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| Today |  | November 15 - November 21 2026 |  |
Nov15
Everything You Need To Know About Jesus
Matt 18:22 | |
| 22 | Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. NKJV If there is any way to summarize how Jesus changed the world with His death and resurrection, it would be in what He preached. There have been many great teachers and leaders with charisma around the world but no one really changed the world like the Son of God did. He did what He did and said what He did. What made King Jesus different? The differentiation is He preached love and forgiveness and He showed how it was done. In Matthew 18:22, one of Jesus’ followers asked Him how many times we are supposed to forgive people. This guy (Peter) had been around Jesus for some time now and Peter knew we are to love and forgive people, but probably thought surely there is some limit to how many times we must forgive people. After all, we can’t keep on forgiving and forgiving people… Jesus responded that we are to forgive people seventy times seven times. Does that mean if someone wrongs you, you are to forgive 490 times? Most likely, but more likely it means infinitely. Why bother counting if you are going to forgive people that many times? Jesus shares on forgiveness in Matthew when it comes to praying. Matthew 5:23-24 says |
| 23 | Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 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 This is revolutionary. When you are praying and someone comes to mind, you need go make every effort to be reconciled to them. Amazing! You need to go be reconciled to them. It doesn’t say you are to wait for a person who is offended to come to you. You are to go to them. Regardless of whether or not they forgive, you’ve got to initiate. The world doesn’t say that. They sometimes go off on the Old Testament legal requirement for criminals... the eye for eye, and the tooth for tooth. Yes, if a man murders another he can ask forgiveness of the surviving family for the crime, but he must still pay the price for the laws he broke. That is what the ‘eye for eye’ was talking about. The culture of Jesus is that we are to go those we have offended and ask forgiveness and mean it. On 11 September 2011, 19 men filled with hate, armed themselves with box cutters try to change the world. They may have stirred up hate towards themselves, their religion, and their culture. However, hate goes no where. Hate is a dead end. Of course, our legal system is to prosecute them for their crimes, but what are we are supposed to do? What does Jesus say we are to do with these people? We are to do what Jesus did for those killed Him. He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. We are to forgive even if they’re not sorry. Everything you need to know about Jesus is summarized in two words, love and forgiveness. Won’t you participate in love and forgiveness today? That is what will change the world. It all starts with the individual, you and I. Forgive others and you shall be forgiven. Don’t give anyone a reason to hold something against you whether you’re right or wrong. You’ll be so glad you use that as a guideline. Everything you need to know about Jesus could almost be summed up in love and forgiveness. But of course, once you know Him, there’s so much more. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 8 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov16
The Power of Relationships
Matt 5:24 | |
| 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 Life is all about relationships. We have to know how to get along with others. Those who don’t know how to work, communicate, or even care for others can become introverted and go from a contributor to society to a weight on the community. God is all about relationships. If you ask a Christian what is the most important thing about Jesus the Messiah taught or demonstrated, many will say salvation. If you ask an unbeliever, you may be surprised to see many people respond that love or forgiveness was what He taught. We often hear people talking about “turning the other cheek” but not really understanding what it means. There is that forgiveness that you hear about. Jesus taught love and forgiveness and this is what we need to demonstrate. That is why in Matthew 5:24 He said, if you are at church and as you are praying you get direction about someone who is upset with you, you’ve got to do something. You should go and do your best to make things right. Be reconciled with your sister or brother. When you are in agreement with others, especially believers, you can do great things. Matthew 18:19 says, |
| 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. NKJV Relationships get things done. After learning to do business as a young university graduate in a Japanese company, I returned to the US on a short trip and remember telling an American business professional how Japanese business people emphasized relationships with people. After hearing myself say that, I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me “American sales people are big on relationships as well”. Relationships are not limited to nations. In business, people buy from who they like, and they also buy from who they know. You want to do well in business, be likable, and be known. Yes, it is okay to have time to yourself and enjoy some quiet or time off by yourself. But remember we are in a lost and dying world. They need to hear about receiving Jesus. You may be the only Jesus that some people see. Have you told someone about Jesus this week? Be bold and tell people what God has done for you even just in your daily conversation. Show people that God wants to work in their lives and all they have to do is let Him. There is power in relationships. Get out there and build some and watch what God will do for you through them. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 27 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov17
