Tales from Japan: Jesus Heals Young crippled Woman in Japan in Osaka VIDEO

I want to share with you all a little taste of what God is doing in Japan particularly in the ministry of GBC (God Blessings Church) where I serve as a volunteer pastor, and who I also do podcasts for.

 Last year during one of God Blessings Church's worship services in Osaka a young woman named Megumi who wasn't able to walk was healed as the worship started. She has attended services in the past but this one was different. She was filled with faith and stood up during worship to her surprise with very little difficulty. She had been using a cane to get around and couldn't even stand for worship before. As you can see in the video below Pastor Rie sees her stand up and pulls her out to dance and jump during the time of worship as everyone is seeing "He Has Made Me Glad" in Japanese. You can see the emotion and realization that she has been healed come over her and the other worshipers as they join together to sing "Thank You LORD"

The miracle starts around 15:24-


 


 Stay tuned for more works of Jesus on Holy Fire Japan.

Only in Japan: Masters of Mochi

Traditional Japanese Mochi Photo taken from pinterest

It`s been over 10 years in Japan for me and you see a lot of things that can amaze you and I post them as things only in japan.  They can be shocking or funny or inspirational.  This video was recorded by a good friend of mine, Pastor Rie.  She has a great blog in Japanese here for anyone interested.

GOD`S WORD PARADISE

The video below is of mochi being made by one of the best in the world.  The speed and performance recording by Pastor Rie`s video is amazing.  This is her favorite place to buy Mochi which is a Japanese sweet rice treat.  This is green because the flavor of the Mochi is Matcha a powered refined green tea in Japan.  The shouts of the mochi master gives the rhythm to the man with the hammer so that they can coordinate to make the mochi fast.  The rice starts out as regular rice and as it is pounded it becomes like dough and is usually served with sweet beans.
This was taken in Kyoto, Japan.





Something like this you can only see in JAPAN.  Everyday this man makes mochi and is a master of it.

Below is another video with subtitles that has interview with the same man.

Reflections of Worship: Bless the LORD! 10,000 Reasons to Sing

The idea of blessing God struck me in an odd way when I first heard it.  But it is in the Bible, explicitly in Psalm 103

"Bless the Lord of my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name."

and Psalm 34

"I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth."

If God is perfectly content and happy why would he care if I blessed Him or not.  If fact usually we are asking Him for blessing because we know that He is the source of all creation and blessing.

In most other religions people are desire blessings from God or gods to satisfy their appetites.  The popular idea of heaven being the ultimate blessing of getting whatever you want all the time in a perfect paradise with God in charge is not at all biblical Christian.  This concept seems to be in conflict with the biblical images of worship continually focused on God that we see in Revelation, Daniel and other prophetic books of the Bible.

A heaven that is all about me, it sounds kind of selfish when you think about it.

So does God need our worship or the blessing of our mouths?

NO- need is certainly not the right word!

But what happens when we bless the Lord and worship Him is that we experience the realm of heaven in our hearts.  Heaven is in continuous worship of God.  It is the irresistible response to being in His glorious presence.

Blessing and worship the LORD actually becomes a blessing unto us, much like giving blesses the giver not just the receiver.  This reciprocity is why the author of the Psalms is so excited to bless the LORD.  When he blesses God and speaks His praise there is a jubilation in his heart and I believe in the heart of God , our Father as well.

So Bless the LORD in song and experience the heart of heaven in your life.

Reflections of Worship: Lead Me to the Cross

No matter who you are there are times in life when you feel lost.  What God has taught me is that when I am tired and weary and lost looking for the answers that it all goes back to Jesus.  The Cross of Christ is the place of forgiveness and the ultimate place of sacrifice.  No greater love does a man have than to lay down His life for His friends.
Yeshua Messiah, Jesus the Christ of all humanity chose the cross as a place to pour out His love for us.  It is a place where we fully bear witness and reflect on the depth of His love for us.

No matter where we are at in life, the Cross of Christ says "You were worth it all."  It says to every person, "Your life means so much that I (God) will bear upon myself death and damnation in your place."

So if God would go so far and give all He had in this life, will He not seek to give the days ahead purpose and redeem them for His glory?

Once again come to the cross and be healed, renewed, and set free.  Worship Him with me.

U.S. West Coast: How Ready are We for a Great Earthquake or Tsunami?

A tsunami evacuation sign posted in Southern California 2012

As the world continues to spin and the earth continues to move we find ourselves facing the reality that we are just here for the ride.  The earth is wild and not tame.  Though man with every generation gains knowledge and grows in population and culture, it seems we can only attempt to lessen the inevitable damage and loss of life that comes from the disasters of the earth.
With the disastrous event that was clearly seen by the entire world, people around the world most certainly will be asking,

"What if that were to happen to us?"

