so that the people in the congregation would be saved, he didn’t think he could do it. Imagine if God had said “No, I won’t give my son up to these evil people in order to save the entire world!” Imagine if Mary had tried to prevent her son from being killed. None of us would have the hope that we have today as Christians.
One thing that my mother always taught me was to watch how the guys I was dating treated their mothers, because that’s how they’ll treat you. My husband’s mother was not the easiest person to get along with, and so they didn’t have a very good relationship. I can see that since meeting my mother, Kurt has grown to love her, and I’m very glad that Mom has accepted him into the family. The way he treats her is the way I hope he always treats me.
One final point I want to make is that we are all sons and daughters of parents who love us, whether we OR they realize it or not! We may have been hurt by our parents in some way, whether physically, emotionally or, in some horrible cases, sexually. In Exodus 20: 12 (Message), God says “Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.”
I encourage all of you who read this to treat your mother the same way every day as you treat her on Mother’s Day, with love and respect. You don’t have to shower her with flowers and gifts and candy every day, but let her know that you love her as much as you can. Have a wonderful day!
This is an awesome day! Each year, the world recognizes the millions of women who have either been or acted as a parent to a child. That includes all of these:
*Women who have had children and given them up for adoption
*Women who are happily married and raising their own children
*Women who are single mothers, and
*Women who are helping to raise children who are not biologically theirs.
I’m one of the latter, having taken on the challenge of helping my husband to raise his two children. Because of some of the things that have happened to them, Ashley and Vincent have really needed a mother figure in their lives that they know isn’t going to hurt them or allow anyone else to hurt them. Shortly after Kurt and I announced our engagement, they started calling me Mommy. It wasn’t anything that I had asked for, and I was incredibly touched by a comment I heard with Ashley over the phone a couple of months before the engagement even started. “Vincent and I want you to be our mom.” I honestly didn’t know what to say, and all I could do was thank her.
The first example of motherhood in the bible was the first woman, Eve.
*Genesis 3:20 (Message) “The man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.”
*Genesis 4:1-2 (Message) “Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!” Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.”
After the death of Abel and the cursing of Cain, Adam and Eve had Seth and several other children, leading to the beginnings of the population of the entire world.
*Genesis 5: 4 (Message) “After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years, having more sons and daughters.”
Another example of a strong mother is Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She was a barren woman, and her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, had children. Pininnah was cruel to Hannah, flaunting the fact that she had children and Hanna did not. When the family went to Shiloh for a feast and sacrifice to God, Hannah decided to go to the tabernacle to pray.
1 Samuel 1:10-11, 20 (Message) “If you’ll take a good, hard look at my pain, if you’ll quit neglecting me and go into action for me by giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unresentfully to you. I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline. (20) “Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining “I asked God for him.”” Another translation says that Samuel’s name meant “God has heard.”
Would any of us who are mothers be willing or able to be that strong, to give up our children to a life in the service of God at such a young age like Hannah did? Thanks to her sacrifice, not being able to watching her oldest son grow up at home, Samuel grew up to be a prophet for God.
Other examples include Elizabeth, the mother of John The Baptist, Rachel and Leah, the mothers of the 12 sons of Israel, and Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. But the one mother who is most often recognized for her strength was Mary, the mother of Jesus. This woman was not yet married when she discovered she was with child, which could have gotten her killed if Joseph hadn’t understood the position that Mary was in. She had to give birth in a stable, not in the comfort of her home, and she was forced to flee into Egypt with her family to protect the baby from being killed by Herod’s men. She had to watch her son be tortured and killed before her very eyes. Would we have the strength to do all of that?
Several years ago, I heard someone speak about how much he loved his son, and said that if he was asked by someone to give up his son to be killed so that the people in the congregation would be saved, he didn’t think he could do it. Imagine if God had said “No, I won’t give my son up to these evil people in order to save the entire world!” Imagine if Mary had tried to prevent her son from being killed. None of us would have the hope that we have today as Christians.
One thing that my mother always taught me was to watch how the guys I was dating treated their mothers, because that’s how they’ll treat you. My husband’s mother was not the easiest person to get along with, and so they didn’t have a very good relationship. I can see that since meeting my mother, Kurt has grown to love her, and I’m very glad that Mom has accepted him into the family. The way he treats her is the way I hope he always treats me.
One final point I want to make is that we are all sons and daughters of parents who love us, whether we OR they realize it or not! We may have been hurt by our parents in some way, whether physically, emotionally or, in some horrible cases, sexually. In Exodus 20: 12 (Message), God says “Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.”
I encourage all of you who read this to treat your mother the same way every day as you treat her on Mother’s Day, with love and respect. You don’t have to shower her with flowers and gifts and candy every day, but let her know that you love her as much as you can. Have a wonderful day!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Jesus Lifehouse Conference Part II
Day 2 – Morning Session
Thursday morning was just as hyped as Wednesday night had been! When I woke up that morning, I was hyped and ready to go! My friend Janet and I had spent the night at the New Sanno U.S. Military hotel near Roppongi, enjoying a delicious Japanese room service breakfast, before I donned my bright pink volunteer T-shirt and we headed off to the Shinjuku Bunka Center to meet all the other volunteers who were waiting outside the building when we got there.
Maya and Kishi, who had coordinated all of the volunteer teams for the whole conference, spearheaded the rally and Lewis led us in a few exercises to get the blood pumping before we all broke off into our individual teams. The only problem was that since Janet wasn’t volunteering, she didn’t have anything to do during the two hours or so that I was busy getting things set up for video and media team, and the hall wasn’t open so she didn’t have anywhere to put her bag, so I ran up to the volunteer room and put both our bags in there before we got started.
After another totally awesome praise and worship session by the JLH band, Pastor Steve gave a message that was mostly based on the story from Daniel about the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, and the writing on the wall.
