Japan Mission Trip 2.0

Hello all,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

I know, it has been an extremely long time since I have written anything on this blog. Rest assured, I have not forgotten about it, I have about 5 or 6 drafts of blog posts that are in limbo right now, but college, an internship with my church, and a whole slew of new friendships have kept me quite busy.

On top of all that, 夏日本にいきます!!! For those of you who can't read Japanese (I'm still learning), I'm going to Japan this summer!!! I'm super excited that the LORD has opened yet another opportunity for me to travel as part of a mission team to Japan, and I can't wait until we leave in June!

With that said, I would like to share something that I observed in daily devotions this morning. Our church has a system called the Life journal, which I think is an amazing tool for studying God's word. For each day of the year, there is a corresponding Old Testament and New Testament reading, usually it combines to a total of four chapters. If you stick with the reading plan, you end up reading the OT once and the NT twice in one year. Quite often they also through in a Psalm (it's super awesome), which I really love, because who doesn't love reading Psalms? After reading all the passages, you choose one section that you found interesting (typically a verse, but I usually choose a whole paragraph), write your observations about what the text is saying (exegete it), write an application (how should I live differently after reading this text?), and then pray asking God to either a). help you live out what the Scripture teaches, or b). help you better understand this text. Today's reading was Numbers 5&6, Psalm 22 (beautiful Psalm!), and Acts 26. I will write out my whole journal, just to give you a better picture of how this works, but in the future I will only include the section that I want to bring to light for whatever topic I am discussing here on the blog.

Scripture: Acts 26:18-29 "And Agrippa said to Paul, 'In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?' And Paul said, 'Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become as I am - except for these chains.'"

Observations: Paul used every circumstance to his advantage, even in trials he preached the gospel with the intention of winning his judges and opponents! King Agrippa's question in response to Paul's push to have him come to Christ is probably defensive, a statement that it was too short notice for him to become a Christian. Paul's goal is not only for King Agrippa's conversion, but also for every single person in the room. (Notice that these are super basic observations, the goal is not to interpret the text, but to let it speak for itself!)

Application: Do I leverage every situation for the maximum benefit to God's Kingdom? If I were on trial for my faith, would I preach with the hope of converting my judge, the jury and everyone else in the room? It says in Matthew 10:18&19 that the Holy Spirit will give Christians the words to say when they are dragged before governors and kings, therefore I must trust in the provision of the Lord, and live my life in a way that the only thing they can try me for is my faith.

Ordinarily I would include the prayer also at this point, but for sake of space I will press on at this point.

One of my greatest dreams is that I could suffer for my faith and come out of it like the Apostles in Acts 5:40-42 "40 And when they (the Sanhedrin) had called in the Apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." I long for the opportunity to live out my faith in the highest way possible, by suffering for merely associating myself with the name of Jesus Christ of Nazereth, the one and only Son of God, who stepped down from heaven, leaving his divinity behind, to become a man and die for my sins. And not only to die, but also to be resurrected from the grave, defeating the Devil and Death itself, that He could bring many children to glory! My greatest prayer is that on the day when I stand before a group of people ready to kill me for my faith, that the Holy Spirit would work through me to witness to them, even if it results in my death.

Anyway, it is highly unlikely that I would get arrested in Japan for preaching the gospel, but this has been on my mind quite often in the past year, so I thought I would share it here.

"The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace."

心から (From my heart),

Joe (じょう) Anderson

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18-20

Japan Mission Trip Video

Here is the video that my church did for our mission trip. The statistics concerning suicide in Japan are quite alarming. I hope God used us in amazing ways, and I hope He gives me the chance to go back and do even more!

There's Just Something About Hymns...

I love Hymns, especially old hymns of Irish origin like Be Thou My Vision and Before the Throne of God Above (written by an Irish woman in America, but it still counts). There is just something there, the rich, deep lyrics; the beautiful melodies; the gospel of Christ portrayed unashamedly and unmasked. One does not have to search for the Spiritual truths when reading the lyrics of a hymn, as they are often right there in the open, even taken directly from scripture at times. Martin Luther, the author of numerous hymns and the founding father of the reformation, believed that when people sang, it subconsciously reinforced their beliefs, and he advocated singing hymns at home as well as church.
Don't get me wrong, I love the newer contemporary worship songs as well, and I sing them often at church, but there is just something about hymns, that will always hold a special place in my life...

日本 - There an Back Again

The young man sat down in one of his favorite chairs and reached for the laptop. The old beast sprang to life with the touch of a button, and he surfed his way over to his website. Many people had been promised a debrief on his recent trip to Japan, and he knew he had to write it soon. Tonight was as good a night as any. Pressing his fingers to the keyboard, he began to write.

