JPN Watchman

Between Blessings!

2010-12-02T09:41:00.000+09:00

I wrote the phrase below on my facebook profile the other day. Several commented on it and many more indicated that they "liked" it. It seemed proper to give a little background about where that came from. It gives it greater meaning!

When things get really tough and someone asks how you are doing, tell them that you are "Between Blessings" at the moment! God is still in control!!!

A couple days ago while driving in our town I was thanking God for an open door that is coming for me from January. It will give some financial relief for the "dry spell" that we have been passing through for the past several months. As I gave thanks for the anticipated blessing, my logical mind spoke up and said what are you going to do in the meantime?

The Holy Spirit gently reminded me of an experience we went through 37 years ago when we returned to the USA from serving as missionaries to Korea. We had to stay with my grandparents for a short period of time since we owned nothing and had no home of our own either, rented or bought. After some very difficult times of testing of our faith, it was determined that we would be appointed to a small church in Ohio to serve as pastor. Praise God! That would mean we would have a home, ministry and income for us and our two small children.

We still had a problem in that there were still three months before we actually would move to the new location to take up our duties and a little longer before any funds would come in. One night we were invited to the home of a building contractor. He and his wife attended the nearby local church, but were not church members. After a delightful Italian meal he invited me into his office. After he closed the door he pulled out a long white envelope and handed it to me. The man cautioned me not to tell any of the church people about the gift inside. We thanked them and returned to my grandfather's home where we were staying. Holding the envelope up to the light I began counting zeros - one..two.. three and a one! He had given us a donation of $ 1,000! That was a lot of money 37 years ago and still is today. Right?

We praised God for providing our needs during the three month waiting period before the promised "Blessing" came into our hands. It reminds me of Joshua 6:2 when Joshua was told by God that He had given him the city of Jericho. The walls were still standing strong and tall as the young leader heard God's Promise. David was anointed King of Israel as a young man, but did not sit on the Throne of Israel until years later.

God is with us at the time of blessings and He is with us in those intervals between however long it may be. We are not blessed because of what we have received from God, but because of who He is and who we are in Him. We may be waiting for a particular blessing to be manifested in our lives, but we are definitely "Blessed" right here and now!

May God continue to bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
Still "Reaching One Among Millions"

Which Side of the Boat?

2010-10-01T17:10:00.000+09:00

John 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. KJV

Personal Observation
As a child I had the opportunity to spend time with my paternal grandparents during the winter school vacation in northern Ohio. One of my favorite activities was to go ice fishing with my grandfather. He made a portable ice fishing hutch that fit in the back of car. We would arrive at the shore of the lake and unload all the fishing gear. There was a plywood floor board that had ice runners attached to the bottom allowing us to pull all the gear and folded fishing hut out on the ice like a large sled.

He would carefully check the thickness of the ice by breaking a small hole through the surface. Then we assembled the fishing hut with curved metal poles which supported a handmade tent that fit perfectly over the framework. Inside we had two folding stools with a lantern that provided heat and light. In the bottom of the platform were four fishing holes. We lined up the openings with the four opening we made in the ice with a long heavy steel “spud bar”. Then we settled down to the task of ice fishing. The bait was small white grub worms placed on the end of very short poles used only for ice fishing. We baited the hooks and lowered the bait down into the dark chilly lake waters.

At that time a process took place which I never understood. We were sitting less than 1 meter apart using exactly the same fishing equipment and bait, but my grandfather pulled in fish after fish as my hook and bait went untouched for long periods of time just centimeters away from my grandfather’s. Why? What was I doing wrong? I asked and he tried to assure me that I would eventually catch a fish. I tried to copy the slight movement his wrist which must have made his bait look more delicious than mine. I never found out why he could successfully catch fish right beside me while my net came up empty and dry almost every time!

Biblical Account
This account recorded in the last chapter of the Book of John indicates that the disciples with Peter had fished all night long and caught no fish whatsoever! Jesus walked up on the shore and called out to them asking if they had caught any fish. Their reply was negative. We are told that they did not know it was Jesus speaking to them. Remember this was after the Resurrection. They had seen him in their midst earlier in the Gospel of John proving to them that He indeed was risen from the dead and alive, but they did not recognize Him this day.

The stranger on the shore instructed the men to pull up their nets that were on the left side of the boat and to cast the nets on the other side of the ship. This would not make much sense to seasoned fishermen since once again the difference between the left and right sides of the boat was merely equal to the width of the small fishing vessel. For some reason, they decided to obey the instructions of the stranger. As they obeyed the simple, but seemingly senseless command there was an immediate result as the nets filled to overflowing with 153 “great” fish! When they arrived on shore there was still some doubt about whether or not this man was the risen Jesus. Amazingly, when they arrived on shore there was already fire, bread and fish already cooking over the fire.

The Bible says this was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples, but why did Jesus tell them to cast their net on the other side of the boat? Was it just a simple test of obedience? Is there something in that story that we can apply to our lives, ministry or business today?

Conclusion
Anyone serving God sincerely for any number of years or those who are working in ministry know well about periods of time when there seems to be no fruit to show for their labors. We work and use tried and true methods and principles passed down and tested by many others. Why are the nets empty? It worked before! What are we doing wrong? Is there some secret sin in our lives that has stopped God’s Blessings upon our efforts? Is there some act of obedience that we have not followed? Is there un-forgiveness lurking under the surface?

How tired and hungry we are as the disciples must have been that morning by the sea shore. If Jesus would just come to meet with us and tell us what to do! At times like these there is no fear or worry about correction or even rebuke. We care about the harvest! We are called to be “fishers of men” and our nets are empty. Jesus please tell us what we need to do differently than what we have been. Is there something new we need to try? Is there something old that is being overlooked that is still appropriate for where we are in your harvest field today? Just tell us please. Any yes, Lord we are tired and hungry for your food that gives us strength and comfort. We all need some spiritual “comfort food” from time to time!

By the way, we really do love you Lord. Yes, I know that we have denied you many time and have not obeyed all you told us to do before. Please forgive us! Ps 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. NIV

Go ahead and do whatever He says. You may have tried it before. It may not seem to make sense, but Jesus knows that He is doing. Just pull up your nets from where you are now and cast them over on the other side. And by the way, get ready! You will be pleasantly surprised!

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

Don't Eat The Seeds!

2010-09-13T15:59:00.000+09:00

2 Cor 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. NIV

2 Cor 9:1-15 is a marvelous commentary on sowing and reaping as well as the principles behind generous giving. The full impact of this teaching more clearly comes into view if read in modern translations. Apparently a year before the Corinthian churches had made a type of pledge to send a generous offering to the church in Jerusalem. Paul thanked them and told them how that their giving had encouraged others to follow their example. Now he mentioned that he would send an “advance” party to ensure that the offering was indeed gathered and all preparations were completed before his arrival with some of the Macedonian believers.

Verses 6-8 lay down spiritual laws regarding giving. He makes the comparison of a farmer who can expect to reap according to the amount that he first sows into the soil, similar to the secular expression, “little ventured, little gained”. Clearly a farmer’s harvest is dependent upon how much seed he plants in the soil. So too believers can expect to reap according to the amount that they sow in their giving. Paul goes on and exhorts that each believer has the right and privilege to determine how much they give and that there should be no pressure or compulsion in the act of giving. He finishes stating that God particularly loves “cheerful givers” who have given from the heart, not in response to the pressure of rules imposed by other men! He sums up this teaching by promising that God’s Grace will abound toward those who obey in this area of Christian Life and that they will live in abundance.

Verses 10-11 expand to include God’s Provision in the acts of sowing, reaping and giving. In verse 10 we see that God provides two things to the believer. First, we see God supplies the seed that is to be sown into the harvest. Next, food or personal provision is given to the sower for his personal daily needs. The two words in the English NIV are “seed” and “bread”. There may be some confusion regarding these being two separate entities, but both are provided by God for the believer. This principle can be made clear by looking closely at the natural sowing and harvest. A certain amount of seed from a field must be set aside and kept for the next year to be planted. If those seeds are all consumed, eaten and used up then there will be nothing left over to plant. This will result in a greatly diminished harvest and loss of bread that is meant for personal consumption.

I want to suggest that in His Sovereign Will, God provides every believer, minister, local church, ministry and denomination two basic elements. The first is seed for sowing into the harvest field. It may include financial means, human resources, gifts, talents, and other intangible assets. This portion is not intended to be “consumed” by the individual or group for their own personal benefit. Yes, this could be compared to, but not limited to the tithe that was to be set apart to be distributed as God directed for the ministers and ministry of the tabernacle or temple. Secondly, God also gives us our “daily bread”. This is not just food! This encompasses all that we need to maintain our life, including both needs and wants. An organization needs funds to operate and to maintain staff and truly essential programs and functions. There is a danger and even temptation to consume God-given assets that are intended to be used purely for sowing and ministry to the lost or hurting world both among and around us. This is a tough call and not easy to determine in each case what is “seed” and what is intended as our personal “food”.

In North America, we often hear about charitable organizations using far too much income on their administrative needs rather than their advertised purpose. If you organize in order to “feed the children” then the far greater amount of funds received should go for that purpose with only the truly necessary amount for buildings, salaries and administration. In our personal lives it more difficult to determine how much of our income, talents and gifts are to be enjoyed personally rather than being channeled to “minister” to others in the harvest field of the world. I believe we can be better stewards of all God has entrusted to us if we take the view that a portion is intended to be used solely for sowing (ministry) with the remainder being for our personal use or consumption.

Verse 10 also indicates that God will both supply and increase the seed in our lives so that the spiritual harvest will be greatly enlarged. Going further Paul promises that we will then experience increase in our personal lives enabling us to be “generous” to others with those resources which will bring glory to God. To carefully separate the seed in our lives from our bread while sowing bountifully into the lives of others may cause us to prosper financially! God always is a God of order. We have to follow His priorities in order to be blessed in each area of our lives.

God bless you as you enjoy the “bread” He provides and then generously sow the “seed” He has entrusted to you into the world around you!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

Prayer for You or Me?

2010-07-15T21:14:00.002+09:00

1 Sam 12:23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. NIV Eph 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. NIV Col 1:9 So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual things; TLB

Is There a Balance?

Is there a balance between making petitions to the Father on behalf of ourselves and others who are not our own kin or connected with us in some way? If there is a proper priority, then exactly what is it? How much time should we spend asking for our “Daily Bread” as opposed to interceding for others not close to us?

Over 35 years ago I preached an unpopular message in Cleveland, Tennessee on the subject of The 3 P’s that Hinder Missions. They were: 1) Prejudice 2) Procrastination 3) Improper Priorities. Even though it has been over 3 decades ago, I recall the struggle in urging long-time Christians to do what God said to do in reaching the lost nations – now! It got deeper as I dared mention that they might not be following God’s priorities. Then the big one was even suggesting that there could be prejudice in the lives of believers. I was not talking about social injustice or political contradictions. Examples were given of how vehemently believers petition God on behalf of sick or lost loved ones or family members. Yet, when asked to pray for the unsaved “heathen” in foreign lands yawns appear along with sleepy eyes.

We should not be shocked when faced with the truth about ourselves. Jesus was facing His most difficult day on earth as a man when asking the disciples to just watch and pray with Him for one hour. They all were overcome with sleep and could not stay awake to pray. To put it plainly, it was not their own skin on the line! Jesus was being kind when He said that their “spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak”.

Personal Observation

This is a balance that I seek on nearly a daily basis. We all are such “needy people”! Our families are in financial, emotional and spiritual crisis most of the time. There are those who would debate that statement, but many are also in denial or not fully awake spiritually awake or aware of the danger their family is in right now! I am reminded of the historical claim that Nero fiddled as Rome burned. Not all is gloom and doom! But there are tremendous needs among those closest to us in most every aspect of life.

How can we connect spiritually or emotionally with those who are geographically far from us? We don’t know what their daily life is like. We don’t know about their culture, food or customs. Some information can be gleaned from the Internet, but not enough to inspire us to give in mission offerings or to spend extended time in prayer on their behalf. It is even hard with those of the same ethnic or political background. To be honest, I am very concerned, for example, that Japanese believers get a burden to reach other Japanese with the Gospel. It has been over 460 years since the Gospel was first heard in Japan! Thousands of foreign missionaries have labored and strived to share God’s Love here. The final thrust must be Japanese reaching Japanese.

Prayer Aids

Out of sight out of mind! This phrase contains much truth for most of us. For those whom we have never met or haven’t seen for extended periods of time, it becomes rare for us to even think about them. How can we pray effectively for those whose very being does not enter into our consciousness? We often hear believers remark how that God brought someone’s face before them or reminded them to pray for a person far away. That is refreshing and wonderful when it occurs. But is that enough? Is it God’s responsibility to remind us to pray for others? We don’t need reminders when we or family members are facing crises. It is not hard to stay up late at night or arise in the middle of the night when awakened or prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray for the needs close at hand.

Since we heard Jesus say that the disciples had willing spirits, but weak flesh, it seems this might be a problem that we can approach and work upon to some degree, by ourselves. I believe man tends to forget things that are not that important to him. Just plain reality! For many, we can improve if a habit can be formed or if there are some kind of memory aids to be employed in the situation. Those who have trouble getting up in the mornings there are alarm clocks which are pre-programmed to the desired time. A noise is emitted loud enough to arouse the sleeper. In some cases, after using an alarm clock over a period of time they can form a habit and begin to wake up on time without any assistance. Jesus appeared to have a habit of awaking before the dawn and going out alone to pray to His Father.

I use some of the following to help me to think about and pray for others who are not near to me or closely connected:

1. Prayer Journal. This is used to write special requests and to note when answers come.

2. Intercessory Prayer List. This list of people, places, and needs has grown over the years. It began with simply writing down all the family members’ names I could think of. Then the list branches out to acquaintances, church friends, neighbors, and people met on airplanes, in stores, online prayer requests and etc. The list has grown quite long and takes over an hour just to read through briefly. This keeps people before me on a daily basis. By the way, it is a great memory aid too!

3. Maps and list of cities and nations. This allows me to “see” a region or area when looking over the map on a daily basis. Then there are lists of nations and cities that are read and prayed over daily also. In the midst of “reading” these names and places the Holy Spirit frequently prompts special prayer or intercession to made for the person or place.

4. Modern technology can be employed in aiding memory and connecting with those who are far away or “out of sight”. Emails, prayer requests, cell phone text messages, Internet social networking sites, and Skype video and audio calls and prayer conferencing help overcome the “disconnect” that hinders our prayers for others.

Note

Technology cannot take the place of prayer! It is a set of tools to help us. Prayer is still prayer! At times prayer is a struggle or battle against the forces of darkness. Sometimes it is a struggle with our own flesh. Prayer is about a relationship, first and foremost between the believer and the Heavenly Father. It is a joy to be in His Presence whether we are listening or talking to Him about ourselves or others.

Conclusion

I realize the term balance was used at the beginning of this blog. It appears that I have mainly focused on prayer for others rather than self. I don’t think most of us have any problems in praying for self or family needs. When the need arises most believers hit their knees. Of course, we could do more in the area of “preventive prayer” rather than “problem prayer”. So it seemed good today to remind you once again there are others out there. Out of sight, who need you to come to the Father on their behalf! He is waiting for someone with love and compassion to agree with Him so that far away person can be saved, healed, delivered, have needs met, be protected in danger and finally just to be blessed.

May God bless you as you pray for self and others too!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

P.S. Don’t sin in failing to pray for others! 1 Samuel 12:23

Don't Look Back!

2010-07-12T09:26:00.003+09:00

Luke 9:62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." NIV

Crick – a colloquial term for a cramp

Gen 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 26 But his (Lot’s) wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. KJV

There seems to be a plague of sore necks among many believers today. Ever wake up in the morning with a stiff neck? One of the symptoms of a “crick” that it hurts to turn your head in one particular direction! It is almost as if, we are not supposed to look in that direction. We may have full range of motion except for that one way!

The Bible is very clear about the fact that believers are not supposed to look back and long for the place they used to be before coming to Christ. It indicates dissatisfaction with the present location and provision. We can read about Israel being freed from long years of slavery and then longing for the food that they ate as captives in Egypt. Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: 6 But our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. KJV It is like the proverbial saying - the grass is greener on the other side.

Forward Looking Attitude

Heb 11:13 These men of faith I have mentioned died without ever receiving all that God had promised them; but they saw it all awaiting them on ahead and were glad, for they agreed that this earth was not their real home but that they were just strangers visiting down here. 14 And quite obviously when they talked like that, they were looking forward to their real home in heaven. 15 If they had wanted to, they could have gone back to the good things of this world. 16 But they didn't want to. They were living for heaven. And now God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has made a heavenly city for them. TLB

Apostle Paul was an excellent example for us of a believer who focused on what was before him. Phil 3:13 No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. TLB

No Eyes in the Back of the Head!

In God’s creation many animals were made with head or eyes which swivel or are capable of seeing nearly 360 degrees. We laugh at videos of owls turning their head with large eyes in nearly complete circle. But, God did not give man that physical ability. Too many believers are looking back to where they came from. Some have not broken off their ties to the past lives of sin and secretly long to return to their old friends and previous dark practices and life style. Of course, there are some believers who are living in the past and always talking about the Good old Days. Nothing today seems to satisfy them. Young believers hearing them are being told that nothing today compares to what they experienced in the past.

God of the Present

God never changes! (James 1:17) Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. TLB God is with us now. We cannot change the past. We often don’t know about the future. But we can love and serve God today! We can be thankful for what we have now. We can share His Love and be a blessing to those around us now! How about it, let’s quit looking back. Those who do often have a pain in their neck! They also can become a pain the neck to others around them.

God bless you as you thank God for what you have today and look forward to a bright future in Jesus Christ!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millons”

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-20T01:16:00.000+09:00

Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"-which is the first commandment with a promise- 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. NIV

I never knew my father. He died in an accident the day I came home from the hospital. My stepfather was hard working and fair. He did the best he could for his family.

Tonight, alone in Japan with Sharon visiting her mother in the USA following the death of her father, I had some thoughts to share about Father’s Day. Fathers are not perfect! In fact, many of us are far from it. I shudder at the mistakes that were made with my family. Several times letters have been written to my wife and children asking for their forgiveness. So much time and energy was spent in ministry that my family was neglected. Still the commandment is directed to children to honor both parents with a warning to the fathers to not cause their children to become angry.

Children forgive your fathers for those things that they did wrong-whether great or small! And be careful not to judge them as that will return to you according to the Bible. Just love them! Tell them that you love them. Even if he is one of those tough non-emotional types! Please don’t wait as many do to “canonize” the father after they are gone. Love them now. Forgive them now. Don’t copy their mistakes. Learn from them and don’t repeat them with your family. Take the good things you learned from them and saw in their lives. Put them to work in your life as you also forge your own path. So much was learned from a grandfather from whom I had no blood ties. He was short of stature but a tough Pennsylvania Dutch. He taught me many things in life. I learned that there was a solution to any problem and that one should never give up no matter how hard life became.

So go ahead and honor your father today. Your biological father, your spiritual father, your mentor if you have one! There are many men today without biological offspring that are truly wonderful fathers to many young men and women. Men, go ahead and accept the honor and attention bestowed on you today. Don’t be shy. Be sure to give God all the Glory for anything good said about your life and heritage. You would be nothing without Jesus Christ in your life. Be sure to tell you wife and children (grand’s included) that you love them. Don’t be ashamed to shed a tear in front of them. Young people need to see more men cry.

God bless you men! May God bless every area of your life and family!

Dan Corbett

Fukuoka, Japan

“Reaching One Among Million

JPN May 2010 Update

2010-06-07T16:30:00.000+09:00

Greetings from Japan!
The newest Japan Prayer Network monthly update is ready to be downloaded. Please click the link below to to read it.

God bless you richly!
Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

JPN May 2010 Update

Homeless at Home

2010-05-01T00:54:00.000+09:00

Homeless at Home

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Most people view Japan as a clean and prosperous nation of happy and disciplined people. This may be true in many cases, but within those beautiful homes and well trimmed Japanese gardens there often are individuals living who rightly could be called “homeless”. Here is the story of one such individual.

One sunny morning, I drove into the city to a cell phone shop. I arrived early and decided to make a couple calls to my intercessors. My friend and I were talking about an upcoming Aglow meeting, when I noticed a small, frail lady (in her late 30’s) standing in front of the closed shop. The storm shutters were still down, yet this lady was quite angry. She was yelling and hitting the shutters a couple of times. She returned to her car and lit a cigarette to wait for the shop to open up again.

Although I was double her size, there was a concern of what she might try to do next. I had never seen anyone act like this publicly in Japan, but she didn’t care. After five or so minutes passed, she then went to the door to repeat her previous actions even louder. My concern definitely increased at this point. I couldn’t imagine how the beating on the shutters sounded to the workers inside that shop.

I continued to take care of my business on the phone, when I suddenly heard a tap on my car window. I looked up and it was that little lady wanting to talk with me. I asked my friend to pray and wait, and then I asked the lady what she wanted. She simply replied, “I saw you sitting here smiling and you looked so happy. I just want to talk with you.” I told her that I was on a phone call. She said, “When you finish, can we please talk?” I nodded. She quietly and gently returned to her car and sat waiting. I couldn’t believe she was the same woman who had just displayed such violent anger a few minutes before.

I left my car to go approach her car. She asked if we could sit in my car to talk. I hesitated but the Lord assured me it would be alright. She sat down in my car and so politely said, “When I saw you and you looked so happy, I just wanted to come and meet you. You were smiling and looked so happy.” She repeatedly kept talking about how happy I looked. She couldn’t imagine anyone being happy, because her life was so full of trouble. She wanted to give me her phone number and asked for mine. I carelessly gave her our house number plus my cell number.

Just then, the shop opened for business. Each of us entered the shop and took care of the necessary business, and then I left soon. She called my cell phone after she left the shop. She called it again and again. I realized that it would not be good for her to call our house with my husband having so many important phone calls coming in, so I prayed as I had never prayed before. I said, “Dear Father, I was not careful about giving her the numbers that I did. It was okay for my cell, but, Lord, You know she cannot repeatedly call the house. This will not be good. I don’t know how, but, Lord, somehow please remove our house phone number out of her memo book. Thank You, Lord.”

