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| ★ "Four Seasons of Life" | 4. 8.2005 Fri |
| In life it's important to have hobbies and pastimes. In order to enjoy hobbies and pastimes， though， it's also necessary that life has a certain plan. I've written before that I would hope for a society that is kind to the homeless. Then， I mentioned that it's important to live with a good plan for life. Of course， we know that no matter how straight a person tries to live， accidents， sicknesses， and loss employment will occur. People's lives have limits， and because of changes in society， there are things that we can't avoid. Generally， there are many Christians who have a light outlook on life. That's because Christians believe that God can turn any event to our good， and He can give us the power to overcome problems. This is the truth for believers. Nevertheless， I want to emphasize here that for believers or not it is good for people to hold onto a life plan while living. One of the people that has influenced my view of life is Paul Tournier. I know him through his writings， his counseling courses， and his life work. One of the things that I heartily agree with him is his favorite expression， "There are four seasons of life." Until 20 years old， life is spring; it is the time to prepare for life. Until 40， life is summer; it is the time to most active. Many things are attempted with the desire to accomplish much. Then， until 60， it is fall; it is the time to harvest. It is time to take stock of what you have， keep it wisely， and prepare for the times ahead. From 60， life is winter; it is the time of maturity. People can't work like they did before. This time， however， is when you enjoy the good that has built up in your life. Being over 40， my wife is finishing up the raising of our children， and she is spending each day in full activity. She joins neighbors in dance， teaches English conversation， leads the singing at the church， directs the worship team， plays the organ at weddings， and teaches music to children. She comments that God will give women unthought of opportunities and treasures， so she wants to be ready for that time. I think， however， that whatever opportunities we are given， we should live in a way appropriate to our season of life. However much our life has been successful， I think that in the winter of life we certainly shouldn't be infatuated with lovers or crazy for money. The mature time of life should be lived with the satisfaction of a graceful heart. After retirement， one friend of mine wants to have resort homes in Karuizawa or Atami， and enjoy years of relaxation. Another person wants to work together with his wife at a camp， so they may give many people a refreshing time away from the busyness of life. Others want to go to America and enter a seminary or college， not to get a degree， but to get a new handle on life. I think that everyone's idea of the joy of maturity is different. Of course， each one wants to look back and see that his life has had great meaning. "To every thing there is a season， and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born， and a time to die; a time to plant， and a time to pluck up that which is planted...A time to weep， and a time to laugh... A time to love， and a time to hate... He hath made every thing beautiful in his time..." Ecclesiates 3:1-11 --Pastor Ino， 2005/2/25 | |
| ★ People You Just Can't Seem to Like | 12.10.2004 Fri |
| Personally， the people I just don't like are loudly cantankerous. In committee meetings or other gatherings， when that person is present and opinions clash， the discussion is over. Rather， it's almost impossible to state a different opinion to that person's face in the first place. We know that he isn't going to listen. The result is that courses of action are pressed upon people that are against any sound reasoning or judgment. This occurs in the community of believers as well as the general society. I myself have been with a church denomination for about 20 years. In our case， we have a very unique church. For example， we have stressed that we consider any day a fine day to gather together for the weekly worship service， not just Sunday. In the past， several pastors have come to me and insisted angrily that I should leave the denomination if I don't emphasize Sunday as the day of worship for the church. In even Christian society where there should be mutual love， where there is a small difference of position， words of condemnation are heard. One pastor who condemned me in a loud voice later called me and apologized. He has always been a fine pastor. We have worked over our differences， and we support each other closely today. Another pastor did not apologize at all， and later retired. After he retired， among his close colleagues was deep resentment over the pastor. They were upset with serious problems in his handling of finances and his poor attitudes with various people. I'm not a mind reader， but his cantankerous speech seemed to have the purpose of suppressing problems. There's a saying in counseling， "You may not be able to change other people， but you can change yourself." A cantankerous person can make an effort to soften the expression of his words， and a quiet person can make an effort to express his opinion firmly. Of course， those who are not humble and won't listen to others， are ones who can not learn. They are ones I just can't seem to like. A person grows as he receives advice from others. Believers also need to lend an ear to people， as they listen to the Bible. Those who stop learning have stopped growing. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit， but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests， but also for the interests of others." Eph. 2:3-4 Pastor Ino | |
| ★ Don't think of man as a god! | 11.19.2004 Fri |
