Which Church?

25 January 2015

Dear Phyllis,

Thailand has two seasons – wet and dry. From April to November you can count on rain at least once a day. From December to March we can have 100 days without a drop of rain. We are in the dry period now, and amazingly some of the most beautiful flowers are coming out. There is a vine, like ivy, that covers walls and arches that is green most of the time, but right now that vine is bursting out with a solid mass of beautiful orange. It really is amazing. Traditionally most flowers wait until spring rain to bloom but this vine comes into full bloom when it gets the driest. In the 1955 Isobel Kuhn wrote Green Leaf In Drought Time, the story of Arthur and Wilda Mathews, and their challenging time under the Communist in China. Her theme is taken from Psalm 1:3 which says “His leaf shall not wither”. That is a challenge to all Christians; that at the driest time of the year, may our leaf be green and our flower bloom the brightest.

I believe I have graduated from Kitchikun's Thai church. Last week was bad. I am not mad and he owes me no apology, but for a long time I have felt very much like an outsider. There was a bad misunderstanding between Kichikun and Pammy three months ago. As a result of that I told Pammy that I didn't want her to continue going there, and, eventually, her work here resulted. I am really komaru (big problem). What she is doing is exactly what I said I would never permit. But there seems to be more of the Holy Spirit and blessing of God here than there is at Kichikun's church. Pammy would very much like for us to work together here but I have long since determined, never to run in competition with his service. I told Pammy if she could have it at a different time I might be more comfortable, but I don't want to be party to two services running at the same time. Consequently I was in a dilemma where to go this morning.

It had been four years since last I went to the Japanese church. When we were married I told Pastor Nojiri that we would be going to a Thai church from now on. But, with the Thai venture apparently through, I thought I would visit my old friends at the Japanese Church. I was genuinely amazed at what happened.

Traditionally, most – nearly all – Japanese churches are as dead as tomb stones. They are terribly formal and emanate the very essence of mans religion. Jesus did not come to start another religion. He came to give us life. There is a fundamental difference between religion and life. Japanese churches are religion. But for an hour and a half I sat in that service this morning struggling with tears. After the service and I greeted my old friends and the pastor and his wife, I wept so hard tears ran down my cheeks. That is almost impossible to explain. The short story is Jesus. Jesus was there.

I have said many times Jesus wears many suits. Sometimes He wears an America suit, sometimes a Japanese suit. Sometimes a Thai suit, or Chinese, Pakistani, Indian, German, etc. But whatever He is dressed in, it is still the same Jesus inside. One basic phenomenon is that whatever suit He has on, it is totally the nationality of the suit. In an America suit Jesus is pure American and in a Japanese suit He is pure Japanese. I am increasingly amazed a how the Holy Spirit adapts Himself to the culture and environment of the meeting He is in. In a primitive meeting with hill tribe people He adapts to those people. In a genki (lively) Pentecostal meeting He adapts Himself to their style. And in a formal Japanese meeting He is still there in the midst of that dead religion. I like Nojiri sensei very much but we are poles apart in our views of Christianity. He would never have a meeting without reciting the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles Creed, and reading the bulletin. To me, what's the point? Let's get real and worship Jesus. But to them, that formality is basic. And amazingly the Holy Spirit does not oppose it. I don't know why I was so moved this morning. Japan has died to me. It is doubtful that I will ever go back for an extended time. But my hearts roots are still there. Japanese believers are such a treasure to the Lord that they are like diamonds in a coal mine. I had forgotten what it was like to see Jesus dressed in that suit, and today it moved me to tears.

Amazing things are happening at Paul's house everyday. That house is experiencing a revival like I have seen no other place. There was a fine brother from India staying with them for a month. Thomas went back last Friday, and he was blown away at what he experienced while staying with Paul and Marisa. I have mentioned the Dutch brother, Pascal, several times. He is slam in the middle of it. Paul frequently tells of having three hour Bible studies. This afternoon he said last night was for 4 ½ hours. It has been Thomas, Pascal, and Paul. Thomas had never seen Bible studies like that in his life. (Neither have I.)

