Jeremiah 10:5 “Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good.”

The Japanese have a rather complicated relationship to the truth in this verse. On the one hand, intellectually they have figured this out, so the average Japanese doesn’t put much weight in religion at all, but on the other hand, they feel that failing to practice their ancestral religions of Shinto and Buddhism would be disloyal to their ancestors. Religion is very low indeed in their priorities, but at the same time they have a hunger for a relationship with God, because that is the way God created mankind. They see Shinto, rightly enough, as a collection of traditions and festivals, and they see Buddhism as a system of making money from death, from funerals and ceremonies for the dead after death, and that too is accurate. A fairly high percentage think Christianity is the best religion, but at the same time they have a distrust of religion in general, and the devil has convinced them they aren’t worthy to darken the door of a church. The expression they use is, “the threshold of a church is high.” As much as they admire Christians, they don’t feel they could ever let go of their traditions and cling exclusively to Christ. They don’t necessarily fear the idols that are everywhere, in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and even dotted along the roadside, but they do fear death, even while thinking that it is weak to do so. They do admire Christians, but at the same time think it is weak to admit you have to depend on something outside yourself for your salvation. The devil has woven a very tangled web of lies, none of which stand up to examination by themselves, but taken as a whole they manage to trap the vast majority of Japanese.

This is the reality I deal with, day in and day out. Even Japanese Christians seldom place their relationship with Christ first in their priorities (though I think many American Christians have trouble there, too). Every day is a challenge and an adventure of faith, because there is no other way I could keep going. I am never to give up, but rejoice in the victories I see and trust that there are victories I don’t see but are still real. I am to plant and water, rejoicing in fruit when it appears but not making my faithfulness contingent on visible fruit. I struggle with Jesus’ statement that “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40) Many in this city have receive Cathy and me, and the outpouring of love at Cathy’s health problems has been remarkable, but those same people make no moves that we can see toward Christ. I have no solution, so I throw myself on the mercy and grace of my Lord, asking Him to break through the lies with His truth and offering myself for however He wants to use me in doing that, so that the web may be dissolved and the people set free to repent and believe, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, You know my heart and You know this church, this city, and this nation. I have no plans, no programs, no answers in myself, but I know that nothing is impossible for You. I ask You to pour out Your Spirit on this nation so that Your Name may be hallowed and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!