She asked me to please come and visit her home a week later. I had never been to that area, so I completely relied on the Lord to direct me and watch over me. When I arrived, she came out and greeted me with such excitement. She led me into the house and introduced me to her mother, who seemed like a sweet and very polite woman. She was very quiet, unlike her daughter.

I was seated on the sofa and the lady, who I will call Y-san, just talked and talked to me. She wanted to tell me about her life and brought pictures to show me. She kept saying how happy she was that I had come. He mother stayed in the kitchen working on dishes and preparing tea for us. I had carried a bilingual New Testament with me to give her. I simply talked with her about Jesus’ love and how He loved her. I asked her if I could pray for her and she happily agreed. When I finished she told her mom to come into the living room. She wanted me to also pray for her mom, which I did. Her mother bowed and thanked me.

Due to our traveling schedule at the time, I was not able to visit her often. She always appreciated each time I did go. It was amazing to me how I could not endure being in so much tobacco smoke. God completely protected me each time. She smoked five or six packs a day. It was constant. Her mom didn’t like it, but it seemed that her mom couldn’t say or do anything to change the situation.

Y-san had a small son in first grade. He was very cute. Her husband was gone everyday to work, so her mom took care of most everything. Her mom appeared to enjoy taking the son to the store with her and he seemed to be loved much. Y-san was very proud of her son.

A few years later, when my friend and I went to visit her, her mother was not there. She was in the hospital. As we began to express concern about her mother, Y-san immediately burst out with much anger, “Why are you saying that? I am happy she is sick. I hope she dies. I hate her!!!” I sat there shocked! My friend was also shocked. Why would Y-san say such things about her mom?

I quietly began trying to talk with her about her mom. Finally, the deep anger flowed out telling how her (innocent-looking) mom had abused her so badly when she was young. I couldn’t imagine her precious mom doing such a thing. She then told one incident of her mom picking up a bowl of hot ramen soup and pouring it directly onto Y-san’s head. My heart hurt for Y-san. I then began to realize where this anger and rage had perhaps started.

Right after that visit, I lost contact with her, because I was traveling with my husband in such busy schedules. It had been almost three years since I had last seen Y-san, and I was sure that she had probably been put into a hospital or had passed away.

My friend, Ruth Ann, had met her only once several years before. We were driving in that city and I mentioned Y-san to Ruth Ann. I said, “You know, I am sure that Y-san no longer lives in that house. It looks completely empty and there has been no contact with her. After her mother passed away, I’m sure her husband had her placed in a mental facility so he doesn’t have to take care of her. I have no idea where she would be if she is still alive.”

A few weeks after our discussion, my friend called me and asked me to guess whom she received a phone call from. I couldn’t imagine. She said, “Y-san.” I was very surprised. Y-san wanted to meet with us and asked if we would come to her house. She said that she wanted to become a Christian and wanted us to pray for her.

Ruth Ann and I got together and went to visit Y-san. This was once a beautiful Japanese yard.

To my surprise, the condition of the yard and house had changed drastically. I realized that her mom was gone and now it appeared she was left to be alone most of the time.

We talked with her and prayed with her. We explained what it means to accept Jesus into your heart. We took some song books and sang some hymns with her. She enjoyed that so much. We explained about water baptism and she wanted to be baptized. We set the time to go again and I baptized her in her deep bath tub. She was so happy.

Her physical condition had worsened so the doctors had kept her heavily medicated. Her husband has kept a box of beer and boxes of cigarettes for her to live on daily. We learned that the son was getting ready to enter high school and he normally did not return home but would just stay out at friends’ or anywhere, to keep from coming into that house. The husband always continues to say he is on a trip or that he can’t come home because of work, then sleeps somewhere else.

She has been living most of the time on a thin pad for a bed in her living room. Her only friend is a TV and her cell phone. She can’t cook for herself. A couple ladies from an agency go two times a week to clean up the dishes and do a few things. I am not real sure what they can do, because the house is beyond being identifiable. This picture was after the ladies spent all day working in the kitchen.

Ruth Ann and I went one day to replace her thin bedding with a newer, fresh futon which wasn’t full of mold and urine. No, it wouldn’t stay fresh, but at least it would be awhile before it would be full of mold like the older one.

In the living room, there was no longer a sofa or even a chair. In this picture perhaps you can see the upright piano. There are only old thin floor cushions which are full of stains, food and mold. Cockroaches are literally everywhere. On the floor table, under it, on the floor, on any food, drink or item on the table, they roam. You just hope when you leave, none will accompany you home. You can see where her futon was before the newer one was placed on the floor under the window. Ruth Ann worked so hard changing all of the bedding.

Did we rebuke her for smoking and drinking, knowing that she had been baptized? No. We knew that God loves her and He knows she is a prisoner in her own house. Many homeless people live better than she does. One night she had walked outside and fell, cracking the back of her head which bled through the night. She was finally found the next morning by someone walking by, and then she was rushed to the hospital, needing 100 stitches in the back of her head.

Where is her husband? This is his bedroom.

Where is the son? This is his bedroom.

Is she abused or rejected? Who cares if she lives or dies? We can’t imagine what abuse has gone on in her life. The Word says that God loves the afflicted and down trodden. He sees her heart. He knows if she really made the choice to choose Him to be her Savior. When we visit her, we feel we are going each time to simply love her and let her know we care. I am not posting a picture of her to respect her privacy.

Through the years, women who have been victims in domestic violence situations have had no where to go for help. In the past if a husband was beating his wife, and she called authorities, once they arrived and saw it was domestic trouble, they would leave. In recent years, women have been working to bring help to these women.

In learning her real story, we found out this is her second husband. She showed me the pictures of her first wedding and of her baby daughter. She was so proud of her daughter. She continued to tell me while her tears flowed that one day her husband took the daughter and divorced her. Her heart ached for many years for her daughter but she was not allowed to see her.

Her life was such a mess from the abuse from her mother, then from her first husband and losing her daughter. I am not sure what problem there had been with the mafia, but she had received many threats. I don’t know how she met this husband, but she was so happy with her darling son, even though her heart still ached for her daughter.

How can a mother give birth to such an innocent tiny baby, and then her? How can a mother watch her own child be abused by the child’s father or by any other man? You begin to wonder what abuse took place in that mother’s life? To be an abuser, Y-san’s mother had been abused. To allow abuse, she had trauma with no one to help her.

It is very interesting how a mother seems paralyzed when abuse comes to her child, because all of her own pain is re-lived. When a mother rejects her daughter it is because she herself was abused. .

Family members live in what is called a house, but with such abuse, they might as well be sleeping outside because they are actually “homeless”. That house is not a “home”. It is only a cold, lifeless structure with no love, peace or joy. It is certainly not a place to go for any kind of help or healing. Such houses breed more and more hate, rage, abuse and homelessness.

Y-san’s house was once a beautiful dwelling, but it is almost impossible to walk into. Each room is filled and overflowing with trash and paper. The upright piano in the living room is not identifiable because everything is on it or in front of it. In the husband’s bedroom, the floor is covered wall-to-wall with many inches of papers and trash. The son’s room is like the dad’s room. When the ladies come two times a week to help, they can hardly walk in the front door entrance, which is not shown.

Anger and abuse are deadly. Their victims change from tears and pain to become stronger abusers to their own children and others. As the cycle goes on to the next generation, the anger and abuse only strengthens. Finally, when a society becomes filled with abusive people living with no feelings or love for others, it is one of violence and destruction.

What kind of house are you a product of? What kind of house are you building? To be homeless is not dependent upon a building structure, but it is dependent upon love and belonging. Multitudes are without a roof over their heads, but a helping hand, a smile, a loving and caring heart will begin to bring life where there was no hope of life. Look for the “homeless” who are prisoners in their dwelling places from abuse and violence. Don’t be fooled by the outward appearance of the building structure or even their personal appearances.

During the past few years, we no longer look at the modern buildings, the advanced technology and the beauty in society, but instead, we look to see the one who is silently crying for someone to please come help set them free from their victimized lives. Why do so many people commit suicide daily? They have no where to go for help. Their dwellings are places of homelessness - void of love and care. A society dies when people have no hope and no one to care. Human beings were not designed to be robots or to live without each other. Who lives behind your neighbor’s door?

Sharon D. Corbett
"Reaching One Among MIllions"

Camping in Gilgal

2010-04-27T19:49:00.001+09:00

Joshua 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. KJV

Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. 7 And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. 9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (round or wheel) unto this day. 10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. 11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. KJV

Personal Background Note

For many years I preached making a comparison between the church today and the Children of Israel leaving Egypt, languishing in the wilderness, and finally entering the Promised Land. I noted that the entire older generation would have to die first due to their lack of faith and rebellion. They would eventually come to a final border being the Jordan River. They would have to cross it by faith even though it was flooding its banks that time of year. The priests or ministers would be required to go ahead of the congregation stepping into the water (getting their feet wet first) believing that God would save them from drowning and would open a door of deliverance for His people. The priests obeyed and the waters dried up allowing the people to enter the Promised Land.

I even reminded people that the heavenly welfare program of daily free food ceased after they crossed the river. From that point on, Israel would have to fight for every meal that they ate. In the wilderness the food was provided without any work or labor. No tilling of ground or sowing and reaping is recorded. No one was sick and even their shoes and clothes did not wear out. The cloud and pillar of fire directed their path leaving them with the fairly simple task of following their leaders and obeying the commandments passed down to them. This could almost be considered an idyllic life of ease. They enjoyed provision, protection and worship with little effort or responsibility in the area of personal discernment or opposition.

All of the above changed radically for the Israelites when their feet crossed over the Jordan River. A peaceful nomadic group of people, formerly slaves of the Egyptians were quickly transformed into a militant nation attacking and plundering all who lay in their path. How could such a complete transformation suddenly be realized? I don’t know the answer to that question, but it gives me hope today that God’s Church can rise up and become what He ordained for her to be in a brief period of time. We can be transformed from a spiritual “welfare mentality” to that of spiritual “military readiness” in a hurry!

Why Gilgal?

After decades of Bible study and ministry it occurred to me today that little was known by me about Gilgal. In the past, I just went directly from the Jordan to the conquest of Jericho! Wrong! God had an important appointment to keep with the Israelites before they could begin their ordained task of conquering the Promised Land. I will attempt to list some of the significant issues that were addressed between Jehovah and the Children of Israel in Gilgal.

1. Twelve stones were set up as a memorial commemorating the crossing of the Jordan River on dry land as their ancestors did with the Red Sea on their exit from Egyptian slavery.

2. All the men who were born in the wilderness were circumcised. This was a renewal of God’s covenant with Israel. For forty years no men were circumcised. God said that He had rolled away the reproach (cherpah – disgrace or shame) of Egypt. Now they were His chosen people prepared to conquer in His Name and move into their promised destiny.

3. Josh 5:10 tells us that Israel observed the Passover for the first time in the Promised Land. Now they could truly celebrate the freedom from shame and slavery under the Egyptian lords who controlled every aspect of their lives. They were free men and women. They now were responsible for their actions and decisions. They probably could now truly breathe as God’s Children in a new land. Their new life had finally begun. What an adventure was to follow!

4. National Diet Change! No more manna! What a change in eating habits. Forty years of just stepping outside the tent and picking up dinner. Verses 10-11 states that they ate the “old” corn of the land and unleavened cakes and “parched” corn and from that day on they had to eat the “fruit of the land”. This was a major culinary paradigm shift in their daily life. The fruit of the land was under the control of their enemies who had to be defeated. Satan has been stealing, killing and destroying with most believers cowering in fear trying to hide their wealth from him. This example seems to be indicating that we should be plundering from the enemy and his cohorts. God help us today to wake up!

5. Joshua meets God’s Captain! Verses 13-15 records the meeting between Joshua and the captain of the host of the Lord. He stands with sword drawn. Joshua approaches him asking him whose side is he on. Joshua is told to remove his shoes because he is standing on holy ground similar to Moses when he encountered God in the burning bush years earlier. This meeting is a clear indication that God is on hand with His Heavenly Host to help Israel as they move forward in obedience to the Word of God.

6. The Ark of the Covenant was brought to rest in Gilgal each day after Israel marched around the walled city of Jericho.

7. Joshua made Gilgal his headquarters camp during much of the early conquest of Canaan.

Significance of Gilgal Today

What does the story of Gilgal mean to a believer today? We too, are on a journey. Hopefully, we have been freed from sin and slavery by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Yet, many believers are still wandering in a spiritual wilderness with a number of similarities with the time of Joshua. Again, a list might be in order for the sake of simplicity and clarity.

1. Many believers are still enslaved by fear, sin, wrong attitudes, and addictions. They are longing for the “garlic and leeks” of Egypt (their old life of sin). Many are still murmuring and complaining about God’s accommodations during their journey upon the earth.

2. Many naming the Name of Christ often rebel against the instructions of the Word of God and leading of the Holy Spirit. Many have put other gods before the Living God!

3. We often see believers totally relying upon religious leaders to “feed” them spiritually. A good shepherd leads the sheep who then take the energy and initiative to eat and digest the food themselves. Most have no appetite for any true spiritual warfare in their Christian walk.

4. There was a need to be circumcised in Joshua’s time. That was a blood covenant between God and Israel. It was a type of cleansing. It removed the “shame” of Egyptian slavery and bondage. Many believers are not yet free from shame and guilt. They are not fully aware of who they are in Christ under grace.

5. The Passover meal and related ceremonies represented a celebration of freedom from slavery. In Gilgal Israel celebrated the Passover for the first time in the Promised Land as truly freed Children of God! Believers need to celebrate their freedom in Christ! Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper and good ways to show forth His Death and our freedom in Jesus!

6. Believers today need to go on a diet! Satan offers a constant barrage of “junk food” through many channels of entertainment and media. No, we don’t need to throw out all TV’s & music in our homes. We need to put entertainment in its proper place – far behind the Word of God, praise and worship and fellowship with other believers. The lines are more blurred than ever before in respect to foul language, moral values and sexual content. What is proper for a Christian to watch or listen to? The free food from Heaven stopped and God’s people had to go hunt for their food and in most cases take it away from their enemies. We need to turn the tables on the enemy of our souls and families!

7. Tet A Tet with God. This means a head to head conversation. Joshua had a personal meeting with the captain of the Lord’s host. He saw him as a soldier with his sword drawn ready for battle. His first question was if the man was on his side or his enemy. That question was never directly answered. Instead he was warned to change his attitude and take off his shoes because he was standing on “holy ground”. There is I believe, very often a very disrespectful and casual attitude toward God by many Christians. We can go day after day and church service after church service without any truly close contact with God! Programs and social events are fine. They cannot take the place of personal contact and an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father! When we come in to close personal contact with God a lot of things have to come out of us and we find ourselves on our knees or upon our faces before the King of Kings. We all need more time in the Holy of Holies!

8. The place of Gilgal is a figurative location given to the place of rest to all of Israel, which can include both physical and spiritual Israel. Wikipedia As believers we need to keep our eyes up God and remember what we live in and see all around us is not our final destination or resting place. Jesus is coming back again to take us to be with him in Heaven. As we share God’s Love with those around us, don’t forget to tell them about Heaven. And even while we are still on the earth, we need rest in the midst of our battles. Spiritual warfare even life itself can really take a toll on these weak human bodies and minds. Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. NIV Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Conclusion

I don’t know where you are right now, physically, spiritually or emotionally! The past few months have been really hard where I am now. Ministry has gone very well. We have a number of dedicated prayer intercessors praying for our ministry in Japan. We have seen a better and more consistent response to the sharing of God’s Love than we have over the past 30 years. So what is wrong? I grow tired of the financial battles and strain of living in one of the world’s most expensive nations. It is hard to observe and feel the overwhelming apathy of many believers in wealthy nations. No, it is not true of all believers. So many have zeal and burning desire to see those in distant nations hear the good news and accept God’s Love! They pray regularly and give sacrificially. The problem is they are few and they carry a heavy load of intercession and giving that could easily be spread among so many more.

This blog comes at a time of deep introspection and seeking God’s Face! I want to be in His perfect will! I want to hear His Voice clearly in this land of idols and spiritual darkness. Today I realized there is another place in my journey that needs to be visited – Gilgal. Some of us are still soaking our feet in the Jordan or perhaps searching for any remaining scraps of manna when we need to meet God face to face. Own up to our weakness and failures. Repent and let the Holy Spirit circumcise our hearts.

Let’s gather together as former slaves to sin and bondage who are now poised in Gilgal ready to take the land God has promised to us. Some of us have been on this journey for a long time. We may be tired, but we cannot quit. There is a younger generation that needs to be taught and encouraged. We are so close to the conclusion of the matter. There are times I weep and long to see my Savior’s Face as the song goes. We can do it! We need to be in unity of purpose and following God’s Plan for these last days. Jericho is waiting! Let’s go in Jesus’ Name! Amen!

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

New Life in Jesus Christ!

2010-04-04T11:34:00.000+09:00

JAPAN PRAYER NETWORK
Fukuoka, Japan

Every Man & Woman Must Die!

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. KJV Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: KJV 1 Cor 15:22 Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, being members of his sinful race, and wherever there is sin, death results. But all who are related to Christ will rise again. TLB Sounds pretty bleak for all! There is hope!

There is Hope & Life in Jesus Christ!

Rom 5:12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread death throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die, for all sinned. 16 Adam's one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead. TLB

Spring is a time of new life! In Japan we are enjoying the beautiful Cherry Tree Blossoms among the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Birds are singing and soon rice fields will be prepared for planting. This is the favorite time of year for marriage. The new school year will begin the second week of April. Everywhere one turns there are signs of new life. There is a sad note though. Very soon the Cherry Trees will begin to drop their beautiful pink or white petals. Most of what we now see and enjoy will eventually die. That was the paradox of the Cherry Tree to the Japanese Samurai. It was here today and then gone. They pledged their lives for their masters and could be called upon to give up their lives at any moment.

The Bible passages given above tell the tragic story of man being created by a loving God only to disobey and fall into sin and separation from the Holy Creator. The natural result of that sin is death – physical and spiritual death! God foresaw the spiritual failure of His creation and made a way mankind could be saved from both sin and death. John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. NIV

Jesus Christ is the Answer!

Mankind suffers from an illness and disease that has no cure anywhere on earth. With all the research and resources of nations – no solution can be found for the sin and resulting penalty of death. Everyone eventually dies a natural death. The horrible consequences of sin can be seen on the news or by a simple walk down the street in any nation upon the earth. There is just no hope presented by governments, armies, corporations or educational institutions. Even “religious movements” which promote their gurus and holy men cannot offer any positive or lasting cure for death and sin. Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them." TLB

We Must Share Jesus Christ!

In recent years, we have read the news of the spread of plagues and epidemics. Many of these diseases can either be prevented or cured with new vaccinations. The problem is that the poorer nations suffering from the disease cannot afford to pay for the expensive medicine which can control or eliminate the sickness and resulting suffering and death. Far too often, the wealthy nations and drug companies are not willing to share this resource with those who need it the most!

Christians have received the wonderful blessings and benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our sins have been forgiven and we have been given eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ! How can we live so selfishly and not share this “miracle cure” for sin and death with those around us who do not know? We can read appalling statistics showing how few go to the people who have never heard His Name. Such a small percentage of wealth is given to support the mission work to those areas that need it the most!

Rom 10:13 Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 But how shall they ask him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them unless someone sends him? TLB

Reaching One Among Millions

For years, I fretted and worried about how we can reach the vast numbers of precious souls going into eternity with Christ and suffering from sin’s devastation in life. A few years ago the Holy Spirit gave me a simple theme and plan for addressing the problem. We cannot save the whole world alone!
God made it clear that He only requires us to do that which He has given us the means and opportunity to touch. We can share God’s Love with one person at a time. We can PRAY for the unsaved thru intercessory prayers. We can GIVE of finances as best as possible to support mission outreach. We can SHARE God’s Love with those He puts in our lives.

Thank you for PRAYING for Japan and our ministry here. Thank you for GIVING financial support. Thank you for SHARING God’s Love with those near you!

Dan Corbett
Fukuoka, Japan

A Dream About Me

2010-02-20T00:56:00.002+09:00

A Dream about Me!

Note: This is an email I received in October 2009 from a close acquaintance. When it came I realized there would be a time for it to be shared more widely with friends and ministry partners. I believe this to be the time. For the sake of privacy no names or places are given otherwise it is unedited.

Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: KJV We can see that God used dreams in both the New and Old Testaments. Many times they are not literal and need to be prayerfully considered as to what God may want His children to know and what if any action they are to take as a result of that communication. I will include the dream as it was written to me and then make some personal comments at the end.

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Dan,

I'm writing just to check in and make sure you are ok. I had an awful dream last night. It was really a nightmare in which you were executed by the government over there for your faith. It was incredibly vivid. You were tied down to a table that was built in the shape of a person and you were injected with some kind of lethal poison.

Behind the scenes I got notice of your situation from my Dad but he received word too late for either of us to do anything. However, we did everything we could, battling with international lawyers, etc, right up to the time you were injected.

The place of execution was public--a huge, beautiful, modern atrium that was part shopping mall, part offices. It was a state of the art architectural marvel and your execution was a public warning to anyone who might try to spread religion in that country.

I conducted my battles via email and phone en route--I raced from (my home) to the city where you were. And I arrived, after running through a crowd of utterly disinterested Asian and European faces, too late. I just saw the empty table from which they had just taken away your dead body.

Somehow my father was already there sitting in the center of this giant atrium, the only civilian witness, the only one there who cared. I went to him and he told me it was too late and there was nothing he could do to stop what had happened.

But Dan, just as sad, terrifying and harrowing as your martyrdom was the utter lack of concern around the event. Literally no one cared. They all just continued their shopping.

This dream was obviously incredibly disturbing. But not just in the clear ways--it was disturbing because of the sense I had when I woke up: that all this work, all the preaching, teaching, discipleship and prayer were considered completely irrelevant. The world had turned away from God and anyone talking about him to the point that they literally didn't care.

