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| Today |  | November 1 - November 7 2026 |  |
Nov1
Communion Of The Holy Spirit
2 Cor 13:14 | |
| 14 | The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. NKJV God is three, yet He is one. He is our Father, He is the Son, and He is the Holy Spirit. I remember hearing a teacher quote John 1 and replace “word” with “love”. That was a very cool and inspired insight about our amazing God. The edited version of John 1:1-5 says, |
| 1 | In the beginning was the LOVE, and the LOVE was with God, and the LOVE was God. 2 LOVE was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through LOVE, and without LOVE nothing was made that was made. 4 In LOVE was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the LOVE light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. NKJV Isn’t that beautiful? We are here because God loves us. I love my parents so much as well as brothers and sisters. I love my wife and my children even more because they are what God has entrusted to me. Our human love cannot even compare to the love that God has for us. Jesus came to the world and died and resurrected because God loved us. He went to hell on our behalf then He ascended into heaven to make a place for us. Heaven is an awesome place because it was made by our awesome God not corrupted by sin, sickness, or death. Jrsus is there but He did not abandon us here. He empowered us. 2 Corinthians 13:14 talks about the communion of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us Himself, |
John 14:26 | |
| 26 | But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. NKJV We know we are to pray to the Father in Jesus’ Name, but if you want to get the facts straight we need to learn how to flow with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God with us as we are on this earth until Jesus comes back to bring the Kingdom of God and close out this age. Of course, we can pray to Jesus because He can hear us (there is no other person who died that can hear you. That’s right. No other.) That is why it is so important to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Notice our text says, The Grace> Jesus The Love> Father The Communion> Of The Holy Spirit God is the Father, He is the Son, and He is the Holy Spirit. We must be baptized in the Spirit and know how to flow according to that Holy Spirit. We constantly remind ourselves of Romans 8:14 which says, |
| 14 | For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. NKJV Jesus, the Son of God in human form was led by the Spirit. He had to stand in for us against all temptation to show us that if He could overcome fleshly temptation, we can as well. Luke 4:1 gives us a feel for how Jesus communed with the Holy Spirit saying, |
| 1 | Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, NKJV Jesus went and beat the enemy by the power of the Holy Spirit. And you can do the same! How do you do it? When you pray each day, take a bit of time and speak out the gift of tongues, 1 Corinthians 14:15 calls that ‘praying in the Spirit’. When I don’t know what to pray, I pray in the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit shows me what I need to be praying for through that. |
Eph 6:18 | |
| 18 | praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — NKJV If you are praying in the Spirit, it usually starts in tongues. As you pray, your spirit becomes more sensitive to the voice of the Spirit speaking to your spirit. Jude 20-21 |
| 20 | But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. NKJV From this day forth, remember that you can have communion with the Holy Spirit each day. When you get up from a sleep each morning say, “Good morning Holy Spirit”. When you travel to your school or place of work say, “Holy Spirit, who would have me share the love of the Father with today?” Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 28 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov2
Heaven Or Hell, The Relationship
Matthew 5:22 | |
| 22 | But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. NKJV There is no perfect country. If there were, everyone would go there. When everyone arrived, it would become imperfect. That is so true with churches as well. They are made up of imperfect people. We humans do and say things that we regret later. As you become more and more like Jesus and renew your mind to the things or God, you’ll find wisdom and fewer and fewer times where you accidentally said something you want to take back later. But getting to that point takes some renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) and some guarding of your mouth. In Japan there is one word that I avoid using. Every time I hear it, I wince because we were commanded specifically by the Lord Jesus not to use this word. The word is ‘baka’, which means fool or foolish. You hear it all the time from people in any country, but in Matthew 5:22 Jesus makes it very clear that we’re not supposed to be calling people ‘baka’, ‘raca’, or ‘fool’. Why is that? If you use the word fool on people, Jesus made it very clear that you are in danger of hell fire. That must be pretty bad. Think about it, when you call someone a fool you are judging them. You are setting yourself above them whether you are just teasing a friend, or red hot mad when you say it. Fool is a good word to erase from your daily vocabulary. In Matthew 5, we see the context is about relationships. If we have a complaint or grievance about a friend, we are told to deal with it. Get over it and move on. Remember that if person is a Spirit-filled believer, chances are they will understand more when you go to them. If they are an unbeliever, they may not understand but you’re making an effort to get things right they will show them you are from the Kingdom. Your relationship with God will affect your relationship with others. If things are out, fix them quickly. If you have a bad relationship with others, it is going to be hard to relate to God. If you come to church and you have not dealt with a relationship issue, King Jesus taught us in that same context of Matt 5:24 to |
