Time for Spiders

September is the month for spiders. They are everywhere, and getting bigger. Some people like them, others don't. Here in Japan we get some pretty big ones. How about this fellow:


This is called a Wasp Spider because its markings are very like that of a wasp. Its scientific name is Argiope bruennichii, and Japanese name: Nagakogane-gumo. Gumo in Japanese is the word for spider.

Spider webs are amazing. Just watch a spider weave his web and you will notice how methodically he goes about it, and getting the distances and gaps just right as he measures the distances with his legs.



Notice the web silks from tail end and from the head. This is another kind of spider. It does not bite. This one is called Joro-gumo in Japanese and Nephila clavata for its scientific name.

The human eye is capable of detecting objects at a distance of 10 cm with a diameter of 25 mm. The average diameter of a thread in a orb web is around 0.15 mm. The smallest measured thread was only 0.02 mm thick. We are able to see the web only because of the reflection of sunlight on the thread.



You can just make out the web of this very large spider, Scientific name: Argiope amoena, Japanese Name - Kogane-gumo, but yet it will catch insects as large as cicadas, butterflies, and flying beetles.

These thin wires are capable of stopping a bee flying at full speed. This thread is not only strong but also very elastic. These properties make the material very tough. Another comment I read was that a spider's thread with a radius of 3 cm could stop a Boeing 747 in full flight. That is amazing. But of course, the spider's webs that we usually see are no way that thick, and if they were we would soon be caught in such a web. The web is not only elastic but sticky, although the spider can also spin non sticky threads so that he doesn't get caught up in his own web.

The spider is mentioned twice in the Bible. Once in Job 8:14 where Bildad the Shuhite is accusing Job of forgetting God. What Job is being accused of is that anything that he might put his hope in, such as his innocence, is useless and inadequate, such as we might found when leaning on a spider's web. He leans on the web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold. So says Bildad, your trust in God and your righteousness is like that. However, Bildad was to be proved wrong later.

The second reference is in Isaiah 59:5 where Isaiah the prophet, describes the wicked as those who hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. They cannot make clothing from cobwebs, they are useless for clothing and they cannot cover themselves with what they make. What Isaiah is saying is that they are harming themselves, the hatching of viper eggs, and cobwebs can easily be seen through and God knows all that they are doing and they cannot hide from Him. God's judgement will be revealed at the proper time.

These Arachnida creatures created by God are part of God's great wide world. Though we may not like them, we can still appreciate them for being part of God's great creation.

My call to be a Missionary

God calls each of us in individual ways, and what I share here will be particularly how God has dealt with me, and should not be considered as a method by which God will call everyone. However, in sharing these experiences, my hope is that we will learn something of God - that He does lead, that He is concerned about the details of our lives, and particularly His patience in His dealings with us when we so often try and go our own way or do our own thing.

The second thing I want to say at the outset is that my call to Japan was not because my parents were missionaries to Japan and I was just following in their foot steps, nor because I grew up in Japan, spending the first 17-18 years of my life there. My call was a definite call of God to go to Japan because that was where God wanted me to be, not because I wanted to be there. In fact, when I left Japan, I had no desire or thought of wanting to be a missionary, and when I did feel the ‘call’ of God, it was not to Japan, but rather to Africa. So how did I end up back in Japan?

I attended the Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan for most of my school years. One thing the school encouraged and arranged was for the students in the final year of high school to go on an educational trip for about ten days to some part of Japan. Our year decided on a trip to western Japan and the Japan Sea coast, taking in many of the interesting places such as Hagi, Izumo, Matsue and Tottori. The Japan Sea coast line is a beautiful area to visit with pottery, ancient temples and places full of history. However, because it is rural, many of the places we visited did not have much going on in the evenings. Such was the case on our last night in Tottori. Autumn in Japan is a pleasant time of the year, and so a walk around Tottori in the cool of that October evening was quite an enjoyable thing to do. However, it was to have a lasting impact on my life, though at the time I was not aware that this would be so.

