Mission Japan

My prayer for Hideyo is that the Lord will hear the cry of his heart and use him in mighty ways to reach his countrymen. I believe that Christ's love for us will shine brightly through Hideyo and Yumiko and the Holy Spirit will open the hearts of those they meet.

Isn't it amazing that a man of God who is 71 years old is strong in the Lord and by fixing his eyes on Jesus is serving to bring glory to God? This should speak volumes of truth that God has a plan for all of us and it is in His time that he will use us. Do not fret brothers and sisters, the Lord's timing is the best timing of all. Through the trials and peace God is continually refining us in His fire to make us the men and woman he desires us to be. Fix your eyes on Jesus and live in His love and all else will fall into place according to His will.

Wake each day and know that God loves you. There's nothing you can do or have done that will make Him love you less or more, for he is unchanging and has always loved you. He knew of you and had a plan for you before you were born, before the world began.

My prayer for you readers is that you too will understand just how much God loves you and that he is working things out to give you a hope and a future with Him. Trust in his unfailing love. As the Psalmist sang, "His love endures forever", may it resound in your heart, mind, and soul and be the praise on your lips.

Avoid surpressing the Spirit

Since I arrived in San Diego I started going to Shadow Mountain Community Church with a friend of my family. The senior pastor is none other than Dr. David Jeremiah. His preaching is gifted from God and he preaches from the Bible.

It's a pretty big church, coming from a small church background where I feel it's important for everyone to know everyone it made it a bit difficult to get really involved in the church. It was my heart's desire to get more involved.

God saw, heard and answered my prayer. All I had to do was take a step out of the boat and fix my eyes on Jesus. And here is how it happened.

As you've read before, God has put a passion for Japan on my heart. After talking with Rocky and Steven the flame was fanned even more. I decided to see if google could bring up any results for a Japanese church. Lo behold, I found one in San Diego; San Diego Japanese Christian church. It was awesome, the Lord showed me a church. And then that's when fear set in, "I'm not Japanese, so will I be accepted?" Satan attacked me where I was weak. My identity is not in people, it is in the Lord, and if these people were in Christ then I would be a fellow brother in Christ to them. I told my mother about it and she told me to check it out and said the Spirit would open and close the doors for me to walk through.

I was looking on their website and found the Church's newsletter. In it I read they were going through the Truth Project (an amazing study program by Dr. Del Tackett). Back at Harbor Light Open Bible Church (my home church in Everett, WA) we were going through it also. I saw it was being done on Saturdays, I figured I'd check it out because I really enjoyed the Truth project and like my mother said, "if this is where God was leading me, it would all work out and He would be Glorified through it."

Saturday rolls around and as the hours pass by until the start of it that same fear sank in again. I prayed and it left. (praise God) At about 5:15 I left to get on the trolley. At 5:45 I arrive at City College, it's raining and dark and I got a .6 mile walk to get to the church. I arrive at 6:00 and the only people that are there were homeless people who were camping out to be out of the rain. The newsletter said it started at 6:30, so I started waiting. 15 mins pass by, still no one shows up. I say to myself, "I guess this wasn't your will Lord". But I wanted to wait until 6:30 just in case someone did show up. Another 15 mins pass by and still no one showed up. I was now under the impression that it wasn't God's will. I started heading on back to the station to go back home. As I was walking back I was convicted to buy the homeless people food. I tried to avoid it, I wasn't too happy at that time. As I was waiting for the trolley, I looked over and saw subway and again I was convicted, but this time with a verse.

"Matthew 25:43-45
43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

Over the past few weeks I have been learning of God's love for me. I wanted to at least be faithful and help the needy. Little did I know that God had already ordered my steps. As I arrived back at the church with subway for the homeless guys I saw that cars were now at the church.

I stepped inside and I came upon a girl. I asked her if they were doing the Truth Project, she replied yes and that it was being held upstairs.

I walk upstairs and I'm like, "Hello, I heard you were doing the Truth Project". I was graciously accepted by those who were there. I thank God for picking me up and carrying me. If I had suppressed the Spirit I would have ended up at home with nothing. But by walking by faith God gifted to me new friends. I enjoyed my time on Saturday and I knew God had placed me where he wanted me to be. I was able to give a mini testimony of my passion for the Japanese people and how God led me to their church, my new home away from home. God truly works in mysterious ways, and I thank Him so much for all that he has done.

God answered my prayer of, "Father for your glory". I am now part of a church that I will be able to get involved with and the people of this church are after God's heart. I await to see the Lord move in awesome ways.

まいにち、　ｲｴｽ は　とても　いい　です！　Jesus is good, all the time.

May the Lord fill you with hope and joy as you continually walk by faith with Him.

Virtual Trip to Japan

Over the past few weeks I have been led by God into learning more about Japanese Christians. I found myself at youtube looking for Japanese Christian music. I came across a video and in it a Japanese woman by the name of Shinobu talked about her hope for revival in Japan. I noticed Kitakyushu bible church listed as the church she was from. The info on the video said to search hope for japan for more info. So I did just that, and I came across a site and blog of a guy named Steven.

I found out that he is doing missions work in Japan. I sent him an email and started talking to him. I truly believe him to be a man of God. Keep him and his family in your prayers as he works with The Evangelical Alliance Mission to reach Japan.

Upon talking to him I wanted to learn more about the church in Kitakyushu and I came across a Japanese man of God by the name of Rocky. His ministry to reach his fellow countrymen through music is so amazing. I found his family's blog and his facebook. I am amazed at the work God is doing through his family and him. Jesus' love endures forever. I sent him a message on facebook and I thank God for putting him into my life, even if its just over the internet. I hope one day to fellowship with him in the Lord.

