Thank you so much for your prayers these last few weeks as I finishedschool. I am in Tulsa now spending time with my family as we preparefor my brother's wedding on June 6th. I have received confirmationthat I will be placed at Kaminoyama Church in Kaminoyama, Yamagatawith Melissa. We will be teaching preschoolers in the afternoon, aspart of the church's ongoing preschool ministry, and will be teachingoutreach classes in the evening for adults.
Continue to pray for:
Physical and spiritual refreshment for Melissa and I over the next two weeks.
For Park as he spends the next two weeks in Korea making preparationsfor his wedding in August.
For travel June 10th & 11th. Due to the Swine Flu scare, entry intoJapan has become difficult. Pray that I do not come into contact withanyone with the flu or exhibit any flu-like symptoms while traveling.
For Pastor Ito and the Kaminoyama Church as they make preparations forour arrival. Pray that they would come in contact with people that aresearching for truth, and that they would be drawn in by the Englishclasses.
That God would continue to prepare us to reach people with His gospel,along the way, and in Japan.That God would soften the hearts of our Japanese students.
Thank you so much for praying!
Your co-laborer,Anna Martin
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
One Month From Today
One month from today.....I will be arriving in Japan. Here are some things you can pray for:
Japan - that the people of Japan will be receptive to the Gospel, that they will forsake their religions and pursue the Lord. Pray that God would raise up nationals to do the work in Japan.
Japanese Church that I will be serving with. Pray that the World Venture missionaries will be able to prepare for our coming and for the ministry that we will be doing. For wisdom of how best to use our ministry.
For those that will hear the Gospel, that even now the Lord will be preparing their hearts to be ready, open and receptive to the Gospel.
That I will develop a servant’s heart, and that I will be ready to serve the Lord whole- heartedly, that I will have a Christ-like attitude throughout the entire trip.
For our health and safety (before, during, and after) while we are on your trip.
For those that we will be working with, that there will be unity as we work together, that we will be able to build each other up and encourage each other.
For those that will be following through on contacts that we make for the missionary and/or Japanese Church
That we will be able to quickly adapt to the climate, time zone and culture, and that we will be sensitive to the people and culture of Japan.
Japan - that the people of Japan will be receptive to the Gospel, that they will forsake their religions and pursue the Lord. Pray that God would raise up nationals to do the work in Japan.
Japanese Church that I will be serving with. Pray that the World Venture missionaries will be able to prepare for our coming and for the ministry that we will be doing. For wisdom of how best to use our ministry.
For those that will hear the Gospel, that even now the Lord will be preparing their hearts to be ready, open and receptive to the Gospel.
That I will develop a servant’s heart, and that I will be ready to serve the Lord whole- heartedly, that I will have a Christ-like attitude throughout the entire trip.
For our health and safety (before, during, and after) while we are on your trip.
For those that we will be working with, that there will be unity as we work together, that we will be able to build each other up and encourage each other.
For those that will be following through on contacts that we make for the missionary and/or Japanese Church
That we will be able to quickly adapt to the climate, time zone and culture, and that we will be sensitive to the people and culture of Japan.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant of the King
Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fel down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgiveyour brother from your heart."
In my hermeneutics class we have been learning the ways to approach interpretation of narratives. This passage became so much more alive and applicable today after doing some research. This parable that Jesus shares is about a king and a forgiven servant. God is figured into the story as the king throught the application at the end.
The story is simple. The king is settling his accounts. The king forgives the servant. The servant imprisons another debtor. Other servants report this to the king. The king confronts the first servant.
What exactly was happening here? What was this servant doing owing money to a king? It is probable that he was a tax collector. The "settling of accounts" was a time when the tax collectors came before the king and gave him their share of money from the areas that they had collected from. So this was a tax collector who came to the "settling of accounts" with no money. Something fishy was going on. Exactly how much money was this that the tax collector owed the king? 10,000 talents. Was this a lot? Well, one talent is about 20 years wages, so multiply that by a thousand, and in today's economy, factoring the average annual income at $40,000, that would mean that the tax collector owed the king about $10 billion. That is astronomical. Did tax collector's actually collect that much? Not really. King Herod was only allowed to collect 200 talents a year for the Ceasar. This truly was an astronomical amount of debt. Could the servant be that in debt? Could he ever pay that much back? No. So, why are these numbers so absurd? That is the purpose--to show a debt that is impossible to have accrued and impossible to pay back.