The following passage is Daniel 5:1-17 (Message translation):
1-4 King Belshazzar he
ld a great feast for his one thousand nobles. The wine flowed freely. Belshazzar, heady with the wine, ordered that the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God's Temple of Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines, could drink from them. When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them. They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5-7 At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp-illumined, whitewashed wall of the palace. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away, he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits. His legs went limp and his knees knocked. He yelled out for the enchanters, the fortunetellers, and the diviners to come. He told these Babylonian magi, "Anyone who can read this writing on the wall and tell me what it means will be famous and rich—purple robe, the great gold chain—and be third-in-command in the kingdom."
13-16 So Daniel was called in. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel who was one of the Jewish exiles my father brought here from Judah? I've heard about you—that you're full of the Holy Spirit, that you've got a brilliant mind, that you are incredibly wise. The wise men and enchanters were brought in here to read this writing on the wall and interpret it for me. They couldn't figure it out—not a word, not a syllable. But I've heard that you interpret dreams and solve mysteries. So—if you can read the writing and interpret it for me, you'll be rich and famous—a purple robe, the great gold chain around your neck—and third-in-command in the kingdom."
17 Daniel answered the king, "You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
Pastor Steve asked us, “Can you see the writing on the wall in your life, in your church, etc.?” and gave several key points on the subject.
1. If you’re doing everything yourself, the writing’s on the wall.
2. If the people in key leadership is older than you, the writing’s on the wall, unless you happen to only be in your 20’s yourself! (This w as mostly focused on the pastors and other senior leaders.)
3. If the songs your church is singing are too old, YOUR CHURCH IS OLD, and the writing’s on the wall.
*The Bible says “Sing unto the Lord a new song,” and sometimes I think God looks at some of the old-fashioned churches and says “PLEASE SING A NEW SONG!!!”
*On a personal note, I grew up on songs from the Mormon hymnals, and some of the songs are so dry, old-fashioned, and out-dated that most people never understand why they were written! Granted, many of them hold a special meaning to me because of life experiences, the songs I’ve learned from modern Christian artists like Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Amy Grant, and Switchfoot, are so much easier to remember and get stuck in my head.
4. If you are not open to changes and challenges, the writing is on the wall.
Pastor Steve told a story about a woman who wrote to him, complaining that she hated his preaching, saying that she never came to church if she found out that he was preaching, and asking for a guarantee from the Senior Pastor that her tithing money never be used for his salary because he was “a waste of a wage.” He said that not only did he want to shame the woman’s name by showing the letter to his friends, he wanted to write back to her spitefully “Dear Sister, bless you with a brick. I’d like to invite you into the office so I can ‘lay hands on you.’”
Instead, he wrote back “Dear Sister, thank you for letter. Thank you for challenging me to improve my preaching skills. I hope that one day, you will hear that my preaching has improved and you’ll come to church and enjoy it. Yours Truly, Steve Kelly”
The rest of the morning, I was busy, so I didn’t get to take any notes on what was preached. Next time I post, I’ll be posting about Kingdom Builders Lunch. See you then!
Day 2 – Morning Session
Thursday morning was just as hyped as Wednesday night had been! When I woke up that morning, I was hyped and ready to go! My friend Janet and I had spent the night at the New Sanno U.S. Military hotel near Roppongi, enjoying a delicious Japanese room service breakfast, before I donned my bright pink volunteer T-shirt and we headed off to the Shinjuku Bunka Center to meet all the other volunteers who were waiting outside the building when we got there.
Maya and Kishi, who had coordinated all of the volunteer teams for the whole conference, spearheaded the rally and Lewis led us in a few exercises to get the blood pumping before we all broke off into our individual teams. The only problem was that since Janet wasn’t volunteering, she didn’t have anything to do during the two hours or so that I was busy getting things set up for video and media team, and the hall wasn’t open so she didn’t have anywhere to put her bag, so I ran up to the volunteer room and put both our bags in there before we got started.
After another totally awesome praise and worship session by the JLH band, Pastor Steve gave a message that was mostly based on the story from Daniel about the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, and the writing on the wall.
The following passage is Daniel 5:1-17 (Message translation):
1-4 King Belshazzar he
ld a great feast for his one thousand nobles. The wine flowed freely. Belshazzar, heady with the wine, ordered that the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God's Temple of Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines, could drink from them. When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them. They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.5-7 At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp-illumined, whitewashed wall of the palace. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away, he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits. His legs went limp and his knees knocked. He yelled out for the enchanters, the fortunetellers, and the diviners to come. He told these Babylonian magi, "Anyone who can read this writing on the wall and tell me what it means will be famous and rich—purple robe, the great gold chain—and be third-in-command in the kingdom."
8-9 One after the other they tried, but could make no sense of it. They could neither read what was written nor interpret it to the king. So now the king was really frightened. All the blood drained from his face. Th
e nobles were in a panic.
10-12 The queen heard of the hysteria among the king and his nobles and came to the banquet hall. She said, "Long live the king! Don't be upset. Don't sit around looking like ghosts. There is a man in your kingdom who is full of the divine Holy Spirit. During your father's time he was well known for his intellectual brilliance and spiritual wisdom. He was so good that your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him the head of all the magicians, enchanters, fortunetellers, and diviners. There was no one quite like him. He could do anything—interpret dreams, solve mysteries, explain puzzles. His name is Daniel, but he was renamed Belteshazzar by the king. Have Daniel called in. He'll tell you what is going on here."
e nobles were in a panic.13-16 So Daniel was called in. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel who was one of the Jewish exiles my father brought here from Judah? I've heard about you—that you're full of the Holy Spirit, that you've got a brilliant mind, that you are incredibly wise. The wise men and enchanters were brought in here to read this writing on the wall and interpret it for me. They couldn't figure it out—not a word, not a syllable. But I've heard that you interpret dreams and solve mysteries. So—if you can read the writing and interpret it for me, you'll be rich and famous—a purple robe, the great gold chain around your neck—and third-in-command in the kingdom."
17 Daniel answered the king, "You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
Pastor Steve asked us, “Can you see the writing on the wall in your life, in your church, etc.?” and gave several key points on the subject.
1. If you’re doing everything yourself, the writing’s on the wall.
2. If the people in key leadership is older than you, the writing’s on the wall, unless you happen to only be in your 20’s yourself! (This w as mostly focused on the pastors and other senior leaders.)
