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| Today |  | September 20 - September 26 2026 |  |
Sep20
Abhor It
Rom 12:9 | |
| 9 | Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. NKJV If you want to live a prosperous life there are many things you have to do. You have to be just, work hard, and work smart. Spending time in His presence will be a key to getting those “God ideas”. But there are some other areas that we have to be thinking about. |
Prov 4:23 | |
| 23 | Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. NKJV Proverbs tell us we have to protect, or guard, our hearts. The entrances to the human heart are the five senses, but especially what you see and hear. As believers we need to be careful what we expose ourselves to. The insights of wisdom continue in Proverbs. |
Prov 22:5 | |
| 5 | Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them. NKJV Remember your soul (that you must guard) is your mind, will, and emotions. If we want to be successful followers of Jesus and the Way, we must guard our hearts daily. In University, I learned that what I watch and listen to can change the way I think. I turned to Jesus in primary school in Oregon. But at University, I noticed my strong knowledge of Him and His ways faded a bit because I got a little too much into watching films. I allowed the morals portrayed in the films to shape the way I think. One day I had to slap myself because I went from knowing that sex is something between a husband and wife to slipping and starting to believe “Oh, maybe it is okay outside of marriage”. Well, I was on track to be deceived because I wasn’t guarding my heart. Praise Him I got quickly back on the highway to heaven! If I wouldn’t have noticed my thinking slip, I could be in big trouble today. What you think, is what you become. I have heard others say, “You are what you think.” What are you thinking? It doesn’t matter what Dad, Mom, or your spouse thinks. It is what YOU are thinking. |
Prov 23:19 | |
| 19 | Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. NKJV You have got to hate what is evil. Rom 12:9 says to “Abhor what is evil”. Abhorring something is to hate something with passion. When you hate something with passion, you act immediately and don’t want to be anywhere near it. I was on a flight from Tokyo to Sydney with my daughter. Usually, the airplane movies are edited, but as I was sitting next to my daughter I was shocked. This asian airline didn’t edit anything. A somewhat historical-themed movie played before me, it wasn’t the magical fantasy themes that got me, but when they began to show the dirty sexual things I knew it was time to shut it off. And that is exactly what I did. I hate evil, and I refuse to give it place in my life. We have to learn to hate or abhor what is evil, and love what is good. I later heard an evangelist in the United States talking about this ‘great’ movie. I turned him off and stopped watching him. Within 6 months, he had left his wife and children and gone to live with another woman. Although the signs and wonders performed in his ministry were valid, he had clearly not protected his heart and his family paid the price for it. Sin separates, and sin divides. Love unites. So what are we, followers of Jesus to be thinking about? I love Phil 4:8 |
| 8 | Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. NKJV What great advice for us to be thinking about, meditating...and acting on. Today’s Reading- See www.VWC.jp |
Proverbs 14 | |
Sep21
All About Love
1 Cor 13:4-7 | |
| 4 | Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. NKJV An anointed preacher of the Word could preach on these four verses for a month. There is so much treasure in these passages it is incredible. The reason for the depth of these scripture that it is all about love. Love is why you and I are here on the Earth. It is because God loved. He has been around, He created the time that we live and operate in now. He is so big that it is hard for our minds to completely fathom Him. Isn’t it interesting that we are ‘made in His image’? He is pure and unadulterated love. Love is not about taking, love is about sharing. As the text says, |
| 7 | bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I would like to take it one step further. Love IS all things. God IS all things, and He is love. By Him, all things hold together. Without Him, all things fall apart. Without Him, the world would fall apart. We are supposed to be imitators of God. We are supposed to do what He does. |
Eph 5:1-2 | |
| Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love... NKJV You have difficulty with your siblings? Know the Word Jesus, and walk in love. Marriage difficulty with your spouse? Know the Word Jesus, and walk in His love. Wonder why your business is not prospering? Know the Word Jesus and walk in love. I know a couple that was struggling in their marriage. This is very common. The husband was not satisfied and the wife was becoming complacent. It seems all marriages start off with flare and newness but somewhere past five years into the marriage, hit a plateau or a place where things just don’t seem to have that flaming love. That is the time you see what people are made of. That husband starting reading godly books on families, getting around people with good marriages, and made an extra effort to deepen that love with his wife. The wife responded. In a few months that marriage was rejuvenated and even stronger. What would have happened if the husband would have given up? What if he just said, “Enough” and thrown in the towel? That marriage would have probably fallen apart. The husband is the spiritual head of the family. He is responsible for keeping the marriage together and making sure the family is edified in a healthy church among many other things. Both have to work together and submit to each other. Husbands really need to understand their wives. Furthermore, wives need to understand their husbands. This is what love is. Love is a choice you must make everyday. God is love. Love is sharing. It is all here because of love. All for love. Today’s Reading- See www.VWC.jp | |
