This diary was written with my Japanese and American friends in mind.
SDA = Seventh-Day Adventist
4/24 Went digging Bamboo shoots (called bamboo babies in the literal Japanese) today with some of my English students. We had a nice time walking thru the woods and finding the huge bamboos with just a couple of leaves sticking up out of the ground. We'll have bamboo rice, bamboo tempura, bamboo sashimi, and maybe bamboo in soup tonite for supper - yummmmmm (^o^).
4/10 I went hiking yesterday. Met a friend and some of her friends, and we did the Japanese ritual - go out under the cherry blossoms and eat. It was a beautiful day on the mountain-side under the white and pink blossoms (^o^). After they finished lunch, i took off by myself up the mountain and then a long road back home. Not sure how long it was, 20km?, but it sure felt good to move my body!!! Thank God for letting me use all my limbs:) Altogether i hiked around 5 1/2 hours. So last nite i slept like a rock - not a thot, not a problem to cross my mind at all:)
Yes, i want brotherly love, by that all the world will know we've been with Jesus. There is great power in a group of people working together for God. But if people called "shepherds" state to your face that they will not follow the Bible, how can i join up with them? Joining with them would be the same as joining up with the Devil himself. Would it be good to introduce other people to that influence???? When i didn't know that the leaders' hearts were like this, i wasn't responsible. But now i am. To come under that influence is to be molded after their wicked ways. So until the leaders repent, and i pray for that every nite, i'm expressly enjoined by the Scriptures and Spirit of Prophecy to stay away from them.
Here's a quote that really struck home today:
-PT- Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
-DT- 09-04-88
-AT- In Demonstration of the Spirit
-PR- 06
-TEXT-
We must depart from all iniquity. We must accept the invitation and come
to Christ and learn in his school; for we cannot become efficient teachers,
unless we learn daily from the great Teacher. We must bruise Satan under our
feet. We must lay hold on eternal life. The forgiveness of sin is promised to
him who repents, and the crown of life will be given to him who is faithful
unto the end. In order to receive an increase of spiritual grace, we must
improve wisely what we already have. If we would be found without spot before
the throne of God, we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world.
Faith and works must go hand in hand, but either alone is dead. The whole work of God in the human soul is accomplished through the cooperation of the divine Spirit with the effort of humanity. "Without me," says Christ, "ye can do nothing." There are many Christless sermons preached, which are wholly destitute of the power and Spirit of God. The speaker may please the ear; but his words do not impress the soul. God will work through humble men, who love and fear him, and who will not ascribe the glory to themselves; but will give all the praise of their being a light in the world to the Source of all light. O, for less of self, and more of Jesus! It is human pride and self-confidence, mingled with human depravity, that has enfeebled the churches, until they are sickly, and ready to die.
The ministers of these churches need to be converted. They need divine wisdom to take the place of human wisdom. The church may have divine enlightenment. The Lord God and the Lamb must be its light; for no church can live by its own light, or by sparks of its own kindling. It may be that the mechanical working of the church is like well-adjusted machinery, and this is as it should be; for it is necessary to have order and discipline; but it is not right to let everything stop at this point, and to rest satisfied while destitute of the power of vital godliness. Light must come from God to the people, as the word is preached in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. The members of the church must diffuse their derived glory all around them; for they cannot retain the light, unless they reflect its bright and heavenly evidences upon the pathway of others. The bitterest woe will be pronounced upon false shepherds, and upon those who profess to walk in the light of divine truth, and yet make themselves centers to absorb all the God-given rays, resting satisfied in the knowledge that they possess, and making no effort to enlighten others. The parable which our Lord has given, condemning the faithless servant who hid his Lord's money, condemns every member of the church who is not making a right use of his ability to communicate light and truth to others. Those who do not let the light which God has given them, shine upon the darkened pathway of others, are traitors to their Lord, and a burden to the church. They make it manifest that they do not care for the salvation of others, but only for themselves. Those who have had precious opportunities and privileges, and who possess talents, which they will not use in the service of God, will finally lay them all at the feet of Satan, to be employed as he shall direct. They will become receptacles of darkness, of whom it is written, "If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
-Page- 10
We may learn the truth of the Bible by living up to all the light that
we have, in doing the will of God; or we may do as many others are doing,
darken and pervert our belief, and corrupt our faith by disobedience. Men
turn away from God's great moral standard of righteousness, and try to doubt
that it is "holy, and just, and good." They want liberty to sin, and at
length they come to doubt that the claims of the law are binding. Because
their carnal hearts desire to transgress its precepts, the law of God has
become to them a yoke of bondage. Such may, after some disappointment, return
to the truth; but they will leave it again, for their hearts are not
thoroughly changed. The most useful men in the world have not been the
exalted, self-sufficient ones, who have been praised the petted by society;
but those who have walked humbly with God, who have been unassuming in manner
and guileless in conversation, who have given all the glory of God, not
taking any of it to themselves, are the ones who have exerted the most
decided and healthful influence upon the church. When they stand before the
people, as a mouth-piece for God, everything around them is forgotten. Their
words come forth in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. They
exert their God-given ability to set things in order in the church, whether
it makes them friends or foes. When straight, solemn testimony is needed, in
rebuking sin and iniquity, even though it be in those of high position, they
will not hold their peace, but will heed the instruction of the God of truth,
when he commands, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins."