Another question we have is, why did Peter ask his question about forgiveness the way that he did? Where did he get the number 7? Well, forgiveness was something that the rabbis of that day thought they had figured out. The general consensus was to forgive someone for the same thing three times then give up. But Jesus was trying to make a radically different point earlier in his ministry when someone asked him how many times to forgive. Jesus had responded, "If he sins against you seven times a day and turns to you seven times you must forgive him." Peter was taking it literally as forgiving seven times, but Jesus was being illustrative to say that you forgive as many times as they repent--an incalculable amount.
This parable also contains many beautiful examples of thematic repetition. My favorite is the phrase, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you." This alerts the reader that they are supposed to be comparing the two situations. Forgiveness is also a thread that runs through the entire tapestry of this parable.
Irony is also used in the story. It is employed in the contrast between the two characters that made the same plea. It is especially ironic because of the individual's different amounts of money owed, particularly in vs. 34 where the King says that the first servant will stay in jail until he can pay his debt, something impossible. Its as if the king says, "You will be tortured forever."
This parable fits into the book of Matthew, a book written to Jews that speaks against the rising synagogue system and teaching of rabbis in order to present a new way of living following the teaching of Jesus. When the temple was destroyed the question of how to be faithful of God was raised. The synagogue movement claimed rabbis were the way forward. Matthew is presenting a different way, the one true way.
So this parable fights against the cultural value of limited forgiveness. It highlights the absurdity of limiting forgiveness of others when God has forgiven my limitless sin. No hurt that anyone inflicts upon me compares to the sin that God has forgiven me.
We need to adjust our standards. So much hurt comes from expecting others to operate within ours. We claim a "justified reaction." We need to operate in a culture of mercy, not a culture of demands. We need to live a new way, the one true way. A culture of mercy that was demonstrated through Christ's work on the cross.
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fel down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgiveyour brother from your heart."
In my hermeneutics class we have been learning the ways to approach interpretation of narratives. This passage became so much more alive and applicable today after doing some research. This parable that Jesus shares is about a king and a forgiven servant. God is figured into the story as the king throught the application at the end.
The story is simple. The king is settling his accounts. The king forgives the servant. The servant imprisons another debtor. Other servants report this to the king. The king confronts the first servant.
What exactly was happening here? What was this servant doing owing money to a king? It is probable that he was a tax collector. The "settling of accounts" was a time when the tax collectors came before the king and gave him their share of money from the areas that they had collected from. So this was a tax collector who came to the "settling of accounts" with no money. Something fishy was going on. Exactly how much money was this that the tax collector owed the king? 10,000 talents. Was this a lot? Well, one talent is about 20 years wages, so multiply that by a thousand, and in today's economy, factoring the average annual income at $40,000, that would mean that the tax collector owed the king about $10 billion. That is astronomical. Did tax collector's actually collect that much? Not really. King Herod was only allowed to collect 200 talents a year for the Ceasar. This truly was an astronomical amount of debt. Could the servant be that in debt? Could he ever pay that much back? No. So, why are these numbers so absurd? That is the purpose--to show a debt that is impossible to have accrued and impossible to pay back.
Another question we have is, why did Peter ask his question about forgiveness the way that he did? Where did he get the number 7? Well, forgiveness was something that the rabbis of that day thought they had figured out. The general consensus was to forgive someone for the same thing three times then give up. But Jesus was trying to make a radically different point earlier in his ministry when someone asked him how many times to forgive. Jesus had responded, "If he sins against you seven times a day and turns to you seven times you must forgive him." Peter was taking it literally as forgiving seven times, but Jesus was being illustrative to say that you forgive as many times as they repent--an incalculable amount.
This parable also contains many beautiful examples of thematic repetition. My favorite is the phrase, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you." This alerts the reader that they are supposed to be comparing the two situations. Forgiveness is also a thread that runs through the entire tapestry of this parable.
