But we have forgotten God.

" Whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, and to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in Holy Scripture, and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. And, insomuch (sic) as we know that by His divine law nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."　

Abraham Lincoln, March 30, 1863

I told Him that this war was His war

"Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of the campaign up there (at Gettysburg) when everybody seemed panic stricken and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day and locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this war was His war, and our cause His cause, but we could not stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville... And after that, I don't know how it was, and I cannot explain it, but soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul. The feeling came that God had taken the whole business into His own hands and that things would go right at Gettysburg and that is why I had no fears about you." Abraham Lincoln, July 5, 1863

No more hatred.

Made famous my the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai, World Ward II Allied soldiers were forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad in Thailand. But the movie does not do justice to the true story.

Under the strain of captivity they had all degenerated to barbarous behavior. Yet not all.

One afternoon "a shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot . . . It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Then, finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point."

"Greater love has no man than this, that one say down his life for his friends." John 15:13 The man had given his life for others.

"The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! . . . The incident had a profound effect. . . The men began to treat each other like brothers." The gospel of Christ, which forgives us our sins, but then also grants us grace to forgive our enemies, transformed thousands of Allied soldiers in Thailand.

A few years later, "when the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors . . (and instead taking revenge on their enemies) insisted: 'No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness.'" Sacrificial love has transforming power. It begins with a genuine experience of Christ's sacrifice at the cross, but then leads to sacrificial love toward others, even forgiving enemies, loving them and praying for them, as these young soldiers did.

Ernest Gordon

Look at the real story of what happened in Thailand in the movie: To End All Wars. (Trailer) This movie was based on the book Through the Valley of Kwai. It will give you hope. If the Lord can transform cruel prisoner of war camps, then he can transform me, you, America, Japan and even this self-absorbed world.

Honoring the elderly

Here is Japan, September 19 was Elderly Folks Day. Our local area had a special event.

The elderly were given a nice meal. Then Joshua (above) and the other kids gave a present to each elderly person and a short back rub.

Then the other local kids did their drums.

Japan is aging. When I was born, the percentage of the elderly in Japan was about 5%. Now it is about 25%. So one of the greatest needs in Japan is loving care for the elderly. Many are so lonely. Please pray the we and the Japanese church would eagerly and sacrificially serve the elderly.

Driven out of himself, to the sovereign grace of God

"In a contrite spirit are found: a deep sense and clear perception of sin.… Heart-felt disquietude and sadness.… An open and free confession of sin. By reason of a sense of the greatness of his sins, he knows not whither to look or turn: but, notwithstanding, places his dependence upon the grace which God can exercise through his Son. Hence, the contrite in spirit flees from the curse of the law to the Gospel.… Thus he is driven out of himself, to the sovereign grace of God in Christ, for reconciliation, pardon, sanctification, and salvation."

Theodore Jacob Frelinghuysen

The above quote is part of a message that was a 'seed' to revival in the Great Awakening. Stoddard and Frelinghuysen were used of God in the early stages. A Dawning in the New World Then Edwards (Stoddards grandson), Whitefield and the Tennents were keys in the Awakening itself. God's Wonderful Working “Revival and prayer always go together. They are inseparably linked.” Praying Boldly The Lord also poured out His Spirit during the Civil War among the soldiers. Religious Revival in Civil War Armies

Please pray for Japan that the Spirit of God would be poured out on His church in revival and that Christ's grace would move through out this nation for God's glory and for lasting hope.

The Cross will not crush you

"The Cross will not crush you; if its weight makes you stagger, its power will also sustain you." Padre Pio

I would rather die...

“I would rather die than end up unfaithful to my wife; I would rather die than deny by a profligate life what I have taught in my books; I would rather die than deny or disown the gospel.” D. A. Carson

Remembering Uncle Takashi

Last week, Sept. 10, Naho's relatives had a memorial service for Uncle Takashi.

First, his bones were place in the church grave. All members of the church place their bones together in this small mausoleum. Many elderly people here in Japan are quite concerned about where their bones rest, so the church tries to meet this concern.

Then the relatives went to the family grave and placed the urn there.

