The power to grasp

...power to grasp how wide...

is the love of Christ.
Ephesians 3:18 NIV

How wide is the love of Christ?

It goes from East to West,

with no partiality,

no prejudice.

It stretches from North to South

with no regard for lines, 

or borders.

It reaches from this side of the room,

to that side.

The love of Christ embraces everyone

in my family,

in every family,

From first base to third,

from backstop to the wall.

and ALL the seats.

You are covered.

How wide?

without regard to latitude or longitude,

over planetary borders,

beyond galaxies,

God loves all life that He created.

Power to grasp how

long

is the love of Christ!

How long is the love of Christ?

As long as it needs to be.

As long as it is needed,

The love of Christ is there,

and active.

How long?

Before you were born,

you were the apple of his eye

Before you were born,

He had a plan to save you.

Before your dad ever flirted with your mom,

Christ was already loving you with a love unfailing.

Before He spoke the world into existence,

Before Let there Be Light,

There was the Love of Christ

Howl long will it last,

This love of Christ?

His love will never end.

O thought beyond  us humans!

Never end?

Everything ends!

It all runs out, wears out, gives up.

Not this love.

The love of Christ will always be there.

After the last star has grown cold

and the last ocean has frozen and melted

and vaporized,

and dissipated.

When matter wears out,

The love of Christ will still be young.

Just getting warmed up

For eternity

The power

to grasp

How high

is the love of Christ

How high, indeed?

Everest,

a mere hill,

compared to the heights of this love.

Clouds, moon, stars,

and sun

sink low in comparison.

The love of Christ reaches up beyond

the highest mountain,

beyond the heights or our imagination

But at its highest,

It reached to the height of a cross

on a small hill 

outside Jerusalem.

The power to grasp,

with all the saints,

How Deep is the Love of Christ

How Deep?

Down to the lowest level of society,

Down to the Valley of Death,

Deeper than Death Valley,

Deeper than the Grand Canyon,

Deeper than the deepest sea,

Deeper than Davy Jones' Locker

The love of Christ reaches 

to the bottom of my dirty heart.

Bringing light

LET IS START TODAY Prayer

Father in Heaven,

Please help me to not be controlled by my body.

Please help me to kill every desire 

for the wrong kind of sex.

Help me not to be immoral or indecent.

Help me not to have evil thoughts,

or be greedy,

or worship any kind of idol.

Help me to set my heart and mind

on things above.

Help me to put to death
whatever belongs to my earthly nature

whatever comes from, or leads to,

any sexual immorality

Help me to stamp out

impurity 

lust 

evil desires 

and greed-idolatry..

Help me to rid myself

of all such things

as these:

anger 

rage 

malice 

Help me to get rid of

slander 

filthy language

from my mouth.

Help me not to lie.

Help me to let the peace of Christ

rule in my heart.

Help me to always be more thankful.

Help me put on new habits of

compassion,

kindness 

gentleness 

humility 

and patience 

Help me to bear with others 

and forgive 

WHATEVER grievances 

I may have against someone.

Please hep me to

forgive 

as you forgive me.

Please make your word 

dwell in me 

richly

as I teach 

and admonish.

Please help me to have more wisdom 

to admonish.

Help me to have 

the right attitude

as I sing psalms

hymns 

and spiritual songs 

with gratitude 

in my heart to YOU!.

And please help me 

in whatever 

I say or do,

to do it all

as a representative of the Lord Jesus 

giving thanks 

to YOU

through Him.

Help me to love my wife. 

and do not be harsh with her.

Help me to start again today.

Help me today

so that I will set no vile thing 

before my eyes 

Help me to  hate the deeds of faithless men 

Help me to allow neither those men 

nor their deeds to gain 

a hold on me.

Father, thank you.

Please give me wisdom.

Please be with me

today 

in all the reality 

and substantiality 

that my physical, earthly body 

can stand.

In Jesus' wonderful name, 

Amen

My Winter vacation 2012-13

I taught my last English class on December 22, Saturday.  The next day we had a Christmas  party for our Bible students and parenting group members. It was a lot of work, specially cleaning up.  We had a good time and did a small Christmas drama, complete with costumes.  We even had a visit from Santa Claus.

