! GOD’S FOOTPRINT IN THE MEDIA A Daily Devotional Neil Verwey ! ! ! GOD’S FOOTPRINT IN THE MEDIA A Daily Devotional ! By Neil Verwey ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! God’s Footprint in the Media A Daily Devotional ! © 2014 by Neil Verwey, Japan Mission 7-40 Monzen Cho, Ikoma, Nara, Japan 630-0266 Tel: (0)743-73-1754 Fax: (0) 743-73-1681 E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.japanmission.org ! ! Published by ICM Press 983-2 Tawaraguchi-cho, Ikoma Nara, Japan 630-0243 ! Cover design by SonShine Works ! ISBN 978-0-900748-53-0 ! ! Scripture citations are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Biblica. The Living Bible (TLB) copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV) by Public Domain. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT) Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Message (TMSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Acknowledgments Many friends contributed to the completion of this book. I am grateful for !faithful and dedicated friends who love the Lord. I want to acknowledge John Stemmons for his keen insight. He knew just the right verse that would be applicable in the Holy Scriptures for any given !situation and gave generously of his time. The editors from Japan Mission were a joy to work with and I greatly appreciated their creative recommendations. A special word of thanks also to Cy Winskell for proofreading, checking and verifying the Bible verses and !sources – and for all his helpful suggestions. I would also like to thank Betty Kwan, who proofread the final manuscript and Pat Kwan, who designed the cover, formatted the text and did the layout !work – from Sonshine Works. To all who may read this book – may you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen (2 Peter 3:18, NIV). Neil Verwey ! ! ! ! Introduction ! ! I am a storyteller in everything I speak, write and preach. I believe that I am !in good company because Jesus told stories! Great communicators in the Scriptures such as Jesus, the prophets and the apostles often used stories and events happening around them to help people understand how they should think or act. They understood how to use !illustrations as a powerful tool to inspire, guide and communicate truth. Did Jesus commend the unjust steward for what he did? No! He took an idea that was prevalent at the time and used it as an illustration. Jesus seemed to be asking, “If the world is smart in these things, how come you are missing !out on doing things that are right for the right reason?” I therefore use stories from the media as illustrations, even if I do not agree !with what is happening, because I can still glean powerful lessons from them. I read newspapers every day for many reasons, but one reason is to be blessed !by the ordinary and the extraordinary. I want to see God in everything! I have come to see the media as an instrument that helps me to reflect the glory of God. I am amazed to see how !clearly parables come across in the media. This book contains 365 such stories. I trust that some of them will bless you !deeply. ! !Neil Verwey ! Table of Contents ! ! ! JANUARY ......................................................................................7 FEBRUARY ..................................................................................39 MARCH .......................................................................................69 APRIL ........................................................................................101 MAY ...........................................................................................132 JUNE ..........................................................................................164 JULY ..........................................................................................195 AUGUST ...................................................................................227 SEPTEMBER ............................................................................259 OCTOBER ................................................................................290 NOVEMBER ............................................................................322 DECEMBER .............................................................................353 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! JANUARY ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !JANUARY 1 PROVISION FOR THE NEGLIGENT ! The Japanese go in for New Year’s cards instead of Christmas cards. On New Year’s morning, the mail carrier delivers millions of cards in neat bundles to the doors of all the households in Japan – not a day early or a day late, but exactly on New Year’s Day. If you forget to mail a New Year’s card to your friend, there is a solution. It is not the done thing to phone your friends on New Year’s Day or to visit them in person, but Japanese custom makes provision for the negligent. In the entrance to their home, your friend has probably placed a tray for name cards. Therefore, you can go to your friend’s house and deliver your name card and your greeting without disturbing the family activities. Then you have done your duty. Is that how we sometimes treat God? Do we forget Him and treat Him just as if we are fast name card visitors, or do we gladly spend all 365 days in His presence? ! One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple (Ps. 27:4, NIV). ! Here is an expression used in the Bible numerous times to refer to something very important in the Christian life: “One thing . ” You still lack one thing, said Jesus to the self-righteous rich young ruler (Luke 18:22). One thing is needed, He explained to busy Martha when she criticized her sister (Luke 10:42). One thing I know, exclaimed the man who had received his sight by the power of Christ (John 9:25). Vast numbers of Christians bob up and down in a sea of activity without realizing that the secret of progress is to concentrate on one thing. ! ! ! !JANUARY 2 FOOD FOR THOUGHT ! The New Year is the greatest festival in Japan. The entire nation celebrates it, yet it is an intensely personal family affair. Family members share the many ‘firsts’ of the New Year such as the first sunrise, the first shrine visit and the first meal. No cooking is done for three days! Dishes are prepared in advance and served from beautifully decorated multi-tiered trays. The dishes celebrating the New Year have special meanings. Datemaki, sweet rolled omelet, symbolizes many auspicious days ahead. Kazunoko, herring roe, symbolizes fertility and is eaten to fulfill a desire for many children in the family. Kuromame, black soybeans, typify good health and longevity. Tazukuri are small dried sardines cooked in soy sauce. Historically, fish were used to fertilize rice paddies. Eating them symbolizes a prayer for an abundant harvest. Renkon is lotus root. Its many holes depict the ease in seeing through things and perceiving a bright future ahead. To let the overworked stomach rest, nanakusa-gayu, a seven-herb rice soup, is prepared on the 7th and 15th day of January. Source: The Internet Each year for centuries, the Japanese have held their New Year feasts, but very few know of the greatest imminent festival of all time. It will be far beyond even their wildest imaginations. It will be the day of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God. ! “God will bless everyone who is invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” The angel also said, “These things that God has said are true” (Rev. 19:9, CEV). Have you reserved your seat at this banquet of all banquets? ! !JANUARY 3 'ONLY ONE LIFE' PROJECT ! Everyone has Only One Life is a project prompted by a message from a middle school girl fighting a chronic disease. Poets have been holding readings across the nation to introduce the girl’s message to the general public in Japan, asking them to finish the sentence that begins with “Because everyone has only one life . .” From among many responses, I mention a few: “Because everyone has only one life, let’s laugh joyfully every day,” a high school student replied. A mother whose son committed suicide finished the sentence as follows, “. let’s live! Live! Everybody live! I want to live, too.” A book containing about sixty of the best messages is in print, with the hope that it will inspire people to love life. Source: Yomiuri News Everybody wants to live, but many refuse to think of the inevitability of death! ! People have to die once. After that, God will judge them (Heb. 9:27, NIrV). ! We have a choice of how we want to live, but we are all destined to die and then to face the consequences of how we lived on earth! We are all accountable to the One who gives us life that is, at its best, as short as a flashing dream. Then we have to appear before the heavenly judgment seat to take responsibility for our earthly living habits. ! Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. – C.T. Studd Let us live each day as if it were our last day on earth. ! !JANUARY 4 HEADING FOR THE HILLS ! A widespread new millennium computer systems problem, the Y2K, was expected to hit during the changeover from the year 1999 to the year 2000. Some traditional leisure spots in the mountains of Japan were presented as places of refuge from possible consequences of the Y2K computer bug.