So, I hope you will let me know that you are ok. But I also hope you know that what you are doing is incredibly relevant, incredibly meaningful, very important. I know that the financial situation has been dire--I've seen your message about that. But God is still in control. And this world needs to hear the Good News.

Yours in Christ,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Thoughts

First of all, I don’t have a “martyr complex” or the “gift” of martyrdom! This came five months ago and by God’s Grace I am still alive. There are a couple points that spoke to me and I will list them here.

1. Over the past three years we have been called of God to form a global prayer network. The JPN website alone has reached 108 nations with over 150,000 visitors in less than three years. Over half a million pages of material on the site has been read or downloaded. The aim of the network is to pray primarily for Japan! The true spiritual significance of this network is only known by God alone. We have seen local doors of outreach open more than in the past 30 years. I personally pray daily over maps calling out names of cities and regions of the nation and seeking God for revival among the believers and churches. One simple goal is for every Japanese person to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. I am sure we are hated in the spiritual realm. We have no idea if we have even shown up on political radar. Our writing focuses on the Word of God. We do refer to historical issues that impact the preaching of and reception of the Gospel by the people and nation of Japan! The JPN site shows up ahead of millions of other sites with popular search engines with phrases such as “Japan + prayer” or “prayer network” or “Japan + Dan Corbett”. This may account for the world wide coverage of the web site. Nothing special has been done in the technical sense to cause this kind of success in web searches.

3. Apathy. The dream shows a lack of concern on a couple different levels. First of all, the local Japanese people are not very aware of most of what we are doing. The churches in our region, in particular, are very divided along denominational lines. This lack of Christian unity helps prevent widespread spiritual revival. There was a mention of both Asian and European faces. We have little contact or direct support from other Asian believers. Many church leaders we worked with for many years have made no contact. Then finally the European faces literally represent both North America and Europe believers who are tied up or focused either on personal daily life or their local ministry commitments.

4. My friend’s concern was, “Literally no one cared. They all just continued their shopping.” Of course, that troubles me personally, but it may reflect a general sentiment of many believers around the world. We are “croaking for our own pond”. We read the New Testament Church was commissioned to reach Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. I am not sure why Japan slips through the cracks in many denominations and local churches. Could it be the past painful history of war and oppression? Can it be the seemingly prosperous state of living in Japan? Recently, Sharon visited a local church in the USA and an older church member honestly asked her if she “drove there from Japan”? After three years of writing and working to form a global prayer network, I believe we have made significant progress, but the needs are still staggering, both in need for intercession and personal and ministry finances.

5. Significance. The friend closed by stating how important the work is that we are doing. That is hard for any of us to accurately determine. We don’t do it for recognition. I do agree that the world and particularly Japan needs to hear the Good News! We have been doing our very best in that aspect and by God’s Grace with continue to do so.

6. Conclusion. I felt strongly directed by God to share this dream at this time. Interpretation of the dream is up to the individual. You can do with it as you like. We hope many more will take this to heart in some way and begin to intercede for the precious people and nation of Japan. I hope you will begin to pray for us. It may be that some who have never invested finances into this ministry may feel moved of the Holy Spirit to do so. Please just act upon whatever God may tell you to do. It will be the right thing and you will be blessed and His Love will continue to be shared with those who have never heard.

May God bless you richly!

Dan & Sharon Corbett
Fukuoka, Japan
“Reaching One Among Millions”

www.japanprayernetwork.com

Missionary Interview

2010-02-09T06:22:00.002+09:00

Note: A minister friend attending seminary sent a request for information from us as missionaries to Japan. I thought some might be interested in reading the answers. The questions are also significant to me. Many of you connect with missionaries on some level. These are questions you should have some knowledge of if you will relate to your own missionary in a meaningful manner.

Research for Missionary to Japan, Dan Corbett
Completed and returned Feb 8, 2010

1. How did you get started? What were your first steps in actually becoming a missionary? When was the first time you ever thought about being a missionary?

I was called by God at a summer church youth camp when I was 15 years old. It was a clear and definite calling. Not done in emotion during a service, but supernatural outside the meeting hall..

2. Why did you choose to go to the place you are now? What was the determining factor? Did you feel called by the place, by the missions board’s immediate needs, or by the needs of a people - group among whom you now work?

We first came to Japan while in the US Army. That gave us a taste of the culture and the desire to share God’s Love with our Japanese friends. Then 10 years later while serving as a local church pastor God made it clear that we were to return to Japan as self-supporting missionaries along with our three children. The mission board at that time wanted us to go to Australia to fill a slot that was open. If they tried to force that we would have refused to go.

3. How did your own background, education, talents, skills, interests, etc. fit into your decision? Into your eventual ministry?

After 40 years of full time ministry, I now strongly believe that God utilizes just about everything in our lives for His Glory at one time or another. I studied two languages in high school and then later on in the US Army I was a Vietnamese linguist. The language experiences helped tremendously. Then little things like the hardships of growing up on a farm helped with physical challenges and hardships on the mission field. The prayer life of my mother probably helped move me in the direction of being a prayer intercessor.

4. Who are the people you work among? Can you describe what makes them unique culturally? What positive things can we in our culture learn from them?

We work among with Japanese. It is hard to explain the uniqueness of this race of people in a small space. Japan was an isolated island nation for centuries which caused their culture to be very homogenous and shut off from outside influences. This also means it is a hard to penetrate society that is very closed to the outside world. Thus Christianity is considered a foreign religion that is outside their comfort circle. There are aspects of unity and community in Japan, that if sanctified, would be good for others to emulate.

5. What are their felt needs? What hopes, fears, struggles, etc. do they have? How did you begin to deal with these issues in a Christian way? What response have they shown to your love for them?

As a primarily Buddhist and Shinto nation, people are bound by idolatry which controls with fear. So the people are generally superstitious and fearful in many areas of life. It is necessary to first present God as the God of Love. There is no love in idolatry. Then we show God’s sovereignty over the devil and all the creation. This helps them move from fear to faith in Jesus Christ. Our love for the Japanese people is best shown and proven through small consistent acts of kindness and that has been well received. There is a need for “power evangelism” to help many get entirely free from idolatry. There is much spiritual warfare here.

6. What barriers did you face in reaching them? How did you penetrate those barriers? What were some of the struggles you personally experienced in doing so?

Language! There are three alphabets. The Japanese Kanji is a derivative of Chinese and there are thousands of complicated characters with many strokes. The society is also difficult to enter. We are called “gaijin” which means outside person. The way of thinking, interpersonal relationships, food, music and etc are all different. At first, much of what we present is rejected on face value before it even has a chance to be fully considered or examined. That can be extremely frustrating when your efforts to help someone are based on genuine love and concern.

7. How do you ‘feel’ toward the people you are serving? How did you grow to love them? Did you have problems with prejudice along the way?

We truly love the Japanese very much. Nearly 40 years of our lives have been dedicated to reaching the people and nation of Japan. That is a life time. One would not make that kind of commitment to people they did not love and care about. Prejudice is something we live with on a daily basis. It comes out in many ways. Sitting on a train with an empty seat beside us. Then the people will select a seat further away almost 100% of the time. Part of that is fear and a lack of confidence that they cannot speak English so it is better to avoid any circumstances that may cause them embarrassment. They don’t realize that the act of avoidance is a form of prejudice. We could write a book on the subject.

8. How could we right here learn to love them? Could you give specific suggestions on what to do?

Firstly, you need to learn more about Japan – the people, history, culture, food and language. Find opportunity to meet and interact with them. Find out about homestays inviting a Japanese High School student to live in with your family. Most of these have very positive results. Plan to visit Japan for a vacation. Use the internet to learn more.

9. How could we become more personally involved with you through meaningful prayer? What should we pray for and why?

Prayer is crucial. It needs to be consistent or even daily. It does not have to be long or protracted. A simple systematic and sincere daily calling out our names, needs and the nation of Japan is a great start. We issue monthly 4 page updates giving the latest news and needs. Personal emails or phone calls can be exchanged where more intimate details and information can be shared.

The cost of living in Japan is among the most expensive in the world. Finances are always a challenge and can be quite discouraging and distracting from the work of the Gospel. We need prayer covering for physical health and emotional well being. There is a need for intercession for the doors of hearts to be opened. There is a need for intercession against spiritual strongholds to be broken and pulled down which hinder people from hearing and receiving the gospel. The churches here are small and weak in many aspects. The pastor’s average age is 60 meaning that a young generation needs to be raised up. The believers still suffer much family and social persecution for their choice to follow Jesus Christ. They are often treated as social outcasts. The list could go on and on…..

Lost Bag

2010-01-25T17:20:00.001+09:00

Did you ever lose something? It has been a while for me. Normally I do a systematic "double check" before I leave a bank, store or restaurant. This probably developed from years of international travel. There was always a danger of forgetting a passport, ticket or wallet on airplanes, airports, trains or hotel rooms. This does not mean I have a good memory. It is just a technique to help deal with a less than perfect memory.

Today I had to go to the bank to pay a bill. Sharon asked me to pick up some noodles to cook with chicken. We have been to the specialty food store many times before. They have very friendly and kind staff. There was a lot on my mind today - both spiritual and financial matters. So I picked up my one item and went through the checkout. I got several miles down the road toward the house when my cell phone rang. It was a woman from that store asking for Sharon. When I asked why she replied that a black bag had been forgotten at their store. I immediately looked between the car seats when the bag always resides. To my surprise it was not there! I thanked her and turned around to quickly head back to the store to pick up my black bag.

Immediately I thanked God it had been found. He was particularly good to me today. In the past when I lost something there was that horrible period of not knowing where it was left or if it would ever be recovered safely. This time I was happily ignorant that it was even missing. When I found out it was gone it was clear that it was probably safe!

When I arrived at the store a young lady clerk recognized me and came running up. I began to thank her for taking care of it. She then apologized to me because she had looked inside to see who it belonged to. It happened that our cell phone bill was sticking out of the side pocket with our name and phone numbers. Of course, a smaller bag with all our bank books and some cash was also inside the bag. She urged me to check if everything was there since it had set by the front door in a shopping cart for a few minutes probably until someone noticed and reported it was there. All was present and accounted for! Praise God!

Earlier I had been both thankful and somewhat concerned about our finances. Some may think one cannot be both thankful and concerned at the same time. Believe me! It happens. After this incident I believe God was showing me that He is still in charge and will keep His Word to me as He has for over 57 years since I first accepted Christ as my Personal Savior. God is so very very Good to me and I am sure to all His children!

May God bless you richly as you trust Him to keep your "stuff" safe!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Don't Despise Small Things!

2010-01-12T16:42:00.000+09:00

Zech 4:10 Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin, to see the plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel. For these seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that see everywhere around the world. TLB

Zech 4:10 Note, In God's work the day of small things is not to be despised. Though the instruments be weak and unlikely, God often chooses such, by them to bring about great things. As a great mountain becomes a plain before him when he pleases, so a little stone, cut out of a mountain without hands, comes to fill the earth, Dan 2:35. Though the beginnings be small, God can make the latter end greatly to increase; a grain of mustard-seed may become a great tree. Let not the dawning light be despised, for it will shine more and more to the perfect day. The day of small things is the day of precious things, and will be the day of great things. (Matthew Henry's Commentary)

Matt 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. NIV

Matt 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

Matt 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. KJV

Don’t forget where you came from! Don’t look down on those who are where you used to be. Don’t become too comfortable where you are. You may not always sit in the seat you are now occupying. God gave you all that you have. It all belongs to Him - not to you, not to a denomination or mission organization. He is watching all we do and listening to our words. He knows our hearts. He is searching the hearts of His children and servants who proclaim His Name.

Isa 51:1 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. NIV

Last Day of 2009

2009-12-31T15:12:00.003+09:00

Today started out with early prayer time and then off to the store to get some needed food because of the 4 day New Year’s Holiday! There was major blowing snow with -1C temperature at 9:30am. Glad to have snow tires on our car thanks to my friend Mr. Fujinaka who “loans” me a set of snow tires every year for about 3 months! The local discount supermarket was very crowded with last minute shoppers buying up special foods used for the holiday. Some days it would be good to have an “aisle traffic cop” in the stores.

Sharon and Stephanie stayed up until 4am talking last night. This cold weather gives me some extra aches and pains so I went to bed early. Kikuko is coming over for her birthday dinner. She is one of the first members of Gideon’s Army IN Japan (GAIN) having accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior on July 9, 2008. Since then eight people aged 28-100 have confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord. There have been three more in the month of December with the oldest being a 63 year old lady whose husband committed suicide last year. Her daughter became a Christian earlier this year in May. God is working on many previously Buddhist families with grandchildren reaching their parents and even the grandparents with God’s Love. Intercessory prayers from ministry partners all over the world are causing these family doors to be opened to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

After returning home I noticed a Christmas card from Singapore. It is from a former Hindu man who worked at a Christian owned hotel I used to stay at when traveling through Singapore. He had a severely handicapped son who was born prematurely with many serious physical problems. A few years ago I put this man on my daily prayer list. When arriving at the hotel he always greeted me with a wide smile declaring, “Welcome home Mr. Corbett”. I took an interest in the welfare of his son praying for him daily and bringing small gifts or Japanese snacks on arrival. Three years ago I traveled there to hold a final church leadership transition meeting. A couple days before my departure an email arrived from the man informing me he was to be baptized the Sunday before my arrival. He later wrote a letter stating that the prayers and acts of kindness were what made him decide to turn to Christ and away from his Hindu gods. PTL!

There have been two Words from the Lord to me the past week that are directed toward the coming 2010 New Year. The first one is that we are to live from the “Fat of the land”. The second is that the New Year’s theme is “Hope in God”. When we first came to Japan in the US military nearly 42 years ago we taught English conversation which opened up doors to share God’ Love with Japanese friends. We were not touched by or concerned with the world’s stock market fluctuations or currency exchange. Then when we came in 1979 we taught English conversation which made up for the lack from the denomination support. In 2009 while being self-supporting, we have been hit with a 15% devaluation of the dollar against the yen. Once again, God is telling us to live primarily from sources of income from within Japan. We would appreciate prayer support in that aspect. We need to hear God's Voice clearly in all we do in 2010, both in ministry and finances.

2009 has been punctuated by wars, economic crises, social and political changes that have left heads spinning not knowing which way to turn. God is still on His Throne. We are the ones who need to change our focus. God’s Word is true and His Promises to supply the needs of His children are still in force. We need to pray, praise and sow seeds of His Love being assured that He will supply all of our needs as He has promised us as His children.

May God bless you richly as you look to Him in 2010!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

Remember to Forgive

2009-12-07T15:56:00.001+09:00

"Forgive and forget!" we often hear people say this. My opinion of that axiom has changed. Instead, I believe that we should REMEMBER to FORGIVE. We also need to remember that we are forgiven. We are forgiven by God for our sins and disobedience. We also need to REMEMBER that we have FORGIVEN others for the pain, offenses, and unkindness they have inflicted on us!

I have to confess that this subject slipped up on me today when I saw a calendar in the bathroom, of all places. I noticed that today, Dec 7th is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in the USA. Suddenly a flood of thoughts and memories came to mind. I feel a bit overwhelmed about this subject. It is critical to the life of a believer. I am praying God will help me to present to others what He has entrusted to me. Well, here goes!

FORGIVENESS is not EMOTION!

Forgiveness is not an emotional reaction. When understood from a biblical perspective, forgiveness is a conscious choice that is an amazing step of faith. It is crucial in our relationship with God and those around us. Here are just a few well-known scriptures.

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. KJV

Matt 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. KJV

Matt 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, "Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?" "No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven! TLB

PERSONAL APPLICATION

I have struggled with the part about forgiving and then trying to forget. There have been individuals that have inflicted great undeserved and unprovoked pain in my life. Some of them were Christians and even ministers. It was especially hard because this was not expected from them. At first there was shock and surprise, denial, and then anger. Soon conviction from the Holy Spirit would remind me that I must forgive them. I would pray and ask for God’s help in doing this. But self-preservation would set in. After all, it would not be good for them spiritually if they were to repeat this same mistake. So defenses would be put place to make sure this would not happen again. Of course, this process would impede any true Christian fellowship or being able to work together effectively.

The forgiving was required and necessary, but I remembered what was done to me. What was forgotten was the fact that, in many cases, I truly did forgive them. When a memory was triggered I would REMEMBER the trespass and FORGET the FORGIVENESS that had taken place. The pain and anger would be rekindled. I spent too much time and effort in trying to forget the offense and would forget that I had truly forgiven the other person. I am not sure how clear this is. Some may disagree and conclude that I did not completely forgive the other person. That is possible, but not the case in many situations. I simply forgot about my step of faith in forgiving the person.

I believe this to be true, for one reason, in that that many believers are troubled in their Christian walk because they FORGET that they have been FORGIVEN! This is why water baptism is important. Baptism is a public testimony witnessed by others that we have received forgiveness from God by faith in Jesus Christ. Those present are our witnesses. It also helps us to remember. Communion was set forth by Jesus so that we would remember and “show forth His death” until He returns in the rapture. Membership in a local body of believers can help us when being attacked by the “accuser of the brethren” a true brother will stand by us reminding us that we are indeed a Child of God and have been forgiven.

FAITH to FORGIVE

Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." 5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" NIV Of course, Jesus took this further and told Peter to forgive his brother seventy times seven. All of this cannot be done without faith. It takes faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. It takes faith to believe that He has forgiven us of our sins. Faith is also required to FORGIVE and RELEASE someone who has attacked and hurt us or those we love. We believe that God will handle the problem. We believe that He will deal with any debt of punishment or retribution. Rom 12:19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. [Don't take the law into your own hands.] TLB

REMEMBER to FORGIVE

When wronged first of all, remember that you are forgiven by God and others too. Then remember that God has given you the ability, authority and responsibility to forgive that one who hurts you. Ask God to give you the faith, strength and love to forgive the individual. Do so by a conscious act of faith. This can take place in a private prayer to God. It might require a telephone call, email, or visit. In some cases, when this is public then it might take place in a group setting. This must be done in the right spirit. There is no pride involved in true Godly forgiveness. Those who make a show of this have their reward on earth rather than Heaven! In my personal experience, when wronged by someone, God required me to ask them to forgive me. Wow! That was hard. I argued when told to do so. It was just not right or fair. I had been waiting in one case for years for the guilty party to ask my forgiveness. Then God forced me to ask him to forgive me. I did have anger, bitterness and judgment in my heart. Oh, by the way, it works. When done in true repentance and honesty this will method almost always break the barriers of broken fellowship and relationships. For me, it can only be done because of God’s Grace and Love working in me. I cannot do this on my own.

PEARL HABOR DAY of REMEMBERANCE

I did not forget the title of this article. When this came to mind today I got excited because of some wonderful things learned a couple years ago when doing some research on World War II. If possible, I will include three links that you can follow to learn the surprising details behind this historical tragedy.

On December 7, 1941 a large squadron of Japanese airplanes attacked Hawaii. Over 2,000 people were killed and over 1,000 were wounded. America lost a large portion of their battleships and over 200 aircraft. This attack helped bring America fully into the war that had been raging in other parts of the world. As the news of act of war was announced over the radio a sergeant by the name of Jacob DeShazer was stationed on an army base in Oregon. He was said to have shouted, “The Japs are going to have to pay for this”. He definitely was not ready to FORGIVE Japan for the death and misery caused in Hawaii.

In March 1942 DeShazer volunteered to be a part of a top secret mission later known as Doolittle's Raiders. A group of B-25 bombers were launched from an aircraft carrier to bomb Tokyo. They were not able to return back to the ship and were supposed to land in a free area of China after the bombing raid was complete. He and many others ran out of fuel and were then captured by Japanese soldiers in China. He was kept in prison in China and then later in several locations within Japan. During 40 months of captivity he was in solitary confinement for 34 months. Of his five man crew three were executed, one was starved to death, while Jacob’s death sentence was commuted to a life imprisonment by Emperor Hirohito himself.

He was severely beaten and badly malnourished during the time in prison. During his captivity, DeShazer persuaded one of his guards to loan him a copy of the Bible. Although he only had the Bible for three weeks, he saw its messages as the reason for his survival and resolved to become a devout Christian. His conversion included learning a few words of Japanese and treating his captors with respect, which resulted in the guards reacting in a similar fashion. Wikipedia. After the war Jacob returned the USA and entered a Bible college and returned to Japan as a missionary. He moved to the city of Nagoya which was the very city that he bombed during the war.

Mitsuo Fuchida was a bomber pilot before and during World War II. He was very skillful and highly trained as a pilot. He rose in rank and became a well known instructor. Fuchida flew missions in China, Sri Lanka and Australia. As the flight commander of Japanese 1^st Air Fleet he led the first wave of 183 bombers in the attack of Pearl Harbor. He was the one who initiated the infamous command Tora, Tora, Tora signaling that their surprise attack was successful. He remained in the air over Hawaii coordinating and overseeing the success of the attack. When he safely landed on his aircraft carrier he was surprised to see that his plane had 20 large anti-aircraft holes and his main control wire was held together only by a thread. He became a hero and continued in other battles. Many times his life was in danger and barely spared by circumstances which seemed to indicate some kind of divine protection.

MITSUO FUCHIDA POSTWAR

After the war, Fuchida was called on to testify at the trials of some of the Japanese military for Japanese war crimes. This infuriated him as he believed this was little more than "victor's justice". Convinced that the Americans had treated the Japanese the same way and determined to bring that evidence to the next trial, in the spring of 1947, Fuchida went to Uraga Harbor near Yokosuka to meet a group of returning Japanese prisoners of war. He was surprised to find his former flight engineer, Kazuo Kanegasaki, who all had believed had died in the Battle of Midway. When questioned, Kanegasaki told Fuchida that they were not tortured or abused, much to Fuchida's disappointment, then went on to tell him of a young lady who served them with the deepest love and respect, but whose parents, missionaries, had been killed by Japanese soldiers on the island of Panay in the Philippines.
For Fuchida, this was inexplicable, as in the Bushido code revenge was not just permitted, it was a responsibility for an offended party to carry out revenge to restore honor. The murderer of one's parents would be a sworn enemy for life. He became almost obsessed trying to understand why anyone would treat their enemies with love and forgiveness.