| 24 | leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. NKJV Notice it did say brother, so our relationships with other believers are tantamount. A woman came to our church one time. She talked about how she loved Jesus and seemed to know the Bible. We later heard talk about how she was not a ‘people person’ and observed her criticizing members of our church family in the short time she was there. She said she was not a ‘people person’. Well, that is wrong. Heaven is about relationships. God is love and created us to love not be judgmental or hypocritical. Of course, we have to deal with sin if it is in the church. However, in dealing with others, the Lord Jesus showed us as He loved people while He was on this earth. Thousands came to Him, and crowds followed him around. That doesn’t mean you can’t have time to yourself, and enjoy that just being alone. It just means that you have to value and cherish others. There is power in relationships and there is power in numbers. Committed Christians frequently quote Matthew 18:19-20 that confirms the importance of relationships. |
| 19 | "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." NKJV Let’s call our brothers and sisters in Christ blessed and speak God’s Word over them. The Word will change you because the Word is Jesus. Besides, heaven is full of a lot of great people, you better get used to living with them now. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 2 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov3
Fulfillment
Matt 5:18 | |
| 18 | For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. NKJV Recycling and green business practices seem to be a trend in businesses. Companies want to show that they are thinking about the environment and trying to do things that don’t hurt the world we live in. Most of the sensitivity in this area revolves around reusing what we already have and cleaning up. Although, we will have a new heaven and a new earth in the end, everything I see about God is that He is building truth on what He has already given us. Jesus God came to fulfill what was prophesied about and written about in the law (the Old Testament). He didn’t come to throw away what we already have. But when you are dealing with God, you’ll find that He cares about the details. Jesus came to fully fulfill everything. Let’s read Matthew 5 in context and we see Jesus saying, |
Matt 5:17-20 | |
| 17 | "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. NKJV In business when you get an order, you have to fulfill the order. If you don’t send the goods, people will not order from you again because you would have broken their trust. If you order 10 units of something, and the company sends you 6 units with one damaged, then you will likely not order anything from that company again. Year ago, we ordered preaching DVDs from a ministry in Texas. The preacher was very anointed and we were looking forward to watching them. Over 6 months, we had to call them three times because the order never came. We’ll never order anything from them again because although they eventually fulfilled our order, we could not rely on them. God is perfect and He is reliable. He has given us the Word for a reason. We are to teach it. We are to learn from it. We are to rely on it. We are to be inspired by it. Inspired people live inspired lives. When Jesus said He came to fulfill the law, He made it clear that he meant to do every part of it. He came to fulfill the promises of dealing with sin, sickness, and death on our behalf. If King Jesus meant to fulfill every part of the Bible, then it must be important. The Word (the Bible) must be very accurate. If it is that important, there must be a purpose. Isaiah 40:8 says, |
| 8 | The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." NKJV The Word of God is solid, it is important, it is accurate, it powerful, it is living. If you want to have a foundation in your life, you have to know the Word of God. If you base your life on financial news, the stock market, your friend’s emotional moods, the government, your parents, or anything else in this world, you are going to be on an emotional roller coaster going up and down with a lot of stress, worry, and fear. A friend who doesn’t know Jesus yet told me recently that he had to stop looking at a stock market news service because he started getting stomach ulcers when he was following the market every day. Now imagine if you spend that everyday energy on doing something like that by focusing on the Word? When you meditate on the prosperity promises, you will have prosperity. The healing promises, healing. The wisdom promises, wisdom. The long life promises, long life. The success promises, success. It goes on and on. What is the foundation of your life? 1 Peter 1:25 says, |
| 25 | But the word of the Lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. NKJV Base your daily life on the Word of God and speaking it over your life, and you will have the most fulfilled, abundant life you could ever imagine. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 3 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov4
Richly To Enjoy
1 Tim 6:17 | |
