| Today |  | 2024年12月09日 - 2024年12月13日 |  |
12月08日
The Root Of Inspiration
| 3 | You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. |
| 4 | Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength. NKJV Study, think, say, act. These are the keys to a successful spiritual and natural life. If you study the Word, you are going to know how to think powerful thoughts. When you have your thinking in line with God, then you are going to make actions that are effective. Humans are different from animals. We are created in God’s image, His likeness. We have a spirit, a soul (mind, will, emotions) and we live in a body. If you keep your mind focused on Yahweh, you’ve got a promise in Isaiah 26:3 that you are going to have perfect peace. Perfect peace is God’s peace. It is peace that says even when you are just starting something, you know that God is going to bless you. It is peace that says even in the worse situation Yahweh is going to see you through. Whether you are going through earthquakes, famines, wars, or even just job changes, you can know that God is going to bring you through to an even better situation. However, there is one thing you must do. You have to keep your mind (soul-area) focused or ‘stayed’ on Him. You need to be thinking about Him. How do you do it? The answer is to keeping your mind fit is STSA. You have to study, think, say, and act. It is exactly in that order. Study- Study the Word of God (Bible) a bit for yourself every day. Read it and it will change you. Think- Think the way God thinks you will know His thoughts by knowing His Word. Say- Say what God says about you, not what your family, your company, your school, or your teachers say about you. Act- Without action faith is dead. With action, faith is alive. To act is doing those things that God spoke to you about already through your study, thoughts, and saying. What you talk about is what you are going to do. What you think about is what you are going to become. Benjamin Franklin must have understood STSA as he thought of ways to light the streets of his town when cities were dark. Winston Churchill was a reader who became an inspiration to his nation in one of the darkest times as the enemy attacked. Daniel understood STSA as he continued to spend time with the Father each day in prayer even as his enemies plotted against him. You may not feel yourself called to be a famous world leader, but you should certainly be a great leader to your family and the people around you. You can be an inspiration to believers and unbelievers alike as to how God wants to be a blessing to His people so they can bless and inspire others. Wondering how you can do it? It is all starts with the Word and STSA. Trust in Yahweh forever, He is your everlasting strength. Today’s Reading- Proverbs 29 Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp |
12月09日
Justice & Your Nation
| 11 | Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. NKJV Personally, I don’t spend a lot of time in Ecclesiastes for personal study. It is a book written by Solomon as he is out of fellowship with Yahweh. His father had raised him in God’s ways from all we can see. However, just like anyone, it is easy to let things in the world distract you. Our relationship with God is personal so what are parents did in church is not that important with regards to the heritage of faith. Solomon was distracted by his wealth, the attention from others for his wisdom, and by his distractions with women. In the book of Ecclesiastes, you see how Solomon fell away from God and become apathetic. There are many sad quotations made from this book. For example, at funerals unknowing leaders sometimes quote, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust..” from this book. Not exactly an encouraging word I want read at my funeral! “Vanity, vanity, life is vanity!” is another common quote that would not normally be a word coming from the mouth of a Holy Spirit-baptized believer. We tend to be passionately positive about everything because we know, nothing is impossible to those who believe and trust thoroughly in our King Jesus. As you read through Ecclesiastes you just have to keep in mind, it was written by a man out of fellowship with the Almighty God. That did not change the fact that he was one of the wisest people that ever lived. You can be wise, but if you are out of fellowship with God then you are missing a lot of His wisdom. You’re missing the boat. I went to the presentation of the CEO of a famous company. Although many people were put off by his foul language in the presentation, there were still some things to glean from this successful individual and businessman. You just don’t have to take it all. In the world, we get a lot of malarkey from people. As followers of the Way, we must take the good and drop the bad. The Word of God actually deals with most every issue you can think of. If not directly, even indirectly. Of course there may be questions like, “Is this or that a sin?” Well, if you feel conviction after doing something, then it likely is a sin. That is the time to confess 1 John 1:8-9, get clean, turn from it, and don’t do it again. On the issue of capital