The memory of Rev. Oyama Sensei

Dear Rev. Oyama Sensei,
I missed you at Julie’s wedding on October 23, 2005, but since Joe and David look so much like you I called Joe, “Rev. Oyama No. 1,” and “Rev. Oyama No. 2” for David. Then, David said, “If you call me Rev. Oyama, I have to go to heaven.” “Hmm? Don’t you have the assurance that you will go to heaven?” I asked. He didn’t respond. Then one of your daughters, David’s sister, insisted that he answer my question. However, he still didn’t say anything. So I told him, “I’m ready to talk with you any time, David, on this subject regarding how to go to heaven. Please let me know whenever you are ready to talk with me.”
At the time I did not say Good News of Jesus Christ. I am so sorry for that, Sensei. I know you were always praying for your children’s salvation, and even asked me to pray for them.
After the reception David came to me and said, “Yoko, you respect Papa, don’t you?” “Oh, yes. Rev. Oyama (Sensei) taught me wonderful Bible studies when I had just accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord. The Bible study was very good and many things Sensei taught me in these Bible studies have stayed in my heart, and I cherish those words. Sensei’s words affected my Christian life so much.” David then said he wants to know the words that Sensei taught me.

Because of this conversation with David, I decided to write about you, Sensei. “Sensei, I need God’s guidance and wisdom to write about you,” I prayed, because writing about Sensei means I’m going to write about our Lord God. Sensei loves the Lord, Jesus Christ. Sensei also shared with the attendees of the Bible study group, how he became a Christian in Osaka, Japan. Sensei quoted from Psalms 104.34a (NIV); “May my meditation be pleasing to Him …” Sensei wanted to make God happy with his thoughts. He thought if he became a believer, God would be so happy. Well, Sensei thought, he wanted to make God happy, so he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. “However,” Sensei said, “my thoughts were a little funny because the Holy Spirit gives us the thought that ‘Jesus is the Lord’ and without the help from the Holy Spirit, no one can say, “Jesus is the Lord God.” Anyway Sensei wanted to make God happy, so he became a Christian. After Sensei became a Christian, he always thought about this verse, and wanted to make God happy with his thoughts. Sensei said he loved the Japanese Hymns No. 514 “Yowaki-mono-yo ‘I hear the Savior say’” and 285 “Shu-yo, Mi-te mote Hikase-tamae ‘Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord’” because “I am weak, but able to do anything with the Lord. I can do everything when I surrender all to the Lord, Jesus as these hymns say.”

Those Who Were Led to Become Christians through Rev. Oyama-Sensei:
I know Sensei has led many people to Christ; however, I’ve directly heard from three of these people how they were led by Sensei to become a child of God. They are Mr. & Mrs. Otake, Mrs. Murakami (former Mrs. Taki), and Mrs. Kusayanagi. All three of them had a similar experience, which was the sudden death of their children. When they didn’t know how to accept their children’s deaths, Sensei visited them often, and listened to their sad stories regarding the sudden death of each of their children.
Mr. Otake, who visited his Christian uncle in Chicago and married the uncles’ niece, had a little knowledge of Jesus Christ. Mr. and Mrs. Otake’s children were attending the church that Sensei founded when their five year old girl suddenly passed away. Mrs. Taki was a so-called Buddhist of ancestral heritage, so she didn’t know much about Buddhism or attending the Buddhist temple, and she and her family didn’t know Christianity at all. However, the big wonder was her first son who passed away when he was 11 years old, who had said he wanted to attend the church that was named the Japanese Church of Jesus Christ (JCJC) at the time, now called Devon Church founded by Sensei. JCJC was located on the north side of Chicago. The Taki family passed by the front of the JCJC so many times, because they lived close to the church. Mrs. Taki said the boy who passed away had never attended the church, even though he was the one who wanted to attend. The Taki family visited JCJC soon after their son passed away. These two couples, the Otake and the Taki families, were so devastated because of the sudden deaths of their children Sensei talked to them about the amazing love and grace given by the Lord God, Jesus Christ; then, Sensei confidently said to them, “Your children went to heaven led by the hand of Jesus Christ.”