3. If the songs your church is singing are too old, YOUR CHURCH IS OLD, and the writing’s on the wall.
*The Bible says “Sing unto the Lord a new song,” and sometimes I think God looks at some of the old-fashioned churches and says “PLEASE SING A NEW SONG!!!”
*On a personal note, I grew up on songs from the Mormon hymnals, and some of the songs are so dry, old-fashioned, and out-dated that most people never understand why they were written! Granted, many of them hold a special meaning to me because of life experiences, the songs I’ve learned from modern Christian artists like Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Amy Grant, and Switchfoot, are so much easier to remember and get stuck in my head.
4. If you are not open to changes and challenges, the writing is on the wall.
Pastor Steve told a story about a woman who wrote to him, complaining that she hated his preaching, saying that she never came to church if she found out that he was preaching, and asking for a guarantee from the Senior Pastor that her tithing money never be used for his salary because he was “a waste of a wage.” He said that not only did he want to shame the woman’s name by showing the letter to his friends, he wanted to write back to her spitefully “Dear Sister, bless you with a brick. I’d like to invite you into the office so I can ‘lay hands on you.’”
Instead, he wrote back “Dear Sister, thank you for letter. Thank you for challenging me to improve my preaching skills. I hope that one day, you will hear that my preaching has improved and you’ll come to church and enjoy it. Yours Truly, Steve Kelly”
The rest of the morning, I was busy, so I didn’t get to take any notes on what was preached. Next time I post, I’ll be posting about Kingdom Builders Lunch. See you then!
Unevenly Yoked – I’m A Christian, But My Husband Isn’t!
Ever since I met the man who has since become my husband, I’ve been concerned that he’s not Christian. One of the reasons I fell in love with Kurt is that, out of all the other guys who I’ve met, he was the only one who had accepted me for who I was. He respected my religious beliefs and has done nothing but ask me to respect him in his beliefs. He was the one person I knew I could talk to, and I felt like that it wasn’t just me who needed him, but he needed me too!
My parents were concerned, when I announced that Kurt and I were engaged, that he wasn’t even remotely religious. Of course, so was I, not so much for myself, but for Kurt. I knew who Jesus was to me, and I knew that I wanted him to be by my side not only in our marriage, but also by my side in knowing Jesus! The desire for that increased even more when I became Christian, just a few weeks before our wedding. At that point, as much as I wanted to question whether this marriage was right, and as many people as DID question me about it, I had already gotten an answer, through honestly praying to God, that this was indeed the right thing for me to do.
For a long time, I’ve been looking for ways to teach Kurt about what I believe without sounding preachy or being pushy. When I was at home for Christmas, I asked him to come to church with me the Sunday before Christmas, and while he refused, he was more than willing to allow his kids, Ashley and Vincent, to go with me. I was very glad of that!
A couple of weeks ago, I was in the CLC Bookstore at Ochanomizu Christian Center, and I came upon a book called Beloved Unbeliever, which talks about other women who have been in similar situations, being married to men who are not Christian. At the introduction to the book, it cited the following bible verse:
2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
The first chapter really hit home for me, and I finished the rather lengthy chapter by the end of my train ride home that night. One of the parts that impressed me was where one of the women explained how her marriage to a non-Christian man was on the verge of divorce because she was trying to pull her husband too hard, essentially “choking him with the yoke.” She obviously wanted what was best for him, but pushing too much was making her marriage miserable. She asked herself “What if God said ‘He’s never going to become Christian. What are you going to do about your marriage?’”
That hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t pushing to hard right then, but I realized that I have a real potential of ruining my marriage if I try to force the subject on him. I have to continue doing what I’m doing, going to church and get stronger as a Christian, hopefully using my example to coax my family into the truth. Fortunately, the kids have a good head-start because they love going to church! I don’t know yet if it’s just because they love doing things with me, or whether they are really learning to love God, but all I can do is pray and hope for the best.
In speaking to my lifegroup leader, Toni, on the subject of what I should do about the situation, she has said to just keep loving him, encourage him to do things with the family at church, and show him through my example that I’ve really changed and am moving toward great things since becoming Christian. Recently, I was overjoyed that he agreed to at least go to a Saturday night church service while he and the kids are here in Japan for Christmas!
If any of you who are reading this blog are facing this same situation, where your husband or wife is not yet Christian, I encourage you to pray and ask God to give you the strength to see you through what may be the rockiest times in your life, and then just love, support, and encourage your spouse. God knows what is best for you, and whether your husband or wife will become Christian or not. Unfortunately, it’s not for you to decide; that decision is between God and your spouse. Your life will be blessed incredibly if he or she does eventually accept Jesus, but take strength in the fact that you yourself are guaranteed in the love of God. The thought that your partner may never become Christian can be painful, but things will work out for the best!
Ever since I met the man who has since become my husband, I’ve been concerned that he’s not Christian. One of the reasons I fell in love with Kurt is that, out of all the other guys who I’ve met, he was the only one who had accepted me for who I was. He respected my religious beliefs and has done nothing but ask me to respect him in his beliefs. He was the one person I knew I could talk to, and I felt like that it wasn’t just me who needed him, but he needed me too!
My parents were concerned, when I announced that Kurt and I were engaged, that he wasn’t even remotely religious. Of course, so was I, not so much for myself, but for Kurt. I knew who Jesus was to me, and I knew that I wanted him to be by my side not only in our marriage, but also by my side in knowing Jesus! The desire for that increased even more when I became Christian, just a few weeks before our wedding. At that point, as much as I wanted to question whether this marriage was right, and as many people as DID question me about it, I had already gotten an answer, through honestly praying to God, that this was indeed the right thing for me to do.
For a long time, I’ve been looking for ways to teach Kurt about what I believe without sounding preachy or being pushy. When I was at home for Christmas, I asked him to come to church with me the Sunday before Christmas, and while he refused, he was more than willing to allow his kids, Ashley and Vincent, to go with me. I was very glad of that!
