Vanishing Grace

“ 'You don’t listen to me. You judge me. Your faith confuses me. You talk about what’s wrong instead of making it right.' Reviewing these complaints, it occurs to me that Christians fail to communicate to others because we ignore basic principles in relationship. When we make condescending judgments, or proclaim lofty words that don’t translate into action, or simply speak without first listening, we fail to love — and thus deter a thirsty world from Living Water. The good news about God’s grace goes unheard.” Philip Yancey

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;  it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. " Ephesians 2:8-9

Listen to a portion of Vanishing Grace  - Session 1 on YouTube

Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? Philip Yancey, Amazon

Matsumoto Kyoritsu Hospital

Along with the hospital staff, our Abundant Life Church members served the terminal patients with a Christmas party. I preached from John 3:16, sharing memories of Mom. She went to be with the Lord the week before, on the 6th. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Church members held a terminal patients had through out the 'party.'

Please pray that we can 'bless' the city of Matsumoto in a greater way.

A hanging sword...

"In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the blasphemy law is implemented with full force. Believers in Christ regard this law as a hanging sword, liable to fall on anyone at anytime. Hundreds are behind the bars because of it…. Not long ago a double suicide attack on innocent Christians during Sunday morning worship resulted in more than 100 Christians being martyred…. They are not ashamed to call themselves Christ’s."

Read more: Bearing the Cross of Christ in Pakistan | TGC | The Gospel Coalition

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."  Matthew 5:11

Mom's with her Lord

Last Saturday, around 2:30 in the afternoon, Mom Junker went to be with her Lord. Dad and Mom live in Petoskey, MI…. There ARE tears, but also joy, because she is where she always wanted to be. She is filled with joy. So we too have joy…. Do pray for our family. We will truly miss her. 

(Dad and Mom Junker were missionaries in Matsumoto, Japan for close to 50 years.)

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15

"I can't breath"

Christian  Hip-hop artist Trip Lee raps on Eric Garner and racial issues in the U. S.

Don’t nobody wanna hear our pain
That’s how I’m feeling when I’m flipping through them twitter comments, all I feel is rain
They telling me get over it’s old
That stuff don’t exist no more
But that don’t ring true when I look in these streets
So it’s real when I feel like it coulda been me….

We all made in God’s image you know….

Where’s your hope at? Mine is in him….

All the lyrics in Coulda Been Me Lyrics — TRIP LEE

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"　Luke 2:14

Read more: A United Evangelical Response: The System Failed Eric Garner | Christianity Today

Last Friday, our family had just watched the movie "Mandela." Something is wrong with the U.S. justice system as well.

The Son of God

”The Son of God became the Son of man that the sinful sons of men might be made the sons of God.” John Calvin

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." John1:14,12,13

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines, Of never failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs, And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread, 
Are big with mercy and shall break, In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.

Written by William Cowper

"Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life." Psalms 42:7-8 

Listen: God Moves in a Mysterious Way - YouTube

With Naho

Yesterday, date with my wife Naho at Namiyanagi Sweet.

If this doctrine be lost….

“Wherefore this doctrine (of justification by faith) can never be taught, urged, and repeated enough. If this doctrine be lost, then is also the whole of knowledge of truth, life and salvation lost and gone. If this doctrine flourish, then all good things flourish, religion, the true service of God, the glory of God, the right knowledge of things and states of life.” Martin Luther

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24

Unexamined

‘The life which is unexamined is not worth living.’ Plato

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord…. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning….” Lamentations 3:40, 22, 23a

Broken

This December, a movie on Louie Zamperini's life, "Unbroken," will be shown in theaters across the United States. 

His life is amazing. During World War 2, he is caught by the Japanese, after he survives 47 days in the Pacific on a life raft. He is abused terribly by a guard named Watanabe. He remains unbroken by his captives, it seems. However, in reality he is broken. Immediately after the war, He struggles with alchoholism. 

But then he is mended through the gospel of Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade. He himself says, "I dropped to my knees and for the first time in my life truly humbled myself before the Lord. I ask him to forgive me for not having kept the promises I'd made during the war, and for my sinful life. I made no excuses. I did not rationalize, I did not blame. He had said, 'Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,' so I took him at his word, begged for his pardon, and asked Jesus to come into my life.' 