They will stand as faithful watchmen upon the walls of Zion,--not to hide
sin, not to flatter the wrong-doer, not to obtain the sympathy of their
brethren, but to meet the approval of God. They will not suppress one
syllable of truth that should be brought out, in reproof, or warning, or in
vindication of the righteousness of the oppressed, in order to gain the favor
and influence of any one. In a crisis, they will not be found in a neutral
position, but they will stand firmly on the side of righteousness and truth,
even when it is difficult to take this position; and to maintain it may
imperil their prosperity, and deprive them of the friendship of those whom
they love.
Does this mean that i can't continue to seek for lost sheep? Does this mean Christ won't lead me to those souls searching for him? Will my mission of working for Jesus be stopped now? Did Paul become a sinner to win sinners? May we not fall into the same error as some people have done and make a "God" out of the SDA church. God's true church will stand on the truth at all costs (^o^).
4/6 I'm sending a email to the General Conference asking about the lawsuit. How does that involve me as a church member? I can't follow the Bible and take a brother to court. So i asked them to clarify for me who is actually bringing the lawsuit. I'm pretty sure it's the General Conference Corporation, but does that directly involve me or not i'm not sure yet.
I'm very excited about the 1858 Great Controversy! It's written in the first person style with lots of "i saw" and "i was shown" being used. I don't believe that's used in any of the later editions. This is a MAJOR point. If in Revelation John hadn't said "And i John saw", would it change the way Revelation could be interpreted? Of course it would. This phrase and "the Spirit of the Lord came upon me" are the most powerful expressions prophets usually use to show that God is leading them.
If people knew she SAW it, they wouldn't be so bold as to say like many people do today that: "she wrote many good things, but she was fallible and used inaccurate historical quotes etc.". My brother put away his SOP books because he believes that kind of reasoning. But check the 1858 GC out. There aren't any of those kinds of historical quotes. George McNight did an exhaustive study and determined that almost 30% of the GC is quoted exactly from Uriah Smith's works. It doesn't take much of a genius to figure out what happened. Smith was against the Testimonies because they cut directly across his path. Then, when he bacame editor of the Review after James White died in 1881, he formed committees to "remove inaccuracies" from the books. Why, in 1892, the Review was so dead-set against God's messenger that they refused to print her book "Steps to Christ", and she had to go to a worldly publisher - Fleming Revell - to get it published. (The entire first chapter of the Steps to Christ you have today is not in the original!!)
When you read the things talked about in the 1919 Bible conference, you see where people plainly said that they helped changed things in the Great Controversy. When you realize that after the Bible, this book, more than any other, exposes the plans of Satan especially near the end of time, you can get a feeling about why the attacks against it have been so strong. And the strongest is the subtlest - keep Ellen White's name on the cover, but change the inside. The same is being done today to the Bible under the name of "making it more understandable".
