Are you living a self-absorbed life? Is there no anguish? Is there not a cause? Doesn't your heart cry out, “Oh God, something has to be done"?

How do you plan to use your short years on this planet to do what God has entrusted you to do?

The clock is ticking, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...

I hope this conversation between Hanaya and Yuri awakens a greater diligence to own your call like never before. I hope you will faithfully steward your gifting, time, money, and resources to be less about yourself and more about revealing Jesus to the world.

Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy.
– John Piper

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

I lost all my friends at school, now that I’ve begun to ‘walk my talk’, they make fun of me. I don’t even know what I have done. I don’t really have to say anything and they turn from me. But you know what, I am not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus. I am not going to justify my faith to them, and I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything I will. I will take it. If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend Jesus, then that's fine with me.
— Rachel Joy Scott | From her diary, 1998

I dedicate this clip in memory of Rachel Joy Scott. Rachel was 17 years old and the main inspiration behind the character Hanaya Oki.

If you want to know about Rachel and what happened to her, you can read the post "Rachel Joy Scott: The teen who loved Jesus".

Is Jesus the most important person in our lives? When the trials of life arrive, and we suffer loss, is Jesus still worthy?

We can never glory in our capacity to love Him back. The spotlight isn't really on us or Rachel. Those who know they're loved best, love best.

If you have lost sight of Jesus, may your heart be awakened, recalibrated, and reset as you listen to this clip.

It's not the stretch of life that matters. It's the depth of life. It's not how long we live. It's how we live.
— Leonard Ravenhill

God can’t do anything in your life unless you meet him halfway. You have to make room for him. A lot of room. Go after God. Whatever it takes, do it. And don’t give the excuse, “I am just a teenager” or “I’ll do that when I grow up,” because it doesn’t work that way.
— Rachel Joy Scott | From her diary

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
— Apostle Paul

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

On their way back from Shichirigahama beach, Hanaya and her mom engage in a conversation about what causes the hardening of the heart and the falling away of believers.

Many are walking away from their faith. False prophets, false Christs, false Gospel, and a false church are proliferating among us.

How do believers get off track? What throws them into confusion and deception?

Hanaya's mom cites that the fundamental problem is not the ignorance of the truth. There's a basic reason why people do not own up to the truth.

As you listen to the words of caution and encouragement in this conversation, tend to the soil of your own heart.

The most ridiculous thing you can ever say is keep God first, keep God number one. Don't ever say that. Because you're assuming He's in the same category with everyone else. God's in a box all to Himself. There is no second. He's in a category completely separate and distinct from everything else that exists and He's there alone. I labor in my own heart to drive out other loves, competing loyalties. Let us get a greater vision of Him that He might be singular in our hearts.
— Paul Washer

Proverbs 4:18 tells us, “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” When we walk the path of the righteous or the right path, our walk will become continually brighter no matter how much darkness increases around us. If this is not the case, if we, too, are experiencing increasing darkness, depression, and disorientation, then we have gotten off the right path. If we ask the Lord, He will help us understand where we got off track, but we must make the choice to turn around and be decisive in doing so.
— Rick Joyner

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

God created time. He cut off a piece of eternity for you to live in. You're not here by accident. You are not just a random number in the vast sea of the human population. You have been created by God purposefully. He knows you intimately better than you know yourself. 

He is all-knowing and everywhere. Because of who He is, you're never alone. He can whisper in your ear and your whole life can change. I'm not talking about hearing with your physical ears. Do you really know God in an out-of-the-box non-religious way?  

I hope you will get outside your own bubble, and tune your heart to believe from the core of your being what you're about to hear. This is from the Bible and speaks of God's intimate knowledge of you. May it invoke curiosity in you to dig deeper and go farther.

Being known by God has deep transforming effects upon the human heart. Namely, it produces love for God.
— John Piper

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

What we see depends on what we look for. There's always more to every story. There is no arriving. Jesus is the goal.

As you listen to Hanaya's contemplation about the world she sees and her pursuit, may it help you refocus and realign your walk with Jesus.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Paul Washer on temptation and ongoing sin and why you must kill it before it's too late. 