He said for a previous CBS documentary, "You have to have my conversion in there." I can't understand why director Angelina Jolie takes Louie's transforming hope out of the movie. Others need the same hope that not only delivers personally, but transforms relationships. 

By gospel grace he forgives his captors. Even though Mr. Watanabe refuses to see him, Louie seeks him out to forgive him.

This movie has great meaning to me, because my father also fought in World War 2 and hated the Japanese. But by the gospel, he also learned to love his enemies. My father ended up serving in Japan as a missionary close to 50 years.

Read more: Broken: The Power of Conversion in Louie Zamperini’s Life | TGC | The Gospel Coalition

Watch "Unbroken" Official Trailer  Angelina Jolie Directed  - YouTube

Read the book Amazon.com: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption: Laura Hillenbrand

Picts….

Jon preaching at Abundant Life Church a couple of weeks ago.

Joe Burney (former MK) visiting with us.

Japan Alps behind Azumino Family Chapel.

Until you experience significant failure….

“Until you experience significant failure in your personal life or ministry, you won't even know that your heart is functionally operating in contradiction to what you’re saying with your mouth. And you certainly won’t be in a position where you get those two things in line.” Tim Keller

"….Apart from me you can do nothing." Jesus Christ, John 15:5b

The salvation of a single soul….

“The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world.”　C.S. Lewis 

“The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.”

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30

In Christ Alone

"Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, 
are righteousness and strength." Isaiah 45:24

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

This is beautiful. Please listen: 
Gettymusic - Online music resources for the church

Teach the free man how to praise.

“In the deserts of the heart

Let the healing fountain start,

In the prison of his days

Teach the free man how to praise.”

W. H. Auden

"Let this be recorded for a generation to come, 
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD: 
that he looked down from his holy height; 
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, 
to hear the groans of the prisoners, 
to set free those who were doomed to die, 
that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, 
and in Jerusalem his praise, 
when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, 
to worship the LORD." 
                                          Psalms 102:18-22 

Unwilling to recognize sin!?

“Truly it is an evil to be full of faults, but it is a still greater evil to full of them, and to be unwilling to recognize them.” Blaise Pascal

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:8-9

Love, forgiveness, and grace….

“Many years ago I was driven to the conclusion that the two major causes of most emotional problems among evangelical Christians are these: the failure to understand, receive, and live out God’s unconditional grace and forgiveness; and the failure to give out that unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace to other people…. We read, we hear, we believe a good theology of grace. But that’s not the way we live. The good news of the Gospel of grace has not penetrated the level of our emotions.” David Seamands

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 4:32-5:2

Pray for Matsumoto….

An ancient (about 300 A.D.) burial mound,

looking down on the city of Matsumoto (pop. 210,000).

We are praying for Matsumoto. "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Jeremiah 29:7 Pastor Tim Keller said, "Now here’s what this means, and don’t forget this is God talking to his children. If you believe you are connected to God, if you believe you’re a child of God, this has to be your attitude toward the earthly city in which you reside. God says, “I want you to seek and pray for, root for that city, and pray for its shalom.” Please pray with us for the true blessing of Matsumoto and Japan.

a trail of broken relationships

"In pursuit of the good life, most men leave a trail of broken relationships. Our secular culture has stirred man’s natural inclinations to pursue fame and fortune into a cauldron with has selfish nature to create a strange, unstable mixture of ambition and vision of grandeur. All too often this concoction explodes in his face, scattering what should be his most treasure possessions- his relationships- like the irretrievable shattered fragments of a precious vase, an heirloom that was destined to b a joy of future generations, linking one generation to the next.” Patrick Morely

"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker (more delicate) vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered." 1 Peter 3:7 

Nobeyama

A few days alone at Nobeyama

If we would be holy, we must get to the cross….

