On Japanese Swords and Christianity

I’ve always had a fascination with other cultures.  I find people interesting, and to know me is to know I’m a curious guy, and I love meeting new people.  I will often times do research on things that I learn from others, because, well….. you just never know where something good can be found.

One of the cultures I have always been interested in is the Japanese.  Although there are many wonderful things to be found in their culture, it is their pursuit of mastery that has drawn my attention the most.

The Japanese like to make an art form out of many things.  Be it serving tea, making clothes, dancing, weapons, fighting, and even writing.

It is their total dedication to their art that just makes me go wow.

The Japanese believe that we are born knowing who we are and quickly forget it, and then spend the rest of our lives trying to define ourselves.  This is the pursuit of “The Way”.  There are many different paths to “The Way”.  Some spend it in practicing calligraphy.  Some in making weapons, some in the form of swords, archery, serving tea, and a whole host of other things.  There seems to be as many paths to “The Way” as their are people.

But each person who is dedicated to “The Way”, follow their path, with the intention of gaining mastery of it, with a dedication that is quite simply put, admirable.

We, as Christians, could learn a thing or two from this.  Seriously.

The way to salvation is much like “The Way” of the Japanese.  Both follow a path, both seek an end goal, both are fraught with perils and hardships along the way.

I’m said to admit that I think at times the Japanese are much better at staying on their paths that Christians.

Again, I think we could learn from this.

When a Japanese master takes on a student, he does things that the student often does  not understand, thinks are harsh, and there is often pain.  The master does this because he is seeking to break a lifetime of bad habits.  When you think the master is getting you to do something against your natural instincts, the master will simply say he is teaching you the correct way to do something.  The big difference is that a Japanese student will not question their master, where Christians seem to either ignore, or question everything that they wish in their pursuit of holy lives.

The biggest difference between the two, the Japanese way and the Christian, is that for the Japanese it is more a solitary journey with a guide, where in Christianity is is a total surrender to God.

The problems I see today facing the Christian world is the fact that so many denominations believe different things and are so judgmental towards each other on a personal level.

The Catholics believe it’s acceptable to drink some, while Pentecostals believe no drinking is acceptable.  Many denominations believe smoking is evil, while others don’t.  Some believe dancing if of the devil, while others dance in the spirit.  I could go on with this, but I won’t.

The simple fact is this.  There is only one way to heaven, just as the bible says, which is through Jesus Christ.  The greatest commandment is to Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and the second as like unto the first, treat your neighbor as yourself.

I believe that today’s Pastors should still seek to preach on what a Christian should and shouldn’t do.  But the judgments must stop.  It confuses people and it interferes with their walk with God.  Only God can change a person, their actions, and their heart.  Looking down on someone because of what your denomination believes is not the way to help guide them.  Not unless it is clearly in the bible.

To win souls to Christ, we must change our thinking as leaders.  We must remember that we are there for people, to help them, and to guide them.  Not to beat on them and judge them unmercifully.  We must lead a holy life as an example, and concentrate on what the bible SAYS to break a lifetime of bad habits.  Then we must let go and let God.  He knows more about that person than we ever will.

We must change our way of thinking.  We must plant the seeds of determination in the pursuit of salvation and holy living similar to they way the Japanese masters do it.  Just a thought……

~ Kev

The Old Timers – How did they do it?

A mystery was solved, a rather intriguing one if you ask me.  These type of mysteries always make me wonder.  How did the people of that time accomplish some of the things they were able to do?

The Country:  Canada.

The Place: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The Building: St. John’s Anglican Church

The church was built in 1754.  As you can imagine, the architecture of the church was absolutely beautiful. With the type of wood working that is usually found in very old buildings.  The church is the oldest Anglican church in Canada.  A lot of love went into this building.  Unfortunately, an arson decided to burn down the church on halloween 2001.  No one has been caught.  A lot of history was destroyed.

But the members of St. John’s decided to do something pretty remarkable.  They decided to rebuild the church.  Not just rebuild a new church.  No, they decided to rebuild the church, as it was before the fire, using what was left of the building after the fire, and existing wood that was salvageable. A costly task, estimated at 7 million Canadian dollars.  They managed it of course.

