To thank for all things

Peter Majikina

 

Stand on God's words, not contemplation and feeling

 

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.Thessalonians Ⅰ 5 : 16-18

 

I praise the name of the Lord from my heart. God loves us. When you believe the cross of Jesus Christ, and acknowledge own sin, and repent all own sin, then you receive God's forgiveness, and become God's child. This is deep merciful. Therefore, even those who did how much bad things (sin) repent in front of God, God forgives sin that is felt how heavy. From the moment, we can take all blessing from God. God loves us awfully. For God, we are an irreplaceable person. Believe in Jesus Christ, and take God’s love.

 

God loves us always think that want to show the love to us concretely. The point to take the love is especially on verse 18. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.” This God’s word, thanks, which is written here means to thank all things. All means thank to all good and bad things. Therefore, for example, I thank to God for having stake for my today’s dinner, and also thank to God for false at service, etc. and am scolded from Pastor P. (Of course, we need to repent certainly what we have to repent.)

 

To thank to God is one of our humanity expressing emotion, but it is difficult to express emotion for all things. We can thank to God for what we think good, but we, humanity, doesn’t gush up feeling to thank for what we think bad. But God’s words said to thank to all things. So, does God want to be confused us that God said us what we can not understand? This does not have the meaning. God has plan to give us blessings through all things. What we think bad is sometimes the work of Satan in one time, and our fault, and so on. God doesn’t do the things. But God forgives us to have bad things. Because God loves us, and God want you to be known it concretely. God’s words are to thank all things. The correspondence of faith is different problem against expressing emotion. To stand on God’s words don’t mean to be center to act on emotion, but we take center to act to follow faith, what God said to us. Therefore, if you think that it is impossible to thank to God through thought and emotion, the point is to stand on God’s words which to thank to God, but not through your emotion and correspond it.

 

Follow through God’s power

 

However, our emotion is weak and fragile. Through our emotion, we feel strong many kinds of emotion such as exasperating and annoyed at being sad. It brings us difficulty to thank to God. We don’t have power to follow God. The power to follow comes from God. God has no impossible thing any more. Pray to God and ask, and rely on more. Then God certainly helps us, lead us to walking for faith. Moreover in Romans 8 : 28, here is all things become beneficial. Please remember that through we obey to God with standing on God’s words, to thank to God, the fruits ( result) is appeared clearly. Behind minus on your life, and difficult matter, there is God’s plan and appeared God’s miracle and glory through to thank to God.

 

Problem solution from debt, alcohol, cigarette, gamble, work, human relations

 

Before I become a Christian, I especially have many things that I am unlucky in my childhood. Always my younger brother and surround friends have lucky things. I always used to see people around with burning jealous. On food, clothes, and pocket money, I thought that I am inferior on various things at all when I compare with my younger brother and friends. I have a time to resent my life itself.

 

But I believe Jesus Christ and become Christian, then start to take correspondence to thank to God. I was surprised to be changed the situation which I thought I am unlucky. It is clearly. When I thank to God the hard situation and ask solution, my problems, payment in full of a large amount of debt, free from alcohol and cigarette, gamble, problem solution from work and human relations, are solved, and also given reconciliation of feud with my father in back date. Moreover, wedding which does not think any more on me and even abandon was given to me. Now, I follow Lord as pastor with my family of four, wife and who children. My friends still say me persistently that “We haven’t seen such a irresponsible man ! We can’t believe that a man who never had related with home married.” The God miracle which much outstands human’s thought was happened. God’s miracle is clearly.

 

Join to Philippine team

 

By the way, Philippine team was sent from 14 to 17 or 18 th of August from my church. In the team, I could join through God grace. I thank from my heart to those who pray mediation for us. This team is a team led by God. This main service is celebration for 20 years from martyrdom accident which is happened on 15 th of August, 1989. 15 th, afternoon, at the vacant lot where jail used to be where happened accident, now the place become a facility for police and army, a service is held. At first, Pastor Edie of local church gives us a prayer request to borrow the place because they refuse many times. God open the way when God leads us. Permission for the meeting place is given just before miraculously, and we could have at the vacant lot in those day.

 

By the way, Philippine team was sent from 14 to 17 or 18 th of August from my church. In the team, I could join through God grace. I thank from my heart to those who pray mediation for us. This team is a team led by God. This main service is celebration for 20 years from martyrdom accident which is happened on 15 th of August, 1989. 15 th, afternoon, at the vacant lot where jail used to be where happened accident, now the place become a facility for police and army, a service is held. At first, Pastor Edie of local church gives us a prayer request to borrow the place because they refuse many times. God open the way when God leads us. Permission for the meeting place is given just before miraculously, and we could have at the vacant lot in those day.