For those of you who were unaware, I recently returned from a mission trip to Japan. Twenty members from our church, including my two younger brothers and I, visited Yokohama and Saitama in the course of 11 days. We spoke at New Hope Church in Yokohama, a Lutheran School in Saitama, and New Life Family Church Saitama. We shared our testimonies, preached, and shared the love of Jesus Christ through sign-dance and dramas. Our main purpose was to form relationships between New Hope Hawaii Kai and the churches in Yokohama and Saitama. The day after we got off the plane we were already busy, travelling from one area of Yokohama to another for youth welcome party the church held for us. Travelling is pretty awesome in Japan, even during rush hour I liked riding the trains. We never had any instances where the men in the white gloves were pushing people on the train, so I guess that'll have to wait for next time :D 

The people at both churches were pretty awesome. It was always an encouragement to go from the train system where everyone looks super tired and depressed - absorbed in their own world - and jumping into a church service where the people really enjoy being there. At both churches, the congregants come together only once a week, so they arrive early for the service, and then stay later so that they can spend as much time together as possible. At the after party for both Yokohama and Saitama's church services,  one of our team members taught the members of the churches how to line dance. This is a picture of a combined service from both churches doing the line dance at an after party, with one of our team members learning and helping out at the same time. Thanks to Mel for this photo. 

It was also a chance for all the interns at our church to get to know one another and grow as a team and individuals. Our team of 11 interns spent a lot of time in crowded conditions with each other, and there was a little bit of friction. I think all of the interns really learned a lot from the experience. We learned the necessity for accountability, letting others know where we are at all times, and also what it takes to get a large group of people from point A to point C through crowded conditions... while changing trains. Everyone on the team is on the team because they are wanting to become involved in full-time ministry. It was an honor and privilege to work with such an amazing group of people. I hope I have the privilege to serve with them even more in the future.  Here is a picture of the whole group waiting for a train. We certainly look like a goofy group, eh?

While the people at the churches were amazing, the other people around us on the trains or in other places were a bit intimidating at times. The first night we were on the last train heading from the airport to Yokohama a man was growling at our youth pastor and a couple of our chaperons, and despite most of the people being extremely polite, there were a few other unsavory characters. We got an extremely cold reception at one of the two chapel services we did at the school, and the head pastor at our church had to remind a sleep-deprived and discouraged team of young adults that it wasn't our love for them that they were rejecting, but Christ's. He then proceeded to remind us that we cannot judge how many seeds were planted in the minds of the High Schoolers.

The best part about the trip was getting to leave the US for the very first time, and serve God while doing it! Here are a few more pictures from the trip that I took. 

Ryan, Chris, and Myself at a restaurant 

Me in front of a nice Sushi shop in Tsukiji

Sushi at aforementioned Sushi shop

We performed a skit teaching the power of Christ over temptation at two services.

All in all, I think the trip was a complete success, and I pray that those who saw our outreach would be moved to seek what we showed, the love of the one true God. I definitely plan on going back to Japan, there is so much work to do there.

Japan Mission Trip

Wow, I can't believe it is only a week and three days away! If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me fill you in! As an intern at my church here in Hawaii, I will be travelling with a team of roughly twenty people to Yokohama and Saitama in Japan. We will be working with two churches there, teaching English, and spreading the gospel. I am really looking forward to it, but I barely know Japanese (my fault, I haven't been studying enough). Please pray for a safe trip there and back again, and that we could reach the youth of Japan with the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected for their sins. This partially explains why I have been inactive on the blog, although I must confess that it is also my fault for not taking the time to post more often. Please pray that we may be an effective weapon for curtailing the work of the devil, and that we may be a light to those around us.
I will post with updates on how the trip is going, and when we're done I'll post pictures and type up a debrief of sorts.

Changes Coming

Hello All!

Sorry I have been inactive for so long, but I have been pretty busy with our internship here at New Hope, publishing my first fantasy fiction novel, and keeping up with music and other miscellaneous things. I am hoping that I will be posting more when college begins in August, when I will have more things to blog about (I will be very eager to share what I will be learning, believe me), which leads me to my next point. I am mulling a name change to suit a new direction for the blog. Nothing is finalized yet, but the idea is that this blog will start changing to a teaching/application blog, where I can share what I am learning and get discussion on what I am learning and debate on different points. The goal would be to show you, my readers, what I am learning, and hopefully allow us all to grow in our love and understanding of the One True God. The goal of this blog, with Christ's guidance, will be to equip all (including myself) to be ready at all times to give a reason for their faith, and that we may learn to live by the commands of 2 Peter 1:5-10, adding virtue to our faith, knowledge to our virtue, self-control to our knowledge, steadfastness to our self-control, godliness to our steadfastness, brotherly affection to our steadfastness, and love to our brotherly affection. 2 Peter states that if we attain these qualities they will keep us from being ineffective and unfruitful. 

That being said, I will try to keep you up to date on how the trip to Japan is progressing. Please pray daily for our mission team, and especially for the people of Japan. Pray that God gives a heart which drives us to reach the youth of Japan with the gospel of Christ and him crucified for our sins, and that he would prepare the hearts of the people to receive this gospel. If you want to pray specifically for me, please pray for faith in God's ability to provide. When it comes to raising money for the trip, acquiring donations for our silent auction, and trying to learn Japanese, I tend to rely on my own understanding rather than put my faith in God. Lately, I feel he has been testing me. My faith is growing, but too slowly in my opinion (that's probably a good thing, but I'm only human).

