Why Jesus?

So I have never gotten this question before, and I don't know why... I kinda figure it is because no one wants to ask me this. But I know that this is a very important thing to talk about... So please take the time to read.

Why Jesus? Why on earth follow Christianity? How do you know its real? What if it is all fake? And similar questions are pretty simple to answer... I am going to break this blog post into a few sections... Not really sure as I am writing this on the go... So if you are curious on any of these subjects than I would recommend reading to know my opinion.

So I am going to start in a dark corner of my mind, my intellect. I don't use this very often, but it is one of the things that drew me to Christianity. Most people think that Christianity is a blind faith, destroyed by science, and cannot conform to reason. I can say to the contrary. Christianity is backed by more than enough science, history, and reason.

I will start with science. In this section I am going to compare and contrast, science of the ancient world, to science of the Bible. For clarity I will be stating the ancient scientific belief, and then I will compare what the Bible says.

How was the world held up?

Ancient civilizations believed that the earth was held up by giant animals, by the hand of their gods, or by some object larger than ourselves. Greek mythology said that it was the god Atlas that held the earth on his shoulders, Hindus believed it was carried by giant elephants.

What does the Bible say? Job 26:7 tells us that the earth is held on nothing. This was written during the time of Abraham, when every scientific mind said some greater being held the earth up. But 2 Peter 1:21 tells us that no prophecy, none come from the will of man, but from God. Job told us that the earth just floats in empty space, an idea that was not accepted in the realm of science at its time.


A Flat Earth or a Round One?

Which one was it? Well up until around Colombus' time I remember that you could still fall off the edge of the world. So until about the 1500's the earth was still considered by the scientific world to be flat. I think falling off the edge of the world would be an interesting sensation...

But what does the Bible tell us? Isaiah 40:22 tells us that the earth is a circle. Now you might say, but the earth is a sphere, not a circle. Proverbs 8:27 tells us that God drew a circle around the earth. Some translations call it the Horizon, but the Hebrew word is chuwg meaning a complete circle, a circuit, it holds the idea of a completely round sphere. The shape achieved from using a compass. If memory serves me well, which it never does, there is no Hebrew word for a sphere, they used circle to refer to round objects. So the Bible tells us that the earth is round, thousands of years before it was fact.


How Many Stars Are There?

So what did ancient people believe? I cannot find proof for this, but I have read this somewhere. I apologize that I cannot find this so you are completely entitled to throw this one out. But ancient astronomers believed that there were anywhere from 900-1100 stars in the night sky. How they came up with this number, I could not find I apologize. I am 100% sure though that they had a number for the stars.

But the Bible tells us something interesting though, that the stars are uncountable Hebrews 11:12. Today we have a guesstimate of the stars, but we cannot be sure how many they are. Another interesting fact in Hebrews 11:12 is that God tells us that the number of stars, and the amount of sand on the earth are innumerable. We are put in a light that these two numbers are equal. Currently the estimated number of stars are 10 to the 22nd power. That is 10 with 22 zeroes behind it. That's a lot of stars. Now what is guesstimate of grains of sand? 75 with 17 zeros following. I dunno, I think they are pretty close, considering they are both guesses. The Bible told us that both of these things are innumerable, so we will never know, but with our guessing they are pretty close, as the Bible makes us think.

So one last scientific fact (I have much more but only so much patience)


What is on the bottom of the ocean?

Up until about the 1900's did people believe that the ocean was smooth and flat on the bottom. The common belief was that the ocean had taken the wear and tear of time, and went about completely flat. But around the 1900's it was discovered that the ocean had mountains, and valleys. Surprise Surprise!

Psalms 18:15 tells us that the ocean has valleys, channels, ravines, whatever you want to call them... They were there. Jonah 2:6 tells us that Jonah fell to the roots of the mountains. Or Jonah came to the base of the mountains. But Jonah was in the middle of the ocean? There mountains in the middle of the ocean? The Bible clearly tells us that the ocean has mountains and valleys inside it.

