As the months have marched on towards our return to Japan, we have been considering our upcoming work and thinking about what our plans are moving forward. We want to approach this work with a vision supported by plans and goals. Nehemiah sets the kind of example we want to follow. He prayed for God’s blessing and provision (Neh. 1:4-11; 2:4), he set a vision (Neh. 2:5), he considered and prepared for the work (Neh. 2:6-16), he cast the vision before others and gathered help (Neh. 2:17-18), and he got to the work (Neh. 3-6). This is applicable to our upcoming mission. It’s useful to not only have a vision,…
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Sowing With Tears, Reaping With Joy
Over the course of this year, the importance of prayer has become ever more apparent to me. I think it’s safe to say that I have prayed more this year than I have ever prayed in my life. Of course, I still have plenty of room to grow in this spiritual discipline, but I have learned to lean on God in prayer throughout this year like never before. I am thankful for the challenges that have led me to that deeper relationship with him. Part of what has helped me focus in prayer this year has been reading through a daily devotional book on the Psalms by Tim Keller called…
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Seven Things To Pray For
Our family believes in prayer – we believe God hears and cares and answers. This is especially relevant when it comes to work for the kingdom. God has made promises to us related to prayer and we would be foolish not to avail ourselves of those promises! Not only do we believe these things, but we also believe that prayer is not intended to be a solitary endeavor. Rather, prayer is something that we do with and for each other (e.g. Rom. 15:30; 2 Thess. 3:1). So, while we are certainly in continual prayer about our upcoming work, we desire (indeed we need) for others to be in prayer for…
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The Glory And Honor Of The Nations
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of…
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Why We Believe In Japan
When we talk to people about doing mission work in Japan, it is often met with various kinds of surprise, and we can understand that reaction. Japan is, after all, very far away. It also has a completely different language, different culture, different food, and so on. There are surely simpler places to move our family. Many people wonder what would convince us of the need to go to a place so far from home. The simple answer is: we believe in the mission and we love the people. In Ephesians 1, Paul tells us of all the incredible blessings we have through Jesus Christ. He tells us we were…
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The Motivation Of Mission
Throughout this year, I’ve been working my way through a devotional book by Tim Keller on the Psalms. One of the Psalms, Psalm 67, includes this passage: May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Here, the Psalmist requests blessings from God, but the request is made so that the ways of God may be known among the peoples of the earth, and that they might praise him. Of this, Keller notes, “true…
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Alarming Statistics And How To Respond
It is no secret that Japan’s population has begun to decline. While the government makes serious efforts to encourage childbirth, the reality of a declining population continues to set in. I saw a map on Twitter today laying out this point in full color: #Japan population change map 2015-2018 Blue = decline Red = growth Growth hot spots in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka pic.twitter.com/0Ei32aW11l — shootjapan (@ShootOsaka) April 13, 2019 As I reflected on this map, it got me to thinking about the percentage of Christians in Japan. The Christian population could technically rise in the coming years: assuming stable numbers among Christianity, a declining population would mean a…
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A Vision For Discipleship In Japan
In Matthew 28, as Jesus met with the eleven disciples on the mountain in Galilee, he famously gave them the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” This is the call and the command of Jesus – to make disciples. And this is the call and command we wish to follow upon our return to Japan. There are a number of benefits to focusing on discipleship within the…