Thank you all for your prayers regarding the Mission trip to Japan. I will try to be a little more active in the future, letting you know how we're progressing.

Until next I write, farewell.

Joe

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:19 & 20

The Next Chapter Begins

Hello Everyone!

I pray the Lord has been watching over you since my last post. I just wanted to let y'all know why I have been largely absent from the blog here. We are down to the final two weeks to earn donations for a Silent Auction/Dinner fundraiser that will be going towards the Japanese mission trip. We have been out several hours each day for the last few days going door to door on businesses asking for donations. Please pray that the Lord opens the hearts of the businesses men and women here in Hawaii, and allows us to have a successful fundraiser. Other than that, I must confess I have been goofing around a bit, running around the island doing crazy things with my brothers, but that must be expected. I am hoping that blogging will pick up a bit while I am at New Hope Christian College, when I have more things to share (I will be learning, after all!), so until then please hang in there. Speaking of which, the next chapter in my life is starting to unroll, as I have just been accepted to the college! I will try to keep you posted about life, and any brilliant thoughts I have regarding theology and doctrines.

Until next time, may the Lord keep you in the palm of his hand!

Sincerely,

Joe

Happy Palm Sunday

Grace and Peace to you in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Such were the words of the crowd that greeted Jesus as he rode on the donkey into Jerusalem. If I were there back on that day I would probably be one of those in the crowd. I hope that I would not have joined the crowd that only a few days later shouted "Crucify him!" I'm sure there were many who belonged to both crowds. As I sat in church this morning, I once again reminded myself it was my sins that sent him into Jerusalem that Passover, that kept him there, and later drove him to the cross. Great is our Lord, who could work the greatest miracle in all history out from the depths of the greatest travesty in all time.

As you go about your life today, remember that this was the day our Lord rode into Jerusalem, praise him and thank him for his sacrifice, for if you do not, the very stones will cry out.

Thank you Lord, for your greatest sacrifice, that your son may die, and we live.

Farewell,
Joe Anderson

The Next Chapter

A great chapter has ended in my life, and another is about to be written. For those of you who didn't know, I moved from Oregon to Hawaii yesterday. I have about six months until classes start at the Christian College here, so I will try to be a little more regular with my postings here until then. I am really looking forward to what the LORD will do with me at the college, and I am really really looking forward to learning from the wise professors there at the college, preparing myself for the work that the LORD is calling me to do.
I got to shadow our youth pastor today when he went to the college, met three different professors, a financial adviser, and several students. It was awesome! The library is also very awesome (go figure), and I fear that if I study in the library I will get distracted by the amazing books.
That's all for now, I want to do a post on my new favorite hymn sometime in the next few days, but that will have to wait for the next few days...

God Bless,
Joe Anderson

I'm Back

Just wanted to let you all know that I just finished up my last two finals yesterday! This was my final term here at the community college, and I am looking forward to leaving for Hawai'i, but I am still nervous about the results here, so please be praying.

A much more substantial post will be forth-coming, but until then this will have to do.

Meien Odaea meien Eidír Odav Esíl!

Joe Anderson

Real Men Don't Cry?

Another brief thought: whoever coined the phrase "real men don't cry," had never heard, or at least truly understood, the gospel message.

This may or may not come as a surprise to those of you who know me, but as I sat in the church service this morning as we prepared for communion, I cried. What caused it? The reminder that after Jesus had been brutally scourged, humiliated, and nailed to the Cross, he bore the weight of all of MY sins, and the sins of the whole world. As the sins of the world descended on him, he cried out Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? For the first time in all eternity, Jesus Christ was separated from God the Father. Yes, he was physically separated from God when he was on earth, in that he was here and God was in heaven, but I believe he still daily, perhaps even constantly, heard God's voice and could talk to him. When the sins of the world came upon him, God the Father turned his back on his one and only begotten son, and for the first time in all eternity Christ could not hear his Father's voice. What a crushing feeling that must have been, to be totally and utterly separated from God, and yet Christ did it obediently, not loving his life, but obediently laying it down for his enemies. When I hear that Jesus Christ took my sins - my horrible, numerous sins - upon himself, I weep.

Great is our God, who willingly went to the cross with our sins. May his name be glorified forever and above all things, Amen.

Your Brother in Christ,

Joe

Concerning Hobbits

I'm sorry, this blog is normally for theological purposes, but when I heard this, I couldn't help but pass it on.

"The Mayans weren't counting down until the end of the world in December 2012, they were counting down until the release of the Hobbit."

'Nuff said. Carry on,

Your Brother in Christ,
Joe

"But concerning that day or that hour, ino one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Mark 13:32

Witnessing: My Testimony? Or Christ's Testimony?