As we walked about the town, a very strong sense of the spiritual darkness came over me, so much so, I thought to myself, “When my parents return from furlough this needs to be where they should come. I knew that they had been thinking about whether to move from Kobe when they returned to Japan following my graduation and one year in UK. I didn’t think anything more of it, nor did I say anything to my parents, and promptly forgot about it. I was on my way to the UK. The future was before me and the big world was waiting for me! I was looking forward to it and had been investigating various possible careers that I might enter.

God, in his infinite wisdom, arranged in a rather remarkable way for me to start physiotherapy training the autumn I graduated. This was quite amazing, because most of the schools that I had applied to could not take me until the following year. I ended up at the West Middlesex School of Physiotherapy in Isleworth, Middlesex, and was not all that far from Mill Hill, North London, where my parents were based during their furlough. It meant I was able to get home a number of times, and even managed to be there for a midweek report meeting one November day. A missionary male nurse who was serving in Ethiopia was sharing his experiences on that occasion. That night I felt what I can only describe as ‘a call’ of God to serve Him as a missionary. Rather than pray about it as I should have done, I began to think and plan how I thought I could serve God as a missionary. Because my ‘call’ had come through a missionary using nursing skills to reach out to the people, and because of my situation as a student of physiotherapy, I thought the logical option was to consider medical missions. Most of the people that I knew who were involved in any way in medical missions were in Africa, and so my focus was in that direction, and more particularly towards Ethiopia. Physiotherapy on the mission field up until that point did not exist, so I realized that I would be moving very much in a new direction as far as medical missions was concerned.

However, these thoughts were placed on the back burner for the first two years or so of my training. I did not really pray too much about it, or give it much thought during that time. However, as I entered my third year, I realized I would need to begin to think and pray seriously about what I would do after I had finished training. Firstly, I would have to fulfil my obligations of two years service in the National Health Service as part of my commitment for having received a bursary to study. However, this requirement was discontinued just before I finished, so was no longer a constraint as to the timing of my departure.

Several things happened during that final year that were to have big influences on what I would finally decide to do. The first was that I began to read my Bible in a way I had not done before, and read through the whole Bible in three months leading up to the summer. This had a tremendous impact on my spiritual life and was noticed by others. The second thing was that I read Watchman Nee’s little book, Release of the Spirit, which was a great help to me. The third thing was that I felt that I should try and do an exploratory trip to Ethiopia to see how a physiotherapist might fit into the work. Because of the cost of flights, I looked into the possibility of charter flights. However, that did not work out or coincide with my holidays. The fourth thing to happen was that a retired senior missionary from North Africa came to our church to speak. He spoke at the evening service and then at the young people’s group. I cannot remember anything in particular from what he said but I know that it affected me to the extent that I read through John 13-17 that night. As a result of all of this, I entered into a correspondence about my missionary call with him which continued from the September through to the New Year.

The outcome of that correspondence led me to realize that I was making a big mistake in respect to missionary thoughts and plans. What I had been doing was offering to God my qualifications of physiotherapy but what God was wanting was me! I confessed my mistake to God and prayed, offering myself to Him for whatever, wherever He wanted to send me. Within three days, I felt vividly as if it had been the night before, the sense of spiritual darkness and oppression that I had felt three and half years earlier in Tottori, Japan. This was too coincidental to be chance and I began to pray fervently asking God to show me what He was meaning by this. It gradually became clear that God wanted me to return to Japan.
That spring, I approached the church elders about all this and they concurred with me believing this was of God too. Several questions were asked, including what would I do with my physiotherapy training. A letter I had received shortly before from a senior missionary in Japan helped me to see all of this in perspective. God never wastes our experiences, and the purpose for which I had gone into physiotherapy might now be coming to an end, or it might still play a part in the work God had for me to do. One thing was clear though, and it was that God had used it to get me thinking about missions. Furthermore, while in Ube, Japan some nine years later, we had a lot of contact with the doctors at the University of Yamaguchi medical school, and having a background in the medical field enabled me to relate more meaningfully.

