Israel

'Praise the LORD God, the God of Israel..' Psalm 72:18

Some of us Brits have a dangerous tendency to think of ourselves as special. This kind of patriotism is not entirely unheard of in Japan too... or in many countries.

God, however, chose Israel for the birth of his Son. Jesus spent his whole life there, yet there are few places left on Earth where His name is not known, or where Easter will not be celebrated this weekend.

Debts

'every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money...' Deut. 15:1

You know who you are.

Love

'You must love the LORD' Deuteronomy 11:1

It is easy to love your Dad when he buys you an expensive present. It is not so easy when he wants you to do something that you find tiresome.

'Must love' is an unusual phrase, isn't it? It implies lack of choice, and so atheists tend to get the wrong idea. Who is this egocentric deity that demands our love like a petulant child? they ask. In fact it is their concept of God that is immature.

Failing to love the God who designed us and who loves us with every fibre of His being is about as good for our souls as smoking 50 a day is good for our lungs. Moses in Deuteronomy is just giving us the health warning.

Offered

'they offer me sour wine for my thirst..' Psalm 69:21

What is your favorite drink? Beer? coffee? Strawberry flavored truth?

When Jesus was dying on the cross, which Christians remember this week, the soldiers offered him wine with vinegar.

We thirst. We need love. To many the sad gruesome story of Jesus leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. But only Jesus can truly quench our spiritual thirst. God offered him on the cross for us, so that our sour lives might be made sweet.

Never

'' '...never say to yourself 'I have achieved this wealth with my own strength' '' Deuteronomy 7:17

Japan`s economy is turning round, it seems, back to prosperity..

Wisdom

'Wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it...' Luke 7:35

Mrs Frost was not famous. Even in the part of Sussex in which she lived, few outside the Church she attended knew her, I think. But for those of us who were privileged to work or study with her could tell we were dealing with a genuine saint.

It was partly because of her that I went into teaching, but I have sadly failed to live up to her example...

Money

'Trust in your money and down you go..' Proverbs 11:28

It`s not everyday I meet a Japanese pimp...

Wilderness

'across the wilderness...' Deuteronomy 2:1

The area in which I live has around 5 million people, I believe. Hardly a wilderness in geographical terms. But when I feel incapable of having a real conversation involving anything more than superficial details with most of those people primarily due to linguistic constraints, you can perhaps see why I feel the words 'emotional wilderness' still apply...

Thoughts

'Jesus knew their thoughts' Luke 6:8

God knows what you are thinking.

Overwhelmed

'Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,

you forgive them all.' Psalm 65:3

Amen. May it be so.

Exploring

'they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land...' Numbers 32:9

I am happier when I am covering new ground.

Truth

'But I tell you the truth...' Luke 4:24

You meet a lot of liars on the internet...

Repaid

'Surely you repay all people

according to what they have done. ' Psalm 62:12

My heart goes out to those abused by evil men in this Catholic scandal. But I hardly think the liberal news media, who advocate killing children in the form of abortion, are the ones to point the finger.

Kind or cruel?

''Your kindness will reward you,

but your cruelty will destroy you.'' Proverbs 11:17

Christianity has all the wisdom of Buddhist karma without the reincarnation myth...

Defence?

'You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses..' Psalm 60:1

'Her lips suck forth my soul..' Marlowe, Dr Faustus

Revealed

'The deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed' Luke 2:35

Sometimes I end up saying more than I should..

Impossible

'Nothing is impossible with God' Luke 1:37

Without God, W.B. Yeats says it well: ' things fall apart; the centre cannot hold...'

Belief

'Since you didn't believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak...' Luke 1:20

The church gets into difficulties when it lacks faith.

Little

'..our little ones' Numbers 14:3

We have a joke in English: I love children but I could n`t eat a whole one.

Here in Japan, many teaching job ads glibly state 'must love children'. But what does that really mean? How do you love your child? Surely, by giving it what you believe is best for him or her.

As a Christian, though a pathetically bad one, in one of my first teaching jobs out here with kids I tried to give them what I believed was best for them- a story about Jesus. All hell broke loose. I can see why- foreign man imposing his culture on our Buddhist kids- how dare he? But if you truly want me to be the best teacher I can be, how can I leave your kid with just cartoons, fast food, video games and TV..? Some letters in the English alphabet spell 'God'- some pages in English dictionaries have words like 'good' and 'evil' on them. We may disagree about what those words really mean... but if I can`t even mention them, all we are left with is small talk...and you and your kids will never really understand English culture and many English speaking people.

Betrayal

'How terrible it will be for the one who betrays him.' Mark 14:21

I am really scared of letting Jesus down. Yet I do it every day...

Earthquakes

'There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains...' Mark 13:8

Jesus talking about the end of the world..

Confession

'They must confess their sin' Numbers 5:7

I lost my temper last night. And I had inappropriate thoughts.

Buying and selling

'Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling' Mark 11:15

There are many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in Japan which charge an entrance fee.

Supply?

'I will destroy your food supply' Leviticus 26:26

Having lived in suburbia or the inner city nearly all my life, I can`t really imagine how I would cope if suddenly all the local supermarkets were destroyed, as seems to have happened in some parts of Chile.

Mercy

'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful' Luke 6:36

Often I am far too harsh.