WATER OF LIFE

My friend points out that if I throw out psychology, what about the other sciences? I AM NO EXPERT ON RELIGION. I have never taken religious studies. The closest I got was an eastern religions course at the university. My degree is in social sciences with a concentration in economics and history. At CSU, economics was part of the college of social sciences (economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, etc.). The conflict with God’s truth lies not in the physical, natural, or engineering sciences but in the social sciences, in particular psychology, economics, and political science.

I can honestly say that when I stopped seeing people in those type categories that I truly began to see people for who they really are. I’ve prayed for a clear answer on this but all I HAVE IS MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE> AND MAYBE THAT’S WHAT God really wants is for each of us to individually look to Him for the answer on whether we should mix psychology with our Christian faith. The Bible isn’t a set of personal values to follow—it’s a God’s Living Word, through which He speaks to all parts of our lives—especially the ones that psychology tries to address. I wouldn’t call psychology a science but more like a pseudo-religion. Why? Because it deals in matter of the heart (emotions), mind, personal and interpersonal problems, and after reading through the Bible anyone can see that these are God’s realm.

Economics is now a world religion. Economists are no more than false prophets all contradicting one another and practicing a sorcery of economic formulas that create more confusion and deception than clarity. The ISRAELITES DRIFTED FROM God, and they wanted a god they could see with their eyes, so they crafted gold image of a calf to worship. Today, we seek to see a golden bull in the stock market. We have made an idol out of THE BULL MARKET and economic growth. We turn to false prophets, sorcerers, and idols instead of God, so its no wonder that were facing God’s wrath in our world “economies”.

In regards to political science, another friend pointed out that one interpretation of the book of Revelations (chapter 17-18) is a time when man again tries to raise a Tower of Babel. He said the European Union and the move to one currency is an example of this. It is man once again turning to self-sufficiency (through political and economic systems) instead of God.

There truly is something telling about the separation of the social sciences from the physical, natural, and engineering sciences. The deception is lumped under the social sciences. In the hard sciences (with the exception of the creationists) THERE IS NO ASPECT OF SORCERY OR A PSUEDO-RELIGION BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT REPLACING God’s truth with their own.

In a dream I had last night, I was angry with my wife (apparently not for the first time;). The cupboards were filled to the edges with my favorite plastic colored cups from my youth (that we still use today in our home). I knocked all the cups out of the cupboards in a rage. Because I did this, my Great Aunt Rheba (who was a doctor) came over and gave me a shot with a very long and small needle. It was supposed to help me not go into a rage.

God is telling me I have so much to offer (many cups) out of my reserves (the cupboards) but my anger gets in the way. Those cups symbolize to me the greatest time of my life: the period before my parent’s divorce, when we we’re going to First Christian Church and I was in elementary school. Now my kids are in elementary school and we also have great church family like when I was a kid. I tried to knock all the cups down but I only knocked off the first row. I may have lost some opportunities due to my anger but there is still a whole lot more left for me to offer to my wife. Additionally, dreams have many layers of meaning and in real life my wife considers loading the dishwasher and putting away the dishes as an act of love.

So what is God telling me the solutions is? My Great Aunt Rheba was always there for others! She took care of granny (her sister) with all her medical problems until death, she helped my mom before and after her divorce, and a pavilion was erected in dedication of her work with the mentally ill. God is telling me to infuse myself with the medicine of my Great Aunt Rheba—and that she is already in my blood both literally and symbolically.

Also this morning I had a confirmation of my dream. I was reading the lesson for next weeks Sunday School, the story of the poor widow who gave all she had to live on to the Lord (Mark 12:41-44). Regarding this scripture, The Life Application Study Bible says we should give of our time, money or talents beyond convenience or calculation. Aunt Rheba also lost her husband and her child and so in a way also symbolizes the poor widow. Even though she wasn’t poor, she gave with the same heart as the poor widow.

Lastly, I could easily dismiss this dream because it looks like a repeat of what I’m doing today. I had to go get some blood drawn today. No, the Lord uses the natural to speak to us supernaturally. Additionally, the Lord speaks to me frequently through the lessons I teach at Sunday School. I think this is another confirmation from Him that I’m in the right place as a teacher (of elementary school age kids) at church and at work.