A couple of weeks ago, I was in the CLC Bookstore at Ochanomizu Christian Center, and I came upon a book called Beloved Unbeliever, which talks about other women who have been in similar situations, being married to men who are not Christian. At the introduction to the book, it cited the following bible verse:
2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
The first chapter really hit home for me, and I finished the rather lengthy chapter by the end of my train ride home that night. One of the parts that impressed me was where one of the women explained how her marriage to a non-Christian man was on the verge of divorce because she was trying to pull her husband too hard, essentially “choking him with the yoke.” She obviously wanted what was best for him, but pushing too much was making her marriage miserable. She asked herself “What if God said ‘He’s never going to become Christian. What are you going to do about your marriage?’”
That hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t pushing to hard right then, but I realized that I have a real potential of ruining my marriage if I try to force the subject on him. I have to continue doing what I’m doing, going to church and get stronger as a Christian, hopefully using my example to coax my family into the truth. Fortunately, the kids have a good head-start because they love going to church! I don’t know yet if it’s just because they love doing things with me, or whether they are really learning to love God, but all I can do is pray and hope for the best.
In speaking to my lifegroup leader, Toni, on the subject of what I should do about the situation, she has said to just keep loving him, encourage him to do things with the family at church, and show him through my example that I’ve really changed and am moving toward great things since becoming Christian. Recently, I was overjoyed that he agreed to at least go to a Saturday night church service while he and the kids are here in Japan for Christmas!
If any of you who are reading this blog are facing this same situation, where your husband or wife is not yet Christian, I encourage you to pray and ask God to give you the strength to see you through what may be the rockiest times in your life, and then just love, support, and encourage your spouse. God knows what is best for you, and whether your husband or wife will become Christian or not. Unfortunately, it’s not for you to decide; that decision is between God and your spouse. Your life will be blessed incredibly if he or she does eventually accept Jesus, but take strength in the fact that you yourself are guaranteed in the love of God. The thought that your partner may never become Christian can be painful, but things will work out for the best!
Friday, May 8, 2009
OSAKA! Part 1
I know I haven’t finished my JLH Conference report yet, but I had to write about my recent trip to Osaka! It was awesome and I had such a great time, especially spending time with some great friends on Sunday.
As many of you know, I’m in the United States Navy, stationed in Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan. After the final awesome session of the conference (which I’ll write about later), I had to rush back to the base and work all night. It was a bit of a rough night, but I managed through it. Afterwards, with absolutely no sleep at all, I went home, changed out of my uniform, packed up a change of clothes, my camera, and my laptop into my backpack, and started walking toward the train station. And so began my journey to Osaka!
Basically, the route from the nearest train station (Sagamino Station on the Odakyu Line) to Shin-Osaka station goes like this: Sagamino to Yokohama to Shin-Yokohama to Shin-Osaka, in all about a three-hour trip if you utilize the Shinkansen. After taking a few pictures of the countryside on the way out of the Yokohama area, I settled in for a much-needed nap, and those seats are COMFORTABLE! The only thing that would make the seats more comfortable is if they were recliners with a built-in footrest.
Shortly before the train stopped in Nagoya, which is about the half-way point, I woke up and actually felt pretty-well rested. I was glad that I woke up when I did because I was able to take some great pictures of the hills around the area for the rest of the train ride. It has been so long since I got to be anywhere close to the mountains, and I’d never actually seen people working in the rice fields! So cool!
Upon arrival at Shin-Osaka station, I was still tired enough that I was moving pretty slowly, but I was fortunate enough not to have a difficult time finding the Hotel Chuo Oasis, thanks to couple of very friendly people. One thing that I found surprising about the small hotels in Osaka is that the check-in time is SO EARLY! Most of the hotels and hostels in Tokyo don’t allow check-in until at least three or four in the afternoon, but in Osaka most of the places said that check-ins were allowed as early as 9 AM! I was amazed, as well as grateful that I could go to bed shortly before noon.
That evening, I decided to go out on the town for a few hours. Thankfully, the subway line that connected me from Shin-Osaka to the station near my hotel was also connected to a station near Hard Rock Café Osaka. I have a thing for collecting Hard Rock Café teddy bears, and they’re starting to make themselves a nice den on my shelf! One of these days, I need to write a blog post that gives the stories of how I got them, especially the very first one I got in Hong Kong. You would think that with all the restaurants I go to and order pasta, I would get sick of it, but I never seem to! Blame my Italian bloodline, I guess. At Hard Rock Café, I got blackened chicken pasta -- absolutely yummy, and the waiter looked like a totally cool punk rocker! Of course, if I’d had any cool outreach cards for Osaka like the church in Tokyo has, I might’ve invited him to church. Oh well…
After dinner, I went to the Shinsaibashi area and just walked around. There was so much to just look at, even without buying anything! I was surprised that there were so many little shops and tiny restaurants in the little side-streets in the main shopping district. Of course, since Osaka is the third-largest city in Japan after Yokohama and Tokyo, it shouldn’t have been such a surprise. I love the Tokyo area, but if I was to get used to the general Osaka area, I don’t think I’d mind living there!
When I finally decided to go back to the hotel, I kind of got lost. I made it back to the right train station, but I went out the wrong exit! Instead of going out of exit 2 like I was supposed to, I went out of exit 9! So, I ended up walking around for about thirty minutes and finally asked a taxi driver to take me back there. Of course, I learned another difference between Tokyo and Osaka: taxi prices! When I first got to Japan, the prices for a taxi in the Ebina area were the same as they currently are in Osaka (about 660 Yen for 2 km).
Well, that’s it for now! More on JLH Conference and my trip to Osaka next time!
I know I haven’t finished my JLH Conference report yet, but I had to write about my recent trip to Osaka! It was awesome and I had such a great time, especially spending time with some great friends on Sunday.
As many of you know, I’m in the United States Navy, stationed in Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan. After the final awesome session of the conference (which I’ll write about later), I had to rush back to the base and work all night. It was a bit of a rough night, but I managed through it. Afterwards, with absolutely no sleep at all, I went home, changed out of my uniform, packed up a change of clothes, my camera, and my laptop into my backpack, and started walking toward the train station. And so began my journey to Osaka!