Truth Suppression
Rom 1:18 | |
| 18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, NKJV Raised until 4th grade in a farming community in Oregon, at my elementary school I got a chance to meet kids with parents in farming full-time as well as kids whose parents worked salaried jobs. I’ll never forget a new boy that moved into town from another city named Eric. Eric was a nice kid and became a friend to me. However, there was one thing I later discovered about Eric that really bothered me, Eric was a habitually liar. He would tell me fantastic stories about toys he had that flew and fired little pellets, or about how he had this or that but in fact it was all imagination. He had a lot of stuff because Eric’s parents spoiled him, however he made up a lot of stories that were false. He lied a lot. After discovering that much of what he said was untrue, even the third grader thinking in me knew that was wrong. I stopped running around the playground at recess with Eric. I didn’t want to be around him. Eric probably didn’t think what he was doing was so bad, but no one wants to be around liars. If you can’t trust who you are hanging around, then you better get away. They will rip you off or hurt you somehow and then justify it to themselves in their minds later saying, “Well, they had it coming” or something to that nature. God is pure and awesome. People who are in darkness cannot hang around Yahweh because there is not a speck of darkness in Him. 1 John 1:5 says, |
| 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. NKJV We all know what is right and wrong because there is an inner guide built right in to our spirits. The inner guide is called our conscience. Our conscience knows the truth. People frequently ask ministers, if something is wrong or not. Is living together before marriage wrong? Is foul language wrong? Is skipping Sunday worship wrong? Of course, the answers to all these questions are “Yes, it is wrong”. If something you are doing pricks your conscience, then there are three things you should do 1) Stop doing it 2) Immediately ask God to forgive you (and anyone else if they’re involved) 2) Receive His forgiveness God not only gave His creation a conscience to guide every human, but He also gave believers the opportunity to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Here in Romans 1, God is speaking directly to sexual sin. Specifically, men and women abandoning natural relationships with their spouse of the opposite sex, to same sex sin. Why do people go against their consciences and “suppress the truth” of what they know is right and do wrong? It is because they are suppressing or putting down the truth that is in them. We as believers are to love sinners because we were once just like them. But that doesn’t mean we should condone sin. If other people look at our relationships with people in sin and think that we approve what what they are doing, then we need to prayerfully change the way we interact with the people in sin. Has something come to mind are you read this Faith Builder? Speak out that sin to the Father and ask His forgiveness write now. Don’t suppress what you know is right. Do what is right and your life will radiate the truth of God to the people around you. This will make you a world changer. There is nothing more exciting than being a world changer and victorious in our daily lives. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 9 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov18
How To Live Forever
1 John 2:17 | |
| 17 | And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. NKJV We live in a world that is corrupt. Politicians frequently promise hope and change which they are unable to deliver. Believers pray for our leaders in government as that is what the Word teaches. Sometimes we see politicians change their minds (Proverbs 21:1), other times we see them influenced by others around them to do the right thing even even though they don’t want to (Genesis 20:17), and in other cases we see leaders removed from power because of our prayers (Daniel 2:21). Regardless, the world as we know is passing away. If you are a part of it, no matter how much you believe the politicians who don’t daily follow Jesus, you will be disappointed. Everything around us is all going to go away including you if you are not passionate for Jesus. That is not Yahweh’s plan. 1 John 2:17 gives us a promise that we can grab on to. If you are doing the will of God, you WILL abide forever. You will live forever with God in His light, love, and goodness. That is amazing! In my life, I have had the opportunity to meet people in various levels of life. I have met people from homelessness to the leaders of nations. It is great to serve Him. In my professional life, I meet many people who are entrepreneurs running businesses that they started up. Most of these guys are running firms making millions and sometimes even billions of dollars. That is respectable, but sometimes these guys are so completely focused on making money and not doing the things of God. They are not attending their Spirit-filled, Word-preaching local church. They are not tithing. They are not reaching out to the orphans, widows, and poor. We’ve got to do the things of God. Psalms 39:6 says, |