Grace and peace be with you all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

::Note:: This will more than likely be the last post you ever read on this blog... for the next three months, so read it and comment on it, and I will write again int three months! ::End Note::

In keeping with the whole theme of evangelism that I started in the last post, today I will be discussing the term "Testimony." There are several different Greek words used: μάρτυς (Martus-witness), μαρτυρία (Marturia-evidence given (record, report, testimony, witness)), and μαρτύριον (Marturion-something evidential, evidence given (to be testified, testimony, witness)). As previously stated, however, I am no Greek scholar (after I learn Japanese I'm going to start on Koine Greek...), but what I can notice from Strong's Dictionary, is that each of these words can mean witness. I do know that the meaning of a word is decided by the context it is in (Greek has no grammar regarding the order of words in a sentence, instead relying on the words used to convey the meaning of the sentence), therefore, I know that depending on the context different translations of the word would be ruled out, so I cannot say it means all of these things all of the time.

So, first rule of Bible interpretation, context (the second happens to be context as well, and the third... well, you get the picture). Let's take a look at how Jesus told his disciples to apply these words, and then how the Apostles applied these words. Matt. 24:14 is the first place we see one of these words used in the new testament, but going on our three rules, we need to back up a bit and take a look at what is happening around this one verse. As you read through the passage, keep this question in mind: what is the testimony that Christ is referring to? Our story, or the Gospel (Christ's story)? Matt. 24:3-14 "3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" 4 And Jesus answered them, 'See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.'" What is the Testimony? The Gospel of God's Kingdom (if you saw that reading through the passage, congratulations!). What is the Gospel of God's Kingdom? The fact that Christ changed my life? Maybe. But the stronger argument here would be that it is the story of how every person on this earth is a sinner, dead in their fallen human nature, enemies to God. And, while we were still sinners, God sent his one and only son down to earth to live and then die the most painful and excruciating death ever invented, so that we could receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Crucifixion was so painful, we invented a word specifically for it (Excruciate comes from crucify). That, my friends, is the good news.

You may be thinking, "Revelation 12:11!" Ok, Revelation 12:11 "And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb, and the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." (emphasis added). Ok, but the verse starts out with a conjunction ("Conjunction junction, what's that function?" "Hooking up words and phrases and clauses." (Yes, I just quoted Schoolhouse Rock on a theology blog)) Therefore, we can deduce that there must be a connected phrase before this verse. Revelation 12:7-11 "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8  but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11  And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.'" Here we see that the Dragon (Satan, The Devil, the Accuser of the Saints), is thrown out of heaven, and that the power of God's kingdom and authority of Christ have come, by the blood of the lamb, and the word of their testimony. What leads to the cleansing of sins and defeating of the Devil? Acceptance of the blood of the lamb that was shed on the cross for our sins. How does one come to this acceptance (faith)? Romans 10:14-17 "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' 16  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?' 17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." My story is not the word of Christ. The word of Christ is the word of Christ (yes, very profound).

Next, you may be thinking "Joe, you quoted Kristen Williams saying 'Testimony is just a fancy word for "Heaven touched earth right where I'm standing, and I'm different as a result."'" Why yes, I did, and I also went on to use Revelation 12:11 to back it up. This is one of the reasons that I started this blog, so I could grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, and have everyone else benefit as well (and in many cases teach me). Since that post (wow, it was only three months ago) I have come to the realization that there is a time and a place for my story, and far more times and places for Christ's story. The writing of the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 9:16b really grabbed me "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." Yikes! Think about it. The Apostle Paul new the Old Testament like the back of his hand, he was zealous for the Lord (going so far as to persecute the church, whom he viewed as heretics). But upon conversion, all he talked about was Jesus, Jesus Jesus... If the Apostle Paul didn't get a get-out-of-jail-free card when it came to his preaching, then why should any of us get one?

As I said previously, there is a time and a place for our testimonies. But when we are witnessing to a group of unsaved individuals, it would be more effective to preach to them about the cornerstone of the Christian faith, our savior, Jesus Christ. The church did just fine with Christ for the last 2,000 years, and if you look at the history of the Catholic church, you can see what happens when we try to introduce human ideas, so why should we depart from preaching only Jesus Christ and him crucified for our sins now?

Sincerely,

Joe Anderson

Pelagianism is the default setting of the human heart; the religion of self-salvation. -Michael Horton

Acts 4:11 & 12 "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Into the East

Greetings to you all in the name of Christ Jesus Our Lord!

I hope this first post of the New Year finds you all safe and well, and I pray that all of you have an amazing 2012, in which you grow in the knowledge and understanding of our God and his inspired Word, the Bible. I hope that this year you all live, knowing that each day could be your last (especially if the day happens to be December 21st, 2012).

