Our man in Japan

 The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, & the flower thereof falleth, & the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fadeth away in his ways..  James 1:11

 The God of peace.. Hebrews 13:20 Shinto has a false god of war. Christians have an Almighty God of peace. 

 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not.. Hebrews 11: 31

 Teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms.. Colossians 3:16 Many Eikawa want you to teach their way. The first time I was sacked in my life, was by a tiny one man American school that saw that I wasn’t doing it exactly the same way as him. That’s fine, he can do that, it’s his business, I went on to bigger and better things anyway. But quite frankly I’m tired of teaching kids the Japanese way. Let’s face it, the English industry here is one of the least effective in Asia. If you won’t let me use the Book of Psalms in your classroom (a truly excellent book of poetry) I don’t want to work for you! 

 Foolish talking..  Ephesians 5:4 We all say stupid stuff sometimes. Only people who could take Biden’s job get charged $80mill though. Seems fair🙄 

 ..him as good as dead..  Hebrews 11:12 At age 54, there’s not much to look forward to in life apart from grandkids..

 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed through the word of God.. Hebrews 11:3 Atheistic macroevolution is a religion, not science. 

 His enemies be made his footstool.. Hebrews 10:13 I finally caught the cockroach! The near freezing temperatures were making him sluggish, it seems. 

 We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens.. Hebrews 8:1 Jesus is better than any Pope or Archbishop..

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..  Hebrews 8:8 3 Jews physically attacked in Leicester Square in Central London for speaking Hebrew, by a gang of 15-20 men. Whatever your feelings about events in the Middle East there is no justification for this. London needs a new Mayor because Khan’s London is not ok. 

 Unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.. Ephesians 4:13   I’m far from perfect. But I know a Man Who Is. 

 We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.. Acts 19:2 Japan is very secular about religious education when it wants to be. I remember when I worked in an education office in Yamadashi, the man I sat next to practically going purple when I wanted to introduce Easter in a kindergarten lesson. It’s a big festival all over the Christian world, but oh no, not here. Yet you still see pictures of shrines & temples in Japanese textbooks. So it’s clearly a double standard..

 Baptized of John in Jordan.  Mark 1:9 These days it seems more & more kids are being named Jordan instead of being baptized. Which is unwise. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with the name Jordan. But baptism is important, everyone should get one! 

I became as a Jew..  1 Corinthians 9:20 There’s a famous pop song, Turning Japanese. After nearly a quarter of a century in Japan, am I less British?  I don’t feel like I’ve gone native to any large extent, but I probably have adapted in some ways. I would certainly miss many types of Japanese food if I returned to the UK. 

 The end of all things is at hand..  1 Peter 4:7 Will China wait … until Trump is reelected? 

 Let him seek peace.. 1 Peter 3:11  Trump wins Iowa, as the polls predicted. The polls are also predicting a Biden defeat in November. Time for Zelensky to seek a negotiated peace with Putin because clearly the days of endless money are almost over. 

 They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections & lusts..  Galatians 5:24 This year St Valentine’s & Ash Wednesday are on the same day! 

 A stranger will they not follow..  John 10:5 This Pope is estranged from traditional Catholics. 

 Fight the good fight of faith..  1 Tim 6:12  Can’t say Rishi the Hindu starting a war with Yemeni/Iran was really what St Paul had in mind here. Please remember, Muslim world, most of us Brits never voted for him! 

 A peculiar people..  1 Peter 2:9 Christians do come across as peculiar to the Japanese, I think. We are sufficiently rare here to do so. But I should note that when the KJV was written, peculiar meant special, not odd. The RSV states the Greek actually means ‘a people for God’s possession’. Peculiar is from Latin peculiaris meaning ‘of private property’.

 Ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, & then vanisheth away.. James 4:14

 God resisteth the proud.. James 4:6

 Every kind of beasts, & of birds, & of serpents, & of things in the sea, is tamed.. James 3:7 Did you see the baby ostriches on TV last night?! Very cute! 

 Him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.. Hebrews 2:14 God does not enjoy watching us suffer. The devil does. 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, & shall bring forth a son, & they shall call his name, Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.. Matthew 1:23 Jesus has not abandoned Japan, it is more the other way round..

 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth.. Hebrews 1:10 As long as the seismologists fail to understand this, they won’t make much progress..

 He shall have judgement without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy.. James 2:13

 The perfect law of liberty.. James 1:25 The further “liberals” and libertarians get from biblical values, the further they get from truly supporting liberty. In Japan, the human rights of Moonies (a bizarre cult, but better than Buddhism or Shinto) are being taken away and the Japanese people don’t seem to care. But what Kishida is doing to them is neither liberal nor democratic. The breath taking hypocrisy of a man who gives millions of other peoples’ money, tax payers’ money, to Shinto, then with the other hand denies the Moonies the right to donate to whom they wish. Vile! All the while his own government was on the take, and is still being propped up by a much worse and much more bizarre cult, SGI! Since when do democratic elected officials give in to the demands of violent terrorist murderers, anyway? Only in this case, it seems. If some Muslim loony demands we all wear the hijab after killing Kishida will the so called Liberal Democrats do as he asks?

 The true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched & not man.. Hebrews 8:2  ‘Having too much confidence in the power of science is very dangerous..’ Professor Katada, University of Tokyo. 

 Grace to help in time of need.. Hebrews 4:16 I hope this terrible tragedy in Ishikawa brings good eventually. I do think it’s a warning- Shinto is not the answer to Japan’s problems, & certainly is not a source of good luck. 

 He that destroyed the firstborn..  Hebrews 11:28 The number of Japan’s young people continues to shrink. Make abortion much harder to get!