I have people regularly searching for Joel Houston’s Tattoo on this site. So it was about time I made a bit more information available
Joel as a young man has enjoyed the sun, surf and the relaxed culture of the Aussie lifestyle.
At some point he got a tattoo. So what is Joel’s tattoo? Or what is the design?
We have rotated it via photoshop, so we could have a look at it from various angles. We could not work it out at first. So we typed in Joel Houstons tatt to see if we could come up with any site where it said what it was.
Then we came across a site that said the tattoo was of a japanese wave, like the big wave
So then we did research into those to see if it looked the same.
Because his tattoo is in black and white, it does make it harder to see what it is, than if it was in colour.
By rotating it and comparing it to other japanese wave tatts, that is what we thought it most resembled.It was in the rotation of it we could see the resemblance, not looking at it directly.
Although he has added rays to his.
We then tried doing a further search for the meaning, because japanese tattoos are all the rage these days, like maori tattoos.
So we wanted to see if there was anything spiritual to it.
We did find some sites that did list spiritual meanings for all japanese tattoos to do with the waves, but they gave a variety of meanings,
It’s clearer now though…. A japanese wave design, with a sun combo motif.
It would seem Joel’s is in reference to the waves and sea, and the sun, the world of surfing, and being care free.
He seems to have a tattoo on the other arm, but we cant work that out. He has a anchor on his other arm.
His wife in Joel’s facebook, has a tattoo on her torso which was some writing.
Again as this stage we could not work out what it said.
By going to facebook and twitter, you can see that these people are very worldly christians in many ways.
Oh, and his bro benjamin (Ben Houston) has a tattoo as well. The amusing thing is Brian doesn’t seem to like them.
Paul admonished Timothy about faith and good doctrine, but never once mentioned the need for a well placed Tattoo?
1 Timothy 4:6-9
If you put the brethren in remembrance of these things, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto you have attained. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profits little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
Then there’s Carl Lentz’ arm full ?
Coercion Code - "Dark Times are upon us" 
Hurrah! In the end I got a web site from where I
can in fact get useful information regarding my study
and knowledge.
Leviticus 19 vs. 28 ‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord’ NKJV
That’s right Kaaaay
KAAAAY- The scripture you are referencing is old law. When Christ came and died for our sins, he freed us from the old law. “Now before faith came, we were captive under the law, imprisioned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has came we are no longer under a guardian” Gal 3:23-25. Since Christ death we are saved by faith not our works. The type of Christianity you are believing is called legalism.
Tate,
Please read my article ‘Tattoos and Taboos’ and you will see that we have one book, written by the same God, so what is written in the Old Testament does not contradict whats in the NT. Adultery is still adultery in the OT, and adultery is still adultery in the NT. Try and provide a scripture from the NT that approves or condones the wearing of Tattoos?
One I will quote you ‘Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?'(1Cor 6:19 ) which shows that tattoos are still taboo.
Then there’s the small issue of the verse before that. If we are going to say there’s no difference between Old & New Testaments, then we have to abide by Leviticus 19:27 too, right?
“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
And the verse before that?
“Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.”
These 3 verses are all in the same context. Seems a lot of folks are gonna be in real trouble if we are to still keep these Old Covenant laws.
No tatts.
No shaving.
No medium rare steaks.
The list goes on (without even leaving chapter 19).
The verse in 1 Corinthians 6 is about sexual matters, not tattoos.
Most temples I’ve seen have decorations… Just a thought.
Ryan,
The early church had to concern itself with the Jewish converts and then the new influx of Greek gentile believers
The church came to this conclusion mentioned 3 times in Acts
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
So yes blood is still relevant.
Any temple that you refer to must be a temple of a pagan god becuase there was never any grafatti on the temple in Jerusalem, which is a type of our body.
Some food for thought
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/6793513/Scarification-the-gruesome-new-tattoo-trend-taking-over.html
So you are you implying is that faith is lawlessness?
Christ came to fulfill the law, not to change it
It is not so much about having a tattoo or not; it’s dangerous to go down the hyper grace route just as much as it is dangerous to go down the legalistic route. What really matters is the value of a soul and love for the brethren. A christian may want to externalize his/her faith by means of tattoos of the cross or other such things that speak of what Christ did for us. The question is not so much whether or not he./she should go ahead but rather, with what aim and in what societal context. Tattoos are usually perceived as either having a religious (pagan) meaning, hence God’s command in the OT to Israel to not copy surrounding pagan worship habits which included scarifications and tattoos , or as a sign of waywardness (in many societies today). The christian must know that in getting a tattoo, he/she is sending a message that is unclear to most and allows for many to misinterpret/misunderstand (or even reject) the message that the former wants to convey. Our freedom should not become a stumbling block to those still young in the faith nor should it lead us to do things that will hint to those that are yet to be saved that after all, there is not much of a difference between christians and unbelievers. Let us allow the Lord to lead us and let love, which does not seek its own, be our only motive especially in the face of such controversial subjects. In addition, the more famous we become (such as christian artists) the more must we seek to be blameless before all so that the good news of Christ can be proclaimed unobstructed by us.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments Jo. Although I agree with you, I don’t think we can apply the same principle to Tattoos as Paul did to food and drink.
How painful it is to see the world penetrate the church that you once loved for their sincere passion for the Lord. I only wonder if these ministers’ decision to get those tattoos was born as a revelation in long hours of prayer and fasting in the presence of the Holy Spirit. If those tattoos are what the Lord wants y’all to do than I will follow.