I'm not sure if there are some truths in the first edition that aren't in later editions. The later editions take some things and put a sentence here, and a sentence there, and chop up paragraphs and mix them around, so it's hard for me to know exactly, but there are things i didn't understand until i read (and re-read) the 1st edition. For example, yes, i knew Satan would impersonate Christ, but i didn't realize before he does that his angels would impersonate the apostles (chapter 30). So we'll probably see Peter, James, and John pretty soon. In chapter 37 the special resurrection for all those who died under the 3rd angel's message is very clearly portrayed. In chapter 1 it clearly says that Satan repented. When i was in India working with a self-supporting pastor there 2 years ago, i found out that everyone in India is taught that Satan did NOT repent. That idea could have serious consequences. In chapter 3 it talks about the struggle God had within himself to give up his only begotten son, or to let the race of rebels die. I've never read that anywhere else, and it gives me a little more insight into the love God has for us (^o^).
4/2 Well, my SDA English school job lasted all of 7 months. The pastor said i would be fired if i invited new homeless people to church or used church property to help them. I went along for a few weeks hoping & praying that hearts would melt and change, but things seemed to be returning back to normal. I hated myself for compromising with them even 1 week, but one of the teacher's job was at stake too, and didn't want to cause him any problems by my actions.
Finally i typed up a letter explaining what the church board and pastor had done about the homeless, having weddings for non-Christians in the sanctuary, and doing financial stuff on the Sabbath. My main thrust was to have the regular church members know for sure what was going on with this situation. I know many of them are supporting the homeless coming to church. I basically asked for the pastor and leaders who'd erred, to repent and come back to the Bible and it's author - God. The reason i went to the members with it is because i'd had 2 meetings with the pastor, and he showed no sign of changing. He said twice: "i won't change". He didn't admit wrong or deny it. He did say that he remembers being uncomfortable about marrying unbelievers when he first came to this church, but now he sees it as a "evangelism opportunity".
I stood on the bridge near (200m) the church and handed out around 40 of the papers. I also included a translation of the vision that Ellen White had in 1845, printed in "A Word to the Little Flock". It sound like the paper caused a bit of a stir. One lady said she thot the pastor supported the homeless coming to church. One other lady said that this incident has let her see for the first time that people in the church aren't free (to act). So if nothing else comes from it, at least thinking people in the church aren't being deceived like they were.
Then, at a special school board meeting on March 25th, they announced that i would no longer be working there after the end of the month. The assistant pastor asked why i was quitting?? I said "you mean 'made me quit'". In the ensuing discussion i retracted that statement, and they all agreed that i wasn't quitting, that what i had said to the pastor was that "Your directives aren't agreeing with the Bible. I'll follow the Bible no matter what the cost. So if your directives don't agree with the Bible, i can't work here and i can't invite English school students to come to church here. Please come back to the Bible." So they all agreed it was more of a mutual split. Then comes the bulletin this week with the pastor's corner blaring "Drastic drop in students! Please pray!!" ..... Daniel has said that if the church's situation doesn't change, he can't encourage English school students to come to church, and also that working here is painful. Because of this, a special board meeting was held on the 25th and his wishes were respectfully accepted. Daniel will be quitting (or stopping/ending) at the end of March." I guess once you take one step down the path of rebellion against God (not loving your brother/homeless), it's that much easier to go another (lie). Just makes me sad, and careful that my feet are planted on THE ROCK!
So now i have lots of free time at least until November when i have to do something about a new visa. I plan to work hard on translating the 1858 Great Controversy into Japanese, and putting up another old pioneer book on the internet at www.earlysda.com
3/27 Prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes: "The Pope completed his tour of Jerusalem's sacred shrines with a mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the place of Christ's crucifixion, burial and resurrection. He stopped to pray at the sites of Christ's suffering in the labyrinthine 4th century church. Christianity's divergent denominations jealously control different areas of the shrine but put aside their age-old squabbles to welcome the Pontiff, who wore purple vestments of mourning for the mass."
3/26 Yesterday i stood out in the cold for 3 hours on the bridge that most people cross walking to church and handed out 2 papers to all the church members. One was the vision in the Little Flock that Ellen sent to Joseph Bates (translated), and the other was a paper i wrote up concerning correcting problems in the church. I met with the pastor again last Thursday and since he didn't believe these things were problems, i took it to the entire church. I was very nervous doing this, but God sent one of the homeless guys to stand and talk with me for about 1/2 the time (^o^)!! He looked like an angel to me!