My first book, Culture Shock! Hawaii, was a response to feeling I don’t belong in Hawaii. My second book, Where in the World Do I Belong?, was an attempt to answer the question: If I don’t belong any of the places I have been so far, where do I belong in the world? The answer according to my system of culture types was somewhere in northern India or Burma. Of course, I didn’t pack up and go. First, I couldn’t afford it (although that hasn’t stopped me in the past: In my twenties I had no money and went to Japan with a plane ticket and nine hundred dollars in travelers checks—all charged on my credit card). It probably had more to do with having a wife and two kids to support and schooling to consider. Later, I found out it was really about God’s plan to finally bring me back to Him. 

I published Where in the World Do I Belong? in December 2006. A year and a half later my marriage was in shambles. It was at that point, in summer of 2007, I finally found out where I belonged was in a relationship with the Lord. A job or culture that fit my personality type wouldn’t end my wandering and lead to satisfaction and fulfillment. What I had been seeking wasn’t in the world—it was in Him. This is a blog I wrote about my turning point:

http://www.wateroflife.me/?page_id=100
Also, a few comments from others:
http://www.wateroflife.me/?p=101

My third book, Discovering the Water of Life (published November 2008), answered the question posed in my first two books of ‘where do I belong?’ For the last two years, every week I have been going to church, minichurch, and meeting with an accountability partner. This year I am working through my second reading of the Bible. Through all of this I have written many blogs trying to explain God’s transformation of me and what He has shown me along the way. A few months ago, during consideration of a topic for my next book, I felt God had shown me that Jungian psychology was a deception for me. Here is my blog about that:

http://www.wateroflife.me/?p=191

Now I am at the point where I am wondering how to make a living. It may be that God is leading me away from publishing books, but to still continue writing through blogging. I am also a part-time computer teacher at an Army youth center and it may be that God is leading me somewhere in that direction. Recently, someone commented in our minichurch that the Bible doesn’t tell us specific things (like whether we should put our child in a private Christian school or not). Instead we are to take a step of faith—having faith that He will show us along the way whether it’s the right or wrong direction.

A few months ago I set up a website to start offering publisher services to authors. This week I did a revision of the first and only book I have published for someone else. I got to tell you the process did not feel blessed by His power. Yet, at work I was asked to make three marketing flyers using Microsoft Publisher. That process was anointed. I felt the end result was no less than God’s hand upon me, because the end product was more than the sum of my experience and abilities. I felt He led me to do and add things I hadn’t thought of myself. (Additionally, I have never used Microsoft Publisher before but I have been using Adobe InDesign to publish my books for the last three years.)

I guess God’s started to grow a sensitivity in me to know when I’m doing something solely on my self power versus something He has anointed with His power. His anointing is one way we can discover His will for our lives. Once you’ve discovered His will don’t make the mistake of projecting out or second guessing His ultimate plan for your life. Where you’re at may be a season in your life and where He’s got you headed might be a different direction.

Our pastor said he didn’t want to lose his travel benefits when he left an airline job to go into ministry but now he travels more than he would’ve with his airline benefits. When I first applied for jobs on the base I had applied for a driver job because I enjoyed being a pizza delivery driver when I was in college. Of course that’s not where God ended up opening the door, but in my current job I was given responsibility for maintaining our school vans which involves driving several hours a month.

So why do I need a personality type system to guide me when I have the Lord’s perfect plan and wisdom? Sure I don’t have the security of knowing God’s ultimate destination for me but I do have the security of knowing that He will lead me each day if I just trust in Him.

A month ago, I had a dream where I was at a Dennys restaurant with my wife and we were seated across from a white guy. It appeared that he spoke Japanese and had some Japanese business customers with him. The name of his business is something like Japan Go. I seem to remember considering a job position with that company in the past.

The second part of the dream the restaurant turned into a train in Japan. This man and the Japanese people just got off on the previous train stop. I had a very strong feeling that we (myself and my wife and kids) should had followed them and gotten off on that stop. Two stops later my wife thinks we should get off the train and I follow. We cross over the tracks and I regretfully realize that I left my green luggage bag on the train. The train is riding off and my wife takes a picture of the back of it (with the train number) so that we can try to locate our bag later. That was the end of the dream.

The first part was a very literal image of our afternoon activities for that day. Neil Verwey of Japan Mission was giving a sermon in Japanese at my wife’s Japanese Bible study. I heard him speak last year at the same Bible study and at that time felt a strong desire to be a missionary abroad. This first part of the dream was no surprise because I already knew that we would be attending this meeting and that I had that desire last year.

