Our man in Japan

Beating himself with stones.. Mark 5:5 Miss USA 2019 just jumped from the 29th floor. 😞What a tragedy. Satan is always going to tell us lies, encouraging us to despair, but we mustn't beat ourselves. There is always hope with Jesus. 

Doctor, heal yourself! Luke 4:23 I feel sorry for the Dr that was recently shot dead in Saitama. Whatever the guy's beef, this was a terrible thing to do. I realize the perp was hurting, having just lost his mum, but I struggle to understand why he thought this was justified. We may feel the epidemiologists have had too much power to shut down our churches & our livelihoods recently, but still, violence is not the answer. 

Jesus said to them: "Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:40

Deliver me, O God, from the guilt of blood.. Psalm 51:16 Biden keen to say lots of nice things about retiring Supreme Court judge Breyer. The guy has the blood of unborn babies on his hands. 

You have not stood by him in battle Psalm 89:44 So, if Biden decides to fight Putin in Ukraine, or China in Taiwan, will God have his back? I think the Bible shows us disobedience is often punished with defeat. 

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Luke 10:2 Is there an English teacher shortage? Maybe. Immigration controls put in place during the pandemic are stopping people from entering Japan to teach English. Is this a good thing? Probably. In a tight labour market, wages & conditions improve. The most exploitative eikaiwa will hopefully go out of business due to staff shortages. 

新しい言葉を語り.. マルコ 16:17 難しい。

I will sing forever, O Lord, of your love.. Psalm 89:2 When I was a wee lad in primary school, I was in the school choir. We sang things like Dona Nobis Pacem. A year or so later, I was in a high school production of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver as workhouse kid/Fagin's gangmember. But these days, now my voice has broken, I only really sing in church, & I doubt anyone would pay to hear me. 

Go & eat rich foods.. Nehemiah 8:10 Some Biblical commands are more fun than others, but as Solomon says, "a given time for everything.. a time for tears, a time for laughter."(Ecclesiastes 3:1,4) Celebrating the good things we have from God is not inappropriate as long as we remember to help those who lack these things. Me, I'm having a spicy spinach & sausagemeat curry with extra cheese. 

On the ground that you cleared.. Psalm 80:10 Big earthquake last night. A reminder of Who is really in charge of Japan. Hint: it ain't Kishida. 

I will sing & make music.. Psalm 57:8 Kendrick Lamar is playing the Superbowl. He may not be everybody's idea of a devout Christian, but then most of us weren't born in Compton. 

He risked his life.. 1 Samuel 19:5 We admire people who risk their lives to defend their people. Firefighters, vets. However, people who risk their lives and everyone else's by speeding in suburbia- not so admirable. Get up earlier! 

You raise up the humble, & bring down the arrogant. Psalm 18:28 I probably am too critical of men like the Pope & the Archbishop of Canterbury. These are not easy jobs. 

Abiathar was High Priest.. Mark 2:26 Who will be the next Pope? Will he double down on Francis, or slow the pace of change within Catholicism? Some say Tagle could be the first Pope from South East Asia. God knows, & maybe we will found out, if we live long enough. 

The God of gods, the Lord has spoken, he summons the earth... Psalm 50:1 Let's get this straight: there is only one God. Shinto & Hindu myths don't deserve a capital g. 

Pope sees funny side of being snapped leaving Rome records shop : After a journalist reported on Pope Francis’ surprise visit to a record store, the Pope surprised him back — by writing him a letter. Javier Martínez-Brocal, director of the Rome-based news agency Rome Reports, tweeted a black-and-white photo of the Pope exiting a record store near the Pantheon in Rome. The photo went viral as

Trapped in the wilderness.. Exodus 14:3 When I was young, the possibilities seemed almost limitless. Where to live, what to do, who to marry. In late middle age I feel trapped. My career options have completely narrowed down. And living elsewhere doesn't seem viable. I have made my bed, and now I need to lay in it, as the English idiom goes. But the context of this verse is interesting. Actually, the Israelites weren't trapped at all. They were just getting started. God provided a way where there was no way. May that be your experience this year. 