I wasn’t ready to accept Christ at the time, but we sent our daughter to the JCJC English Department, and therefore, I had the chance to attend their funerals. I couldn’t remember which Bible passage Sensei used for these funerals, but I did remember the contents of Sensei’s preaching; Sensei spoke vividly about Jesus leading the child to heaven.
The story I remembered of the death of children in Japan was so different: when the children died, the child goes to Sanzu-no-Kawara (a river between this world and that, named Sanzu), where the children pile up stones, saying ‘sorry’ with each stone for the father and for the mother. The child is saying “sorry” to his or her parents for dying so young that the child can’t fulfill the duties of taking care of his/her parents. When a child piled up enough stones, which meant their good-deed was accomplished, the child was now able to go to Gokuraku (like heaven). But red and green demons don’t want those children to go to Gokuraku, so they come out to destroy the piled-up stones. This story and the Sensei’s preaching at the funerals were very different.
Furthermore, Sensei said, “Your child is guiding and leading you to Jesus.” The words of love and grace in Sensei’s preaching gave the peace in Christ to all of us.

Mrs. Kusayanagi’s child died as a young man. She looked and looked for the reason the child died. She questioned herself, ‘Why? Why has my young child died? The young children have such bright and happy futures.’ She was a Buddhist at the time, so a Buddhist priest came to visit her and said, “Each person has their own destiny and some are destined to die when young. Your child must be destined to die as a young man, so you have to give up your child’s death.” She said to herself, ‘It is easy to say ‘give-up’ to someone, but my child is not here any more; I can’t give up so easily!’ As she continued to search for the reason, her friends sent Oyama-Sensei to her, and Sensei said to her, there is the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth; the heavenly Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Sprit. The Father in heaven loves and is concerned about all the human beings deeply. He sent His own Son to all human beings and let him die on the cross to shed His blood for us to wash our sins away. Then, those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord become holy, and are able to meet and to have a personal relationship with the Lord God, and also have the hope to go to heaven. Sensei asked her to put her trust and faith in this true God, the Lord Jesus Christ and to entrust her son to the hand of the Lord God Jesus. She then prayed and put her faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and gave her child to Jesus. After that, she read and studied the Bible and found that Jesus loves the small children so much. She then had peace in Jesus.
I had a chance to study the Bible with Mrs. Kusayanagi at Sensei’s Bible study class. She entrusted her son in God’s hand, and has faith in Jesus Christ, so her faith was very firm and deep. “My faith had increased so much because of attending Sensei’s Bible study class.” she said.

Sensei’s Words or Explanations I Remember from Rev. Oyama-Sensei’s Bible Study:
I regret that Aiko Kusayanagi, who is Chiyeko Kusayanagi’s mother, is no longer here. If she were here, I know, she would give me advice on how to write this part of the article.
There were a total of four or five members in Sensei’s Bible study class, but no other person remains in my mind beside Mrs. Kusayanagi, because she influenced me so much. She never missed the class, and I know she earnestly studied the Bible with Sensei. Her questions and living testimonies that she gave in the class amazed me greatly. Chiyeko told me that Mrs. Kusayanagi enjoyed attending the class, and every Sunday evening Mrs. Kusayanagi shared with Chiyeko what she learned in the class. I asked Chiyeko to add her memories to what Mrs. Kusayanagi said about the Bible study.