The second part of the dream was the action I needed to correct. My wife had to leave early to pick up the kids and I was going to leave at the same time even though I didn’t have to be at work until an hour later. I felt God was telling me through my dream to stick around longer with the Japanese bible study group and not leave early with my wife. I stayed another hour and talked with Neil. I told him that my wife has a heart for Japanese coming to Christ and that her family is buddhist. He suggested that Japan Mission send their newsletter, Yorokobi no Izumi, to her family without our name on it.

At home, I told my wife about the newsletter and she said a couple days ago she had prayed for God to send her family someone or something to help bring them to Christ (not including herself). She realized this was the answer to her prayer. Although still a difficult decision to make, she decided to have Japan Mission send their newsletter. The luggage bag in my dream symbolized something that has been weighing us down, her families salvation, and losing it symbolized a chance that we could lose and may not regain later. My wife taking a photo is her trying to later recapture this chance for reaching her family.

Dreams have many layers of meaning and another miraculous layer was that Neil gave an example of himself getting off at the wrong train stop (and I hadn’t yet told him about my dream). Neil explained that God used his faults or weaknesses in real life, such as being forgetful. He got off on the wrong train station and so he asked God who or what was the reason for getting off here but then he met someone and shared about Jesus.

I went straight to work after talking with Neil. When I got to work I realized I was late! I was supposed to be at work earlier because the kids at the youth center get out early on Wednesdays. This was the only time I have ever been late to work but somehow God had made me forgetful even in the face of my wife leaving to pick up our kids, who also get out early on Wednesdays. God wanted me to stay later and talk with Neil. An hour earlier Neil had told me how God used his forgetfulness and right at that same moment God was making me forgetful!

On top of all of that, Neil also shared a dream! He said there are pizza dreams (ones inspired by the food we eat and not by God) and that God doesn’t speak through every dream. However, I’m still considering that God may speak through every dream. He also doesn’t dream very much and was surprised to hear that I dream alot. Here is his article on his dream which I reprint with his permission:

HEAVENLY PANCAKES
So many are wondering how I am doing emotionally since Peggy went to her heavenly abode on 5 December 2008! Well, Saturday night, 20th of December 2008, I read what Peggy was writing to us who are left behind, about suffering – and it was as if she was writing to me personally!

It is not God’s intention that you should look down at the grave or down into the emptiness of your breaking heart, but rather to look up into the face of God and see there His love and purpose for your life. Never allow God’s work to suffer while you feel sorry for yourself, but put your grief into new energy for service. There are too many around us who are also suffering and in need of our help.

These words of comfort still freshly in my mind, triggered a strange dream when I dropped off to sleep. In my dream, Peggy and I were still very young, fair, and energetic. We invited 2 very special people over for a brunch and we wanted to give them the very best we could afford. We had a tin of Lyle’s Golden syrup stashed away for a very special occasion. Some of you might be old enough to remember the famous golden syrup of that time. It was a mouth-watering delicacy, especially for children! The tin was a deep green, bearing a picture of the rotting carcass of a lion with a swarm of bees, and the slogan, ’out of the strong came forth sweetness’. This is a reference to chapter 14 of the Book of Judges in which Samson was traveling to the land of the Philistines in search of a wife. During the journey, he killed a lion, and when he passed the same spot on his return, he noticed that a swarm of bees had formed a honeycomb in the carcass. Samson later turned this into a riddle at a wedding: Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness.

In my dream, Peggy and I served our distinguished guests pancakes with the special golden syrup. Well, one of our guests had already eaten a hearty breakfast before he turned up, and, holding his tummy, he did not want a single bite of our specially prepared pancakes. The other guest enjoyed them just as much as Samson enjoyed his honey, and could not stop talking about the wonderful brunch we prepared. Suddenly, in my dream, the guests and Peggy disappeared and I was completely alone and so sad that tears welled up in my eyes! I was staring at the pancakes and the opened tin of golden syrup, and feeling very, very sorry for myself! Unexpectedly, there was a clamorous noise at the door! People wanted to come in and I still had plenty of pancakes and golden syrup to serve them!

As I woke up, I was lingering in bed thinking about the meaning of the dream, and then I knew that I still needed to serve heavenly pancakes and the golden syrup to many hungry people! Some would be so engorged with what the world gives them, that they would not like my heavenly pancakes, but some of them will be hungry for them! Jesus took the five loaves, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. (Mat. 14:19,20). A little crumb from Jesus’ table can satisfy for all eternity! (Mat 15:27).