Oh please think what we’re doing! We’re tearing up churches and youth groups over this thing, all of a sudden appearing legalistic oldtimers in light of our ‘progressive’ appearances and false pretentions to being honest. Lord have mercy on us.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Matt. 5:17 These were words of Jesus. It is clear that OT is thrown away.
Jesus did, what we couldn’t do, fulfil the law. That does not give us permit to love worldly
things, though. By rejecting OT law, we also reject NT law of love and grace.
9The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law. Rom. 13:9,10
If we selfishly desire things, that are upsetting our brother or sister, then we have not that kind of love, that fulfils the law.
Second thing is, that tattoos originate from pagan traditions and belong to the evil side,
they belong to the kingdom of Devil, their nature is different than things of God’s kingdom. That’s why even good intentions with tattoos, could take it’s bearer to the spell
of the enemy.
Our wisdom is no match to the enemy, our only hope is to submit to the Word of God.
Either way ..any way …It does not matter what we say …. as let’s remember …God said …GOD ..not man … who ever that man shall be …
Follow my teachings ..and my scriptures …keep my commandments ..and my laws .
This is not open to debate …its not old testament or new testament…
What we have here is in black and white… be careful you are not allowing a man made opinion to sway you from the truth… a man made .’ It’s ok everyone is doing it’ .
If the command did ..does not come directly from God …to change what is written in scripture through the bible… then why are you all having this debate.
Think some people are forgetting God’s word is INFALLIBLE.. its not to be changed ..or altered .or misquoted to suit our life styles … We are here as servants to Jesus … who died for our sins..serving him and following him ..is the price we pay for eternal life . Stop bickering among yourselves …pick up your bibles … and serve him
Tattoos are wrong. Period.
Law = instructions
Fulfill = enlarge, make bigger, bring into a fuller perspective = this involves the heart as as well as our outward actions = and hits the mark in every way and = infinitely stricter than the letter of the Law
For example; hatred = murder and lust = adultery in your heart
God does not change.
God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Having no other God’s before includes having no tattoos.
Jesus also said that there will be wheat and tares in “the church” until He comes again.
Plus there will be many professed believers in Jesus, who call Him, Lord, Lord and list off the things they have done in His name . . .
– and sadly Christ will say, I never knew you.
We all need to read and follow the Bible ourselves, and not look to any sinful, fallen human being. .
Tattoos are 100% wrong.
No believer in Christ should go out and have a tattoo. Period.
Why Many Christian Singer have tatoo. like bethel Music .Man and Women have Tatto. i confused . I live in Indonesia , many our tribe at Kalimantan Island have atto Etc . in Indonesia we christian still doubt want having tato and i like tatto but my wife angry with me if i have a tatto. i rally want have tato like singer Bethel Music Chruch “Deer Tatto”.
Dear Mark,
Nice to hear from you in Indonesia. I visited Bogor (near Jakarta) back in 2000.
I suggest you read some other articles on Tattoos including this one i wrote. I suggest there are strong tribal links to pagan religion, there these roots or beginnings are not for a christian.
Hi Mark
hope you got my note regarding tattoos
Hi Lance Gooddall
Thanks for link. it really open my heart and my mind.. and disccuss with my wife for making tato .. she only said if you do not know knowledge about it s ok or not ok / may or may not having tatto please cek n re cek to someone who really know about tatto … now i confuse when open your link and never heard from someone about this. i do will think again. actually i only want having tato when i saw many Christian Band like Elevation worship, POD, Bethel Music churrch (women and man have nice tatoo) and Hillsong youth. i really like they music and worship Lord God Almigty , my Jesus m savior with they songs. i love them music . i am sorry if i make example my tato to them . i just adore they music and they looks. why they music make me worship to Jesus compare form indonesia local band . i everyday sing they songs . i really want have tatto like them but i pending my desire and still worhip Lord Jesus with they songs and they music. tku yu . RGDS M setyawan Jakarta – Indonesia
You all should ask yourselves; why did he give us the Holy spirit? Isn’t it to direct our paths, counsel us, teach us? ask the Holy Spirit which is right which is wrong, don’t let us comment based on what we think is right but what the Holy Spirit gives. God bless you all.
Becca,
Yes the Holy Spirit guides and leads us…
But is He enough?
Psalm 119
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to your word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
So having his word and obeying it is how we are led.
John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
The Law of Moses, as it is referred to, came from the mouth of GOD. GOD the Father Himself gave the law to the Israelites through Moses His servant.
Our LORD JESUS said in John 10:30 “I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE”
He continues to say in John 14:21 that “WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME”.
The problem with modern Christians is that they have ignored what the word of GOD says. We are in the flesh and the flesh is always contending against what the SPIRIT says; which is why many people have loved the world.
1 John 2:15 says, LOVE NOT THE WORLD, NEITHER THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE WORLD. IF ANY MAN LOVE THE WORLD, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM. (KJV)
It doesn’t matter whether you get a cross tattooed on your body to proclaim your faith in CHRIST. If the Bible says it sin, then IT IS SIN. Period. The command was that there should be no tattoos. I don’t see exceptions in my Bible.
Living in obedience to GOD’S word is the best way to make people know our stand, not by doing what we feel is right and in the process disobey GOD.