March update 2016

March update 2016

Hey everyone its been a great shaking these past few months of the new year.  Its exciting to be alive in the times we are in, and I know that as we continue to persevere and keep our focus on Jesus by His Spirit and not by our natural understanding we will be able to do those “greater things”!  

 Im just continuing to press into a life or risk and complex challenges knowing that I am being prepared to be launched into the Nations of the world.  

If you feel like your life is mundane I would challenge you to sell everything you have and follow Jesus.  Pray and ask Him how to live a life of abundance.  Not of materialism but of deep inner joy, peace, and strength within the storms of this life.  You will not be disappointed.  

 So whats been happening these past few months?  

At one of our primary schools we are continuing to run our after school christian program through (CEF) “Child Evangelism Services” every Tuesday from 2:30pm-3:45PM.  

 Here we are going over stories from the bible through videos and learning the good news of the gospel.  We also have stories from missionaries around the world that have made a huge impact being taught every Tuesday.  We were able to learn about Hudson Taylor and his impact in China, about Queen Kapiolani and how she stood up to false idols, and even go through testimonies of youth from America raising funds for developing countries using their gifts and talents.  

 There are many opportunities to kick start these kinds of settings in our public schools.  We just need those who are willing and consistent to join the team!  I believe a team is coming that will be able to focus on our younger developing generation of leaders!  Please pray for this team to be actualized here on this island.  

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 In our High School we were able to teach lessons on Core Values that helped students to appreciate their unique gift sets and talents.  My heart here is to reach these kids in their environment and somehow wake them up from automatic pilot/ zombie mode and spark enthusiasm, vigor, passion, and curiosity deep within their core being.  

 I try to share many life experiences that I have from traveling the world and relate it to their lives.  Being from Hawaii I am able to show them that they too can do what I did if they get grounded in truth, take risks, and have faith in God!  He is good!  

 On Friday’s we are able to share with over 45+ high schoolers and ignite their imagination.  

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 An update with our intermediate school that we have been investing into for the past 3 years is still at a stand still.  At the beginning of the school year I was suspended.  Please pray for administration and faculty that we would have favor and be allowed to be the light, hope, and encouragement there.  

 Out of all the things I have ever done in my life this school has my heart.  I love the kids, they are like my younger brothers and sisters.  I get to visit them in their neighborhoods and at the local mall and continue to speak the truth in love into their lives.  But I would love to do that through the week as well.  

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In our neighborhoods we are at a steady pace making progress and learning how to do things with more excellence.  In one neighborhood we have over 40+ kids we are able to share with, and in the other we have a core group of 20+.  

 We have been going into these communities for the past three years as well partnering with our YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Maui base DTS students.  Here we have been developing our youth, at the same time training missionaries to be sent around the world sharing the good news of identity and eternity.

 This past week we did a little Easter production where we dressed up in costumes, decorated the room, and prepared a meal for the families and youth.  We got to share the resurrection story using drama, interactive activities, and engaging conversations.  I never seen these youth so still in my life.  

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One of our sharpest points this term is the service we are providing collaborating with other churches to bring community life to the college campus.  We are there three days a week with a different focus on each day.  On Mondays we provide a free lunch and bible studies for christians on campus, on Wednesdays Zac heads up the student activities in the middle of campus the whole afternoon (lately volleyball), and on Thursday mornings till noon we are posted up in front of the busiest spot on campus.  Here we are providing free coffee and refreshments, making community and public announcements, praying for people, and handing out the bible!  Last week we were able to personally hand over 50+ Living Water bibles.  

 To me sharing the word of God (via bibles) is important.  I know it is one of the most practical things I can do to help share my faith.  

 And at the college it doesn’t stop there.  I am also focusing on how to better serve our International students.  I am part of the international club on campus, and the filipino club as well.  It has a been a privilege and a blessing joining there communities.  We are planning events together, doing one on one bible studies, and even planing summer activities.  Please pray for our international students and that they will have life changing experiences that they can take back home as they help develop their countries.

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 Our internship program here for New Hope Maui has also been dramatically improving.  We are making progress and development is happening.  This section of an update is a whole update in itself.  

 I will save the amazing details for another time.  But stay tuned!  WE WANT YOU HERE.  Would you be willing to join us?

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This update is getting quite long and I would love to have shared more stories, testimonies, and lessons that Im learning but that might be too much to read for now.  Also I’m about to close the store I work at so Im running out of time.  

  So Ill end with please pray for, and think about supporting me this summer as I will be hosting outreach teams on the island, and into foreign countries.  I will be planning to head to Honduras (more updates on that soon), and then to DPRK again (more updates to come as well).

 I am working as much as I can to save up for these trips, and I am also saving as much as humanly possible while living on one of the most expensive places in the nation.  So please pray, consider, and think about supporting me financially this summer.  