The pope is really busy right now apologizing for everything and touring around Israel. It really looks like he's adept at healing wounds. At least in the world's eyes. Actually he's getting things set up for the big all-in-one. And the people loved it.
Everything Ellen White wrote for publication was definitely inspired by God. Yes, in her personal life, she made mistakes etc., but her books are total truth. I think everyone can discover the value of the original books like the 1858 GC when they read them. I've read that book over 10 times, typed it in the computer about twice, translated almost half of it, and can tell you that it has a power that the 1911 edition can't match. OK, that's my opinion, how about actual research into the evolution of this book?
Ellen White had visions starting around 1845 with the vision called "To the Remnant Scattered Abroad" that you'll find in "A Word to the Little Flock". She had her "Great Controversy" vision at Lovett's Grove, OH in 1858. The book was quickly published with her husband James White as the editor. When James died in 1881, the next person to become editor was Uriah Smith. Here was a man who was openly rejecting the Testimonies, eating meat etc. In 1882 Ellen White wrote a letter found in "Testimony for the Battle Creek Church" saying: "...Oct. 23,1879, the Lord gave me a most impressive testimony in regard to the church in Battle Creek, especially in reference to Eld. Smith. Now he is found firm, persistent, stubborn, on the wrong side. He is not led by the Spirit of God in his decisions. The Lord has laid no such burden upon him. Human influences have molded his judgment. No greater evidence of this can be given than the course he has taken in regard to my testimony to the church. ... In rejecting this testimony, Eld. Smith, you have virtually rejected all the testimonies. ... I was more grieved than i can express to find you again working on the side of the enemy."
So just 2 years after her husband/editor died, a committee was set up in 1883 for the express purpose of CHANGING THE BOOKS!! Look in the foreword to the 1884 GC or read page 65 of Messenger to the Remnant by A.L. White. Of course the Great Controversy was greatly expanded into practically a different book in 1888, and then the edition we have today - the 1911, with up to 30% being merely a copy of Uriah Smith's works!!!
What i'm saying is, is that many books with the name "Ellen White" on them were not penned by her. A similiar situation exists with Bibles being printed today. They say "Holy Bible" on the cover, but you read the forward and they say things like: "the words were treated carefully, but as the thoughts were inspired and not the words, the meaning was deemed more important in translation." The exact same thing was said in 1883 about Ellen White's words. If i want a commentary on the Bible, i'll look up a commentary. But it's very deceitful to say "Holy Bible" or "Ellen White" on the cover of a book, and then insert your own ideas into it! No, the SOP doesn't judge the Bible. The Bible is the greatest book of all time that everything else will be judged by, but we need to be careful not to reject truth from whatever source it comes from (even a uneducated girl who got hit in the head by a rock!) Praise God he uses the foolish things of the world to bring to nothing the wise.
To learn more about the SOP original books and changes made to them, please look at www.earlysda.com and clik where it says "Order fascimile copies of the original books." There is lots of good stuff there. Be sure to get "The Revival of the True Spirit of Prophecy Writings".
3/22 Got a call this morning from the guy who hired me to do some translation work in Alabama 2 years ago. Seems the position is open again, and they really want me:) Feels mighty nice to be wanted (^o^). Told him tho, that i'm on a mission over here. It was a little tempting tho, to think of working in a nice setting, getting good money (and free housing), doing something i really like to do for people who appreciate me!!!
2/13 I surely appreciate everyone praying for me over here in this Godless country. Yesterday we had a big meeting with the church board members and the two pastors regarding the homeless project. The decision was to bar any homeless from coming to church. They did say this is a project based on the Bible, but that they aren't quite "prepared" to handle "stinky, raggedy people" just yet.
Most of the church members against the project have no concept of what it means to have to live like a homeless person. They think that since they have enough to live on, everybody else should too. What about Matthew 7:12 where it says "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."??? If we were in the same situation, would we want people to keep us out of the house of God?! Would we want people to ignore us or treat us bad? When Jesus comes back to give everyone his reward how do we want to be treated?