Over the next few months as preparations continued several concerns arose, one of which was my lack of experience of missionary work and inability to do what I had seen missionaries in Japan do. However, how God reassured me on that issue will have to be the topic for another blog.

About eight years after that initial experience in Tottori, my wife and I boarded a plane for Japan to begin service for God there.

I believe that God had made his initial ‘call’ to me in Tottori, but my life was too full of other things, and so did not give it any thought. However, God, in His mercy, was patient with me, and got my attention through the medical missions route. God is like that sometimes. God can still get us to the place He wants us even though we may not respond how God would like us to. God is not interested in what we can do or not do. Our gifts or qualifications are all received from Him anyway. What he wants is us, wholly given to Him for His use in whatever way He wants to use us. We can leave the rest to Him. Just as God called Moses there at the burning bush, inviting him to join Him in His work of delivering the people from their bondage, so too God is inviting us to share in His work. All Moses needed to be was the vessel God could use to fulfil His purposes. That is what God is still wanting of us today. Will you let God invite you to be involved in His work wherever it might be?

Itotonbo - Damselfly - アオモンイトトンボ - Aomon-ittonbo

Seen in the garden recently. I was very pleased with how this photo came out as they are not very big. This is called an Aomon-itotonbo, it's scientific name is Ischnura senegalensis.

Click on the photo to see it enlarged.

In the Garden

We have a little garden here in Japan, which we haven't done very much in. It was quite over grown when we moved in, but we did do quite a bit of weeding, but have not made a lot of impression on it. However, Mr. Nakanishi took it upon himself to be our gardener, and did work on it when he came down for Church services from Nobeoka each week. He grew vegetables in the main, although there were flowers from time to time as well.



This was one June day a couple of years ago. In the photo on the left is an orange tree. A fig tree is next to it. Then to the right is a camellia bush.

Now Hironori is working in the garden a little, and is growing some Japanese radishes (Daikon), and some beans.

The organge tree, not the usual oranges, but more like a natsu mikan, which is closer to a grapefruit in it's taste a little, had lots of flower buds, and we were hopeful for a lot more fruit this year, but the fruit which initially began to develop has dropped, so there is very little on the tree at the moment. Will have to see how many we get when they ripen. The kinkan (kimquat}tree is a mass of bloom at the moment, so that could be good news for those that like these little round orange coloured fruit.

The other plants that have done well this year are the mombresia, which seems to have spread a lot this year. Also the melastoma (Nobotan in Japanese) plant that we got from Michelle from Australia when she was here, has really developed into quite a big bush, in spite of having been cut back last year. It should flower well when the blooms appear.

New Photos added to my Flickr collection

A new photo that I added recently from one of our walks in Heiwadai Park here in Miyazaki. To see more photos click on the photo: The scientific name for this butterfly is: Arhopala genesa It's Japanese name is: Ru-misu-shijimi ルーミスシジミ

Freedom in Christ – Part 2

In a previous blog when I considered this subject, I was asking for some thoughts and comments on how freedom in Christ worked in our lives, and in what sort of situations we could see it in practice. Some further preliminary thoughts have come to mind since then.

Someone did suggest that we really need to begin by asking what we mean by freedom. That, I suggest, is really the answer I am looking for, because if we can understand what freedom in Christ is, then we will be able to more readily know when we are experiencing it in our lives.

Last time I mentioned Rom.7 where we saw Paul’s struggle to live a good life in his own strength, only to find that there was a power at work in his life that was preventing him from doing what he knew to be right and instead doing what he didn’t want to do. He did not feel free at all and would have defined his position as a slave of sin. He says that Christ has set him free from that master and power, and so he is now able to live in a freedom that enables him and gives him a power, to do what is right and not do what is wrong.

One thing that did come up last time that would form part of a definition of this freedom in Christ is Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Our freedom, according to this verse is based on a choice. We choose to live in a certain way, and that freedom in Christ does not allow us to live according to the sinful or selfish nature that we still have resident within and with which the Holy Spirit is continually in conflict with (Gal.5:17). This freedom is not a disregard of rules and standards, doing as we please, but is rather a way of life characterized by love. It is putting others in a position of importance rather than ourselves (cf. Phil.2:3). Of course, we cannot live this kind of life in our own strength. We need the Spirit of God in our lives.