Proverbs 15 | |
Sep22
Praising & Engaging
2 Chron 20:22 | |
| 22 | Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. NKJV It is so easy to get pulled into a situation. Something happens, you reacted (maybe it was or wasn’t the best reaction), then you went to bed and couldn’t sleep because you keep thinking about it. Finally, you got to sleep. The next morning you woke up and it was the first thing on your mind. You know God, you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you are right with Him, but for some reason you can’t get that situation off your mind for days maybe even weeks. What are you to do? You must get your soul (mind, will, emotions) from the thinking about what is going on in the physical realm and think about what is happening in the spiritual realm. When you are anxious about something, you are in the physical. You need to get your soul pulling your spirit into the spiritual. How do you do it? By taking your mind off the issue at hand through singing and praising Him. That is what many successful believers have done. In 2 Chron 20:22, when the enemy came against the people of God, they prayed about it and then starting singing and praising Him for the victory. Then God took care of the enemy. When you know Him and trust Him, He will take care of your issues. He will take care of your situation. He will bring you through with the victory. Why? When you praise Him, the heavenly host begins to work on your behalf. Is that why the Psalmist said this? |
Ps 35:5 | |
| 5 | Let them be like chaff before the wind, And let the angel of the Lord chase them. NKJV When you praise God, you are showing that you trust Him and you are submitted to Him. It is not always easy. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were beaten and put in prison, but at midnight they were singing songs and praises in that dark dirty dungeon. That lit up that whole place spiritually and the other prisoners were listening. When that sang and praised Him, that is when the breakthrough came through. They couldn’t see it, but their praise brought the result. That prison couldn’t hold them. When an enemy was arrayed against Elisha, he knew God. His assistant was nervous, as he saw more and more people coming. But Elisha trusted God and knew the power of praise. They were surrounded, but Elisha knew not to just look at the circumstances. He prayed that his assistant would be able to see the spiritual with open eyes. |
2 Kings 6:17 | |
| 17 | And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. NKJV The man saw that God had surrounded the enemy with His heavenly hosts. There was nothing going to happen to Elisha and those whom he covered. Are you in what seems to be an impossible situation? Are you nervous and losing sleep? Are you in need of His peace? Well, first you have to repent and turn to Jesus the Messiah, but then you need to start singing and praising Him. Praise engages you with the Kingdom. Today’s Reading- See www.VWC.jp |
Proverbs 16 | |
Sep23
The Glory Union
1 Cor 6:17 | |
| 17 | But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. NKJV Union, unity, teamwork... these are important words. Many companies in the world are trying to build these traits among their teams because they know the power of unity. Unity can accomplish amazing things. However, disunity can bring everything to a halt. It can bring poverty, violence, and even death. Here in 1 Cor 6:17 we see the importance of believers being in union with Yahweh. But this union isn’t related to a sports team, a company division, or some type of outdoor club. It is related to a something more intimate. Sex. Read on. |
1 Cor 6:18-20 | |
| 18 | Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. NKJV Marriage is a wonderful thing that every man and woman should look forward to. It takes work, but having this life partner is beautiful. When you marry, it is interesting to see how you grow together. You begin to like the same things. Enjoy similar music, food, conversations, and going out and doing the same things. You can know exactly what your spouse is thinking. You even begin to talk like each other. Marriage is a union. We followers of Jesus and His Way are to be in union with God. This is not sex of course, but it is a spiritual union like what happens in a marriage between a husband and a wife. When you are in union with God, you enjoy what He enjoys, you talk like Him, you want to go where He is. It is a spiritual union. We live in a physical world which is filled with distractions. It is so easy to forget about the spiritual world when you a smashed into a busy commuter train. You must be ‘born again’ spiritually, literally Jesus said we must be ‘born from above’. This is the first step. |
