Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Gideons

Today we got to meet some very cool Christian Pastors. There was a meeting here in Iruma and about some 15 pastors got together for fellowship. They had one of the guys play two harmonicas simultaneously. That was fabulous. He was playing the melody line and the harmony using two different keyed harmonicas at once. I'd like to see Darrell Mansfield do that?  Another Pastor and His wife played a song on a traditional Japanese Okarina
Okarina


The organization, an early American parachurch organization dedicated to Christian evangelism, was founded in 1899 at the YMCA  in Janesville, Wisconsin by two traveling businessmen who met by chance when they shared a hotel room in Boscobel, Wisconsin and refined their idea in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.[2] It began distributing free Bibles, the work it is chiefly known for, in 1908, when the first Bibles were placed in the rooms of the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana.[3] The local railway station at the time was named Iron Mountain, causing confusion as to the name of the town.[4] From Wikipedia.
The organization describes its link to the story of Gideon:
Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads.
In keeping with this symbolism, the symbol of the Gideons is a two-handled pitcher and torch, recalling Gideon's victory over the Midianites as described in Judges, Chapter 7.



Gideons are in pop-culture too-
  • The Beatles – song – "Rocky Raccoon" - "Rocky Raccoon, checked in to his room, only to find Gideon's Bible."
  • Beulah – song – "Maroon Bible"
  • Bill Hicks – comedy album – Rant in E-Minor, He speculates how Gideons operate and considers capturing and studying them as a hobby.
  • Clutch – song – "Profits of Doom" – "Genesis and Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Gideon is knocking in your hotel while you slumber."
  • Fall Out Boy – song – "XO"
  • Frank Zappa – song – "Room Service"
  • Jay Brannan - song - "Home" - "Why don't the Gideons leave condoms in the drawer? Bibles don't save many people anymore."
  • Jethro Tull – song – "Locomotive Breath" - "He picks up Gideon's Bible, open at page one."
  • John Cale – song – "Gideon's Bible"   
The Gideons in Japan have a bilingual Bible that is distributed into the school system and many events. Hospitals and Military all receive Bibles. One person shared how she gave a Bible to a nurse who uses it for her patients that don't have peace. It was such a blessing to meet these men of God serving Jesus and getting the word out. My heart was full of Joy. It was over 25 years ago I received my first Gideon Bible. I was in the Army and they took my hair and took my clothes and took my pride and then gave me a gideon. Too bad we can't do that with everyone? That Bible was in my pocket through out basic training and AIT. Pray for the Gideons and getting the word out to everyone. 
Double Harmonica too Cool
 http://www.gideons-jp.org/index.shtml

Husband and Wife Okarina duet--sweet.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Valentines Day Party

We had a Valentines day party in our home. There are many neighborhood kids that we want to get to come to Sunday School in our home. So we have these parties and love on the kids and have fun. We then share with them about God's love and invited them to Sunday School.
 It was a great time. We colored Valentine coloring books played some games, Dan told a hilarious version of the Valentine history in broken Japanese. The kids looked perplexed but those that knew Japanese and English were laughing as I slaughtered the language.  Towards the end of the party all the kids were correcting my Japanese for me. Humbling but amusing.

 We ate snacks and valentine cup cakes with whip cream frosting. It was a raging party. Someone even threw up on the carpet in the bathroom. When I was in the Army that meant the party was a good one. I'll take that as a compliment.



Pray for the kids to come to Sunday School. Pray that they come and learn how much Jesus loves them. One lady today in church who is of years remembers when she was a girl how she snuck away to go to Sunday School.  This led to her becoming a Christian later on in life.

Jane's first tooth

Jane our 6 year old daughter just lost her first tooth. It was uneventful as she was showing mom how loose it is. I over heard and said, "Let me see how loose it is." She said, "No way I know you. You'll just rip the tooth out of my mouth." She's right and so I let her be. I said, "your right I'd go to wiggle that thing and I just push it bending back inside your mouth, it'll come right out. Mihoko and I went to discussing ancient methodology for tooth extractions and to our surprise she bent the thing herself. She said, "Hora I did myself!" LOOK MOM I TOOK OUT MY TOOTH." I was bummed because I didn't get to do it but I was happy she was less dramatic and there were no tears just a toothless smile saying, "Hey when does the tooth fairy pay up?" We all laughed. Good job Jane this is the first of many more to come out. I can wait to see the uppers come out too.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

No one ever spoke like this man

John 7:46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
The Pharisees are wanting to kill Jesus they are wanting to cut him off. They, the Pharisees, for the whole Feast of Tabernacles have been look for Jesus. He is reported to be in the temple itself. The officers are dispatched. It is a very busy time of year. Josephus says that near 2 million people ascend into Jerusalem during this time. It is the last day of the festival. The culmination of all events. At the climax Jesus stands up and in front of everyone cries out. 7:37; “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”. The crowd is mesmerized. No one has ever done this with such grace and authoritative speaking. The Officers are in full riot gear for show. They are all decked out and ready for action. But something keeps them from acting. Their determination to disrupt and arrest a situation and a person is diffused. They are standing there jaw dropped. The words of Jesus are ringing in their heads and they somehow are walking back deep in thought about Jesus and they walk into the headquarters. The Pharisees are wondering, "Why didn't you bring him in?" ... I wonder if there was silence as the officers are waking up to the reality that they have failed in their job. Someone from the back speaks up sheepishly, "No one ever spoke like this man."