The Lord Jesus also referred to being free in John 8:31-32. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Here a different concept seems to be presented to us. Knowing the truth will set us free. The context makes it clear that it will be freedom from sin. The disciple who is holding the teaching, that is, treating it with respect and obeying it will know deliverance from sin. The reason the disciple will be able to experience this freedom is because he has been delivered from slavery to sin, by being set free by the Son. But more is implied in verses 34-36 than just deliverance from slavery. Sonship is the position that the disciple now has. A slave has no permanent place in the home, but a son’s rights in the home are forever. Christ’s act of setting us free has brought us into the family of God. The Life Application Commentary on this passage sums it up well:

Sin has a way of enslaving us, controlling us, dominating us, and dictating our actions. It manifests itself in self-centeredness, rebelliousness, possessiveness, dysfunctional love, and addictive behaviours. Jesus can free us from this slavery that keeps us from becoming the person God created us to be. Even if sin is restraining, mastering, or enslaving us, Jesus can break its power over our life. Jesus himself is the truth that sets us free (8:36). He is the source of truth, the perfect standard of what is right. He frees us from the consequences of sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. He shows us clearly the way to eternal life with God. Thus Jesus does not give us freedom to do what we want, but freedom to follow God. As we seek to serve God, Jesus' perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be. (from The Life Application Commentary Series Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by the Livingstone Corporation. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

So to sum up these thoughts, we can define this freedom negatively by saying that freedom in Christ is being set free from the slavery that keeps us from becoming the person God created us to be. Positively, we can say that with our sins forgiven, and our consciences cleansed, we can now say ‘No’ to sin and temptation and choose to follow the way of truth in Christ. This is no longer a bondage, because our lives are now governed by the love of God within. To love God and our neighbour is not a burden, because love always has the good of the other at heart.

Freedom in Christ

Freedom in Christ – what does it mean? What does it look like? How does it work out in practice? How can I enjoy it?

I can’t say I have all the answers to these questions, so would like folk to comment and share their thoughts on this one. I will put some thoughts together, and see where we go from there.

A key passage from the New Testament is Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (NIV) The context, as the next few verses show is that keeping the law, particularly as it related to the Jewish definition of law keeping, was not the way to be free. This is to be again under the yoke of slavery, according to Paul.

Paul is concerned that the believers in Galatia, having begun in faith, were reverting to law keeping, i.e., to legalism, to live the Christian life. Paul says in ch.3:1, You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?...2…Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? He then adds further down in chapter 3, 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." So one thing is becoming very clear, as far as Paul is concerned, our freedom in Christ is based on our faith in Him, and not through any effort on our part to keep the law. This does not give freedom.

In chapter 5, where we started these thoughts, he goes on to say that The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (v.6) and then in verse 14, The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” This has followed verse 13 where Paul has just said, … we were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. So a second aspect of this freedom is seen when we are truly loving our neighbour as ourselves, and not living in a selfish and self-centred way. When we serve other people, we are fulfilling the law of Christ. We will then know what it means to be free in Christ.

But how is this achieved? Galatians 5 verse 16 gives a key aspect to the answer. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit…18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. So for us to experience true freedom, it is not by keeping the law, but rather allowing the Spirit to lead and guide us in our daily lives. Paul further adds at the end of chapter 5, Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.(v.24-25) Paul expands this teaching on living and being led by the Spirit in Romans 8. Once again, our relationship to the Spirit is contrasted to living our lives in our own strength and power. The difference is radical. In verse 5, we either have our minds set on what our nature desires, or we live according to the Spirit and have our minds set on what the Spirit desires. Each has its own consequences, either death, or life and peace. Furthermore the mind controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. But for the Christian it is a different story. He is controlled not by the sinful nature, for that has now been put to death (Gal.5:24), but by the Spirit of God who lives in us. And if we are now alive because of the Spirit within, then we have an obligation to live a life controlled by the Spirit, because we are led by the Spirit of God. Paul would say that this kind of life style is freedom in Christ.