There are plenty plenty plenty more facts... And if you would like to know more, you can ask on my formspring button on the side, cause it never gets used haha... But really, anything ask me there. Don't think the Flood could happen, I can show you science to show you it did.

But I need to move on the next section of the intellect, and that is reason.


Reason

The Bible is unreasonable you may say, God makes no sense... Yeah sometimes it can be. But that is because we are trying to think about something and someone who is much bigger than us.

So first, how do we know God exists?

Easy easy easy... Read those facts haha.... How can anyone declare these as truth with no evidence at all, when everyone was against them? How could David say that there are valleys on the bottom of the ocean when he has never been there? These are just one evidence of many though.

Lets use logic. Lets say I have an amazing yellow car in my driveway. You look at it with awe, cause it is that awesome.... And you ask me, "What company made this car?" And I reply, "Well... No one actually, it just kinda grew there... Like I was looking at my driveway one day and then a week later it was there." You would probably think I am crazy... It would probably happen more like this... "What company made this car?" and I would reply, "Chevrolet!" And you would know... There is a car there is maker. Same thing with a building... There's a building there... So duh! There was a builder haha... It didn't pop up like a shroom. Art has an artist... So creation had a creator. It is common sense.


But how do we know that He is still around? How do we know that He is the god of the Bible?

Common sense... If I guess the lottery numbers without fail for 30 years in a row... You would immediately know that either I know the boss, or I knew the numbers. You would by no means say, "Oh those were all lucky guesses." Its not possible. So how is it that the prophecies in the Bible have come true, 100% accurate? Never once has the Bible been wrong, and the prophecies are specific. We have prophecies that even tell how events will happen. Jesus told us that the temple would be destroyed and not one stone would be on top of each other. This happened, all the stones were knocked down, and even broken to pieces so that not a stone was standing. The book of Daniel tells us that Babylon would be captured by the Medes and Persians, they would be conquered by Greece, and they would be conquered by Rome. Years before this happened.

http://100prophecies.org/

Here is a site with just some of the prophecies that came true. But prophecy shows us that God is real. There is no way that man can correctly predict events years upon years like this.

Need more reason?

We have the testimony of the Bible. With having correct scientific facts, tons of prophecy that have come true and are coming true, and not contradicting itself once, we can see that it has special light to it. But we see the change of men like Moses. Moses was unwilling to do the work of God, but something obviously changed him to do the work. Paul went from killing Christians to becoming one, something happened to this man where he changed. Peter went from denying Christ to dying for Christ. All the disciples went through so much misery for the Gospel. A weak belief does not drive men to these limits. Some huge event had to change these guys. They did not change for no reason. All these men experienced God, and it changed them. Their testimony and experience shows us, that something happened, they met someone. We have many conversations that they had with God, and their change gives us clear evidence that God did speak.

In conclusion,

We have clear science and reason to back up the Bible, but this is not the biggest evidence. I believe that the biggest evidence is the testimony of others. I can see all the scientific evidence, the historical evidence, the fulfilled prophecies, the prophecies around me. But the experience of people today really show me a lot.

When someone like Brian "Head" Welch, a member of Korn changes, it has to say something. Do you think that a guy like that jumped out blindly into a religion? A man like Lee Strobel author of A Case for Christ, was a genius of a man who collected all the evidence and came to the conclusion that God is the only way. He was originally a journalist and a determined atheist. A man like that does not just change for nothing.

Here is why I believe the Bible, Christ, and God.

I can see that there are supernatural aspects of the Bible, in prophecy, science, history, and reason. So if the supernatural exists and we exist there must be a creator. If the Bible is the only religious book with supernatural aspects it must be the only one.  And the Bible tells me this. Something my conscience has fouhgt with me for a long time.

But the Bible tells me, it tells us that we are all sinners.

When we try to stand up to the Law of God we fail.

The law of God is the Ten Commandments,

We have all lied,
We have all hated someone (Murder in your heart),
We all have lusted after someone (adultery in your heart)
We all have disrespected our parents

And these are just four of the commandments.

We in God's eyes are lying, murderous, adulterers, who are rebellious.

This is a problem, but we are told that there is a way to have this debt payed.