In no other time in history have we been able to see the horrible and awesome wrath of the tsunami upon humanity.  March 11th combined with the Fukushima meltdown and on going crisis has awoken humanity to the realization that safety is an on going battle, and with all our ingenuity, it perhaps can easily be forgotten.

Over the past year many experts raised valid concerns that the San Onofre Nuclear power plant located near San Clemente would not be able to handle a massive earthquake or tsunami like what was seen in Japan.  This would be a population of millions of people at risk for a catastrophic nuclear event.

Personally I have serious doubts that the U.S. could handle such a combined disaster very well.  That being said I did make the observation that there is a tsunami evacuation route posted along the roads to beaches that seem to ease concerns most likely brought about by the impact of 3/11.

Below is an amazing video that shows exactly what it feels like to be caught up in a tsunami.  It is almost surreal I encourage you to watch and share it and ask yourself what would you do? or even would you be ready for such an event.



Ultimately worry is counter productive but discussion about such disaster scenarios and improvements that could be made is absolutely necessary to preserve life.  When it happens, you will not have time to plan only time to react and try to do your best to survive.  This is coming from a person who lived in Japan when it all happened on that fateful day.

God bless and be ready in your heart for any circumstance.  How great the gift of faith is in times of trouble!

Tales From Japan: The Coming of the Great Tokai Earthquake in 20??

Captured as one of the most startling images of 2011 from National Geographic.  Lighting sparks as volcano erupts in Kyuushuu Japan.

An image of an erupting volcano in Kyuushuu Japan. Mt Shinmoedake is the most recent major volcanic eruption on the island of Japan. It erupted in January 2011 and subsequently a few more times afterward leading to the evacuation of a few hundred local residents. The department of Japan's government who handles such issues raised the level of emergency to a level 3 out of 5. Level 5 is a full blown eruption requiring the immediate evacuation of all local residents and subsequent areas of danger.


Japan Metereological Agency explanation of levels and safety measures




































Looking at the history of Japan and its seismic and volcanic activity reveals a harsh and fearful reality.  It is difficult to accept that many will die, many more injured and scarred for life by the trauma of it all.  Yet the earth continues on without malice nor a whim of our concern. The truth of the matter is that the earth has a schedule to keep and our presence will simply not detour it.  A great earthquake is always brewing, especially in Japan where seismologists have upped the percent of a magnitude 9+ earthquake hitting the Kanto region in the next 30 years to 87%, though some put it even higher into the upper 90th pecentile.

While Japanese are confident in their building technology and prevention measures, as March 11, 2011 demonstrated, nature can exceed human preparation and expectation.  The Great East Japan Earthquake devastated Japan but not nearly as much as a potential M9 earthquake even closer to the highly populated capital and metropolitan area of Tokyo.

More info here
Researchers raise level of great Earthquake to hit Japan

Although scientists do not exactly know when an earthquake will hit they have a clear understanding of their cyclical nature and early warning technology is still advancing.  In fact, the Great Tohoku Earthquake was actually detected 1 minute in Tokyo before the earthquake began.  This perhaps gave some people a moment to find a safe area or take cover.

Below is a video in Japanese that explains the sure inevitability of the Great Tokai Earthquake that will come in our lifetime.  The scary thing is that on this 300 year cycle as before Mount Fuji is bound to erupt.  That means that this next Tokai quake will most likely be 1000 times stronger than the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923.



(The video is in Japanese but needs no real translation just watch the visuals and you will get the idea. Plus if your studying Japanese there is some motivation for you).

Beside Japan there is also talk of a great earthquake and tsunami that will hit the west coast of the United States. Many experts are concerned with the continued high activity on the pacific ring of fire and some believe that another great earthquake will occur in 2012 somewhere along it.

 

Some experts see the potential for another Great Earthquake along the Juan de Fuca plate devastating Oregon and triggering massive and destructive tsunamis along the west coast of America.  This earthquake like the Tokai Earthquake in Japan is due to occur this century.

More info here
The Great Coming Cascadia Earthquake

The population of the world is increasing and people are naturally drawn to live in places near fault lines which tend to have properties conducive to human settlement.  This is the conundrum that humanity faces as civilization evolves and progresses.

For an island people like the Japanese there seems to be little but no choice to invent, improve, or adjust to drastic living conditions in order to survive.  This is their fate and many of them affirm it and have strong resolve to prepare for great disaster because...

The next Big One could be tomorrow!