In the fall of 1948, Fuchida was passing by the bronze statue of Hachiko at the Shibuya Station when he was handed a pamphlet about the life of Jacob DeShazer, a member of the Doolittle Raid who was captured by the Japanese after his B-25 Mitchell ran out of fuel over occupied China. In the pamphlet "I Was a Prisoner of Japan"^[5] DeShazer, himself a former U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sergeant and bombardier, told his story of imprisonment, torture and an awakening to God. Fuchida became more curious about Christianity but couldn't find a Bible at the time in post-war Japan, but in the spring of 1949, again at the statue of Hachiko he met a man from the Pocket Testament League selling the New Testament of the Bible, and he bought one. Later that fall, while reading the Bible, he understood for the first time why the young lady had forgiven her enemies and took his first steps in becoming a Christian. In May 1950, he and Jacob DeShazer met for the first time, as friends. Wikipedia

CONCULSION

God works in the affairs of man when and where we least expect it. Japan decided to attack Hawaii to prevent America’s interference in its aggression across Asia. The plan backfired completely. The Japanese Navy sent their most brilliant aviator to coordinate the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then escaped death many times as if divine providence was at work even though he was not yet a Christian and definitely did not believe in or practice FORGIVENESS!

God used an angry young Jacob DeShazer who was unwilling to FORGIVE Japan for the attack on Pearl Harbor. God protected him from death when all his crew died while he still was not yet a Christian and still did not understand forgiveness. Alone in a Japanese prison cell Jacob received FORGIVENESS from God and immediately began to practice the same with cruel prison guards. God used the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to commute the death sentence so that Jacob could later bring his testimony of forgiveness to the Japanese people he had bombed earlier during the war.

God then put the two enemies together in Japan as FORGIVEN brothers in Christ. Jacob baptized Mitsuo Fuchida in water and the two worked together in evangelism and church planting for many years. Later Pastor Fuchida toured America seeking forgiveness from the people he had bombed years earlier. He also preached and demonstrated the power of Forgiveness.

APPLICATION

Growing up in church years ago I learned a song and a portion of the lyrics read, I don’t know what I would do without the Lord, when I look around and see just how much He’s done for me, I just don’t know what I would do without the Lord. That describes how I feel about forgiveness. I am alive today because God forgave me of my sins. He has helped me over the past few years to better remember that He has forgiven me. By His Grace, I am doing better at remembering that I have forgiven others. My prayer for you is that you will receive His forgiveness and walk in it by faith everyday. I pray you will seek God’s help to forgive all those who have harmed you. Then be sure that you do remember that you have forgiven them too.

May God bless you as you Remember to Forgive!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

History of Mitsuo Fuchida

Pastor Fuchida's Testimony

Jacob DeShazer's History

Jacob's Praying Mother

Why Hospitality?

2009-12-05T22:01:00.001+09:00

Rom 12:13 When God's children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. TLB
1 Peter 4:9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay for the night. TLB

1 Tim 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; KJV Titus 1:8 They must enjoy having guests in their homes and must love all that is good. They must be sensible men, and fair. They must be clean minded and level headed. TLB

Hospitality – philoxenos (fil-ox'-en-os); from philos; fond of guests, i.e. hospitable: KJV - given to or lover of hospitality, entertain strangers, “lover of strangers”.

The elder Apostle Paul writes to the younger minister Timothy giving him instructions on the qualifications of ordained church leaders. He lists over a dozen various characteristics that are required if these leaders would be ordained to minister to members under their oversight. In the midst of the several points Paul inserts the characteristic of hospitality. For years, that seemed completely out of place to me. It just did not appear to be a “spiritual” matter! Upon further reflection, this quality does very much reflect upon the “spiritual” nature of a believer or minister.

In the modern day church most of what a pastor or minister does takes place either from behind a pulpit or within the confines of church related activities. Hospitality is literally “out of sight” from the public eye. By the way, the church members are not free from this biblical requirement just because they are not ordained ministers. Peter was speaking to the church body rather than just the ministry as he urged them to be ready to share a meal or to provide a place to stay to those who were in need of such.

Hospitality in the Old Testament

In biblical times it was believed to be a sacred duty to receive, feed, lodge, and protect any traveler who might stop at one's door. The stranger was treated as a guest, and men who had thus eaten together were bound to each other by the strongest ties of friendship. (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary) Suffering Job was able to declare in Job 31:32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler- NIV In Genesis 18:1-8 we read of Abraham’s hospitality toward the three “strangers” who passed by his tent. As a result of his kindness to these angels from God he obtained the promise of the birth of his promised seed, Isaac. He was also given the opportunity to intercede directly with God for the life of his nephew Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom.

In Genesis 19:1-3 we see Lot extending similar hospitality to two men who were probably two of the three his Uncle Abraham entertained previously. Abraham sent his servant back to his clan to find a wife for Isaac. In Gen 24 Rebekah shows warm hospitality to the servant she had never met before when she gave him a drink of water and drew for all camels. Then she invited him to come to the house of her brother Laban. Many other examples could be cited.
Isa 58:7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and bring right into your own homes those who are helpless, poor, and destitute. Clothe those who are cold, and don't hide from relatives who need your help. TLB

New Testament Hospitality

Luke 14:12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." NIV

The test of a New Testament widow being cared for by the church included the question of hospitality. 1 Tim 5:10 She must be well thought of by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers as well as to other Christians? Has she helped those who are sick and hurt? Is she always ready to show kindness? TLB Heb 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. KJV

What about Today?

“Well, things have changed since Bible times!” We hear that all the time. No more miracles. No more of members of the church body sharing with others. 1 Cor 12:25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. NIV That is now only a biblical principle, not to be taken literally, we are told. Acts 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. KJV Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. KJV

Several years ago when I taught on the two references in the Book of Acts someone told me to require that of the modern day church is like practicing communism. I was told that times have changed and that God never really “required” that of the early church. They just did it on a personal voluntary basis. The problem I have is that Jesus is the same “yesterday, today and forever” and we preach about the growth and power of the New Testament Church, but many do not want to pay the price that the early believers did. That could be why we don’t see the same results that they did then. I have just one word of caution to those who say such things. Persecution has frequently caused God’s people to rise up spiritually and band together. I believe that principle has not changed. If we will not love, feed, visit or cover our brothers then the Father may find it necessary to give today’s church some new motivation!

Personal Application

When we first moved to Korea for ministry nearly 40 years ago many regions and parts of society had not yet fully recovered from the Korean War. A large number of our early church members owned only one set of clothing. It was washed at night, dried on the heated floor (Ondol) and worn fresh the next day. On several occasions we visited Korean pastors homes and were served the last portion of rice that they had in their kitchen. It was a humbling experience to receive that kind of hospitality. While conducting a revival near the southern coast I was invited to an early morning breakfast by a church widow. Later I learned she arose at 3:00am to feed me and gave me her last chicken to eat. That was hard!

We too struggled with very limited funds from our church hdqrs. We were the first sent to that nation and little was known by them about the true cost of living and daily expenses. I can truthfully say that we suffered as a family while ministering there. We could only afford to eat beef twice a month. Sharon tells me that was less than 500 grams (1 lb) of meat. But we were required by God to turn around and share what we had with the many people who came to our home. Sharon did amazing things with little food and not much money to buy it. She is still doing the same things with food 40 years later.

After we arrived in Korea we came in contact with US military men and young Korean men who came to visit our home. In those days the government imposed a midnight curfew due to the dangers of North Korean infiltrators. So everyone had to be off the street by midnight or be arrested. One night some servicemen and a young Korean minister were visiting with us. Time passed and soon it was too late for them to get home safely by the curfew deadline. I invited them to spend the night sleeping on blankets on the heated floor. The Korean man got tears in his eyes when I told them to spend the night. He explained that no missionary in his denomination ever asked him to sleep in their home. I told him it was just “normal” and that he was welcome any time. Later he helped me with the strategy for establishing our first local church in Korea. Some years later he moved to Hawaii. While there he saw a sign to a local COGOP congregation. He contacted the pastor, Larry Biggers. He asked Bro Biggers if he knew me to which he replied in the affirmative. Over the next weeks Bro Biggers learned that my Korean minister friend was separated from his wife. By God’s Grace and a lot of love Bro Biggers was used to help restore the marriage of my Korean friend. My simple action of kind hospitality brought help in planting a local church and later on restoring a marriage.

Not all the results of hospitality are seen immediately. But, the regular practice of biblically based hospitality is probably one of the most powerful and effective sermons that anyone could ever preach! It cannot be recorded on a denominational monthly report. It cannot be put on a financial spreadsheet. It can’t be contained in a Podcast or streamed live on the Internet. In most cases it cannot be practiced in the church building. In truth it should take place in the privacy of our own homes. Even our church orphanages though a great and needed ministry cannot take the place of believers and ministers opening up their homes, hearts and pocketbooks to those God brings into their lives. We can use the media in every format to share the Good News. Beautiful buildings can be built in many nations to gather people to hear the Gospel. That is great, but there are those who will only listen to what we have to say after they experience God’s Love through the truly unselfish actions of opening our doors to those who are in need.

In closing, I think part of our problem today with hospitality is in honest mistakes in perception. We think someone needs to be in rags and homeless before hospitality can take place. That is wrong most of the time. In the New Testament this principle seems to be directed much toward our brothers and sisters in the faith as well as to true strangers. In recent weeks, in Japan God has opened the hearts of many mid 30’s Japanese young ladies to the Gospel. As I write this Sharon is downstairs praying and counseling with a believer and a 33 year old mother who has been seeking the way to God. She meets Sharon once a week. She cannot come to church on Sunday because of her husband. Last night we hosted 8 ladies for a Burrito Christmas party and impromptu birthday party. Each of them are employed and some drive cars much newer and nicer than ours. But, God has directed us to open both our hearts and homes to them. It seems the more willing we are to share what we have in our home and hearts they seem to be more open to hear what we have to say about God’s Love!

May God bless you as you open your home and heart to those in need!

Dan & Sharon Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

P.S. The 33 year old mother did accept Jesus Christ as her personal savior tonight. Thank you for standing with us and praying. Please keep it up!

Quick Learners

2009-11-23T19:04:00.001+09:00

Judges 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, by the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. KJV In Judges 6-7 we can read the well-known account of Gideon being used by God to defeat a powerful military force of thousands of Midianites and the Amalekites in the Valley of Jezreel. He accomplished this amazing feat with a small handful of 300 men who had been selected from a larger force of at least 32,000!

Historical Background

We need to go back in time to the days of Joshua. He was called Moses’ minister or servant as a young man. Before Moses died Joshua was selected and installed as his successor to lead the Children of Israel into their inheritance of the lands of Canaan. Earlier Joshua was also selected as one of the 12 spies, along with Caleb, sent to spy out the land in Num 13. They were the only two to bring a positive report that the enemies there could easily be defeated! In the Book of Joshua we can read the account of him leading God’s people into the new Promised Land. Great military victories marked this period of time in Israel’s history.

But all was not well when we look more closely at the situation. There were many remaining pockets of resistance as the 12 Tribes of Israel took up residence in the new land. God had commanded both Moses and Joshua to destroy all the living in the areas which they took over. As we read through the Book of Joshua it can be seen that several regions and tribes were not displaced or destroyed. There are references that state God allowed these people to remain as a test of Israel’s obedience. Later on those remaining enemy tribes became hindrances to the Children of Israel. In some cases, Israel turned from God and began to worship the idols of the tribes they did not destroy. There also were times when Israel turned from following God and these opposing tribes were used to punish Israel which was the case at the time of Gideon.

While reading the Books of Joshua and Judges we can feel a strong word of caution for us as believers today. There are areas in our lives which may cross God-ordained boundaries that we are to avoid in order to live a robust and healthy Christian Life! When we received Christ as our personal Savior there are things of this world that we are responsible to destroy or abandon completely. To fail to do so may also leave a door open for temptation for us to return to the life that we were delivered from by the Blood of Jesus Christ. These areas may seem to be insignificant and are sometimes left unnoticed. We will bristle and strike back at someone who may point these out to us stating that we are living under Grace and that it does not matter… until it is too late!

God’s Method of Salvation

Joshua 24:31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel. KJV This verse seems to indicate that things continued to go well with Israel after their leader died. The following verses speak well of life for Israel while he lived. Joshua 21:43 So in this way the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had promised to their ancestors, and they went in and conquered it and lived there. 44 And the Lord gave them peace, just as he had promised, and no one could stand against them; the Lord helped them destroy all their enemies. 45 Every good thing the Lord had promised them came true. TLB

Trouble was brewing for Israel. It did not come suddenly or with much warning. After Joshua died and those who had “known all the works of the Lord” life continued smoothly for quite some time. Each tribe of Israel was responsible to attack and destroy the enemy tribes living near them. At first, they faithfully sought God’s favor and direction in their efforts to obey Him in riddling the new land of idolatry. There was no single powerful permanent charismatic leader in office to be looked to for guidance or protection from the enemies surrounding them.

After the death of Joshua and his peers Israel entered into the Period of Judges (1380-1050 B.C.). The people tended to fall into worship of idols time and time again. When they sinned God caused the neighboring nations or tribes to oppress them as a form of punishment meant to bring them into a state of repentance. When they repented and cried out to God, He raised up a judge who lead them to victory against their enemies. For a period of time they would serve God. After the death of the judge, Israel would return to idolatry and the cycle started all over again. This kind of behavior continued for nearly 300 years.

The Time of Gideon

The story of Gideon begins with Judges 6. Before this, God raised up a number of men and women who were used to bring deliverance to Israel. These spiritual champions included: Othniel, Caleb’s nephew, Ehud the left-handed judge, Shamgar, and Deborah the prophetess. The methods of deliverance varied including a dagger, ox goad (sharpened stick) and a tent peg and hammer in the hand of Jael the wife of Heber.

In Judges 6 we find Israel suffering for 7 years under the cruel hand of the Midianites. After a previous period of 40 years of peace, this oppression must have been unbearable. We are told that the Israelites hid themselves in caves and dens in the mountains since their enemy covered they land like “grasshoppers” stealing and carrying away all crops and available food. So we see Gideon hiding behind a winepress threshing some wheat out of sight of the enemy who would surely steal it from his hands if it were seen. He is greeted by an angel who was seated under a nearby Oak tree.

The angel begins the conversation by calling the obviously timid Gideon a “mighty man of valor”. He also reminded Gideon that God was with him. Gideon did not attempt to hide his disbelief from the angel. Judges 6:13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." NIV Undaunted by the initial negative response from Gideon, the angel continues to deliver his message from God. Judges 6:14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" NIV

There are a number of further exchanges as Gideon protests that his family is of Manasseh which is one of the weakest of 12 tribes and that he ranks lowest in his own family. Properly so, Gideon hastens to prepare an offering of meat, bread and broth. The angel performs a miracle in burning up the offering causing Gideon to realize he was in the presence of an angel sent from God. He is instructed to pull down an altar to Baal and to offer a proper sacrifice to God. The neighbors are incensed and afraid of the wrath that may come upon them because of destroying the altar. Thankfully his father Joash defends his son against the crowd of people.

God’s Strategy

The Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel threatening to destroy Israel. The “Spirit of the Lord” came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet and sent messengers throughout his tribe of Manasseh and three others calling them to come together to fight against the huge enemy force that was gathered together against Israel. Just as a large number of Israelites answered the call to battle Gideon suffered another challenge to his faith in God. In Judges 6:36-40 he asked God to perform the miracle of the wet ground and dry fleece. Of course, this is the source of the often used phrase of “putting a fleece before the Lord” in determining if we are hearing God’s Voice in a decision.

In Judges 7 we can see that at least 32,000 people responded to Gideon’s call to battle. As they gather God tells Gideon there are “too many” and when Israel wins they will take the credit for themselves and not give God the glory for the victory. So Gideon is instructed to send all those home who are willing to admit they are afraid. 22,000 took advantage of the chance to leave. But God declared that the remaining 10,000 were still too many for His plan.

God prepared a simple test which man would never have considered using for this task at hand. The group was ordered to drink from a body of water. Those who drank water from their hands rather than putting their mouths in the water were chosen to go into battle for the Lord. Only 300 were found to drink water that way. I realize a lot has been written over the years about this test and the whys and wherefores, but I still do not understand it. I simply know that God used it to select the men that He knew would obey and fulfill His Will in the battle against Israel’s enemies.

Gideon’s Army

These are the “Quick Learners” I am writing about. There is no reference to any special qualifications or training about these 300 men. No mention is made of which tribe they came from, their age, or any particular kind of experience or profession that they may have had before being chosen by God. The instruments to be used were simple consisting of a trumpet, empty clay pitcher and lit candle. They were divided into 3 companies of 100 each. They were instructed to stand in their appointed place and blow the trumpet, break the pitcher, and hold the candle in the left hand while shouting “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon”. As the 300 men followed the simple instructions and stood still in their place. The enemy turned their swords on each other resulting in a great slaughter. After this Gideon and his army pursued the remnants of their defeated foes.

No matter how many years I have been reading the Bible or how many times I study this portion of scripture I am still amazed at how God used a weak vessel like Gideon along with a small quickly assembled group of men to defeat a large force of trained men. There was just no real “training time” allowed. They had to learn their job in a very short time. They were truly willing vessels who learned their simple lessons of warfare quickly were used by God to bring a great deliverance to His people in a manner which brought Glory to God only!

Present Day Application

The parallels between God’s people in the days of Joshua and the Period of Judges and us today are many. We have seen great charismatic leaders arise in the Kingdom of God. Some ministers like Billy Graham and Pastor Yon Gi Cho did great works reaching millions in evangelism and building the world’s largest church. There have been many others. In each case their children or successors rarely are able to repeat the feats which were accomplished through their ministry. There is some concern about the true spiritual depth of some of the present day media ministers who hold large meetings and command much attention through various media channels. We need to be careful about judging. The Bible says we will know people by their works.

The Period of Judges for Israel reminds me of much of my life time in ministry over the past 40 years. Much of the ministry was driven by money and membership. Decisions were made by committees who lived in one western nation only venturing out on occasional trips to large conferences. They did not live among the members or ministers that they “ruled over”. Much good was done, but a lot of effort and funding was wasted rather than being placed where it would produce the most spiritual fruit.

We minister in Japan. We have conducted traditional western-style ministry for many years. Again ministry took place, but lasting results and spiritual fruit is scarce in many aspects. The Gospel was first introduced into Japan over 450 years ago, but today only 1% of the population of Japan is Evangelical Christians. Whatever has been done over the past many years is obviously not working well, including much of what we did during the past 30 years. For the last 3 years a network of prayer has been set up for Japan. Many others are doing a great work in this aspect also.

In response to the intercessory prayers that have been going up from around the world, God is raising up a group of young Japanese who are in their mid 30’s. They come from all walks of life and even from staunch Buddhist families. They have braved tremendous pressure and even family persecution to publicly confess Christ as their savior. They are highly intelligent and possess a tremendous hunger for the Word of God. They devour large portions of scripture on the buses, trains and subways to and from work. They listen to Christian music which lifts up Jesus Christ constantly. They are like sponges listening to every bit of teaching, training, counsel or advice that is offered to them. They can sit for hours on end in worship, fellowship, prayer and Bible study. They share God’s love and their testimony with all they come in contact without having been told to do so.

Some of the traditional Japanese churches are not comfortable with this new group of believers. They do not prosper very well spiritually under the normally strong pastoral control that is so often found in many churches in Japan. They have quickly learned who they are in Christ. They hunger for the fullness of the Holy Spirit and are frequently used in prophetic areas soon after conversion to Christ. That is just too fast for many pastors and churches. So after attempts to control or stifle the moving of the Holy Spirit in them they may be asked to leave the church.

Gideon’s Army of Today

Could it be that God is quietly raising up a generation, not only in Japan, but also in many other nations around the world to confront the spiritual enemies of God’s Kingdom. We need to be careful about judging from the outward appearance. When God sets the tests for membership in His Last Days Army how dare we attempt to decide who is qualified or who isn’t? What sets these army members apart from the average citizen of any nation? Why doesn’t God use the local churches as His only place or means of recruitment? The answer to that question is very obvious to me anyhow. When Sharon and I accepted our call to be missionaries as young teenagers our greatest criticism and discouragement came from inside our local churches. It didn’t take long to learn to be very discerning about who we talked to about our calling since we were so young.

God is sovereign and can do whatever He desires. This concept of a Gideon type of army being raised up today should not be hard to accept by truly spiritual and mature believers. Look at David when he defeated Goliath. He was rebuked by his own brothers. He was considered too young, untrained and unequipped, but God used him to bring a great deliverance to His army that was stalemated and stagnated unable to confront the enemy that mocked them and their God Jehovah. In the New Testament Jesus used a sinful woman to work as an evangelist in Samaria. He sent a previously demon possessed man back to his home town to preach the Good News very effectively! I believe we live in a similar set of circumstances today.

It is very likely that what we are seeing and experiencing here is taking place in other parts of the world in the Kingdom of God. We need to be careful to not be a naysayer when God is working in the lives of young people calling them into His Service and harvest field. We need to be prayerfully on the lookout for those anointed young people in our own families, local churches or in the local schools that God has singled out to be a part of His unorthodox army to go against the spiritual giants that are attacking families, churches, cities and even nations. As we have opportunity we need to be available to encourage them, pray for them, to cheer them on as they march off to war in Jesus’ Name! They need older experienced believers and ministers to offer counsel and advice to make them even more effective in God’s Kingdom.

Gideon’s Army – Epilogue

It would be nice to close this article with “and they lived happily ever after”. But it does not go that way. Judges 8 gives a sad ending to a great victory. In brief,. Ephriam was jealous because Gideon did not call them first. Then Succoth refused to give any bread to his weary 300 men who had been pursuing the Midianites. Later the Israelites at Penuel also refused to help him. In the midst of great victory and deliverance there was still jealousy and selfishness among God’s people. May God help us today to learn from the past and to seek His Face for victory over the spiritual enemies facing us today! Pray for God to raise up His Army today. Oh God call out Your Gideon’s of today and raise up Your Army who will obey and do Your Will in the earth today!