| Our church is congregational. Congregational means that we decide on the church's direction together by discussion. This is different from ministerial， where a higher group decides the church's course. As in the church there are different ways of decision-making， the management of schools， hospitals， companies， and countries differ. They vary from democratic to dictatorial. Each has pros and cons. Whatever the form， if there are selfish， unloving people standing in authority， then their subordinates find themselves in terrible circumstances. In Japan in particular， one-man management is prevalent. They do not take talk from anyone， put aside people they don't like， surround themselves with "yes-men" and make their own fiefdoms. Recently， a famous corporation president resigned. He was a deal maker for many years through his company in the fields of railways， baseball， hotels， and real estate. Now， the trail of his activities is very suspect. Japanese are really hardworking， bright people， and they follow their superiors faithfully， but， before they know it， they start worshiping men like a god. In wartime Japan， the Japanese made the emperor a god， and they put the war dead in Yasukuni shrine as gods. No one corrected that system. It is regrettable. After the war， the emperor declared to the people that he was not a god. Yet even now the Japanese sing in the national anthem that the emperor's world should last long and forever. That's the meaning of the Kimigayo. There are people who would rather not sing the national anthem if possible. On the other hand， there are people who think that they would like to worship the emperor as a god. In general， the Japanese do not resist the feeling to worship people as gods. Thus， we see people worshiping other people as gods of their fields of study， gods of war， gods of baseball， and so on. In a recent newspaper， there was the account of a member of the Tokyo Education Committee who attended a party at the Imperial palace and when he met the emperor， he introduced himself as one who has the job to see that every school in Japan display the Japanese flag and sing the Japanese anthem. The emperor answered him， "I'm sure we know that it's best that this is not forced on people." I think these words revealed well the emperor's personality. We must not think of men as gods. People by nature have limitations. Thus， the people who are made gods and become dictators then live very sad lives. "In the beginning， God created the heavens and the earth."--Gen. 1:1 --Pastor Ino | |
| ★ "Getting a Better Job" | 11.5.2004 Wed |
| I work at church and at a job related to Christian weddings. At the wedding company， I help as pastor， but recently the capable woman employee who works with me has decided to quit. I have enjoyed a well-balanced work routine at the chapels and in the office with her help. Though it seems that the women who work in the office all five workdays have some difficult problems. There arise many reasons to wish to quit， like difficulty with solving problems and management， with people， and with the workload. In any company， there are people who desire to change jobs. People become unsatisfied in school， home， and job situations. In Christian countries before the Reformation， jobs were divided between the secular and the holy. Only jobs where people were directly serving God were considered holy. The reformation， however， changed the such views of labor. It came to be emphasized that working with the calling of God upon one's life in view was more important than the content of one's work. God's calling came to equal the work God provided for you. God provides each person life， and in life there is no superior and inferior， and in work also there is no superior and inferior. The important point is that the work you're in has become your calling from God. When I was went to study in America， I met a very personable janitor who worked at that church-sponsored school. Working as a janitor was a fine job. He had schooling but he energetically did his cleaning. He said， "God has given me this job， and until God says， 'That's enough!' I will do it as well as I can." After coming home from study abroad， I found a teaching job， and I studied at seminary. Then， after I graduated， I started to work at a mission group that helped give continued education to pastors. This mission group encouraged me to start churchplanting. Churchplanting means to have a church start and grow where there hasn't been one. To have relationships in the commmunity， I started a tutoring school for children that need help to get better grades， and my wife started a music school with piano lessons. We tried different things to meet many people. When we had some financial needs， then I took on other part-time jobs too， because I couldn't handle a fulltime job while serving the church. Soon though， one of my pastor friends asked me if I would help him with weddings. Now at my friend's company， I have come to help support pastors in direction and training from Tohoku to Kyushu. This work has continued for 15 years. I consider both my work at church and at weddings as a divine calling from God. A number of times I have felt like quitting， but since I know God's calling is here， I can go on to overcome the problems. As the janitor said， until God says that's enough， I wish to continue these jobs. "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us， whether prophecy， let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry， let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth， on teaching; Or he that exhorteth， on exhortation: he that giveth， let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth， with diligence; he that sheweth mercy， with cheerfulness."--Romans 12:6-8 --Pastor Ino | |
| ★ Free to be bound or bound to be free? | 10. 29.2004 Tue |