By His command the Lord sends the snow.. Ecclesiasticus 43:14 Will we get snow in Fukuoka this winter, I wonder? 🧊

There was too much to measure.. Genesis 41:49 How do you measure the effectiveness of a teacher? Lives changed for the better? Exams passed by their students? One thing I'm pretty sure isn't the most important factor is what that teacher looks like. SO WHY THE HELL ARE EIKAIWA STILL ASKING FOR PHOTOS ON APPLICATION FORMS?? IT'S 2022 FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! STOP DISCRIMINATING AGAINST BLACKS, BROWNS, & UGLY PEOPLE AT THE GET GO! IF YOU ONLY WANT PRETTY OR WHITE PEOPLE WORKING FOR YOU WHAT THE HELL MESSAGE IS THAT YOU ARE SENDING VULNERABLE KIDS? JUDGE MY CHARACTER, NOT MY FACE! 

Joseph recognized his brothers instantly.. Genesis 42:7 The world is extremely divided. We need to recognize our common humanity no matter how much race, gender, politics & religion divide us. We don't have to go along to get along, sometimes it is important to stand up for the truth, but violence against persons must be avoided. That includes unborn persons. 

7 years of famine.. Genesis 41:30 I don't know about you, but I've had enough of Covid. 

He dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up & down.. Genesis 28:12 Many dreams are mere nonsense, but some can give us true insight. 

400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard.. Genesis 23:16 My NLT Bible has a footnote here. This is about 4.6 kilos of silver. In the UK, silver is currently trading at £524.8 per kilo, so Abraham buys a field, a cave in the field & the surrounding trees for around  £2414. My point in mentioning this is that atheists sometimes like to portray this period as barbaric, but there is already a sophisticated capitalist market economy in existence. The person who wrote Genesis was no fool. 

This is a godless place.. Genesis 20:11 God is omnipresent so nowhere is in fact Godless, except maybe hell itself, but it is certainly true that the vast majority of Japanese go about their business as if Christ didn't exist. Which is ironic when everything beautiful about Japan- the mountains, the rivers, the forests, the bird & animal life- is directly His Creation. 

Then Sarai said to Abram, "This is all your fault!" Gen 16:5 Sarai is not the only woman ever to blame her bloke for something she is partly responsible for.  

Buried at a ripe old age. Genesis 15:15 Given my utter lack of a pension here in Japan, I don't need to live to a ripe old age. I'd prefer heaven to getting to 80. Getting buried would be nice, but even that seems unlikely. 

When do we know that we have reached a perfect love? I John 4:17 I'm far from perfect. Our marriage has lasted 22 years this May, but more by God's grace than by any perfection on our part. I think Christianity is a demanding philosophy. It's more than a philosophy of life, really, it is a relationship with our Father in Heaven, God, & He demands perfection, as is His right, as He is perfect. But as He is merciful, He is also pleased with any steps we take in this direction. I think it is common for so called respectable people who avoid crime to be too content & self satisfied with a standard of moral life far below perfection. This afflicts Buddhists, atheists & even some Christians. But this New Year we have another chance at reaching higher ground. 

This is love: not that we loved God but that he first loved us & sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 So now that we have the New Year done & dusted, St Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Who do you love? 

Any spirit that does not recognize Jesus is not from God, it is the spirit of the antichrist.  1 John 4:3 It's true there is a growing spirit of secularism in the West these days. To the West's detriment. 

By a revelation he gave me the knowledge of his mysterious design, as I have explained.. St Paul to the Ephesians 3:3 My former Vicar in Brum told me Ephesians was his favorite book. It is certainly well worth reading, & reading carefully. Feminists don't like St Paul, but they need to realize God truly did reveal much to him. Do you like Mysteries? Rationalists hate any kind of divine mystery, seeing it as a cop out, but no finite human mind is capable of understanding everything. The best & brightest may have a PhD in one or two small areas of expertise. God is omniscient. He has the equivalent of a PhD in absolutely everything. We need to begin to learn humility, & stop pretending we have all the answers, when in truth, only Christ knows all things. 2022 is now a mystery to us. God alone knows where we will be this time next year. 

God, our God, has blessed us.. Psalm 67:7 If you are still alive in 2022 then God has blessed you.