May God bless you as you pray!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

Early or Late?

2009-11-10T10:38:00.002+09:00

Fairly easy question to answer! Right? Nope! It depends on your perspective and many other factors. Let me explain.

Two weeks ago I went to the dentist with a tooth that lost an inlaid filling. It was a decent experience as far as visits to dentists go. A new young dentist spoke very good English and was extremely polite. The department head is studying the Korean language so we used some Korean during the visit. It was a very enjoyable linguistic experience with the combined use of English, Japanese and Korean languages. Some opportunities were presented to help the dentists with proper English terminology at their request.

Then the appointment was made for the replacing of the inlaid filling two weeks later. There is where the problem began. I was offered a couple dates and times. Still being a little nervous from the 90 minutes in a dentist's chair I did not clearly fix my attention on the date of the next appointment. For me, memory is like a photograph. I need to take a clear focused look at papers and even verbally get my facts straight. If not, I will frequently go away with the wrong information. So, for two weeks I have been convinced that my next appointment was on Tuesday of this week.

So I arranged schedules with others and set my alarm to get up early for a good shower and shave. Even got an ironed dress shirt and the fixings. Took off in the car just a few minutes earlier than normal for an appointment at the hospital dental clinic. It was a wonderful drive this morning. Cloudy and overcast with a threat of rain. On the way, a conversation with the Lord began. It was not necessary to turn on praise music. It was like having a friend along for a quiet drive to the city. This lasted about 20-25 min. The parking lot was nearly full, but after a good conversation with the Lord that did not matter at all.

I was so happy to arrive at the dental clinic 10 minutes EARLY! I first realized something was wrong when a nurse quietly said to the other, why is Mr Corbett here? It was then that I glanced down at the appointment slip which said 11月9日月曜日(Nov 9th, Monday) I had no problem understanding the Japanese language in this case. I had mistakenly thought that Nov 9th fell on a Tuesday. This wrong perception sadly stayed in my mind for two full weeks.

I arrived at the clinic window thinking I was 10 minutes EARLY when in reality I was 23hrs and 50min LATE! Some might ask why didn't God bother to tell His son, Daniel that he was wrong during this long two week period of mistaken perspective? I am not sure that is God's responsibility. As usual, the Lord turns negative things into positive ones. Today I had a tremendous 50 minute long drive with a very good friend, my Lord! This time praise music was not blaring from the CD player. I was not blubbering and asking for favors or blessings. It was like a pleasant drive with a long time friend. Today I mostly just listened. I felt very satisfied and had a strong feeling that God was pleased with me.

How about you today, in your life? Are you late, early or right on time? So maybe today, I wasn't really late, but right on time. On God's time that is.

God bless you as you listen to His Voice in your busy day!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

A Prayer for Japan

2009-10-31T16:00:00.001+09:00

A Prayer For Japan

Just a simple video slide show on You Tube of a written prayer for Japan.

Why don't you join click the link above and join in with our prayer for this precious people and nation?

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Faith or Fear?

2009-10-21T13:51:00.000+09:00

Faith – pistis - persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction, especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of Gospel truth itself: KJV - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Fear – phobeo to frighten, to be alarmed; to be in awe of, i.e. revere: KJV - be sore afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence. phobos & phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: KJV - be afraid exceedingly, fear, terror. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Faith

Matt 17:20b "For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move!' and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible. TLB
Matt 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. KJV

Fear

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. KJV
2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. KJV

How About us Today?

What are you facing today - sickness, uncertainty, financial troubles, relationship problems, or crucial decisions? In many cases we have no choice about the circumstances that we find ourselves facing. We cannot control our environment, but we can choose how we react to that situation.

I believe there are two basic choices that every believer has in any one scenario we find ourselves in. We can react either in “Faith” or “Fear”! The Bible is full of stories of God’s children coming against impossible odds. Some chose to follow God and believe His Word while others failed the Faith Test failing to move when God told them to go forward.

Young David found himself in the middle of a standoff between the armies of Israel and the Philistine giant Goliath. King Saul with his well equipped troops and resources trembled in fear each day as the giant “called them out”. But young David reacted in “Faith” and declared that his God was well able to deliver him from the hand of Goliath. (1 Sam 17:37)

It was not David’s youth, speed, intelligence, or training – just simple and powerful faith in God. We have access to that same faith. Many of us have preached the Word of God. We have seen miracles and received numerous answers to our prayers. Yet, when faced with new problems, mountains and challenges, each of us must once again make that crucial decision to react or act in Faith or Fear.

Victory or Defeat

It is not an oversimplification to say that the difference between victory and defeat can be summed up in two words – Faith or Fear! May God help us to take that important step to say, God I believe and then if necessary finish up with Help thou mine unbelief! (Mark 9:24)

He won’t let you down. He did not let the three Hebrew children burn. He opened up the Red Sea. He opened the blinded eyes. He promised that He would never leave us. God ahead and take that step of Faith! Jesus is waiting for you!

God bless you as you walk in Faith!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

Gideon's Army IN Japan

2009-10-03T22:55:00.003+09:00

Gain – To come into possession or use of; acquire; to attain in competition or struggle; win; to obtain through effort or merit; achieve.Gideon's Army IN Japan. GAIN Japan! In order to “gain Japan” for the kingdom of God something powerful, unique and new must be found and employed in sharing God’s Love here in an effective manner. The past century of western-style evangelism and mission’s strategy has been found to be sorely wanting in results and long lasting change.

In the Book of Judges we can read the story of a shy young man living in a horrible time of oppression and conflict. God’s favored people, Israel, had sinned and brought judgment upon themselves in the form of invasion and oppression from the powerful Midianites. It was so severe that the Israelites lived in caves and dens in the mountains. Their livestock and crops were stolen and consumed by the Midianites. In fact, Chapter 6 opens with the young man Gideon hiding behind a winepress in order to thresh a little bit of wheat out of sight of the Midianites.

Outwardly Gideon appeared to be timid or fearful, yet the when an angel from God greeted him, he was called a “mighty man of valor”. Gideon was given the assignment of setting his people free from the oppression of the Midianites. Several times Gideon expressed concern and needed assurance that God truly was with him and would make this victory reality. Then he was told to issue a call to others to join with him in this dangerous adventure.

At first, 32,000 other Israelites showed up to volunteer to take part in the battle against their powerful enemy. God told Gideon that there were too many and that a victory would surely be attributed to man’s power rather than God’s. So the fearful were released leaving 10,000 to do battle. Still God said there were too many. Next a simple test was applied by ordering the men to go drink water from the river. Those who drank water from their hands were the ones God set aside to be his instruments of deliverance. They only numbered 300! How could they possibly defeat such a mighty army that was waiting?

The next amazing feature of this drama was the selection of weapons. Gideon ordered each man to place a candle inside a clay pitcher and to carry a trumpet in the other hand. At night they divided into three companies of 100 men each. Then on his signal they blew trumpets, shouted “the sword of the Lord and Gideon” and then broke the pitchers allowing the candles to shine brightly in the darkness. They were instructed to stand still while God worked among the enemy to bring victory. In the darkness of night the Midianite army turned their swords on each other. Then the remainder fled into the dark pursued by Gideon’s small army. Additional help was realized from other tribes of Israel who helped follow and kill the remaining enemy soldiers.

Conditions in Japan

The Gospel reached Japan 460 years ago in 1549. Yet there are probably less than 1% evangelical Christians to be found today. The doors of Japan have been closed during the ensuing years for periods of time. Interruptions like World War II have interfered with the growth of Christianity. Still several thousands of missionaries have worked in many different aspects of ministry in the nation of Japan. Every common western mission concept has been attempted here. Recent statistics show 2,362 missionaries working in Japan today. There are approximately 200 denominations represented nationally. The average age of pastors here is 60 plus years of age.

God’s Answer!

I am aware that no one single method or technique can be presented as the all encompassing answer to Japan being reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We personally have used several approaches of the past 30 years of ministry. Some times we focused on children and youth. That was somewhat effective. That method usually did not always reach the parents or grandparents. Then we had special outreach to ladies. Again, many of them were saved, but the husbands usually never came to church and older children and grandparents were left out.We sent several overseas for college and English study. A few found salvation outside Japan, but some married and stayed in the USA not returning to help share God’s love to their own family and nation.

During this past year God began to place us in contact with a group of young Japanese who are between 25-35 years old. Many have lived abroad and can speak English fairly well. A few are married with children. They come from all walks of life and most have college degrees. Among this group lies a quiet hunger to find the meaning to life. Their family religions of Buddhism and Shinto cannot fill the void in their hearts. Some have searched the Internet for information about the Bible and Christianity. Most do not trust traditional churches and will not go inside the buildings. They have the idea that traditional Christian churches are too much like Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines.

We did not plan this! God began to bring the group of young people into our lives through various means and circumstances. I now have a two page list of names of Japanese young people whom I pray for on a daily basis. Some are living in our neighborhood, Fukuoka City, Tokyo and Yokohama. One accepted Christ in our home, another in Fukuoka City Hall, two others were visited and then later prayed by telephone to accept Christ and so forth. Bible studies and prayer meetings have been conducted in our home and by video phone calls between Japan and other countries. Bibles, music and training materials are used here and also sent to those in other areas.

Those who received Christ have already begun to win others to the Lord. There is a solid and very rapid spiritual growth that I have not seen in other places and years past in ministry. They call and text each other for prayer requests and encouragement. Whenever concerts or special meetings take place they go to learn, fellowship and to network with other Japanese believers. They have friends in other nations where they lived or studied and the influence and network is spreading across national boundaries.

Gideon’s Army IN Japan!

The members of the emerging Gideon’s Army in Japan exhibit the characteristics of both Prophetic Praisers and Prayer Intercessors. In other words, as soon as they accept Christ they begin to spend time in the Word of God, Praise and Intercessory prayer. It is natural for this kind of believer to have frequent opportunities to share their testimony with others they meet in family, job and daily life connections. There are some who have not yet confessed Christ, but it is evident that they have been tapped by God to become a part of His Army in Japan. As older believers and ministers of the Gospel Sharon and I have spent many long sessions of prayer, teaching and sharing ministry experiences with eager young people.

As this army grows in number and the needs for training and infrastructure increases we are praying God’s clear direction. We do not want to duplicate past mistakes of dead traditional structures fraught with hypocrisy and human dogma. All believers need spiritual covering, biblical discipleship and accountability. It is anticipated that greater needs of resources and personnel for training will come about. All of this needs to be bathed in prayer that God will receive the glory. Sadly, as we read the full account of Gideon we see division among the tribes of even idolatry. Clear Biblical goals and principles must be kept before us at all times.

Join Us!

This young army is a major aspect of our outreach and ministry in Japan. Just this past week two nights of five hours each were devoted to Bible study and prayer with members of this group. We are planning for a regular schedule of prayer and study meetings. We will keep you updated of these. We need intercessory prayer for us and the young people. You can pray regularly and can also join us with financial support to insure our ministry and living expenses being covered.

God Bless you richly!

Dan & Sharon Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

Grocery Store Shopping

2009-09-22T18:01:00.002+09:00

That's right! Grocery shopping today to pick up a few things before lunch. We are in the middle of the Japanese "Silver Week". At the end of April and the first week of May there is the famous "Golden Week" which has three national holidays in one week's time. The Silver Week is new. It consists of two national holidays - Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumn Equinox. All together everyone gets off for five days when you include the weekend. The expressways are packed full of cars since the government dropped the fees on weekends and holidays.

Sharon and I have been kind of "laying low" since the roads are very crowded with the holiday makers. So today I needed to pick up just a few items. I questioned whether or not to go to the larger discount store which is normally crowded with cars waiting for open parking spaces. It also has narrow isles filled with shoppers jostling for positions in front of the refrigerated food cases. I got what I call a "Sharon Parking Space" right in front of the entrance. For a number of years she has confessed that our Heavenly Father always favors her with a parking space close to the front of stores where she goes shopping. It is true! I have observed this for years. At first, I doubted and even made fun of the very idea. Since then I have repented to her and God. After that I began to pray about parking spaces and have been known to pray for a "Sharon Parking Space" when in a hurry and needing to get in and out quickly. Since repenting over my doubt, it seems to work on numerous occasions.

Today I picked up my needed items and headed to the checkout counter. While the lady was checking me out a very short older Japanese lady reached in front of me asking the clerk for an additional plastic grocery bag. Being much taller than her she did not see my face. When I looked at her more closely I realized that I knew her. I touched her shoulder lightly and said, "hisashiburi desu" (lt's been a long time)! She was very surprised and happy to see it was me. Her husband and I were in the same hospital room when I had emergency appendicitis surgery five years ago. He was there for prostrate cancer. The chances of meeting this lady at a large supermarket with 10 checkout counters at the exact same time and place are very slim. This was God showing me without any doubt that He is wanting this precious family to hear the Gospel very soon!

There were three other men in the room with me back then. The one closest to my bed passed away over 4 years ago with cancer of the spine. He was the one who was won to Christ through simple acts of kindness, Japanese Christian Music, and Bible tapes in Japanese. The other two men became friends with me. Two of the men went to junior high school together. I have visited with both of them several times over the past few years. Since being the hospital together the remaining two men have been placed on my daily personal prayer list. Each night I bring them before the Lord asking for them to hear and receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Both men are staunch Buddhists. The older one is a Master of Tea Ceremony, being a teacher of teachers over a large region. Both men are in their mid 80's now and in failing health.

Today I learned that the one now is suffering from diabetes and recently was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. We have not been together for the last several months. As we left the store I told his wife that I pray for them on a daily basis for which she seemed very thankful. Before parting she invited to come to visit them in their home as soon as possible. Driving away alone in the car I began to pray for the remaining two men I was in the hospital with five years ago. Many times I have rejoiced in the fact that one of the men had accepted Jesus Christ as Savior before he died. It seemed that the Lord told me today hat I had been asking for too little in accepting that only one of three had been saved. It came clearly to me that God's Plan is for all three of those men to be saved! Funny how we believers accept way less than what God has intended for us. I began to praise God for the salvation of the two remaining men as I drove home.

I thought how unpleasant the emergency surgery was for me along with complications in recovery over an extended period of time. Many times I thanked God for the great privilege of helping a Japanese man in my room come to faith in Jesus Christ. I accepted the fact that my suffering and pain was worth it if that brought me in contact with someone who came to Christ because of meeting me. What a joy to realize that God's plan is for each of the men who shared that hospital room with me to be saved! I also thought how long and sometimes difficult it is for some people to finally come to faith in Christ in Japan! It is as if leading some to Christ here is truly a type of guerilla warfare with several stages of battle before they surrender to confess Jesus as Lord of their lives. For the past few years it seems my daily prayer for these people has been a type of Mercy Covering for them while yet unsaved. Then in God's time circumstances take place in lives where they are finally ready to hear and Gospel and to respond in a positive way. I am feeling this is the case with the two remaining men from the hospital. This is the season of their salvation. Please join with me in prayer that I will be open to the Guidance of the Holy Spirit in how to relate to the two families in sharing God's Love.

May God bless you as you share His Love with those you meet!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

A Day to Remember!

2009-09-21T13:29:00.003+09:00

A Day to Remember!

September 21, 2009! What is special about this day? Many things, in fact! First of all, for Sharon and me it is the birth of our daughter Stephanie, our highly talented and beautiful daughter sent as a gift from God. This year the 22^nd day of September also marks the 30^th anniversary of our arrival in Japan to serve as missionaries. We left our home nation on the birthday of our young daughter. What a day of drama and emotions which are hard to categorize or express for others to understand!

Selling all of our three children’s toys in a garage sale and traveling thousands of miles to arrive in a strange city with a difficult language and a totally different culture, what were we thinking? There must have been a strong mandate from God to make such a move with a young family.

Today is also the International Day of Peace which was established by the United Nations in 1981. We live in a world that seems so very far from being in a state of “Peace”! It is a good day to give thanks for the peace we with have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ! This also is an ideal opportunity to pause and pray for peace in the hearts of mankind with their Maker God. We need to pray daily for peace upon Israel and between the nations of the world.

We just passed through the important Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah falling on September 18-20. This represents the New Year for the Jews and is also called the “Head of the Year”. I thought it interesting that Sharon carried her long shofar to the ladies conference during that period of time and was used to blow the shofar on the very days that the Jews still do today. The Jews blow the shofar on this holy day to represent the crowning of God as their king and also as a call to God’s children for repentance for selfish living during the past year.

I believe that, God knowing mankind’s tendency to forget, arranged many ways for us to be called to remembrance for the important things in our relationship with Him and others around us. In my opinion the Jewish people do a better job of remembering significant times in their history much better than we Christians. Christmas in the West has turned mainly into a commercial holiday rather than remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. Easter rather than commemorating the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is now about decorated eggs, baskets of candy and Easter bunnies. Too many of us no longer give any attention to the birthday of older family members or even our children’s anniversaries. We have experienced this through years of living overseas as missionaries. One year we sent out a large number of Christmas cards that cost us about US $3 for each card and postage. That particular year we did not receive a single card back from family, friends or churches. Outwardly we handled it well. There were no family feuds at the time. We truly believed that our family loved us, it seems that they just did not “remember” us at that special time of the year in our lives.

So today, I want to pause to “remember”. Remember my Savior who gave His life for me on the cross of Calvary and has stood by me and my family for all these years. I want to remember the birthday of our daughter Stephanie praying God’s richest blessings upon every area of her life. I want to give glory to God for the ministry that has taken place over the past 30 years in Japan. Each member of our family – Sharon, Nathan, Jonathan, and Stephanie sacrificed so much to share God’s Love with their friends. I thank God for many “young people” and “older” folks in Japan who first heard of Jesus’ Love through Sharon and our children. Later God gave us two wonderful daughters-in-law who let Jesus’ Love shine through them also.

As if September 21 doesn’t have enough titles, it is called Respect for the Aged Day in Japan and is a major public holiday. This is a good time to stop and to remember our older loved ones and friends. There are many older relatives in my family who have already passed away. As Christians, we do not “worship” our dead relatives. But there is nothing wrong with remembering them! We can still give thanks to God for them being a part of our lives. For those who followed the Lord, we saw good examples of God’s Love in action in their lives. We were exposed to great wisdom that can still be applied in many circumstances today. We can look forward to seeing them again one day in the Presence of God in Heaven.

Yes, I believe it is a good time to remember and to give thanks to God from our hearts. It is also good to remember those we love around us and far away too. Let’s take time to tell God we love Him and do the same with our family, friends and church family too.

God bless you as you remember!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

Hospital Visit

2009-09-01T20:25:00.002+09:00

John 5:1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie-the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" NIV

Once a month I go to our local city hospital to get to get my blood checked and to pick up medicine. Sitting there in the narrow hallway waiting my turn I was reminded of the passage in John 5 about the group of people that gathered around the pool of Bethesda. A couple years ago I took someone to Korea to visit the famous Osari Prayer Mountain that was established by Pastor Cho Young Gi. We were there at lunch time and entered the largest of the several auditoriums. Down in the front there were nearly 100 people sitting and lying down on the floor waiting for the afternoon session to begin. Each of them was there in hopes of receiving physical healing for their bodies. You could almost feel the pain and despair from that group of suffering people. I also thought back on the large crowds we ministered to in India with hundreds suffering from serious illnesses who were seeking prayer to be healed.

Once in a remote village in Pakistan we held an open air meeting at a community center. As the service starting time drew near people began to approach the pulpit and to leave glasses of murky looking water. Remembering in Korea how the speakers were given water to drink on the pulpit I was concerned about being forced to drink that unsafe looking water. I inquired about this as the number of glasses increased to nearly 20 on the pulpit. The interpreter informed me that these were Muslim people who believed the Jesus Christ had the power to heal sick bodies. We were expected to pray over and to bless the water so it could be carried home and drunk by sick relatives. So many sick and dying people needing healing and deliverance! The man in John complained to Jesus that he had no one to place him into the pool when the waters were troubled. It was believed that only the first person in would have their prayer request granted.

We must drive through a valley on the other side of our 3000 ft mountain passing 88 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Pilgrims here rent tour buses and spend three days stopping at each of the numbered temples/shrines offering prayers for their needs. They believe that if they go to each of the 88 locations that their request will be answered. As Christians, we know the scriptural promises for spiritual and physical healing. We know them! We have heard them sung, taught, preached and read books with testimonies of healing. Yet, so many of us are still sitting at the poolside waiting for someone to put us into God's Healing Pool. Just how long have we waited and how much longer will be continue to wait? If we can just get to a crusade of a famous healing evangelist maybe we will get healed. If we watch a video or read a certain book we may find the key. It is almost like a hungry homeless person sitting outside the gate of a beautiful mansion that has their own name on the gate. The house is warm and clean and the table is spread with the most nourishing and beautiful food one could imagine. But we are still sitting outside without realizing the benefits that have been provided by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We know about His Promises, but so many of us have not appropriated or received those benefits for ourselves.

Ps 103:1-6 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. KJV Ps 107:20-22 20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. 22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy. NIV

Do I have the answer for those in need of healing and deliverance? No! But I surely do know the One and Only One who has provided those benefits for His children and their children. We have been waiting for someone else to lift us and carry us to Jesus. First, Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be healed! I am sure that there are those who really don't want to release their burdens and infirmities. Pain can eventually become a companion. Sickness gives certain people something to talk about and to complain about daily. Complete healing would change their lifestyle, conversation and daily habits. Some would have to get out of bed and go to work. While writing this I realize there are those who desperately desire to be healed and to be set free from the sickness and others the sin that binds them. I can only recommend Jesus to you. Yes, you have prayed before - many times. You have been prayed for many times to no avail.