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
– Charles Stanley

Are some battles we're fighting so hard to win worth losing?

Noriko dreams of becoming a K-pop trainee. She has been submitting videos showcasing her talent for the past three years, hoping to get noticed by an agency. Despite her best efforts, she hasn't received any response. Lately, she is questioning her self-worth. One day Hanaya and Yuri happen to see Noriko sitting alone at the beach. As they start talking with her, Noriko shares her feelings about not getting through the K-pop trainee auditions.

Noriko has heard the Gospel before. She has heard about Jesus and God's love. But what's holding her back? This is a conversation that you don't want to miss.

The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.
― C.S. Lewis | The Weight of Glory

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Feeling mixed emotions? Trust God's process. Embrace the season you are in. Time spent in preparation is never wasted. Listen to this short poetry and cheer up!

Don't surrender the symphony in your heart to the tyranny of delay. Trust God's timing. It is perfect. Your dream you cherish has a reality attached to it. Frustration is evidence that a greater purpose in you is yet to be fulfilled. You are actually a coiled spring being compressed. Soon that delay will give vent to a divine release and fruit will break forth in your life.
— Lance Wallnau

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

The story of the rich young ruler is one of the saddest stories in the Bible because he had so much upside potential. He could have leveraged his resources, his network, and his energy for Kingdom causes, but he spent it all on himself. He thought that was what would make him happy. 

The moment Jesus said, “Follow me”, it was the opportunity of a lifetime, but he didn’t have the guts to go for it. What Jesus asked him to give up was nothing compared to what Jesus would have given him in return.

We want everything God has to offer without giving anything up. We want to buy in without selling out. The Gospel costs nothing. We cannot buy it or earn it, but it demands everything. 

When did we start believing that God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things? That faithfulness is holding the fort? That playing it safe is safe? That radical is anything but normal? Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. The will of God is not an insurance plan. It’s a daring plan.  The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal. It’s time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. It’s time to go all in.

— Mark Batterson

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31

Continuing their conversation, on their way back home from Shichirigahama beach, Hanaya and Yuri decide to trust God with childlike faith instead of overthinking the future. When God calls us to go in a certain direction, it can be exciting but also a little scary because we may only have the first step. But like Abraham, it's better to go even when we don't know where we're going.

If you're too cautious, doubting yourself, and overthinking the future, this message and the song are for you.

Better to do something imperfectly in obedience rather than to do nothing. Better to act today rather than wait for that imaginary tomorrow to arrive.
— Michael L. Brown

The unique ways God loves to move should not disturb us. If anything, it should keep our relationship with Him fresh and exciting. For those who love adventure, this is great, while to the timid and rigid, this is frightening, which brings us to this challenge every believer must face— will we live by faith in Him or by fear? Now, the faith and confidence needed to be decisive can easily drift into presumption at times. Still, it is better to err on the side of extreme faith than too little faith. God can correct presumption and premature action. The law of inertia states you cannot steer what is not moving. It is much easier for the Lord to steer us when we are moving. No one passes God’s tests with a perfect score, but in Him, even our failures work for our good.
— Rick Joyner

Song lyrics:

They were young and unaware
A little scared, a little proud
They’d rather live with their questions
Than try to figure them out

They were friendly to all
But never had many friends
They didn’t know where to go
They never made any plans
Just running right into the wind

Ooh they would rather say they didn’t matter
Just so they don’t have to try to be cool
But ooh they were buzzing, living like there wasn’t
Drama going on every day in the news

But look at the way they go
Look at the way they go
Look at the way they go
Making it up as they go
Making it up as they go
Living their life on the run
Couple of kids on the run
Look at the way they go
Look at the way they go

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

As Hiroto hangs around at Shichirigahama beach, he happens to see Hanaya. As they talk, Hiroto opens up about the pressure he feels about his future. As Hanaya gives her perspective, she also challenges him to explore the big questions of life.  Listen to their conversation and get stirred up!

