Our man in Japan

The true Light that enlightens everyone.. John 1:9b Athiests think the Age of Enlightenment began with a move away from religion. Buddhists think a man from ancient India was enlightened. But actually Jesus is the true light that enlightens. 

The child grew in stature & strength, & was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2:40 Jesus was uniquely wise for a child, but even today many Christian kids are wiser than many atheist adults. 

All other gods are worthless idols, But Yahweh is the one who made the heavens. Psalm 96:5 It's not rocket science. Just don't waste your time & money visting a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple this New Year. After all, 2022 AD is the Christian calendar. That should tell you something. 

God is light, & there is no darkness in him. 1 John 1:5 God is perfectly good. Unlike humanity. 

You who love the Lord, hate evil .. Psalm 97:10 The former Anglican Archbishop of Johannesburg, the first black African to hold the position, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu has died. While he was more radical & liberal in his theology than me, I think we have to recognize much of what he accomplished was good. Sadly I can't support him wholeheartedly because he rejected traditional Christian truth on gay issues, & ordained female priests, which is clearly against St Paul & nearly 2000 years of Christian tradition. I believe South Africa would be in a better position today if important Christian leaders like him had stuck to Biblical values.  

Busy with my Father's affairs.. Luke 2:49 So the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglicans, my Church, in his Christmas speech, went with supporting the RNLI in their humanitarian work which he claims is not political. I think he needs to recognize it has become political, given how many lives saved are illegal migrants these days. Was Jesus an illegal migrant when he went down to Egypt? We don't actually know whether Joseph went through the proper channels or not. Meanwhile the Pope is talking about dialogue, while he seems incapable of listening to traditional Catholics. 

Light that darkness could not overcome.  John 1:5 There are dark forces in this world that do not want Christ, Christmas, or Christians. In Soviet Russia, Christians who were perfectly sane were locked up in mental hospitals. They overcame the USSR, with Christ's help, though it took 70 years. In the Balkans, the Muslim Ottomans occupied much of Greece and the surrounding countries for 6 centuries, but again with Christ's help, they overcame & most are now free from Muslim tyranny.  Here in Japan, Christians were killed & terribly persecuted, banished completely for 200 years. Now we are free to celebrate Christmas. But still in East Asia, in China & North Korea, Christians are not free this Christmas. But they will overcome. The darkness of Chinese communism & North Korean tyranny under the Kims will not last forever, so rejoice in the birth of God's only Son today, He cannot be defeated. 

To deliver us from the enemy .. Luke 1:74 Odd things are happening with this phone. Has it been hacked? If so, Merry Christmas to you! God bless! 

Redeem, O God, redeem Israel from all its troubles.. Psalm 25:22 The news from the UK today, St Helens, a town I know a little because I trained as a teacher there in the early 90s, is so ghastly I don't even want to talk about it. The one good thing is the police caught the people responsible.  Clearly the devil exists & is actively seeking to destroy lives & communities. 

After they had slain the bull.. 1 Sam 1:25 Jesus died for you. And me. For everyone, but also so all the thousands of animals sacrificed under the Jewish Law didn't have to die anymore.  I don't think most vegans & vegetarians appreciate enough what Christ did on the cross. Look at this bull. We don't know it's name. We know it's age (3 years old). There it was, living its life, until Hannah takes it to Shiloh to die. This holocaust of innocent creatures ended in around AD 70, just under 40 years after Christ's death on the cross, but most Jews see no connection between the 2 events. 

The winter is gone.. Song of songs 2:11 We are not done with the cold yet, but at least the days are getting longer from here out, which is a blessing.

With God, nothing is impossible.. Luke 1:37. Can a Virgin have a kid? Of course, thanks to modern science. God is just about 2000 years ahead of the first test tube baby.  Likewise, will Japan, which today kindly renewed my residency card here for another 7 years, ever be majority Christian? I think so. It is best never to underestimate God. The Church may be divided & imperfect, but God knows absolutely what He is doing... メリクリスマス、皆さん！

He shall be peace. When the Assyrian invades our land  & sets foot on our territory, we will raise against him not one but 7 shepherds, 8 warlords.  Micah 5:4 Modern liberal Christians are deeply uncomfortable with words like "warlords". They'd much rather talk about peace. But today's Catholic Herald describes a Catholic procession in a small French town where Catholics were subject to Muslim verbal abuse, and even acts of physical violence. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, we are called to love our enemies & turn the other cheek, but why are we allowing massive Muslim immigration into Europe? Jesus never said "East London needs to become a Muslim ghetto". Make no mistake, this is a spiritual war. We are not called to wreak violence on Muslims, but nor are we called to surrender either, as the BBC has just done by appointing a Muslim as Religious editor. If Boris wants to save his job, he could start by tackling illegal immigration & the woke nonse...

