This morning at church, a man was baptized into the faith. Later in the day, he gave the testimony of his salvation. It’s always amazing to see how God leads people to Himself. This man was the judo teacher of one of the little girls at church, and it was seeing her faith in God and through a few conversations with her that made him interested in coming to church.

Please remember the work of the ministry here in Japan in your prayers. My church, Mitaka Evangelical Church, is the only church in all of Japan that is paedobaptist, paedocom (weekly, with wine!), and postmil.

It may seem strange for me to say this while I prepare to leave this ministry and not return to it for the rest of my life, but I am dying to see others come here to work in this mission field. We need pastors and teachers, people who are willing to come and minister for a lifetime. When compared to missions in Africa, South America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe, Japan doesn’t seem as needy or desperate. No starving children with distended bellies, no gunfights on the streets, no people living without running water, electricity, and gas.

Japanese people are peaceful and prosperous on the outside, but they are rotting away on the inside. OB/GYNs in Japan kill more babies than deliver live ones and people think nothing of it. The spiritual vacuum in this country is destroying its people and nobody is coming to help them. Not anywhere near enough people, anyway. Unbelievable though it may seem, there are probably more postmillennialists in Iraq than there are in Japan.

Though there are no physical dangers or privations in a city like Tokyo, which makes it seem like a comparatively “easy” mission field, it’s not. Japanese people simply do not convert. One reason is because Japan is already, in some ways, a Christian nation. Japanese people are honest and hard-working. They already have many of the blessings of the covenant (Deuteronomy 28) without having had to believe in God, so they don’t think He is necessary. American mission boards that count the number of converts per $ consider this country to be a bad “investment” and a futile mission field.

At times of weakness (which happen by an awful lot), I feel like agreeing with those board members, but on days like today, I know they are wrong. It just takes more work. And I won’t be here to do it….

Living here, I get deja vu all over again, over and over again. There are so many glitches in the matrix that life seems to be nothing but glitchy. Here are some conversations I’ve had recently. (Parentheses include my unuttered mutterings.)

Old Japanese guy comes over.

- I hear you’re a Christian.
- Yes, I am.
- I’m a Buddhist … but I believe in Jesus Christ, too! (Big smile.)

*pulls out hair*

Yeah. He’s probably another one of the people here who believes in reincarnation and heaven and hell. Most Japanese people are both Buddhist and Shinto. They see no contradiction in being both. For that matter, they don’t have a problem with tacking together as many religions as necessary. And for a logical and “modern” people, with one of the highest literacy rates and educational standards in the world, they (amazingly!) don’t see anything wrong with believing that bad people both go to hell and are reborn as bugs. So many times, I’ve talked to various people and tried to explain to them if you’re in heaven or hell, you can’t be reborn, or that if you’re reborn, you can’t be in heaven and hell. They just shrug blissfully and assume it works somehow. Mindboggling nonchalance.

Different old Japanese guy.

- I hear you’re a Christian.
- Yes, I am. (OK, I wonder what’s coming.)
- Bush is a Christian.
- Yes.
- Christians and Muslims are monotheists. They only believe in one God. So, they don’t allow for any other gods.
- That’s right. (Actually, Christians believe in a triune God, not a monad. But you wouldn’t understand the distinction, not to mention I can’t get a word in edgewise.)
- That’s why there can be no peace between Christians and Muslims.
- That’s one important reason, yes. (He looks too eager … what’s coming next?)
- That’s why Japan and China are going to rule the world in the near future.
- (Huunnh?)
- We are Buddhist! We Japanese don’t believe there can be only one God, so we can be at peace with everyone!

*pulls out more hair*

Yeah. Just like the Japanese were at such peace with everyone just 60 years ago that they massacred countless millions of men, women, and children all over the world. Mhm. Sure. I learned a while ago, the hard way, not to talk about politics and religion with people at office parties, especially after they’ve had more than a few drinks.

Young Japanese guy.

- You’re a Christian.
- Yes.
- You want to kill Muslims, just like Bush.
- (Huh?!)
- Bush is worse than Bin Laden. Bush started a war and is killing innocent people. Bin Laden just bombed the World Trade Center because Bush was taking oil away from the Muslisms and making them poor.
- (That’s a lot of declarative sentences from someone who hasn’t even started drinking yet. Whew.)

Argghhhhh. *runs around room screaming, pulling out remaining hair*

There. Now I don’t need to worry about my hairline anymore.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 –a date which will live in infamy–the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

…

There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces–with the unbounded determination of our people–we will gain the inevitable triumph–so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.