Dear Journal Friends,
Recently, we’ve heard in the news
about the President giving awards to First -Responders. What a great service they and others give us
when disaster strikes, even to the point of giving up their lives!
It dawned on me as I thought about
my work during the past six weeks, that during the difficult preparation for
several sermons and other speaking engagements, Jesus was right there as my
First-Responder. I was tackling topics
new to me, and as usual, my preparation time ran out for each assignment before
I could get all the data and message together.
This is a pattern that shows me that I’m not very good at this. Each time I left my house, saying, “Jesus, I
did my best, but as you know, I don’t even have my conclusion thought out well…”
or “I spent so much time researching and writing that my verbal practice time
was cut short. What am I going to do?” “My eyes are so tired from lack of sleep and
looking too long at my work on the computer making the reading of my script
very slow. Can you just heal my head and eyes long enough to get me through
this?” Beggar that I am!
Each time, it seemed that Jesus’
answer was “it’s about time! How can I respond if you don’t call me? You’re still meddling and straining to get it
done? Just watch me.” And, the results were amazing, and nothing of
me except for a smiling limp rag. Once I
let Jesus know of the impending disaster, he was the first to respond, while
other people would say, “oh, it’ll be alright.”
He is like my on personal First-Responder.
Two Encounters: I spoke to the women (and some men)
at a church in Yokohama this Sunday afternoon.
They needed encouragement to look proactively toward the future and find
more ways to serve their community. Their
group is succumbing to bickering and resentment. I went with half-a- speech done! But my
First-Responder completed my presentation and many of the women were challenged
and blessed.
Afterwards, one woman in her early
50s I had never met came up to me and introduced herself. She is a former graduate of Shokei high
school where I taught for 18 years. She
graduated a few years before I began at Shokei.
After reminiscing a bit she said, “I absolutely hated the morning
worship every day. After graduating I
was still rebellious and decided to become a dedicated Buddhist. It only satisfied my anger slightly.” She attended college and married a man who
abused her terribly. A little more than a year ago she had a dream in which
Jesus stretched out his hand to her. She
was dumbstruck! Getting out her old
Bible from high school days, she began reading it day and night. She didn’t eat or sleep for three days. This led to her to look up the pastor at this
local church, and soon (one year ago) she received Christ and was
baptized. She said it was the best thing
she ever did. Please pray for Mrs. N as
she seeks out how she can serve other women experiencing Domestic Violence.
Mrs. T lingered after the Wednesday
morning mothers’ English Village class. She is devoted to this program and a
great help to me. “I want to be a Christian” she boldly declared, “but I don’t
know how.” She continued, “I’ve bought
so many books about Christianity that I could open a bookstore. But I still can’t figure it out. My children who attend Sunday school EVERY Sunday
also want to become Christians. A number of my friends are Christians and I
want to be one of them.”
I sensed that Mrs. T. was more
fascinated with Christian culture than feeling the need to take a life-changing
step in her life. But I needed to probe
deeper. Surely God will show me how to
proceed, I silently prayed.
“How often do you attend church? I started”
“Not often but my kids attend about 46 out of 52 Sundays a
year.”
“Do you have a Bible, and how often do you read it?”
“I have one and read occasionally.”
“Just so you’re aware, becoming a Christian is not like
joining a club. You don’t have to sign
up for anything. You could leave my house today as a Christian if you wanted to
but let’s take this one step at a time.
The first thing I want to find out is do you have any sin in your
life? Do you think you’re a sinner?”
….Looks around with a condescending smile…
“NO, I’m not a sinner.”
Roberta smiles, “Wow, this is a first for me! I’ve never met a perfect person before.”
Stunned.
“Oh, I’m NOT perfect at all!”
Accordingly, a conversation ensued about the word “sin” in
the Bible and missing the mark. In
Japanese culture, the word is used to mean a person caught by the authorities
for a crime committed. We had to start with this so that she could become aware
of her need, to the point of not feeling that she even deserves God’s help. Enter, grace.
Homework: Carry around a note pad
and write down (for her use only) each time during the day that she misses the
mark. Secondly, read the Gospel of John, one or two chapters a day. We’ll meet together again next week.
Please pray that the Holy Spirit will move in Mrs. T and
break her heart. Especially pray for me
as I prepare a tailor-made program for her under the tutelage of my
First-Responder, Jesus. Thanks for your support, too, which enables me to introduce The Great First Responder to the people of Japan.
In Christ, Roberta
Roberta@robertastephens.com
