Rescued by Jesus. Rebuilt by the Spirit. Responding to God's grace.
If you knew that your time was short, how would you spend your days? << Previous Episode “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NIV) […]
After all the trouble it took to get us to Ofunato, was God really calling us to leave? << Previous episode Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. […]
Is church all about the numbers? Part 2 of my case for tent-making. << Previous episode Before going to Japan, I was on staff at a church of nearly 2,000 people. We met in a 65,000 square-foot warehouse located in “America’s Safest City.” I think this would qualify it as being a megachurch, though it […]
When God highlights a specific place, it’s likely He has already been at work there. << Previous episode While researching my previous post on the history of Christianity in Ofunato, I learned of the San Juan Bautista Museum in Ishinomaki, which features a full-sized replica of the ship that Date Masamune, feudal lord of Sendai […]
Silence is a gripping novel, and now, a major motion picture. How does its subject matter relate to Ofunato? << Previous episode A few local friends came over to our volunteer base for dinner one night, and one of them started singing the ubiquitous Disney song, “Let it Go,” in an unfamiliar language. This friend told […]
Ministry work requires financial accountability and good stewardship of resources. But how far is too far? << Previous episode The disaster relief and recovery network we served with in Japan would often receive a ton of donated items for our volunteer bases to distribute to tsunami survivors along the coast. Items included everything from socks […]
<< Part I Fight or flight? Three different friends of mine recently encouraged me to read A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards, who challenges the reader to identify which king he or she is most like: Saul, David, or Absalom. Certainly, no one wants to be identified with Saul, who was jealous, angry, […]
Does God call us to pursue our passions? I used to organize a premarital class, and in every session, someone was bound to ask the question, “What do you do when the passion dies?” Passion. It’s overrated. Sure, passion is exciting, infectious, and contagious. Passion is synonymous with desire, obsession, and zeal. When one thinks […]
<< Previous episode God can use what you already have. Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. (Exod. 4:2 NIV) Moses had a staff. David had a slingshot (1 Sam. 17:40). A little boy had five small barley loaves and two small fish (Jn. 6:9). What […]
<< Previous episode Three points on sharing the gospel as a lifestyle, not a project. He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All […]
Does God call us to blind obedience, or does He expect us to engage the intellect He has given us? It was fourth grade. Our class was working on globes made of balloons wrapped in papier-mâché. We traced the shapes of the continents onto paper and cut them out, then began to glue them into […]
<< Previous Episode She was the last person you might expect to follow Jesus. But then again, so was the Apostle Paul. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at […]
Ransomed Life will be on a short break as I prepare to relaunch it on November 1st, the first anniversary of this site and the 10th anniversary of my calling to ministry. Story episodes will continue, but in a new format. Stay tuned! Want to receive updates via email? Subscribe by entering your email address […]
The most valuable lesson I learned from one teacher wasn’t even part of the class. The seasons of life. I remember wedding season. As a young adult, I attended wedding after wedding as my peers kept deciding to tie the knot. It was fun. Cute slideshows. Prime rib dinners. The Macarena. Then came kids’ birthday […]
What happens when two leaders have conflicting visions and convictions? Is only one of them discerning God’s will? While praying through a long stretch of unemployment in 2006, I received an impression that I would get paid to go to Bangkok and write a movie in June of that year. So when a producer contacted […]
“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV) The last thing I ever wanted was for my new bride to watch me go […]
I was on my way to a time of silence and solitude when I had to go through a roundabout. Not a fan of them. They’re messy, a free-for-all with cars entering and exiting at different points, trying to cross to their lanes without colliding with any of the others doing the same. What’s up […]
How you live your life can be more important that what you have to say. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… (1 Peter 3:15 […]
<< Previous episode God is already at work in people’s lives, even if they’ve never stepped foot in a church before. “Hisako-san” is a walking miracle. Her eyesight had deteriorated to the point of blindness several years ago, and in 2010, she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live. When the […]
<< Previous episode What we already have in our hands matters… but so do some of the things we have yet to hold. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thess. 5:16-19 NIV) During our first winter in northeastern […]
<< Previous episode Sometimes, we need to pause and remember why we do what we do. One of my least favorite tasks in ministry is event planning. Don’t get me wrong– I love the actual events. It’s planning them that stresses me out. Though it’s fun to think through what the event might look like […]
<< Previous episode Before the harvest comes a lot of hard work. “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be […]
<< Previous Episode God’s timing is never late, though it often feels that way to us. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NIV) We finally moved to Ofunato– the […]
<< Previous episode It wasn’t just my driving skills that were tested. Mention the phrase “driver’s license” to a fellow gaijin in Japan and you’re likely to hear horror stories about the dreaded behind-the-wheel test. Obtaining a license seems to be the bane of many new foreign residents– at least, the ones who don’t want […]
<< Previous episode When God calls you to something, it’s up to Him to provide what you need to do it. My supervisor and I went on a scouting trip to Ofunato, the city we felt called to, to begin our search for a home. We would make the 8-hour drive in the old minivan […]
<< Previous episode Living in tents like strangers in a new land. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger […]
<< Previous episode Moving forward often requires us to let go of what we know. December 17, 2012. It had been 14 months since I resigned from my role in order to go to Japan; 5 months since my last scouting trip. We had to raise 80% of our two-year budget before we could leave […]
<< Previous episode I was about to give up the race when a parked car cheered me on. I returned from the summer missions trip– my fourth trip to Japan– with the confidence that we would raise the funds needed to embark on our two-year assignment. We needed 80% of our two-year budget pledged before […]
<< Previous episode What do you do when you’re stripped of your abilities? Upon completing our training in Chicago, we were commissioned as short-term missionaries in a service at our denomination’s annual meeting. The missionary who would eventually become our supervisor in Japan had been in contact with me throughout the missionary application and orientation […]
<< Previous episode Catching a glimpse of the Father’s joy. Traveling with young children is not in my top 10 list of favorite things. It’s enough of a hassle traveling alone: checking in, going through security, boarding the plane and trying to situate yourself while irate passengers brush past in a huff. The stress level […]
