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.

日本の子供も入れて、聖書通読初めてから、半年がたちます。毎週必ず全員一人一人に翌日までに返事を書いてますが、自分で自分を見て、上達しましたか？半年前書いてたことと、今週書いた学びを読み比べて、成長は見られますか？適用を、実行するようになってますか？

 
赤ん坊は六ヶ月までにできるようになることは：

• 知ってる人と知らない人の区別（神様の声や業と、サタンや世の声とわざの区別、前よりはっきりわかるようになってますか？）
• 自分を鏡で見るのが好き（自分をよく観察してますか？神様から見える本当の自分、良いところと悪いところ・直すべきところが前よりわかるようになってますか？）
• 笑う（聖書読んで、面白い！新しいこと発見！楽しい！はありますか？）
• 親が出す音を自分なりに真似しようとする（私が書いてることを少しづつでも、やろうとしてますか？）
• 話せなくても、とにかく声を出す（メール書く時、自分の心にあることを、素直に表現しようとして、書いてますか？）
• ものを探るため、口に入れる（適用を具体的に考えて、書いて、実行してますか？）
• お気に入りのおもちゃに手を伸ばす（神様に対する願いをしっかり持ってますか？）
• うつ伏せの状態から、腕を立てたり、寝返りできるようになる（霊的に強くなりたい、成長したいと思って、毎日聖書通読に取り組んでますか？）

 

一般的に言えること：

• 「正しい答え」を書こうとしないこと。これ、意味ないです。
• ある意味、毎回違うことを書こうとすること。95%同じことを毎週書く傾向があります。成長止まってますね？りんごの説明をするとして、「赤い果物だと学んだ」を半年書き続けてるような感じです。「りんご」でもいろんな種類がある、「赤」でもいろんな赤がある。もっと言ったら、赤色じゃないりんごもある。味もさまざま。使い方もいろいろ。一つの真理も同じです。
• 適用を具体的に毎回書くこと！書かない子もいるし、書いてる子ですら、実際的じゃないです。わざと、避けてますね？実際的に書こうとしたら、自然に日々の生活や、家族・友達のことが出てくるはずです。もちろん、書きたくない・触れたくないこともあるかも知れないけど、毎週１００％漠然としか書かないのは、おかしいよね？神様を人生に入れてない証拠です。
• 忠実にやること。片付け仕事で読んだり、メール書かないこと。

 
これからは、毎週全員に書かないです。必要に思える事、時だけ書きます。同じことを繰り返して、書いても、意味ないからね。今までに教えてきたことをまず、やり始めてください。

純

Emiri
In this week’s bible reading I learned from
62:4, “Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.”
that intention is important when it comes to doing things. At school they were gathering volunteers to help distribute supplies to the students who lost their homes. Some people I talked to or heard from others said they are going to do it just to get free stuff from it, since people can also get free stuff if they help. Though when I heard about it the registration already ended, I thought that the when you do things you have to do it with a clear intention not just for show or personal gain.

Jun re: Emiri
When you think about application, write about yourself—something you said, did, plan to do, want to change, etc. rather than about other people.

Secondly, since your school is providing free stuff as an incentive for volunteers, there’s nothing wrong with looking forward to getting something out of volunteering. Honestly, how many people can really do good with absolutely nothing to look forward to? Be careful not to become legalistic. If you feel this is an area you personally need to work on (doing things not for show or personal gain), write what you want to change in yourself.

 

Tomas
In Psalms 62, I learned about how God always protects us from fears and anxieties we have in our life. Applying this to my life, I had a math test I was preparing for in math and I was nervous to take it because the subject we were learning in math looked hard and confusing for me. However, I studied and prayed to God the day on the test and once I got the test, I realized that it was similar to my 7th grade math work that was slope and I was able to complete the test comfortably because of this.

Jun re: Tomas
Ok. I’m glad you experienced God’s help on the test.

Try to expand your Bible reading and applications beyond what is beneficial to you. Most of your applications are about how you can rely on God to help or guide you, which is ok, but think about growing up spiritually. A child is always expecting others to care for him, but as he grows older, he starts thinking about how he can protect or help others, how he can be a good son to his parents and how he can ultimately be of service to God and to others. Read the Bible thinking about what God wants from you, instead of the other way around.

 

よしや
「滅ぼすな」の調べの名前がおもしろかった。一体どのようなものだったのか気になる。

Jun re: よしや
気になることや、面白かったことを書くことはいい事だけど、神様から教えられたことと、その実際的な適用も必ず書いてくださいね。

批評家で終わらないように。これは、みんなに言いたいです。高級レストランで、お料理を出されて、それを見て観察して、「きっとこのような手が使われていて、こういう材料を使って、何々で味付けしてあって、こういう名前の料理です」と言えても、口にしなかったら、実際どういう味、どういう食感かわからないし、何よりも、体の栄養・エネルギーのもとにはなってくれません。食べて初めて、その料理の良さがわかるよね？もっと言ったら、食べるだけじゃなく、その料理を気に入ったら、家に帰って、自分で同じ味を作ろうとしたら、初めて、料理の難しさ、作った人の気持ちや、手間がかかっていること分かり、そして、何回も作っていくうちに、自分のものになっていきます。具体的な適用をやらないことには、本当のところは学びません。

 

Timothy
I learned to focus less on the world and more on God. Psalm 60:11 says that the salvation of man is vain, and 64:6, 7 says, “Surely the human mind and heart are cunning. But God will shoot them with his arrows; they will suddenly be struck down.” Instead of only asking others for advice (friends, family, etc.), I should also ask and trust in God.

Jun re: Timothy
You need to be more specific with your applications.

I learned to focus less on the world and more on God.
So how does this actually play out in your life?

Instead of only asking others for advice (friends, family, etc.), I should also ask and trust in God.
Advice about what? Ask about what?