Basically, the route from the nearest train station (Sagamino Station on the Odakyu Line) to Shin-Osaka station goes like this: Sagamino to Yokohama to Shin-Yokohama to Shin-Osaka, in all about a three-hour trip if you utilize the Shinkansen. After taking a few pictures of the countryside on the way out of the Yokohama area, I settled in for a much-needed nap, and those seats are COMFORTABLE! The only thing that would make the seats more comfortable is if they were recliners with a built-in footrest.
Shortly before the train stopped in Nagoya, which is about the half-way point, I woke up and actually felt pretty-well rested. I was glad that I woke up when I did because I was able to take some great pictures of the hills around the area for the rest of the train ride. It has been so long since I got to be anywhere close to the mountains, and I’d never actually seen people working in the rice fields! So cool!
Upon arrival at Shin-Osaka station, I was still tired enough that I was moving pretty slowly, but I was fortunate enough not to have a difficult time finding the Hotel Chuo Oasis, thanks to couple of very friendly people. One thing that I found surprising about the small hotels in Osaka is that the check-in time is SO EARLY! Most of the hotels and hostels in Tokyo don’t allow check-in until at least three or four in the afternoon, but in Osaka most of the places said that check-ins were allowed as early as 9 AM! I was amazed, as well as grateful that I could go to bed shortly before noon.
That evening, I decided to go out on the town for a few hours. Thankfully, the subway line that connected me from Shin-Osaka to the station near my hotel was also connected to a station near Hard Rock Café Osaka. I have a thing for collecting Hard Rock Café teddy bears, and they’re starting to make themselves a nice den on my shelf! One of these days, I need to write a blog post that gives the stories of how I got them, especially the very first one I got in Hong Kong. You would think that with all the restaurants I go to and order pasta, I would get sick of it, but I never seem to! Blame my Italian bloodline, I guess. At Hard Rock Café, I got blackened chicken pasta -- absolutely yummy, and the waiter looked like a totally cool punk rocker! Of course, if I’d had any cool outreach cards for Osaka like the church in Tokyo has, I might’ve invited him to church. Oh well…
After dinner, I went to the Shinsaibashi area and just walked around. There was so much to just look at, even without buying anything! I was surprised that there were so many little shops and tiny restaurants in the little side-streets in the main shopping district. Of course, since Osaka is the third-largest city in Japan after Yokohama and Tokyo, it shouldn’t have been such a surprise. I love the Tokyo area, but if I was to get used to the general Osaka area, I don’t think I’d mind living there!
When I finally decided to go back to the hotel, I kind of got lost. I made it back to the right train station, but I went out the wrong exit! Instead of going out of exit 2 like I was supposed to, I went out of exit 9! So, I ended up walking around for about thirty minutes and finally asked a taxi driver to take me back there. Of course, I learned another difference between Tokyo and Osaka: taxi prices! When I first got to Japan, the prices for a taxi in the Ebina area were the same as they currently are in Osaka (about 660 Yen for 2 km).
Well, that’s it for now! More on JLH Conference and my trip to Osaka next time!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
JESUS LIFEHOUSE CONFERENCE WAS OFF THE CHAIN!!!
Part 1
Picture, if you will, a large meeting hall in the heart of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. There are heaps of young men and women in pink shirts directing people where to go, how to get things, shooting pictures and video, and many more behind the scenes getting ready to start this awesome event that is about to take place! People who aren’t in pink shirts or p
articipating in the program are showing tickets and e-ticket numbers to the people at the front doors. Walk through the main lobby area and through two sets of double doors, and you will enter a large, two-story hall, with about half of the seats on the main floor already full and more people still pouring in!
For those of you who were there, I’m sure you recognize the description. For those who weren’t there, this is what I walked into when I first arrived at the evening session of Jesus Lifehouse Conference 2009, about 30 minutes before it started. The feeling surrounding the entire venue was excitement and anticipation, and I could hardly wait to get started! Other than wanting to see people get saved, my biggest excitement about the conference was getting to hear my senior pastor from Wave Church, Pastor Steve Kelly, for the first time in person since 2007. Seeing him in the audience got me even more excited, if that’s possible!
There was an awesome program for the icebreaker! Jeff and Yuji came out as lights flashed, loud crashes came from the speakers, and fireworks exploded on the screen, screaming “WELCOME TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!” Afterwards, they called up some volunteers and since I raised my hand, I got to go up on stage. There was a competition between me and three guys, including the awesome Lewis Rice, as we tried our hands (and voices) at welcoming the crowd to the next level! I think I did okay, but since then I’ve thought of a few ways that I could’ve done better than I did.
After the icebreaker, the room exploded for five minutes of clapping to “Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster” by Daft Punk, which is what we use for the countdown every week at church. For the first minute or so, the clapping was loud and excited, then it kind of died off a bit until about the last thirty seconds, which is when it got louder than it had been before.
When the counter finally got to zero, a video came on and was an introduction to the next level in the conference, with videos from all over Japan, mostly from around the Tokyo area. As the band and dancers came on the stage, so did Jared and another guy (someone drop me a name, please?!), each with a “virtual suit” and helmet, running across the stage a few times in sync with what was going on in the video. When they took off their helmets, they realized they had just run (and ridden the train) from the church venue in Tameike-sanno to Shibuya, and one of them was kissing the Hurachiko dog statue (and getting a lot of odd looks in the process), with the other trying to pull him off the statue. He must’ve been imagining he was Mario kissing the princess.
The next half hour was dedicated to praise and worship time, with the band singing some awesome songs, including “Run,” “Break Free,” and “You Are Here (The Same Power),” which are very familiar songs to everyone who attends JLH. Emi Shirasaya, an awesome jazz singer in our church who translated our songs was the lead singer, and she has just got an amazing voice! After the main music time, Schanita and some of her friends sang some Gospel music (I don’t remember the name of the song, sorry), but people were dancing like crazy, some of us coming out into the aisles, myself included.
Finally, Pastor Steve came out and gave his message about the three people groups that are mentioned in 1 Samuel 13.