John 3:6 | |
| That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. NKJV If you want to glorify God, you start by using your body. The spiritual starts with the physical. Feeling down or defeated? Throw your hands in the air and say, “Father I surrender it to you. I give you this situation. Thank you for the victory in Jesus’ mighty name!” When you take a taxi you tell the driver where you want to go, and he will take you. Spiritually, you do the same thing, you speak via faith and His Word, your words will direct where you go. That is why we have to be so careful about what say. Speak what you expect, not what you have. If you tell the taxi driver to take you to the place you got in the cab, you are not going to go anywhere. We need vision, we need direction, and we need faith. The only way we can get these things is through unity with God. Jesus prayed a lot for us in John 17. Check this out | |
John 17:21-22 | |
| 21 | that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: NKJV Let’s unify with the Almighty God and we will glory with Him! Today’s Reading- See www.VWC.jp |
Proverbs 17 | |
Sep24
The Love Walk
Rom 12:16 | |
| 16 | Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. NKJV It was a gathering of chief executives from Swiss, French, German, American, British, and other well-known firms. They were gathered to hear a CEO from an East Indian company speak that was visiting Tokyo. His firm was apparently known for work in the information technology (IT) area. The room was filled with confident people, after all they were nearly all representatives of their company in Japan and Asia. The East Indian CEO was so self confident and arrogant acting that many executives at breakfast meeting started to tune him out. Throughout the presentation he gloated saying things like, “Our company is the best company in the world. Everyone wants to work for our firm”. “We have the most satisfied employees in the world”. As a believer sitting there and observing this pride and arrogance, I saw it’s ugliness. It was so despicable to see someone say so many things about how great their company was. It was a perfect illustration before my eyes of why when lucifer let himself rise up in pride, he had no way to go but down. How could a created angel ever fill the shoes of the Creator of the universe? Pride and arrogance will bring anyone down if they don’t eliminate it. This man’s pride was so ugly I got curious and decided to do a bit of research. We did some checking after the meeting with bankers whom he said were his customers. We also checked with other companies in India. It was very interesting to note that while there were apparently a lot of employees at this company, it was a considerably unknown firm both in the industry and even in the home country. Pride gives you the wrong perception of yourself and gets you in trouble. It makes you think you are more than you are. That is probably why Rom 12:16 talks about not thinking more about yourself than you actually are. Don’t think you are better than you brothers and sisters at church because you are on the worship team, teaching, or preaching. Don’t think position yourself higher than others in you mind because you are the biggest tither. Don’t think you are the most intelligent person in your church because you know the Bible so well. Remember pride comes before a fall. We are supposed to lift each other up. 1 Cor 1:10 exhorts us to be of the same mind. Phil 1:27 tells us to be of one mind and one spirit in the church. 1 Peter 3:8 says, |
| 8 | Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; NKJV Today make every effort to walk in love towards your brothers and sisters in Jesus and the Way. Build them up, don’t tear them down. If you see a follower of Jesus going through a hard time, volunteer to help them, grab their hand and pray for them, or intercede for them separately in your prayer time. Whatever you do, lift them up. I learned at that CEO meeting that pride can mess you up, and that arrogance is ugly. But unity and exhortation, joy and faith, these things are beautiful! God is all about confidence, He’s all about victory and winning but it is not at the cost of pulling others down. |
| 1 | John 1:5-7 says it well. |
| 5 | This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. NKJV God is light! If you know Him, then you should have His light. Now it is time to spread it around! Today’s Reading- See www.VWC.jp |
Proverbs 20 | |
Sep25
Wanting To Know Him- Tablets Of Flesh
Hebrews 8:10 | |