In 1990 I injured my left leg in a church volley ball game at a picnic. Though I went to a walk-in clinic the resulting blood clots went undiagnosed for over six weeks spreading throughout the whole length of my leg and then eventually into my right lung. Doctors said I should have died early on and that normally deep vein blood clots go the brain, heart of lungs killing or paralyzing the individual. Finally the clots were discovered and I was placed in intensive care for 10 days. There was nothing the doctors could do but wait to see if the clots moved into one of those areas that would either kill or paralyze me. Later I was sent back to Japan in a wheel chair with nothing but gloomy projections for my future and well being. This went on for about six weeks. Then early one morning at about 6:00am the Holy Spirit spoke to me reminding me of Isaiah 40:29-31 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. KJV God told me I would walk normally again and that I literally would run again. By faith, I accepted that Word without any outward manifestation of the actual healing.

I began to travel across Asia with crutches and in a wheelchair in the beginning. After some time the crutches gave way to canes and then I gave those way and walked without any assistance. I still remember being late for a flight in Tokyo back to Fukuoka. A airline staff member and I ran to the gate to catch my plane before it took off. I excitedly called Sharon to tell her the Word of God to me was fulfilled. Some time later we both were in Korea at a country church sitting on the floor with the Korean ministers. It dawned on my that I was sitting cross legged with my knee that was never supposed to work normally again! Some time later we were ministering in Malaysia and knew a ministers' wife who was a medical doctor. She arranged for me to be examined by a well known cardiologist who informed me she thought I no longer had blood clots in my left leg. Those clots were turned into solid calcium many months before and were never supposed to clear up. They ordered more tests and two doctors argued whether my leg had developed its own new bypasses or if the clots cleared up on their own. The blood clots are gone! I guess you might characterize my healing like the 10 lepers in Luke 17:14 who were healed as they went to show themselves to the priest to confirm their healing.

Most of the time, in respect to healing, I advocate the P.U.S.H. principle. In other words, Pray Until Something Happens. Just pray and keep on praying until you see the manifestation of the healing or deliverance. There have been many times though, that the Holy Spirit has made it clear that the prayer has been heard and that I was only to Praise God for the healing that was accomplished, but not yet seen in the natural. Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. NIV Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. KJV Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. KJV Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. KJV

Oh God help us to view the sick and oppressed like You do! Jesus was moved with compassion. Give us the love, compassion and simple faith to practice what Your Word teaches us about this situation. Help us Lord in our prayers and actions to reach out to those in need of healing and deliverance. As we do our part in the Great Commission You Lord, we know will do Your part. Please forgive us for a lack of compassion and fear from just stepping out of the boat and believing that Your Word is true. Please help us to heal the sick, cast out devils and to preach the Good News to all those we meet, in the Name of Jesus Christ! Amen!

God bless you as you step out in simple faith!
Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

A Secret Place

2009-08-17T22:10:00.000+09:00

Psalms 91:1-3 NKJV

1. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
3. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.

For three days I did not leave the house. In the past five days I drove less than 30 miles! What a wonderful time of prayer, solitude, fasting and inspiration has taken place here! A few years ago we jokingly called our house here the Holy Spirit Rest Center. It has truly been exactly that. Why go off to some Prayer Mountain or go to a special religious retreat center. God is with us in our normal everyday homes. If we will take the time to invite Him in He will come in to "sup with us" Rev 3:20

Then last night I woke up just seconds before an earthquake shook the house. Upon texting Jonathan and Lori I realized the epicenter was located just a few miles west of them. Then two minutes later one took place just north of Tokyo where a Japanese Christian couple live. They had some aftershocks later on in the night. Then at 9am one of the southern Okinawa islands had a 6.9. Then back up to Tokyo another couple quakes. Then this evening another in Okinawa at 6.5 with tsunami warnings and finally at 8:44pm another here in Fukuoka! Not sure what God is doing but the Bible speaks of Him shaking the nations.

Haggai 2:6-7 (NLT) 6 “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be b...rought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine.. Six quakes in less than 24 hrs.

On Sept 1, 2008 Mr Fukuda, the Japanese Prime Minister resigned his office opening the way for Japan to have the first ever Roman Catholic Prime Minister, Aso Taro. There will be Lower House of Parliament elections held on Aug 30 meaning there may be a new Prime Minister again this year on Sept 1st.

Please pray for God to guide the government of Japan so that freedom of worship will be maintained and that doors will be opened for an overwhelming Holy Ghost Revival to take place all across the islands and cities of Japan.

God bless you as you pray for Japan!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Day to Remember

2009-08-12T22:07:00.000+09:00

The month of August is a fairly somber time in Japan compared to the other seasons of the year. One would think that the warm summer months would be times of celebration and joy - school vacation and holiday travel. That is only on the surface surface level. There are events that have transpired in August which have brought about great changes in this society. Let me just list a few significant dates in August.

August 6, 1945 - The Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima with 140,000 casulties.
August 9, 1945 - An Atomic Bomb was detonated over Nagasaki with 80,000 deaths resulting.
August 12, 1985 - We baptized 8 persons in a portable baptistery in Shingu Machi, Japan. This was our first baptism after arriving in Japan in Sept, 1979. We surely did Praise God that day!
August 12, 1985 - JAL 123 crashed into a mountain causing 520 deaths with only 4 survivors.
August 15, 1945 - The Japanese government announced its intent to surrender to the Allied Forces.
August 13-15 - Is the Japanese Buddhist Festival of the Dead. Obon (お盆)

These are several sobering events to be remembered which take place over a two week period of time. I am thankful that the Joy of the Lord is our strength. Neh 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. KJV

We can praise God at any time. We have much to be thankful for. There are negative and painful memories, but we cannot change the past. If we allow it the past will control our present and future. This is the Day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

May God bless you as you remember His Loving Kindness!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Wash The Dishes!

2009-08-11T15:40:00.000+09:00

Matt 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. NIV

I hated that phrase while growing up on a farm in northern Ohio. I would have rather worked outside any day instead of washing dishes, pots, and pans! Yuck! It was not as physically hard as the other work I was accustomed to. I just don't know why I hated it so much.

Today for brunch I quickly made some vegetable fried rice. Then came the task of cleaning up the dishes. Since I am home alone it seemed like a good idea to just put off washing dishes until later. Then the thought came - who will wash them then? OK, I will do it now I replied to myself. As I was washing the few dishes I had to do the Bible verse from Matt 23 came to mind. I haven't thought of or used that verse in many years. Why today?

It may be that many believers have have soiled clothes in their closets and sinks full of dirty dishes that need to be washed. The teachers of the Law and Pharisees Jesus was speaking to simply did a quick pass over the dirty areas of life that involved them. They shined up the outside through ceremonies and dogma without reaching deep inside to see the spiritual dirt and bacteria that lurked in the corners of the dishes. It takes a good source of light to see and identify where the dirt is hiding. Then a lot of old fashioned "elbow grease" must be applied to scrub out the inside.

I had a paternal grandmother by marriage that used to save her dishwater in the oven between meals. That always bothered me. How clean could that water be? What about the reside of old food and garbage that was still floating on the surface of the dishwater. What about the temperature? I like lots of soap and very warm water to cut the grease of dishes that I am washing.

I wonder about present day ministers that keep their sermons lukewarm in the oven until the next time they take them out. We have issues in our lives and the families of the churches that need a real good scrubbing and cleansing. Jesus' Blood is that cleansing agent that can take away any sin and not leave a residue. Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. KJV John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. KJV Matt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. KJV

There is absolutely no substitute for the Blood of Jesus Christ to wash away our sins. Man's ideas, philosophy, and even counseling will not remove those sin spots that are so deeply embedded in our lives and families. The Blood is available to all, but must be applied by faith. We must take the time and effort to approach the Throne of God in prayer and repentance with faith and present our lives stained by sin. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. KJV

No, we can't live on paper plates all our lives. Just eat and throw the paper dishes in the trash can. That is the lazy man's way of living. We need to use the dishes that God has given us. Get out the best we have. There are others who are hungry for what we have. Yes, it is embarrassing to have our guest sit down to our table and then notice with horror that we have dirty spots on the dishes. As soon as the dishes are used and get soiled we need to get out the hot water and dish soap and go after every spot we can find. Then we can rest easy and have confidence that when unexpected guests show up at the table of our life that they will be served on clean and spotless dishes.

This is an ongoing process. We can's sit back. We see movies of rich people with large staff taking care of their castles. We often see a member of the staff taking out the fine China cleaning and examining each piece in the bright sunlight to be sure there are not any spots that will embarrass the Master when His guests join Him for a meal.

What do you say? Let's don't leave our dirty dishes for someone else to clean? It won't take as long as one might think. The secret is to daily check our dishes (lives) and take the time and effort to clean each one the very best we can. Let's clean our cups and plates on the inside first and then the outside will take care of itself. God will help us in this important process of Christian living! Come on get scrubbing!

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

The Curse of Control

2009-08-10T22:45:00.001+09:00

Control - the process of limiting or restricting somebody or something, or the methods used in this, to exercise power or authority over something such as a business or nation, dictate, manipulate, influence, dominate, oppress, have a hold over, hold sway over, restrain.

As stated in the past, many JPN blogs or front page articles are birthed after a specific Word from the Holy Spirit or a real life experience. Recently, I traveled to the USA due to a long term illness in family. There were some particularly trying times in respect to transportation, scheduling of travel, family relationships and such. At one very dark and lonely point in time I asked God what was taking place in our lives. His response was clear and immediate. You both are under the control of your families! This reply was not harsh or condemning – just very clear and definite. I asked and He answered. I was sincere and needed an answer!

I went on and asked the Lord about the delays and hindrances to ministry we had been facing. Again, I heard a clear reply. He said that His Anointing and Inspiration was still available to us whenever we took the time and effort to seek Him. It was as if He showed me a bank ATM card that could be used to access His Spiritual Resources in our lives and ministry. Then a final note was that we would have to work out the scheduling since we have chosen to submit to being controlled by our families. Wow! Talk about revelation knowledge!

Categories of Control

Over the next several days I began to meditate on the subject of control and found that it had been present in my life for decades. It showed up in a great number of areas of life. Here are just a few:

1. Family Relationships – husband/wife, parents/children, in-laws, brothers/sisters, and etc.
2. Church Denomination – women’s apparel, youth activities, membership requirements, ministers’ finances & reporting, pastor placement, and many other areas.
3. Nations & Governments
4. Personal Relationships
5. Religions
6. Spiritual Relationship
7. Kingdom of Darkness

Is Control Necessary or Needed?

In a word – No! We can, I believe, look at our Creator God. He would be the ultimate authority to wield the sword of control upon the earth and over His creation. Is that a part of His Nature and a Biblical principle that we find God employing in His relationship with us? Is this really something that He intended for us to utilize in our lives and relationships? Again, I would say no, in the most emphatic manner! He created something much stronger and more effective. God is Love! 1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. KJV Love is as strong as death! Song 8:6 Prov 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. KJV

Some Thoughts on Control

*Control Cancels Love!
*True Godly Love Renders Control Unnecessary!
*Jesus is the Head of His Church – He Does Not Control Her! He Loves His Bride!
*Husbands are to love their wives – not attempt to control them!
*Parents are to love their children – Biblical discipline is not control!
*The Body of Christ, Jesus’ Church – does not control the members of the Body!
*Families are to reflect God’s Love on earth – family control doesn’t show His Love!
*Loyal citizens of a nation – do not need to be controlled by their government!

What Does The Bible Say?

First of all, the word control does not occur in the Kings James Version of the Bible. Control can be found in the NIV 23 times and only once does it mention Christ bringing all things under His control at the end of times. This version does not mention God controlling mankind.
The Living Bible has 36 references to the word control. Here we find God exercising His authority or necessary sovereignty over His creation. Nowhere does it show God overriding the free will that He placed in man from the beginning of the world. Instead we see references such as Psalms 23 when David declares that the Lord is my shepherd. He leads me beside the still waters. He causes me to lie down in green pastures.

God’s Form of Leadership

Lead – Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. nahal (naw-hal'); flow; to conduct, and (by inference) to protect, sustain: KJV - carry, feed, guide, lead (gently, on). (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake KJV nachah (naw-khaw'); by implication, to transport KJV - bestow, bring, govern, guide, lead (forth), put, straiten. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Lead – John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. KJV exago (ex-ag'-o); to lead forth: KJV - bring forth (out), fetch (lead) out. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Rule – Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. KJV Note: This reference sounds very harsh, but look at the Greek meaning. poimaino (poy-mah'-ee-no); to tend as a shepherd of (figuratively, superviser): KJV - feed (cattle), rule. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Teach – Psa 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. yarah (yaw-raw'); to flow as water (i.e. to rain); figuratively, to point out (as if by aiming the finger), to teach: KJV - cast, direct, inform, instruct, lay, shew, shoot, teach (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Guide – Psa 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. KJV darak (daw-rak'); to tread; by implication, to walk; also to string a bow (by treading on it in bending): KJV - archer, bend, come, draw, go (over), guide, lead (forth), thresh, tread (down), walk. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Holy Spirit Guides – John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. KJV hodegeo (hod-ayg-eh'-o); to show the way (literally or figuratively [teach]): KJV - guide, lead. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

Control is a Short Cut

Control often is actually a sign of weakness or failure in an individual, system or institution. This part is difficult to explain clearly. I am convinced this is true! We can take this principle into any of the above categories and see that it is true. A husband is short of love and has a lack of self-confidence so he resorts to attempts to control his wife. If he loves her and is secure in his relationship with his wife, he would not need control to keep her. Please allow me the liberty to quoting the old nursery rhyme. Peter, Peter pumpkin eater had a wife, but couldn’t keep her. He put her in a pumpkin shell and there he kept her very well. Oh God, help us to take our loved ones out of the control shells that we have imprisoned them in! If we truly love them, then they will normally love us in return. We won’t lose them by releasing them. Our relationship with them will now be able to flourish!

Let’s take a look at our Creator God! He made us with free will. He owns us lock, stock, and barrel. We are His spirit, soul, and body. Yet, in His Infinite Wisdom, God chose to give us free will to serve Him or not. He has every right to control us completely! He has all power and authority. Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. KJV Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Eph 1:21-22
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, KJV

This is central and crucial to our praise and worship of God. We make a choice to believe in God. We have the privilege and responsibility to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God purely by faith. We then can choose to lift up the Name of Jesus Christ ascribing all Glory and Honor to Him. We can praise God for His Power and Might, not because it is forced on us through control, but because He loves us and we can return that love and add praise and worship! If He controlled us we could not truly praise and worship Him. “Control cancels love!”

Control Revealed

Earlier I had planned to spend quite a lot of time on the Categories of Control. After writing the past several paragraphs showing the opposite of control, it is difficult to climb down into the slimy pit of control. It would be easy to just stop at this point, but I am certain that those points need to be touched so that the presence of control can be identified and discerned in our lives.

1. Family Relationships – Control in family relationships is like other forms of abuse. It has a strong generational element. It clearly is passed down from generation to generation. Those who have been abused frequently turn into abusers. Those who have lived under family control tend to control their family members in either early or later years. A vicious cycle is set in motion and continues until it is identified, dealt with Biblically and broken.

Husbands and wives vie for control of each other, the children, the finances, and headship. This is a part of the curse after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:16) The children seek to control their siblings, parents and others in their lives. (Gen 4:8 Cain & Abel)
Parents are desperately trying to find ways to control the lives and actions of their children. In turn children have learned how to exert control of their parents. Liberal civil laws are making it more difficult for parents to discipline their own offspring. Sadly, physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rampant in the families of nations all around the world. East Asia is famous for the cultural “in-law” control and conflicts. Mother’s-in-law are well known for mistreating their son’s wife.

How tragic that the first social unit created by God has fallen into shambles in so many nations. The family is the building block for nations and churches. If the family is weak then the nation will surely fall in the future. The family is supposed to be a place of love, care and nurture. With an absence of love in many families desperate members resort of any form of control available to survive or to wreck vengeance on those who have hurt them. Pray for the families to be healed and restored. Pray that love will once again prevail in the family.

2. Church Denominations

Some may question my qualifications for writing on this category. Just let me take a few moments of your time and outline my personal involvement in a very old Pentecostal denomination. Church attendance – over 60 years. Church membership – nearly 50 years. Full time ministry – 41 years. Trans-local church administration – over 30 years. Nearly 20 years on executive leadership team. Vice chairman to general overseer – 2 years. None of this is said with any sense of pride. Just saying that I started out in the local church nursery and then sat on executive council meetings for several years. The question is where to start.

A. Women – I just couldn’t resist first going into what I consider to be one of the worst areas of control by a denomination. Finally a good number of well known ministers have begun to write on the place of the woman in ministry within a denomination. We need to realize that many positive changes have taken place in this area in recent years. These changes have been long in coming and we cannot afford to praise the denominations for merely recognizing what was God’s intent from the beginning.

a. Women in ministry – previously women could not preach, teach (in some cases they could only teach boys under the ages of 12 years), could not baptize in water, could not serve the sacraments, solemnize marriages, organize new churches, not speak in a church business meeting or serve as moderator of the same, or be ordained. I have personally attended prayer meetings while in the US military where women had to pray in rooms separate from the men. These were Americans not Muslims or Hindus!

b. Women’s Apparel – women could not cut their hair, wear slacks or pant suits, wear sleeveless or short sleeve tops. They were limited in the wearing of jewelry or the use of any kind of makeup. At one time even hair perms were not permitted.

B. Young People – In my case, we were governed (controlled) by a document called the Advice to Members. This was supposed to be read every three months in the church. This was a list of mostly don’ts. We could not go to professional baseball games, movie theaters, bowling alleys, public swimming pools, or restaurants where alcohol was served. After a church meeting I recall a group of us driving many miles to find a pizza parlor that did not serve alcohol. It seemed the only sanctioned activity was church, miniature golf or eating at a restaurant which did not serve alcohol. At youth camp the girls had to play softball in dresses. Playing baseball in a dress is not practical or very modest!

C. Church Members – There was a list of teachings that was read to each new church member when they joined the local church. This tract was to be kept at the entrance of all local churches. These teachings were brief and had several scriptures included. Some are fine and represent significant Biblical truths. My concern was the way they were used as a type of creed which was assembled by men with an agenda. Some of those have been rescinded over the past few years. Many people were prevented from church membership because they did not meet the standards outlined in this document. Others were excluded from membership when they violated one or more of these teachings. I wonder has anyone bothered to seek out those kept out or excluded by this document in order to apologize to them. All members were also subject to the Advice to Members restrictions also. I was forced to conduct church business meetings to “disfellowship” people who clearly were good Christians because they went to another denomination. We labeled them as disloyal. I have grieved and repented over those actions many times in recent years!

D. Ministers – The church ministers were controlled in several ways. They were forced to submit detailed “monthly reports”. I sat on a study body which examined the information that ministers were forced to supply. Most of what was on the reports could not be justified as to what was done when received at the church headquarters. There was an upper “limit” on the amount of tithes that a local pastor could receive in one month. Pastoral placement before was in the hands of one trans-local supervisor (overseer) who held final and non-negotiable authority of which church a pastor was assigned to. He also used to determine the term of service there. Ministerial discipline also was primarily determined by the overseer. There have been positive changes in this area, but there is nothing in place to assure each state or nation is actually following this new procedure. Ministers were admonished to only preach what had been approved or passed by the general assembly of the church. Sharon had some youth camp materials rejected because she quoted a Bible version other than the KJV.

Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. KJV Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; KJV Eph 2:19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; KJV Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. KJV

Please forgive me if this comes across as harsh, but it appears that the Church that Jesus Christ established and died for has been hijacked by men! The Church belongs to Him. He left directions for men to serve as “servant leaders” and stewards while the Church is still on the earth. There is church “government” but it upon His shoulders. (Isaiah 9:6-7) How dare we take the foundation of the Bible and replace it with catechisms and doctrines of men? How dare mere men become Lords over God’s Heritage?

Church leaders please read Peter’s admonition to us. 1 Peter 5:1 And now, a word to you elders of the church. I, too, am an elder; with my own eyes I saw Christ dying on the cross; and I, too, will share his glory and his honor when he returns. Fellow elders, this is my plea to you: 2 Feed the flock of God; care for it willingly, not grudgingly; not for what you will get out of it but because you are eager to serve the Lord. 3 Don't be tyrants, but lead them by your good example, 4 and when the Head Shepherd comes, your reward will be a never-ending share in his glory and honor. TLB

3. Nations and Governments

Turn on the news. Go to the internet. Read your Internet news feeds. Watch the TV news reports. Depending on what gives the highest viewer ratings you may see some examples of nations abusing and controlling their citizens. Much never makes the evening news. We have the privilege of traveling into many nations of Asia over the past few decades. Many journeys had to be cancelled because of “uprisings” in some places. I cancelled a trip to Bangkok a few years ago. The students protested government graft and corruption. Later I went in again and bought a video sold on the sidewalks. I saw soldiers in the kneeling firing positions with M-16 rifles on fully automatic shooting at crowds of students. Some say over 1000 young people disappeared.

We watched Bosnia war on the news. We were amazed as a college student stood alone in front of a Chinese army tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989. I watched the news as a Japanese freelance photographer was shot in the back by a soldier in Myanmar as he covered the protests that took place there in 2007. I visited the graves of students who were killed in protests in Korea when Rhee Sigman was president. Some were elementary age.
We have heard reports of the various slaughters in Darfur and Sudan. We have read about the “Killing Fields” in Cambodia under the Pol Pot regime by the Khmer Rouge.

Those were the highly publicized atrocities committed by governments against their own citizens. The quiet pain of improper and unnecessary government control goes on all over the world today. God-given freedom and liberty is being siphoned away without most even being aware of it. Where are the days of the patriots and citizens who helped form their own free government? They were willing to give their lives and energy to build a nation. Now, why should a few selfish men be allowed to take it over? Why did soldiers in the incidents we made mention of above take up arms and slaughter their own brothers and sisters? Excuse me for oversimplification – control. Happy, prosperous, loyal citizens don’t have to be controlled by armies and draconic laws. They will volunteer to stand up for their brothers!

4. Personal Relationships

In the popular culture of today viewed on TV, movies, and video games we can see many examples of competition at times getting down to cut throat levels of conflict. Each one is seeking to gain control or mastery over the others. This is not limited to age or gender. Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. KJV Let’s let the Bible speak and see how it applies to life all around us today!

