Midnight at the Temple Evangelism

Some may not agree some may get mad some may say right on. Such is the life of trusting in Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Mark Bedow is a great friend and encouragement to me and he invited me to come along for a midnight romp in a local Buddhist temple. Hundreds gather at midnight to ring a bell and receive a blessing for the new year. Mark goes right up to the stairs of the temple and starts preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Mark lives with a conviction from God to impart the good news of Jesus into the ears of who so ever will. He mostly spends his mornings at the train station preaching to the masses that commute to Tokyo. In fact, at the temple one observer noticed Mark as we walked by the line of people and said to the person next to them, "Hey look it's that guy who preaches at the train station!"

I was personally uneasy with going into the temple grounds but I was there to encourage and pray for Mark. The people were very nice and didn't seem to mind some even thanked him. There was one person who had unkind words. But Mark nodded and kept preaching until all the line was gone. The highlight was a young boy who came up and shook Marks hand and introduced himself and ask him what he was saying. Mark spoke kind and explained to the young boy how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The boy thanked him and rejoined his parents in line. I pray that he will listen to the truth.

If there were persons of another religion coming into our worship service I would be upset so I do think we should respect others. I can see standing outside and handing out tracks and conversing with people. Yet I am not being critical of Mark but as my first time out this was a great experience to see first hand what the Japanese people traditionally do on New Years. They line up to pull a rope that rings some small bells and they give an offering and say a prayer then they receive from the priest a wooden plaque with a fortune or blessing written on it. There was a bon fire at the entrance of the temple for the people to burn last years good luck charms and last years blessings.

I felt like Peter as I warmed myself by the fire. It was -2 Celsius and need I say more. After an hour I was ready for a hot coffee. That is what we did at Jonathan's coffee shop. It was great to bring in the New Year in a new way with new understanding of the culture here in Japan. Most people at the temple were filled with the spirits of what they had been drinking all evening. It was humorous to watch some ring a big bell as they left the temple. But I am ashamed to laugh at a great bunch of folks who are without Christ and don't know really what all the things mean nor why they do them. It is just tradition. May God break their traditions and usher in a new era of men and women falling in love with Jesus and yielding their lives to the living God and Creator of Heaven and Earth. May God bless Mark this year and may there be much fruit abounding to the Kingdom of God.