However, in Romans 6, Paul talks about being slaves to those we obey (verse 16). We are either a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness, or of Christ (verse 17-18). The Christian used to be a slave of sin, but now he is the slave of righteousness. But if we are a slave of righteousness, do we really have freedom in Christ? The whole concept of being a slave does not suggest freedom to me. Paul says he is using human terms to explain the new position in Christ (verse 19). He sums up the two positions in the following way in chapter 6 verse 20-22. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Sin is a hard task master, Paul says, because the only benefit we reap from serving that master is death. When we have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, the benefit we reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. So how is this new position of being a slave of God and possessing eternal life, freedom? It is living a life of holiness with eternal life as our destiny.

Paul adds a further insight in chapter 7. He uses the illustration of being married. If we are married and have an affair with someone else, we are convicted as an adulterer. However, if our spouse dies, we are then free to marry another without being called an adulterer. So what Paul is saying is that while we were in our sinful state, we were married to another, and we were not free, but when by faith in Christ we put to death our sinful nature, we were free to belong to another, that is to Christ. When we belong to Christ, we become fruitful (verse 4). The fruit that we bore before was for death (verse 5). Now, by dying to what once bound us, we are free to serve in the new way of the Spirit (verse 6).

Paul continues. Sin is the big problem in life. It is what binds us. It is what prevents us from truly enjoying life and living for God. It is what hinders true freedom in our lives. Notice how he shows the power and hold sin has over him and the lack of freedom he has to keep the law. 18 For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do ・this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Paul’s whole argument here is that sin is the master that prevents him from doing the good he wants to do. In fact, it is so strong, that even when he does not want to do something, he finds he cannot stop himself. He is certainly not free in this situation. The sinful nature within us is a powerful force that prevents us from serving God, and doing what is right and good, of loving our neighbour, of pleasing God in everyway. And so his cry for deliverance is seen in verse 24. Who will rescue me from this body of death? The answer is in the next verse 25 Thanks be to God ・through Jesus Christ our Lord! The power of sin has been broken. Or to put it in the words of 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Or again, Hebrews 2:14-15 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death ・that is, the devil・15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

So to summarize these thoughts, the freedom we have in Christ is the freedom we have because we have been delivered from the power of sin and evil, so that we can now live a life of righteousness, of keeping the law of love, and pleasing God in every way. We now have the power of the Spirit within to say ‘No’ to sin and temptation, and do what is right. We can now say ‘No’ to our former way of life, and say ‘Yes’ to doing God’s will. So the freedom we now have is the freedom we have because of the power of God within that enables us to do what is right and good.

But how does this freedom show itself in real life? How will it affect the way we live? In what sort of situations do we see this freedom at work in our lives? What about our relationships? Why, for example, will it be possible to go against the flow, to overcome the fear of man, and be different when to obey God will involve that? How will you respond when your friends want to do something you know to be wrong? Does it mean that I can now do what I like as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody? How costly will it be to be free to be different? I would like to hear your comments please. Thanks.

God is Sovereign – Our trip to UK

Whenever we plan a trip to the UK, we do so because we believe God is guiding us to make the visit. We certainly felt that way about our visit to England in May. A number of things had turned up, and as we prayed about them we felt the Lord’s assurance that it was right to make this trip.

So when the lady at the check-in at Fukuoka would not book us in for our 10:30 am flight to Seoul for the connecting flight to Heathrow on the 17^th May, we wondered what was going to happen. Heathrow had been closed because of the ash problem. Had we made a mistake? Is God testing our faith? What do we do? We felt sure that God wanted us in UK at this time.