punishment (punishing criminals for their crimes) we get some insights from Ecclesiastes 8:11. What is the point? If we allow people to murder and steal without punishment, that society will begin to degrade. The is no justice. If someone is accused of murder, the facts should be weighed and if they are guilty they should give their life for the life they have taken. “Pastor, that is so harsh? What if they are not guilty?” That is the point, beyond a shadow of a doubt we must know that someone is guilty of something otherwise you could end up shedding innocent blood. That is even worse. The Word talks about the ‘blood crying out’ of those who have been murdered. That doesn’t mean that their spirit is still here. (Ghosts are nothing but demons in disguise). It means that if our society is to continue in harmony we need to make sure that justice is done. Rules are made and kept. There are no exceptions. In the church family, the pastor’s sin is just as bad as the church family member’s. As the leader of the local family, it is actually worse. Sin is sin and it must be dealt with. If a pastor sins, that must be dealt with otherwise things will unravel. A pastor in the US was recently accused of sexual sin. He only said he would ‘fight the charges’ in his response to the charges, he did not say he was ‘innocent’. Guilty or innocent, we do not know from his response. If he is not guilty, then things will blow over as the truth shall make him free. If he is guilty and tries to continue to lead his church then his guilt will not only be on him, but on his church as well. We are responsible for everything we do on this earth, directly or indirectly. One day as I was praying about what politician to vote for in my home country, the Holy Spirit showed me that if I knowingly vote for a person who support the killing of innocent lives, then that blood will be on my hands because I would become a part of their actions. God is concerned about justice and the earth operates under it. For as long as we are in authority over the Earth, we need to stand for the right. Making sure justice prevails where we live is a very important part of the peace and prosperity of our nations. One day in a restaurant in Tokyo, I asked a man from South Asia why he lived in Tokyo. His response was not that it was cheaper or cleaner, but that it was because without the blatant corruption in Tokyo, it was easier to live life and get things done. We’ve got to be praying the Word for our nations. |
| 1 | Tim 2:1-3 |
| 2 | Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. NKJV We as believers must accept authority and be praying for political leaders. We must all obey the laws of the land. If we don’t obey, then we should be prepared to pay the price. If the price is different for different people, or people can do wrong things without penalty then don’t expect that government to stand very long. If a government starts to legislate things contrary to the Word of God, that is when people rise up and governments fail. Pray for justice in your nation today. Pray that people will be treated fairly for their deeds, your country’s future could depend on it. Today’s Reading- Proverbs 9 |
12月10日
Secrets From God
| 14 | The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. NKJV Walking the streets of any major city, you tend to find fortune tellers or other people trying to make money by telling you about your future. Of course, everyone wants to know that they have some great future event that is going to change their life economically or in some other exciting way. In Tokyo, once the banks close, and the other businesses along the central business district streets close their doors for the night, you’ll sometimes see someone set up a table with a candle in a small box-like encasing with the picture of a hand on it. They will be sitting there staring straight ahead as they wait for someone to come and have their hand ‘read’ as the candle flickers. For any poor soul to be suckered into going to hear their ‘fortune’ or future from this person deceived by the enemy on the street, you never know what message they get. Usually something to pull people in so that they will come back for more like the deadly addictive drugs that bring people to their knees... and death. God has something SO much better. God wants to tell you about your future as well but He is not operating a ‘drive through’. He wants to tell you about His plans for your nation so you can intercede and pray to bring His Ways to come to pass. Psalm 25:14 says that if you fear God, you are going to get His secrets. God talks to His people, but our responsibility is to be sensitive to hear His voice. Amos 3:7 says, |
| 7 | Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. NKJV God talks to His people. He tells them what He is doing. He knows the secrets. He knows about your future and the future of your nation, family, friends, and everything else you can imagine. He knows all! If you are willing to listen, you can know what He is thinking. Remember Simeon in the temple. He knew that his spirit would not leave his body until he saw the Messiah. Luke 2:26 says, And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. NKJV How could Simeon hear God’s voice? How could he know that he would see the Messiah? Was he some super-human? Well, let’s look at the context in Luke 2. Luke 2:25 |