1 Samuel 13:6-7 (Message): When the Israelites saw that they were way outnumbered and in deep trouble, they ran for cover, hiding in caves and pits, ravines and brambles and cisterns -- whatever. They retreated across the Jordan River, refugees fleeing to the country of Gad and Gilead [basically joining the enemy]. But Saul held his ground in Gilead, his soldiers still with him but scared to death.
The first two people groups were those who hid or joined the enemy, and those who stayed with Saul and “followed trembling.” Ps. Steve talked about both groups as cowards. If something bad happens to the rest of them, the people who hid would be “safe,” and the ones who joined the enemy would be on the “winning side.” If the battle happened to turn in their favor, the ones who were hiding would be able to take credit for the victory and say “I WAS THERE!” The ones who stayed with Saul were just as bad off because they didn’t have the faith in the promise God had made that He would keep them from losing.
The third people group was basically only two people: Saul’s son Jonathan and his armor bearer. Seeing his father relaxing, Jonathan didn’t want to just stand by and do nothing while the enemy got stronger! So, he told his armor bearer to join him as he attacked the enemy, just the two of them! The armor bearer, who was a good man, said he was with Jonathan all the way! So, without telling his father what he was doing, he and the armor bearer went out to the hill where there was a Philistine Garrison stationed, and…
This is where things get interesting, and where I come in. At this point, Ps. Steve asked for volunteers to come up and help him with a demonstration. The entire front row was called up to play Philistines, and he asked for one more volunteer to be the armor bearer, and wanting the chance to be on the same stage as Ps. Steve, I raised my hand. Well, he told more of the story, that Jonathan handed the armor bearer his sword and charged up the hill. Well, I didn’t know the story past this point, other than Jonathan defeats them. Well, when Ps. Steve charged toward the group, I charged with him.
Needless to say, I got called back, having basically changed history. OOPS! Basically, the way the rest of the story actually went was that after Jonathan charged up the hill and knocked out the enemy with his bare hands, the armor bearer walked through and “stuck ‘em” with the sword. I don’t think I will ever forget about that part of the story now!
Following the end of his message, Pastor Steve made the normal alter call, and it was absolutely awesome to see twenty people raise their hands! I’m used to having four or five people at the most raise their hands at church, so seeing that number quadruple was so cool! This was followed my more great songs by the JLH band, and then the first session of conference was over!
Before I left the venue, I went up to Ps. St
eve and he immediately said “There’s my armor bearer!” We laughed about the mix-up, and I asked him if he recognized me. He said no, but when I mentioned that I’d been stationed at NAS Oceana, he told me that he knew me by my name more than my face, as he and Ps. Rod had exchanged e-mails about me since I’d started going to JLH. I was fortunate enough to get Junya-san to take a photo of us. It will probably be a great while before I get to see Ps. Steve in person again, so I will treasure that photo and that first session of conference for the rest of my life.
Wow, already 2.5 pages (according to my Microsoft Works Word Processor). There is still so much to talk about, but I will continue later! Once I get done with my conference report and talking about my trip to Osaka, I will probably write little mini-sermons, as I am currently trying to work on learning how to write and deliver Bible-based messages. I know that actually preaching in a meetings is a LONG way off, but it has to start somewhere, right?
Part 1
Picture, if you will, a large meeting hall in the heart of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. There are heaps of young men and women in pink shirts directing people where to go, how to get things, shooting pictures and video, and many more behind the scenes getting ready to start this awesome event that is about to take place! People who aren’t in pink shirts or p
articipating in the program are showing tickets and e-ticket numbers to the people at the front doors. Walk through the main lobby area and through two sets of double doors, and you will enter a large, two-story hall, with about half of the seats on the main floor already full and more people still pouring in!For those of you who were there, I’m sure you recognize the description. For those who weren’t there, this is what I walked into when I first arrived at the evening session of Jesus Lifehouse Conference 2009, about 30 minutes before it started. The feeling surrounding the entire venue was excitement and anticipation, and I could hardly wait to get started! Other than wanting to see people get saved, my biggest excitement about the conference was getting to hear my senior pastor from Wave Church, Pastor Steve Kelly, for the first time in person since 2007. Seeing him in the audience got me even more excited, if that’s possible!
There was an awesome program for the icebreaker! Jeff and Yuji came out as lights flashed, loud crashes came from the speakers, and fireworks exploded on the screen, screaming “WELCOME TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!” Afterwards, they called up some volunteers and since I raised my hand, I got to go up on stage. There was a competition between me and three guys, including the awesome Lewis Rice, as we tried our hands (and voices) at welcoming the crowd to the next level! I think I did okay, but since then I’ve thought of a few ways that I could’ve done better than I did.
After the icebreaker, the room exploded for five minutes of clapping to “Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster” by Daft Punk, which is what we use for the countdown every week at church. For the first minute or so, the clapping was loud and excited, then it kind of died off a bit until about the last thirty seconds, which is when it got louder than it had been before.
When the counter finally got to zero, a video came on and was an introduction to the next level in the conference, with videos from all over Japan, mostly from around the Tokyo area. As the band and dancers came on the stage, so did Jared and another guy (someone drop me a name, please?!), each with a “virtual suit” and helmet, running across the stage a few times in sync with what was going on in the video. When they took off their helmets, they realized they had just run (and ridden the train) from the church venue in Tameike-sanno to Shibuya, and one of them was kissing the Hurachiko dog statue (and getting a lot of odd looks in the process), with the other trying to pull him off the statue. He must’ve been imagining he was Mario kissing the princess.
The next half hour was dedicated to praise and worship time, with the band singing some awesome songs, including “Run,” “Break Free,” and “You Are Here (The Same Power),” which are very familiar songs to everyone who attends JLH. Emi Shirasaya, an awesome jazz singer in our church who translated our songs was the lead singer, and she has just got an amazing voice! After the main music time, Schanita and some of her friends sang some Gospel music (I don’t remember the name of the song, sorry), but people were dancing like crazy, some of us coming out into the aisles, myself included.
Finally, Pastor Steve came out and gave his message about the three people groups that are mentioned in 1 Samuel 13.