As the title suggests, I may be heading into the East, by heading west of course, but still into the area we have referred to as the Far East. My younger brothers and I are applying for a six-month internship at our church, which would take us on a mission trip to Japan at the fulfillment of the six months. Please pray that we may be accepted, raise the funds necessary, and that we would be able to be living examples of the love of Christ. Only approximately 1% of the population of Japan are Christian, so what is more important than prayer for us is prayer for the people of Japan.

I pray that everyone on the team can follow the examples of the Apostles and other early Christians, and preach Jesus Christ and him crucified for our sins, and teach the youth of Japan that all are born dead in trespasses and sins, that none are righteous (no, not even one (except for Christ, that is)), and that all need to come to the repentance and forgiveness of sins by grace alone through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone. I pray also that we can accurately communicate what it means to "believe in" Jesus, and finally, that we can communicate the need for them to get a Bible, and read it every day.

That being said, I would highly recommend all of you go and read the Great Commission, it can be found both in Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:6-11. All Christians are called to fulfill this last commandment of Christ, whether it is in your home, neighborhood, school, county, state, nation, or abroad, like Japan.

The goal for this blog, especially in this coming year, as I prepare for the mission trip, will be to help equip you to fulfill this mission, by getting you into the word. You will not agree with everything I say on this blog, I can guarantee you that! But, if you come across something you find questionable, search the Bible and back up your belief! Then come and post it here, so we can all read and learn your views, and then go and back up our beliefs. Please do not let the wall of disagreement come between us, but let the disagreement fuel you on to learn more.

Finally, expect the blogging here to drop off significantly for the next three months. I will try to do one blog post a month if I can, but I'm doing my last quarter at the community college here, and I really need to concentrate.

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

さようなら,

Joe Anderson

Homophobia, Does it Interfere with Evangelism?

Season's Greetings to all my Brothers and Sisters in the Faith

Grace and Peace to You in the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

You may have heard it on the news, but for those of you who haven't I shall fill you in. The information I have was taken from an AP article, so I'm not sure how reliable it is, but all the same, according to them, a southern Cal. Lesbian couple is suing A Bed and Breakfast in Hawai'i Kai, because the owner denied them a room due to their orientation. They did find a room in a bed and breakfast in Waikiki, but the experience "Soured their trip." When the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission investigated the report, they stated that the owner said that Homosexuality is "detestable," and that is "defiles our land," and promptly notified the couple of their right to sue. According to the people commenting on the article, mainstream Christian churches and the Mormon church are to blame for corrupting the Hawaiians' "laid back and tolerant culture."

What has been said deeply saddens me. No, I do not support homosexuality, it is a vile and detestable sin, but so is premarital sex, stealing, coveting, bearing false witness, having Gods before YHWH, and not honoring your father and mother. In fact, I would go so far as to say that all sin is just as vile and detestable as the others, and that all sins deserve the shunning and fear that we Christians seem to give to those of the Homosexual orientation. The apostle James tells us in James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point has become accountable for all of it." Therefore, the answer to the question in the title of this post is, yes. Homophobia interferes with evangelism, and you know it! Instead of banning the homosexual couple from her bed and breakfast, perhaps the woman should have done as Gimli in the Two Towers film said when the Uruk-Hai began their attack on Helm's Deep and said, "Send them to me!" Settling into a battle stance and gripping her Bible with two hands, preparing to share the gospel with them and sow the seeds for the Holy Spirit to drive a cross-shaped wooden stake through the heart of their sin (how's that for mixing of metaphors?).  Perhaps we, as Christians, should overcome our homophobia and share the gospel with them at all cost and at every opportunity, knowing that they only have one life to be saved, and hoping that perhaps they will accept the all-sufficient sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved by the grace of God.

Of course, there are times when we need to take a hard stance against homosexuality and blatantly point out that it is wrong, instead of trying to share the gospel and let the words of Jesus Christ and the Apostles do the rest. Examples of these circumstances are the Gay Christian Network (with new tools to help you as a christian parent understand your homosexual children (not help them come to the realization and repentance of their sins)), or the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (which ordains homosexual pastors). In these instances, the people in question should know better than to smile upon Christians who continue in their homosexual ways after they are saved. There are numerous plain, unambiguous texts that show us that continuing in the sin of homosexuality after being saved is wrong, dangerous, and proves that you probably weren't saved in the first place. The teaching of the apostle Paul in Romans 1:18-27 could be made no clearer when he says "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them... 20b So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools... 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations with those that are contrary to nature; 27 and their men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" (emphasis added by myself). With christian lesbians, we must do several things. First, open the Bible, and share with them this passage, and any others like it. Second, pray that they may come to the realization of their sins and repent. Begging God to forgive them for defiling the faith and spurning the Word of God with their beliefs that it was ok for them to continue in their sins after being saved. 

With any group of homosexuals, either Christian or non-Christian, we must remember that it is not the person that God hates, but the sin. God may hate all sin, but he loves all the people, and he sent his son to die for homosexuals just as much as the rest of this murderous, covetous, lying, stealing people who have accepted the gift of God and turned our back on our former ways, daily striving to put a stake through the heart of our sin. If we see a brother or sister who is struggling with homosexuality, we must come alongside them and help them to overcome their struggling by teaching them the true Word of God and reminding them that Christ died to forgive them of their sins and that he defeated sin once and for all on the cross, that we may be saved from our sins and daily bear fruit in keeping with this repentance. 