The other day Paul was over telling of the astounding things that were happening there. I knew what he was talking about but it was impossible to put into words. There are times when such enormous things are happening inside that there is no language that has the words to describe it. As Paul was sharing the overwhelming joy they were experiencing, my mind went to the story of the Prodigal Son. When that rascal came home the father was so overwhelmed that they had a party that night that wouldn't quit. When the elder brother came in from the field, he heard the music but wouldn't go in. The father pleaded with him, “Son. Thou at always with me and all that I have is thine”. He is saved but he doesn't know the heart of the father and can't join the party. I felt very much like the elder brother looking in the window. I know what is going on inside but I am standing outside. My heart is so cold that if I went to that party the room temperature would cool down ten degrees. I asked the Lord to give me a rejoicing heart and dancing shoes. I fear there is a huge segment of orthodox Christianity that is doctrinally correct but they know nothing of dancing shoes. It has been years since tears have flowed in a service. It has been years since the Word of God was so wonderful it was like having a date with your lover and you just couldn't quit to go home. May God give us dancing shoes to rejoice with our Father and all our brothers.

Kansha shite arigato gozaimasu (Gratefully, thank you)

                                                                                              bill

Pammy and Laos

18 January 2015

Dear Phyllis,

Today was an ultra bad day. If I told-it-like-it-is you would have a pity party like you have never heard of. Rather than writing my heart, I decided not to write today. If I did, that would be the first time in 17 years that I haven't written you on Sunday. Then this evening I decided to write a couple of brief testimonies.

Pammy is like a pig hog heaven. I have never seen her so happy. At last she has got back to being a lady pastor. This is something I said I would never permit. But here we are. She has her own church, The Philadelphia House Church. She has her credentials and all the paraphernalia of being a proper church. At the moment it is running from 3 to 10 people. But she say she really doesn't care. She is not interested in numbers, but simply wants a gathering of those who are serious about serving Jesus. Pammy started out with five but one of her main converts has turned back and said she decided not to follow Jesus anymore. Then three weeks ago Pammy had contact with some minority people in the hills near here. Three families have been coming which is a great encourage to her. I flat don't like lady pastors, but she is doing better than I am., and I am reluctant to close it down. I asked her what she is teaching them Sunday by Sunday, and the material sounds as good as it is going to get. At this point I feel I would be more of anchor on the work than an engine driving it. So I am standing on the side lines.

Three weeks ago Pammy came home one Saturday with a new girl on the back of her bike. She said, “This is our new daughter.” I wasn't sure how long that was going to last, but it looked good for a while. After staying with us for one week, the girl had to go home for three or four days to help her father with the coffee harvest. That Saturday Pammy went up there to bring her back home. But she came back alone. Pammy said the girl decided she would rather be a boy than a girl and chose to stay there. You win some and you lose some.

The testimony I would like to share is a short one about Laos but interesting. I probably have written you this testimony before but it is so good I am not embarrassed to share it twice.

In 1980 a fellow escaped from Laos, and got across the Mekong River to Thailand. Like all refugees in Thailand, he got confined to a refugee camp that is little more than a lose prison. There is a high fence around all those refugee camps and no one is permitted outside. This fellow was a smoker, and he couldn't get any cigarettes inside the camp. But he did fall heir to a Bible that proved to be an excellent answer for his problem. Bible paper made very good cigarettes. In time he smoked up one entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. But when he got to chapter 22 of Revelation he ran out of paper and was stuck again. He had a girl friend that he asked if she knew any place where he could get another Bible. The girl told him that there was a missionary working in that camp who would give him another Bible, but there was a restriction that he must go to a Bible study to get one. Simply for the sole purpose of getting some more cigarette paper he started attending that Bible study. The result was that he wound up swimming the Mekong River again to go back in to lead his parents to Christ. I met him ten years ago and he was a fantastic Christian. The last I heard he was the director of Campus Crusade for Christ in Vientiane.

