Introducing My Friend

April-June 2024, we were able to live in a small, rural community in Japan and love on a 128-year old church and its people and those outside of the church.  Here is my wife's message as she prepared it to present to both groups.

"We will be finishing up our stay here in Japan in the next two weeks.  We didn’t know any of you three months ago and now, as we prepare to leave, we have grown to love so many of you. 

So tonight, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine.  Some of you have known my friend for a very long time and some of you have never met Him.  I have known this friend for over 40 years.  This friend’s name is Jesus. 

Let me tell you a bit about my friend if you don’t already know Him.  He is the most loving person I know.  He is trustworthy.  I share all my thoughts and feelings with Him and He never judges me or betrays my secrets.  He comforts me when I worry or am scared and never makes me feel alone or unloved.  He is the perfect friend who never lets me down or disappoints me.  He always knows how to make me feel better and knows I can unload all my troubles on Him and it’s never a bother or too much. He is also available 24 hours a day, so if I am awake in the middle of the night, He is there for me.  Wow, what a friend. 

He became my friend when I accepted the gift of salvation from Him.  He offered to take on all my sins so God could see me as perfect.  Jesus said He would endure hanging on a cross and taking the sins of the world upon Himself and enduring separation from His father, even for a brief time, so that I (and each one of you) could have eternal life with God.  That’s an amazing gift to be given. Eternal life.  You see all of us are going to die.  If I have the gift of salvation, I can spend eternity with God. We will all have a choice of where we spend eternity, either with God or without God.  It is a critical decision each of us must make so I encourage each one of you to look into it further. If you don’t understand salvation and eternal life, ask anyone who knows my friend and they will share with you how to obtain that gift of salvation.

Last weekend, we went to Okayama and met a man whose life was changed by Jesus.  He is in his 50’s and was pretty down on his luck.  He met my friend, Jesus, and received the gift of salvation.  He is not the same man he was a year ago.  He is happy and smiles and he says he can hardly remember how hard his life was before he met Jesus.  His life has been completely changed for the better and he is so happy.   You see, that’s what happens when you meet Jesus.  He changes your life.  I can’t imagine my life without Him.

My friend and I never get tired of each other.  We are always wanting to get to know each other better.  The way I get to know Jesus is by praying to Him all the time (which really is just talking to Him about everything that is on my mind).  If it matters to me, it matters to Him.  He loves to listen to me share everything with Him, even though He already knows my thoughts and actions.  Sometimes I don’t know what to do and I ask Him. Sometimes He answers yes, sometimes no and sometimes He just says wait.  How does He speak to me?  Thru feelings; others giving me advice; circumstances around me, but the more I get to know Him the more I know how He speaks to me.  I don’t read my bible as much as I should, but many people speak and get answers thru His Word, the Bible.  God also uses music to speak to speak to me.  I love music and it is His special way He communicates with me.  Walt loves to read Christian literature and I think God speaks to Him thru books and thru the Bible.  You see He is such a personal God He uses what touches us each individually to communicate. The bible says He knows each of so well He even knows the number of hairs on our heads.  To me that’s just incomprehensible. 

When you receive the gift of salvation, Jesus comes to live in your heart.  He is not in some object, but a living God that interacts with you.  We love to camp where we live in Oregon.  We set up tents and sleep in sleeping bags and sit around a campfire at night.  It is a very popular thing to do in summer in America.  You can see the stars at night and feel nature all around you.  Life with Jesus is like that.  He camps out in your heart and is with you wherever you go.  He points out the beauty of His creation in the flowers, the stars, and the people He has created.  Life becomes new and exciting as we start to see things that we never saw before.  The simple beauty of a flower or watching the newness of the season in Spring as new leaves and buds appear on the branches of the trees.  When we receive salvation we become new.  Our old lives are cleaned out and God takes up all the space where the old life was and replaces it with His clean new life.  We are new creations, sin free in His eyes because He only sees us thru His perfect Son, Jesus. 

It is an amazing journey being transformed by God.  It is exciting and wonderful.  You never know what new things are in store for you.  He is forever wanting to give you gifts and experiences and joy.  I hope you each will meet my friend.  He is a friend like no other.  He wants to meet you.  All you have to do is ask to meet Him.  He is waiting."

It speaks for itself.