1. Revelation Chapter 4 and 5 – The Heaven Described by Sensei:
Rev. 4 & 5 (NIV), “Revelation 4:1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." 9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
Revelation 5:1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.” Sensei had to read these chapters with all his strength and imagination of heaven, and was able to help me see heaven from these chapters. Because I studied these chapters with Sensei, I’m now able to be near the Lord, and then, when I’m calling the Lord God “Father in heaven,” I feel such closeness and peacefulness. While Sensei was reading these chapters I could imagine many types of scenery, and gave praise and thanks to the Lord. Then, Sensei said, “Heaven is hundreds and thousands times more wonderful a place than we can imagine; what we are seeing now is only a part of heaven.”
At the time I couldn’t sit in the English Worship Service while watching my four-year old daughter, so I attended Sensei’s Bible study class. My daughter who was with me in the class suddenly said, “I don’t want to go to heaven.” Sensei gave us the Bible study in Japanese, but Sensei might have said ‘heaven’ in English, so she understood what we were talking about. Anyway, we all were so surprised and laughed at her, but Sensei asked her gently, “Why don’t you want to go to heaven?” “Because there are no TVs in heaven,” she answered. Sensei took her words seriously and explained, “I believe there are surely hundreds or thousands bigger screen TVs in heaven, and hundreds and thousands more interesting programs in heaven.” I don’t know if my daughter understood Sensei’s explanation or not, but she was nodding.
Just recently, I did some interesting evangelism because I remembered Sensei’s explanation about heaven to my daughter: One person said to me “I don’t care to go to heaven, because I know, there are no slot machines.” You know what I said? “Yes, there are hundreds or thousands more interesting slot machines in heaven.” I said. The man looked at me with a surprised face but said nothing. I’m now remembering him in my prayers to think about heaven.
Isn’t it wonderful to witness to people? I like the way Sensei explained the heaven that I’ll go to. Heaven is a wonderful place and Jesus wipes away our tears – no more sorrow or suffering. In addition to this, heaven is shining with God’s glory that our words cannot explain. I also remember Sensei’s explanation of God’s glory: “There is no sun, no moon, and no stars and, of course, no electricity to shine on the place, because God’s glory is enough light for heaven. Not only has God’s glory given us peace and joy in our hearts, but he has also taken away our sorrow.” When I’m looking at God’s glory in the sunlight, the summer sunlight is too bright and hot, and the winter sunlight is good to see from inside a house, but the fall sunlight coming through the window is splendid. I put myself in the morning sunlight watching the scenery, and then I can expect good things will happen today. Then, I remembered Sensei’s explanation of heaven which is hundreds and thousands of times better than what I see. Well, God’s glory is hundreds and thousands of times more splendid than the scenery I saw with the autumn sunlight. I can’t imagine how wonderful a sight it is in heaven.
There will also be the wonderful and splendid mansions that Jesus promised us in heaven. In the mansions, Rev. Oyama, Mrs. Kusayanagi, Kazu, Chiyoko, my respected professor in my university and all the others are there. I’ve often asked the Lord, “If it is OK for me to see parts of heaven, please let me see it.”

2. Revelation 13:16, 17 Mark on Our Forehead
Revelation 13:16, 17 (NIV): “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell, unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
One memory I have from the Sensei’s Bible study is that Sensei was reading and explaining the Bible with hand motions, facial expressions and mimicking voices of someone else. Sensei had wanted to be an actor; therefore he was really good at doing this. It helped us understand the Bible more, because we could put ourselves into the person’s emotion or situation in the Bible while we listened to Sensei’s reading.
Sensei explained the verses mentioned above, while hitting his wide forehead and putting two fingers on it and moving his fingers as if the words were marked, and then said, “Here! In here, the words were imprinted as the mark.” I really thought I saw the words marked on his forehead. He was continuously saying with the mimicking voices of the dark-side, “Those who don’t have this mark can’t purchase anything, even food.” Now, Sensei changed his voice seriously and thoughtfully, “But those who don’t have this mark, they are the happier person.” That night I was praying and questioning Sensei’s explanation about the marks on our foreheads, “How can we live and raise the children without anything, especially food?” God not only took away my anxiety but also gave me peace in Jesus, letting me know two stories from the Bible: One is “How Elijah Was Fed” in I King 19:1-8 (NIV): “Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went for a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank again. Strengthened by the food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.” The other story is “Feeding the Five Thousand” in Matthew 14:13-24 (NIV): “When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed Him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to Me,” He said. And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, beside women and children.” I clearly agreed and understood from Revelation 13:17 and other verses Revelation 19:20, 20:4 and 22:1-5 what Sensei said, “Those who don’t have this mark, they are happier person.” (Please read these verses.) You can find comfort with Sensei’s words. Those who have the mark on their foreheads belong to Satan, and you can see their end in the Word of God, the Bible.