 

Special service is filled out very deep presence of God, and praise group sung worship. Gifts also had worship service in this time. Each testimony about brothers and sisters in Philippines, and Paul Kitano held. After that, lead of Paul Akimoto, we had worship and prophecy, and message. Through prophecy, God told us that those meeting are set that this meeting and a meeting which give thanks to the Lord after a half year at a place where the accident is happened. God also told us that out walking on the earths is not separated from heaven, and Jacky and Julietta that were martyred also knew this. Your heart is one with them, and you and they praise the Lord together, and work my work.

 

Pass away of my aunt

 

Sometimes I thought about heaven and the one in that time. It was about two years ago. It is forgiven that my uncle living in Okinawa passed away in sudden death. I had a time to live together with this uncle during my childhood to school days. The uncle had mental ill from his child. He couldn’t go to school everyday and always stay home. I feel ashamed the uncle from this reason. I didn’t like him and even contempt him. When I became Christian, I confess the this to God from my heart and also I could apologize to my uncle from my heart. Then I pray for his ill and faith. He is my mother’s young brother. He goes to church through my mother’s recommend, but the faith is not clearly because of ill. So I pray for his faith strong.

 

Then, one day, report meeting of Cornerstone Orphanage act is held in Okinawa. Through God’s grace, I could join it. In that time, I felt a feeling clearly. That is to pray for his passing away because it is close. It was sudden and I didn’t want to think such a thing. So I delete it from my thought. But I decide to go back to Okinawa after a few years’ silence. I say nobody, my uncle tell me and ask me to come back to Okinawa. I invite him to come to report meeting for orphanage when I just come back to Okinawa. He answered soon to go. We will meet again for the first time in ten years. Now I think it was from God’s plan. I could talk with him in the very short time. But when we glad to see again in a moment after a long time, my uncle said me crazy thing. That was consultation “Am I possible to go to heaven after death?” Then I ask him what happened to him. He said that he had advice which people has bad brain is not able to enter in heaven from a person. This is not collect at all. It does not depend on people’s good or bad brain, and academic ability to go to heaven. I told him immediately that it is wrong. Then if everybody believes a cross of Jesus Christ and confess own sin, and repent it, people are saved and have eternal life by Jesus’ grace. It does not have any connect with own ability and effort. I explain about this. My uncle confess to believe the cross of Jesus Christ in the time. His sudden death was the half year later after this. So I have peace of mind.

 

When I told this to my relative, non Christian, uncle’s brothers cried. Also, a brother said he is also sinner. I had call from uncle’s a few relatives. I think to keep praying for appearance of his relative’s salvation through the uncle. Then, all relationships with my uncle will be benefit, and my uncle went to heaven, and I confirm that he is praying for me and the work. Certainly, I felt in my heart deeply that our heart is one with Jacky and Julletta, and move forward God’s work together.

 

Big advance of evangelical missionary work

 

Moreover, at the meeting, it is told from 1 st Thessalonians 5 : 16 – 18. Especially from verse 18, “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”, we are told from God to thank martyrdom case and all things that is forgiven after that. The case before 20 years became worldwide news, and was criticized strongly from a lot of church and nation, mass media in Philippine. It is picked up a tragic case that just Satan act violently in their own way and was sacrificed good Christians. But we obey God’s leading, and a meeting is held the place of prison where the martyrdom case was happened on 4 th of February, 1990. Then this happened in God’s forgiveness. We had thanks the case and praise God because of the reason. We thank to God because there is God plan behind the case. Also we proclaim the victory on God. Then the church changed a lot. God make strong churches, and brothers and sisters related on the martyrdom case, moreover God leads to devotion. Churches that is forgiven schism, is built up many churches through God’s reversed work. There was nothing to be disadvantage. But we will enter the full-scale work from now on. God told us that God’s evangelical missionary work is going to forward to all over Philippine as the center is Manila. And I think this has big meaning that Gifts stands on Cebu island as praising band on the way to to back to Japan in this situation.

 

Also, the next day, 16 th’s church’s devotion place ( continuous reading place in Bible) was Matthew chapter 28 where is told about great missionary command. Certainly, it sounds strong in my heart that the work will go forward bigger and bigger.

 

And to shoulder God’s work which goes forward great, key point is to thank all things. Against suffering and trouble, heavy wall is broke down and God’s victory work is appeared, when we correspond of thanks and faith.

 

God has plan on our life. My life is just change by God and he was stand me as pastor which I had never thought. And I was lead to all over the world to tell gospel. All of you also have God’s plan like me. Some people don’t notice this. By all means, I recommend you to pray to God. In the act, you walk on the best blessing life on God’s plan, and see God’s great work through correspondence of faith. Please remember this.

 

I praise the name of the Lord.

 

( Reprinted from monthly publication “The Appearance of a Rainbow in the Clouds” on October 2001)