On Monday morning, we had a small party with a few friends. We did Secret Santas, which means each person buys presents for one person as a surprise.  I got a book I had requested, an Itunes card, and some coupons for baked goods.  I gave my friend a lot of different kinds of foreign food from Jupiter in Okayama Station.

On Monday afternoon we sang some Christmas songs and visited with the elderly people at a nursing home in Kojima.  It was fun. We talked to one lady who will be 100 years old in April. Her younger sister, only 96, is there too.  They are very strong because many years ago they walked every

day from Shimotsui to Ajino Junior High.

Christmas Day was pretty quiet, except we had to finish cleaning up.  And we began to get ready for our guests who were coming on the 29th.

On the 27th, Thursday, we had a bonenkai at Naka Naka in Ajino. Five people ate a lot of different kinds of food. Everybody was driving, so nobody had any alcohol.  We had a good time.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, a beautiful clear day, our friends arrived from Mito in Ibaraki ken.  Erica had been to Kojima twice before.  She came first as a LET'S START TALKING team member 6 or 7 years ago.  Then the next year she came back for 10 weeks as an intern.  She was always very active, sometimes climbing to the top of Ryuozan three times a week. 

Saturday evening, we went to Bikanchiku for a jazz live house at Avenue.  My friend was playing the trumpet.  It was pretty fun, but seemed expensive.  While looking for the place, we walked along the river.  It was very beautiful at night.  We also found a Turkish souvenir store and I finally got to buy some Turkish Delight!!!

The next few days, we enjoyed talking, eating, watching TV, and walking 

around with Ben and Erica.  We had a small New Year's Eve party with snacks, games and talking.  At midnight we went outside to watch the fireworks at Washuzan Highland.  They were better than I expected.

On New Year's Day, we ate sukiyaki and early in the morning on January 2nd, they went back to Mito.  That was Wednesday and my first class was on Friday, the 4th.

Okay, let's have a great year!!

今年もよろしくお願いします。

Jesus on Gun Control, Part 1

Don't judge me! When we say that, does it mean that anything is okay? Or does it mean that I know that you do it, too? Jesus said, Judge not that you be not judged. At the end of this article, I hope you will remember that I am not judging you and I hope you will not judge me. I hope you will critically analyze what I have to say and continue your own prayer and Bible study and thinking as our society and our churches struggle to make positive changes.


When it comes to gun control, I insist that Christians start at a far different place than the general public. Christians are Christ-followers, and Christ gives us a completely new, and radically different foundation for our life on this earth. Jesus said, Turn the other cheek, Jesus said, You can not be my disicple unless you give up all, unless you die to yourself. Jesus says take up your cross every day. Not your gun. Leave, die, deny, give up rights.


I will provide. I can do it! Even mothers, fathers, children will be given to you if you leave them for my sake. Christ-followers die to this world, because we are invested in the next.


Christ, as our perfect example, did not return evil for evil. He took all that they had to give and asked God to forgive them. If you are suffering unjustly, rejoice!!!!

When Jesus said to love your enemy, I suggest that he meant something. When someone is threatening to take my stuff, or break into my house, or hurt my loved ones, he deserves to be considered my enemy. Now, what does it mean to love him in that moment? Kill him, in this un-saved condition? I doubt it.


 Jesus did not just say be nice when it feels nice, or when you feel like it. He said to love your enemy.