3. Genesis 1:1 and 3:7-10 “Our Living Lord, God”
“First,” Sensei said, “K. Uchimura-sensei accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord, and became a Christian after he read only Genesis 1:1 (NIV): ‘God created heaven and earth.’ Isn’t the Word Genesis 1:1 wonderful?” I was thinking it was wonderful testimony. There were no questions or doubts about creation. Then, Sensei seemed to read my mind and asked, “Evolution is NOT fact but a theory, which is based on the word ‘if’. Do you want to think your ancestral father was a Monkey? No one wants to think their father was a monkey, would you?” Sensei continued, “God made the beautiful mature human beings, man and woman, and put them in the Garden of Eden. They were both naked, but there was no shame in their nakedness. Imagine how beautiful Adam and Eve were,” Sensei said, and then started to talk about creation.
Thank God and Sensei for letting me study the creation. Because of Sensei’s explanation of evolution and creation, I haven’t had any problems accepting that creation is fact, even though I may be hearing and reading articles against the creation. I trusted Sensei’s teachings 120 percent. I don’t remember, at all, how Sensei read or explained the creation process in Genesis Chapter 1 and 2. Instead of the creation process, I remember his interesting explanation that the word of “God” in Genesis is in plural form, and that was also Trinity is indicated in Genesis. Sensei also explained difficult theologies of which I remembered Genesis consisted of four or five different sources called J-Code, E-Code, P-Code, etc. The name J-Code is taken from the initial of God’s name ‘Jehovah,’ and E-Code from ‘Elohim’ and P-Code from ‘Priestly Code.’ I was interested to know God names in the Bible: ‘Jehovah,’ ‘Elohim,’ etc. Well, another interpretation of Sensei’s Genesis was, after Adam and Eve committed sin they heard God’s footsteps; Genesis 3:7-11 (NIV): “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they then hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” The man answered, “I heard you in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” The Lord God then said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” When I listened to Sensei’s explanation of the Scripture, I seemed to hear the sound of footsteps and the rustling of the trees and God’s gown.
Our Lord God is not a mystic’s god. Our Lord God loves me, and all human beings. He cares for us, and stands up from His throne and leans toward us looking for us when we’re lost. I am so thankful that the wonderful Bible study with Sensei made me see the Lord God so vividly.
Our Lord God Jesus is also looking for every lost sheep. He would leave behind 99 sheep to find the missing one, (Luke 15:1-7), and when the lost son comes home, his father holds a big and joyful party for the son (Luke15:11-32).
I Give thanks to my Lord for what Sensei taught me, that our Lord God has superb characters, communicating with me, and understanding me moment by moment and what I’m doing. Furthermore, my Lord God has a wonderful plan for my life and guides me in accomplishing His plan. What a wonderful plan it is! There are no other gods as glorious as our God, and He is living with me right now.