Finally one church member said maybe this was like the situation in America many years ago when there was discrimination between blacks and whites. It took a long time to educate people that prejudice isn't right. I think he has a good point. But it's very sad to not be able to bring them to God's house. I don't want to go back to that kind of place, but maybe the church needs me to help show the members a better way.....
Somehow God gave me the courage to speak up against selling the sanctuary to the highest bidder (ie: doing weddings for profit). That brought down a hail of criticism!! "Do you know how much it costs to keep the church running?" etc. etc. So i was enboldened enough to tell them that holding thier church board financial meeting in the sanctuary on the Sabbath was an insult to God and it looks like we've done worse than the Jews who at least kept their money dealings in the COURTS of the temple. The pastor commented that that was just my own interpretation so i said that "no, i've read the SOP extensively, and know that GOD says this practice is wrong. If this isn't so, please show us where we are wrong FROM THE BIBLE AND SPIRIT OF PROPHECY." So the assistant pastor referenced IPeter 2:13. This gave me chills, because i know that this will be one of the very verses used against God's people in the end time who refuse to accept the mark of the beast. The only other Bible reference i can remember right now is what the pastor talked about in the sermon that morning - Jesus healing the leper. He reached out and touched him. Somehow they twisted this around to show that Jesus didn't try to bring that man into the temple where the other people were and bother them. He went to where the man was - outside. So we should meet the homeless in their environment - outside (and let them stay there?)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, the only other Bible verse they used was Ecclesiastes 3:1. Sure there's a time for everything. And isn't the time to get working for Jesus right now?
Last nite after the meeting i bot some oden (hot food in a broth, got a block of tofu and a cut of giant radish - yum!) at Family Mart and took it to Kawasaki bridge where i ate looking out over the beautiful, peaceful river with the lights reflecting off the water. When from the other side Eri san came walking towards me with a big bag of bread he'd just picked up somewhere. We had a nice chat and he told me that Jesus had stood before him in a dream a couple of nites before! Eri always sleeps on his side because his stomach always hurts, but he was told to sleep on his back. So he did and he slept very well!! This is the man who came to church only once. When asked to go again he said "i don't want to make anybody have to put out money for my sake" (it costs Y200 for lunch). He reads the Bible quite a bit, and said recently he's been reading James but doesn't understand it. However, he said "ya'll are really doing what the Bible says to do. If you hadn't come around to help me out this winter, i don't think i would've made it." For a second i thot i caught a vision of Jesus standing in front of me too (^o^)!!!
Come quickly Lord Jesus!
2/11 My www.earlysda.com site finally got indexed by Altavista and Northernlight! I'm really happy! Altavista only ranks me #37 for - the great controversy, but www.northernlight.com ranks me number 1!!! Little Flock is ranked number 2 there also. I notice that about 10 people are hitting the main home page every day, and the books are being downloaded at the rate of around 5 a week:)
This is an excellent site to feed the hungry www.thehungersite.com I HIGHLY recommend it!!
We had another 4cms of snow this Tuesday. One of the teachers at school and i went out and did the rounds with the homeless guys. I bot 21 cans of hot drinks and we had handwarmers and some bread too. Some of the guys seemed very surprised we even bothered to go out on a cold nite like that. I told them that's when we need to go out the most!!! One guy under the bridge was sleeping with just one blanket(!!) so we got an old one that a lady a church had given us and wrapped him up in it. He was very thankful:)
We're having a big meeting this Sabbath between those in the church who SEE problems with the homeless project and those who are involved in DOING it. I sent out emails to quite a few friends/relatives asking for prayers because we'll need a big dose of the Holy Spirit tomorrow to show a loving spirit and yet don't give in to sinful ideas.
2/9 雪がここ交野市を銀色の世界に描いてくれて、きれいですよ。 昨日ホームレスに温かい飲み物やカイロ、お握りなどを配った。 あの人達は大丈夫かな。。。 ほんまに最近増えてきたよね。 一人が天満橋の下で毛布一枚で寒さをしのごうとした！ ある教会員にいろいろな衣類をもらったので教会に帰って、薄っぺら布団を取って彼にあげた。 「ありがとう！」を何回も言われた。 心にくるよね。。。。 マタイ７：１２やヤコブ書４章を読めばクリスチャン皆は心が打たれ、イエスのことばを守るために動き出すでしょう。 何である教会員はこの活動に反対しているかというかと、彼らは神様の言葉を大事にしないことです。 自分の都合を優先するだから。
1/30 ホームレスの活動を続けていますよ：）
I often go out at nite around 天満橋 to give food etc. to the
homeless. It's great to meet the people and get to know and help them. I'd
want someone to help me if i was homeless!