 I will be posting more on these trips on different updates.  So Ill make sure you know about them as they come.

  Thank you for all your support along these years!  I am so grateful and thankful for what God is doing.  I can’t help to participate any way I can to join Him.  It is fun, full of life, and the most challenging thing I have ever done.  

The Resurrection Proof Lesson for my Sunday School, Jr. High, and High School kids:

****This is your homework: First one to tell me all 7 wins a prize: 

(I) There are four historical facts which must be explained by any adequate historical hypothesis:

o Jesus’ burial

o the discovery of his empty tomb

o his post-mortem appearances

o the origin of the disciples’ belief in his resurrection.

The Resurrection Proof #1: The Empty Tomb of Jesus

The empty tomb may be the strongest proof Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Two major theories have been advanced by unbelievers: someone stole Jesus' body or the women and disciples went to the wrong tomb.

The Jews and Romans had no motive to steal the body. Christ's apostles were too cowardly and would have had to overcome the Roman guards. The women who found the tomb empty had earlier watched Jesus being laid away; they knew where the correct tomb was. Even if they had gone to the wrong tomb, the Sanhedrin could have produced the body from the right tomb to stop the resurrection stories. Jesus' burial cloths were left neatly folded inside, hardly the act of hurrying grave robbers. Angels said Jesus had risen from the dead.

The Resurrection Proof #2: The Holy Women Eyewitnesses

The holy women eyewitnesses are further proof that the Gospels are accurate historical records. If the accounts had been made up, no ancient author would have used women for witnesses to Christ's resurrection. Women were second class citizens in Bible times; their testimony was not even allowed in court. Yet the Bible says the risen Christ first appeared to Mary Magdalene and other holy women. Even the apostles did not believe Mary when she told them the tomb was empty. Jesus, who always had special respect for these women, honored them as the first eyewitnesses to his resurrection. The male Gospel writers had no choice but to report this embarrassing act of God's favor, because that was how it happened.

The Resurrection Proof #3: Jesus' Apostles' New-Found Courage

After the crucifixion, Jesus' apostles hid behind locked doors, terrified they would be executed next. But something changed them from cowards to bold preachers. Anyone who understands human character knows people do not change that much without some major influence. That influence was seeing their Master, bodily risen from the dead. Christ appeared to them in the locked room, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and on the Mount of Olives. After seeing Jesus alive, Peter and the others left the locked room and preached the risen Christ, unafraid of what would happen to them. They quit hiding because they knew the truth. They finally understood that Jesus is God incarnate, who saves people from sin.

The Resurrection Proof #4: Changed Lives of James and Others

Changed lives are yet another proof of the resurrection. James, the brother of Jesus, was openly skeptical that Jesus was the Messiah. Later James became a courageous leader of the Jerusalem church, even being stoned to death for his faith. Why? The Bible says the risen Christ appeared to him. What a shock to see your own brother, alive again, after you knew he was dead. James and the apostles were effective missionaries because people could tell these men had touched and seen the risen Christ. With such zealous eyewitnesses, the early church exploded in growth, spreading west from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond. For 2,000 years, encounters with the resurrected Jesus have changed lives.

The Resurrection Proof #5: Large Crowd of Eyewitnesses

A large crowd of more than 500 eyewitnesses saw the risen Jesus Christ at the same time. The Apostle Paul records this event in 1 Corinthians 15:6. He states that most of these men and women were still alive when he wrote this letter, about 55 A.D. Undoubtedly they told others about this miracle. Today, psychologists say it would be impossible for a large crowd of people to have had the same hallucination at once. Smaller groups also saw the risen Christ, such as the apostles, and Cleopas and his companion. They all saw the same thing, and in the case of the apostles, they touched Jesus and watched him eat food. The hallucination theory is further debunked because after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, sightings of him stopped.

The Resurrection Proof #6: Conversion of Paul

The conversion of Paul records the most drastically changed life in the Bible. As Saul of Tarsus, he was an aggressive persecutor of the early church. When the risen Christ appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road, Paul became Christianity's most determined missionary. He endured five floggings, three beatings, three shipwrecks, a stoning, poverty, and years of ridicule. Finally the Roman emperor Nero had Paul beheaded because the apostle refused to deny his faith in Jesus. What could make a person willingly accept—even welcome—such hardships? Christians believe the conversion of Paul came about because he encountered Jesus Christ who had risen from the dead.

The Resurrection Proof #7: They Died for Jesus

Countless people have died for Jesus, absolutely certain that the resurrection of Christ is an historical fact. Tradition says ten of the original apostles died as martyrs for Christ, as did the Apostle Paul. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of early Christians died in the Roman arena and in prisons for their faith. Down through the centuries, thousands more have died for Jesus because they believed the resurrection is true. Even today, people suffer persecution because they have faith that Christ rose from the dead. An isolated group may give up their lives for a cult leader, but Christian martyrs have died in many lands, for nearly 2,000 years, believing Jesus conquered death to give them eternal life.