Bonus note:

Kevin Zadai shares a supernatural encounter with Jesus in 1992 when he had an out-of-body experience during a routine surgery:

When I met Jesus, He said I want to work with you. He said we are going to rule and reign together, shoulder-to-shoulder for Eternity. He said this life down here is to develop you for your next position. He said you're qualifying down on the earth in this very short amount of time. Then at that point, He took His thumbnail and sliced down through a big long timeline that was in light. And He said that's 10,000 years on the timeline of Eternity. It was just this little slit. He said it was the extension of man. And to me, my life on Earth in that extension with respect to Eternity seemed really insignificant.

However, He said you're qualifying for your next position. So whatever you do down here, with your talents and everything you were given, whatever you did with that, was then placed in your account in heaven, not in a monetary way. But that's where you entered into the Kingdom to work at your next position. And it was interesting because you would think well we're all equal you know, we all get the same thing, we all get eternal life, we all have the same position in Christ and all that.

But what it is, it has to do with that parable of talents. It had to do with the fact that you were given a certain amount and then there was a congruent reward based on each individual on what they had done. But the wood, hay, and stubble were burned up. So what was not of the Spirit, what was not of the Lord, was burnt up. Paul said that some people will go through the fire and there'll be nothing. There'll be no rewards. There'll be nothing left. But they will escape through the fire. They will make it to Heaven but with no rewards.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

As we see the darkness and confusion of the nations increasing, we should behold the Lord. To be the light, we must have our focus on the Light. This does not mean that we will not be aware of the darkness and even have an understanding of the schemes of the devil. God’s Holiness is His awesome strength and His unique beauty, His unwavering dependability and His reigning power. Only a Holy God like this can ensure the safety of His people. Only a Holy God can promise that all things will be put in order. Only a Holy God can assure us every evil and sadness will be defeated.

Two high school girls, Hanaya and Yuri, roll out a short message for those feeling discouraged and disillusioned.

Never give up! Listen and get fired up!

Additional notes:

Satan tries to create an altered reality by cloaking himself in information projection to engineer insecurity and anxiety in you. He wants to fragment you. He knows your trigger points to put you into a tailspin. His minions have studied you. You have become predictable.

The strategy is to trick your mind to convince you of something and give a narrative that diminishes who you really are. That’s the warfare. He wants to discourage and wear you out so that you will not be effective. He is trying to get you to opt out by presenting lies and observed facts as reality.

Every trigger point succeeds when you don’t feel loved and validated. The temptation is to back off and self-medicate your trauma, rejection, or frustration by running to an addiction. We get disillusioned because we do not perceive the truth in its pure form. We don’t see ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word.

To live by the Spirit of God takes readjusting and overriding of your mental and emotional realm. Don’t settle for being a low-watt light. Jesus said a disciple who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. We lose the edge to improve when we just want to maintain, but maintaining is of the devil.

Walk in harmony with the Holy Spirit. He reveals the truth (true reality). He shows prophetic glimpses concerning your call and assignment. If things take time, stay in there. Some things have to do with the convergence of times and seasons of God in your life. Don’t drown six feet from your destination.

We miss the supernatural because we are looking for the spectacular. If you frame your mind right and listen to the Holy Spirit no matter what’s going on in your everyday life, you will come out fine. Don’t fret. Don’t allow anything to fragment you.
— Kevin Zadai | Warrior Notes  

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
— 1 Corinthians 16:13

Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
— 1 Corinthians 15:58

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Classmates Akio and Noriko corner Hiroto to reveal his secret crush. Seeing that they already suspect who it is, Hiroto gives in and then goes on to talk about why it's an uphill task to get Hanaya to notice him.

Is there a chance for Hiroto?

How will Hanaya mentored from a young age to walk with the Lord navigate this slice of life?

Well, listen to this clip and stay tuned for upcoming clips to see where this high school love drama will go.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Hanaya reflects on the continual process of becoming and overcoming the tendency to focus on self and the world.

Beholding is becoming. If there is any key to maturity, it is that. Behold your God in Jesus Christ. Because to see that for what it really is, will renew your mind and transform your life and produce unending worship.
— John Piper

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
— Colossians 3:2 | Romans 12:2

And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
— 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Greek word translated “transformed” in this verse is the same word that we translate as “metamorphosis” in English. This is the process of change from which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar is a worm that must crawl on the earth, being conformed to the contours of the earth. Then it goes into a cocoon where it is transformed. However, one of the biggest tests the new creature will face is breaking out of the cocoon, but it is this great struggle that strengthens it so that it can flap its large wings when it is free.