| 10 | ...I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. NKJV In March of 1978 in a Baptist church in Aloha Oregon, I repented and turned to Jesus. I will never forget that day. Actually, it was my spiritual birthday. My entrance into the earth was a bit different. I was conceived by my mother and father and born and at hospital in a different city in that same state. That was an important day for me of course. Without it, I would not be here. However, without being spiritually ‘born from above’ I will not be there, with Him forever and ever in heaven. But once we get past that new birth, we must go deeper with God. So many believers just think, “I’ve got that salvation ticket, now I will just go to church each week and I am on my way to heaven”. If we do that, we are missing the boat. There is much more. In Washington state where I grew up for middle school, high school, and undergraduate university we have many state-run ferries. That is because there is a large body of water there called the Puget Sound that takes up much of the Northwest part of the state. You drive your car onto these ferry boats and they will take you to the other side of the water. When you miss one of those ferry boats, you either have to spend hours driving to the other side of the Sound by car (if you are not stuck on an island) or wait a few hours for the next boat. When you miss the boat you could end up waiting hours at the dock with other people in their cars. It doesn’t matter if you are 1 minute late or 1 hour late, it is all the same. Before God, sin is like this. Whether it be big or small sin, before our perfect and awesome God, it is all sin and sin separates us if we do not confess it and turn from it. For some 10 years, I missed the boat with regards to knowing God. I knew Him, but I was so busy with my sports, my music, and my studies in school that I really didn’t know Him well. That all changed in University. I started asking Him how I could know Him... and He responded. Hebrews 8:10 articulates it beautifully as he He started putting me around people who knew the Word. It wasn’t just the pastor but people in that church who were also hungry for Him. I learned not everyone at church is hungry for Yahweh. We have to get His laws (that’s His Word, the Bible) in our minds. Romans 12:2 tells us to renew our minds. The only way you can do it is when you study, pray, and meditate the Word of God. As you renew your mind, your wacky ways of thinking change and you begin to think like He thinks. Then we really become His people because we know His will. We refer to the Bible as the Word of God, but actually Jesus is the perfect Word of God. To get to the spiritual, our physical connection is the Bible, the written Word of God. That’s why there is no power in just carrying a Bible. You have to meditate on it constantly. It must become a part of you. You’ve got to get the Word from your Soul (mind area) and into your spirit. That’s why 2 Cor 3:3 says, |
| 3 | clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. NKJV Always carry the Word of God with you. When you have spare time, when you are commuting to the office on a bus or train, when you are waiting for a friend, pull it out and read it. If you want a change, you’ve got to make a change. The only way to really change yourself or anyone else it to get that inspired writing from God off the pages of the Bible and into your heart. Today’s Reading- See www.VWC.jp |
Proverbs 21 | |
Sep26
Enduring Mercy & The Vapor Of Life
Ps 100:4-5 | |
| 4 | Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. |
| 5 | For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. NKJV The man was brilliant. He spoke with fluency and seemed to know everything and anything about Japan and the countries of Asia. He was an elderly gentleman but still seemed spunky and knew his material as he spoke to the gathering of business people. He had authorized 4 books and was one CEOs of various companies came to for advice. Following the meeting I talked to him and was very impressed with his wisdom. Little did I know it was the first and last time I would talk to him. Four years later, I sent him an email. The mail bounced back saying his ‘mailbox was full’. I looked him up and after a brief investigation found that he passed away four years previous. He had passed away and I had not even noticed. How sad! It reminded me, that our lives here are so brief. They are a vapor. We are here for a time, but then we are gone. We are with our Creator because we turned from Jesus, or eternally separated from Him because we ignored His call. But Yahweh God, He is different. Let me repeat what the Psalmist said, |
| 5 | For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. NKJV His mercy is everlasting. That means if we subscribe to it, His mercy, then we will be with Him. And his truth endures to all generations. I think Mary said it well when she said, |
Luke 1:50 | |
| 50 | And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. NKJV Although, we might only be here for a short time, His mercy lasts for ever and ever and ever for those who grab a hold of it. What made Mary different from the other young women of Galilee? Mary believed God, she knew His Word, and it showed. Whatever is in you, is going to come out of you when you are excited. Whether you are upset or rejoicing, what is in you in going to come out. I believe Mary was the young woman God chose because she chose to serve Him before that. He is so gracious and merciful! Let’s shout it every day of our lives. |
Ps 89:1 | |
| I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. NKJV When you leave your body, make sure that it was proclaiming His goodness. If you do, you won’t pass away unnoticed. He will be glorified and so will you with Him! Decide today saying to yourself and the world, “As for me and my house, I will live long, and I will live strong.” Today’s Reading- Micah 6-7 | |
Revelation 12 | |
Proverbs 22 | |
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