1 Samuel 13:6-7 (Message): When the Israelites saw that they were way outnumbered and in deep trouble, they ran for cover, hiding in caves and pits, ravines and brambles and cisterns -- whatever. They retreated across the Jordan River, refugees fleeing to the country of Gad and Gilead [basically joining the enemy]. But Saul held his ground in Gilead, his soldiers still with him but scared to death.
The first two people groups were those who hid or joined the enemy, and those who stayed with Saul and “followed trembling.” Ps. Steve talked about both groups as cowards. If something bad happens to the rest of them, the people who hid would be “safe,” and the ones who joined the enemy would be on the “winning side.” If the battle happened to turn in their favor, the ones who were hiding would be able to take credit for the victory and say “I WAS THERE!” The ones who stayed with Saul were just as bad off because they didn’t have the faith in the promise God had made that He would keep them from losing.
The third people group was basically only two people: Saul’s son Jonathan and his armor bearer. Seeing his father relaxing, Jonathan didn’t want to just stand by and do nothing while the enemy got stronger! So, he told his armor bearer to join him as he attacked the enemy, just the two of them! The armor bearer, who was a good man, said he was with Jonathan all the way! So, without telling his father what he was doing, he and the armor bearer went out to the hill where there was a Philistine Garrison stationed, and…
This is where things get interesting, and where I come in. At this point, Ps. Steve asked for volunteers to come up and help him with a demonstration. The entire front row was called up to play Philistines, and he asked for one more volunteer to be the armor bearer, and wanting the chance to be on the same stage as Ps. Steve, I raised my hand. Well, he told more of the story, that Jonathan handed the armor bearer his sword and charged up the hill. Well, I didn’t know the story past this point, other than Jonathan defeats them. Well, when Ps. Steve charged toward the group, I charged with him.
Needless to say, I got called back, having basically changed history. OOPS! Basically, the way the rest of the story actually went was that after Jonathan charged up the hill and knocked out the enemy with his bare hands, the armor bearer walked through and “stuck ‘em” with the sword. I don’t think I will ever forget about that part of the story now!
Following the end of his message, Pastor Steve made the normal alter call, and it was absolutely awesome to see twenty people raise their hands! I’m used to having four or five people at the most raise their hands at church, so seeing that number quadruple was so cool! This was followed my more great songs by the JLH band, and then the first session of conference was over!
Before I left the venue, I went up to Ps. St
eve and he immediately said “There’s my armor bearer!” We laughed about the mix-up, and I asked him if he recognized me. He said no, but when I mentioned that I’d been stationed at NAS Oceana, he told me that he knew me by my name more than my face, as he and Ps. Rod had exchanged e-mails about me since I’d started going to JLH. I was fortunate enough to get Junya-san to take a photo of us. It will probably be a great while before I get to see Ps. Steve in person again, so I will treasure that photo and that first session of conference for the rest of my life.Wow, already 2.5 pages (according to my Microsoft Works Word Processor). There is still so much to talk about, but I will continue later! Once I get done with my conference report and talking about my trip to Osaka, I will probably write little mini-sermons, as I am currently trying to work on learning how to write and deliver Bible-based messages. I know that actually preaching in a meetings is a LONG way off, but it has to start somewhere, right?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
First Blog Post on this website
Hello, everyone, and welcome to my latest attempt at getting readers to my blog! I used to be an active blogger on Livejournal, but that kind of fell flat. So, I’m jumping on the proverbial bandwagon and starting a blog on Blogger instead. If you want to read my old blog, you can go here http://kimberly-prue.livejournal.com/ to read it!
First of all, I want to share how I became Christian less than a year ago. Let’s see, how to start…
I grew up as a Mormon (AKA The LDS Church, AKA The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, AKA too many other names to type), so I had a basic understanding of the Bible, and I thought I had a relationship with Jesus. As I grew up, I was always trying to be the perfect, prissy, “Molly Mormon,” which probably cost me a lot of friends while growing up in a mostly non-Mormon community. I tried to do everything that was expected of me, getting baptized when I was eight, attending Seminary and Institute classes in high school and college (which, by the way, has nothing to do with becoming a priest or pastor), and looking for either the perfect man to marry in the temple or preparing to go on an eighteen-month mission for the church.
The first time I really remember actively attending a Born-again Christian church was after I had joined the United States Navy and was attending my final training school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The daughter of one of the local chaplains was running a Single Sailor Ministry for the training command, and she was often seen around the barracks inviting people to a dinner and bible study at base chapel, followed by a ride out to a local church called Wave Church for their Wednesday night meeting, called Soul Central.
My first time at Wave Church was one of these Soul Central meetings, which was for any older teens and young adults in the community. Pastor Carl Lentz, the Young Adult pastor, was preaching and it was a whole new experience for me! I’d never felt so many people getting so pumped about being in church! I don’t remember what the message was about, but I did have a lot of fun, and something told me I was started down a whole new road in my spiritual life. Pastor Steve Kelly, the Senior Pastor, was a big influence in my life, and I love listening to him preach as often as possible through the internet.
I have a real love of Christian music, and I was introduced to an awesome Christian band called Hillsong while I was attending Wave Church, as most of the songs the Wave Church Band sang during the services were Hillsong music. Songs like “Take It All” and “From The Inside Out” have taken their places in my heart, and I often find them popping into my head in some of the most difficult times in my life.
After arriving in Japan a few months later, it took me some time to find a church that I was comfortable in, and I tried to continue attending the Mormon Church, but I just didn’t feel as though I fit in, and that hindered my spiritual growth. Because there were so few active Mormons on the ship while we were at sea onboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, and even fewer on the U.S.S. George Washington, it was difficult to know who I could turn to if I wanted to talk about religion without getting asked a million questions and looking like a fool if I didn’t know the answer.
During the ship’s summer cruise 2007, I got to go to Sydney, Australia for one of the port visits, and I was able to attend a Saturday night service at Hillsong Church. It was a huge crowd, and even though I didn’t know anyone there, I felt so at home!
Finally, half-way through my second year in Japan, I decided to search online for a Christian church that was of a similar style to Wave Church and Hillsong. I had been sent back to Japan from Hawaii while the ship was out, and I got the feeling that I really needed to change something in my life, and I got the surprise of my life when I found the Jesus Lifehouse International Church website and found that it was a bilingual church that was led by someone who was a good friend of Ps. Steve!
