Angels

'it is not angels who will control the future world.' Hebrews 2:5

Why is the world so obsessed with ghost stories? Because supernatural evil really does exist. But it is not Almighty. The devil is merely an angel that rebelled. (see the Book of Jude)

Evil

'Hate evil' Hebrews 1:9

It is not often I go into the centre of a Japanese city and see a couple of witches. Then again it is All Hallows Eve tomorrow.

I'm almost certain the girls were more interested in a cute costume than contacting evil spirits. But I feel it important to remind you that despite what you may have read in fiction like Harry Potter- real witches are not cute- but diabolical.

Little

'Little children and tiny babies
are fainting and dying in the streets.' Lamentations 2:11

Sell St Pauls to the highest bidder. Then give the money to the poor in Somalia. There are plenty of other places for Christians to meet in London.

Punishment

'The LORD is a God who gives just punishment.' Jeremiah 51:56

I love chocolate. I just had root canal work. Seems fair really.

Souls decay too. Hell is soulache. Jesus can fix it but only if you ask Him in time.

Medicine

'Give her medicine.' Jeremiah 51:8

Thank God (and Alfred Einhorn) for Novocain.

Justice

'For the LORD is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice.' Psalm 98:9

Amen! Lord, have mercy.

Dog

'a dog returns to its vomit' Proverbs 26:11

Escape

'escape the devil's trap' 2 Timothy 2:26

Red Devils 1- City 6

For all of you who spend Sundays worshipping Man United or any other team instead of going to church- wake up!

Faithful

'If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.' 2 Timothy 2:13

Men cheat. Women lie. God does neither.

Wrath

'We live our lives beneath your wrath' Psalm 90:9

One of the central disagreements between Christians boils down to just how angry God is. We all need to be careful of making our conceptions of The Almighty fit what we want to hear.

Prison

'Jeremiah was put in the palace prison' Jeremiah 37:21

Jeremiah lost his freedom for telling the truth, and many Christians across the world today are waking up behind bars for the same reason, including between 10-15% of the Christians in North Korea.

Daughter

'our daughters' Jeremiah 35:8

There are many good things about Japanese and British cultures. But at a Japanese state school, my daughter is learning virtually nothing about England. Nearly 6 years of full time education here and she cannot speak English apart from what I myself have taught her in my own time. Multicultural education it is not. She seems to have picked up racism against Chinese people which she did not learn from me. The only good things- she is fluent in Japanese, and she seems to have many friends (all Japanese).

It is breaking my heart watching it happen. I feel she has been stolen from me. The simple British pleasure of strolling to the chip shop and sharing a meal- gone. My daughter hardly knows what fish and chips tastes like.

In appearance she will never pass as fully Japanese. And yet she is being taught virtually nothing about her true identity as British and Japanese. In fact the Government will make her choose one nationality when she comes of age- dual citizenship is not recognised here. The message is clear- assimilate or leave. It feels like cultural rape.

North and South.

'You created north and south' Psalm 89:12

If Google maps are correct, North Korea is north from here. Indonesia is south. Plus a whole lot of ocean of course. In Indonesia many Christians have been killed by radical Muslims- in North Korea many Christians have been killed by the regime.

Cheerful

'Singing cheerful songs to someone with a heavy heart
is like taking someone's coat in cold weather.' Proverbs 25:20

Teaching English in Japan sounds exotic, doesn't it? But the reality often is: you take a train so crowded you can barely stand let alone sit, to a kindergarden where dozens of ankle-biters attempt to climb all over you while you sing along to a tape of 'If you're happy and you know it clap your hands...' sung by people so manically happy you feel their mood has to be chemically enhanced. If you mildly slap a kid for shouting in your ear at the top of his voice you will henceforth be considered some kind of Nazi war criminal.

It's no wonder three years is the absolute maximum for most people.

Modest

'I would like for women to wear modest and sensible clothes.'
1 Timothy 2:9

Saint Paul is not popular with feminists. But despite slutwalks, this verse does not seem harsh to me. Women in China often are killed before they are born. But some women in the West seem to think their alleged right to wear exactly want they want, where they want and when they want is more important than the genocide of their sisters in other countries.

If you feel men should have no influence over what you wear, just imagine the boot on the other foot. Should men have the right to go out in the street naked if they feel like it?

Saint Paul is a voice of reason. There is a middle path between Jersey Shore and the hijab and it is called Christianity.

Late

'one day in late summer' Jeremiah 28:1

It may be half way through October but here in southern Japan it is still T shirt weather, at least today.

Saw two storks standing on two roofs. I was expecting them to flirt or squawk or fight or something, but nothing happened. It turns out storks don't squawk- they can't.

Animals

'..even the wild animals, under his control..' Jeremiah 27:6

Mrs Pigeon has a new clutch of eggs. I can't bring myself to smash them, even though I would really like a clean, pigeon-poop-free balcony...

And guess what? Those teen pigeons, all grown up now, never return to say thank-coo.

Messengers

'let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word.' Jeremiah 23:28

I'm not good enough to be a priest or a pastor. But I can tell you Every Word of the Bible is worth reading. Let God tell you stuff about your life that you didn't know yourself. Just read with an open mind.

Eternal

'He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgement on those who don't know God and those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction.' 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

Fukushima is a walk in the park compared to Judgement Day.

Heart

'The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.' Jeremiah 17:9

Are you good? Or do you just think you are?

Wickedness

'Lord, we confess our wickedness
and that of our ancestors, too.
We have all sinned against you.' Jeremiah 14:20

I love England, and am proud to be English. Too much so, sometimes. Living in exile has made me much more patriotic than I used to be when I actually lived there and took everything for granted.

But we English need to accept that much of our wealth was gained from the exploitation of others through empire. And British culture today is far from perfect.

When I see rich countries like the UK, Western Europe, the US and Japan struggling while developing countries make great strides forward, part of me fears for the future. But part of me feels- isn't it their turn to get a piece of the pie? We have had it good for a long time, and instead of thanking God for it we thought it was cool to ignore Him.

Please

'Our purpose is to please God, not people.' 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Talking about Jesus or God's laws does not make you popular.

Shrines

'they angered God by building shrines to other gods.' Psalm 78:58

Shinto is hurting Japan.

Anger

'Now is the time to get rid of anger' Colossians 3:8

Jesus forgave his enemies. But I am still struggling with it.

Children

'Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires'
Jeremiah 7:18

Are we sacrificing our kids on the Altar of Technological Progress and Prosperity?

Land

''This is what the LORD says:
'The whole land will be ruined,
but I will not destroy it completely.' '' Jeremiah 4:27

Unclean

'she had made both herself and the land unclean by worshiping idols of stone and wood.'
Jeremiah 3:9

Get your updates about the Japan nuclear disaster from the Old Testament.

Womb

'I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb' Jeremiah 1:5

I admire left wing politicians who really care about the poor and the oppressed. But I cannot vote for them if they support killing unborn babies. Since when did standing up for the rights of ordinary men and women involve killing children?

I have been asked by my daughter's school to help with the neighborhood patrol today. But if we really care about kids, we have to ask- how many babies in this area never made it to school? Never got that chance? How many were killed not by some evil random stranger but by their own evil mothers?

Church

'..I harshly persecuted the church' Philippians 3:6

Saul saw the Light in the end.

Rest

'Take no rest, all you who pray to the LORD.' Isaiah 62:6

I don't pray enough. I am too easily distracted.