We decided to wait around for awhile, praying about it, phoning friends in Miyazaki to pray with us, and also the travel agent to get his input. He did say there was going to be an up date on the airport status at about 11:30 am an hour after our flight would have left. The check in lady did come over to us a bit later on to say she could book us through to Seoul, but could not guarantee the onward flight. The check in supervisor came over at about 10:20 to suggest that we cancel as there was no guarantee that we could get to England. We went over to the check-in with that in mind, but she said she couldn’t cancel us and that we should try for Seoul. So believing that we should trust God we stepped out in faith and checked in. We sensed God had wanted us to go to the UK at this time, and so we felt we should take the step and see what God would do with it. We hurried down to the gate, and we were soon waiting for the flight to leave. One of God’s encouragements was that when we opened the bin above our seats to put our hand luggage in, it was completely empty! Amazing! Our normal experience when travelling has always been full bins and trying to find space.

When we got to Seoul we found the check-in counter and they booked us on to the next flight, although there was to be a three hour delay. This looked promising. However, when the rescheduled time arrived, they cancelled the flight. God had his hand in this too. Korean Airlines divided us into two main groups, those in transit, which we were now, and those who were scheduled to start their journey from Seoul. When the first group had been cleared, we were then sorted out with immigration and a hotel for the night including meal vouchers. It was an interesting experience, because all passengers in transit were in the same difficult situation, the camaraderie was really good. We were able to get to know a few of our fellow passengers.

We had been told to get in touch with the airlines in the morning. This we did first thing after breakfast and were told that we would have to be put on standby, but this could only take place at the airport. We felt that it would be best to do this as soon as possible so had out names put on the list. We seemed to be near the top. Others began to turn up too and so we chatted and talked with different ones while we waited. We had noticed on the BBC news on the TV in the room the previous evening that flights were now landing, so it looked good. At about 11:30 am, we heard our names being called, and we were allowed to check in for the 1:15 pm flight. It was good to see God opening the way and to know we were on our way to England. We had free access to the internet after we were through immigration, and so we were able to get in touch with different ones to let them know what was happening.

The rest of the flight was fairly uneventful. We were really pleased to see our daughter at the airport to meet us which was so appreciated, and we were back home in reasonably good time. We were ready for bed!

But that was not all. We were very conscious of the Lord arranging various visits and situations over the next couple of weeks in ways that amazed us. For example, when we popped in to see an elderly friend, we also met her daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law’s mother at the house, folk we had also wanted to see. Another was a friend my wife knew from when she did a mums and toddlers group at church in Newent and with whom she had continued contact over the years. She made contact through Facebook not realizing we were back in UK and as she was off work there was an opportunity to arrange some time together. Another couple we were able to spend the night with at quite short notice prepared my wife to be able to help another lady whose daughter had a similar problem to theirs. God is great in how He prepares us for situations. We were able to visit a lady in her 90s who is beginning to have some memory problems, so we were glad of the opportunity to have had at least some time with her while she was still alert enough to share with us. All these different times made it clear why God had allowed us this visit, and we thank God for all He did to make the many opportunities possible.

It was also a helpful time to reconnect with family and with our children and grand children. It was particularly good to spend time with my wife’s siblings as well, when we attended the wedding of her nephew. It was the first time in over six years that they had all been together. Extra time was arranged to be together which was most profitable. It was particularly amazing, and normally could not be arranged even if attempted, and that was that my wife’s older brother, who lives in America, but is working in Malawi at the moment, should be leaving to go back to Malawi on the same day, at a similar time, from the same terminal, with departing gates side by side. That extra time was very special. And so we left to return to Japan praising God for the way the days had gone by and for all He had made happen. God still had people for us to meet.

We stayed overnight in a hotel in Fukuoka, and were to catch the highway bus back to Miyazaki the following day. In the morning when we came down for breakfast, a Vietnamese couple, now living in Australia came and joined us at our table. We had a very interesting time over breakfast. God was definitely in control and we thank God for all the people He allowed us to meet and to have time with.

God is sovereign. We have experienced it.

From R. N. Frost's blog

My brother-in-law told me about R.N.Frost's blog and said that his entry 'Looking for Compassion' particularly was interesting. The link can be found at http://spreadinggoodness.org/ . I found it most interesting and a challenge. I quote from the blog.

