Learning; February 11, 2026


Proverbs 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction
    and your ears to words of knowledge.

Everyone receives instruction and everyone hears words of knowledge, but not everyone benefits from them. We have to choose to receive what is available to us, to take it to heart, before it does us much good. As someone who taught for a living for 42 years, I’ve experienced the whole gamut in this area. I’ve had students who were like sponges, absorbing with joy anything I taught them, and I’ve had students who were like Teflon-coated cookware, not absorbing a thing. When it comes to learning, native ability is certainly important, but attitude is perhaps even more important. When it comes to learning from God, attitude is everything, because comparing our ability to that of God is like comparing a drop of water to the ocean. He has made us in His image, (Genesis 1:27) but it’s very much like a drop of water is the image of the ocean. God allows us to have all sorts of experiences, some pleasant and some painful, but every one of them is instructive, if our hearts are tuned to learn from God. Likewise, we practically drown in a sea of noise, but only a small fraction of that qualifies as words of knowledge. Today we live in the Information Age, but the vast majority of what comes to us is irrelevant to us, or even outright wrong. We need to choose what we listen to. These days many people spend their days with wireless earbuds in their ears, not really hearing what is actually going on around them. That’s pathetic! Deafness is one thing, but choosing not to hear is another. We need to remember that we are called to be disciples, and a disciple is a learner above all. As a simple matter of capacity, there is no way we could learn all of God while we are on this earth, so we should be eager to keep learning for as long as He has us here.

I have delighted to learn all my life, I think, but my choices of what to learn haven’t always been wise. Much of what I have learned I have acquired by being called on to teach it to others, either in an academic setting or as a pastor. In this church we are currently in the beginning stages of teaching about motivational gifts, and I am having to refresh my memory on the subject. That’s proof that we can learn something, but if we don’t apply it regularly, it fades into the background. I honestly remember very little of the German I studied in college, for example. German isn’t very important to my life at this point, but God’s instructions are a different matter. As James so succinctly told us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) I need to apply what God tells me, both through the Bible and otherwise, with a heart that is eager to know more of Him and be fully obedient to Him in every way.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me apply it! Thank You that I now have a telephone number for my brother. Help me call it at a time when he is close to the phone, and guide our conversation so that it will be fully beneficial to him. Thank You that You are making it clear what I will need to do. Guide in every detail, both the timing and in my doing all that I need to before I leave. Guide in our recognizing and following through with Your perfect plan for Cathy while I’ll be gone, so that it will be a fully beneficial time for us both, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Education; February 10, 2026


Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go,
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

This is a very famous verse, and it is true throughout history. However, our understanding of it is often deficient. Don and Katie Fortune, teaching on Motivational Gifts from Romans 12, stressed that the Hebrew specifies “the way appropriate for him,” not just the way his parents think he should go. I’m happy to say that the Japanese expressly translates it that way. The point the Fortunes made was that since everyone is gifted differently, what is appropriate for one person might not be appropriate for another. That is something wise parents realize fairly early on, but some never accept it. No two human beings are identical. That is part of the beauty of God’s creation. Since each person is unique, they have a unique contribution to make to the people around them, and indeed, to society as a whole. Those in a guidance capacity, explicitly including parents, need to seek God’s wisdom and guidance in how to train (or educate, as the Japanese puts it) the young people (including their children) in their care. We overlook this point to our peril. In America, leftists, in a deliberate strategy, have virtually taken over our educational system. The result has been legions of young people with little experience in rational thought, protesting rather than progressing, and in general, generating chaos. That is tragic. It has been said countless times, but it can’t be overstated, that young people need to be trained in how to think, rather than indoctrinated in what to think. When we have been properly educated and trained appropriately to our gifting, then we are indeed equipped to lead successful, productive lives for as long as we are on this earth.