Irony is also used in the story. It is employed in the contrast between the two characters that made the same plea. It is especially ironic because of the individual's different amounts of money owed, particularly in vs. 34 where the King says that the first servant will stay in jail until he can pay his debt, something impossible. Its as if the king says, "You will be tortured forever."
This parable fits into the book of Matthew, a book written to Jews that speaks against the rising synagogue system and teaching of rabbis in order to present a new way of living following the teaching of Jesus. When the temple was destroyed the question of how to be faithful of God was raised. The synagogue movement claimed rabbis were the way forward. Matthew is presenting a different way, the one true way.
So this parable fights against the cultural value of limited forgiveness. It highlights the absurdity of limiting forgiveness of others when God has forgiven my limitless sin. No hurt that anyone inflicts upon me compares to the sin that God has forgiven me.
We need to adjust our standards. So much hurt comes from expecting others to operate within ours. We claim a "justified reaction." We need to operate in a culture of mercy, not a culture of demands. We need to live a new way, the one true way. A culture of mercy that was demonstrated through Christ's work on the cross.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Time is Flying!
My semester here at Moody is coming to a busy close! This is my finalweek of classes, and many papers and projects will be turned in(hopefully :) ) by the end of the week. Next week I will take finalsin three of my classes and the following week I will be serving themany pastors that come to Moody's annual Pastor's Conference. My dadwill be among them and I am excited to be a blessing to these men thatserve so faithfully, as well as earn a little extra money to puttowards my fall school bill. :) Then it will be home for my brotherswedding and off to Japan! Time is flying so fast!
A few updates:First of all, there has been a lot of deliberation the last few weeks,on the part of the World Venture coordinators in Japan, of where tobest place me for the summer. There were several churches wanting tohost interns, so the questions was, where would we be most effective?and what locations could best ensure that we would meet the academicrequirements of our internships? After finalizing my location, thepastor's wife became ill this last week and the church decided thatthey could not host me. So,we're back to the beginning. Please PRAYfor Janet and Leon, World Venture field coordinators in Japan, as theymake the decision on my location for the summer. This is crucial inselecting curriculum and resources! I hope to know within a few days.
Also, thank you so much to all of you that are praying faithfully forme! What an encouragment it is that this endeavor is not a solitaryone, but each member of the Body plays its part through prayer, givingand going! I was blessed by a send-off from my church in Chicago,Grace Bible Church, this Sunday. Knowing that I am going on behalf ofso many is a blessing and confirmation. To those of you who havegiven, thank you so much! This truly is a partnership.
Pray:
1) That a specific location will be finalized very soon.
2) For the remaining $650 that I need by May 10th.
3) That God would strengthen Park, Melissa and I spiritually andphysically during the next few weeks before we leave.
4) That God would continue to soften the hearts of the students wewill be interacting with.
5) For many opportunities to spread seeds both in Japan and as wetravel to and from.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Co-laboring with you,
Anna Martin
A few updates:First of all, there has been a lot of deliberation the last few weeks,on the part of the World Venture coordinators in Japan, of where tobest place me for the summer. There were several churches wanting tohost interns, so the questions was, where would we be most effective?and what locations could best ensure that we would meet the academicrequirements of our internships? After finalizing my location, thepastor's wife became ill this last week and the church decided thatthey could not host me. So,we're back to the beginning. Please PRAYfor Janet and Leon, World Venture field coordinators in Japan, as theymake the decision on my location for the summer. This is crucial inselecting curriculum and resources! I hope to know within a few days.
Also, thank you so much to all of you that are praying faithfully forme! What an encouragment it is that this endeavor is not a solitaryone, but each member of the Body plays its part through prayer, givingand going! I was blessed by a send-off from my church in Chicago,Grace Bible Church, this Sunday. Knowing that I am going on behalf ofso many is a blessing and confirmation. To those of you who havegiven, thank you so much! This truly is a partnership.
Pray:
1) That a specific location will be finalized very soon.
2) For the remaining $650 that I need by May 10th.
3) That God would strengthen Park, Melissa and I spiritually andphysically during the next few weeks before we leave.
4) That God would continue to soften the hearts of the students wewill be interacting with.
5) For many opportunities to spread seeds both in Japan and as wetravel to and from.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Co-laboring with you,
Anna Martin
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