Konnichiwa (Hello in Japanese).  We were in Kyoto, Japan this week and it was a lot harder than I thought to keep the Sabbath.  My view of the Sabbath isn’t that it’s is a break from the work week. i.e., a day off from work.  Rather, the Sabbath is a day unto the LORD which means there is intentional time dedicated to communing with God.  My Sabbath is Monday 3pm to Tuesday 3pm.  Monday afternoon/evening was our friends’ last full day in Kyoto.  Solitude time during my Sabbath is something that I really enjoy, not just because I’m an introvert.  But, it wasn’t as dedicated time as I normally would enjoy.

Amazingly, I had Monday afternoon to myself as Tammi went to an ikebana (flower arrangement class).  This allowed me time to Sabbath.  God is good!  I enjoyed seeing and thinking about the Japanese people around me.  How did God reveal himself to the Japanese?  There were the imperialist-minded Portuguese missionaries, but how did the Japanese feel about the every day cultural practices that they were told to abandon when following Jesus?

My journal was with me on the trip.  Here’s what I wrote, “The Bible is a universal translator of sorts, with appeal and relevance across cultures.”  The message of Jesus in the Bible and God’s story from Genesis to Revelation is for all humanity.  How awesome is that!