| 25 | And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. NKJV Simeon was just and devout. What does that mean? Devout meaning, to Simeon, the things of God were very important. He spent time at church and did whatever he could to help. He was actively involved with God. But what about that ‘just’ word, what does that mean? Simeon was probably always making every effort to do things the way God wanted things done. You want to know God’s secrets about you and your future? Follow your brothers and sisters in the faith ; Simeon, Joseph, Daniel, Hannah, and the many others who demonstrated a daily relationship with Yahweh and knew Him personally. You can too! Are you devout to following the Way and our Lord Jesus? Today’s Reading- Proverbs 10 |
12月11日
Serpents, Doves, & The Political Game
| 16 | "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. NKJV If you have ever worked in a big company, you will know all about politics. What are politics? Well, a real life definition of politics is people jockeying around for position within some type of organization. It could be a company, a school, a club, or sadly even a church sometimes. Politics are hard to avoid, because if you say nothing in many cases you will become one of the masses that is used by these manipulators who play political games with others to get what they want. They have no concern about others but usually try to come off as caring, just as Absalom did to mount his rebellion against his own father, David the leader of Israel. He stood at the gates of the city each day and listened to the complaints of the people, and pretended to care (2 Samuel 15). His goal was to win the hearts of the people and overthrow his father. In Matthew 10, the Lord Jesus made it clear that in this life, we are going to deal with some great people, but also some nasty folks as well. No matter how many chances you give them, they are going always try to rip you off, discredit you or others, or just stomp on people so they can somehow look good. In some countries, if you preach the Way of Jesus, they will arrest you and try you as some ‘heretic’ because you preach the truth and they are threatened that preaching the truth will reveal their weaknesses and get people to take them out of power. Jesus knew we were going to have to deal with these evil men and women. You will get attacked politically for something some time whether you are a believer or not. As a believer, your light shines even brighter that is why Jesus told us to be “...wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Serpents and doves? What could He mean? Most believers know that as followers of Jesus we are to be loving, kind, caring... yes, we’ve got that dove connection. A good way to remember it is that a dove never provokes hostility. They always look innocent and are difficult to blame for much. What about the serpents? Serpents never unnecessarily expose themselves to attack. I have yet to find a woman in at my church or in my extended family who is keen to be around snakes and serpents, but in old days serpents symbolized cunning and wisdom. Probably because they were good at sneaking up on their prey before they pounced on them. When I am dealing with people in ministry, business, and life I often remind myself to “Be wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove.” That means we should always make an effort not to provoke hostility. That does NOT mean that you have to be walked all over by others. The point is you never open yourself up to unnecessary attack. Be ready in season and out of season, but don’t worry! I love how the Messiah Jesus continues, Matt 10:20 |
| 20 | for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. NKJV That is don’t worry if you are being led by the Spirit. More of a reason to spend time with Him every day getting His wisdom and insights on what happened, what is happening, and what is going to happen in your life. You will always be ready. “Be wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove.” Today’s Reading- Proverbs 11 |
12月12日
I Am From The Future
| 20 | I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." NKJV That’s right! I am from the future. Galatians 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; What about what you did in High School? Remember what you said to those people? What about what you did at University? What about the other day? That was the old me. That was ‘the old man’. Like all, I have made mistakes in the past but I have been crucified with Him, and my old self is not longer here. It may try to come up, but I refuse to go back to my old ways. If I fail, I will quickly recover but I refuse to easily fail. This is what you have to decide. Your old friends and neighbors may remember you a certain way. They may put you ‘in a box’ and remind you of those rowdy days when you were a hooligan. But you have to move on, and you have to move up. You see, none of us is worthy to receive the grace that God