Thanks!

Hi friends!

I'm back at Stanford now. If you're been reading my blog, thanks for your support while I was in Japan. It was definitely a wonderfully growing time that I grew to know and love God more =)

I've been back for about a week and a half now so sorry I didn't close up earlier. The two weeks ago was pretty crazy with finals and all and now that I've just about gotten settled here I have a little more time to update so wah-lah.

Hope you have a wonderful summer!

Kevin

This is Not a Food Blog =P

Hi friends.

I'm posting faster this time!

I just finished eating this:



It says it's an explosion rice ball!!! basically, I totally fell for this ridiculous marketing scheme to call it an "explosion" rice ball and thus had to buy it upon discovering it =P I was hungry though so it wasn't just a thoughtless impulse buy though. and it was delicious. forgot to mention that part. but yeah, contrary to popular belief this actually isn't mean to be a food blog.

This past weekend I went to Uji to record a tea ceremony for a class project. And I have to admit, Uji is just more or less known for having tea so even though I really like tea, I wasn't expecting very much from this trip.

But lo and behold, I think I found my new favorite place in Kansai! (the name of the southern part of honshu, the island of Japan that I'm on right now in Kyoto)

As somewhere that isn't a major tourist destination, it was amazing getting out into a more rural town of Japan and enjoying the calm serenity of creation. Food stands for a local festival lined the streets as kids darted back and forth between delectable snacks and children's games.





(Yes it says Kobe Beef...I tried it here though not that great =P)

This was the real deal though...I got to eat it with some other people in my program on a class field trip to Kobe =p it was good. no joke.







This ramen was also really delicious! Karakamen from Ippudou....




ok NOT a food blog. back to Uji...


Further away from the train station I stepped into a lovely country-side with the sound of the river babbling along as ferrymen carted passengers up and down on scenic boat rides. The forested mountainside already seeing some of fall's colors provided the perfect backdrop to what was already complemented by the sweet sounds of a soprano sax playing melodies from classic Miyazaki films.




Anyhow, it was basically really chill and scenic and relaxing, a much needed sabbath from what had been a busy week.




Not to mention, the tea indeed was great. The tea there is considered the best in Japan and with vendors who've been serving the heads of Japan for 16 generations, they have the history to prove it. I bought some tea where I was informed the quality of the tea was so high that you can eat the tea leaves after brewing them. gnarly. (or perhaps it'll taste bitter)






and every other snack was green tea themed! from cha-soba (a green tea flavored noodle) to class green tea soft serve but coated with real matcha powder, the food was amazing.

and there also happens to be a national heritage cite there that is on the back of the 10 yen coin. pretty.







I was definitely surprised by how pretty it was. I came in expecting a somewhat mundane boring experience but was completely blown away. In fact, Uji was so interesting it changed my belief that Kyoto was considerably less interesting than Tokyo and other bigger cities and in fact made me believe Kyoto is now one of my more favorite places to be in Japan.

I think it's interesting how much actual knowledge can change our opinions, but of course it should right? it's totally biblical after all.

Jesus taught "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31

He also taught that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.” Mark 4:12.

The truth about Jesus Christ changes lives.

Anyhow, as truth is a life-changing key that frees us from destruction through faith in Christ, then I figure it must be pretty important. So I thought I'd just make some observations about truth and why I think it's important and life-changing (so you know it's life-changing not just from my Uji story and all....)



It saves us.

By hearing the word of God and truth about Jesus Christ and then by having faith in Christ we can be saved. Besides the two verses above there is also:

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17

"and with all wicked deception for s those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:10

"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearer." 1 Timothy 4:16



It makes us more godly and spiritually mature.

By growing in the word and in understanding the truth of God, we rise from drinking spiritual milk to eating spiritual meat with which comes greater discernment and the ability to understand God's will.

"About this we have much to say, and it is c hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again d the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:11-14

"If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood." John 7:17-18



It produces the ability to love.

God calls us to love others as He has loved us (John 15:12). We should seek to know all the ways in which God has loved us to return that love to others.

" As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not h to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Timothy 1:3-5

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart" 1 Peter 1:22






But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

June!

I guess I'm only updating about twice a month now =P sorry. Life has been busy but good =) Striving to focus on God's promise of grace amid all my business has definitely been helpful.