• Simon, AKA Peter: Simon-Peter, who was appointed by Jesus the leader of the new sect, is viewed by Roman Catholics as the first pope, was eventually martyred in Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero. As the story goes, Peter asked to be crucified upside down, so that his death would not be the equal of Jesus and the Romans supposedly obliged.

• Andrew: According to 15th Century religious historian Dorman Newman, Andrew—the brother of Peter—went to Patras in western Greece in 69 AD, where the Roman proconsul Aegeates debated religion with him. Aegeates tried to convince Andrew to forsake Christianity, so that he would not have to torture and execute him. But when that didn’t work, apparently he decided to give Andrew the full treatment. Andrew was scourged, and then tied rather than nailed to a cross, so that he would suffer for a longer time before dying. Andrew lived for two days, during which he preached to passersby.

• James (son of Zebedee, AKA James the Greater): Acts 12:1-19 says that James was killed with a sword. The newly-appointed governor of Judea, Herod Agrippa, decided to ingratiate himself with the Romans by persecuting leaders of the new sect. After James was arrested and led to place of execution, his unnamed accuser was moved by his courage. He not only repented and converted on the spot, but asked to be executed alongside James. The Roman executioners obliged, and both men were beheaded simultaneously.

• John: John was the only one of the original disciples not to die a violent death. Instead, he passed away peacefully in Patmos in his old age, sometime around 100 AD.

• Philip: Philip, the first of Jesus’ disciples, became a missionary in Asia. Eventually, he traveled to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where he was scourged, thrown into prison, and crucified in 54 AD.

• Bartholomew: Bartholomew supposedly preached in several countries, including India, where he translated the Gospel of Matthew for believers. In one account, “impatient idolaters” beat Bartholomew and then crucified him, while in another, he was skinned alive and then beheaded.

• Thomas: Apparently Thomas preached the gospel in Greece and India, where he angered local religious authorities, who martyred him by running him through with a spear.

• Matthew: According to legend, the former tax collector turned missionary was martyred in Ethiopia, where he was supposedly stabbed in the back by an swordsman sent by King Hertacus, after he criticized the king’s morals.

• James (son of Alphaeus, AKA James the Less): According to Foxe, James, who was elected by his fellow believers to head the churches of Jerusalem, was one of the longest-lived apostles, perhaps exceeded only by John. At the age of 94, he was beaten and stoned by persecutors, and then killed him by hitting him in the head with a club.

• Thaddaeus, AKA Lebbaeus, Judas or Jude: According to several stories, he was crucified at Edessa (the name of cities in both Turkey and Greece) in 72 AD.

• Simon the Canaanite AKA the Zealot: Simon preached in Mauritania on the west coast of Africa, and then went to England, where he was crucified in 74 AD.

• Judas Iscariot: According to Matthew 27:3-6, the treacherous apostle quickly felt remorse over his betrayal of Jesus and went to the Temple to recant. When the high priests ignored his plea, he threw down the 30 pieces of silver that he had been paid, and went off and hanged himself.  But Acts 1:15-20, gives a different and even grislier version of Judas’ demise. He says that Judas used the blood money to purchase a piece of land and then fell headlong from a high place there, so that “he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.” Jerusalem residents subsequently named the place Aceldama, which means “the field of blood.”

Food for thought and growth: How many of these questions can you answer?

1 Peter 3:15

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

2 Corinthians 10:5

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Acts 18:4

And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Titus 1:9

holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Acts 17:22-31

So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD ' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

Jude 1:3 

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

2 Timothy 4:2 ESV

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

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Questions About the Existence and Nature of God

1. What key arguments are there for (and against) God’s existence?

2. What are the practical implications of an atheistic worldview?

3. Why would a good God allow evil to exist?

4. Why would a good God allow suffering to exist?

5. Why would God command the death of so many people in the Bible (e.g., the Canaanites)?

6. How can a loving God send people to hell?

7. Why does God remain so “hidden?”

8. Why does the “Old Testament God” seem different than the “New Testament God?”

9. Why would God need people to worship Him (isn’t that egotistical and arrogant)?

Questions About Truth and Worldviews

10. What is the difference between absolute and relative truth?

11. How can it be reasonable for Christians to claim knowledge of an objective truth?

12. What is the role and danger of using “common sense” in evaluating truth claims?

13. Isn’t hell an unreasonable punishment for not believing in a specific set of truth claims?

14. How can Christians think their personal religious experiences with God are any more “true” than those of adherents to other belief systems?

15. Do all religions ultimately point to the same God? Why or why not?

16. What are key similarities and differences between the world’s major religions (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism)?