Using photographs, and excellent carpenters, they managed it.  But one task, given to a woman, brought out a mystery.

It had to do with stars that were painted on the ceiling over the alter.  The problem was that there were not a complete set of photographs for the woman to recreate the pattern of stars.  As she debated the problem, she followed a hunch.  She had a feeling that the star groupings were not something just randomly painted.  So, she contacted an astronomer.  He examined the photos that were available and found the constellation Perseus.  The problem was, the location of the constellation was wrong for the night sky in Lunenburg.

Acting on his own hunch, he used a computer program to show what the sky would have looked like on Christmas Eve, year 0, the celebrated birth of Jesus.  You guessed it, the stars matched.  The painted stars recreated the night sky of December 24th, year 0, in Lunenburg.

So how did someone in the 1800’s, when the stars were painted on the ceiling, recreate the night sky from that date?  What a feat!  I find it amazing.

Here are pictures of the church before the fire:

Here is a picture of the church after it burned, which gives you an idea of what they had to work with to reconstruct the church:

Here is a video of the star mystery:

Some of the information in the video is incorrect.  Such as the fact that the bible does not indicate that Jesus was born on December 25th, but it’s still interesting.

If you want more interesting facts on this historical landmark, go here.

Enjoy!

~ Kev

Happy Birthday Jesus

The wind of that morning was probably chilly.  Not the chill of winter, because it was spring.  The time of new things.  The chill air swept through a small town, a town of only about 30 houses, plus a few other buildings.

In what was probably a small cave, which was called a manger, was a young man and woman.  The woman was tired, having labored through the night after a long journey to this small humble town.  But though she was tired and weary, she was no doubt smiling with accomplishment and joy, the man, her husband, with pride and the awe that men get when women give birth.  They gazed at a small figure, wrapped and swaddled against the chill in the air.  They gazed on the very first and most important Christmas gift ever given.

Legend has it that at the moment the babe was born, every winged animal not in the air took flight across the entire planet.  Animals who had been sleeping or hiding suddenly leapt and ran.  Even the very bees took to the air, their buzzing wings sending a song of joy into the air.  It was as if the entire universe had just let out a giant breath it had been holding for far to long.

The town had no clue how they had been honored.  They had no clue what had happened.  They only knew that it was yet another day in a town purposely kept small, to avoid Roman attention.  The town was named Bethlehem and the man and woman were there due to Roman decree.  A census was to be taken.  So the man, Joseph had bundled up his pregnant wife Mary and took her to his town of lineage.

The town might not have realized what was laying there.  But someone did.  Three someones actually.  Three men from the East.  Wise men, men who knew things, men who studied things.  They had travelled far and long, following the direction of all things, a star, brightly lit.  A star so bright it could be seen during the day.  They travelled until they came upon the new parents, and the babe.

In the surrounding area, a group of Sheppard’s, sleepy from watching over their flock all night, came to alert, scared out of their minds.  For someone was suddenly there, someone who wasn’t human, so how could they not be scared?  But the one who appeared was not there to cause harm, but to deliver a message.

The message that the someone delivered fell on ears that weren’t quite sure yet what to think.  But the message was good.  It was so good that suddenly the someone started singing, and praising God, and a multitude of voices that could not be seen joined in, all singing praises to God.  For this day, the prophecy of a Savior had come to fruition.  Those sheppards were given instructions on how to find this gift from God.

So away they went, and found the manger, and the parents, and wise men, and a small babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

They gazed upon the babe.  With wonder.  With awe.  No doubt their bodies trembled, those sheppards and wise men.  For they were looking at something that was human, but not.  With the purpose of God shinning forth from Him.  Such a small innocent looking baby, shinning with heavenly light, a gift to the world.

If they had only known then what was to come, the purpose for which he was born, they would have rent their clothes and wept.  But that was for another day, years in the future.  For the moment, they basked in light of His purpose, His innocence that would never disappear, and Holiness He exuded.

