Spring has sprung, the sakura (cherry blossoms) are blooming in Japan, and it’s Easter weekend. Lots to be thankful for.
Last weekend we were in Yokohama for the annual conference of the Immanuel General Mission (IGM), our partner denomination in Japan. It was great catching up with lots of people while we were there, and we also spent an extra day at the Wesleyan Mission house doing some housecleaning. We’re thankful for a safe and productive trip.
Yoko and I are currently preparing to preach and lead worship in Fukui on Easter Sunday. Please pray for safe travels and God’s anointing on our ministry. Easter is a great time to share the Gospel, and we’re expecting some non-Christians to be present, so we’re praying for open hearts.
Meanwhile, in Drawbridge Creations news, we’re running some paid promos on Instagram this weekend to drive traffic to some of our Easter-related content on Waypoints.jp. Just checking the stats now, I’m told that in the first day, over 400 people have followed a link to blog post about reasons to believe in the resurrection, while over 200 clicked a link to read one of our Easter stories. Not a bad start! Please pray with us that God will use our manga and blog posts to open people’s hearts to Jesus!
Hope your year is off to a good start. Ours has been busy. It turns out that onboarding a new missionary is a lot of work. It’s a good reminder to me to be grateful for all the people who helped me out when I first came as an English teacher and later as a missionary, and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. The good news is Mickey is in Japan, settling in nicely and already diving into learning Japanese.
In February (starting tomorrow, in fact!) we are hosting a potential missionary couple who are visiting on a vision trip. We’re also planning on doing an English outreach event in Noto, and traveling for some meetings too. Your prayerswould be much appreciated, especially since we’ve been getting lots of winter weather lately (see below).
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27 NLT)
Jesus didn’t promise His followers an easy life, free from pain. He didn’t promises riches or comfort. But He did promise something better, something that this world can’t give: peace of mind and heart.
There are a lot of things I don’t have. But really, I know I don’t need them as long as I have Jesus. To be honest, I don’t always feel that way. But I’m thankful for this reminder, and that it’s true.
Lord, please give me a real sense of Your peace today, and let that determine how I think, how I talk and how I live.
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” (John 11:40 NLT)
Like Martha, sometimes I doubt. Sometimes Jesus needs to remind me that His grace is enough. That if I believe, trust and obey Him I’ll see prayers answered, lives changed, His Kingdom come. And through it all, He’s my constant companion.
Again the phrase “Then they will know that I am the Lord” is repeated here. Today this reminded me of the New Testament promise that someday everyone will see and acknowledge Jesus; that “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” I want to be among those who willingly choose to bow. I choose to worship Jesus now.
