2025年2月

Emiri
In this week’s Bible reading I learned that nature was made to glorify God and teach us his presence from Psalm 65:8, “The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.” And 12, “The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.” I thought it was amazing that even nature praises God. Applying this to my life, I saw how I have been taking a lot of things for granted. Throughout the week a lot of things with housing changed a lot which kind of irritated me as nothing was decided, but when I thought about it I realized I was only thinking about myself and I wasn’t looking at all the things I should be thankful for. So through reading this chapter I realized I was lacking praise toward God and I want to start being more conscious of it and do it.

Jun re: Emiri
I thought it was amazing that even nature praises God.
All creation was made to praise God. And out of all creation, humans are the only ones that have ceased to worship him. Even the ones that allegedly do, often praise only with their lips (as you know from reading Psalms).

Did you get the chance to drive or walk through the neighborhoods where everything burned? It is important since you are old enough, to bear witness and think seriously about why it happened. Psalm 65 says, “You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows…you soften it with showers and bless its crops…The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness…they shout for joy and sing.”

Does this match what you see in your hometown? What I saw was the exact opposite. Nature was weeping; the trees charred and no longer able to praise their creator. The mountains are barren with no greenery in sight. Animals suffering burns and fleeing with nowhere to go. And always the lack of water—the firemen even ran out of water to put out the fires. What happened to God’s promise here? Did he lie or just make things up? Who is to blame?

We humans are the ones to blame for earth’s suffering. We are the reason why there is not enough water, and why God’s creation is being destroyed. Our selfishness, our greed for gain, our compulsion to use anything for our own good without regard for anyone else’s life or the earth’s future. Climate change is a result of this kind of lifestyle, do you see? And it’s not just about using water wisely, or not using chatGPT (which generates staggering amounts of carbon dioxide emissions), nor is it only (or largely) the responsibility of “people in charge” of creating national and international policies, but it is very much also about you and me.

Every time we make a small decision to put our own desires or needs first, every time we “forget” to give thanks or tell others what God has done for us, every time we take credit for what God has done for us, every time we use or manipulate others for our own ends (even on a very small scale), every time we “praise” God only with our lips and not with our hearts, we are adding to our collective sin which results in the earth being cursed and nature suffering. Do you see?

 

Tomas
This week’s Bible reading, I learned about praising God when he does great things for us and always listens to us when we have needs. Applying this to my life, I had another history assignment that was writing three paragraphs. It was a lot of work and it was due the next day it was assigned to our class. So, I worked on it and when I finished it, I was happy and thanked God for this.

Jun re: Tomas
I worked on it and when I finished it, I was happy and thanked God for this.
Don’t forget that saying a prayer of thanks is good, but God expects more. What did you think about the following verses?

“Come and see what God has done!” 66:5
“Let the sound of his praise be heard.” 66:8
“Come and hear…let me tell you what he has done for me.” 66:16
“May the peoples praise you, God; may al the peoples praise you.” 67:5

All the peoples can come to praise him only if they hear about what God has done for us. How can they “hear” if we do not “tell?” That so few people on earth praise him is our responsibility. People who do not know God and come to wield (earthly) power end up making incredibly selfish decisions that make millions suffer and hastens the end of the world. You never know the impact you may make by telling someone about Jesus. Make sure you also read my reply to Emiri’s email.

 

むかい
今回の聖書朗読では、詩篇66篇7節の「神はその御力をもってとこしえに統べ治めその目は国々を見張られる。どうか、頑迷な者を高ぶらせないでください」というとこらから神様はいつも見ておられる。そして、自分がいつもどのように行動しているかも知っているということを学びました。
なので、私の生活を振り返ってみました。
ここ最近は期末テストの勉強でとても忙しくて、あまり聖書を読んだり、勉強に関して祈ることさえできませんでした。しかし、それでは自分の力でしようとしているということがわかり、そこから切り替えて聖書を読んだり、勉強に関して祈ることをしていきました。それにより今回のテストやかなりの良いスコアを出すことができたため、神様はいつも私を見ていてくれているということがよくわかりました。

Jun re: むかい
まーすでに分かっていることだと思うけど、改めて分かったことはいいことだね。

そして、自分がいつもどのように行動しているかも知っている
行動よりも、行動の裏にある心を神様はいつも見ています。行動はただの現れにしか過ぎない。

ここ最近は期末テストの勉強でとても忙しくて、あまり聖書を読んだり、勉強に関して祈ることさえできませんでした。しかし、それでは自分の力でしようとしているということがわかり、そこから切り替えて聖書を読んだり、勉強に関して祈ることをしていきました。
聖書読むことも、祈ることも（自分の勉強のため）、むかいはただ、自分のためにやっていること、気づきますか？自分のために、神様を使いたい生き方・考え方です。そうじゃなくて、自分が神様に使われるものになりたくないですか？

 

Timothy
I learned in chapter 66 the importance of praising God. It says “come and see what God has done” and “let me tell you what he has done for me.” I need to recognize how God is working in my life and to share what he has done.