The point is that whatever we have as our soul's gaze is what we become. If we're given over to looking at worthless things, we grow increasingly worthless. If we find violence to be entertaining, we become affiliated with violence.

Think, then, of what Jesus did in his ministry. His teaching wasn’t done in classrooms but in the places where there were poor people, blind people, lame people, leprous people, immoral people, needy people. And he had compassion on them. Again and again in the gospels we read that “he felt compassion . . .”

As we use the imagery of vision let me return to something I’ve written before, that faith is a function of our soul’s gaze. When we look to Jesus we only do so because he’s already tapped on our hearts to catch our attention. Then in looking to him we find him gazing into our hearts with compassion: seeing our sin, our pride, our fears, our doubts while telling us, “come to me all you who are weary and burdened”. And as we come to him in faith he places his arm around our shoulders and says, “Do you see all those who are needy? Come with me while I care for them.”

Our hands then become his hands. Our hearts reveal his heart. Our joy is in giving rather than in receiving.

Today, then, do we know someone captured by video games? Offer some compassion by inviting them to places where real relationships exist. Do we know some who are living worthless lives? Have compassion on them by inviting them to join you in offering food, coats, and socks to the local street people. Do we know someone who has never met with God? Have some compassion and share your own joy in knowing Christ.

Empathy is cultivated, then, by both receiving it and then by offering it to others. It’s a heart-to-heart activity that starts with a Heart-to-heart meeting with God. Someone has to offer it to others in every place and in every generation. God meets that need by offering it freely through his Son, and by the Spirit; and we, as we feel his compassion towards us, will soon have compassion for others. Try it and see for yourself; then offer it to someone else.

What a challenge? What an encouragement? The question I ask myself is, "How am I going to respond to Jesus? Will I really let Him have his way with me in whatever He asks me to do? Or will I put obstacles in His way that will hinder His work in my life? What will I have as my main object of my gaze? What will fill my mind and thoughts each day?"

Why does the church not have the impact on society it should?

Ravi Zacharias in his book, Deliver us from Evil, a book we picked up at a Christian second hand book shop in Erith, when we were waiting for Andrew Kruse's wedding, deals with the cause of why the church has lost it's influence in a secular world that has become very anti-God. Quoting the Canadian Historian, David Marshall he says, "From their ranks [the clergy] came the call to congregations to abandon the notion of an authoritative Scripture and surrender the biblical perspective on life's deepest questions." (p.51) When we give up on the authority of Scripture, we lose a power to influence because the standard by which we govern our lives now becomes human based, rather than God based. When it is human based, then anyone can say that his idea of what is good and right is just as good and right as someone else's idea. This is the consequence of giving up on the authority of God's word. This is what we as a Christian community face, and we need to give God's word a greater respect in our lives, and allow God to be our God in every choice and decision we make.

Trusting God

I was at the bank earlier in the week to order some traveller's cheques to take back with us and noticed that the exchange rate was down yet again. I was reminded of some thoughts I had read on Matthew 6:33.

The article I was reading asked the question, "Do we really believe God when He makes promises in His word. Do we believe what we read in the Bible?" Many of us will say yes, and with every true intention believe that we do or will. However, when we are pushed, we find that our trust in God is not quite what we hope it will be, and we become anxious, or worry, or try and solve problems on our own.

One well known promise in the New Testament found in Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek first his [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." The context is that all our needs will be met by God when we fulfill the conditions stated.

On the face of it, I think we will all agree that we believe this to be true. The article I was reading made the statement about how often we don't really believe this verse, and a number of examples were given where we fall down in our full trust in God for our every need.

There was a time when it was a real battle to say yes to God and trust Him fully about our financial needs. When we returned to the UK in 1992, I found out that I didn't really believe this verse, and it took several months of anxiousness and worrying about how the future was going to work out; of struggling to find a job and to provide for the family, before I came to a point where I could honestly say, "God you have promised to provide, and I believe you will keep your word. I commit this matter into your hands." That didn't suddenly mean that I now had no problems about money, or that everything was going smoothly, but it did take a great burden off my shoulders, and the worry about the future left me. God was faithful, and over the weeks and months since then we were never without. My faith was continually being tested. God was seeing if I really meant what I had said. In different ways, God provided, and our trust in God has been strengthened.