A lady in my private English class near my house, gave me 3 sweatshirts for the homeless. I didn't think they would really need them very soon, but that same afternoon i bought a few hot drinks for them and while i passed them out i asked if they need a trainer. Everybody said yes!
So the first person to get one was K san. He's around 54 and has heart problems and can't see very well. He likes to walk around a lot tho, and he seems pretty healthy. He always is very appreciative of the food and hot drinks we bring around at nite. He's come to church a couple of times too, and even stayed for Bible study once:) He picked the blue trainer.
Next was the person who lives on the bench next to him - T san. T san is 61 and he has just one tooth. He was very quiet and depressed the first few times we met him let November, but now he seems to be the happiest of all the homeless guys we come in contact with. His smile is a beautiful thing to behold. If people who think that helping the homeless isn't a good idea would see the change in this man, they would have to change their minds:) He chose the red trainer with the turtle-neck.
The last person to get one was E san. He is probably mid 40's and is nearly always has stomach pain. We've bought him medicine, prayed for him etc. and he realizes we do it because we love him, not because this is some "project". He's read the Bible all the way thru, and knows about more things in it than many Christians i've met. He loves to talk about it. Faith is not a part of him yet tho, but i believe with more personal attention he will want to follow God. Of all the homeless who have come to church, he is the one most interested in studying the Bible - outside. He doesn't feel comfortable with people "playing church". AMEN!"
Stayed and talked with K and A san until around 5 or so after the Bible class. A san is focusing all on himself. He compares himself with "normal" people. I asked him if he found a lottery ticket in front of his bench tomorrow for 100,000,000\, would he suddenly consider his life a success? He wavered a second, and then said he'd at least get a roof over his head and 3 square meals (literally!) a day. Not a lot to ask. He talked about his former wife, his kid he left when she was small, etc. He tried to make small talk about how good foreigners were, like he did ALL last nite when i took him and T san out to eat (thot he was kinda skirting something but couldn't put a finger on it), but brought him back to talk about why he was feeling and thinking the way he was. I really feel the Holy Spirit striving with him.
The big guy (T san?) and i had a good chat. I told him if he came to church 4 times, i'd give him a whole Bible. He wasn't too thrilled with the little letters in that NT he got. I plan to look for a NT with large letters for A & K san sometime soon.
E san was throwing up when i got to him. He said he felt pretty good just after he got done so i talked with him around 10 min. or so. He had tried to eat 1/2 his onigiri, but it just came right up. He refuses to go to a hospital, so i don't know what to do for him. He said he didn't come to church today because he knew the udon cost \200, and he didn't want to be a burden to anybody.....
彼らがもらえるのが一番喜ぶものは。。。。たぶんお金！ でもあげない。 温かい飲み物や食べ物はいつも大歓迎。 カイロも。 衣類や毛布は行き届いているらしい。 やっぱり話し相手（特に飲食しながら！）が一番求められてるじゃないですかね。 昨日も、６６才の人と１時間半くらいしゃべた。 「俺はだめな人間や。 早く死にたい。」って言ってた人。 年の人は皆そう。 「でもお金があったら自分は立派の人間と思うか」って聞くと向こうはちょっとためらった。 「いや。 でも一日三食や上に屋ねがあったら。。。」って。 ささいなことですよね。 当たり前なこと。 「なぜないのか」と責めないで、ただ現状に対応して、肉体的、精神的、そして霊魂的のケアーをするのが人間、いや、神様の心じゃないでしょうか。 とにかく、彼らのためにこの活動を続きたいと思う。 僕は物質的に恵まれてるうえ、神様の恩恵をいっぱい頂いてるということだから、できるだけ多くの人に分けてあげたい（＾o＾）.
An American guy who's lived in Japan for 30 years has started studying the Bible with us. I printed up a 1858 Great Controversy for him the other nite and he was thrilled enough to copy it for his sister and brother and send it to them! I'm looking forward to talking to him tonite.