17. Is Christianity a less intelligent worldview than atheism? Why or why not?

Questions About Jesus

18. What extra-biblical evidence is there that Jesus existed (as a historical person)?

19. What major Old Testament prophecies did Jesus fulfill?

20. Was Jesus wrong about the timing of his second coming? Why or why not?

21. What are the key passages in the Bible that show Jesus claimed to be God?

22. What does the Bible say about the exclusivity of Jesus with regard to salvation?

23. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross for our sins to be forgiven (couldn’t God have just pardoned sins without a gruesome death involved)?

24. What are the four minimal facts of the resurrection that are “so strongly attested historically that they are granted by nearly every scholar who studies the subject, even the rather skeptical ones?” 

25. What are the main theories non-believers have about the resurrection (e.g., unknown tomb, wrong tomb, disciples stole the body, authorities hid the body, etc.)?

26. Why do Christians believe a supernatural (bodily) resurrection explains the minimal facts better than all the other theories?

27. Why does it matter whether or not Jesus was resurrected (and that the resurrection wasn’t simply a metaphor)?

Questions About the Bible

28. Who selected what books are in the Bible?

29. How were the books of the Bible selected?

30. Why were some “books” we know about today (e.g., the Gospel of Thomas) left out of the Bible?

31. How can we know that the Bible we have today is a reliable record of the original writings?

32. What major “contradictions” exist in the Bible (and what are the explanations)?

33. Does the Bible support slavery? Why or why not? (Don’t laugh at this and the next two questions…these come up constantly in discussion with atheists.)

34. Does the Bible support rape? Why or why not?

35. Does the Bible support human sacrifice? Why or why not?

36. What does the Bible say about homosexuality?

37. How do Christians determine what parts of the Bible are prescriptive and which are descriptive?

Science and Christianity

Young Earth Creationism

38. What is Young Earth Creationism (YEC)?

39. What are key pieces of scriptural support for the YEC interpretation of creation in six 24-hour days?

40. How do YECs determine that the earth is 6,000-10,000 years old?

Evidence for an Old Earth (i.e., billions of years old)

41. What areas of science have implications for the age of the earth?

42. What are major methods scientists use to estimate the age of the earth, and what is their consensus on the estimate?

43. What is the relationship between belief in a global flood and the age of the earth?

Old Earth Creationism

44. What is “Old Earth Creationism (OEC)?”

45. What are the major reasons OECs reject the YEC interpretation of creation?

46. What are the key pieces of scriptural support for the OEC interpretation?

Intelligent Design

47. What is Intelligent Design?

48. Why do Intelligent Design proponents consider it a scientific theory and not a religious one?

49. What are the major reasons Intelligent Design proponents reject evolution as a sufficient explanation for the existence of life?

50. What does it mean that the universe appears to be “finely tuned?”

Evolution

51. What is evolution (from a purely scientific perspective)?

52. What are the key pieces of evidence for evolution?

53. What are the key questions evolution has not answered?

54. What do people mean when they talk about “macroevolution” versus “microevolution”?

55. Why do evolutionists reject the theory of intelligent design?

56. What are the theological implications for an acceptance of evolution?

57. What are the theological implications specifically for Adam and Eve not being literal, historical people?

Other Science and Christianity Questions

58. Why would Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Christians differ on their view of origins?

59. How can Christians believe miracles are possible, given what we know about science (e.g., the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection)?

Other Important (and Common) Questions

60. What does it mean (biblically) to have faith, and how is that different than the popular definition of faith?

61. If Christianity is true, why are there so many Christians whose lives look no different than those of non-believers (aren’t many Christians hypocrites)?

62. Why are there so many denominations (and does the fact of many denominations invalidate the truth of Christianity)?

63. Is Christianity “responsible” for millions of deaths throughout history? Why or why not, and what implications does the answer have for the evaluation of Christian truth claims?

64. What happens to people who have never heard the Gospel?

65. Why don’t miracles happen as frequently today as they did in the Bible?

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***Great references for answers: 

http://www.gotquestions.org/questions_worldview.html

https://carm.org/apologetics

https://www.youtube.com/user/CloserToTruth1

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***YOUTUBE VIDEOS:

Philosophers Videos: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpeypJMHfNbJ4RAFkRtmAN3P

William Lane Craig Animation Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gdeV4Rk9EfL-NyraEGXXwSjDNeMaRoX

Catch up on current Apologetics Teachings:

https://www.youtube.com/user/InspiringPhilosophy/videos?shelf_id=2&view=0&sort=p

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***Great Teachers, Philosophers, and Theologians to look up:

-Alvin Plantinga

-John Lenox

-J.P. Moreland 

-William Lane Craig

-Timothy Keller

-Ravi Zacharias