So, what would you do if A) you owned a bed and breakfast, and B) you had a homosexual couple asking you for a room. Post your thoughts in a comment.

Finally, what did you think of this post? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Your Brother in Christ,

Joe

John 8:7-11 "And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' 11 She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"

"Christianity is not about doing, but being." Pastor John Danganan

Christianity is not a set of rules and regulations that you must follow, but is about striving to be more like Christ.

p.s. if you want to read the full article, you can find it here

Christ Wins @ Christmas

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Merry Christmas! I hope this post finds you safe and well. It's that time of year again, when a feeling of peace and tranquility permeates the air (except in shopping centers), and people take a break from what they are doing to visit friends and relatives. It is also at this time that Christians traditionally celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Although modern scholars are almost certain that he wasn't born this time of year, I will not be discussing that. Instead, I want to go with tradition, and talk a bit about the coming of the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world. 

   

In Genesis Chapter 3 God says an offspring of Eve will bruise the serpent's head, and the serpent will bruise his heel. While some modern scholars point to the natural hate of humans towards snakes, I will be going with the traditional view, which holds that this is the first announcement of the gospel, that one would come and defeat the serpent (Satan). Throughout the Old Testament there is an underlying expectation that this savior would come, and there are numerous prophesies, which the birth of Jesus fulfilled, and which I have no time to get into. The birth of Jesus Christ, the servant king, the Son of God, was what paved the way for his later death and subsequent resurrection. The first coming of Christ was lowly, in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths, with no servants to see to his every need and to announce his arrival, but with shepherds, summoned to the manger by angels.

Every Christmas I wonder how this holiday became greater than Easter. Because if the birth of Christ is important, the death and resurrection - as a penal substitution for us - is even more important. His birth did nothing for us, other than the fact that it fulfilled numerous prophesies and showed us how he came not to be served, but to serve. His death and resurrection, on the other hand, displayed for us the supreme love of God (that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us). Many have misinterpreted his death, such as Rob Bell in his recent book Love Wins, in which he holds that no God who would send people to Hell just for not believing in his son would not be worthy of worship. To which I would counter that God does not send people to Hell because they don't believe in his son, he sends people to Hell because he is perfectly just and holy, and cannot abide sin. Sin cannot enter heaven, because sin cannot endure the presence of God (Rom. 6:23a "for the wages of sin is death,") . But Love does win, because God is also all loving (2 Pet. 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in fulfilling his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."), and he sent his one and only son to die in the sinner's stead, taking the punishment of sin for us (John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he have his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."). If we accept the gift of God (Rom. 6:23b "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."), repenting of our sin and accepting the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, then we are no longer condemned of our sin, but Christ's blood washes us white as snow, and our sins are blotted out. We are then capable of getting to heaven, not through any work of our own, but by the grace of God. 

So yes, love wins, not in the way that Rob Bell sees it - where even those who died in rebellion to God go to heaven and live in his presence until they are eventually wooed to faith (technically that wouldn't be faith, it would be knowledge) - but through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, and Christ wins.

So, as you do your last minute Christmas shopping, make your rounds to deliver gifts, visit your family, or spend a relaxing day shoveling snow from your driveway, remember that the birth of Christ is just the beginning of the greatest story ever, how God's son died for us, while we were his enemies. 

Have a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Your Brother in Christ,

Joe

Requirements of the Pastoral Office

Grace and peace be with you all in our Lord Jesus Christ,

In this post I will be going over the requirements of the pastoral office as listed in the Bible, I may or may not get through all of them, so if I miss one please post it in a comment with the Bible reference so I can look into it and everyone may grow in knowledge and understanding of God's word. Do to the fact that I am preparing for training to be a pastor I felt it would be good to go through this. Most of what I will be going over will be from 1st &2nd Timothy and Titus, the "Pastoral" epistles. The Apostle Paul didn't receive a get-out-of-jail-free card when it came to the word (Acts 17:10-12), therefore myself, or anyone else for that matter, shouldn't receive one either, so feel free to compare what I type here to what is put forward in the word of God.

First, and most important, a pastor must believe that the Bible is the one and only inspired word of God (2 Tim. 15-17), sharper than any double edged sword (Heb. 4:12&13), and adequate for teaching, correction, and training (Col. 3:15-17). He must be ready in season and out of season to preach the word (2 Tim. 4:1&2).

An aspiring pastor must be sober-minded, self-controlled, and hospitable. He must be the husband of one wife, his children must be obedient, and he must be able to manage his household well. Finally, he must be well thought of outside the Christian community. (1 Tim. 3:1-7).