There, surrounded by the Wise men, representing The Father, The Sheppards, representing The humble Son, and The Parents watching over their babe, representing the ever watchful Holy Ghost, was a most humble babe who would change the course of human destiny forever.

His name was to be Immanuel, meaning God with us.  And He was.  And God looked, and saw that it was good, as he had known it would be.

Jesus, the Christ, the Savior, was born.

All Hail the King of Kings.

Happy Birthday my Lord.

The Curse

Have you ever been cursed? Maybe you don’t know. Maybe you do. If you are a Christian, chances are you have been, or will be, cursed.

I don’t mean when someone screams their favorite 4 letter word at you. I’m talking about a CURSE. Do you even know what a curse is?

Let me give you an example.

Mark 11:13-14

Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

He said to it, May no one ever eat fruit from you again! And his disciples were listening.

This is an example of a curse. Jesus was hungry, and found a fig tree that had no fruit. He then cursed it. Later, when they passed that way again, the disciples noticed the tree and saw that it had withered.

This is an example of a BIBLICAL curse. There are others in the Bible. In the New American Standard Bible, the word curse or cursed appears 172 times. There are also NON-Biblical curses.

We, as Christians, get wrapped up in everyday life, even when we take great pains to remain “separate” from the world.  We fail to realize exactly how much power we hold in our hands.  It’s easy enough to remember that power when we are praying for someone.  Prayer is a powerful thing.  It’s our words, in prayer, that sets deliverance in motion.  Whether we are praying for someone to be healed, or to be delivered, we know that God hears our voice.  The same can be said for the negative things we sometimes say about, or to, people.  As Christians, God hears our voices.  Just because you aren’t in “prayer mode” doesn’t mean He doesn’t hear you.  If you recognize the power you have with positive prayer, you must also recognize the power you have with negative words.

Regardless of the type, curses have power. When you curse something, as a Christian, your words have power. We know this because of what Jesus taught us. He said, what you bind on earth, will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in Heaven. (See Matt 16:19 and Matt 18:18).

For those who aren’t Christians, their curses become the tool of satan. This type of curse falls into the realm of witchcraft.  I  know, if you’re a modern person, you might be thinking “Come on Kev, witchcraft is so.. yesterday”.  Well, of course that is your thinking.  Why?  Because satan has ensured that the realm of science says witchcraft doesn’t, and can’t exist.  Well, remember that they say the same thing about prayer.

As Christians, we can certainly expect to be cursed. Why? If we are working FOR God’s kingdom, the enemy will attack. But, as Christians, we must LEAN to choose our words most carefully. When we lose our temper, and we say, I hope so and so, has such and such happen to them well, be careful what you wish for. We must learn to restrict our curses to the enemy and his labors and his laborers. As a Christian, you should never curse another person. Even if they aren’t saved, they are still a person, and therefore subject to Gods grace.

So what do you do if you are cursed, or have been cursed? Simple. You break it. Breaking it isnt the hard part, recognizing it is the problem.

It can be difficult to see that you have been cursed. Having a difficult time all of sudden? Been sick all of a sudden? You just might be the recipient of a curse. You must be walking in the spirit to have it revealed to you. Also, if you are walking in the spirit, you might also have it revealed to you that someone you know has been cursed.

If this happens, you most definitely tell them and then offer to pray for them and break the curse. If they reject what you say, well that is up to them.

Before I finish, I want to address walking in the spirit. I wont go into great detail, but for those who don’t know, I want you to understand something about it. Walking in the spirit is when you are praying to God, asking him for his wisdom and knowledge. If you do this often enough, you will begin to walk more and more in the spirit. This is a great thing! When you are walking in the spirit, you are less likely to get yourself into trouble, because you are actively allowing Christ to guide you.

So, to close, how to break a curse? You pray that it is broken. You stand up, in the name of Christ, and declare it broken. You BIND the curse here on earth, therefore it will be bound in Heaven. A cautionary note though. Don’t ask for vengeance on the one who gave or spoke the curse. Leave that up to God. Instead, ask God to reveal this person or persons rebellious nature to them so that they can repent and get matters right with Him.

You don’t have to live with a curse!