"The secret of a believer's holy walk is his continual recurrence to the blood of the Surety (the Lord Jesus Christ), and his daily (communion) with a crucified and risen Lord. All divine life, and all precious fruits of it, pardon, peace, and holiness, spring from the cross. All fancied sanctification which does not arise wholly from the blood of the cross is nothing better than Pharisaism. If we would be holy, we must get to the cross, and dwell there; else, notwithstanding all our labor, diligence, fasting, praying and good works, we shall be yet void of real sanctification, destitute of those humble, gracious tempers with accompany a clear view of the cross.
     False ideas of the holiness are common, not only among those who profess false religions, but among those who profess the true. The love of God to us, and our love to Him, work together for producing holiness. Terror accomplishes no real obedience. Suspense brings forth no fruit unto holiness. No gloomy uncertainty as to God's favor can subdue one lust, or correct our crookedness of will. But the free pardon of the cross uproots sin, and withers all its branches. Only the certainty of love, forgiving love, can do this…
     Free and warm reception into the divine favour is the strongest of all motives in leading a man to seek conformity to Him who has thus freely forgiven him all trespasses."

Horatius Bonar

"To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." Ephesians 1:6

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil…."

"No European capital has been brought to a standstill by a march expressing outrage. There are few calls for war-crimes trials of the perpetrators…. The crime is the wholesale eradication of Christianity from the continent that gave it birth…. Across the Middle East, with the exception of Israel, Christians are in the process of being ethnically and religiously cleansed." Douglas Murray: Christianity being cleansed from Middle East by ISIS | Express Comment | Comment | Daily Express

”Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Isaiah 1:16-17

Silence and Solitude

”Without the discipline of silence and solitude, we play to the crowds, always performing yet never being quite sure of ourselves.” Marlena Graves

"And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…." Matthew 14:23 

Read more: The Spiritual Blessings of Seeking Solitude | Christianity Today

A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness: Marlena Graves: Amazon.com: Books

Camping on Lake Aoki

Our family went camping on Lake Aoki 

(about 1 1/2 hrs. from Matsumoto) this Mon. ~ Wed.

 "Everything created by God is good, 

and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." 1 Timothy 4:4

The child of God sins very dearly

"The more God loves you, and the more you love God, the more expensive will you find it to sin. An ordinary sinner sins cheaply: the child of God sins very dearly." Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:10-11

Civilization itself was transformed by Jesus Christ

“Not only countless individual lives, but civilization itself was transformed by Jesus Christ. In the ancient world, his teachings elevated brutish standards of morality, halted infanticide, enhanced human life, emancipated women, abolished slavery, inspired charities and relief organizations, created hospitals, established orphanages and founded schools…. In medieval times Christianity almost single-handedly kept classical culture alive … moderating warfare through truce days, and providing dispute arbitration … In the modern era, Christian teaching, properly expressed, advanced science, instilled concepts of political, social and economic freedom, fostered justice and provided the greatest single source of inspiration for the magnificent achievements in art, architecture, music and literature that we treasure to the present day. No other religion, philosophy, teaching, nation, movement — whatever — has so changed the world for the better as Christianity has done.” Alvin Schmidt, sociologist, Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization:  Amazon.com:

'When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.' John 13:12-15

Family...

With the kids at Agata no Mori Park (Matsumoto).

Few weeks ago,went to Nobeyama (about 1 1/2 hrs.) for a couple of days.

This week, Joshua and Shane climb the Alps.

Grace and Effort

”Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude.” Dallas Willard

”For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus　for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10

"And the Word became flesh…."

"In Jesus Christ the reality of God has entered into the reality of this world. The place where the questions about the reality of God and about the reality of the world are answered at the same time is characterized solely by the name: Jesus Christ. God and the world are enclosed in this name … we cannot speak rightly of either God or the world without speaking of Jesus Christ. All concepts of reality that ignore Jesus Christ are abstractions….As long as Christ and the world are conceived as two realms bumping against and repelling each other, we are left with only the following options. Giving up on reality as a whole – either we place ourselves in one of the two realms, wanting Christ without the world or the world without Christ – and in both cases we deceive ourselves.… There are not two realities, but only one reality, and that is God’s reality revealed in Christ in the reality of the world. Partaking in Christ, we stand at the same time in the reality of God and in the reality of the world. The reality of Christ embraces the reality of the world in itself. The world has no reality of its own independent of God’s revelation in Christ. … [T]he theme of two realms, which has dominated the history of the church again and again, is foreign to the New Testament." Dietrich Bonhoeffer | Jewish Virtual Library

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

A louder word over us

”The voice of condemnation speaks accurately about the sins we have committed; 

God speaks a louder word over us in the gospel.” Martin Luther

He still prayed

"When Job was prospering, he prayed. When he was suffering, he still prayed." Tim Keller

'And Job said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."' Job 1:21

Three picts...