In Luke 4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

Some try to depict Jesus as a revolutionary radical. But the Bible speaks of how loving and gracious he was when he spoke. Now he did have some rough words for the religious leaders. But for the everyday people he blew them away not by cleaver jibes or intellectual terror. He spoke in such a way that people always walked away deep in thought about his words.

I think of the Rich man who had it all, his confidence in self was strong. But after his encounter with Jesus he went away deep in thought and saddened.

Nicodemus came to Jesus late at night and before the compliments are wasted Jesus cuts him off and says, "Nic you need to be born again." I wonder how deep in thought he went home that night thinking on Jesus' words?

The Men who brought the woman caught in adultery one by one went away deep in thought. Or how about the woman who was a stones throw away from eternity. How did she walk away from Jesus' words..."Neither do I condemn you, go your way and sin no more."

When we spend time in the word do we hear Jesus in the same way? What effect does his words have on us? I think of all the times I have read the Bible and studied with an eye for teaching in using it in some other way other than hearing it for myself. I want to hear Jesus in such a way so that I walk away in deep thought. Then when I speak to others I want Jesus' words to be what people hear and see them impacted in the same way.


When I was into sales, I worked for a short time for  a motivational company as a telemarketer. I know I'm one of those people. But the fascinating part was the training I got through the Nightingale, Zig Ziglar, Mike Ferry and many others training programs. It was a type of language called NLP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming. Neural Linguistic Programming is used in Psychology to reprogram people who have some kind of mental trauma. It is a brainwashing technique. I know my Calvary Family is flipping their lid thinking I am a Freudian-Evangelist. Bear me out I had an experience that has resulted in a positive behavior I think is important for many to understand. Now some will take issue with me here and I am just speaking from what I learned not on behalf of the whole NLP science.  I am not a psychologist. I don't believe in a Christian going to years of therapy away from the Bible. Jesus is our wonderful counselor. You can program the mind. Jesus can also program our minds. The company I worked for had a script that was so well written with this language that the folks who were victims didn't know what hit them. I could call 200 people a day and contact about 40 of them and present about 15 times and sell 10 of them. This would make me $400-500 a day depending on the skill and amount of peripherals I could sell. There were some guys who made over 100,000 dollars a year with their techniques. I could ask questions in such a way so as to illicit a response that would beg for me to ask the next question and have them so wanting what I was selling that when I asked for their credit card they already had it out.  Now that is power. There was a rush of power and control that was addicting. The Hunt was fun and like fishing there is a style and art to the catch.

It didn't last long because I was pressuring people to buy what they didn't need. I knew folks didn't have the money for it as they'd give three credit cards which would all be maxed out.  I was willfully programming a mind against their will to do something that may or may not benefit them. I am a Christian and I struggled with that so I quit.

But I am in tuned to this language Jesus is using to illicit from the people a response and desire for more of God. His gracious words were powerful. Romans says the Gospel is the power unto Salvation. David in Psalms says, "he meditates on God's words day and night." The reason I bring all this up is that instead of a Neural Linguistic programming I want to have a Biblical Linguistic Programming. We are to meditate on the Scriptures day and night to be like a tree planted by a river bearing its fruit. We are to be speaking to one another in Psalms, Hymns and spiritual songs. We are to take every thought captive unto Christ. We are to let our minds be transformed through the washing of the word. Biblical Linguistic Programming is lost in the plethora of media disrupting the process.

(CAUTION EMBEDDED COMANDS 
MAY CAUSE YOU TO RESPOND 
AGAINST YOUR FLESH)

We all have a deep desire for meaning and purpose in our relationship to God and for God. When are we, now, going to begin, right now, the process of washing our minds? How long until we, stop, the madness of striving for generality and status quo Christianity. What time, today, are you going to begin meditating. How much will you spend on life change? What mental activity stands in the way that is unprofitable or meaningless for eternity. So at this moment, with Jesus, you can over come every issue through the Biblical Linguistic Programming. READ YOUR BIBLE!


Note: Embedded commands for this last paragraph are, Now, right now, stop today spend mental activity with Jesus. Some of the commands are not true examples of NLP I am just messing with your head...or am I? Buwaaaahhaaaahahahaha