Two weekends ago the program went on a Bing trip and went to Hiroshima and Miyajima. In Hiroshima we visited the Atomic Bomb Museum and heard the testimony of an atomic bomb survivor. Both were very moving experiences.






Miyajima is said to be one of the three best sights in Japan. It's famous for this temple and tori gate that look like they're floating on the water. But at low tide you can walk out to the tori gate. I only saw it at low tide though so I don't think it was quite as pretty as it could have been.





After that the next day I visited Kurashiki and Okayama. There I saw a very nice quaint preserved town and then Korakuen, one of the three most famous gardens in Japan. It started pouring though that night and so we ended up seeing the garden while getting absolutely drenched. The wind even broke my umbrella =P It might also be because it was a tiny cheap $5 umbrella from the convenient store I bought last year.




This past week though I've been working a lot and staying up late. While the things I've been filling my days with have certainly been good things, homework (yes doing homework is a good thing) , talking to people about the gospel, reading my bible, reading books, listening to sermons, truth is I'm exhausted. The past two days I've needed copious amounts of coffee to make it through my day and then struggled to stay conscious during my commute home which was only at 6pm and today 4:30pm. Upon getting home both days I promptly collapsed into bed and slept until dinner (7:30pm). Yet still with plenty of work (I took on 20 units and find Japanese particularly demanding this quarter), I actually slept at 7am yesterday and here I am still up at 2:30am (okay, but I plan to sleep soon and get a reasonable amount of sleep given I already napped for 2 hours). And it was last night at 5 am that as I worked on a presentation while listening to a sermon that I saw how much of a hypocrite I was being by not sleeping and trashing my health.

God calls us to rest. God demands "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work" (Exodus 20:8-10) This is the 4th of the Ten Commandments.

When asked, Jesus states these as the greatest of God's commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Note that the first and greatest is loving God and that within these two commandments all of the law is summarized.

Jesus also said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words." (John 14:23-24)

And so here is my sin. God commands me to rest, and I'm not keeping his word, thus by not adequately resting I'M NOT LOVING GOD. I'm disobeying the greatest commandment. Despite all that I try to do to labor for Him, it's not love, it's idolatry.

Paul defines idolatry in Romans. Idolaters "exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images" (Romans 1:23) and "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen" (Romans 1:25)

This is me. An idolater. I've exchanged the glory of God for something else and am worshiping something other than God, namely work.

Of course doing all these things like evangelism and bible study are great. My last post expounded on the source of where these things come from. And this is so important. We must do these works out of worshiping and loving God that comes from a reborn faith in Him, not out of idolatry and lawlessness! And when I work so much that I ignore God's sabbath command I've transformed a good thing into a idol. And falling into this can be so easy. But the consequences are so high. Jesus teaches “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you;depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

So what do I do from here? Repent and praise God for grace.


Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:7-10

Sorry Im Slow at Posting!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for being slow at posting. Japan hasn't been too crazy lately, so I don't know if I have too much to update on...the other week I went to Tokyo for Golden Week, which is basically a spring break during the middle of our spring quarter. I ate Fugu (blowfish) for the first time, which is said to be very poisonous! In fact I had a whole 5-meal course of it for dinner.

I also finally joined a church in Kyoto and was asked to help out with their worship service. Being a young growing church, it was a very different experience to come in seeing so many areas they were still looking for help. Compared to many of the churches I've been to in America, it was exciting and encouraging to see God at work despite the limited resources available. Helping with worship has been an exciting way that I feel I've been able to help serve despite the short time frame I have here in Japan.

Here is what the church looks like from the outside!

Also, Japan has this really large fascination with ninja. Back when I was a kid, I went to a ninja village to train in the art of ninja. Heres me and my brother back in the day at the ninja village.

It seems I wasn't quite cut out for being a ninja though. Otherwise I could have ended up as a vending machine mascot.

Or perhaps I could have worked at this restaurant (actually, this place was really fun. They have a ninja labyrinth inside as well as a $16 buffet)

Also did you know there's a station named after me in Tokyo?? It's called Otsuka Station!

This is just measuring tape with all the station names on the Yamanote Line, but if they had like a poster or towel or something I would totally get it and put it on my wall. Or dry myself with it at the beach.

Anyhow, I also wanted to share another great word I heard at Tokyo Baptist Church's youth group, and would like to express my gratitude to Pastor Christ McCottry for helping with much of the content of this post. Lately I've been thinking about what it means to make the most of my life for God. I recently have been convicted of living a life of purpose for God, not letting my life go to waste.