I have been an educator most of my life, being paid for it for over half my life. That was appropriate for me, since I have Teacher gifting. My parents did their best to train and educate me, laying down a firm foundation of the knowledge of God and faith in Him. My deviations from faithful obedience to God have all been my fault, not theirs! Raising my own children, I didn’t understand divergent gifting until they were teenagers, but thankfully they were both still at home when I learned about motivational gifts, and we understood our children much better from that point. Family friction went down greatly! As a formal educator and as a pastor, my performance has been a mixed bag. With school classes, the opportunities for individualized instruction are limited, but that can’t be said of a small church, and I have dropped the ball far too many times. A major weakness of Teacher gifting is the subconscious feeling that just getting the truth out there should be sufficient, and it very seldom is. That isn’t education, much less training; it’s just announcing. I need to ask and allow God to show me how to relate to each person in my sphere, so that His truth may be communicated in love in ways they can receive it, to be set free from the lies of the devil and walk in all that God desires for them.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You’re doing in and around me. Thank You for enabling me to get that article written yesterday. I pray that it would be the blessing You want it to be. There are many things piling up in the schedule for this month. Help me do each thing in turn, not procrastinating, so that all of Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Friends; February 9, 2026


Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

The writer couldn’t have imagined it, but it just struck me that this applies to social media. There are many today who live for how many followers and likes they can get, and they destroy themselves in the process. The epidemic of destructive behavior in young people is rooted in this. When we get our dopamine hits electronically, we give up part of our humanity in the process. Backing off a bit, and in line with the context when this was written, evaluating your self-worth on the basis of your social interactions is destructive even when there are no electronics involved. There have been people like that throughout history, and they are frankly pathetic, even when they are famous and wealthy. It is certainly possible to have a human friend who is closer than blood kin, but the ultimate illustration of this verse is Jesus Christ. That He expressly called His disciples friends, in John 15:15, is problematic in Japanese culture, because the concept of “friend” has a strong feeling of equality, and no one is Jesus’ equal. I have heard a Japanese Christian insist, in spite of that verse, that Jesus could have no friends. Every culture has points that are unbiblical! In spite of that man’s opinion, the best-known Christian hymn in Japan is What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Part of that familiarity is because different, secular lyrics were set to that tune and it was sung in Japanese schools for many years, but even the Christian lyrics are familiar to many. Perhaps one reason for its acceptance is that the average Japanese doesn’t necessarily accept Jesus as divine. We get the full benefit only when we recognize that Jesus is indeed divine, but He lowered Himself to our level in order to become our Savior, as is set out so beautifully in Philippians 2:5-11. As it says there, He considered us to be worth letting go of His divinity in order to be our friend indeed. Human friends are important, but when we have Jesus, He is more than enough.

I am blessed with several men I would call close friends, but none are as close as Jesus! After all, He put His Spirit in me, and I can fellowship with Him anywhere and everywhere, all the time. I am to be a friend to people, but not “pin my world” on them. I have hurt people, and people have hurt me, but Jesus has never let me down. It is when I rest in Him that His character is manifested in me, and I am able to be the friend that people around me need. In common with most men, in contrast to women, I don’t have many close friends, but I do have some, and I am grateful. Right now I am being called on to be a friend to my genetic brother, and that isn’t a position I’ve been in for many years. I need to let Jesus speak and act through me in this situation, certainly. I don’t have the wisdom to say and do the right thing at the right time, but God will guide me, and I need to be sensitive and obedient to Him. Meanwhile, I need to be an extension of Jesus, so to speak, to all the people around me, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me indeed listen and act obediently at all times, so that I may be Your servant, Your agent, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Spreading Knowledge; February 8, 2026


Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
    but the hearts of fools are not upright.

To me, this ties back directly to 9:10, that I wrote on two days ago. If we have proper respect for the Lord, He will reveal things about Himself and His way to us. We are then responsible to share that knowledge with others. This fits perfectly with Acts 1:8, which famously says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Being witnesses includes sharing what God has shown us, though it isn’t limited to that. If we are wise, by the operation of the Holy Spirit within us, we will spread the knowledge of God wherever we go, by whatever means are available to us. It is interesting to me that both the Japanese and the English specifically say “spread.” We aren’t to go in a corner and just dump all that we know in one spot, but rather spread it around so that as many people as possible may receive and be blessed by it. As Paul expressly said to King Agrippa in his trial, God’s work of salvation was not done in a corner. (Acts 26:26) We are to spread the Gospel as far and wide as God makes possible, and that’s really saying something!

Of course, this is close to my heart, since I’m a missionary in Japan. I haven’t been terribly effective in spreading the Gospel right here, but God alone knows the long-term effects of what I have said and done. In recent years He has allowed me to use the Internet to spread things more broadly, but I have even less personal knowledge of how that is being received. I can say with gratitude that several people have gone out from my ministry as ministers themselves, but I only know of that in the vaguest of terms. In any case, I’m to keep pressing in for more of God and keep spreading what He says to me in return, so that more and more people may be drawn into a right relationship with Him, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There is a lot going on right now, in the world and in my family. Help me keep my mind and heart fixed on You so I won’t be anxious about anything, but will indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You have told me to do, so that Your purposes may be accomplished in and through me on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Parenting; February 7, 2026


Proverbs 13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates their children,
    but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.