And now she will bear a son. You shall call him 'Jesus' for he will save his people from their sins.  Matthew 1:21 This is good news, in a dark world. The "most highly favoured Lady" of the Christmas carol, the blessed Virgin Mary, has become the Theotokos, the God Bearer. God is not some remote absent genius who has forgotten His creation, as the Deists imagined. God suffered alongside us, God had to deal with the inadequacies of 1st Century Jewish plumbing. He knows firsthand what it is like to be us, because He became one of us. 

He will rule wisely & govern with justice & righteousness.. Jeremiah 23:5b    This is what we all want surely? Wise & fair leaders. The wise people of North Shropshire have found Boris wanting in the wisdom dept. Time the Torys found a new leader. The people have spoken & they are tired of unelected scientists curtailing their freedoms. 

Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.  Psalm 30:6b Long nights in December, but we are almost at the solstice; things are about to get lighter. It is not for nothing that the Church celebrates Christ's coming, the Light of the World arriving into His World, at the darkest time of the year. Japan calls itself Land of the Rising Sun, but it is also the Land of the Rising Son, for as Isaiah also states in today's liturgy:" He is called God of all the earth". (54:5) Christmas is a much bigger deal in Japan than the birth of Buddha is in the UK, or for that matter, worldwide. 

Are you the one we are expecting, or should we wait for another? Luke 7:19 Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Muhammad was not a true messenger from God.  We need to be free to say this truth. There are dangerous laws afoot in America, & that already seem to exist in the UK, which in the name of "hate speech" & "Islamophobia" attempt to suppress all legitimate criticism of Islam. 

Come, listen to me, my children.. Psalm 34:12 Fatima was 11 years old. She was clever, & wanted to be a doctor. Jesus called her home to heaven over the weekend when pest control chemicals in a flat in East London knocked out her entire family. She never recovered. 

How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your encampments, Israel. Like valleys stretching far, Like gardens beside a stream.. Numbers 24:5-6 Ann Clark RIP 194?-2021

You will draw water with joy  from the very fountain of salvation. Isaiah 12:3 What brings you joy? Will it last? 

..the scorn of our neighbours & the laughing stock of our oppressors. Psalm 80:7

Had you paid attention to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river.. Isaiah 48:18 Shintoists in Tokyo bombed Pearl Harbor. Japanese Buddhists at the time mostly supported the war, with a few notable exceptions.  May all those who died in WW2 rest in peace. 

Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise; & his deeds are beyond measure. Psalm 145:3 Science has changed our world, unquestionably, but I think this pandemic is beginning to help people see the limits of a scientific approach. The vax was hailed as a cure all: in fact, not one person was saved by the vax. Death may have been delayed in some cases, but everyone who received it will die sooner or later. You can't vax your way to heaven. 

The virgin's name was Mary.. Luke 1:27

All other gods are worthless idols, But Yahweh is the one that made the heavens.. Psalm 96:5 If you are thinking of going to a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple for New Years, think again! Start the Year of the 🐅 the right Way! With the God of the Bible, who created 🐅 tigers & everything else! 

The Lord will give what is good, & our land will yield its fruit.  Psalm 85:13 In England we have apple 🍎 trees, and blackberry bushes. Out here in Kyushu, citrus & persimmon trees are more common.  

Every human being will see the salvation of God.  Luke 3:6 Does this mean all are saved? Does everyone go to heaven? Some Christians believe in what is called universalism, and although it is an attractive belief in many ways, & I would like to believe it, I'm not sure it is true, & it is not how I've been taught the faith. If you read the very next verse in Luke, John goes onto ask the question: How will you escape when divine punishment comes?  I & I'm fairly sure the majority of Christians believe we need to make some kind of assent to Jesus to be truly saved, although as verse 6 says, everyone gets that opportunity. Merely enjoying Christmas songs is not enough to find the true joy of Christmas. You need to understand, as the carols proclaim, that Jesus came as a little baby down from heaven to save us all. 

With clouds he covers the sky.. Psalm 147:8 Science teachers do kids a great disservice when they merely teach processes, not Purpose.  God is behind His Creation.