2 Tim 3:1You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. 3 They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good. 4 They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God. 5 They will go to church, yes, but they won't really believe anything they hear. Don't be taken in by people like that. TLB

5. World Religions

Once again, we need only go to the daily news that is available to us. This week in Japan is the Obon Festival (Festival of the Dead). Well educated people will go through religion rituals welcoming their dead ancestors to their homes. They will set places at their tables. They will put out fake food for the spirits to eat. They will pretend to carry on conversations with them. On TV you may also see women in the Middle East covered from head to foot with hot black clothing because of man’s interpretation of what a prophet is reported to have taught.

In each of the major world religions millions of people will follow rituals that are prescribed by the religion’s leaders. Some of the teachings were invented just to raise money for church buildings. (1517 Pope Leo) Many of these requirements are nothing more than a form of control over the religious adherents. At one time the Bibles were chained to the pulpits in churches and written in a language which the common man could not read (Latin). Imagine that men were burned at the stake for simply translating the Bible in to the common language of the people. We watched Hindu men and women pierce their cheeks with rods to gain favor of the Hindu god they worshipped. What would cause someone to do this to their body?

Once again, let’s let the Bible speak. I cannot seem to find the element control in the following scripture reference. 1 John 4:77 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. NIV

6. Spiritual Relationship

The intent under this category is to refer to the spiritual relationship between God and man along with the relationship between believers in the Body of Christ. The scripture listed just above makes it clear that we are to have a “Love” relationship with God. The precludes the element of control. It is just not necessary. Again, I say that control hinders love!

The same holds true for the relationship between believers in the church. John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. KJV 1 Cor 12:25 This makes for happiness among the parts, so that the parts have the same care for each other that they do for themselves. 26 If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. TLB John 17:20 "I am not praying for these alone but also for the future believers who will come to me because of the testimony of these. 21 My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are, Father-that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. TLB

7. Kingdom of Darkness

2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. KJV John 10:10 The thief 's purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. TLB John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. KJV Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. TLB Luke 13:16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" NIV

Satan has no love to employ. There are only lies and fear to exercise control of those who have chosen to reject God’s Love! What a sad condition to have unconditional love available, but to decide to follow the devil instead. What a really poor choice. The text in 2 Tim 1:7 rings as clear as a clarion bell that in place of fear we can have love, power and a sound mind!

Conclusion of the Matter!

God is sovereign and has all power and authority, yet in His infinite wisdom He has chosen to relate to us, His created children through love rather than control. I believe that all of us have at times, exercised improper control of others, whether in personal relationships, family or church. When we realize that we must repent to God and take any possible steps of reconciliation and restitution with any of those we harmed. If you have suffered under control there is a good chance that you also have tried to exercise control over others around you. Control is a form of abuse. Abused people frequently become abusers also.

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. KJV May we each walk in the newness of life and freedom that has been provided by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote much about freedom. He warned those who enjoyed the freedom of Grace to not put a human yoke on others with their religious rules and regulations.

Let’s repent for accepting control and exercising it over our brothers. Then we can be God’s instruments to help free other captives by sharing God’s Love with them. When they accept Jesus Christ as savior and Lord they will be on the road to freedom and happiness in this life and heaven one day.

Take time daily to praise God for the new life and freedom you have in Jesus Christ!

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

Have You Thought about Heaven Today?

2009-08-09T12:23:00.000+09:00

1 Corinthians 15:19 (KJV)

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

While eating breakfast alone in Japan today, I turned on our DVD recorder to look at some Japanese language programs I had recorded this past week. In doing so I began to delete some old programs that are no longer of interest. While going through the list I found a old Gaither video titled, Going Home. A song caught my attention and before I knew it I was listening and watching this video which was made several years ago.

I noticed many older gospel singers that have blessed my life in earlier years. It was shocking to see just how many of them had already "Gone Home"! The songs and short clips of testimonies about Heaven blessed me very much. I shed not a few tears as I thought about just how glorious Heaven must be. Then a thought flashed through my mind. It had been a long time since I thought about Heaven!

How could that be possible to be so active in intercessory prayer and ministry and not even give Heaven a full single thought in quite a while? One of my favorite sermon titles in the past would be about Heaven or the Return of Jesus Christ! Is it possible to get so tied up with the ministry and cares of others in this life that we take our eyes and focus off our ultimate goal? Heaven is just one breath away! Anyone of us reading this could wake up in Heaven before the sun rises where we are living.

Then I think of those around us - some very near and dear to us who are not prepared to meet Jesus and are not yet ready to enter Heaven if death calls. Oh God help us to get our eyes back on Jesus our savior and soon coming King. God help us to remember why we preach the gospel and to remember all these earthly things in our lives will one day be laid down. They should not be so important to us now.

Just wanted to remind you. Jesus is coming again! Heaven is a real place. That is our destiny. We must be ready and help as many others as possible to make it there.

May God bless you today as you thank God for Heaven!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Why Was I Born?

2009-07-09T23:29:00.000+09:00

Have you ever heard that question or perhaps asked it yourself? Personally, I can't remember if I have asked that question directly or not.

A week ago I was flying at about 37,000 ft with a healthy tail wind that propelled our 747-400 up to 700 mph ground speed. It just happened to be my 63rd birthday. Sitting in row 66 on a 12 hour flight gives one plenty of time to sleep, think or pray. During the flight I glanced at my PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) for younger folks who now carry fancy phones that fulfill the same and many more functions. There was a flashing reminder that on July 9th Carl and Danford Settles, Sharon's parents, would celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary. I began to muse at the coincidence of the near proximity of my birth and their marriage.

I will not say this was a Word from God, but an amusing thought came into mind. What if God saw my birth and then moved upon two young people to marry and from that union would come a beautiful young lady named Sharon who would eventually become my wife? When we married some years later three wonderful children would be born to our union and live and minister in Japan. There would then be added two very lovely daughters-in-law. Later five gorgeous grand daughters would follow with outstanding musical ability. Just wondering!

Then this morning Sharon received an email from Japan. It was a 30 year old Japanese young lady named Kikuko. She reminded Sharon that July 9th was her first anniversary of her new birth in Jesus Christ! During this past year she has personally led more than five others to faith in Christ including her 100 year old grandmother who died a couple months ago. Following the above line of reasoning it was interesting that Kikuko received Christ on the same day as Carl and Danford's wedding anniversary.

Read with me what Kind David had to say about his birth and God's involvement in his life even prior to his natural birth.

Ps 139:13-17
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother's womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it. 15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! 16 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book! 17 How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can't even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me! TLB

Sounds to me like God is very involved in a "hands on" manner in our lives. We really should not spend our time questioning why we were born. God clearly has a plan for our lives. The Bible version above states that each day of our lives was "scheduled" before we exited the birth canal and took our first breath. Let me take a few moments and share with you the rest of Psalms 139 to see how much involved God is in the lives of His children.

Ps 139:1-12, 23-24
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say before I even say it. 5 You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! 7 I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. 9 If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your strength will support me. 11 If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light around me. 12 For even darkness cannot hide from God; to you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. 24 Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. TLB

What do you think? I reckon we are not here by mistake or by accident. God has a plan. He has a definite purpose for each and every one of us. We may not follow His Will for our lives. We may not even know what His Will is for our lives. But He is there with us every moment of every day just waiting and working on our behalf. So how can we lose?

I think the question has been answered. God arranged the circumstances for you and me to be born on this earth into the families that we have been a part of. He put us in the nations of His Choice. He put the gifts and talents into us as it pleased Him to bring Glory to His Name. He put us with the people around us to bless them and to share His Love. It just seems to me that our potential is virtually limitless. Literally the sky is the limit. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! Amen!

May God bless you as you rejoice in the life He has given to you!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Letter from a Weak Person

2009-07-09T00:16:00.000+09:00

(The following is a letter written to prisoners in Alabama. It seemed good to share this with others.)

Letter from a Weak Person

Greetings!

I am a missionary to Japan. We first went there over 40 years ago when I was in the US Army. I have a wife, three children and five grandchildren. This letter is being written from the USA. My father-in-law is 85 years old and is very ill right now. I borrowed money from a Japanese friend so that I could fly to the states to help out my wife with her 80 year old mother and father in the nursing home.

At first, I thought it might not be good to write you. You have your own set of problems and troubles to deal with. Why would you want to hear from someone who is struggling too? Then I began to think about the great Apostle Paul who wrote much of the New Testament. Here are portions of scriptures that he wrote:

2 Cor 12:9-10

9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NIV

Rom 7:14-20

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! NIV

I am a missionary and a minister, but feel like I am very weak by my own power. We are struggling about my wife’s father and mother. Our grandchildren are having problems. We are being tried about our financial support. So what good can we do? Is there any way that we can help someone? Some times I think there is nothing for me to go on living for. But as I wrote this letter this morning an email came in from Australia. It was from a minister. He has been fighting non-Hodgkinsons lymphoma for nearly 6 years. He has suffered terribly from the symptoms and treatment. He told me that I am one of his best friends and how much I helped him as a minister.

No matter how weak we are, there is someone else more weak than us. One thing I can do is pray. I have been doing that for more than 55 years and I plan to keep it up until I die or Jesus comes back to take us all to Heaven. So please know I am weak but I am praying for you. You may be weak, but you too can pray for yourself and others too.

No matter what happens don’t give up. Paul was weak but he kept walking. How about it? Let’s agree to keep on walking with God. There will be hard times, but He is with us no matter what we are going through.

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

Flying High!

2009-07-04T13:54:00.000+09:00

On The Road and Flying High!

After 40 years of travel it has been good to be home most of the past two years. What a joy to connect with the world over the Internet without leaving home! The past week has been a "departure" from the norm for me. Flying at 37,000 with brisk tailwind pushing the 747-400 up to ground speeds of 700 mph. Now on the road again! We can't drive too far or too fast on an island.

What a joy and privilege to visit with my family briefly for the first time in several years. Great nieces and nephews have been born and are growing. Their parents were small just a couple years ago it seems. Time goes so fast!

All of these are remembered and prayed for daily on my personal prayer list. When I finally get to be with them it is not as great a shock as some might think. That is because they are in my thoughts, in my heart and their names are on my lips every day. When I hug them it is as if it was just yesterday I saw them last even though years have actually past. I can't help sharing my love and passion for God with them regardless of their "spiritual status". They don't seem to be offended. What a privilege to bless them. There are a lot of people young and old going around who need someone to extend them a hand of greeting, give them a hug and then to bless them.

(Don't hug a tree! Hug live people around you while you have the chance)

Got to drive about 4 hours tomorrow. Not looking forward to July 4th traffic, but God can handle that! Just wanted to drop a line and say Hi! Give God just a small praise to someone who will listen.
I also wanted to declare my declaration of Dependence Upon God! He set me free and adopted me into His Family! And now I voluntarily recommit myself to Him! I need You every hour most previous Savior!

May God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Large Place!

2009-06-24T00:48:00.000+09:00

2 Sam 22:17-20
17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. NIV

Claustrophobia is typically thought to have two key symptoms: fear of restriction and fear of suffocation. A typical claustrophobic will fear restriction in at least one, if not several, of the following areas: small rooms, locked rooms, tunnels, cellars, elevators, subway trains, caves, and crowded areas. Additionally, the fear of restriction can cause some claustrophobics to fear trivial matters such as sitting in a barber’s chair or waiting in line at a grocery store simply out of a fear of confinement to a single space. However, claustrophobics are not necessarily afraid of these areas themselves, but, rather, they fear what could happen to them should they become confined to said area. Often, when confined to an area, claustrophobics begin to fear suffocation, believing that there may be a lack of air in the area to which they are confined. Any combination of the above symptoms can lead to severe panic attacks. However, most claustrophobics do everything in their power to avoid these situations. Wikipedia

Have you ever experienced a fear of being closed in? I don't believe that I fit the description given above of a claustrophobic. There have been some times of being in cramped spaces that I was not comfortable or very happy. Some flights have been as long as 15 hours between take off and landing. Trauma during childhood may result in this type of problem later in life. A friend's mother would not go shopping until late a night when there were few people in the supermarket. I too have been uncomfortable in large crowds especially in Japan. Riding a subway so crowded that there are "pushers" on the train platform to get passengers inside the door is not my idea of a pleasant train ride.

There is a similar spiritual circumstance that is sometimes experienced by believers. In Exodus 14 we read the account of the Children of Israel being trapped between the chariots of Pharaoh and the yet unopened Red Sea. The spent the entire night separated from the Egyptian army only by the pillar of fire and cloud. (Exodus 14) This situation may have given rise to the phrase, Between the devil and the deep blue sea. Disobedient Balaam was trapped on the back of his donkey in a very narrow place between the animal and a wall. An angel was waiting to slay this wayward man. God put him in a narrow place to get his attention and to speak to him. (Numbers 22:23-31)

So, we too, as believers get into narrow places. It may be our own doing for following the path we think is best. It may come at times of great distress and trials. Satan would love to fence us in to destroy us or to limit our ministry or range of movement. Then God may allow us to be in narrow places in order to get our attention and to speak to us. Recently it seemed I was in one of those narrow places with few choices or any way to turn or move very far.

I would love to write a blog that gives the answer to this dilemma in a few simple steps. Sorry! All I can tell you is that I cried a lot! I praised God when it was not easy to do. I read His Word and spoke it out loud. I contacted some friends that I have confidence in and asked them to pray for me. Then suddenly something lifted today! Some doors began to open in directions that were not expected. Clouds lifted and the "sonshine" came through again! Praise God!

In my spirit I could see me in a large green field. There was plenty of room to move around. I felt free in my spirit and that it was up to me to run, walk, rest or do whatever came natural. I still remember living on a dairy farm in Ohio. Due to the cold winters the cows were kept locked up in the barns for several months with room only to stand up or lay down to rest. Finally, Spring came. We opened the restraints that bound their necks. The barn doors were opened and the cows rushed outside into the fresh air and pasture with deep green grass. It was amazing to watch large dairy cows running and frolicking outside like young calves.

May God bless you today and place in a large place!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Fought Finished Kept!

2009-06-23T08:24:00.000+09:00

2 Timothy 4:6-8 (Amplified Bible)

⁶For I am already about to be sacrificed [my life is about to be poured out as a drink offering]; the time of my [spirit's] release [from the body] is at hand and I will soon go free.

⁷I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.

⁸[As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day--and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return).

Later on the Elder Apostle Paul said that his "departure was at hand". When I first read that it struck me like Paul was a man ready to board an airplane to a tropical island for a long vacation. No dread or fear or remorse! A long fruitful life of ministry and toil was soon to be over. It was not smooth sailing for Paul. His relationship began by being knocked off his feet. He was struck blind for three days. He started off his relationship with Jesus Christ with three days of fasting. Very fast start! Many of us quietly prayed in a prayer meeting, revival service or summer youth camp to receive Jesus Christ as our personal savior.

Fought! Clear indication that the Christian Life is not intended to be a proverbial "walk in the park"! He faced unfair trials, kings, angry mobs, and traitors who stabbed him in the back. He had to deal with wimpy ministers who abandoned him and turned back when he needed them the most. He fought with his own pride and personal will. (Rom 6-7) He fought demons, literally. He fought the elements in storms, ship wrecks, poison snake bites. He fought battles with finances having to work with his own hands to support his missionary journeys. He fought church leadership stuck in their old traditions and pride. Judging himself he concluded that he had "fought a good fight". He was knocked down but was never forsaken by the One who called him.

One of the most significant utterances of the New Testament from Jesus Christ came from the Cross of Calvary. Jesus declared, "It is finished". He followed the will of His Father. He walked, taught, healed and finally suffered as an obedient son. Paul had been given an assignment from God. He was to take the Name of Jesus Christ to the nations. This old apostle was able to make the same declaration as his Savior. "I have finished my course". Earlier he wrote and encouraged others to run the race that God had set before them. He knew who he was in Christ and where he was going. Sometimes he ran. At times he walked and other times he rested. But always he kept the task given by God before him.

Kept! He could declare that he kept the faith. There were numerous times he was attacked verbally and physically for his faith in God. It must have been tempting at times to just give up and to give in to those who attacked him. Why not just compromise a little? After all the Bible says to live at peace with all men! No, he preferred prison rather than denying God and the faith that he embraced with all his strength. Yes, we need to share our faith with all we meet. But, we must keep and hold on to the faith we have in God or we will have nothing to share with a dying world in need of the Truth and a Savior.

I am writing today as it appears that Sharon's father, Carl Settles may be nearing the end of 84 years of life. There is not space here today to tell you all about his life. A very quiet and unassuming man. You could easily miss him in a crowd of people. He lost three brothers in WW II and his father before that. He was never rich or famous as the world considers. I believe that we can say of him that he fought, finished and kept the assignment given him by his Heavenly Father. He loved his wife and two children. Served as a pastor in small country churches, sang on the radio with his wife years ago. He always was ready when asked to sing, My God is Real.

How about you and me? Where are we on our course? Are we still fighting the good fight of faith? After serving God for 55 years I am finding it a struggle to maintain my faith and joy as I know to. There is much that I feel still needs to be done. In fact, there is a lot I still am not sure about in respect to my calling and purpose on earth. I am feeling so incomplete and unsure about so much after all these years. Is this a healthy place to be at in my Christian Life? Some seem so sure on the outside, but when around them for a while a lot of that seems to be a shell. I want to be real in Christ without hypocrisy. Good, bad, or ugly - I do know that God loves me and He also loves all the others that are that way too. He will tell us when it is enough and when we can finally enter our final rest. But until then my heart shall go on singing!!

Have we kept the faith? That may be the final question that can only be answered by the Father who judges our works. At this time I am more concerned about knowing Jesus Christ than being able to quote a statement of faith by a denomination. Once I really know Jesus Christ and seek to be like Him through His Grace then my life should demonstrate His Doctrine and character. I think it is better to live it on a daily basis than to just repeat tenets of faith from a book of man.

Please keep Sharon and her family in your prayers.

Remember! Fight, Finish, & Keep!

May God bless you as you walk with Him

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

I Fell Today!

2009-06-21T13:37:00.000+09:00

Nope! This is not a confession of sin and moral failure. This is not a juicy and sordid tale of a minister falling into sin. This is just a simple report of physically falling down today.

Have you every taken a fall or tripped over something? I had a paternal grandmother who fell down every set of stairs in her home in the final years of her life. That was five sets of stairs by the way! I am not confessing or claiming any generational curse, by the way. She never broke any bones as I recall. Just yesterday I wrote about claiming and praying Psalms 91 every day the blog titled, Lead Me to the Rock! I mentioned NOT turning problems over to God and that His holy angels may have been standing nearby waiting for me to let them help.

Today’s Fall Examined!

I thought about that today as I went tumbling to the ground earlier. You see, I just returned home from seeing Sharon off at the Fukuoka Airport. There was an uneventful drive over our 3000 ft mountain on the way back home. After parking the car I opened the gate and stepped inside the yard. Then I turned to the mailbox to see if anything had arrived. Reaching inside I found this month’s electric bill. With my hands full of several objects I turned around to mount the two relatively small steps leading into our yard. In a split second, literally with no warning, I found myself making contact with the ground very hard.

Amazingly I did not fall on the tiled cement sidewalk in front of me. Instead I fell to the side with both hands hitting the gravel covered ground. Only my right knee struck the cement sidewalk. It seemed like my verbal reaction was something like a roar. Within seconds after a fall you begin to take stock of your situation and give a quick physical examination. To my delight the skin on my hands was not broken nor the skin on my right knee. Later I realized that my face did not hit the ground and my glasses did not even fall off. Praise God!

That is exactly what I began to do. I praised God for His Protection! At one point I thought of Psalms 91 wondering where the angels were at that time. Personally I believe they helped direct my fall into the gravel which cushioned my weight. I am convinced that God’s angels were witnesses to my fall today. Why didn’t they prevent it, you might ask? I am not sure why.But, I have not doubt they were there standing nearby preventing serious injury.

Analysis of My Fall

1. I was distracted reading an electric bill not watching where I was going.

2. There was a sense of overconfidence. Been here before! Already done this!

3. Lost my direction. I was turning around not noticing where I was stepping.

4. I was just plain careless. Too relaxed and too much at home! Vulnerable!

5. Poor judgment as to position and height of the two steps.

6. Carrying too much baggage. Books, papers, water bottle, brief case etc.

7. Not on guard and had no sense of impending danger or harm.

Scriptural Basis

Psalms 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. NIV

Is the Bible true or not? Why do we fall, have accidents, and experience illness? Why don’t the angels provide protection so that we are not touched by these problems? Is that really God’s Will that we do not experience problems, trials or tragedy?

Stumble kashal; to totter or waver (through weakness of the legs, especially the ankle); to falter, stumble, faint or fall: KJV - fail, fall, to be weak. (Strong's Numbers & Concordance)

It would appear that even before the actual fall that there are conditions or situations which may provide the circumstances or opportunity for the fall to take place. In other words, I was an accident waiting to happen today. I was tired, distracted, overconfident, loaded down withextra baggage - too much to carry and be able to safely negotiate my path today. When someone stumbles it is likely there was some form of weakness or wavering taking place prior to the actual fall.

Spiritual Application

The comparisons between a spiritual fall and natural fall are numerous. I can imagine the Jew walking along a dark path and stubbing their foot against an unseen rock that had fallen into their way. Wearing a sandal type of shoe would afford little protection against injury from stray stones. The Bible often speaks of the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. We read of the Fall of Israel as God’s chosen people (Rom 11:11-12)

Prov 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness:they know not at what they stumble KJV

Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: KJV

2 Samuel 11:2-27 is the account of the tragic fall of King David as he took another man’s wife and caused the death of her husband.

1 Kings 11:1-11 The Bible records the spiritual fall of Solomon because his many foreign wives led him into practicing idolatry.