But now, once again, I feel we are being tested. Do we still trust God with our future needs? Can we still rely on Him? The economic down turn has affected our in-comings considerably. But will we still trust God with our every need? It is a challenge, but something I feel confident about that God is in control, and I can trust Him. My prayer is that I will continue to look to God for every need that we have, and not lose our trust in Him. We will have to tighten our belts, and be wise in how we use what we have been given, but I believe that God will keep His promises as He has done in the past. God is faithful.

Breakfast

My comment about breakfast in my last blog prompted quite a bit of curiosity. I suppose for the social historian, what people eat for breakfast is of interest as they research and study how diets and eating habits change. I can say that we have been enjoying the variety of cereals available here in England. We are quite limited to what we can get in that line in Japan, and some of it can be quite expensive. Cornflakes, a granola type muesli, and a few other very sweet cereals can be obtain in the shops, but generally the variety is not available.

Some of the breakfasts I remember while growing up in Japan were dripping on bread or toast and fried bread, food with a high fat content that would probably not be recommended today. We also used to have scrabbled egg, boiled eggs and 'soldiers', fried eggs, and also puffed rice occasionally when the man would come round and do it in the street for us.

Our philosophy about eating now is to eat what is available, and what we can't get we don't particularly crave after. All food is good, and should be received with thanks to God (1 Timothy 4:3-5). God created it for us to enjoy. While it may be true that there are foods we like and dislike, and perhaps even some that we react to, yet, God in His goodness to us does provide all things for us to enjoy.

Passing it on

I must confess that I have been quite resistant to blogging and social network sites. Partly, because I felt that I didn't particularly want everyone to know what I had for breakfast, and other, what seems to me, to be very superficial comments about people's lives. People are not interested in those kind of mundane things.

However, with the encouragement of two of my sons, they wanted me to share what I am thinking, and other aspects of my life which could help them know where I was at and what was going on in my life. So here I am, at the home of my third son who has helped me set up this blog.

I was reading in Psalm 78 this morning, and the first 8 verses highlight an aspect of what I feel I need to do with this blog.

Psalm 78

1 O my people, hear my teaching;

listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter hidden things, things from of old —

3 what we have heard and known,

what our fathers have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their children;

we will tell the next generation

the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,

his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob

and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our forefathers

to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born,

and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forget his deeds

but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their forefathers —

a stubborn and rebellious generation,

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

NIV

The point that I got from reading this psalm was that fathers have a responsibility to be passing on to the next generation the thing that they had learned from God. The purpose was so that the next generation too would trust God and keep his commands. The rest of the psalm deals with various aspects of the works of God and the how the people responded and the consequences.

So here we are using modern technology to communicate with the next generation.

Let me introduce myself

Welcome to my blog page.

My name is David. How do I identify myself? Many experiences have influenced who I am. Born in China, brought up in Japan of missionary parents. Educated in a school for foreigners in Kobe, mixing with many different nationalities, which broadened my view on life. Trained as a physiotherapist, married, had five children, moved house 28 times since I was married. But who am I? My identity is based not on what I have done, and do, but who I am, the son of my heavenly Father. It is this which gives me my true meaning and purpose in life.

I first met my heavenly Father when I was 10, at a camp in England at which my earthly father was giving the Bible talks. I realized then that without this relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I was lost and going no where. As the years have past, I have learnt more, and experienced a greater relationship with God.

My purpose in starting this blog is to record things that I learn in my continuing walk with God, and to share what is happening in my life that is part of my life experience. Often, however, it is not until after an experience or event, that the full impact of the event is understood, and so there will be times of reminiscing on past events and situations from which things were learnt.

So I trust that my experiences and the things shared in this blog may be of interest to others. Please feel free to comment.