Dear Japanese Sisters (& Brothers)

There are days in my own life when I wonder how I could ever make it through without the love, hope, & strength Jesus gives… & I’ve gone through nothing like the natural disasters of an earthquake & tsunami. So, dear Japanese sisters (& brothers), I pray you know Jesus as your Lord & that it gives you a “peace that passes understanding”* during this horrific time of loss, pain, & fear. God is with you & has never left, even when the waters rise & rage. Know we hurt for you, love, & pray for you daily. This path is hard, but it will not last forever. God will lift up your head. And, if you do not know Jesus as your Savior... if you have never been told about him…


Every person on this vast planet has sinned. We are all sinners because God’s standard is perfection, which we can’t reach. We have all done many of these offences (which are some of the sins we commit) (often repeatedly): lied, hated others, thought mean thoughts, lusted after another, stole, hurt others, hurt ourselves. We are all broken on our own, & nothing we can do can fix us. The penalty for sin is death, which means we should die if justice was given for our behavior. But, praise be to God, that the mighty God gave his own Son, Jesus, who was perfect & blameless, to die for us – everyone, every sin (no matter how horrific). When Jesus died on the cross, He took the death which should have been our own & vanquished it forever; He took our sin & with His death has forgiven us of all the wrong we’ve done. Now, we have the hope & promise of eternal life with our true Lord – in this special place no more pain will be felt, no more tears will fall, no more sins will be committed by or against us. We will be new & whole & in a place of amazing love, because we will be with God who made & loves us. But, God has given us the free will to make our own decisions, if we do not accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, follow & obey His Holy Word which is the Bible, strive to live anew, seeking to leave our sinful ways of the past behind, & striving to please & live our lives for Him (which doesn’t mean we won’t sin again, but that we will try our best to do right & to know Christ has covered our sins & will forgive them when we confess & ask Him). You must do more than just believe in God, because even the devil does that, you must obey what His Word tells you to about becoming one of His followers. When you become a Christian, God changes you & gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit, which guides & helps you along the way. He comes into your life & fills the void that you couldn’t fix on your own. With the Lord you now have peace, purpose, hope, love, strength to make it through (because He is in your heart) & forgiveness of the wrong you’ve done. It’s amazing!


When we were unable to help ourselves, at the moment of our need, Christ died for us, although we were living against God. Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good person someone might possibly die. But God shows His great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. -Romans 5:6-8


Peter said to them, "Change your hearts & lives & be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, for your children, & for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to Himself." -Acts 2:38-39


But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you may have life through His name. -John 20:31


Please visit the Good News page & read through all the scriptures – there is hope for our terminal human condition.
We love you all so much! I which I could fly over & wrap my arms around you & cry with you & do something to help ease your pain. Know that my prayers are being lifted to our perfect God who will not leave you. I pray earnestly you will choose Him if you have not.


Love Your Sister in Christ,
-Bess-


*from Philippians 4:7