That is to believe in Jesus. To trust in Him, and repent.

The Bible tells us all this, and if you honestly look at the things above it is clear that this book the Bible is not any other book. This is something to take serious. Please consider all of this.

Feel free to contact me also if you need prayer, or have questions.

Classes

They are going...

God is Great, God is Good, Let us Thank Him For the Food...

I feel that our prayers have often resorted to something similar to this. We have broken prayer down into these strange points... Now I think there is nothing wrong with this, but I don't think that prayer was ever meant to be something you do in a four step process. I honestly believe that we have formalized prayer a bit too much in our attempt to understand it. Now I want to make this clear, I am not saying there is anything wrong with having a guide, formality, or system in prayer. But I am saying, through these things we have lost the true heart of prayer.

The word pray means something rather interesting. Our transliteration (The English spelling of the Greek word) makes it this, proseuchomai. Now to me, this word makes no sense haha... I am no Greek scholar, nor do I claim to be... But anyone can use a dictionary and figure out what a word means in their own language. And this word proseuchomai is actually two words. Pros (not pros as professional, there is a little dot over the o that I don't know how to type) and Euchomai. Now these two words put together is what we translate pray. Haha, but I think that the meaning in Greek gives a different idea than that of English.

According to Merriam Webster the word pray means this...

transitive verb

1 : entreat, implore —often used as a function word in introducing a question, request, or plea <pray be careful>

2 : to get or bring by praying

intransitive verb

1 : to make a request in a humble manner

2 : to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving

Now the last definition sounds nice, and is an aspect of prayer... But none of these meanings fit what I get from the Greek. So you may be wondering... What is the Greek then!? He he he... Wouldn't you like to know... But my post would be pointless without this so I guess I will tell you...

The word Pros, is a preposition. It means towards, and it implies an exchange. Its kinda confusing but it means to move towards a goal with implied interaction. He was slowly creeping toward the ball. When you read that typically you would think he was going to do something with the ball. The Greek word has the same idea. Or the idea of, He was handing the apple towards her. It has the idea of exchanging or interacting with something.

The word Euchomai means to wish. It is literally like Oh I Euchomai that I could get that car! It is wishing for something, hoping for something.

So this Greek word, being two words put together would have the idea of Exchanging Wishes. Or in my definition, trading desires, swapping dreams, or other things like that. It is the idea of telling one person what you want, and they telling you what they want. Or two people talking about what they want, hope for, and other things.

So where is my point... Well about to get to that, after a word from... No...

The word for prayer in Greek is so much more than what we do... We so often when we pray go through a mental list of prayer requests and after we have finished them we open our eyes agree with ourselves (the word Amen means So Be It, or I agree) and head out... Where is the Exchange???? Prayer is an exchange with God. A interaction towards Him. It is so much more than us telling Him what we want. But it involves an exchange.

So what am I suggesting?

Quite simple, evaluate your prayer life... Is it an exchange between you and Him? Are you listening for the things that He wishes for? Or is your prayer time a conversation with Santa Claus, where you tell him all you want for Christmas, take a picture, and leave?

Don't let your prayer life become impersonal. God wants to have an exchange with you. He wants real communication. He wants to answer you back but we so often finish "prayer" and don't think about Him the rest of the day. Instead I challenge you, to talk to God like you would your best friend... Talk to Him as if He were (well He is) right next to you... Say something to Him, ask Him questions, listen / look for answers... Make your prayers personal with Him thats what He really wants, a relationship with you. A chance to talk to you. So please, have a conversation with God, an Exchange... Conversations go two ways, otherwise they are a speech. So yeah... Personal... He is your best friend, talk to Him like that... hehe...

Classes

So I have all my classes now and if I do good (which I plan on doing) I will for sure be graduating... I have a lighter load this semester too... So its all in God's hands now haha...

I have been asked by a lot of people, "What do you want to do after your graduate?" To be honest I don't want to do anything haha... I want to do what God wants me to do haha... Blanket Bible college answer for, I have no idea!!... But yeah anyways...