7 of the homeless came to church today. It was the first time for 2 of them. One guy who always just barely peeks out from under his plastic sheet when we pass out food at nite even showed up:) we had forgotten what his face looked like!! Genesis 4 was covered in Bible class after lunch. I realized there are many things i don't know about the Bible - ex: What does it mean that Abel's blood "cried from the ground"? A sunday church-goer in the group said this showed that when you died you go straight to heaven. I had to remind him that it doesn't say "he cried", it says "his blood cried". And if it was "him", that would be even stronger proof that he didn't go to heaven!!! I'll keep praying for that guy that God can clear the cobwebs from his mind.
1/23 Love is sure a unexplainable emotion. It's interesting that whenever i give advice to young people to read ICorinthians 7 and show them a couple of SOP quotes (like the less marriages the better) most everyone gets peeved at me. And i'm not even the originator of the message! Ahh, but what a wondrous thing love is! Makes one wonder what God has to top it in heaven:)
This is what happened yesterday with my friends and i bringing 7 homeless to church and then leading a Bible study with them outside after lunch. No, it wasn't warm, there just wasn't any "room in the church".
I'm sooooooo happpppppy today! A 60-something guy who was spouting evolution just 2 weeks ago sounded like an evangelist when a young guy who has knowledge of what Sunday churches preach (the snake in Eden is just a metaphor for evil etc.) said some obfuscation, this homeless guy led him to the Bible and what it says:) And another guy was radiant about being able to study the Bible together with someone, without the church trapppings - and outside - haha (around 45degrees). A guy who doesn't seem very interested even stayed for the study which seems like a small miracle, and a guy who usually just stays under his blue plastic sheet all day (but is quite intelligent) at the end said he wants to study too! Hallelujah! How much can God use us?! One of them also mentioned one thing about us always coming out and going around at nite shows that .... i forgot exactly how he put it..... we are serious about our Christianity(?) It's being watched, and not just by people, angels were hovering over that spot today. I haven't felt so close to heaven since, since, since, wellllllllllllll, since maybe around a month and a half ago when a bunch of us went out and passed out food:)
In Bible class the other nite i ran across this verse:
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he
hath given will he pay him again.
Proverbs 19:17
I've been submitting my http://www.earlysda.com site to lots of different search engines with no luck for the the last 2 months. So i was really excited last nite to see it at the number 6 position (for "the great controversy") and number 1 & 2 for "little flock"!! The engine is http://www.alltheweb.com - YEA!
Another GREAT thing happened. I translated the "To the Remnant Scattered Abroad" vision into Japanese and haven't had any luck getting anyone to correct my translation. Well,,,,,,a friend who isn't even Christian did it for me! Figures. Christians have too many "important" things to do to study what God has to tell them. Maybe i'm a little harsh, but it's VERY depressing to see nobody of the around 5 people at church who have said they were interested in doing it, actually do something. To be honest, 2 people tried to rewrite the whole thing and make it sound like "religious Japanese" which i asked them to avoid. The others just sat on it. I don't guess they see the blessing that will come from doing God's work. Now, how am i going to get this out to the greatest number of people??? hmmmmmm!
1/8 Had vespers last nite and then went out to the homeless. One girl in the group was very excited about inviting everyone to church, and when the people would say yes, she would take a picture with them! hahaha. On Fire!
Today, 3 homeless guys actually came to church! After eating lunch we spent about an hour studying the Bible from the beginning - Genesis 1:1. I felt God's Spirit, and freedom in explaining God's word. Of course i really enjoy talking about creation, so may have run my mouth a little too much:! One guy said this sounds more like de-evolution than evolution. Exactly!!!
1/3 Call from a American guy who thot civilization as we know it would end on Y2K. He was very contrite and humble, something i didn't expect:) Nice guy.
First time to go out in the new year. The trains and streets were empty! It felt really good to be around kindly people at the church who prepared stuff and then we all went out to talk to the homeless. Nice way to start the 2000's!
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2000 sounds kinda rough.. Back to kindler gentler older stuff on the home page
Go to earlysda.com to read original 1858 Great Controversy book