Would to God that more people smoked Bibles if they would wind up with the fire of God in their hearts like this brother.

I hope next week is better. Gomen nasai for this brief note today.

With much love in Christ,

                                               bill

PS: After I wrote this letter, Pammy just told me that she led another man to Christ this morning. That is the way it is supposed to work.

Dave Martin

11 January 2015

Dear Phyllis,

I have got to be one of the most blessed men in the world. My 13 years with the language school, and my association with the Karuizawa Union Church brought me in contact with an enormous number of missionaries. If there was anyone in Japan that knew more missionaries than me I don't know who it was.

One of the top men that it was my privilege to know was Dave Martin. Dave was one unique legend. He had a horrible heart condition. The doctors said it was impossible for him to live past 30. The only reason he got to Japan as a TEAM missionary was due to a mistake in the TEAM office where they got his medical records mixed up with someone else. He had been accepted as a missionary and cleared for the field when someone discovered their mistake. The doctor resignedly said, “Alright, if you want to die in Japan you may but you won't last ten years.” The Lord never healed him, but kept the dying man going for 50 years. One time the doctor told him he must have three months total rest. TEAM contacted me to see if he could stay in my house in Karuizawa. I told them, of course, he was welcome, but there was a long flight of steps to get to my house, that was not recommended for a man with a bad heart. They decided that Bethel House would be the best place, so he rented a room there for three months. Pastor Takahashi was the owner of Bethel House, and thought it was a waste to have Dave Martin living in Karuizawa without having special meetings. So the first week of Dave's three months of recuperation rest was spent having dendo meetings preaching the Gospel every night. John Schone thought it was great to have Dave Martin in Karuizawa and got him to go over to Matsubarako Bible camp for meetings the next week. After that Peter Kobabe in Nagoya wanted him to come down there. So Dave's three months of solid rest was spent preaching his heart out every night all over the place. That was Dave Martin.

Peter Kobabe told me that one time when he was down in Nagoya, Dave's wife, Jackie, called early one morning. Peter staggered out of bed to get to the phone to answer it. Jackie said, “Could I speak to my husband, please?” Peter replied that they had been up very late the night before, everyone was exhausted, and he was reluctant to disturb Dave. Jackie laughed and said, “He has been up for hours.” Peter quietly knocked on his door and was stunned to see Dave fully dressed sitting at the desk having devotions. Another friend once told me that Dave had shared with him that, since being saved, he had never missed a day getting up early to meet with His Lord Jesus. I will say this for another view. Dave was militant about rising early every morning, but he was also equally militant about taking a nap in the afternoon.

Myron Haggi told me of a lovely, highly moral, girl that he had coming to his church for two years, and he naka naka couldn't get her in the Kingdom. One time Myron had Dave come for some dendo (evangelism) meetings, and asked Dave to see what he could do. She was saved the first crack off the bat. After Dave left Myron asked the girl what in the world he had shown her or said to her that he hadn't done a dozen times. She replied, “Oh, of course, you had told me everything, but when Martin sensei spoke to me about Jesus and said, 'Sister wouldn't you like to accept Jesus as your savior?' I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and I couldn't say no.” It wasn't the Bible that got her in but Dave Martin's eyes.

Dave was famous in Japan for pulling off the most unorthodox stunts of any man in the country, but he pulled one that would have to be an international first. He had a very fine man in his church in Bushi that got killed one day in a work accident. At the funeral Dave preached on the controversial verse in 1 Cor. 15:29 that says, “what shall they do which are baptized for the dead”. The Mormons use this verse for their doctrine of believers being baptized for all their dead ancestors to get them out of hell. Very few conservatives have the courage to preach on that text. But Dave used it for the funeral message. He took the traditional approach that in the 1^st century there was tremendous martyrdom. As one Christian was killed another man would step forward and be baptized to fill the ranks of the fallen. Dave explained this historical approach and then declared, “We have lost one of the best men of our church. We need someone to step forward to take his place”. And then Dave did the ultimate, ultimate, ULTIMATE NO NO!!! He called on the man's father and asked from the pulpit, “Otoo san (father). Will you come forward and be baptized for the dead to replace your fallen son?” This had never been done in history. The old man couldn't believe what he heard and didn't respond. Dave repeated the challenge again and asked him to come forward to be baptized for the dead. The man naturally was furious. In an outrage replied, “NO!” Dave calmly responded, “Very well, that is your decision. Oni san (elder brother) will you come forward to be baptzed for the dead to repalce your brother?” Astonishingly, the man rose to his feet and went forward. This is ridiculous theology and unthinkable personal work. The man was unsaved, but by his act of going forward, he was soundly born-again of the Spirit of God, and developed to be a real man of God. Only Dave Martin could pull that one off.