A pastor must be able to rightly divide the word of God, that is, proper distinction between Law and gospel (1 Tim. 1:8-11). Usually how a good pastor will interpret this is to preach the law and then the gospel, the Law being used to shock people with the realization of their sins, shining light into the darkness (Eph. 5:11-13), and then follow up with the gospel, allowing non-believers (yes you, my unsaved friend) to hear that they can be saved from the wrath of our wholly righteous and perfectly just God (Gen. 18:25, Ezra 9:14&15, Job 8:3, Psa. 9:7&8, and many more), and assuring born again believers of their salvation (I don't know about you, but I find it a great relief when I hear the words "Christ died for you, brother, your sins have been forgiven.") (Gal. 2:15-21, 1 Cor. 6:9-11. Heb. 10:11-14, and so many more than I have room for). All too often I hear pastors (and Sunday school teachers), teaching and preaching Law, gospel, law, "To be saved, you have to do this that and the other thing, but don't worry, Christ did it for you! But guess what, now, in order to be fully justified, you need to do all these things! And just to make sure you're doing it, let's go check your tithing record, because your money is most important..." Ok, they don't say that exactly, but if you broke down some of the sermons I've listened to from various pastors, that is pretty much what you end up with. Friend, if you are in a church that preaches law-gospel-law, remember this. Christ died for your sins, they were totally, completely, unequivocally paid for on that Cross when he died, there is nothing you, or me, or anyone else on this Earth, can do to be worthy of his death or even add to it. We are not Roman Catholic, we are not Mormon, we are not Muslim, we are Christian. We have a God who died for all of our sins. Yes, we should bear fruit in keeping with repentance and that forgiveness of sins, but there is a big difference between not being able to stop ourselves from doing works because of the Spirit of God within us, and doing works because we feel that perhaps Christ's death wasn't enough (or because we must hold the Five Pillars to reach paradise). God is totally just, but he is also merciful, and he provided a way out (read any and every gospel [Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John]). Jesus Christ is the one and only son of God.

A pastor must be willing to feed and care for God's sheep (John 21:15-19). Many people may interpret this many different ways, but I believe this to mean that as a pastor, one must be willing to see to the needs of his portion of Christ's flock, not looking after only himself and his family, but all of the children of light in the congregation. Whether this means that a pastor should appoint deacons to care for the flock (Acts 6:1-7), or if they see to it themselves (a monumental task), I feel is up to the pastor, the size of the congregation, and the relative needs of those in the congregation. Either way is still Biblical.

Finally, a pastor must preach sound doctrine. If the congregation or the elders want the pastor to a sermon series on the moral underlines of Star Wars, it is up to him to tell them it is his duty to preach the Word and the Word only. Paul himself states in 1 Corinthians 9:16, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" Therefore, if Paul, who was an expert in the Bible, and received training from Christ, and was shown a vision of heaven, didn't preach random things but preached the word only, then what right have I, who learned only from translations of Paul's writings, to preach other than the word?

It has been great doing this post, and if I missed anything, I am sorry, but I wrote this over the course of several days, and some things are bound to be skipped. I hope you found this post insightful, thought provoking, and will post your thoughts in the comments. Thank you for reading, and congratulations on reaching the end!

Until next I write, farewell.

Your Brother in Christ,

Joe

Misused Verse #7

Yes, finally, the last one!

     I have been looking forward to this for a very long time, the final verse in the misused verse series. After this, I want to get into the requirements and purposes of the pastoral office. But first, the verse. It happens to be none other than Mark 16:17-18, which reads from the ESV as: "And these signs shall accompany those that believe: in my name they shall cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; (18) they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." This verse is often used by the Christians in snake handling denominations to justify their acts of snake handling and poison drinking. They believe that these acts evidence their faith in Jesus Christ, but I believe that while these acts could accompany Christians (and they did: Acts 2:1; 3:2; 5:15-16; 8:7; 19:12; 28:3; 28:8 and many many many more). While I do believe that healings and other miracles will accompany those who have a true faith in Jesus Christ, I do not believe that this verse condones the practices of the Snake handling churches, and I have numerous reasons.
     First and foremost the immediate context of the verse. This verse is in an extended ending of the gospel according to Mark, which does not appear in the two oldest texts. Think of it as an extended edition of a movie, that was added on by people who had no part in the production of the original*. The verses given in this text should be read with caution, and, according to the Wycliffe Bible Commentary, "could not reasonably be used as a basis for the deliberate and presumptuous handling of serpents and drinking of poison which are practiced by certain extreme religious sects." Also, I would highly advise not using any of the verses found in this extended version as a basis for any other doctrine, unless it is supported by other passages in the New Testament that are not as ambiguous, which leads me to my second point.
     The idea of handling serpents as a show of faith is not found in any other verse in the Bible. Hear me through: there is mention of power to "tread on serpents" as well as "scorpions," given in Luke 10:19, however, one must realize that this was said by Jesus Christ specifically to the seventy-two disciples that had been appointed by our Lord Jesus to go into the towns that he was about to enter as "lambs in the midst of wolves" (try picturing that!) and proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of God, as well as heal the sick in any of the towns that received them favorably. These verses, because they are directed specifically at the seventy-two, cannot in good conscience, be applied to all Christians today. The idea of being able to drink poison is also not found anywhere else in the New Testament. Sorry, but it isn't...
     The word translated "serpent" in this passage (ὄφις), can also be translated figuratively as an "artful malicious person." And in the passage from Luke, the Greek word translated as "Scorpion" is what Strong's dictionary describes as "an obsolete word, (perhaps strengthened from the base of σκοπός and meaning to pierce)." Due to the fact that I have not yet learned Greek (it's on the agenda, but haven't gotten that far yet) I will trust the scholars in their translation of the word scorpion, but I will speculate about the word serpent. Throughout the Bible, the serpent is the symbol of craftiness an cunning, and perhaps once again our Lord is speaking in a parable and alluding to Christian's ability to put down heretics and others who use divisive methods and attempt to divide the church. Another possible explanation is that Christ was alluding to the apostle Paul being bitten by a serpent on the island of Malta (see Acts 28:1-5).
     Finally, the Bible ultimately commands us not to put God to the test (see Deuteronomy 6:16; Matt 4:7, 22:8; Luke 4:12; 1 Cor 10:9 [very appropriate]), and every time they pick up a serpent they are putting God's mercy and protection to the test.
     If you have any comments, please post them, I would love to get more opinions on this very confusing verse. I hope you found this post thought-provoking, informative, and interesting to read. I look forward to writing on less troubling matters.