Finally, we went to the church and held a memorial service. Above: Naho is playing Amazing Grace. There was scripture reading, a short sermon and then many in the group shared memories of Uncle Takashi.

We have the ear of God

"He hears us," I John 5:14

“This is a most interesting statement- ‘he heareth us.’ Now obviously, hearing is not something mechanical, because in that sense God hears everybody. No; this work ‘heareth’ is a very special one and is full of great meaning. It means that His ears are open to us; it means that His heart is enlarged towards us.

There used to be a saying that so-and-so was ‘the King’s favorite’ and that the favorite always ‘had the king’s ear.’ That does not mean that the King could not physically hear other people who spoke to him; it meant that the man who was a favorite of the King would be especially heard by him.... If we have eternal life, if we are His children, we, I say it with reverence, have the ear of God- we can be confident that His is always waiting to listen to us.

He is always ready to receive you in audience…. Think of an earthly father’s love and multiply that by infinity, taking all sin out of it, and that is God’s attitude towards you.

Start by thanking Him that you are His child, that He has adopted you, and that you are in Christ, and therefore He delights to see you come and to hear you offering up your prayers and your petitions. We are a favorite of the King if we have eternal life.

D.M. Lloyd-Jones

On Sept. 11, 2011, in NYC, my father's home, President Obama read King David's prayer from Psalm 46. Youtube. "He heareth us."

Communities of people with need

“Cities should not be seen as monsters… but communities of people with need.” J.N. Manokaran, pastor from India

And you can help meet that need by obeying the second greatest commandment. "Love your neighbor as yourself." Read how not only the cities, but the US as a whole has great psychological needs. CDC: Half of Americans will suffer from mental health woes - USATODAY.com. You can help meet that need through 1) praying for Spirit-filling, 2) genuinely loving the needy, 3) spending time with them, 4) listening to them and then 5) sharing with them our most glorious and compassionate Savior and Counselor Jesus Christ. He is our only true hope.

Pict: Tokyo

'Since Jesus bore our sins on the cross, He will also bear our sorrows for us.'

In the article Cleanup Continued, Jamie Dean of World Magazine wrote, "During a Sunday morning service on Aug. 22 at Eiko Church in Sendai (a congregation of the Reformed Church of Japan), the pastor led the gathering of 22 Japanese Christians in a reading from the book of Jonah: 'For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea, and the flood surrounded me; all Your waves and Your billows passed over me . . . When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You.'

The pastor spoke about the grief of 3/11, but he didn't offer a reason for why the disaster happened or speculate on what would happen in the future. Instead, he encouraged the small congregation to seek peace in Christ, and assured them: 'Since Jesus bore our sins on the cross, He will also bear our sorrows for us.'"

Read the full article in WORLD Magazine | Cleanup continued | Jamie Dean | Sep 10, 11

Don't forget Japan! Please pray again for Japan, give financially and then visit victims of the disaster. When I was watching NHK news, Doctor Nishizawa said, "Many are loosing purpose. We must make purpose (ikigaizukuri) for them." The only real hope for them is incarnate love, through us, but ultimately through Christ who "bore our sins on the cross."

Sustaining the Covenant of Marital Love

"What sustains the marital bond and affections over the long haul? Three men with a combined 116 years of marriage reflect on what they've learned from God's Word and others along with their experience." Piper, Carson, and Keller on Sustaining the Covenant of Marital Love on Vimeo Check other resources provided by Gospel Coalition.

"Hallowed Be Thy Name"

As we get older, being changed into the likeness of Christ seems further from us. We remain rigid in our thought patterns and habits. But Tim Keller explains how gospel centered worship will powerfully transform you. Listen to Adoration: "Hallowed Be Thy Name"

"When we say 'hallowed be thy name,' we are making the adoration of God the ultimate concern of our lives. By giving God the praise he deserves, we will heal our worldview as well as our souls."

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.'

Matthew 6:9-13

New churches

“Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.” C. Peter Wagner

“Often in new churches the sense of mission is strongest; more Christians have freedom to lead; and creative means of preaching the gospel are used. New churches, therefore, can best reach new generations, new residents, and new people groups.” Tim Keller