We too go through a great struggle to be transformed into the new creation we are called to be. Breaking free of the old self is the greatest struggle of all. It too is designed by God to strengthen us so that we can soar high above the earth to the heavenly places we are called to abide in. We must not waste our trials. We must not run from the struggle if we are going to become strong enough to be what we are called to be.

Will our hearts yield to the process to enter the cocoon of change and be launched out to fly?

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

On a school trip, Yuri and her classmate Akio get into a discussion about God. Akio dismisses God's existence. But Yuri challenges his belief in evolution with critical thinking questions and reasonable logic. Akio is undone. He then raises the question of Hell being unfair.

Curious about the conversation? Listen to how Yuri responds.

I am a speck on a speck, orbiting a speck, in the middle of specklessness. I am insignificant, I stink.
— Bill Nye

The world says you're just a stardust matter in motion. And if you're merely matter, well then, you do not ultimately matter.
— Greg Koukl

If Evolution is true, then that means, you are merely a molecule in motion dancing to your own DNA. That all you are is matter. There is nothing spiritual about you. You have no soul. There is no objective right or wrong.
— Mark Spence

Atheists have an active belief system with views concerning origins (that the universe and life arose by natural processes); no life after death; the existence of God; how to behave while alive; and so much more. Honest atheists will admit their worldview is a faith. Atheism is a religion! While atheism is a blind faith, its followers will still cry out, “We are not part of a religion!” Why do they plead this? First, if atheism were identified as a religion, atheists fear that their views might get kicked out of public places, like government-run schools. Second, these secularists will be less likely to be able to deceive children into thinking that their teachings (supposedly “neutral”) are not in conflict with the religious beliefs of students.
— Ken Ham

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

A flashback of a diary entry written by Hanaya's mother as a young single mom. She pens down a prayer for her little Hanaya and commits herself to raising her as the Lord's girl.

Why some teens are more mature, grounded in their faith, and walk with Jesus by the time they hit 16 or 17? They are still learning, but it seems a strong sense of Godly identity, values, and priorities is already built into them. It's rare to see.

I have noticed in many testimonies and stories that parents, or a single parent, often the mother, intentionally create an environment for their children's Godly growth and authentically model their own walk with Jesus to the kids.

God is after the gaze of the current generation. He is after their focus. As a parent, how can you help your kids perceive Jesus not as a vague murky distant concept, but as a living and dynamic presence in everything they do?

What are your priorities when you earnestly pray for your kids? What do you think matters the most from an eternal perspective?

If they learn to engage with God early and discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, they can make good life choices, avoid many pitfalls, and represent Jesus effectively.

We don't train ourselves so we don't train our children. Everything you believe in has to be practical and applicable for your children. That means you yourself need to be fully convinced. Teach them how to engage with the Lord. For your kids, you should always present the supernatural to them. You should always give them the alternative to ask God for help first. Teach them to pray first. Teach them to believe God's Word first and encourage them not to wait for someone else to do it for them.
– Kevin Zadai

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Hanaya is led by the Holy Spirit to be at the right place at the right time to meet Enkhtuya, a girl from a small town in Mongolia. Two minutes into the conversation, Hanaya introduces her to the God of the endless blue sky. She unpacks more truth when she discerns Enkhtuya is actively listening.

Mongolia is poetically called the 'Land of the Endless Blue Sky', as it has over 260 days of clear blue sky. Apart from Buddhism, Tengrism the worship of the sky and nature is still practiced in Mongolia today. According to this belief, the skies are the father, and the earth is the mother of all beings in the universe.

This clip was inspired by a dream I was given in the night by the Lord. There was a moment in the dream where I was teleported to a foreign land and found myself walking on a snow-covered road. It looked like someplace in an Eurasian country. A girl who seemed 17-19 years old walked a little ahead of me. She looked sad. I moved closer and started talking to her. I told her just two or three things about God and His love. As she listened I could see that she was being deeply moved. She had never heard about God like this.