This verse is currently considered politically incorrect, but its wisdom is evident all around us. Just yesterday I watched a video of a father talking about how he had taken a gaming machine away from his daughter, and how he had downgraded his son from a smart phone to a flip phone, and how other parents had said to him, “How can you do that? I wish I could do that!” His response to them had been, “Who’s the parent in your house?” Respect for authority is essential for a peaceful, productive life, and that starts in the home. The current popularity in the US of violent protests started in thousands upon thousands of homes, where parents didn’t care accurately for their children. Obviously, many of these people were never told, NO, when they were small. Proper discipline from parents grows good self-discipline in their children. This doesn’t excuse abuse, but the current fad of “gentle parenting” violates the truth in this verse and invites tragedy. It has long been recognized that our physical fathers have a great deal to do with our concept of God, since He is our heavenly Father. God never picks on us, but neither does He spoil us. He delights to do good things for us, but He knows what we need and what isn’t good for us. Parents need divine wisdom in raising their children, and no human parent ever gets it perfectly, but as James said, when we realize we lack wisdom, we need to ask God, and He will provide it. (James 1:5) Hebrews 12 famously applies parenting to our relationship with God, and that’s entirely appropriate. When we are appropriately strong with our children, they will later be grateful, even if they aren’t at the time. When we indulge them unreasonably, later everyone will regret it.

I don’t remember many incidents of direct punishment when I was growing up, but I certainly had boundaries. My parents encouraged me to exercise my gifts and my interests, but they very appropriately told me no, on many occasions. I tried to be that way with my own children, and their lives since haven’t been perfect, but neither have they been disastrous. I am currently in the position of spiritual father to numbers of people, and the relationships there can get really complicated. I don’t have the automatic authority that comes with physical parenting, but I do have spiritual authority, and I must constantly seek God’s wisdom and guidance in exercising it. Likewise, I need to recognize God’s absolute authority in my own life, because if I’m not genuinely submitted to Him, His authority won’t operate through me as it should. I can’t be a good parent if I’m not relating rightly to my heavenly Father.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ve made some real blunders, particularly in spiritual parenting, over the years. Thank You for not giving up on me. Thank You for continuing to discipline and grow me, as You know I need it. May I be a son who gives You joy, transmitting Your grace and love accurately to all, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Wisdom; February 6, 2026


Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

It feels strange to write on this when I preached on it last Sunday, but it is a vitally important verse. For that matter, this is an echo of what I wrote yesterday, because God’s wisdom is the absolute definition of wisdom. We admire various people as wise, but genuine human wisdom is never more than an echo, a reflection of God’s wisdom. The sad thing is, much of what the world sees as wisdom isn’t wisdom at all, and in fact, flies in the face of God’s wisdom. The thing is, genuine wisdom requires humility. It is significant that Numbers records that “Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3) That’s a parenthetical comment in the middle of the narrative in Numbers, but it is quite important. God handed Moses an unimaginably huge job when He told him to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses absolutely had to recognize that he wasn’t up to the job, and he said as much at the burning bush. However, God wasn’t sending him out on his own, He was going with him, guiding and strengthening him each step of the way. It is when we think we can do the job ourselves that we fall flat! In fact, Moses’ biggest blunder was when, the second time he needed to get water from a rock, he struck it as he had the first time, instead of speaking to it as God had told him to do. In other words, he thought, “I’ve got this,” having done it once before, and that kept him from being able to enter Canaan personally. We can’t let ourselves get proud of being humble! God’s wisdom, and His alone, is sufficient for every situation we encounter.

This is extremely timely, because things just blew up with my brother’s situation in the US. After friends requested a wellness check, police and a social worker found that he had significant memory issues, and his wife was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility. He needs a legal guardian, but his older sister is in an assisted care facility herself, and his younger sister has circumstances that preclude her taking the job either. That leaves me, and I’m in Japan! And to top that off, my passport is currently sent off for renewal, and I can’t leave the country without it. I just talked with a lawyer who is close to the younger of my sisters, and she pointed out that not only does he need a guardian, in the immediate future he needs someone to go to his house with him and search for assorted paperwork that is necessary under the current circumstances. I don’t have the wisdom to deal with all of this, but God does. I need to keep my heart fixed on Jesus, (Hebrews 12:2) and trust the Holy Spirit to guide me. He has already given me some ideas, but I’ll certainly need to stay sensitive and obedient to Him. As He told Paul, His grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Father, thank You for this extremely timely Word. Thank You that Your grace is indeed sufficient, not just for me but for everyone involved in this situation. I pray that we would all be humbly submitted and obedient, for Your perfect plans to be worked out for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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True Wisdom; February 5, 2026


Proverbs 3:7-8 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones.