I praise God for the gift of being able to converse with people in Japan. They are fanning the flame in my heart for the Japanese people and I await the day the Lord sends me to Japan to worship along side them.

God Bless

A note from Spurgeon

“Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people ... Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.”
- Lev 19:16, Lev 19:17

"Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this precept of God’s Word forbidden to spread it. The reputations of the Lord’s people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah’s wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule, and our personal bond-SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under God’s blessing will be useful. Does the flesh shrink from it? Then we must lay the greater stress upon our conscience, and keep ourselves to the work, lest by suffering sin upon our friend we become ourselves partakers of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in his warning given to Peter, the prayer with which he preceded it, and the gentle way in which he bore with Peter’s boastful denial that he needed such a caution."

I think Spurgeon has hit the nail dead on. I've seen terrible things happen in the church due to gossip. Families broken, brothers and sisters in Christ torn apart and much more. The love of Jesus is suppressed when we speak ill of others. I think it best to go to the Word and reflect upon Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Why must the body of Christ struggle with his or her brothers and sisters? I pray that God writes these verses on the tablet of our heart. As it is said in the book of Proverbs chapter 3 verse 3. "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." I pray the Lord will teach everyone of us to love first so that we may not struggle amongst ourselves.

Glory be to the God Most High, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

I've decided to take a step into faith and now I'm going to blog about what the Lord is doing in my life.

A little bit about me.

Name- Daniel, but my family calls me DJ. You may think I'm missing a period between the D and J but I'm not. The J in my name stands for absolutely nothing. My Dad's name is Daniel too, but our middle names are different so I'm not a junior. Though my mom didn't want to call me Daniel, so DJ it is haha.

Age- 21, I just turned 21 April 5th. I was born in 1988 in the small lake town of Geneva, Ohio in the Northeastern part of Ohio near Lake Erie.

Job- ET3 Navy, the Lord currently has me as an Electronics Technician Third Class in the U.S. Navy. My heart's desire is to preach in Japan and be a missionary after I get out in 2013, I believe the Lord has given me my heart to reach the lost people in Japan and I'm excited at the work He is doing in me.

Backstory- How did the Lord bring about the passion for the Japanese people you ask? Let me tell you :D Living in Ohio when I was younger, my mother was friends with a Japanese lady by the name of Makiko, we called her Micky. It was always a joy when she and her kids were around. My childhood wasn't so good and I latched onto the good things to survive. I thank the Lord for the blessing she was to our family. I adored her so much!

When I was going into third grade, my mother by that time was legally separated and was raising my 2 sisters and I as a single mother. She was taking courses through Kent State University and we moved to Kent, Ohio. There we lived on the campus apartments and there the Lord placed me into an environment that was rich with cultures from all over the world. From 3rd to 5th grade I was raised up around people from all over. My best friend was a kid named Sunny who was Korean, I wish I could find him again today as he was pretty cool.

Going into 6th grade my mom had remarried and we moved to Everett, Washington, my stepdad was in the Navy and had orders to Port Operations there. When I got to WA, I was pretty miserable. I no longer was around my friends and the things that kept my mind off the bad stuff were no longer there. My mother kept us in Church but I was bitter. For the first 3 years in Everett I was not a happy camper. When I got into highschool I became more depressed. Things progressed worse, the stuff that happened to me when I was younger kept piercing my mind. As time progressed my heart was hardened towards the Lord and I became a a bitter person. I stopped going to Church all the time by the end of Sophomore year and dived deep into online games to escape from reality. By 11th grade I was disassociating myself with those around me. The breaking point was the girl whom I dated in 11th grade was moving towards a more and more physical relationship and that sparked memories of things that happened when I was a kid. I started avoiding her and then we broke up. I thought I was okay then, but I wasn't my past seemed to have caught up with me. I couldn't run away anymore.

Finally I got to a point where I was about to explode, I couldn't keep it in any longer so I wrote a letter to my mother about the things that had happened that she did not know about. She got me into counseling, it helped a little but not really. I took some medication but that didn't help. I was at the end of my rope. I couldn't continue on any longer in the life I was living. I had been angry with God. I did not want to believe He existed because if He did then why was I suffering?

My mother invited me back to Church to listen to a missionary by the name of Steve Manning. Our church had been supporting him for quite sometime. At first I was going to decline her offer and go do my weekly missions and quests in Final Fantasy XI Online. But something that night was different and I felt like I should go to see what exactly my mother was talking about. So I went and while listening to Him I heard a message that spoke Truth to my heart. That God wants a relationship with me and He sent His Son Jesus to reconcile us to Him. Oct 3 2006 I dedicated my life to the Lord and trusted Jesus as my savior. God had opened my heart to see and hear a message that made me realize that there is only meaning in life in Christ Jesus.

Since then I've been a work in progress and I looked back at my past and I saw where the Lord was with me. I had been angry at him for the stuff that happened but I now saw all that he had done. And through the bad times, the light that Miko was, the Lord has shown me that through her we were greatly blessed. And that has given me a passion for the Japanese people.

I am being led by God. I want to walk by faith, step by step everyday with Him. The call to me when I awake, "DJ, I'm going to meet with people today. Do you want to come along?" And my response back to Him is, "Yes Lord, I will follow after you".

I pray that my life and God's walk with me be a testimony to the love of Jesus to whoever is reading.