4. John 10:1-18 The Good Shepherd
I wonder why I remember Sensei’s words here and there. I should have kept the Bible I used in Sensei’s class, because there were lots of memos and notes I wrote in the Bible. This article I’m writing right now is everything from my memory. It means Sensei’s words that are in my heart, were very powerful for my 40 years of Christian life. I want to say, “Sensei, Domo Aritago Gozaimasu,” for keeping my Christian life alive.
Now, John 10:1-18. Before John 10:1-18 Sensei read Psalms 23 (NIV): “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, and He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Now with the mimicked voice of the shepherd, Sensei lets us know how much we can depend on the Good Shepherd. “The Good Shepherd in Psalms 23 and Jesus is one, and I shall not want if I put my trust in Him,” Sensei said. I truly understood what it means ‘to put our trust in Jesus’ from the life of Sensei. Sensei was continuously ministering before, during and after the World War II, raising ten children. If Sensei didn’t put his trust in Jesus he would have given up his ministry long before, I thought. In this regard I honor Mrs. Oyama who had never lost her cheerfulness and supported Rev. Oyama-Sensei all her life. I want to give praise and thanks to our Lord God Father in heaven and Son Jesus Christ for Rev. & Mrs. Oyama’s lives.
Sensei continued to verse 2 (NIV) which reads: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, and He restores my soul.” “In other words,” Sensei said, “the Good Shepherd has always led us to the best place and given us the best things.” Sensei preferred verse 5 (NIV); “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” While Sensei was reading these verses, he make the motions with his hands, as if dropping the oil on his face and neck, and said, “How wonderful a feeling it is!” After finishing Psalm 23, we had continuously studied the Good Shepherd in John 10:1-18 (NIV): “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But, they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. There Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pastures. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away; then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me --- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father --- I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen, I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life --- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” This is one of Jesus’ parables about the Good Shepherd. Sensei explained the sheep pen, “There is only one entrance/exit (door) of the pen and one pen watchman. Many shepherds asked to keep their sheep overnight in the pen. Then, the next morning these shepherds came back to take their own sheep out one by one calling their sheep’s name.” Sensei called out the names of those who were in his class as if the Good Shepherd was calling his own sheep, “Aiko-san, Hiroko-san …” When I imagine when I meet Jesus in heaven and Jesus calling our names, Sensei’s voice comes to my ear saying, “Aiko-san, Hiroko-san, …” I’m so thankful that Sensei used the mimicking voice of the shepherd to explain the Good Shepherd.

I’d like to share my experience of hearing Jesus calling my name in audio sound. I was forced to study the Bible at the college I went to,, and at the college I met the people called ‘Christians’ for the first time. These Christians had a different atmosphere than other people I associated up to that time, so I attended their meetings for amusement. Then, at the meeting I was called ‘sinner.’ It made me totally surprised, because I didn’t do anything against the law, such as murder, burglary, or mayhem. I questioned myself; why did they call me ‘sinner?’ Does their sin mean and include white lies, a little stealing, etc.? I wondered what ‘sin’ was, so I read and studied many books of philosophy, religion, Confucius, and, of course the Bible. I found that the Bible mentioned sexual sin. Well, I thought, I’ll put myself in the sexually corrupted places, like night-clubs and bars, to experience sexual sin. So I went to those places for interviews to work there. One of those evenings, on the way home I heard a voice saying (in Japanese) “Hiroko, Hiroko, if you move or don’t move your little pinky against God’s will, that is sin.” Thirteen years after this incident I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and became a Christian. Since then, I have heard the same voice three or four times. By the way, I never received any return calls from the places where I interviewed.

One of Sensei’s important teachings regarding the Good Shepherd is, “When the Good Shepherd calls his sheep, his heart fills with the knowledge of each of his sheep’s character, its desires and needs, strengths/weaknesses. And the shepherd has a living relationship with them one by one, so the sheep put their trust in the shepherd and come out of the pen without fear, and follow the shepherd wherever he goes,” Sensei said.

In my Christian life, there were dark periods in spite of such wonderful teachings of Sensei. However, about 10 years ago, when Pastor Carlini started this deliverance ministry, he gave me a chance to help the ministry by making many people free from the evil spirit with prayer. Since I had connections with this ministry I was also shown the evil spirits that were in me, so I prayed for my own deliverance. After the deliverance prayer I was filled with the Lord’s love, and His amazing grace and mercies made me free from the evil spirits and to have a peaceful and joyful life in Jesus. I give honor and thanks to the Lord for Sensei’s teachings, and as Sensei said, now I’m trying to take my responsibilities and obedience to Lord Jesus. I’m learning to surrender all to Him, to trust Him and to follow Him.

5. Psalms by David
Another of Sensei’s teachings has been helping me read Psalms by David, who wrote two thirds of Psalms, and loved his Lord God so much. Sensei loved David’s Psalms and Sensei’s explanation of David was so vivid. “I’d like to imagine David watching his sheep, under the sun, the moon, and the stars, that he was lying down in the field and playing his harp and making all these Psalms.” I love to read the Psalms with Sensei’s explanation of David and then, it guides me to identify with the thinking of David. I’m so thankful for having a chance to study the Psalms with Sensei.

This is too long, so I'll stop at here.