Rescued by Jesus. Rebuilt by the Spirit. Responding to God's grace.
Ever pray for clarity? I have—but maybe we’re not supposed to. In 2005, while I was working in film, video, and graphic design, God called me to serve in full-time ministry instead. A year later, I was on staff at a church. In 2011, when I was a pastor at that church, God called me […]
For most of my life, I have struggled with the question, “Who am I?” And I’ve been buying the wrong answers from the enemy, who is in the business of spiritual identity theft. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1970s. Not the easiest time or place to be Asian. And to complicate […]
What motivates you to do what you do in the name of Jesus? << Continued from the previous episode No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12 NIV) May 2015. It was my last tai chi […]
Ever hesitate to follow God because you worry about the future? << Previous episode “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matt. 6:25 NIV) February, 2015. […]
<< 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 […]
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 […]
<< 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 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 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 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 […]
But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. (1 Cor. 14:3 NIV) << Previous episode As part of the process of applying to be missionaries with our denomination, our entire family would have to spend two weeks in Chicago in order for Soo and me to attend mandatory missionary […]
<< Previous episode God provides and redeems one of my failures. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the […]
<< Previous episode When God calls, resistance is futile. The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, […]
<< Previous episode Fear kept me from trusting God. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do […]
<< Previous episode Filled with faith or just plain delusional? “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will […]
<< Previous episode If God can speak through a donkey, could He speak through a child’s toy? It was a Tuesday morning. I was making the 20-mile drive to work. The radio was off. I needed some silence. I was praying. “God, it’s been nearly a month since my mother passed away. The memorial service […]
I haven’t posted anything new in nearly a month now. My apologies to my dear readers who have been awaiting the next episode in the story of my Ransomed Life. Three things have kept me from posting: 1) I’ve just been busier than usual lately; 2) it has been difficult for me to write the […]
What do you do when uncontrollable forces array against your sense of God’s calling? << Previous episode In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (Prov. 16:9 NIV) Sensing the go-ahead to proceed with this missions trip to Japan, I began the morning of January 2, 2011 by praying about […]
You can’t serve well unless you first know who you are (and aren’t). << Previous episode After receiving my ministry license, I was required to complete four orientation courses, each one a week long, usually in Chicago or Denver. These were not easy for me to pull off at the time, as Soo just had […]
Yet another post about surrender, trust, and obedience. (Are we sensing a theme here?) << Previous episode Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm. 20:7 NIV) I have this thing about titles and diplomas. I love them. I covet them. But I could […]
I thought God was speaking to me. But was He really? << Previous episode I was on fire for Jesus after returning from Bangkok, telling anyone who’d listen that God is bigger than any of us could comprehend, yet He loves us and is with us in our day-to-day lives, even when we don’t notice […]
It’s not what you think. << Previous Episode Tony and I arrived in Bangkok a little over one week after my mind-blowing “jackpot” answer to prayer. A movie producer had sent us there to do some research for a script that he had commissioned us to write. You’d think I’d be excited to be working […]
<< Previous episode When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. (Acts 16:7-8 NIV) April 16, 2006. It was the day of our big premiere. The network marketing team hustled […]
<< Previous episode I was a new believer, on fire for Jesus, eager to do something for God. I talked to pastors to get direction. I read the Bible. I prayed. All the while, I’d ask God what I could do for Him, and through it all, I’d receive no clear answer. Frustrated, I decided […]
<< Previous episode What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities […]