| 17 | Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. NKJV If you are a cultural Christian living in Europe or the US or anywhere churches that preach tradition and ritual are prevalent, then you likely have been infected by DAM or what we call ‘Dark Ages Mentality’. DAM is this thinking that poverty is next to godliness, meek is weak, and Christian’s shouldn’t be rich and influential. The DAM infection was started by demonically inspired leaders in an old church in the Dark Ages who taught, poverty is next to godliness (so you should give your money to them), that there was no need to read the Bible for yourself so we’ll interpret it for you, or understand what is going on so we’re going to conduct services in a foreign language, and many other things that have caused a lot of spiritual sickness for many around the world. When you read your Bible you find that people who love God are people both great and small. The bigger your faith, the more you can do. Most the people that we hear about in the Bible were individuals of great influence. Through that influence many others have been drawn to God. However, we are to be careful about ‘stuff’. We have to be careful about things. It is okay to have things, you just can’t let the things have you. If the ‘things have you’, that means you’ll do anything to get these things. What you owned doesn’t matter when your spirit leaves your body and you die because you can take nothing with you. Once you’ve blown past the illogical arguments of those who are DAM ‘infected’ and you realize that Abraham, Daniel, Joseph, Cornelius, the centurion, and Jesus himself had many things you’ve got to make sure that the things don’t have you. But what are the things for? According to 1 Tim 6:17, God has given us the things to enjoy. It is okay to enjoy the things that you have; your house, your car, jewelry, the money you have, even a nice meal at a restaurant. Just remember that just because you have money or things doesn’t mean you are better than the people that don’t. 1 Tim 6:17 tells us not to be haughty. God has blessed you so you can be a blessing. We’ve got to remember that. In Luke 16, the Lord Jesus shares about a rich man who didn’t bother to help a very poor person named Lazarus when he was alive. In the end, the rich guy died and went to hell. It was before Jesus had resurrected, so there was a ‘waiting area’ for believers called Abraham’s bosom. There is no longer anyone waiting to be made righteous as Jesus did that for us as described in Ephesians 4:8. The rich man did nothing for Lazarus, or anyone else it seems but Lazarus ended up in Abraham’s bosom (and heaven when Jesus resurrected), and the rich man ended up in eternal darkness and torment..hell. He must have been filthy rich, but he was also filthy spiritually. 1 John 3:17 says |
| 17 | But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? NKJV So if you see you brother in need help him or her. If they’re out of work, help them write their resume, cook a meal for their family, share an encouraging scripture be rich towards them. Especially, a fellow follower of Jesus, because that shows other that we members of the family of God love each other. But don’t be afraid to show that same love to unbelievers as well. Showing love has been an amazingly effective way to bring many people to Jesus over the years because it shows God’s love is abiding in you. Be rich towards someone today and don’t forget to enjoy the good things God has given you as well. It is all given richly for you to enjoy so bring some others into that joy. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 4 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov5
The Battle Of The Soul (Mind, Will, Emotions)
Ex 14:13-14 | |
| 13 | And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." NKJV ‘God will fight your battles’ is a theme that runs throughout the Word. He is so good and He does fight your battles with those who would try to hurt or kill you. No father wants to see his children attacked and we see countless examples where the host of heaven protected the people of God. When the Egyptians reneged on their promise and went after the Israelis they paid the price by drowning in the Red Sea. I have seen God’s angels personally active in my own life protecting me and my family from death. However, there is one battle that God leaves for us to fight because it is connected to our free-will (decision making process) that He has given it. This is the battle of the soul (which is our mind, will, and emotions). James 4:8 says, |
| 8 | Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. NKJV We are all double minded. What does James mean here? We all can choose between good and evil, right and wrong. We can all be double minded. That’s why you occasionally even hear about some great man of God (ministers) messing up. (Usually it is related to gold, gals, or glory (the three ‘g’s)). But we’ve got to face it, we can all be double-minded. There is a battle we have to fight every day. It is the battle of the soul. We could say the battle of the mind, because what we think is what we become but as Spirit-filled followers of Jesus, we know that the mind area of the human is made up of not just the mind, but also the will, and the emotions. What we think is connected with our emotions, which can also be connected with what we ‘will’ to do. What you expose your soul to it going to make it’s way to your spirit because emotional and mental issues can affect you both spiritually and physically( your body). Therefore, if you have someone that has hurt you it is likely that unforgiveness is holding you back spiritually (Mark 11:22-25). You have to decide in your mind that you are going forgive them as there are emotions associated with what happened. Every time you think of that situation, you are going to have to decide in your mind that you have forgiven them (whether they asked for it or not). Once you decide, then you start confessing forgiveness by faith every time, then your emotions will come into line with your thoughts. When your soul is at peace, that filters back to your spirit and you will see that spiritual blockage disappear. To win the battle of the soul, 1 Tim 1:19 gives us the key- |
| 19 | having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, NKJV There are two essential steps. It is about walking by faith (living by what you expect not what you have) and keeping a good conscience. God will fight your battles, but you are the one responsible for your soul. You can win the battle of the soul, but that’s exactly it, it starts with YOU. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 7 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov6
The Danger Of Violence
Genesis 6:11-12 | |