Even this chapter alone would earn Proverbs a rightful place in Wisdom Literature! I quote verse 5-6 most often, as do many people, but these verses also are extremely practical and powerful. The whole point is that true wisdom is found only in God, and the minute we think it’s our personal possession, we’re in trouble. It’s not that we can’t have wisdom, because God does give it to us, (James 1:5) but that it’s not something we can conjure up, or generate on our own. Genuine wisdom is always humble. That, frankly, is the thing that concerns me most about Donald Trump. He has been used by God to do some very necessary things in America, but his braggadocio bothers me a lot. I have seen reports of his kind, humble interactions on a personal level, but his public persona gives me pause. He needs a lot of prayer! That said, the same may be said for the vast majority of those in public leadership. The thing is, as soon as we go around judging such people, we are presenting ourselves as wise, opening ourselves up to our own foolishness to be exposed.

I preached on wisdom this past Sunday, and it was truth. I know that rightly relating to my Creator is the only way to receive His wisdom. Last night I was reading some excerpts from the Epstein Files, and it was both disturbing and disgusting. The world-wide connections of that man were downright amazing, but the underlying tone of it all was that all those people thought they were too smart to have to abide by the rules that govern everyone else. That is precisely the sin of Satan, who wanted God’s glory for himself. I know a thing or two about that, having wallowed in conceit far more than I like to think about. I am to be grateful for the mind God has given me, but never think that generates wisdom on its own. Any genuine wisdom I might express will and does come from my gracious Lord, and I must never forget it. Today I will be seeing numbers of people I haven’t seen in a long time. I am to be grateful, and available to God for whatever He might want to say through me to them, and at the same time be open to whatever He might want to say to me through them. All wisdom, all truth, ultimately comes from Him, and I am to rest in that assurance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. All sorts of things press in on me, and I need to release them all to You. I am not to be lazy, or even passive, but know that I can do nothing right on my own, but You will enable me to do everything You call on me to do. (Philippians 4:13) I ask for Your guidance and anointing as we go to the Nagasaki 26 Martyrs Commemoration today, that it may be a blessing and encouragement to all participants and a witness to all who observe it, so that more and more would emulate the commitment of those 26 martyrs, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Mortality; February 4, 2026


Psalm 144:3-4 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
    mere mortals that you think of them?
They are like a breath;
    their days are like a fleeting shadow.

This thought is expressed in various places throughout the Bible, and it is used in Latin as memento mori, which means, remember you are mortal. Our human flesh is mortal, which is why the promise of resurrection in Christ is so earth-shaking. Some people twist the idea of mortality into hedonism, saying YOLO, you only live once, and doing whatever their flesh desires. That is actually very sad, and it makes sense only if this life is all we have. However, the Bible makes it very clear that’s not the case. John 3:16 is famous for good reason! Our lives on this planet are to be enjoyed, by God’s grace, but we must remember that they are a training ground, a preparation for eternity. Knowing our Creator and learning to walk in fellowship with Him is the highest purpose and goal of every human life, but the devil does all he can to hide that truth from us. He is destined for eternity in hell, and he wants to take as many people as possible with him, precisely because he knows that we are precious to God and he wants to deprive God of us. The best way to resist the devil is to choose to submit to God and listen to Him obediently, just as James said. (James 4:7) When we do that, our brief lives on this planet take on glorious meaning, and death is an insignificant bump in the road.

Two things drive this home to me at the moment. The first is the birth of our great-granddaughter last month, and the second is the one-year memorial service that will be held later this month for a close friend of the family. One is just beginning the adventure of life, and the other closed out a long and fruitful life a year ago, and is being lovingly remembered. (He had a small, private funeral, but he had blessed a great many people, and they wanted to express their love and have closure.) I have had many excellent examples in my life, people to be emulated, starting with my own parents. I would be happy if people remember me that way, but far more important is the opinion of the God I serve, with whom I will spend eternity. I want Him to be glad of my presence, as I am glad of His even now. I also want to take as many people as possible with me, to enjoy God’s grace and glory together. That’s the mirror of the devil’s attitude, and I don’t like yielding anything or anyone to him!