I really have a desire to stay here in Okinawa... I want to help the Church here continue to evangelize out here, disciple others, and help in other ways. But I also have a strong desire to go to Korea. This is all in God's hands as I don't have the means to go to Korea, so that one is all His. I also want to minister on a small island called Tonaki Jima http://sashimioishi.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post.html

So I do have some desires, some things that I want to do. But I don't know what God wants me to do yet. So I continue praying and waiting for what He has for me... I don't want to try and take more steps than I should, I'll fall down the stairs...

So please continue to pray for me, that I could see where God is leading me... Classes are good so far, so we shall see where He puts me when I am done.

TIlIng

Haha... My title looks funny... It says tiling... But I spelt it weird :P

Anyways... I have been tiling the last week maybe... And I haven't had time to post, or anything not even check my facebook.. So I will try making a real post sometime soon haha...

A quick update...

Almost all the students are here... So I will be looking forward to meeting them all, and getting to know them and all that...

Semester will be starting in a bit... So got to get ready for that... But yeah... Until then I hope to get some rest before the semester starts... And all that... Will try to keep my blog updated a lot haha...

This Is Redemption, This Is Our Lives Washed Clean

Woah, I don't know, how you can forgive me [x4]

This is redemption
This is our lives washed clean

Cover up
All that we've become
Don't let the world
Take the best of you

And I can see a clearing
This will all come to an end
And we'll meet face to face
It will all work out in the end

This Is Redemption, This Is Our Lives Washed Clean

__________________________________________

I like how this song wraps up redemption.

When Christ died on the Cross we received first, forgiveness of sins, we were redeemed. Our sins were cleansed, and we were cover by the righteousness of Christ. But don't let the world take the best of you. We are continually being cleaned. One day we will meet Christ and everything will be done. It will all work out in the end.

So lets break this down into nice bite size pieces. Because this song says some pretty deep stuff.

First line!

Woah, I don't know, how you can forgive me [x4]

Ever ask yourself that? "How can you forgive me God?" I don't understand it. All I have been is evil to God, and yet He still forgives me. Not because I am anything special either. I am a traitor to God. I have nothing to offer Him, nothing worthy of Him. The Love of God makes no sense to us. Think about it sometime, how on earth can God forgive us? Because His love is so great. Yeah it really doesn't make sense at all. I cannot think of any way to make sense of God's love. I just know that it is so great that He can forgive me, and love me.

What does this word forgive mean in this sense? 

Luke 24:45-47 (ESV) Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem..."

This word for forgiveness is aphesis which means to be released from imprisonment or bondage. It can also be a sense of being released from something. We are forgiven of guilt and sin. We are released from the power of sin and death. Its amazing that we got ourselves into prison and God decided to free us for no reason at all. Such an amazing thing.

This is redemption

This is our lives washed clean

This is redemption. What is? The first line, the forgiveness of God is redemption. When God forgives us we are redeemed. Redemption is the word lytrōsis which means to redeem, or to ransom. This is basically a way of saying that you get something back, usually through payment. We redeem 5 cents when we return bottles and cans. The company redeems the bottle, and pays us a nickel to get it back. God redeemed us. We belonged to Him, but we ran away from Him. He payed to get us back.

Through Jesus' death on the Cross we were redeemed, and we were washed clean. We are like those bottles. We are bought back, and then we are taken, cleaned, and made new. When a bottle goes through the redemption process it is bought back, it is taken to a company that washes it completely through, then it is melted down to remove impurities, this is all melted down, and is made into something else. Our lives are the same way. God bought us back, cleansed us, and He is making us into something new.

Next line!

Cover up

All that we've become

I am glad that Christ did this for us. We are cleansed by Him, but He also covers us in His righteousness. We are nothing but sinners, it is our nature. As long as we are on this earth we will be that, sinners. But Christ covers us up and God sees His righteousness. I am so thankful that my sinful nature is not what is visible in God's eyes, but the righteousness of Christ. We can see this in Romans 4... Anyone know where?

Don't let the world

Take the best of you

Exactly! Don't let the world overtake you, it has no power over you. 1 Corinthians 10:13. There is always a way of escape. So don't give in to the world.

