Junko: Blog

I'm starting to hear back from listeners of my interviews on Focus on the Family Weekend Magazine. Here are some:

I just listened to part 1 of your focus on the family interview. I was so touched by your story of how God unlocked the pain that was buried deep within your heart. The image of you running through the rice fields and the story of you going for a run and coming to peace with that little Japanese girl touched a deep part of me. Thank you for sharing your gift. May God continue to bless you and your ministry.
-Eileen

I was in the shower this morning listening to my shoiwer radio and heard Junko singing a song about her young life in the rice fields of the rising sun. My wife is from Thailand and the song reminded me of her life when she was a little girl.
-Bob and Vanida

Heard about you for the very first time on radio. The interview was awesome. To have a Japanese Christian singer with such a beautiful voice had me riveted to the program. Your lyrics and the sweet Japanese [...]

Revelation 13:4 "Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"

When we are young and full of passion, we often get infatuated with musicians or screen stars. They have high visibility and our throbbing hearts get attached to their images (because they are looking pretty fine! and their music can really pluck our heart strings!). We may not know much about them personally, but we fall in love with them (in concept!)! Wherever they appear, as fans we scream or swoon at their sight, and we try to reach out to touch their clothes or see if they might reach out to us!

Jesus wants us to know that Satan and all his minions know just what appeals to our hearts. We can be extremely gullible, like teenagers who fawn over rock stars and movie stars. And we can fall prey to those who are good at wooing us with smooth lines and attractive facades. Somehow our infatuation with [...]

Revelation 13:3 "One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast."

Magicians can pull rabbits out of hats and do amazing tricks. I am always fascinated by how they can saw bodies in half and put them back together! I never see their slight-of-hand maneuvers, and so I am completely gullible (but deep down I know it's really fake!).

Jesus wants us to know that this beast is pulling off a great deception. Not only is he mocking Jesus' death on the cross as a parody, but he also is using it to draw the whole world astray. Just like the deceptive magicians we watch at shows, this evil beast is mimicking Jesus' death and resurrection and convincing others it is the real deal (Talk about narrow gates and wide gates -- this is definitely a wide gate leading to disaster!)!

As followers of Jesus, we need to be aware of others who may seem sincere and caring but have ulterior motives (like [...]

Revelation 12:17 "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring -- those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

Brothers and sisters can be our best friends and most loyal fans. They can defend us when we are being attacked (even if we are in the wrong!). They can offer comfort and caring when we are down in the dumps. And they are the first ones we call when we have joyful news to share. They love us deeply, and we love them back just like that, too.

Jesus wants us to know that Satan is after all the brothers and sisters of Jesus (and that would be us, you and I!). Because we are followers of Jesus, Satan will seek us out and try to destroy us. Because we obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus, we will be sought after mercilessly by him and perhaps even lose our lives. Hopefully we will not wimp out and cave to any dragon because we are scared and fearful for our lives (because saving [...]

Revelation 12:14-15 “Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep away her with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of its mouth.”

In Hawaii the waves seem bluer and bigger. They lull us into thinking we are better swimmers than we are, so when we are clobbered by a huge wave, we may panic, go under, and swallow a ton (well, maybe not a ton) of sea water. Gasping for air, we finally come up, sputtering and disoriented, but safe (at least that has been my humble experience!).

Jesus wants us to realize the dangerous potential of this evil serpent, spewing water out to drown this poor woman. Thank goodness even non-animate parts of creation come to her rescue and save the day for her.

As followers of Jesus, we, too, don’t have to fear for our lives even when the dragons in our lives come spewing out with torrents of water! In fact, we can even rely on [...]