Father, thank You for this reminder. May I live today and each day in this awareness, so that I will be continuously available to You, for You to do whatever You like through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Being Led by God; February 3, 2026


Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
    lead me on level ground.

One of David’s best points was that he was constantly asking God to teach and guide him. We are prone to shift into a humanistic “autopilot mode,” doing things as usual, doing whatever seems right to us, just as it says at the end of the book of Judges. (Judges 21:25) The results of that are “suboptimal,” to say the least! None of us grasps the full picture, even of our own life, not to mention the world around us. We need constant guidance and encouragement, or we will wander off into a dead end. Even knowing that, David famously blew it in a big way, but his repentance was real. David and Peter should be good encouragements to us, because they were both deeply flawed, yet God used them magnificently. We need to be aware of our weaknesses, but not dragged down by them. We need to keep believing that God can and does use flawed vessels, and seek His face always. God never rejects us for how we are, but He also never leaves us as we are; He keeps growing us. Like David, we need to ask Him to teach and lead us, and trust that He is doing exactly that.

It is often interesting to me how exactly the passage for the day will match my circumstances. I draw up the Scripture reading list each month, and I have no idea what the month will hold, but God does, and He uses me. Starting to read this Psalm this morning, I was almost shocked at how exactly it expressed what I was feeling. Frankly, I get tired of continuing to deal with people, when every one of them has different expectations and demands of me. At the same time, I know that we are created for community, and isolation is one of the worst things that can happen. I need to find my identity and my peace in my Lord, knowing that I am a child of God, and that He loves the people around me just as much as He loves me, and the degree of that love is beyond words to express it. I recognize that God still has plans for me, and flowing with those plans by His Spirit is far and away the best course for me, objectively and subjectively. In Sunday’s message I spoke strongly about how I have no native wisdom, but God supplies wisdom for those who ask Him. (James 1:5) I need to remember what God has said through me! Like Paul, I’m not to place weight on how others judge me, but leave my judgment up to God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-4) My focus is to be on being faithful to my Lord. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I really needed it. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You have told me to do, so that all of Your plans for me may be fulfilled, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Morning Devotions; February 2, 2026


Psalm 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word.

There are many Bible passages, particularly in the Psalms, that speak of seeking God early in the morning. It’s a simple fact of human physiology that most people focus better in the morning. I honestly think that’s one reason the devil presents so many distractions and entertainments late at night, to keep us from being able to get up early to seek God. There are still many uncertainties about our need for sleep, and some people indeed seem to get by fine on just four hours or so, but they are few and far between. The vast majority of us need 7-8 hours, but many who need it don’t get it, to the detriment of their physical and emotional health. Of equal or greater importance is that when we’re short on sleep, getting up to have time to read the Bible and pray before getting about the tasks of the day becomes an impossible task. It boils down to priorities, and the devil is all too skillful at masking those. Late-night TV programs used to be the biggest culprit, but lately, computers and cell phones have taken over, and society in general seems to think that going to bed before 11 is shockingly early. For anyone who seeks to be healthy spiritually, this is something that must be stood against. As God told Isaiah, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6) He is always available, but we are best able to recognize Him first thing in the morning.

As I have written many times, I knew from my parents’ example that morning devotions were desirable, but I was a married father in my 20s before I actually started developing such a habit. Thankfully, that habit has become more and more firmly ingrained, but I am still subject to distractions. These days I watch no TV, but I spend too much time on the computer, and Microsoft, Google, etc. do their best to be as distracting and addictive as possible. I do this writing on a computer, and just a few seconds ago my cursor drifted to an area of the screen that popped something up that was wholesome and amusing, but not at all what I’m writing on right now! Some people think that a 77-year-old pastor would have everything under control, but I’m as much or more of a target of the enemy as anyone else. I too need to make the clear choice to prioritize the Lord in my time. After all, I’ve committed my life to Him, and our lives are measured in time. I need to keep Him in focus and be faithfully obedient to everything He shows and tells me, so that He may be pleased with me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that at least I feel great frustration when I can’t have this time with You, first thing in the morning. Help me walk in harmony and fellowship with You throughout the day, each day, so that I may be instantly available to You at all times, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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