Our man in Japan

Workers for the truth .. 3 John 1:8 They say truth is the first casualty of war. It is safe to say Russia lost the PR war a long time ago. But it saddens me that conservatives that usually have a healthy scepticism of the liberal press seem willing to take this "Ukraine & America good; Russia bad" narrative at face value. The truth is more complicated.

Out of whom he had cast 7 demons.  Mark 16:9 Putin is a hate figure for the world right now. Did he give in to the temptations of pride, anger and fear, in starting this war? Probably. Only God knows what is truly in his heart. But as we approach the beginning of Lent, maybe we should be more concerned with how our pride, our anger and our fears damage ourselves & those around us. We can't solve world peace. We can try to wrestle our own demons, with the help of Christ. 

The earth is the LORD's.. 1 Corinthians 10:26 If invading countries is wrong, which it is, now that the US, the UK & Japan have realized this, maybe they would like to give Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Northern Ireland & Hokkaido back to the natives they took them from. But I think we know all this outrage is just words. Imperialism is only bad when Putin does it. The Buddhist junta in Myanmar are free to continue killing at will without the world media giving a flying fig. 

He who is mighty has done great things for me, & holy is His name. Luke 1:49 This is in the Russian Orthodox liturgy for today. Putin is good at being mighty, being holy not so much. But Boris & Biden aren't much better, & in some ways much worse. Putin et al forget I think that God is Almighty. Putin may be one of the most successful political figures of our age, certainly one of the longest reigning, but He will never outmanoeuvre God Himself.  

As far as the east is from the west.. Psalm 103:12 The British Defence Secretary seems to be suffering a severe case of hubris: Napoleon tried it on with Russia, so did Hitler. It ended badly for both, with much needless loss of life. Does he really think things would be different a third time? Boris needs to get someone in WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING! Pray for peace! Otherwise it is looking like Revelation 6:4 Another horse 🐎 the colour of fire 🔥 came out. Its rider was ordered to take peace away from the earth, that people might kill one another.. If you are not familiar with the 4 horses of the Apocalypse, pestilence is also mentioned. As is inflation/hunger. That comes after war. 

Whoever is not against us is for us. Mark 9:40 Russia isn't invading Northern Japan..yet. If we tick Putin off, he may change his mind. Why is Kishida so keen to follow the confused and unpopular Biden? Has he got nothing else to keep him busy??

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven .. Matthew 16:19 Do you like St Peter jokes? Here's one: A woman dies & finds herself at the Pearly Gates. St Peter is there, and explains heaven works on a points system: you need a million good deed points to get in. 'Well, I worked at a hospital, I was a nurse', says the woman.  'Great', says St Peter. '1000 points'.  'Erm, well, I gave to the guy begging at the subway station every time I passed him!' 'Well done', says St Peter, '100 points'.  'Oh heck', says the woman, realizing she is in trouble. 'At this rate, I'm only gonna get in by the Grace of God!' 'EXACTLY!', says St Peter, putting down his fishing magazine.  'Welcome to heaven! Come on in!' 

All things are possible for one who believes. Mark 9:23 Jesus started with just 12 men. 

Pray for those who treat you badly.. Luke 6:28 It is true here in Japan not everyone loves hairy old white guys like myself. But in terms of being treated badly, the occasional insult, often passive aggressive in form, pales into insignificance compared with how North Korea puts Christians into labour camps. I pray that one day Korea will be one, & everyone in a United Korea can live freely under a democracy. I continue to hope a Korean Gorbachev will see that his people are suffering needlessly, & take steps to end the existing totalitarian regime. Is the current Kim that guy? We can only hope & pray he has a change of ❤️ heart. Missiles won't feed your people, sir. 

It is time for you, O Lord, to act, for they have broken your law. Psalm 119:126 An Anglican church tower in Wells, Somerset, was damaged in the storm yesterday. God has clearly allowed this to happen for a reason. We have seen this before. When the former Bishop of Durham denied the Resurrection in the 80s, a cathedral was struck by lightning.  It seems to me God is not happy about the drift towards political correctness in the Church of England, away from Biblical values. All is not well. Return to Orthodoxy. 

He has no fear of evil news.. Psalm 112:7 Amongst US voters, according to a new survey, Black & Hispanic Christians tend to be the most optimistic. 

See & taste the goodness of the Lord! Psalm 34:9 Snow! A winter miracle, despite "global warming". But going out I see Japanese kids going about without proper clothes for these temperatures. I very much doubt it is poverty in the majority of cases, rather some outdated 1930s ideal about toughness prevents Japanese kids from enjoying the winter as they could.. 😞 That Indian guy known as Buddha said "life is suffering", allegedly, but there is no need to seek it out, life has plenty of suffering for everyone without adding to it needlessly. Shame on you, Japanese schools! Stop with these ridiculous uniform requirements! Winter coats are not evil! 