Until next we write, I hope that Christ will keep you and protect you.

Your brother in Christ,

Joe

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn."
C. S. Lewis

The experience of watching numerous people die handling snakes, should logically lead a person to conclude it is an unethical and false practice, however, that seems to not be the case for those who live in snake handling communities...

*::NOTICE!:: This is kind of like a retraction, in that it is an edition of the actual post for better clarity and understanding, in an effort to prevent misunderstanding. When I refer to the passage in Mark as being like and extended version of a movie, I am not saying it was for sure written by humans, I'm saying that we don't know (we being myself and every other Biblical scholar to my knowledge) whether it was written by humans apart from or in the inspiration of God. Therefore, it should be read with caution... Carry on.

Misused Verse # 6

Hello All! I hope this blog post finds you safe and well.

    This misused verse was also brought to my attention by Mr. Rosebrough at Pirate Christian Radio. This misused verse can be very dangerous in the hands of the right (perhaps wrong would be better) pastor. The verse in question is Deuteronomy 15:10, which reads like this: "You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God shall bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." First, you should notice that this is in the OLD Testament, and is part of the law, so therefore it does not directly apply to us, because we are no longer under the law, but in Christ. Second, you should notice that this is in verse 10, and therefore something was more than likely left off the front of this verse (context!). So, in order to get a good understanding of this verse, we need to back up to the start of the paragraph, to verse 7: "If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God has given you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in you heart and you say, 'the seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your heart look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you and you be guilty of sin" (breaking the law by omission). This verse, in and of its self, is pretty harmless. But in the hands of a skilled Bible twister (wolf in sheep's clothing), it can be used to drastic effect. When I heard this verse, the pastor speaking said something along the lines of this: "If you want to sell your house and give the money, do it. If you want to cash in your 401(k) and give the money, do it. If you want to sell your car and give the money, do it." If your pastor is doing something along those lines with this verse or any other giving verse, one piece of advice: Run! Just run! If you want to try and point this problem out to your pastor, sure, maybe he'll repent, but correcting this heresy could result in a loss of income for the church, so I doubt he (or she [different topic for a different time]) will fix it.
    Most verses that are ripped out of context like this and used this way can be fixed simply by putting it back in context, and that is very good for those of you faced with problems like this, but the effects of not standing up and pointing out these mistakes can be devastating. Pray for the people who are stuck in churches like these, who convince their followers to give everything they have to the church in times as troubling as this. I trust that the LORD is powerful and can help those who are tricked into giving everything to these empty churches, but I believe the best way is for the pastor to repent of his wrong doings, or for the people to find a church where the word of God is rightly handled and preached.

Sincerely,

Joe Anderson

"For a time is coming where people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to truth and wander off into myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
My friends, that time is here, and has been here since the beginning of the church, but recently, it has been getting worse. The solution? Drive a stake through its vampric heart.

Apology

I would like to apologize to all my readers who left comments and did not see them published for a very long time. I am extremely new to Blogger, and I thought that I would be notified of comments awaiting moderation (yes, I have started reading comments before I approve them, just to be safe :D ) with an email. Alas, that is not the case. I did not notice the little phrase right below the manage blogs section telling me I had five comments waiting. Now that i know, your comments should be posted quite a bit quicker.

Your Brother in Christ,

Joe Anderson

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." Rev 12:11
"Testimony is just a fancy word for heaven touched earth right where I'm standing and I am different as a result." Kristen Williams