There is a singular meaning to life, and that meaning is Christ. "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21)

In my last post I started talking about faith. A precious faith by which we are justified and made righteous through the grace of God. God's grace which is so deep there is nothing we can do to deserve it. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

God's gift of grace is amazing! (maybe you even heard a song about how amazing it is before =p) Grace is a gift of God, not a result of anything we did to deserve it. Ephesians is clear to explain that the grace of God cannot be earned, its own freely given as a gift, that no amount of works can ever make someone righteous. Romans 3 makes this clear, stating “None is righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10) and "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20) and "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). No matter what we do, if we have faith in God, we will be saved! Even a serial killer who finds faith after being convicted of all his sins is justified and made righteous through his faith. Because grace is a gift from God, it is not conditional on anything we do or don't do.

Now perhaps from this we might be thinking, "so then once I have grace, there is nothing I can do to lose it? No sin is too grave to have my salvation revoked and grace taken away??" The answer is yes! Of course! This is how big grace is. This is what Paul means when he says "so that no one may boast." Because of the fact our works are not connected to His grace, God's grace is so much more bigger since he gives it to us undeservingly.

But then is this an excuse to sin? Of course not. Romans answers this clearly, "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1) But why is this?

It's also because of grace. This is what Paul means in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." This is the purpose for which we are called by God's grace: to do His work! It's not for grace that we work but because of grace that we work.

Jesus says you will know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). A good tree produces good fruit. James says "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:26). James also asks "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). James is justified in making these brash claims because grace changes us. Because of grace no longer are we slaves to sin but rather slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:17-18). James is calling our lives to reflect that. Jesus confirms it; our fruit is evidence of the fact we have been changed by grace to do the "good works which God prepared."

This makes sense right? If we truly have faith in God, truly believe Jesus is our personal savior and King, then why wouldn't we be living our lives for God?

This is why I can rejoice in suffering. Suffering builds that precious faith that brings grace, the grace that motivates my life. Because of the grace God granted me, a broken man dead in my sin and trespasses completely deserving of wrath and condemnation, I so undeservingly now am promised salvation. Such a matchless gift that I can never earn or pay back, what else can I do but use my life to worship Him? What else can I do but use my life for Him?

This is why to "live is Christ." Being alive means living for Christ. I hope helping with worship team at church can be just the start. I pray my eyes can be opened and my heart convicted of more ways I can and should be serving God. To live my life for him as fully as possible. To honor him as the greatest treasure in life. To worship him by devoting my life as a living sacrifice to him.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

April 28th

First of all, apologies for mistaking french for bad english in the previous post. The above is from the Osaka Aquarium where they have a whale shark! They were smaller than expected though...

Anyhow, I decided that I would make this post about joy. In particular, joy when suffering.

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5 ESV

Recently I've faced a lot of rejection. Last quarter I recruited for summer internships and in fact am still interviewing with firms for a summer job. I applied to over 60 companies, interviewed with about 20, even had several final rounds, and currently have no offers. Two weeks ago I interviewed with Deutsche Bank in Tokyo. My interviewers all ended my interview with saying I interviewed pretty well or that they saw a lot of potential in me. I left Tokyo feeling pretty good about my chances, only to hear back this week that they won't be offering me the position. Time after time, opportunity after opportunity, each one seems to have slipped away right before me. With each rejection, the overwhelming feeling of uncertainty about the future has built ominously high with each disappointing rejection. In my imperfection and brokeness, I profess to the difficulties of the situation.

Yet I rejoice. I rejoice in having Christ Jesus as my Lord and Savior and the assured future grace and life eternal that are promised through faith in him. The sufferings of this life grow the faith in him that assures salvation. I rejoice for the suffering that has and continues to grow my faith.

James teaches, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4 ESV

Count it all joy. Rejoice. Through trials and tribulations, God tests our faith to grow our faith. Through testing our faith He produces in us steadfastness. That steadfastness refines us until we are perfected in heaven. Thus, every hardship is for joy. Every failure that tests our faith grows it.

The author of Hebrews teaches,"he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

God redeems all hardship for our good. He disciplines us to make us yield fruits of righteousness for Him! So "Why do bad things happen to 'good' people?" Because God loves them!