And I can see a clearing

This will all come to an end

And we'll meet face to face

It will all work out in the end

There is a clearing, a light up ahead. This is the promise of God, we know that one day we will go to Heaven. This is our hope. Nothing is better to someone who is lost in a forest than a clearing where they can see outside of the woods. A firefighter in a burning building probably loves  to see the clear sky rather than the thick smoke.

Our clearing is the hope of Heaven, the promise of God. Life will come to an end, pain will come to an end, when we see Christ face to face and things will all be better. 1 Corinthians 13:12. Things will work out in the end, remember this. When we feel down this hope is sure to cheer you up. Don't let the world get to you, and don't forget that you have this hope.

If your not a Christian, or your not sure about it. I would recommended it. Haha... Think of me as your doctor for a second. I am going to tell you this...

You have symptoms of sin,

have you ever lied? lusted after someone? stolen something (even small things)? hated someone?

Well if you have you are a liar, an adulterer, a thief, and a murder in God's eyes. These are like deadly symptoms of a killer disease called sin.

There is a cure though, there is only one way to cure it, and that is Christ. He died and did all the above for you.

But how do you take this medicine?

The Bible tells us to Repent first... Repentance is turning away from sin. We are following after sin, but now we turn away from it, and go towards God.

Then the second thing is to believe in this promise. To trust this promise and you will be saved. Trust in God, and you will be saved...

http://www.needgod.com/

Check it out if you don't know God. Its a very important thing.

Recognition Comes 30 Seconds Later

We often seem to be very slow in the head. At least I know I can be. I often don't recognize things in my life until moments later.

Examples?

You may not realize how much you care for someone, or how much you enjoy being with them until their gone. It seems that once they are leaving, or not around anymore you realize that they really do mean a lot to you. Sometimes we don't catch a joke, until its been well finished. We sometimes don't notice that God has blessed us with something until much later. We often miss where we are going and then we realize once we are at the next exit on the road.

But why do we miss these things? Just about everything has a reason (I say just about because everything does not have a reason). There is a reason why we miss these things, and it is because we are distracted. With our friends we get distracted by our friendship and forget that things aren't always forever. With jokes its often we don't understand them or we weren't really listening to them. With directions or places haha, I always look at my surroundings and realize that I wasn't watching for where to go being too distracted by the things around me.

But the one thing we often miss is the one thing we should be watching for; the blessings of God.

We are so often distracted by things we think are bigger and better that we miss the blessings of God. Or just the opposite we are so distracted by the things we may need or not need that we don't see the blessings of God. Sometimes we miss these blessings and never knew we had them. But God gives us new blessings each and every day.

So I want to challenge everyone... Look for the blessings that God gives you. Don't let the worries of life cloud your vision.

I love to play paint ball. In paint ball if you use a O2 tank (Liquid Oxygen) it will constantly leak little amounts of air. This is completely normal and nothing to worry about. Although you are losing air slowly, and do make a hissing noise as you walk along O2 is still better than Co2. But if you constantly focus on your slowly leaking air tank, you will not be able to focus on the game around you.You will miss good bunker positions, chances to move up field, and you will cloud your goggles up. If you constantly focus on the leaking air tank you will not win the game and you will be taken out fast. A leaky air tank is normal when using O2.

The same in life. We will have hard times, trials, and temptations. But these things are not a problem, when we compare the reward at the end. A leaky air tank in paint ball will be a nuisance, people can hear you, its cold on your side sometimes, and you need to fill it more often. But O2 is much better than Co2 as it lasts longer; a person with O2 can play much longer, and will have an advantage over someone with Co2. Trials, temptations, and difficulties will strengthen us. But we cannot focus on these things, but we need to focus on God our true goal. When we focus on Him, and not our leaky life we can see all the blessings, opportunities, and mercies He gives to us.

So I want to challenge everyone. Don't focus on the leaky air tank of your life. This is normal, Jesus said that these things were normal and would happen. Instead focus on the Lord and what He has for you, and you will begin to see all the things He has for you.