When I attended their Wednesday night service in Ochanomizu Christian Center in Tokyo for the first time, I once again felt very good and at home. Pastor Rod Plummer and Pastor Ryuta Kimura were very welcoming, and I had a feeling that this might just become my church. I knew within the first few times of attending that church, both on Sundays and Wednesdays that I was experiencing something different.
On August 30th, 2008, I was changed forever. The first two services were good, and I like listening to Pastor Ryuta's teachings. But it was the third service that really got to me. Pastor Rod gave a sermon about Touching Jesus, and the three main points were:
1) Touch Him and be healed
2) Touch Him and be free from fear, and
3) Touch Him and live.
At the end of the message, he called for people who needed prayer to come up to the front. When he put his hand on me and started praying, I just felt healing to my soul and body. He brought up my painful past and something that happened to me when I was a child, and it was though he really knew what had happened like I'd talked to him about it myself. He asked God to help me open my heart and receive healing from Him, and I felt like I was a whole new person.
My lifegroup leader, Toni, said later that through that experience, and pouring out my heart to God, in that moment I was saved. Even though I had always considered myself Christian, I hadn’t really had a real relationship with Him. It was sort of surreal to think about it at first, but now I can’t imagine ever going back to my old life.
I got baptized again at the end of November, and even though there are hard times in my life, as there are with everyone, my life has taken off into heights of spiritual growth that I can’t even begin to describe! I hope that if anyone who is reading this who doesn't yet know Jesus will seek out their friends who are Christians and go to church with them, and make that wonderful decision to become Christian yourself.
First of all, I want to share how I became Christian less than a year ago. Let’s see, how to start…
I grew up as a Mormon (AKA The LDS Church, AKA The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, AKA too many other names to type), so I had a basic understanding of the Bible, and I thought I had a relationship with Jesus. As I grew up, I was always trying to be the perfect, prissy, “Molly Mormon,” which probably cost me a lot of friends while growing up in a mostly non-Mormon community. I tried to do everything that was expected of me, getting baptized when I was eight, attending Seminary and Institute classes in high school and college (which, by the way, has nothing to do with becoming a priest or pastor), and looking for either the perfect man to marry in the temple or preparing to go on an eighteen-month mission for the church.
The first time I really remember actively attending a Born-again Christian church was after I had joined the United States Navy and was attending my final training school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The daughter of one of the local chaplains was running a Single Sailor Ministry for the training command, and she was often seen around the barracks inviting people to a dinner and bible study at base chapel, followed by a ride out to a local church called Wave Church for their Wednesday night meeting, called Soul Central.
My first time at Wave Church was one of these Soul Central meetings, which was for any older teens and young adults in the community. Pastor Carl Lentz, the Young Adult pastor, was preaching and it was a whole new experience for me! I’d never felt so many people getting so pumped about being in church! I don’t remember what the message was about, but I did have a lot of fun, and something told me I was started down a whole new road in my spiritual life. Pastor Steve Kelly, the Senior Pastor, was a big influence in my life, and I love listening to him preach as often as possible through the internet.
I have a real love of Christian music, and I was introduced to an awesome Christian band called Hillsong while I was attending Wave Church, as most of the songs the Wave Church Band sang during the services were Hillsong music. Songs like “Take It All” and “From The Inside Out” have taken their places in my heart, and I often find them popping into my head in some of the most difficult times in my life.
After arriving in Japan a few months later, it took me some time to find a church that I was comfortable in, and I tried to continue attending the Mormon Church, but I just didn’t feel as though I fit in, and that hindered my spiritual growth. Because there were so few active Mormons on the ship while we were at sea onboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, and even fewer on the U.S.S. George Washington, it was difficult to know who I could turn to if I wanted to talk about religion without getting asked a million questions and looking like a fool if I didn’t know the answer.
During the ship’s summer cruise 2007, I got to go to Sydney, Australia for one of the port visits, and I was able to attend a Saturday night service at Hillsong Church. It was a huge crowd, and even though I didn’t know anyone there, I felt so at home!
Finally, half-way through my second year in Japan, I decided to search online for a Christian church that was of a similar style to Wave Church and Hillsong. I had been sent back to Japan from Hawaii while the ship was out, and I got the feeling that I really needed to change something in my life, and I got the surprise of my life when I found the Jesus Lifehouse International Church website and found that it was a bilingual church that was led by someone who was a good friend of Ps. Steve!
When I attended their Wednesday night service in Ochanomizu Christian Center in Tokyo for the first time, I once again felt very good and at home. Pastor Rod Plummer and Pastor Ryuta Kimura were very welcoming, and I had a feeling that this might just become my church. I knew within the first few times of attending that church, both on Sundays and Wednesdays that I was experiencing something different.
On August 30th, 2008, I was changed forever. The first two services were good, and I like listening to Pastor Ryuta's teachings. But it was the third service that really got to me. Pastor Rod gave a sermon about Touching Jesus, and the three main points were:
1) Touch Him and be healed
2) Touch Him and be free from fear, and
3) Touch Him and live.
At the end of the message, he called for people who needed prayer to come up to the front. When he put his hand on me and started praying, I just felt healing to my soul and body. He brought up my painful past and something that happened to me when I was a child, and it was though he really knew what had happened like I'd talked to him about it myself. He asked God to help me open my heart and receive healing from Him, and I felt like I was a whole new person.
My lifegroup leader, Toni, said later that through that experience, and pouring out my heart to God, in that moment I was saved. Even though I had always considered myself Christian, I hadn’t really had a real relationship with Him. It was sort of surreal to think about it at first, but now I can’t imagine ever going back to my old life.
I got baptized again at the end of November, and even though there are hard times in my life, as there are with everyone, my life has taken off into heights of spiritual growth that I can’t even begin to describe! I hope that if anyone who is reading this who doesn't yet know Jesus will seek out their friends who are Christians and go to church with them, and make that wonderful decision to become Christian yourself.
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