| 6 | Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. NKJV We should work hard. Especially when we are young and able, so that we have something saved for when we are old. However, there is a point when we can become obsessed with the things of this world and just having more of that. We need to be obsessed with the things of the Kingdom of God. If we are, we have a promise from the Messiah about that. |
John 10:28-29 | |
| And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. NKJV Have you got eternal life in Jesus the Messiah? Then know it is time to start walking in the abundance of that life. That abundance is material blessings but it is so much more than that. As you pray today, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what God’s plan, will, and calling are for you. You will be amazed at what He’s got for you. Today’s Reading- | |
Proverbs 10 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov19
Faith To Keep You
1 Peter 1:5 | |
| 5 | who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. NKJV When I started asking God to reveal Himself to me, it was amazing how believers started coming from almost out of the walls talking about faith. We know it is impossible to please God without faith. I just didn’t realize what faith really was. Some people use the word to describe religions of the world. But that is not faith. That is man’s definition, that is inaccurate. The Word tells us the ‘just’ people or believers are to ‘live by faith’. What does that mean? To understand how to live by faith you have to understand what faith is. Every believer must know how God thinks on the subject and many times you have to throw out what other people think. What people think today, may be different tomorrow. So follower of Jesus, “What is faith?” Hebrews 11:1 says, |
| 1 | Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. NKJV I like to say faith is talking about what you are expecting. Faith is expectation. You know what God has planned for you and no one will stop you on attaining what God has for you. If you are talking about and doing things that are working towards your expectation, then the power of God will keep you. If you are a believer, you’ve got to have faith. That is the only way to please God. If a pastor is told by the Holy Spirit that he will pastor a church of thousands, then he better plan for that. He better arrange for a place that can accommodate growth. He better be thinking about the finances it requires to operate a large ministry. He better be training up a leadership team of people who have the same passion for Jesus and people that He has to lead that body of believers. He better be praying. It is the same for a job. If you want to become an architect, then you have to do the things to prepare for that profession. People can’t wave a wand over you one day and say, “You are now an architect”. The person has to set their expectation and start preparing to become an architect from the early days of university. They have to study engineering, physics and understand how things are held together. They have to familiarize themselves with the various styles of architecture from different periods such as gothic, modern, asian, medieval, early modern, and so forth. Faith will keep you because like a young person preparing for their career, you have to live it. You have to know it. 1 Peter 1:5 talks about we “who are kept by the power of God through faith”. Your faith is what keeps you. In human terms, that means you cannot abandon your expectations. You must set your expectation and pursue that. Do the things to prepare for what you are preparing. If you are going to keep a bon-fire burning, you are going to need to stoke it with fuel consistently. You have to throw on wood, trash, or whatever is going to fuel the fire a few times each hour. It is the same with faith. You’ve got to keep it fueled. Speaking is what fuels your faith. You have to say, “My business will succeed because I am a child of God and called according to His purpose.” About your children you say in faith, “My children shall grow up and serve the Lord because I have raised them in His ways”. About your studies you confess, “I have the mind of Christ and I can study and retain the information and applications I need to ace every test I take”. For your health speak things like, “I am the body of Christ, the enemy has no power over me because I overcome evil with good. I am healthy and whole because by His suffering He took all pain, sickness, and disease so I don’t have to have it. I am well in the powerful Name of Yashua”. Speak faith every day you live and watch your circumstances change because faith will keep you. Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 11 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov20
To Be Offended
Luke 17:3 | |
| 3 | Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. NKJV Have you ever been offended? Someone may have made a comment about how your were dressed or how someone in your family acted. Maybe someone didn’t invite you to an event. It is horrible to have your feelings hurt. Know that you are the master of your feelings. Early on in our ministry we found many ministries based in the United States eager to have a church and ministry base in Asia. Although we were raised in a solid Spirit-filled denomination, we ended up starting our Japan church on our own due to the politics of that organization locally. For a time, we participated in one particular organization based in Missouri. It was a great group and we really sensed the love from the founder of the group. One year an associated minister came to our country as his emphasis was ‘missions’. He brought along one of the volunteers that was helping him in the US. Our church was just starting and those of us in leadership were working very hard to have an anointed worship through music as well as the message. That