Wandering

'We all went wandering like sheep...' Isaiah 53:6

Went to Shishibu yesterday, for the first time ever...

Flesh

'In my flesh, there is nothing good..' Romans 7:18

Talk

'The angel who talked with me...' Zechariah 2:3

She is not an angel. But I am still crazy about her, and I don`t even know when I will see her again...

Support

'..To whom are you looking for support..?' Isaiah 36:5

When I lived in Birmingham, I used to attend a Men`s Group at my parish church, run by the curate and a trained counsellor. It was good- I miss it...

Attacks

'I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.' Acts 26:15

Today is Respect the Aged day in Japan. God is older than all of us so why won`t most of Japan respect Him?

Looking

'Looking for help in ways of deceit and evil' Isaiah 30:12

I keep looking for love in all the wrong places...

Hate

'Your haters will be burned up in the fire' Isaiah 26:11

An old woman spat as I walked past her today. This is the Japan you don`t read about in the guide books...

Shame

'It was the purpose of the Lord of armies to put pride to shame.' Isaiah 23:9

Hope

'What hope have we then of salvation?' Isaiah 20:6

I believe Jesus died for us, for me. He is my only hope of salvation.

Sometimes he seems to save miraculously- I have met people who got off hard drugs through conversion. More often, it seems, Christians, myself included, still have spiritual battles against their own personal demons, whether sex, gambling, alcohol or whatever. Sometimes the church is guilty of making it sound like everything will be ok immediately... this is not usually the case, in my experience.

But at the end of the day, it is the people who don`t think they need saving that are in the most danger...

Immorality

'Abstain ...from sexual immorality' Acts 15:20

'bon odori

ato wa matsu kaze

mushi no koe' Sogetsu- ni

Love

'Jesus..said to him, ''If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word..'' John 14:23

I don`t love Jesus as much as I should.

It is easy to love the beautiful things around us that God has made, like clouds and stars and fish, ducks, beetles and grass.

It is harder to love someone who dies in agony under torture and asks you to do the same.

God have mercy.

Violent

'They are cruel, violently putting the young men to death, and crushing the young women; they have no pity for children...' Isaiah 13:18

May God have mercy on the souls of those who died on 9/11, and on those who continue to die in Iraq and Afganistan.

Fear

'Do not be in fear of what they go in fear of..' Isaiah 8:12

Despite popular Japanese superstition, there is actually nothing at all unlucky about the number 4.

Heat

'..shade in the daytime from the heat..' Isaiah 4:6

Autumn seems to arrive later here than in the UK, but of course we are much further south. Even though it is September I am still too hot...

Thousand

'The thousand are for you...' Song of Solomon 8:12

My rate for English conversation is 1000/yen per hour. Some students are so pleasant to spend time with I feel guilty taking the cash...

Ability

'[They].. began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability...' Acts 2:4

Young people here often visit a famous local Shinto shrine to pray for help passing exams. But I am sure it is God Almighty that can help the most with studying languages- or any other subject, for that matter...

Please, the next time you have an exam, go to church. But don`t forget to study too!

First

'teaching from the first...' Acts 1:1

Before I started teacher training, I was asked by my college to spend some time at a high school. So I went back to my old school as an observer. This was an extremely weird experience, seeing old teachers as new colleagues, albeit for only a few days, being allowed for the first time into the inner sanctum of the staff room, off limits to mere pupils.

Staff rooms are odd places at the best of times, but the thing I remember most was a fight breaking out on the school field between some boys. My old teachers, who I had heretofore seen as mostly responsible adults, suddenly behaved like kids themselves, flocking to the window and, safe behind net curtains, watching the procedings with eagerness until someone finally said, somewhat reluctantly, ' Well I suppose I had better go break it up...'

Lovesick

'I am lovesick' Song of Songs 2:5

Study

'Much study is a weariness of the flesh' Ecclesiastes 12:12

I can speak Japanese like a 4 year old draws pictures: it is a bit hard to make out what is meant.