Connecting Life with Faith: Living on a Prayer

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Many times we hear the word "prayer" and most of us imagine a picture of somebody with folded hands, eyes closed and head bowed down.

Our ideas about prayer are usually based on our own experiences and also our cultural perspective. Yet it is clear as we explore other countries and people that there is a universality to the idea of prayer.  

When people are in need, desperate, despairing of life they turn to this age old practice in hope of help. Almost like a primal instinct this thought to reach out for God springs out of the suffering soul.

I have become fond of this saying,

"There are no atheists in fox holes." 

Death and suffering really cause us to examine what we believe, and the reality is we all need God. 

Let's dive further in with prayer.

We tend to think prayer is about asking first and listening if we have time. I find myself often falling into this pattern of prayer.

With so many needs and demands coming at us, I think many feel this way.

And certainly prayer feels amazing when we see our Heavenly Father answer our requests and see our needs. After all asking is something we teach our own children.  Even if we know what they need as parents, we enjoy to see them come and ask honestly, with expectation.

When the the Scripture instructs about prayer it mostly comes from the New Testament. There is good reason for that.

The Holy Spirit, God abiding in us through believing in Jesus Christ, is an integral part of prayer.  

It is the mind of Christ given by the Holy Spirit that speaks to us on how to pray.  

1 Corinthians 2:16

We are not heard for our many words, nor because of our prayer stance. We are heard because we have faith first and this  makes us His children.

Pray for one another. 

Ephesians 6:18

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."

Care for one another.

Phillipians 2:4 

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ

Over the last several months I have been able to say I have made it through by God supplying my needs through the prayers and deeds of His saints. 

This place of partnership is where a brother or sister in the LORD becomes a partner in the work of His Kingdom.  

1 Corinthians 3:9 

"We are coworkers in God's service.."

The Word of God calls us to colabor with one another and to pray for and bless one another. This is what the church Acts demonstrated so beautifully to the world and inspired the local community of onlookers to say, "Behold, look how they love each other"

So live on the prayers of one another and provide and help one another as the LORD enables.  The saddest thing we can do is neglect each other and model hypocrisy to world in Jesus' name.

Be blessed so that you may bless others! 

Only in Japan: Sake Vending Machines in Public

A typical alcoholic beverage vending machine in Fukuoka City, Japan. The red lights say "Urikiri" which means sold out.

Vending machines are everywhere in Japan, their products various and humorous. Much like many other developed economies, convenience sells tremendously well. 

But something you won't see sold in many other countries is alcohol with vending machines.  This is for obvious reasons: theft, underage drinking prevention, fire safety, the list goes on.

In Japan alcohol is readily available all the time and any time you want it or in some cases need it.  Consumption of alcohol is very common in Japan and some people are concerned about alcoholism being a source of many domesticated problems, but the fact of the matter is, even with the large amounts of alcohol being consumed in Japan, the crime rate per capita is extremely low, although strict regulation is now being enforced on drunk driving.

The main concern over alcoholism is for health reasons in Japan. See the chart  below to see what area drinks the most

Note that Tokyo is red surrounded by green and Fukuoka is around the middle range located in the most southern area of Japan (Kyuushuu).  Kagoshima is the highest consumer of alcohol in Japan, also located in Kyuushuu.  Okinawa is the small island located on the right.

In regards to vending machines, most have been equipped with a taspo card reader that assures the purchaser is of age.  The same goes for vending machines that sell cigarettes.

A taspo card is scanned by a machine before purchasing cigarettes or alcohol.   This is a sample

Many foreigners find the lack of strict regulation on alcohol and tobacco a surprise, but in Japan most people are not worried about it at all. Alcohol and tobacco have their role in society and this is accepted despite their known negative affects on health.

So if you like Japanese Sake, no need to worry about ever running out in Japan because there is always a place you can find it relatively close by.

Reflections of Worship: Bless the LORD! 10,000 Reasons to Sing

The idea of blessing God struck me in an odd way when I first heard it.  But it is in the Bible, explicitly in Psalm 103

"Bless the Lord of my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name."

and Psalm 34

"I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth."

If God is perfectly content and happy why would he care if I blessed Him or not.  If fact usually we are asking Him for blessing because we know that He is the source of all creation and blessing.

In most other religions people are desire blessings from God or gods to satisfy their appetites.  The popular idea of heaven being the ultimate blessing of getting whatever you want all the time in a perfect paradise with God in charge is not at all biblical Christian.  This concept seems to be in conflict with the biblical images of worship continually focused on God that we see in Revelation, Daniel and other prophetic books of the Bible.

A heaven that is all about me, it sounds kind of selfish when you think about it.

So does God need our worship or the blessing of our mouths?

NO- need is certainly not the right word!

But what happens when we bless the Lord and worship Him is that we experience the realm of heaven in our hearts.  Heaven is in continuous worship of God.  It is the irresistible response to being in His glorious presence.

Blessing and worship the LORD actually becomes a blessing unto us, much like giving blesses the giver not just the receiver.  This reciprocity is why the author of the Psalms is so excited to bless the LORD.  When he blesses God and speaks His praise there is a jubilation in his heart and I believe in the heart of God , our Father as well.

So Bless the LORD in song and experience the heart of heaven in your life.