Realizing your limit is the time of knowing unlimited God

The founder of Richo Company, Kiyoshi Ichimura once said “trying to live- there is a limitation, being allowed to live- it is unlimited.” There is a similarity in the world of the Bible. In other words, when we feel there is a limitation in our lives, we get disappointed and depressed. But God who watches over us, allows us to experience His unlimited power, as we realize there is a limitation within us.

Peter who was one of Christ’s 12 disciples, used to be a fisherman. Later in his life, he became a leader, but until he met Christ, he never had any interest in faith or the Bible. Rather, he was interested in catching fish. How was such a man changed, and became a man who accomplished so much, by just meeting and believing in Christ? Let me tell you what had happened to him.

One night, he fished all night long, yet caught nothing. May be the same thing had happened to him before. While he was fishing, Christ was preaching to a mass, teaching valuable lesson. Peter was not interested in His teaching, and mending his fish nets with great disappointment. Christ walked to him after His teaching, and told him to “put out the boat into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch”. Peter was annoyed. “No way, a professional fisherman like I am that fished all night, but couldn’t catch anything. A son of a carpenter like you, what do you know?” That was his thought. He might also want to embarrass Him. “OK, as you say. Let me throw the nets to see what would happen.” That was how he thought. As he tried, he found the largest catch of his life. Another boat came to help, but the catch was so large that both boats almost sank. Then, Peter realized that how small, how poor, and how helpless he was, at the same time, he realized the unlimited power of Christ.

Now, you may be experiencing failure and disappointment. You may be trying with every knowledge and experiences you have had, yet you may be realizing that your efforts have limitation. If so, it is not the time of the ending, but it is a chance for you to experience the unlimited power of God. I urge you to seek for Him.

Pastor, Masao Nakanishi

In any circumstances

I got cold the other day. My throat hurt, and I had a stuffy nose and a headache. But, one day, I noticed I got recovered when I was driving a car. Though I wasn’t aware of it for a while, I felt happy that I was cured. When we are fine, it seems natural, and we care nothing about it. But when we get ill, we find it thankful to be able to stay healthy.

When we think about this, we live under a blessed circumstance each other. However, we work busily so we forget and miss it. Sometimes we compare with others and complain that someone is more blessed. When we are sick, we pray eagerly. But when we are healed, we easily forget to give thanks and behave as if nothing had happened.

Let me introduce Job. The Bible shows he believed in God and was a righteous man. But he experienced the worst sufferings in history. Though he was rich, he lost all of his children and his wealth in one day! If I were he, I’d surely get upset and vent my spleen on others. Did he behave like me? No, he didn’t. Instead of complaining to God, he said the following. ”Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)

The reason he didn’t get depressed when he faced such a tragedy was because he knew the following truths. “Man was born with nothing. It isn’t natural to think we have a family and property by nature. All what I had was things I had been given. I was just in charge of them temporarily.”

It’s also true for us. All what we had was not things we got by our own strength. Everything we had was things God had given us! Even the income we thought we earned by ourselves was one we gained because God had given us a job and good health!

If we think so, we can be thankful for just staying healthy. Yes, it isn’t a matter of course. There are lots of things we can thank for. We have a family and friends. We can go to school or work. We can enjoy meals and are protected from dangerous accidents.

When our perspective is changed, we feel satisfied. We can rejoice in any circumstances. Stop crying for the moon and give thanks to God for what He has given us.

Youth Pastor Kenshiro Goto

Maker of Nature

In August, a lot of people spend the summer vacation in nature. We see deep blue sky, white thunderhead, a long horizon, innumerable stars and beautiful flowers. All of these are like an oasis and give a healing moment to us who live in a stressful society.

When I was little, I thought the sun, the earth and the moon were there from the beginning. When I became a junior high school student, I was taught the universe was born by an explosion called the big bang. When I was a high school student, I came to know the Bible and was taught the universe was made by God the Creator, not born by accident. But I thought what the Bible said was a kind of myth when I first read it. However, I also thought the nature was so excellent that it couldn’t be explained by a mere explosion.  

Years later, I read a thesis of Kazuo Murakami, an authority on genetic engineering at the University of Tsukuba. It was a real eye-opener to me. He says, “When I saw the works beyond human power in cells and genes, I was amazed. At least I realize living things were not born without a being beyond the power or works of man.”

I mean even the modern science anticipates the maker of nature. And the Bible claims as follows:In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

This is the origin of the universe. We mustn’t mistake it. It is similar to buttoning up your shirt. If you make a mistake at first, you can’t wear it properly. There seems to be a thing we have to admit at first in our life. God is the beginning, not man. Replacing the main character of the beginning seems to bring the cause of modern problems. I recommend you to receive God the Creator of your life and start a new life with Him.

Senior Pastor  Masao Nakanishi