Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, December 24th, Naho prepared for us a delicious dinner. American style. Thanks, Naho, it was great!

Unction

"All the minister's efforts will be vanity or worse than vanity if he have not unction. Unction must come down from heaven and spread a savor and feeling and relish over his ministry; and among the other means of qualifying himself for his office, the Bible must hold the first place, and the last also must be given to the Word of God and prayer."　Richard Cecil

Christmas praise......

Downtown Takamatsu (Naho's hometown, about 1 hour from our home in Takase) local churches, including Naho's home church, put on a Christmas concert. Naho's sister- Minako- and her relative- Junko- also sang in the above group.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14

A Christmas Miracle

On Dec. 8 1944, Patton turned to the "Almighty and most merciful Father' to clear the skies of the heavy rains. He asked Chaplain James H. O'Neill if he knew of a "good prayer for the weather... We must do something about these rains," Patton said, "if we are to win the war."

After some thought and research, O'Neill came up with the following:

"Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Amen."

Read the full article 'A 1944 Christmas miracle for Gen. Patton' in the L.A. Times.

Inosuke Mori

We went to the funeral Dr. Inosuke Mori last Tuesday. Not only was he a scientist with many patents, he was a follower of Christ and a member Takamatsu Church. He brought his Guinnes World Record breaking 'top' to our church and told us how he met Christ. He often came to our "Prayer Concerts." During the last few days, his favorite words were "faith, hope and love..." We will miss him.

Christianity’s best gift to the world- Grace.

“Grace is Christianity’s best gift to the world, a spiritual nova in our midst exerting a force stronger than vengeance, stronger than racism, stronger than hate. Sadly, to a world desperate for this grace the church sometimes presents one more form of ungrace.” Philip Yancey

Pict: Gifts under the Junker Christmas tree. Thank you for the gifts- through prayers, presents and pledges. Maybe you could come here in person. That would be a great present.

Our Christmas Celebration

December 19th (Sun.), our Takase Christ Church and My Neighbor English School had our Christmas celebration. About 80 came. The English class children gave their presentations. We also had a Christmas story, some special music, a candle light service, some presents and goodies. It was a special time.

Pict: After the celebration, the kindergarten children and their families relaxed in our living room. The kindergarten kids are the cutest.

Funds of love

”Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.”　Mother Teresa

Christmas at Kokubunji Church

December 12th, at Kokubunji Church I spoke from John 3:16 and Naho played the piano for their Christmas worship.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

A truly humble man....

"A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God's power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God's wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him."　Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography

Just as Christ loved the church

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..... Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Ephesians 5:25 & 33

What a high standard! It brings me to repentance and to look to Christ who loved me and gave Himself up for me. And by that sheer love, I love my wife, and she honors me.

Pict: Dec. 7th, Naho and I on a date at a family restaurant 'Joyfull.'

The Advent of Humility

"Humility is only achieved as a byproduct of understanding, believing, and marveling in the gospel of grace.... When we listen to the gospel preached or meditate on it in the Scriptures, we are driving it so deeply into our hearts, imaginations, and thinking that we begin to instinctively 'live out' the gospel.... So let us preach grace till humility just starts to grow in us." Tim Keller

In the same article Keller quotes C.S. Lewis. "If we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good—above all, that we are better than someone else—I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the Devil."

The above quotes are in the article The Advent of Humility in Christianity Today.

The gospel is the core of the Bible.....

"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

"The gospel is the core of the Bible, and the gospel is the story of Jesus. Every time we talk about Jesus, we are gospeling. Telling others about Jesus leads to both the kingdom and (justification by faith) —but only if we begin with Jesus." Scot McKnight, From Jesus vs. Paul in Christianity Today

Also watch YouTube - Scot McKnight Interview Part 1 of 9

The Numahara's kids...

Dec. 4th, Yoshiya and Eriya (Doctor Numahara's boys) visited our home and played with our kids. The kids had a great time. * Doctors Numahara (dermatology) are both Christians. He is the leading dermatologist in this area and also does our church website. We thank the Lord for their family.

Humility

”It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”　Saint Augustine

'Be completely humble....' Ephesians 4:2

* In light of Christ's 'amazing grace' (Eph. 1-3), Paul by the Spirit calls us first of all to humility.

The Sugahara family

Pastor Sugahara and his family visited us Monday (3oth) evening for supper and fellowship. He is the pastor of Shirogane Christ Church. They have 2 very cute children- Shun (1) and Sachi (3).

Hope

"Beware how you take away hope from another human being." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (not the poet, the jurist)

"And hope does not disappoint us....." Romans 5:5

Kokubunji Christ Church

Nov. 28th, I spoke at the Kokubunji Christ Church (about 45 min. from our house) on 'Equipping the Saints.' "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." Ephesians 4:11-12

If sinners be dammed....

"If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." Charles Spurgeon