has offered to us. To me, no one is worth giving my life for, then when I saw what God did for me, His act of dying on my behalf changed me. It is something that I cannot forget and I must not forget. You must not forget that even though you were filthy and worthlessly hopeless in your sins, that God still loved you and became a human to die on your behalf. What an amazing, loving God we serve! There is no one like Him! The verse goes on and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Living in the flesh is the time you have left in your physical body. What are we supposed to do with it? We are to live by faith. How do you live by faith? Recently, I have been studying religious groups that connect themselves to Christ Jesus in some form but don’t seem to have spiritual fire. What does ‘living by faith’ mean? Does living by faith mean you have to join some certain group? Does living by faith mean only my church is the true church? Does living by faith mean give away all you own and pray that God will provide for you through others? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding, “No!” Living by faith is meditating God’s Word every day, praying and spending time with Him, and speaking what He says about you over your life and your daily situation all the time. All the time. When? All the time. God is so good, all the time. How do I live by faith? Speak faith all the time! What are you talking about today? Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."NKJV Living by faith, that is what pleases God. The life you live now, it is the life you have in the future. You know where you came from and you know where you are going. Live for Jesus and the Way today, tomorrow, and forever. Today’s Reading- Proverbs 12 |
12月13日
The Walking Dead
| 1 | Cor 11:19 |
| 19 | For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. NKJV Here in 1 Cor 11:19 we read this scripture about factions. Factions are different groups that are bound together by similar beliefs within some overall group. To me, when I think of factions I think divisions or divisive, the opposite of unity. Is that what this scripture is saying? If you don’t understand a passage, it is a good idea to look at the original language. You can do this by looking up the Words in a Strong’s concordance, if you speak English. Another way, is to just get another translation of the Bible. Remember, if you are not a native Greek or Hebrew/Aramaic speaker then you are reading a translation of the Bible. Different versions shed a different light on a passage of scripture. There is one English version of the Bible that amplifies the meaning of the original languages into English. Let’s read it in the Amplified version of this same verse; |
| 1 | Cor 11:19 |
| 19 | For doubtless there have to be factions or parties among you in order that they who are genuine and of approved fitness may become evident and plainly recognized among you. AMP Do you get a better feel for what the original language is saying here? One day after church one of our leaders came to my wife. They looked both frustrated and concerned. They came to ask a question. They were asking “Why weren’t some people more dedicated at the church and to the things of God?” That was a great question that every fellowship needs to ask themselves. Clearly there are different levels of hunger. If you aren’t hungry you may skip breakfast or lunch. However, it is highly unlikely you are going to skip dinner as well. You know if you don’t eat you are going to starve. If you think about it, your stomach starts to make all these noises when you are hungry. You start to notice the smells of all the food and other things as you walk down the street. That bakery near the station smells so much better. When you eat right you develop a healthy appetite and eat well to properly nourish your body. After you have eaten right for some time and experienced a healthy appetite you know normality. If you stop eating and ignore those signs of hunger, of course you are going to be more sensitive to the smells of food for awhile. However, after suppressing those natural feelings of hunger you will eventually lose that desire to eat. You will no longer be hungry, your body will not be able to nourish itself, and you will die of starvation. Spiritually, it is a very similar thing. Bluntly said, before you know Jesus you are walking around dead. You don’t know God, you will not be with Him when your spirit leaves your body as you will have lost every chance of ever being connected to Him. When that believer invites you to church, or prays with you at the bus stop or in the coffee shop to receive Jesus, you become a new creation. As a baby follower of Jesus, you have to nourish yourself spiritually. How do you nourish yourself spiritually? Three essentials are- |
| 1) Spending | time reading God’s Word each day |
| 2) Fellowshipping | with Him in a quiet time, or what we call Face Time in His presence |