Sunday, the guest minister preached a good word while his volunteer associate was in the back of the church. After leaving our country, we heard from one of our church family members that his associate had been criticizing the pastor and his wife (that’s me!) for the way our children behaved during the service. It was something to the effective of “Pastor’s kids shouldn’t act like that”. I found myself starting to get offended that we opened up our church and home to someone only to find ourselves critiqued spiritually by a young visitor. I never got a chance to see that guy again, but rather than getting offended I decided I would let it go. It was an immediate action. However, if I had decided not to let it go I could still be struggling with ill feelings towards people. That is not God’s way. As Jesus directs in Luke 17:3, I decided to forgive him. 2 John 8 says, |
| 8 | Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. NKJV Offense is something that you need to be completely responsible for. 2 John 8 says that you need to look towards yourselves. Why? So you don’t lose what you have worked for. Your condition is your responsibility. In earthly terms, if you are not healthy, it is because you have not been going to a gym and exercising or eating foods that are natural. If you don’t have much money, it is likely that you are not tithing regularly or working hard. If your children are out of control if could very well be that you were never home for them when they needed your guidance forming their personal tastes and thinking. Hebrews 12:15 says, |
| 15 | looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; NKJV When you get offended you get bitter. In the Kingdom of God, bitterness will separate you from the presence of God. Hebrews says bitterness defiles us. We don’t want to be defiled before God. As a Spirit-filled, praying, Bible-believing follower of Jesus, you have no reason to be offended. Remember forgive others and God can forgive you. He is so gracious! Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 12 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
Nov21
Pull Them Down!
2 Cor 10:4 | |
| 4 | For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds NKJV Ever been in a fight? Maybe in a school yard scuffle that left you with a bloody nose or a black eye? Maybe you won the fight and came out “clean”, maybe not. When we are young we think that by physically dealing with someone, we can eliminate the problem. Usually not true, but in some cases you have to take action. When my parents moved to Washington, a neighborhood boy was hassling my sisters. It got pretty bad. As a 5th grader I confronted him and a fight ensued. It was a pretty quick confrontation and after that point we did not have trouble with him again. In the physical realm, fighting someone with hands and feet is not all that productive when you become adults. In the spiritual realm, fighting the demonic spirits is something you must know about. It is not really a fight, it is more getting those spirits out of places they shouldn’t be. One Sunday as I preached the Word, I looked out across the church congregation. One young woman was sitting there staring at me. Her face was clearly not her. She was under the control of a demon. I could see the hate in her eyes, but I knew it wasn’t her. In the middle of my message I rebuked the demon and saw her face go back to a blankness. I could see that demon couldn’t manifest itself when I took authority over it in the powerful name of Jesus. When you pray each day, it is not just “God bless (or protect) Mr. X or Ms. Y”. There are times when you feel spiritual tension or oppression. Those are the times when you have to fight the spiritual fight. It is not a playground slug-it-out. The King Jesus gave you authority for a reason saying, |
| 18 | "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...” Matt 28:18 NKJV Then He told us go and make disciples. He gave you His authority so that you could fight. When the attack comes, you can quickly defeat it through your faith and His power. When I speak the Name of Jesus as a Spirit-filled believer, diseases dissipate, controlling spirits flee, deformities are fixed by the power of God. God works through His people, that is why if you are praying things happen. With His Name, if you are not saying, then nothing happens. As you go about your day, use your spiritual weapons to tear down strongholds of fear, doubt, rebellion, lack, tension, hate, unforgiveness, and whatever else puts itself up against the knowledge and liberty of God. When you take authority over these spirits, things happen. It is not magical. It is because you have the Creator of the universe and His legions of angels behind you every time you connect the physical with the spiritual by using His awesome name. Thousands of years ago, Daniel prophesied about the authority we have through our King saying, |
| 14 | Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:14 NKJV As you pray today and talk to Him, ask Him for wisdom on what around you is of Him, and what is blocking the increasing of His Kingdom. Take every opportunity to get to church prayer meetings and intercede for your nation and break down everything that is trying to hold back the Kingdom of God. Nothing can hold it back, but you are His hands and feet and you have to bring it to pass. Pull down the enemy’s strongholds and build up the Kingdom of God wherever you go through speaking it out in prayer and pulling down the illegitimate strongholds of darkness. If you don’t do it, who will? Today’s Reading- |
Proverbs 13 | |
| Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp | |
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