Joshua Takahashi
Volunteer Staff

Contact Josh:
takahashi@hadavar.org

I was always taught that Jesus died for my sin then arose from the dead. I was taught that if I believed in this then I would be saved, but I only superficially believed because I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand what the shedding of blood had to do with forgiveness and why would it matter if He arose from the dead or not. The simple existence of these questions put me in a state of apathy towards Christianity.

Because of the lack of understanding I had about scripture, I had no reason to trust in God or Jesus. I put my trust in myself and my strength of body and mind. I was confident that I could provide everything I would want or need.

The values I had in life were not much. I loved my friends and highly valued my pride.

I believed in heaven and hell, but I didn’t care much about it because I was blinded by my ambition for the present time. How could I worry about that when I have so much to do now, I thought.

The look of man was my fear back then. The thought of failing in the world and eyes of society always made me afraid. To avoid that, I just became a typical “follower”.

Eventually, frightening and thought-provoking things did come along that lead me to put my trust in Jesus. First, my father became ill and very near death. Second, there was a bad fire in my neighbor’s house which caused his death. By these things, the thought of death became a reality for me. I realized that strength of body and mind was little hope in the shadows of uncertainty. Later, I learned that friends were not dependable and found myself alone most of the time. Finally, the world, and what it had to offer, looked like what it is — not much.

I don’t remember the specific date I decided to follow Jesus, but I do remember sitting down in desperation reading through the gospel of John and finally having to surrender to the powerful mercy and forgiveness that Jesus had to offer.

After deciding to follow Jesus, I learned and quickly understood that it is not simply by blood that I have forgiveness, but “it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” For the first time I understood that the perfect, spotless Lamb of God was Yeshua sent to take my punishment.

Yeshua has changed my life, values, hopes, and goals from a fearful uncertainty to a hopeful reality.

Joshua Takahashi

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