My Japanese friends got jobs!

Just thought I’d share my joy from finding out that my 3 Japanese friends just completed their job search. Naoki, Eiichi, and Satoshi were like brothers to me while they visited Seattle for an international business program in 08-09. I was blessed by seeing them a few months ago when I visited Japan and praise God for providing for their needs.

There’s a new wave of students we are about to meet this fall. Please pray for hundreds of relationships to be built like the ones I have had with my 3 friends.

(Tokyo, 2010. 3 white shirts = Eiichi, Satoshi, and Naoki)

Why God loves support-raising

Here are a few quick thoughts (no particular order) I’ve had about why God loves support-raising:

1) It spreads His fame. The reality is, I share God’s work in my life and the lives of others more passionately and frequently because I need people to help me. The seasons where my need for support are greatest result in the greatest amount of people hearing about the victories of God. He loves receiving the praise due His name.

2) It humbles proud men like me, who would easily take the credit for the fruit of ministry. You can be organized, winsome, well-networked, and everything else that people use to get an edge, but you are still asking people to give money to YOU, without anything material in return. No one has to give me anything; anything is grace that I do not deserve; God controls the wallet. I must rely on Him.

3) It give people an opportunity to tangibly store up more treasure in heaven and not on earth. I raise funds so that I can win people to Christ as growing disciples and train them to do the same. This means that those who are affected by my ministry can say to supporters, “Your money resulted in my life being changed for eternity. Thank you for investing your treasure in people like me.”

Personally, I love to support other missionaries and watch their progress because I know that I am directly contributing to their growth and the lives they are being used to transform. I’m not sure what happens in my 401(k), but I will bet blindly that these changes are more exciting.

4) It makes people aware of places and people who are greatly in need of God’s grace. If people like me didn’t have to gather a team of supporters, how would the masses ever know where the needs were? This is how I first heard that there was even a need in Japan–receiving the newsletter of a family friend who served with Athletes in Action in Japan.

5) It helps people have deeper faith in God’s word. The reason I specifically ask people to support me financially, and not just through prayer, is because your heart (and prayer) follows your money. Giving $100 a month to something is felt by most people, and it begs the question, “Why?” Giving money to gospel ventures like missionaries only makes sense if the Bible is true, God is who He says He is, eternity is real, and the gospel can truly save.

Thank you for all who are supporting me, financially and beyond. You are truly my support in this mission to reach Japan. None of my efforts could exist apart from your faith and generosity. As cliche as it may be, we are a team.

Tim Keller on why Tokyo must be reached

Found this today through my friends at Grace City Church in city center of Tokyo. 2 minute video of Tim Keller, who wrote The Reason for God and pastors in Manhattan.

The difference between knowing and KNOWING

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” -2 Corinthians 7:1

How Life Works
Life in general is all about responding to realities or, at least, perceived realities. I love Paul’s radical lifestyle because it was the result of heavily rational reasoning. He was a radically rational man.

The heart of this verse is at work in every human being. The difference: what are these promises/truths, and, what is the appropriate response?

What Drove Paul
For Paul, being loved by God, rescued, and brought into his family (promise/truth), compelled him to annihilate everything that resembled the old way of life, the old family, and fully reflect the holiness of his new Father (appropriate response).

It’s kind of like the kid who reflects on being rescued from a horrible foster family into a perfect loving family by a self-sacrificing father. When he thinks about his own ugliness, the terrors of his past life, the cost his new dad paid to redeem and adopt him, and the goodness of his new life that comes from this family, a desire naturally rises from within. No one has to tell him. Stumble though he may, his heart longs to be rid of everything that resembles his past family and become like the father and family who now call him “son.” He, like everyone, is just doing what we cannot help but do: become what we most love and adore.

knowing and KNOWING
Apathy or disdain towards this holiness or God-likeness the verse talks about may be more, but it is never less then a failure to see and savor (that means really know and understand) the story of the gospel. And this is the difference between knowing and KNOWING.

Knowing that God gave his son to save me is one level of knowing. I never forget this. But it’s the shallowest level of knowing. And my response to this knowledge alone is weak, bottom line. But when I learn about the whole story, the significance of everything, down to every little detail, my heart jumps out in longing. Longing for my rescuer. When I KNOW in this way, my heart burns to respond in loving obedience. I have a hard time remembering this.

In My Life
I’ve learned, and keep learning, that my actions reflect what my heart is responding to. If I really want to change, I need to get back to the source of what my heart is seeing–truth. I need to remember these truths that God has revealed through the Bible and spend time meditating on them (that means thinking about what something means and trying to explain its significance with examples and stories in life). This is one reason why I love watching movies and reading novels. It’s all so different, but seeing God’s truths retold through these mediums helps me to KNOW what the Bible is talking about, and adore Jesus in a deeper way than before.

The more clearly I see him, the more I love and adore him. And obedience to him becomes more and more like breathing. I think this is why Jesus said things like, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Food for Thought
After looking at your life, what truths are you truly responding to? What truths or promises do you have the hardest time really knowing and understanding? What are some examples and stories that most help you to “see and savor” various truths?