Flowers before our apartment and church

Men of the Abundant Life Church painting the sign post.

My students at Shinshu University working on an outline for their narrative essay.

Rhythm of work and rest

"All of us are haunted by the work under the work- that need to prove and save ourselves, to gain a sense of worth and identity…. Since God rested after his creation, we must also rest after ours. This rhythm of work and rest is not only for believers; it is for everyone, as part of our created nature…. To rest is actually a way to enjoy and honor the goodness of God's creation and our own. To violate the rhythm of work and rest leads to chaos in our life…. 

"God portrays the Sabbath day as a reenactment of emancipation from slavery…. Sabbath is therefore a declaration of our freedom. It means you are not a slave- not your culture's expectations, your family's hopes, your medical school's demands, not even your own insecurities…. 

"A deeply rested people are far more productive…. 

"We also are to think of Sabbath as an act of trust…. You are not the one who keeps the world running, who provides for your family, not even the one who keeps your work projects moving forward…. God is there- and you are not alone in your work…. It is a chance to mediate on passages like Matthew 6 until deep rest begins to penetrate you…. 

"It is normally through the sympathy and encouragement of Christian friends that we experience God refreshing us and supporting us in our work…. 

"(Jesus) is the only boss who will not drive you into the ground, the only audience that does not need your best performance in order to be satisfied with you. Why is this? Because his work for you is finished…. A Christian is able to rest only because God's redemptive work is… finished in Christ."

Tim Keller, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work: Timothy Keller, Amazon.com: Books

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:30

"He will glorify me"

“Revival, above everything else, is a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is the restoration of him to the center of the life of the Church. You find this warm devotion, personal devotion, to him.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify me." Jesus Christ, John 16:14

"Tenfold more prayerfulness"

"We are often for preaching to awaken others; but we should be more upon praying for it. Prayer is more powerful than preaching. It is prayer that gives preaching all its power. . . . Why, the very hands of Moses would have fallen down, had they not been held up by his faithful people. Come, then, ye wrestlers with God—ye that climb Jacob's ladder—ye that wrestle Jacob's wrestling—strive you with God, that he may fulfill his word."

"Since the intellectual part of the discourse is not that which is most likely to be an arrow in the conscience, those pastors who are intellectual men must bestow tenfold more prayerfulness on their work, if they would have either their own or their people's souls affected under their word. If we are ever to preach with compassion for the perishing, we must ourselves be moved by those same views of sin and righteousness which moved the human soul of Jesus."

Robert Murray McCheyne Sermons | SermonAudio.com

"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:4

Picts for you….

Alex's goodbye party. 

Alex, 3rd from the right, served the Lord here playing the violin for two months.

Yours truly teaching at Shinshu University. 

I teach 7 classes, primarily writing.

Jon (my brother) speaking at Abundant Life Church.

Four people were baptized recently.

Actively doing God's will

 “Being a Christan is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

'And Jesus said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."' Luke 9:23

Grace

Listen to U2's  Grace on YouTube. The words are below.

Bono's comments on the song. "There are a couple of my favourite people rolled in to that lyric but the most important thing is that they personify my favourite word in the lexicon of the English language. It's a word I'm depending on. The universe operates by Karma, we all know that. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. There is atonement built in: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Then enters Grace and turns that upside down. I love it."

Grace



Grace, she takes the blame


She covers the shame


Removes the stain


It could be her name


Grace, it's the name for a girl


It's also a thought that could change the world


And when she walks on the street 


You can hear the strings


Grace finds goodness in everything





Grace, she's got the walk


Not on a ramp or on chalk


She's got the time to talk


She travels outside of karma, karma


She travels outside of karma


When she goes to work 


You can hear the strings


Grace finds beauty in everything



Grace, she carries a world on her hips


No champagne flue for her lips


No twirls or skips between her fingertips


She carries a pearl in perfect condition


What once was hurt


What once was friction


What left a mark no longer stings


Because Grace makes beauty 
Out of ugly things


Grace finds beauty in everything 


Grace finds goodness in everything


"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians ２：８−９

Picts….

May 18th, mini concert with Alex

Me reading books at Starbucks, yesterday.

Seeing Dan and Tina off to Hawaii, today.

(Momose's praying)