Human anger does not fulfill the justice of God. James 1:20 Prince Andrew has escaped justice in New York. The US system often seems to be more about money than Justice. But Divine Justice is perfect, and you can't pay money to make it go away. However, as we are all guilty of something in God's eyes, let him or her who is without sin be the first to cast a stone. I hope & pray His Majesty will take his & his mother's religion more seriously now as he begins to enter old age. An older and wiser Prince? I hope so. 

Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees.. Mark 8:15 Some Jews, particularly secular Jews, seem to have little love for God but plenty of resentment or even open hatred towards Christians & Christianity. This is not good. If your identity is based on bitterness & lack of forgiveness rather than actual love of Torah then spiritually you are a total mess. But even love of Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) is not enough. As Jesus said, we need every word of Scripture, including the ones in the Old Testament that clearly point to Him as the true Jewish Messiah. 

It is good for me to have been afflicted, for I have deeply learned your statutes.. Psalm 119:71 So, on this feast of St Valentine, probably one of the most famous Catholic saints in Japan, is true love running smooth? Or not so much? Romantic "love" often brings affliction in its wake. He is in love with her who is in love with this other guy. Or vice versa. If I had a $ for every murder or suicide committed from jealousy or romantic despair I'd be a rich man. But as today's verse states, when your heart is broken, getting drunk, going out with the gals/lads or eating your emotions ain't the answer. Get closer to God, who loves you best. 

Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way. Luke 6:26 Stephen Fry & David Attenborough get a lot of love on the internet. 

Nothing to eat.. Mark 8:1 I didn't grow up in a household that said grace before meals. I still find it difficult to remember to say grace. But every meal is a blessing, so a prayer of thanks to God is appropriate. 

Israel has been in rebellion.. 1 Kings 12:19 Christians are usually law abiding people. But when unjust laws stop us going to church, don't expect us to toe the line. The secular elite that sneer at the Bible better get a clue about who is really in charge of the universe or they are going extinct. 

My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen the dawn. Psalm 130:6 Is Biden about to do something stupid & start a nuclear war with Russia & China? I don't know. I hope not. If you read the Book of Revelation, everything ends well for people who stick with Jesus, but not good at all for everyone else. 

The future of the wicked will be shattered. Psalm 37:38 Many Japanese naturally see China as their greatest threat. I see things slightly differently. North Korea used to be the worst country to be a Christian: it is now Afganistan. Marxism is bad, but radical Islam is the greatest threat to world peace. 

The early rain covers it with blessings.. Psalm 84:7 Lots of Brits moan about the rain. But England is a green & pleasant land. Out here in Kyushu the grass dies back & turns yellow in winter, if it survives at all. Now I'm not moaning: sunshine is a blessing too! Until you get sunburn or skin cancer, but that's usually us being careless. You can have too much of a good thing, whether it is chocolate or time on the beach..

Your favour gives us victory.. Psalm 89:18 It is great to see tiny Norway 🇧🇻 beating Xi's evil empire China at the Olympics! Not that I regard individual Chinese as evil. Shout out also to tiny Boreham Wood, through to face the mighty Everton in the 🇬🇧 FA Cup! 

By that Gospel you are saved.. 1 Corinthians 15:2 People sometimes have the naive idea that the Bible is some kind of fairy story. Actually it is an extremely sophisticated text. Particularly where the Gospels are concerned. We have 4 canonical Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. They are all worth reading. If you haven't read one, it is time you did. They have the words of Life. 

Test all things; hold fast what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 It seems pretty clear by now that there has been a massive disinformation campaign by the powers that be, including much of the media, & Big Tech, to silence all those, including many scientists, asking questions about the efficiency & harmful side effects of these Covid vaccines. Trusting science over God, as I have maintained from the start, is very unwise. 

I am about to go the way of all creatures.. 1 Kings 2:2 We all die, but for some of us, our name lives on. Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon is a samurai lord who gave up everything he had rather than renounce his Catholic faith. He was forced into exile, & died in the Philippines in 1615. Catholics remember him today. 

The child grew in statue & strength.. Luke 2:40 If life doesn't begin at conception, when does it begin? Jen Psaki, Biden's press secretary, refused to answer the EWTN reporter's question on Biden's beliefs in this matter. They have no answer. I wonder why. 

I will give thanks to you, O Lord my God; I will glorify your name forever, for great has been your love for me, you have saved me from the grave. Psalm 86:12-13 So it's February, and St Valentine's day approacheth. But it seems to me no one deserves my love as much as God does. Loving God is the most important commandment, after all..