Acts 28:24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.

I like the way the Japanese puts this: “Some people received what he said, but others did not try to believe.” That’s going to be the case every time we share the Gospel. That’s what human free will is all about. God, since He knows everything from and for all eternity, knows who will believe and who will not, but He doesn’t force anyone to believe, or conversely, keep them from believing. The Bible does speak of God “hardening the hearts” of some people, such as the Pharaoh of the Exodus, but that is simply a matter of confirming an existing inclination. The thing is, we can’t force anyone to believe anything. All we can do is present God’s truth in God’s love, and ask the Holy Spirit to take it from there. We often have trouble with that, so it’s important that the Bible records the “batting average” of people like Paul. If he didn’t have any better results than he did, then who are we to complain? However, one thing is certain: if we don’t share, then no one will believe, because they won’t know what they should believe. It’s like Yongi Cho of Korea said. “We don’t know why more people aren’t healed when we pray for them, but one thing is certain: if we don’t pray, no one will be healed!” We hear reports of God giving dreams and visions to people, particularly in Islamic countries, but those almost invariably tell the people to seek out a Christian, much as in the story of Cornelius in Acts 10. God chooses to use His children to generate more children, but just as the physical birth rate has dropped drastically in many countries, with people just choosing to not have children, so churches are dying out because of Christians choosing to not share the Gospel. If we will be faithful, God is always faithful, but the results are up to Him.

I have long bemoaned the fact that I’m not gifted as an evangelist, but I must never let that keep me from sharing the Gospel however the Lord allows. I’ve learned the hard way that American evangelist­ic techniques simply don’t work in Japan, because of the lack of a general cultural understanding of faith, but I have also seen that Japanese people are capable of as much devotion to Christ as people of any other nation, so I’ve got to keep giving as many people as possible the opportunity to believe. Yesterday’s 40^th Anniversary Celebration was an enormous encouragement that God has indeed brought fruit from our labors, and there were quite a few people who seem “ripe for the picking.”

Father, thank You for all You did yesterday. I do ask for increased harvest from all the seed You have allowed us to sow. May Your children wake up to the privilege of bringing others into Your family, for the eternal blessing of all involved, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!