After 30 years of highly fruitful missionary service Dave and Jackie retired and went back to the states. But then the Lord took Jackie first. No one would have believed that he would out live her. After she was gone, Dave was lonely. He got on a plane and went back to Japan as an independent missionary. He longed for another partner and thought of a student he had met twenty years before in a Bible school. He couldn't remember her name but contacted the school to get her full name and asked where she was. She was pastoring a church in Shikoku. He wrote her a letter saying he wanted to come to Shikoku to visit and talk to her. He had something he wanted her to pray about. Would she consider being his wife? He was pleasantly surprised a week later to get a reply from her saying he was welcome to come. At the eki (train station) he asked the obvious question, “Did you get my letter?” Of course. Secondly, “Did you pray about the question I asked you?” Yes, she had. He had pushed it that far so why not go all the way? “Do you have an answer?” “Yes.” So that was settled at the eki.

They were happily married for the next 14 years.

About 12 years ago I heard that the Lord finally released His servant from his tattered tent and he is with the hundreds – perhaps thousands – that are gathered before Jesus Throne because of him. What a man! I have known hundreds but there was only one Dave Martin.

Looking forward to seeing him soon,

                                                                   bill

Pammy

4 January 2015

Dear Phyllis,

Pammy has contacts with some hill tribe people in the hills about 18 km from here. She was up there yesterday visiting some families and came home with a girl on her bike. When she introduced the girl to me she said, “This is our new daughter. Will that be alright?” I was a little surprised, but calmly responded, “Well, I guess so. Okay”. The girls Thai name is something like blessing. By deleting the L, I suggested, “What about calling her Bess” I may later convert that to Beth. She is 16 from a difficult background. The parents are divorced and she was living with her father and three boys. They were making a boy out of her and had given her a hair cut where her side burns are shorted than mine, and I just had a military hair cut a week ago. So it looks like, for a while, we have a new daughter.

I have mentioned that about ten months ago something radical seemed to happen to Pammy. There is no explanation. As best as I can recall, there was a day when I got home and asked ,”Did you have a good day?” Pammy replied, “No, it wasn't good. It was great! I have spent all day with Jesus.” Indeed there does seem to be a radical change. When we were first married she would spend 12 hours a day playing computer games. It seemed super natural to me. Then, of course, there was TV, money and a lot of other very unfortunate things. After that great day with Jesus, she was singing and writing songs about Jesus all day long. I don't think she has played a computer game since then, and the TV has been off. About three months ago she startled me by saying she had parted with all jewelry including her ear rings. I don't know if there is a woman in Thailand that doesn't have pierced ears and ear rings. I didn't expect her to stay on that extreme high forever and she hasn't. But even after losing a little altitude she is still amazingly good.

At the moment she is like a dendo (evangelism) addict. It is almost like she has an addiction to evangelism. Two or three months ago she led five people to Christ. Feeling her responsibility to nurture them, she starred a little meeting here on Sunday morning. I was opposed to it, but it is hard to draw a line against something that the Lord seems to be blessing. Two weeks ago she met these hill tribe people who were trying to start a new church. This has been the hot spot for the last two weeks. She is like a pig in hog heaven. I have never seen her so happy.

