Precious

'..the precious children of Jerusalem..' Lamentations 4:2

It is not often my work involves interviewing schoolgirls preparing to study abroad. If when my daughter is 15 or 16 she decides she wishes to travel to the other side of the planet from me, I dare say I will be pretty worried about her safety. However if her heart is set on it I guess I would be reluctant to prevent her...

Greater

'the Son is far greater than the angels..' Hebrews 1:4

I usually watch too much baseball this time of year...

To submit?

'Remind the believers to submit..' Titus 3:1

Regarding the changes in Anglicanism, I am not sure whether I should submit to Rome or not.

Corrupt

'their minds and consciences are corrupted' Titus 1:15

I don`t know how to get my innocence back...

Unfailing

'your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me.' Psalm 94:18

I have probably said it before but it is worth repeating- your wife, your husband, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your best mates, your parents, your children, your boss, your employees, your church, your temple, your shrine- they will all let you down sooner or later...

Enslaved

'you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you...' 2 Corinthians 11:20

There are some beautiful women who know that they just have to smile sweetly and flirt a little and I will do more or less anything they want...

Life

'life and death..' 2 Corinthians 7:3

There are frequent reminders here of the 220 000 unfortunate souls that perished in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. May they rest in peace.

However there is far less fuss about the larger number of people killed -256,000 in 2007- through abortion every year here. This at a time when society is ageing rapidly...

Blows

'in blows, in prisons, in attacks...' 2 Corinthians 6:5

Foreigners who don`t stay in Japan very long may be unaware of the passive-aggressive nature of hostility here...

This morning for example. I have a tendency to get to work pretty early and I often sit round the corner in the local park until it is time to start. This is not entirely welcomed by the locals it seems... Today five seconds after I arrived the local rubbish lorry turned up. Coincidence? Perhaps. Then an old guy with a sharp long handled tool came right up to the bench where I was and began pounding it into the ground just feet from where I was sitting, tearing up the grass which was admittedly rather long. (the whole park was like this, but he chose to do it right next to me) A man walking his dog allowed it to urinate just in front of me. Not subtle, I think you will agree.

I believe all this stems from Japan being an extremely ordered society through much of its history- any open rebellion was not tolerated so people found less direct ways to express contempt. I have to say I am glad I live in a country where blows with hoes are aimed at the grass instead of the head....

Exile

'...carried into exile...' Jeremiah 27:20

In 'Romeo and Juliet' by some English writer you may have heard of, Romeo kills a guy and instead of being executed, he`s banished. I dare say angry elders in Verona wrote to their local newspapers bemoaning the wishy washy liberal sentencing policies of the day, but that`s probably because they didn`t have a clue what exile feels like.

I haven`t set foot on the soil of the land of my birth for over 6 years, and haven`t lived there for nearly 10. Believe me, no matter how nice the country is where you live, if you can`t go home it is a form of living death... That is partly why around 90 per cent of English teachers in Japan leave within 3 years.

Jezza

'The word which came to Jeremiah...' Jeremiah 25:1

I like Jeremiah. We have the word 'jeremiad' in English which the COD defines as: 'a long mournful complaint...' and let`s face it, neither the book which bears Jeremiah`s name nor his other work 'Lamentations' are going to make their readers laugh a lot. They are not easy to read. The Book of Jeremiah describes how a young man reluctantly speaks words which are seen as traitorous by the religious establishment of the day. But Jeremiah didn`t hugely care what they thought of him. He just said what God told him to say.

I wish I was more like him.

O

'O earth, earth, earth, give ear to the word of the Lord' Jeremiah 22:29

It hurts a lot when the people I care about (you know who you are) don`t wish to listen when I try to talk about God. I know I am a train wreck but even so I really do believe that Jesus cares about every one of us and is dying to help us out.

Cursing

'Every one of them is cursing me..' Jeremiah 15:10

Really shouldn`t use English curse words in a Japanese supermarket, but I was provoked...Sorry God.

Able?

'Are any of the false gods of the nations able to make rain come?' Jeremiah 14:22

Unusual for me to have to work in a room with a Buddhist altar in it.

Name

'There are those who have the name of gods...' 1 Corinthians 8:5

I can see why many Japanese are very reluctant to let go of the familiarity of a 1000 years of Buddhist culture and embrace Jesus. Most temples here are old and impressive while many churches are shoddy post war buildings in dubious neighborhoods. It`s a question of wealth and power. Christians are a tiny minority here.

But they need to ask themselves what this wealth and power are based on? Most Buddhist temples make their dosh from funerals like the one I attended yesterday. The Buddhist priest may sound impressive with his chanting and elaborate robes, but are the fees they charge grieving widows just? Most importantly of all, are the sutras he chants really historically reliable? Anyone but the most blind in faith would question the hundreds of years it took before anything at all about 'Buddha' was written down...

Wife

'The wife has not power over her body, but the husband; and in the same way the husband has not power over his body, but the wife.' I Corinthians 7:4

Some feminists like to portray Saint Paul and Christianity as misogynist, but if you actually read the Bible you will see it is not the case. This verse is radically egalitarian, nearly 2000 years before the rest of the planet caught up.

Death

'His sword will be on all flesh' Isaiah 66:16

Mr S was one of the first Japanese men to allow me into his home when I first arrived in this country. I never got to know him very well as he didn`t speak English, and I speak his language very poorly, even now.

He was a husband, a father and a grandfather.

He died today.

A little piece of Japan has gone today and cannot be replaced.

Foolish

'Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ?' 1 Corinthians 1:20

Scientists don`t really understand why the moon looks bigger when it is near the horizon.

Evil

'Make clear to my people their evil doings..' Isaiah 58:1

Sex is a wonderful gift from God. Human bodies are beautiful. But the exploitation of female or male flesh for profit is wrong, in spite of it being legal and available in every corner shop or convenience store in England and Japan.

Why then is it, when I know in my heart and mind that porn is not right, am I so unable to turn away from it?

Married

'Do not be untrue in married life.' Romans 13:9

The Curate who married my wife and I was impressive because of his sheer honesty. I remember him saying to me once something along the lines of: 'Sin is difficult to avoid because it is so much fun'...