We all can speak from experience of personal examples of spiritual falls. If we are honest, most of us have fallen spiritually at some time in our lives. Many believers have even “fallen” into a pattern of spiritual failure that seems to run in cycles. The repetition may vary in length or frequency. This repeated plunge into rebellion and sin indicates a deep seated problem that is not solved when the individual goes forward in a church meeting repenting with tears. Are they forgiven and are their sincere in their repentance? The Bible is clear on the issue of God forgiving a repentant soul. In the fact, Jesus warned the disciples what their responsibility was in forgiving a brother who sinned against them. Matt 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. KJV 1 Also read John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. NIV

It is a great temptation to spend more time of this aspect of falls. As I prayed today about this blog my mind kept going back to a minister I met in the USA over 30 years ago. He had led a group of young men to the Lord and mentored them in ministry. We were conducting a revival when the news broke that the minister had fallen spiritually. The pastor of the church we are at had been mentored by the man. The shock of the news was so great that the revival was canceled. When in the home of the fallen minister earlier he took me to his basement where he had worn a path in the carpet walking and praying. He also proudly showed a gold plated musical instrument that he took great pride in playing at a professional level. His sin was not adultery with another woman, but I believe his greatest weakness and downfall was pride.

Preventing Falls

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. How true this expression is today. If we could just “prevent” cancer then billions would be saved in health care and thousands of lives would be spared. If divorce could be “prevented” how much healthier the American society would be today. The list goes on and on. Is it possible to prevent spiritual falls? In my opinion the answer to this question is yes. God created man and has provided the means for man to serve God upon this earth. To say God cannot save and preserve a righteous seed on the earth is to diminish His Sovereign Power. From our perspective this is a tough balancing act. God has all power, but He made man with free will. He does not force us to serve Him or to obey His Word. We have the ability to either live for God or to “blow it”! Some how God is able to respect our will, yet influence us to choose to serve Him.

So much in the Word of God is available to fallen mankind that will make us victorious during our sojourn on earth. Let’s take a few minutes to recount the blessings and benefits that are ours!

1. God’s Love. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. KJV

2. The Blood of Jesus. 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

3. Power of Prayer. Matt 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. KJV

4. Jesus Intercedes for us. Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. KJV 1 John 2::1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jude 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, KJV

5, The Word of God. Psa 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. KJV Ps 119:11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. KJV Psa 119:133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. NIV

6. Brotherly Love & Care. James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. KJV

7. The Holy Spirit. Rom 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. NIV John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. KJV Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. KJV

Conclusion

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; KJV Every person born upon the face of the earth has a sin problem. The sin nature of Adam has been passed down to each of us. We are all in need of forgiveness and redemption. We must realize that each of us has the potential to fall and to fail to obey and serve God as He intends for us. Just to realize there is a possibility of failure should cause us to be more cautious as we travel our Christian path.

What about us or others, when we actually have sinned and fallen hard? It might interest you to know that this blog is being written three days after I fell down. Notice I am not still on the ground. Elementary my Dear Watson, some might say! For Heaven’s Sake, when you fall get up! I learned from my past fall. Today I walked into the yard again carrying two bags and even a medium sized bag of cans and bottles to be thrown out. Too much baggage again? No, this time I was on guard and took time to look where I was going. I stopped by the place that marked my previous fall. There are two areas visible where my hands dug deep into the gravel that cushioned my fall. Then I gave a brief, but sincere praise to God who protected me.

God protected me during a fall and today He protected me from another fall. It may sound radical, but I believe God is with His children when they fall! He doesn’t want us to sin or disobey Him. The Bible warns us to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Some may accuse me of being too soft on sin and the sinner. But, I further believe, that if we refuse to repent that we can be lost! Oh God help us to literally hate sin, but still love the sinner! How hard the church has been in years past, especially on young people. They were criticized for their clothes, hair and told what they could not do and where all they could not go. A long list was read to us at least once a quarter. Older people who in the past had also fallen spiritually treated the younger people who had fallen as if they had never done so themselves. What hypocrisy!

I, for one, am very thankful that God forgave King David of murder and adultery. I hope Solomon repented before he died. I am so glad that denying cussing Peter went out and repented after denying his Savior. I am so glad that the persecutor of the early church Saul met and recognized Jesus who he had persecuted. How many more wonderful fallen people are waiting for someone to give them a hand and help them get up again? Sure, discipline is a biblical principle and should be used as long as it leads to redemption and restoration! It is best to NEVER fall, but when or if it happens remember one thing. Get up and repent!

Jude 1:23-25 (NIV)
23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

May God bless you as you walk with Him!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

Lead Me to the Rock!

2009-06-16T14:41:00.000+09:00

Psalms 61:1-3
1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. KJV

It has only been a few days ago I wrote on Mountains and Valleys. This blog is being written from another one of those valleys. Yesterday was totally filled with wonderful ministry and positive relationships. It continued until after 2:00am. So much kindness and good will came from many directions and by different means.

Hos 10:12
12 Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will reap a crop of my love; plow the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower salvation upon you. TLB

The verse in Hosea seemed to be an apt description of the entire day. We were sowing simple good righteous seeds and there was an overflowing crop of love that both Sharon and I reaped all day long late into the night. There was a clear understanding that good things were just around the corner in many aspects. But, this morning I actually thought of a possible blog entitled something like, "Satan's Helpers". These are people who we may be related to or working with on the job or in ministry. They can be so negative! There seems to be a determination to make sure that others around them feel as badly as they do. If they are in pain they want you to feel the same pain. If they are sad you dare not smile or laugh in their presence. If they are depressed one dares not speak in an encouraging or positive manner.

I promised to be honest in the JPN Blogs and this is one of those days. Overwhelmed! The word seems to fit so well. Family, finances, illness and death. Wow! Those are issues that we all are faced with at some time in life and they come again and again showing up at times when we least expect it.

Aren't you glad that Jesus is our Rock. He is shelter that we can run to. Each day I read Psa 91 and ask God to hide us and to cover us with His wings. He promised to give His angels charge over us to keep us in "all our ways". Too many times I would not turn my circumstances over to God. Just think! His holy angels were probably standing nearby waiting for me to give up and to accept their help. Duh! After all these years as a Christian you would think I learned already.

Thanks for listening for these few minutes. I pray that God blesses you and yours and that you will not make the same mistakes as me trying to handle problems yourself. I also am not ashamed to ask for your prayers for us and Sharon as she travels to be with her parents. We have been gone so far away for so many years. May God bless their time together.

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

I Don't Regret A Mile

2009-06-15T16:32:00.000+09:00

I don't regret a mile I've traveled for the Lord. I don't regret a time I trusted in His Word. I've seen the years go by, many days without a song. But I don't regret a mile I've traveled for the Lord.

These are part of the lyrics of a song by the Happy Goodman Family.

Over the past two weeks Sharon spent long hours going over old photos until late in the night. Now she has them somewhat organized I have begun to go through them. Recently a friend opened up a new Face Book group that is about church youth camps in Ohio. In our stacks of photos we found some group shots that go back 50 years. A discussion board has opened up to discuss some of the older ministers that took part in those camps and have ministered in the lives of many of us. There are several who have gone on to be with the Lord. Others in their 70's and 80's are still going strong in the ministry.

Today another friend posted up a recent youth camp photos that just took place. There are children and grandchildren of our friends from 50 years ago. What a joy to see the generations of believers going on with the Lord! We have a wonderful heritage in Christ! There have been failures, faults, frauds and other negative situations, but God still reigns in the hearts of His children.

As I worked on old photos and wrote a few memories of my own I began to listen to an album that was a Tribute to Howard and Vestal Goodman. I cried as I listened to Howard sing, I Don't Regret a Mile. After that song Vestal sang I Would Do it All over Again. It became clear that I also, would be willing to do it all over again. I also told God that I don't regret a mile I traveled for Him and I surely do not regret a single time I trusted in His Word. Finally, there was a time of rejoicing to hear them sing out, We'll Soon Be Done With Troubles and Trails!

It is worth it! It pays to serve God! We are blessed beyond all people, those of us who know Him and trust in His Word! We may be pilgrims on the earth in our society and in the nations we are living and ministering. But we are God's chosen children. We are saved by Grace! Not by our goodness or holiness. We just cannot give up. We have to hold on to His strong Hand. He Walks The Dark Hills of our lives and families. He has not and never will forsake us and our loved ones!

So many are living around us with no idea of what they are missing! In our case, living in Japan we are often the only Bible that many will ever read. We are the only person on the earth holding their name up to the Father to save them. How can we give up? How can we quit? Who will tell them? Who else will pray for them? Who else will be here to share God's Love with them or give them a Bible?

How about you? Do you regret making a decision to follow Christ? Have you been hurt and wounded by those who were supposed to love and nurture you? Jesus was wounded in the house of His friend. (Zech 13:6) I suggest it worth getting up and starting again. No one can fall too far or sink too low that God's Hand will not reach down to you. He loves you and me. He gave His only Son to die for us! Jesus did not fail in His mission of redemption. He died for our sins. We are saved by Grace through His Blood. If we confess our sins and repent He is faithful and just to both forgive us and cleanse us of ALL unrighteousness! Get up my friend! Let's keep walking! Do you need a hand? Let me help you and pray for you. God loves you so very much.

God bless you as you keep walking with Him!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

First Day of the Rest of Our Life

2009-06-15T12:14:00.000+09:00

I have heard this expression for many years. Today in searching for the phrase I learned this is the title of a song written in 2003 and sung by a "Punk Rock Band" in the USA. The lyrics are quite interesting as the writer seems to be searching for someone. He questions his life and the direction he is heading in. Obviously, he is referring to someone he loves. As I read those words I realized we could easily put God into the picture. So many searching for something, someone and they just don't know what will fill that void.

The plan was to restart the Japan Prayer Network Lite Bytes on June 1st, but many other things got in the way. For 10 months - Sept 07 through July 08 a daily journal/blog was posted on the JPN web site. It took some effort to keep it up on a daily basis. (Past Lite Bytes) I did, though enjoy it thoroughly! It seems that many others enjoyed the posts also since many months were read over 2,000 times each. So, by the Grace of God, I take up the proverbial pen again.

I searched for similar daily Internet journals, but found few to none. Many write blogs that are carefully crafted and written in somewhat of a protected manner. Some deal with a specific subject in which that writer is an expert. I used to write an article/blog every 3 days or so on the JPN site. Those were not a personal journal. The journal is much more personal in nature. I felt very exposed or vulnerable. At one point I considered making them available only to those who registered on the JPN web site. I am not sure how the Lite Bytes have helped anyone. There were truly "bad" days. I spoke openly of what was taking place on those days. There were days of victory along with some funny and comical things which transpired. Anyhow, here goes again!

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Kinda quiet melancholic day. Sharon is making preparations for return to the USA again due to her father's illness. This is three times in less than two years. In 40 years of ministry in Asia we rarely had to make special trips back due to family circumstances. It was amazing how God took care of us and our families. Once we had a three day church convention in Japan. We then flew to Korea for another three day convention. At the close of the Korea meeting we flew to the USA and arrived just in time to take part in Sharon's grandfather's funeral. I made it to the states three days before my mother's death. I was able to spend the last night alone with her in a coma. I talked to her, prayed for her, read the Bible and sang to her. Finally I told her if she was tired and wanted to go home with the Lord that I would agree with her. She quietly went home to be with the Lord just a few hours later. We just "happened" to be in the states for weddings, funerals, college football games. We have found the promise of Mark 10:29-30 to be true. We have left our houses, brothers, sisters, children, mothers and fathers for the sake of the Gospel. God has taken care of us and those we had to leave behind. I have no regrets in that aspect.

It is a serious issue to contemplate the death of a parent. We remember the good times and the comfort received from them. To be honest, there are also painful and negative memories too. We need to be sure that we have forgiven all those who have hurt us. That includes those who should be near and dear, but have instead caused pain. It also is important for us to ask forgiveness from those who have been hurt and harmed by us. I had a step uncle who was physically abusive to me. I admit at one time hating him very much. As a youth I learned how to strike back with words. My vocabulary was much better than his and my verbal jabs found their mark causing him emotional pain which he could not deal with. He died while we lived here. There was never an opportunity for total closure. Several years ago I had a very realistic dream. I was a young teenager in the dream and asked him to forgive me for the pain I caused him with my unkind biting words. That was only a dream, but it helped give me closure.

This journey of Sharon's comes at a time of great personal financial testing. God made the way for her ticket with frequent flyer miles of a close relative. PTL! I pray God bless them greatly for giving up the miles for her ticket. A close friend in Japan gave a nice personal offering to help Sharon with some of her initial expenses when she arrives. Another friend in the USA is giving up a van for her to drive for free. Each one who is showing kindness at a time like this will reap a reward from their Heavenly Father. There are also those who are praying faithfully and powerfully for God to intercede in each aspect of the journey. Thank you and God bless you each one!

Lord willing, I hope to write some on a daily basis. This should be a better presentation than on the JPN site which does not have a good archive function like blogspot offers. Feel free to comment or contact us through the JPN site Contact Us.

May God bless you and your loved ones richly!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Prayer For America!

2009-06-13T08:49:00.000+09:00

Psalm 33:10-22 (NIV)

¹⁰ The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

¹¹ But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.

¹³ From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;

¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-

¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.

¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

¹⁹ to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

²² May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

Mountains and Valleys

2009-06-06T17:15:00.000+09:00

Over the past two years I often have written about mountains. It comes easily since our home is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The tallest are about 3000 ft (1000 meters) high. I can look out a second story window from my bed and see some of the beautiful mountain scenery that God has prepared for us. We can read the word mountain over 300 times in the Bible. Much of Israel is dotted with mountains. We often read of Jesus praying on a mountain. We all know of the Sermon on the Mount. He went up into a mountain to call the 12 disciples and send them forth to preach the Gospel. The Old Testament is filled with significant references to mountains. We see pictures of Moses coming down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments in his hands.

Frequently mountains represent barriers or challenges in life. I still remember someone singing Climb Every Mountain at my high school graduation. In Japan Prayer Network blogs mountains are mentioned quite often. I have also posted many photos of the mountains surrounding the large valley that we live in.

Today I would like to refer to mountains as a God ordained part of our Christian life. As we move forward in our walk with God each one of us will encounter mountains that will need to be scaled. In fact, over the past few days I have prayed and pondered finally concluding that our path will be filled with both mountains and valleys. They just cannot be avoided. Some spend long periods of wasted time sitting at home rather than stepping out of our comfort zones to face the challenges of our personal mountains. Some mountains may represent physical illness or emotional turmoil that must be overcome before we can grow and accomplish God's Will for our lives. At times we face financial challenges that are as formidable as any towering mountain! There are times of social or family opposition to our Christian life or ministry.

As we live and move forward we will encounter a continuous cycle of mountains to be climbed and at times deep valleys to be walked through. Apostle Paul said that he "pressed toward the mark" indicating that he would have to overcome obstacles in order to reach the goal that God had placed before him. We too, can expect similar resistance if we make any serious effort to live for God sincerely or to work in His harvest field of ministry. Living for God and working in true ministry is just not a "walk in the park"!

Mountains are scaled and valleys are traversed one step at a time. We can search for short cuts or an easy way around our trials and challenges. I believe that method only prolongs the tests. In James 1:2-4 we read, "Dear Brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy. For when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." TLB

Wow! The Word of God is Spot On! What is there left to say about the situation? Guess we need to start walking! God is with us. There are a couple old Gospel songs that ensure us that God Walks the Dark Hills and that He is with us in the valleys too. David wrote that he walked through the Valley of Death, but that he feared no evil because God was with him. Jesus promised that He would never leave us or forsake us.

So wherever you are -on the upward climb, sitting on the beautiful peak, slipping and sliding down a rocky path or in a deep valley, God is there with you! He has not left you for a moment. We often get caught up in our troubles and fail to notice that God has been at our side all of the time. A quick sincere prayer of repentance may be in order. I have found myself do that often especially as I have faced my challenging financial mountains. David reminds us in Psa 23 that God is our shepherd and that we shall not want! I must repent and get up from the valley of despair and start climbing my mountain again just one day and one step at a time. That is how we overcome and move forward with victory in our Christian life and ministry of the Gospel.

May God bless you as you move forward in Jesus' Name Amen!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

P.S. Recently Sharon shot a video of the drive over our mountain. It is posted on YouTube if you are interested in viewing it. It is just for fun, no preaching involved. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBBX4dL_JNs (you can copy & paste it into your browser)

Smelling Salts

2009-05-25T23:00:00.000+09:00

Isaiah 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. KJV

There are several Hebrew and Greeks words in the King James Version Bible that are translated as faint. We can summarize them as: to become weary, cease, fall back, forsake, be still, idle, or slothful. The word faint appears over fifty times in New and Old Testament scriptures. Here are a few of those references.

1. God warned Israel to not faint in the midst of battle with their enemies because He was with them and He would fight for them against any enemy no matter how strong.

Deut 20:3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; 4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. KJV

2. If we faint in adversity & trouble it is indicates we are weak and need more strength.

Prov 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. KJV

3. If we do not have enough of the Word of God in us we will become weak and faint.

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. KJV

4. Jonah as many believers became discouraged and wished to die rather than face his test.

Jonah 4:8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. KJV

5. Believers need the constant Presence and Guidance of God by the Holy Spirit in us.

Matt 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. KJV

6. We have a choice to give up (faint) or to seek God in prayer for our needs and problems.

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; KJV

7. As we sow in life and God’s Kingdom we must guard against giving up too soon. We are promised to reap a harvest if we do not become weary and give up.

Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.KJV

Smelling salts have been in use since Roman times. In the 17th century, an ammonia solution was obtained by distilling shavings of harts' (deer) horns and hooves, which led to the alternative name for smelling salts as spirit or salt of hartshorn.Smelling salts have also been known as 'sal volatile', for their ability to produce a reaction.They were widely used in Victorian Britain to revive fainting women, to the extent that in some areas police constables would carry a specific container of them for the purpose. They are also still used for people feeling faint, or who have fainted, either administered by others, or self administered, with some at risk groups, such as pregnant women, sometimes advised to keep them close to hand. Wikipedia

Application

Smelling salts are a temporary manmade solution to the problem of fainting. It does not address the cause of fainting. Fainting is sometimes an indication of a deep seated physical or psychological condition that needs to be addressed. Today we can see many believers who are either in the process of fainting or have already fainted. Some never regain spiritual consciousness and have died spiritually. Others seem to be locked in a life long cycle of waking up and then falling back into a deep slumber over and over again!

Some have fallen asleep and sustained serious spiritual and emotional injuries as a result of fainting. Their lives and relationships have been permanently damaged by circumstances that occurred when they fainted and fell. Others were in significant positions of leadership when they fainted causing great harm to either few or many thousands who looked to them for spiritual leadership. Too many spiritual leaders must spend long hours waking members or trying to find enough “stimulation” in the local services to keep people from fainting or falling asleep in the pews. While the church is sleeping (fainting) the world around them is dying and in need to hearing the Gospel from unselfish fully alert and awake believers.

Conclusion

The Old Testament reference in Isaiah 40 is filled with hope and resolution for the plague of fainting among God’s people. Let’s take a few moments to look at the verses in detail.

1. There is no condemnation. Sometimes those who are alert and awake spiritually forget they once grew tired and weary. They can become judgmental and harsh. This kind of attitude brings about no help, but actually makes matters worse for all who are involved.

2. God is our source of strength. We cannot always depend on others to provide us with help, strength or encouragement. God needs to be our focus and our daily source of strength.

3. There is an indication that as strength or might has waned or declined that the condition can be reversed and restoration is not only possible, but even inevitable if we seek God.

4. None are exempt or unsusceptible from becoming weary or fainting. Young, old, men or women – all are touched with this condition at some point in their Christian life. The verse indicates that some will “utterly fall”. Even in that state there is hope of restoration through the Love of God and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

5. Verse 31 gives a money-back written guarantee to each of us regardless of our situation. “But they that wait upon the LORD (bind together, expect, look to, patiently wait for) shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

6. Full restoration can be expected! Our strength shall be renewed! We shall fly again like an eagle! We shall run again! We shall walk again. We shall NOT be weary and shall NOT FAINT!

7. What are we waiting for? Let’s get up again and go back to God again! Let’s ask, seek and knock until the door is opened to us. If someone around you is fainting or asleep firmly and lovingly stay with them and persist until they are on their feet again, fully conscious and awake. Then, rather than trying to do everything yourself take them to the Father who is their Source and Strength. Too many parents, pastors and leaders try to handle the problems and sins of family, church and friends in their own strength. We must lead them to the Shepherd and Savior.

May God bless you as you wake the faint around you!

Dan Corbett
“Reaching One Among Millions”

Heavy Load!

2009-05-23T00:02:00.000+09:00

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

As we drive in different parts of the nation it is normal to read signs that give the maximum weight allowance for the vehicles that cross over the bridges and bypasses. We also can see special areas that require large trucks to enter to determine if their load is heavier than allowed by the law.

It is apparent that many of God's children are carrying around burdens that exceed their ability to withstand the strain. As prayer requests come in thru the web site, telephone calls and emails some are so loaded down it seems they can barely make it through another day.

As we pray and intercede for them we also can feel the burden that they carry. In the scripture above it is clear that God knows what His children are facing and has provided a means for them to get needed relief.

First of all, we must go the Jesus in faith believing that He is able and willing to help bear our heavy load. Some act as though they enjoy the daily drudgery of their burdens. When you talk to them by phone or meet them on the street their problems are the center of the conversation. It is almost as if they will have nothing to talk about if they no longer have troubles to complain about to those they meet. Some may not realize that it is NOT God's will for them to be weighed down every day. God wants His children to be happy and to prosper in life as they serve Him and praise Him before an unsaved world.

Next, the scripture suggests something like an exchange. We are to accept His yoke which we are told is "easy" and "light". This verse comes across in stark contrast to what some preach about the burden of living a Christian life. Our daily personal struggle with problems, pains and illness in many cases does little to advance the Kingdom of God on the earth. As we are willing to accept His yoke we will begin to pull our own weight and accomplish progress in the Kingdom of God.

What do you say? Let's do an exchange with Jesus. These heavy burdens some of us have carried for years may not be necessary or be God's Will for our lives. Let's go to Him in prayer and ask God to show us how to begin to accept His Will in our lives and to pick up the plow (yoke) and be harnessed with Jesus to work in His Harvest Field.

May God bless you and deliver you for the heavy loads of your life!

Dan Corbett

"Reaching One Among Millions"