| What a story， to hear that he who was called the father of faith， Abraham， travelled with his family and livestock from present day Iraq to Israel after he heard God's voice say， "Go to the land that I will show you." It was a time way before cars or trains， approximately 2000 BC. To follow God was a decision that took your whole life. Then， even though they were a couple without children， they believed God's Word， "Your descendents shall be as the stars in heaven，" and at the age of 100， the promised child Isaac was born to them. For us today， this seems incredible， but the reason Abraham is called the father of faith is because he met the God that can make the impossible possible by believing God's words of incredible promises. In today's Japan， in spite of the progress of science， people still make and worship gods of stone and rock fashioned as raccoons and foxes， dwelling in the shrines. When we think of this plainly， this is idol worship. In homes today， families place godshelves where spirits may preside， and pray for fortune and peace. Nonetheless， if we look at other countries， there seems there are places where the men who believe in the absolute， only God are the ones to trust. It's understood that those who believe in many types of gods are unreliably changing so that they can't be trusted. After believing in Christianity， I came upon a number of things that would suggest a bounded lifestyle. For example， don't get drunk， don't gamble， don't have affairs， and don't lie. Soon though， I came to think of giving up things like these is giving up a lifestyle that pleases the self， and seeking little by little to enjoy a lifestyle that pleases the absolute， one God. I live with the same motivation in church， home， and company. As a Christian， quarrels with other people have become much less. In fact， many people are surrounding me with love and supporting me now. I wish to continue to submit myself to the "bounds' of training， instead of following my own desires in "free living，" so that I may live a life more helpful to society and people around me. What kind of god do you believe in? Do you believe in the gods that can come help you in your personal desires? Or rather， do you believe in the God who wishes to bless you and others? People live what they believe. It's good to live a life that has been worthwhile living. "All things are lawful unto me， but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me， but I will not be brought under the power of any." I Cor. 6:12 --Pastor Ino | |
| ★ Faith is for the Weak? | 10.18.2004 Fri |
| "You must have something you really can't handle， if you have faith，" is the way a lot of people think about believers. I was commanded by my upperclassman in my high school sports club， "I have a place where you can really talk about life， so come with me." Then， I followed him to a church， and thought， "Oh， what a joke!" Nonetheless， I was caught up by the pastor's fervent message， "Everyone has a purpose for living. That's because there is the Creator God who has created you." And， I began my search for truth myself when I was in first year of high school. No one was forcing faith on me， but I met many wonderful believers. Then， I was able to understand for myself and believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I sometimes think of past Japan in the feudal times， that there were Shogun who became believers. Then many subjects of the area took the faith， and wherever you would look there would be crosses standing high on the mountains. Perhaps these people had the faith forced upon them， but I'm sure many of them saw the pure lifestyle of believers so that they were impressed in this way to be led to faith. After I was led to faith， I've experienced many things such as university， study abroad， employment， seminary， marriage， and churchplanting. Looking back， I know that it's been the leading of God that brought me to what I am today. My life has been built up by believing God and the experience of praying to Him for the next steps. "It doesn't help to worry. Just live positively and something will come about" is the thinking most people embrace. However， believers are different. No matter how one has become a believer， through your own study， through the encouragement of your parents， through a great disappointment， the fact of having faith， strengthens you and enables you to live high with a definite flight plan. There is Jesus who loves you， and to save you， He gave His precious life on the cross. The person who believes in Jesus' unconditional love will have life that naturally becomes supernatural! I believe that whatever way we have come to believe in God， each one that has real faith will be changed and led to a lifestyle of freely loving himself and other people. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is， and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."--Hebrews 11:6 --Shoichi Ino | |
| ★ High Schoolers with Discernment | 9.17.2004 Fri |
| Three young people who looked like high schoolers were talking. "We can use our commuter pass like this and no one notices!" "Don't you know! And we save 300 yen." "But look， I use it so I'm paying the actual fare. I don't want to do what you're doing." What happened to these three afterwards， of course， I don't know， but I'm happy to think that there's a young person who is deciding for the right. Recently， if you pick up a newspaper， you read of the incident where a former prime minister insists he cannot remember if he ever received a check for yen the equivalent of about one million dollars. Also， the powerful politicians who were with him at the time don't remember if they were there， even. It seems like they have also forgotten that they are representatives who are paid by the country's tax money for their activities. The Bible says， "Pray for those who are in high positions." Doesn't this mean we should pray that our representatives become ones who really serve the people without giving in to the temptations of money and other enticements. How we pray is a personal decision， but I want to pray that those above us will realize that there is One who is above them， and that they wouldn't forget to judge their own behavior and they have been put in their positions to serve the people. May there be many more who have the courage to give up selfish desires and speak the truth saying， "That is the way it was!" "He who sows， reaps."--Bible Let's desire to be ones who stand in freedom before God and have responsibility for our actions. --Shoichi Ino | |
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