2025年1月

Emiri
In this week’s bible reading I learned from chapters 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [2] Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,” and 42:5 “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” that even through trouble it is important to put my trust in God and praise him since we know that he will save us. This week with the fire there was a lot of things happening but through reading the Bible it gave me the confidence that everything was fine and God would provide for us. I learned more about putting 100% trust in God I feel like I would say I trust in God but it wasn’t doing it but this week taught me to trust in God fully and calling on him.

Jun re: Emiri
Verses like these hit different, when you are actually going through something similar or seeing others close to you suffer, don’t they? Use this as an opportunity to expand your boundaries—everyone’s boundaries in this church are so small. They include mostly only their own family members. Think about how people who don’t know God as you do must be suffering right now, losing in an instant what they worked so hard for many years to build, and not knowing what the future holds. If you go through this experience just thanking God for how fortunate you were, I don’t think God is happy.

In a sense, those of us who were spared such losses, were spared because God expects us to use our resources to help others more, because we need to learn more to give. Just as those who are taken to heaven are taken because their work on earth is done, those who are left on earth are left because we still have work to do.

Let’s think about what that work is.

 

Tomas
This week’s Bible reading in Psalms 42, I learned about how even though you feel down, God is still there with you and if you put your faith in him, he will grant what you want. Applying this to my life, in my second semester of 8th grade, I currently am having to work on more assignments, tests, projects, etc… compared to last semester. So whenever I struggle with those things, I should remember that God is with me, and I am able to pray to him everyday for guidance.

Jun re: Tomas
So whenever I struggle with those things, I should remember that God is with me, and I am able to pray to him everyday for guidance.
Guidance for what exactly? Guidance so you can do well in a presentation? Get a good grade? Pass the tests? Try to go beyond that—beyond just thinking about receiving God’s blessings for yourself. Why do you study in the first place? What is your motivation for doing well in academics, or sports, or music?

If your motivation can truly be so you can become a better-equipped vessel for God, then you are Jesus’ co-worker! This doesn’t happen in a day of course (i.e. changing your motivation), but you can start by noticing the difference and wanting to change and grow into someone who wants to be of use to God and other people.

 

むかい
今回の聖書朗読では、詩篇44篇6,7の「私の弓に私は頼りません、私の剣も私を救いません。しかし、あなたは私たちを敵から救い、私たちを憎むものどもを辱められます。」のところからやはり自分がもっとも頼る、信じるべき存在は主ただ一人であるということを証でもあったように再び確認することができました。
学校で出された、班でアフリカ州についてまとめて、発表するというものがあったのですが、これが班でやったとしてもかなり時間のかかり、そして班の人たちがバラバラになっていて発表までの時間ではかなり危険な状況でした。その時に神様に頼ることにし、祈って、またまとめの続きをしていました。そうしたら、班の人たちがしっかり協力し合い発表までに間に合わせることができました。
このようなことから証でも書いたように、自分がまだも頼る・信じるべき方は主ただ一人であるということが再確認できました。

Jun re: むかい
神様に頼ることによって、うまく行ったなら、すぐ次の節に書いてあること、やりましたか？やってますか？「私たちはいつも神によって誇りました。また、あなたの御名をとこしえにほめたたえます。」また１節には「私たちはこの耳で、先祖たちが語ってくれたことを聞きました。あなたが昔、彼らの時代になさったみわざを。」（長年の間語った人たちがいるから、この詩篇を書いた人も起きたことを知っている。）その後、神様がしてくれたことが書いてありますね？自分たちが勝利を得たのではなく、全てが神様がなさったことだと。これを、ムカイがすることです。発表がうまく行った、、それがどうした？ムカイは昔よく、友達に神様のこと話した、とか、神様のこと知って欲しい、と口癖みたいに言ってたけど、この後、どうなった？最近全然言わないけど？

聖書読む時は、神様が僕のために何をしてくれるのかな、と探して読むのではなく、自分がなすべきことは何なのか、変えるべきところはどこか、神様は僕に何を期待しておられるのか、をもっと真剣に考えて、読むと成長します。

 

Timothy
In Psalms 42:1, the psalmist compares his thirst for God to a deer’s thirst for water. To the psalmist, just as water is necessary for life, God is also, expressing a deep, personal relationship with God. Psalms 43:3, 4 says “Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.” From this, I learned to seek God and his presence. If I seek him, he will guide me to him. Like the psalmist, I want to seek him constantly and to have a personal relationship with God, putting praise and prayer as a part of my life. I need to recognize that God is with me always, and is not a distant and unreachable figure.

Jun re: Timothy
In Psalms 42:1, the psalmist compares his thirst for God to a deer’s thirst for water.
Yes, this verse was especially poignant this week, seeing images of deer running away from the wildfires, and sensing myself how dry the air was before the windstorm came and during the fires as well. Lack of water is of course, one of the main causes of destructive wildfires and the inability to contain them. But as this verse implies, this is not merely a physical phenomenon. The same thing happens in your spiritual reality. When you lack living water that comes from God’s word and from worshipping him on a daily basis, your world becomes very dry spiritually. This can ignite fires that will destroy things much more important than physical homes or possessions. Keeping up with the Bible reading as you guys are doing, is one way you are making sure to water your spiritual garden everyday.💦🌱

If I seek him, he will guide me to him. Like the psalmist, I want to seek him constantly and to have a personal relationship with God, putting praise and prayer as a part of my life.
Good! The fact that you realize this and confessed it by expressing it in your email, is a big step up.🆙 Were you able to stay awake today?😊

I need to recognize that God is with me always, and is not a distant and unreachable figure.
Yes, he is not only not distant or unreachable, but the closest being to you in the whole universe. He knows things about you that even you do not know and cares about every single tear shed, or every little thing that brings your joy. Trust in him.