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 ESV

Every act of hardship, pain, and suffering is for our good, and because of that, we can rejoice. Even though I've been through some rough patches with what seems like spiraling career prospects and a long line of never ending rejections, I can still testify to the Lord's righteousness, justice, and glory. How easy it is to praise God when life is going well. But even when life is difficult, we should still praise God with every fiber of our being.

Paul writes in Philippians, "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13 ESV

While things might be difficult, I still turn back to God and sing Him praises. I rejoice for the ways my suffering have grown my faith to be even firmer in times of struggle. In truth, I am very uncertain of where God is leading me through all these missed opportunities. Yet I remain calm because of my faith. I know that through Him who strengthens me, I can accomplish whatever He holds for my future. Through trusting in Him with all my heart, I know He will provide. Proverbs teaches, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

While what my summer and even future after graduation may hold remains uncertain, I thank God for the way that uncertainty has grown my faith. I trust Him that He will continue to work all things for my good.

Hopefully this post successfully updated you on some of the going ons of my life. Thanks again for your continued prayer and support! Maybe this post also revealed my favorite translation of the Bible...

Tune in for more next time!

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Because it's okay to have fun

This is Jason's favorite store. Everytime we go, I feel like I'm taking Jason to Disneyland...or erm, UniqloLand. Though I admit I like their clothes. It's kind of like a higher quality h&m but same price.

This week for Japanese Religion and Culture class, we took a field trip to Fushimi Inari, which is famous for it's tunnel esque countless red tori gates. Here's a picture to get a better grasp of what I'm talking about.

I've been here before, but this is the first time I learned some of the religious background of the shrine. It's Shinto, though we ran into some other types of buddhist shrines along the way as well. People make pilgrimages here for religious and non-religious reasons (such as just to jog it for exercise, or to be tourists like us). I think the most interesting thing was that apparently people come to worship rocks which in Japanese are called otsukas...I'm not sure how I feel about that...but everyone definitely looked at me every time our teacher mentioned that fact. Here's an otsuka:

Later that day we went to Kyoto Tower Hotel for a welcome party hosted by Doshisha University. Here is the president of Doshisha.

The food was pretty great. Anyhow, maybe there will be a longer post about this in the future but engrish in Japan always makes me laugh.

Here's my attempts at translating

Beef Saute ala Japanese

Pork Kakuni

Mix Fried

We also had to wear name tags...which OF COURSE degenerates into this =)

And then after that we went to karaoke! Here is Jason Brown and Christian Ollano singing Telephone by Lady Gaga...

This is my 2nd cousin. He's doing a Fulbright in Kyoto and just graduated from Pomona, so we met up for dinner. And I found out he was in IV at Pomona! Exciting. And he did worship team. Legit. Hopefully I can talk to him more about it later.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Cor 10:31

Tofu Softserve?

I'm not sure if I'm ready for tofu soft serve. Back in the distant past of my long work history, my first job was working at cold stone scooping ice cream. Once the flavor of the month was wasabi ginger...in order to recommend with integrity, as employees we're required to sample every flavor. WORST ICE CREAM FLAVOR EVER. well, I don't even like wasabi in sushi so maybe I'm a little partial...but I'm a little skeptical when it comes to weird ice cream flavors...

On the other hand...this sushi was delicious! Oddly reminded me of spam musubi. It was called "hamburger sushi" and basically was teriyaki beef on top of sushi rice. Delicious. Though spam musubi is definitely the one thing that 7-11's in Japan are missing.

I've been playing tourist on occasion as well. The cherry blossoms are about in full bloom now so it's quite pretty actually.

Also, I was able to make a return to Gion corner. The summer after freshman year, I had the pleasure of coming to Kyoto on a trip. One friend had really really wanted to see this show so we paid 3000 yen for it (roughly $30). It showcases 7 different Japanese arts: flower arranging, tea ceremony, traditional japanese instruments, etc. Anyhow, after watching it we felt like we had fallen into a tourist trap that overcharged us for an hour of culture center presentations...anyhow, don't recommend watching this one BUT revisiting brought back lots of funny memories of our faux pas (totally had to look up how to spell that)

also, this is a little old news now...BUT STILL CAN'T BELIVE YUNA KIM LOST. so disappointed. But it's ok! God will grow me through this disappointment.

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Hebrews12:7-13