As I was about to go on my way, she said, “Why don’t you come to my place for some tea?”. She then gazed at the blue skies and said, “It’s a beautiful day!”. The blueness of the skies was quite amazing. I sensed she wanted to hear more about God. So I said okay.

You can read the rest of the dream on my website superdifferent.com. It's titled 'It's a beautiful day'.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Jesus sends Hanaya to Mongolia to carry out a mission. The darkness tries to intimidate her, but she doesn't back off.

This clip was inspired by a dream that my wife had in the night some time ago. In the dream, my wife and I were walking down a road minding our own business. We saw demonic forces releasing darkness over a place. We stopped and thought we must do something about it. We moved in the direction of the darkness. My wife rebuked the demonic forces. They started feeling uncomfortable and afraid. Then she heard a voice from behind saying, "You’re the Children of the Light".

It's pretty clear what the Lord was showing through this dream. If we never go, we will never know. If we don't show up and do something, the darkness remains unchallenged. There's no resistance. The enemy keeps stealing, killing, and destroying.

The light of the Gospel is to be lit in the dark. The enemy convinces us that it's too dark and too late to make a difference. He makes us overthink and doubt. So we hesitate to show up and do something.

Instead of counting the bullets that are coming at you, count how many you've expelled out of your clip. It's not how many are fired at you, it's how many you have fired. 
— Kevin Zadai

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. Jesus showed up and made the darkness nervous. He destroyed the works of the devil. When we show up, God shows up. Boldness and endurance come when you know that the Lord has sent you. You didn't go because it was a good idea. You heard Him.

Show up with your natural and spiritual gifting, maybe practical Kingdom solutions to problems, and seize the opportunities to share the Gospel. When you speak His Word, He backs it up, releasing hope, healing, deliverance, signs, and wonders. The yoke of darkness, fear, and hopelessness over people begins to break.

It's the smallest spark that can light the dark.
— Newsboys | That's How You Change The World

I don't want to be a firecracker. I want to be an atomic bomb dropped in the devil's camp.
— John Ramirez

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Listen to Jesus preparing Hanaya's heart for selfless missions in an attention-wanting self-seeking world. He is calling the next generation of believers to pay the price to complete the mission of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. 

This clip was inspired by the title of the book 'Live to be Forgotten' by Patrick Fung (Former GD, OMF International). I haven't read the book but the phrase 'Live to be Forgotten' hits you hard in a time where there is so much love of self, even among the believers in Christ.

Will we go where He wants us to go?

My concern is that scripture has told us clearly that we are all to be going, and the reason the Lord left us behind is to do the job he told us to do. So we’d better get equipped to do it, instead of living this life as if this life is it. It’s not, this is a very short life. And eternal life is forever. We’re going to feel stupid for eternity if we wasted this one. — Jackie Pullinger

Even though in the very last days of history, the love of many will grow cold, there will be a people who have white-hot, not cold, love for Jesus in the face of hatred, persecution, and killing. The Great Commission will be completed by them. The price will be very high. Not so high that it is not worth it. It will not happen without the price of opposition and suffering. In fact, the price is not just the result but the strategy of the purpose.  — John Piper
 
Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

We must close the gates to sin and compromise—even to tolerating lukewarmness. The Spirit of the Lord is preparing us to welcome the King of Glory through the gates and doors of our lives that have been sanctified.

A prayer by John Piper that God would bless our resolve to read His Word more this year and use it to draw us closer to Him in the process.

Recommended reading plan: Navigator's Bible Reading Plan

Yuri: We may die of many things.
Hanaya: But boredom will not be one of them.

Two high school girls Hanaya and Yuri remind us that no matter the challenges we face, life can be still exciting when we're moving forward in alignment with God’s design, timing, and purpose for our lives. Don't miss the many perspectives covered in this clip. They say a lot with less. Some things may hit you hard and stir up diligence in you.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

What's bothering you?
Are you still holding onto the pains of your past?
It's time to have a heart-to-heart talk with Jesus.

Listen to what Jesus reveals to Hanaya as she opens up her heart and tells Him what's been bothering her for a very long time.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya