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.