Kojima Mission Volunteer Position

Kojima Mission Volunteer Position updated 2012 I. Kojima is a lovely suburb of Kurashiki city, located in Okayama Prefecture and about halfway between Osaka and Hiroshima. Kojima has a population of about 80,000, Kurashiki about 400,000. Even though we are Kurashiki city, due to the transportation system, we usually do our big city stuff in Okayama, only 21 minutes by train. Kojima is a center of textile manufacturing and a lot of jeans and casual wear is made there. Everyone knows Kojima for the boat races held there, too. To reach Kojima, we usually fly into Osaka KIX, take the Haruka to Shin-Osaka, then the Shinkansen to Okayama, where we transfer to the Marin Liner and get off at Kojima station. It takes about 3 hours from the airport. Recently some people have used the KAL route through Seoul, which gets you to Okayama airport, saving a lot of time and money, theoretically. II. LOGOS Eikaiwa, http://www.logosenglish.com/or LOGOS English Conversation School, is how we make our living. We offer English conversation classes to students aged 2 and up. We mostly have classes from 2 to 5 in size, and the limit is eight students. We also have contracts with two kindergartens and provide classes off-site. III. The Rogers Kojima Mission: We are in our 18th year as pioneering tent-making missionaries. Since 2002, we have had several Let’s Start Talkinghttp://www.lst.org projects and most of our Bible classes are with people first contacted through this work. The most recent project was in 2012, when we had two adult teams. IV. Possible Options as Volunteer responsibilities: A. Teach a few classes in LOGOS each week. Because we cannot hire a full-time teacher now, Brent and Sandy will be working more hours. There are times when the schedule is really hard for two teachers. We will provide textbooks, training and help when needed. B. Continue follow-up of LST students. This means teaching, organizing, and reporting. We would like to provide regular events, both social and teaching focus, in the months to come, too. C. Faithful ministry in daily life and worship with the church. D. Japanese class at least once a week and preferably two. E. Other responsibilities according to the talents and needs will be discovered as time goes on. V. We can help some with air-fare and, on-site, we can offer housing and utilities. When a volunteer selection is made, we can discuss each person’s situation in detail and see how to make it work. Length of service: We would of course love to have people stay for three months, and one month is pretty much a minimum. Best Reporting Date: When you can get here! For more information, please contact us by blog comment or email, phone etc.

My Road to Fatih

MY OWN ROAD TO FAITH 

 Last week, I was asked how I came to faith in God. Due to my heat exhaustion, I could not speak either English or Japanese very well. So this week, I want to give an overview of my road to faith.

 In short, I have been influenced strongly by my parents and family, excellent teachers, and in particular, three teachers and writers. These three did not start from faith, but began as atheists or skeptics and came to faith using good research methods.

 Family influence: I grew up in a Christian family. So as a baby and small child I went to church whether I wanted to or not. Even though our small country church was often divisive and unloving, I had a good background in both the Old Testament and in the Gospel of Jesus. I loved the songs and the stories. 

 In America in the 60's and 70's, especially in the summers in the South, there were gospel meetings in all the little churches in our area. Churches would compete to see who could afford to bring the biggest name preacher from the farthest distance. My parents loved to take us to these meetings. The preachers preached their best sermons, we learned new songs, and sometimes even got to see people being baptized. The biggest preachers drew crowds too large for the local churches and big circus tents were used for those meetings. All this is to say that my family might go to church 6 or 7 times a week without even being considered weird or fanatical.

 This was before cable TV and long before the Internet. So my faith grew by seeing that not only my family and relatives, but a wide variety of people believed in God. I heard many preachers tell about God's love for us showed through the cross of Jesus for our sins. 

 I knew by the time I was in 5th or 6th grade in elementary school that I wanted to be a preacher or missionary. I am sure there were many reasons, some good and some not so good. I think now that I could not see any other work as having the long-lasting results that preaching the Good News could have. 

 I know that I was baptized when I was 12. In our circle, it seemed that 11 was too young and if you waited much past 12, people were worried you might be an atheist. I think the last time I sat on my mother's lap was when we talked about if I was ready or not. I did not feel a big change in my heart or life after I was baptized. I felt that my sins were forgiven because God said so. In our church, I was now allowed to take the Lord's Supper and even pray in church.

 I did not have a dramatic period of rebellion during my teen years. Maybe because I watched my sister have hers and I was not interested. Maybe because I was not able to drive or play sports, or maybe just because I am a boring person. Or maybe my time of rebellion is still coming, but I really hope not.