| 11 | The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. NKJV When motion pictures first began, there was no sound. It was actors and actresses playing out parts through gestures with signs between scenes setting up the situation. The first motion pictures came through the United States of America. With time, sound was added and speaking, music and other effects could be added to enhance the impact of the film. To see a film you had to go to the movie theater as people did not have televisions in their homes. Initially, standards were high where no foul language or themes unfit for viewing were allowed. However, in 1939 a movie came out where the actors were first allowed to say the word ‘damn’. The outcry was severe and the producer was blackballed never doing another major film. There were no sex scenes, no graphic violence, or no foul rants of actors portraying characters with mouths cursing like the demons of hell. With the progression of time, the enemy have done their best to pervert the societal standards. Now you can watch sexual sin, rapes, robbery, extreme violence, and hear language fouler than you can imagine, all right in your home. It can get worse with cannibalism and other sadistic portrayals of people doing things that are unfit to mention. In all of this, there is one common root, one common element. It is violence. That action that was first exhibited by lucifer when he tried to mount a rebellion against God. The silly fallen angel who was the first to try to be violent. God wiped the world clear of it’s inhabitants due to their sin. This is well documented in the story of Noah. The flood of Noah is visually chronicled in the strata of the earth that geology students study by a trip to the mountains. The Word of God is accurate, the flood happened and we must learn from it. What is this sin? It is the sin of violence. Genesis 6:13 says, |
| 13 | And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. NKJV God destroyed the people of Noah’s time not just because of some sexual sin (we saw that in Sodom and Gomorra) but He wiped the who earth due to the violence of the people on the earth. For Sodom and Gomorra, sexual sin, he wiped the city. But for violence He cleared the whole earth. We believers are to be people of love and power. In no instance does Jesus exhibit violence except when it is directed at works of the enemy. We have to make sure we are not filling our souls (minds) with violent imagery because what you think is what you become. As a child of God, we are to be different. |
James 3:16-18 | |
| 16 | For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. NKJV Protect your heart. Walk in the power of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Put aside those things that would hold you back and do those things that take you deeper. We are given standards for the leadership of the church, we are told that they should not be violent, but there are some other things we can all learn from Titus as well. |
Titus 1:7-9 | |
| 7 | For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. NKJV Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 8 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov7
Let It Die So You Can Live
John 11:14-15 | |
| 14 | Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him." NKJV The Bible calls us double-minded(James 4:8), we are also told to crucify the flesh daily(Galatians 5:24,25). God is the God of life and light, but there is one thing we are to put to death, that is our old ways. We are told to put off the old man and become a new man (that includes women too). When you are born again, your spirit is reborn but your soul (mind, will, and emotions) still needs to be dealt with. Your soul can get you in trouble. Ephesians 2:15-16 calls it enmity between the spiritually new man, and the old man saying, |
| 15 | having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. NKJV In the early 2000s with the rise of the internet, it became popular for people to begin sharing information online. They would put up pictures, videos, and all sorts of other information for their friends to see on the internet. The phrase ‘social networking’ was coined for this sharing of social information. People would connect with family, relatives, and old friends. Therein lies the problem. A friend connected with his old girlfriend from high school. They were nearly married before and there were a lot of emotions connected to that relationship. When he asked my advice, I asked him how important his wife and son were to him. He replied, “Very important”. I said, “Then you better cut it off.” Months later, I checked with him and he stopped talking to that former girlfriend from high school. Unfortunately, not everyone does that. Apparently, at the time of this writing, 60% of the divorces in that nation are attributed to people connecting with old boyfriends or girlfriends. Although our spirit is born from above (born again), we still have to deal with our soul area. We are told to what we need to do in Colossians 3:8-10 |
| 8 | But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, NKJV We are to put on the new man. Just like you put on clothing in the morning, you need to put on your new man spiritually each day. How do you do it? By thinking about and doing those things that are good, pure, right, just, holy, and acceptable to our God Almighty. If it isn’t good, pure, right, or holy then it is time you have to start spiritually cutting off that ‘old man’ and focus on building your ‘new man’. You do it through what you do, say, and think. But it all starts with faith. How do you build your faith? |
Rom 10:17 | |
| 17 | So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. NKJV If you are hearing the Word through reading, studying, and meditating it and listening to powerful teachers of the Word then faith is coming. Let that old man die and build up your new man in the most holy faith. Lazarus was dead, but by the power of God He came back a new man. You can too. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 10 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
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