| 3) Making | sure that you honor the Lord’s Day and are at church every Sunday to fellowship with other followers of Jesus and the Way. So why are there factions among us? Why are there different types of Christians? Why are there people that can go to dead, boring churches instead of Spirit-filled, anointed places of worship? It is because some people just are not hungry. They don’t always realize it but they are spiritually starving. They know they need to get closer to Yahweh but they think that an occasional visit to church or agreeing with what King Jesus said somehow has got them a ticket into God’s Kingdom. Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you”. Unfortunately, there are different levels of commitment in church. What can we do to fix that? We can pray for people, we can encourage people, we can build them up, we can call them and encourage them to get into God’s church each Sunday. The only thing we can’t do is choose for them. We don’t want to have factions in God’s House. We want to do away with factions. Besides there are benefits to following Jesus with all you’ve got. |
| 1 | Tim 4:8-9 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. NKJV Godliness is profitable. Those that are in God’s House every Sunday, and doing things such as volunteering wherever they can, telling people about Jesus, feeding on the Word, and at every prayer meeting are the people that have exceptional daily lives. Hallelujah! Let’s do away with factions and profit together from being godly! Did a walking dead person you know come to mind as you read, then by the anointing of the Holy Spirit making contact with them. Today’s Reading- Proverbs 13 |
12月14日
Flourishing In The House
| 13 | Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. NKJV If you ask them, everyone wants to win the lottery. They want to win something where they don’t have to work ever again. People want to be able to spend time on what they want to do. Many companies try to appeal to that dream of success by marketing products and services that would somehow help you in business. There are network companies that get people to sign up and sell their products. The first people get others to come underneath them in business and sell for them. The person on the top is the one who makes the money. The individuals on the bottom end up quitting as there is a constant flow of people at the bottom coming and going as this business is only good for the top. Really rich people aren’t the ones who drive the expensive cars and wear the brand name goods. Really rich people are rich because they’ve been good stewards (sometimes to their demise) with what they have. A friend knows the 8th richest man in the world. When asked about his favorite things to do, he says he loves to go early in the evening to the supermarket and save money on the food that has just been marked down. This man flies on the cheapest air tickets and stay in the most reasonable hotels. He is rich, but I wonder what God sees in that. We are God’s children, and God wants His children to flourish. He wants us to have the very best so that we can grow and develop. You can work like a dog and make a lot of money, however the problem is many people who really get rich (not pretending to be rich) don’t always seem to enjoy life. There is definitely more if you know God. God wants us to flourish and in Psalm 92:13 the Word tells us how to do it. We must be planted in God’s house. What does that mean? That means that we must make sure that we protect our Sunday’s and are in God’s house, church, every week. If you are there you are going to flourish in every aspect of your life. To have a healthy church in your nation, everyone needs to come in and do their part. The Word calls all of us members, ‘the body of Christ’ with each one having a different function. 1 Cor 12:18 says, |
| 18 | But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. NKJV Some people are eyes, some people are ears, some people are the hands and others are the feet, with others being the body itself. Every member is important and every part has to be healthy for the body to be healthy. The ear person may be they person who hears the direction of the Holy Spirit to do something. The feet people are probably the ones that get on the streets and lead hundreds to Jesus. We have to protect our unity and realize not everyone is the same. 1 Cor 12:25-26 says, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. NKJV In other words, protect your church and unity. Don’t allow people to cut down your leaders and fellow members. Keep positive and build up that body. As you think about your church this week, pray for your pastor, pray for the leadership, pray for other members. Pray that they will be led by the Holy Spirit. Pray for wisdom in making right decisions that will build up the body. Pray for the church body (or family) that you belong to and watch them grow. Give and it will come back to you. Those prayers are going to come back to you as well. In God’s Kingdom it’s all about growth. If you are growing, then you will be and flourishing. That is His plan for you. Are you in His house every week? If not, start this weekend. If so, start expecting His blessings on your life and speak them out in faith. Today’s Reading- Proverbs 12 Annual Bible Reading Plan at www.vwc.jp |
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