Sheepish

'I have wandered away like a lost sheep' Psalm 119:176

I know what God expects from me- yet I just keep going in the opposite direction..despite my fear of hell.

Eyes

'They commit adultery with their eyes...' 2 Peter 2:14

When I am lost looking into her eyes I just can`t seem to help myself... Please God have mercy!

Until

'Until you learn that the Most High rules...' Daniel 4:25

Corporate Japan is still suffering at the moment. I can`t help but feel that continuing to make Christmas Day a work day like any other is not helping...

If...

'If your instructions hadn`t sustained me... I would have died in my misery.' Psalm 119:92

In America and the UK a group called Gideons put Bibles or New Testaments in hotel rooms with a special page listing verses to turn to when feeling depressed, stressed, suicidal, and so on..

I know God uses their work to save lives. I know the Bible has helped me get through on days when I was full of despair with no one seemingly to turn to...

I can`t help but feel Japan`s very high suicide rate would benefit from the Gideons. Please, dear reader, if you feel today a total lack of hope, please, please give God a chance. Pick up a Bible.

Literature

'Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon..' Daniel 1:4

I have a book of American poems but I`m not sure whether the young lad I work with will be interested. It is difficult to know where to start...

I am a big fan of TS Eliot myself: '' The end is where we start from...Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning, every poem an epitaph.'' (Little Gidding V)

Honest?

'Use only honest weights and scales and honest measures...' Ezekiel 45:10

Certain Japanese politicians who criticize Christianity would do well to put their own house in order...

Poor

'Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich.' Proverbs 28:6

The news today says 1 in 6 people in Japan are now poor. I think I am one of them. Then again I still have enough dosh for a Chinese bento and a tiny can of cheap beer tonight, so I guess I am rich compared to many in Africa... I need to be more thankful.

Gateway

'Then the man took me to the south gateway' Ezekiel 40:28

Passed the gateway of the US embassy today. Men with big sticks guard it. I used to think it was to protect Americans from terrorism, but now I wonder if it is to 'protect' small children from their own Daddies...

Favor

'If you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin.' James 2:9

It is very difficult to like all of my students equally...

Troubled

'I am deeply troubled, LORD...' Psalm 116:10

Bad diet? Lack of sleep? Seasonal factors? Spiritual oppression? I often feel down this time of year.

Hope it is not like this until March...

Idols

'You worship idols..' Ezekiel 33:25

There are a lot of so-called 'gods' in Japan that aren`t gods at all.

Praise

'Praise the LORD!' Psalm 113:1

When I was at primary school, my wise teachers in London taught me to sing hymns. My daughter today was taught to sing a Disney song, paying lip service to multiculturalism, while being denied the right to attend church on a Sunday morning. Hypocrisy!

FYI, Mr Music Teacher, Mickey Mouse never could, never will, and cannot now save your soul.

Discipline

'fathers who disciplined us..' Hebrews 12:9

My Dad never dragged me to church, as he did n`t go himself until I asked him to take me when I was 13 or 14 or so. I usually give my daughter the choice whether to attend or not except when her school decides to schedule something on a Sunday. Then I want her to see that although music and sports are good, church is more important.

Prostitutes

'...Prostitutes in Egypt' Ezekiel 23:3

Walking home from the railway station, if I take the back streets I pass places that are best passed. A few years ago I am sorry to admit I failed to walk past, more than once...

Ezekiel 23 is one of those chapters of the Bible that is more like pornography than what you would perhaps expect from a holy book... Ezekiel is only talking metaphorically, but he certainly warms to his theme...

In nearly 30 years of church going, I don`t think I have ever heard a sermon on this chapter. Maybe I should have...

Home

'home from exile...' Ezekiel 20:42

Went to the local park today to play badminton with my daughter. Certainly didn`t expect to meet a guy from Berkshire... Having said that, it is not the only time I have met a foreigner there, but I think it has only happened twice in ten years...

Defiled

'They defiled themselves by their evil deeds...' Psalm 106:39

Sick

'' 'What a sick heart you have' says the Sovereign LORD...'' Ezekiel 16:30

God have mercy upon us.

Disease

'I will spare a few of them from death by war, famine or disease...' Ezekiel 12:16

My daughter has a fever, it seems, along with many in her class..

Son

'Son of Man...' Ezekiel 7:2

Yesterday was All Souls, a Christian equivalent to the Japanese Obon festival of remembering the dead. So these words remind me of my Dad who died this week ten years ago.

All children resemble their parents. Being a twin, my Dad had a very strong sense of fairness and injustice, because I guess everything in his life was shared equally. I think that has made its impression on me, though not always in a good way.

I wonder quite what a son of mine would be like. It seems such a child is not to be.

Lust

'Unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes..' Ezekiel 6:9

It seems to me that one of my biggest spiritual problems is my lack of true wholehearted repentance in this area. If I am totally honest I just don`t want to stop looking at cute women...And I don`t want to stop at just looking..

There`s a prayer used frequently in the old Anglican liturgy which is something like: ' ..grant me the grace of true repentance..'

Gushing

'streams gush down from the mountains..' Psalm 104:10

Rainy today, so the local river is higher than usual. Saw magpies and wood pigeons looking for food along the bank.