Friday evening she had two couples come to help her with an outreach at an evening market. I really like the way she did it. They took quite a bit of paraphernalia from here to set up a stall. They had a table with tracts and other a pamphlets. When they got home three hours later I asked if they passed out a lot of tracts. She said “No, very few.” She said she didn't want to make the Gospel look cheap. I really like that. It is a big thing here to see something on the ground. Some fellows dishonored the Lord a few years ago in Laos by scattering tracts on the ground. Rather than using the shot gun approach of trying to reach everyone, they were trusting the Lord to give them two or three that were genuine seekers. It was a very high quality presentation of the Gospel. Three years ago I went with two brothers to a market one morning at 6:00 AM, and we stood there shouting at the top of our lungs preaching the Gospel. People stared at us like we were mad. I am not opposes to open air meetings, but in that case I felt we moved the Gospel back rather than forward that day. With Pammy she is not doing something she thinks she ought to do, it is the joy of her heart.

A month or two ago Paul challenged me to write something for Facebook. He and my friend Pascal got me set up on Facebook, but I am still not much further ahead than I was before I bought my first computer. With great effort I was finally able to figure out how I could post something on Paul's page. Writing these daily devotionals has been a real challenge for me. As it didn't take long for me to run out of things to say, I decided to start drawing from the Inverted Kingdom. I first wrote this thesis several years ago, but felt it should be rewritten. I have been writing my daily offerings for Facebook from my heart which I hope will give a better format if they are ever collected together for another book. Recently I have been blown away by the Holy Spirit. I felt something should be said on this subject. Yesterdays devotional was as follows.

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The Dove

Yesterday we were discussing how God created various animals dispositions to demonstrate spiritual truth. We talked about sheep and goats to show the nature of children of God and the unsaved inhabitants of this world. In heaven Jesus is known as the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 5:6). On earth the lamb is the weakest of animals. Previously we have discussed how, in heaven, the Lamb is the highest symbol of strength and power. I know of nothing that more clearly demonstrates the intrinsic contrast, of the Inverted Kingdom, the kingdom of God, and this natural world, than the most terrifying force that there is, is the wrath of the Lamb. The day is soon coming when all humanity will cry to rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16).

In like manner the Holy Spirit is known as the Dove. It is of up most significance when the Holy Spirit made His appearance in the gospels He came on Jesus as a Dove (Mt. 3:16). The Dove has been universally accepted as the symbol of the Holy Spirit today. The Holy Spirit is perhaps the greatest mystery of the Trinity. If we can say that there are three levels of the Godhead: the Father is in heaven and totally unknowable. John said that “no man hath seen God” (Jn. 1:18). But in Jesus, God became a man that we could see and touch. All that can be knowable of God is seen in Jesus. But in the Holy Spirit we have an even lower level. Jesus was born in a cow barn, but the Holy Spirit is born in human hearts. Jesus lived in a sinful world, but the Holy Spirit lives in human flesh. Oh how can it be?!!! How is it possible that the Holy Spirit lives in my heart? How can He live in this heart that is so cold? How can He live in human flesh that takes such delight is the vilest forms of impurity? The Holy Spirit is the administrator of the church, and the church is a war zone. The Holy Spirit is the only contact we have with the Godhead. The Father and Jesus are in heaven. The Holy Spirit is here with us on earth. But the Holy Spirit is the most sacred. Blasphemy against the Father and the Son is forgivable, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin (Mt. 12:31). It was the Holy Spirit that first moved in creation (Gen. 1:2), and He is the Dove that is with us today. Is there a greater mystery?

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I am sorry this is so poorly written but the graciousness of the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts is a subject that just blows my mind. How poorly we know Him.

If we are serious about walking with the Lord and serving Jesus, best we understand right now that things in His Kingdom do not always go our way, and the Kingdom of God is basically wired up dead backwards from this world.

It is hard to believe we are at the year of our Lord 2015. As Jesus tarries, may this one be the best one yet.

Happy, blessed, and a fruitful New Year for Jesus,

                                                                                    bill

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