 I think my biggest doubts about Christianity stemmed from the way Christians have acted in history. From the Crusades to the American Civil War and other wars to my own tiny church, I was confused about how Christians could read and believe the Bible and still act this way. I take this as a warning for myself now. And Jesus clearly wanted his disciples to show love to each other and to the world. John 13:35

 When I was growing up, it was cool for young people to study the Bible and have quiz competitions against other churches once a month. This was really fun for our family and helped motivate me to read the Bible.

 Evidence from Science: 

When I was in junior high and high school, my family and I began hearing seminars and classes by a man named John Clayton. He has had a profound effect on my faith. He taught high school and also worked as a geologist, helping oil companies find oil. John Clayton was an atheist, as his parents were. Even in college, though, he asked questions even his professors could not answer. He explains that he could not find the answer to the origin of the universe or the origin of life. The professors told him these questions were not the kind of questions science could answer. He explains in the words of Lord Kelvin, a very famous British scientist who said, "If you study science deep enough and long enough it will force you to believe in God." A deep study of science will show you the limitations of science. The answers to the ultimate questions are not found in science. He also met a strong Christian girl and began reading the Bible to show her all the mistakes and foolishness in the Bible. He wanted to write a book about all the mistakes. He was shocked to find no contradictions between what the Bible really said and the truths of physical science or biology . When he decided that belief in God could be consistent with scientific truth, he also studied the religious writings of a many world religions. He found them lacking in various ways. He decided he would believe in the God of the Bible. 

Evidence from history: 

 Starting at a different point are two other teachers and writers. I have never met or heard in person either Josh McDowell or Lee Strobel. They examine the historical evidence for Jesus. Their arguments are very impressive for me. Some facts are very clear from secular sources. A man named Jesus lived. Around the time of his death, something very unusual began to happen. People claimed to have seen, touched, etc., a living Jesus after his death. 

Two arguments I will try to give in brief statements. 

1. Jesus was a respected teacher who claimed he would rise from the dead. There are four possibilities: A. He did not really say these things, but his life and teaching were exaggerated as the story was told and re-told. He was a legend. B. He was crazy, like a guy who says, I am a potted plant. C. He was a liar. He knew the truth, but told lies. This would mean he was not a good teacher. D. He told the truth, he rose from the dead, and he should be worshipped as Lord. 

2. Another argument is sometimes called the acid test for Christianity. It goes like this: Sane people will not choose to die for something they know to be a lie. In the early days of the church, Christians were persecuted terribly. However, given the chance to change their minds, they chose to die for their belief in a resurrected Jesus. There is a powerful argument even from Japan's history. The events called fumi-e show the depth and the passion of these believers. However, the evidence from the first century is much stronger because those disciples would have had more access to information showing that Jesus had not risen, if that were the case.

I wanted to give you my story. It would be possible to claim that I became a Christian due to brainwashing by my parents. However, I have also tried to show you some reasons why I remain a Christian. I believe all truth is God's truth. Scientific truth, historical truth, and any other really true truth is known by God, and will not contradict any other truth. In this lesson, I have not talked at all about the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Holy Spirit, and the Father, and the Son are all working to keep my faith strong. Bible reading, prayer, and Christian fellowship and worship all have contributed to my faith journey. I also hope I have given you some things to think deeply about as you think about your own road to faith.


Every week I want to review Jesus' words about Asking, Seeding, and Knocking.

THE NEW 23rd

September 2, 2009 The new 23rd, now kinda old, but still wonderful! Here are the lyrics to The New 23rd, Ralph Carmichael’s inspirational paraphrase of the familiar Psalm: The New 23rd Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need. He lets me rest in meadows green and leads me beside the quiet stream; He keeps on giving life to me and helps me to do what honors him the most. Even when walking thru the dark valley of death, valley of death, I will never be afraid, for He is close beside me. Guarding, guiding all the way, He spreads a feast before me In the presence of my enemies He welcomes me as his special guest. With blessings overflowing, his goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, And afterwards I will live with him, I will live with Him, forever in his home, forever in his home. (The New 23rd, Ralph Carmichael, Lexicon Music, INC., 1969)