"when Jesus was passed over again by ship" - Wolves and Sheep before God

A Pacific Coast Line 200 km West of Tokyo

Wolves and Sheep before God

Human beings want to be happy, rich, superior and respected.  But in what society do they want to be happy, rich, superior and respected?  In the society where they have to make others unhappy or neglect unhappy people for them to be happy, rich, superior and respected, they want to be happy, rich, superior and respected.  That is why being happy, rich, superior and respected is a proof of the sin of making others unhappy or neglecting unhappy people.

But there are differences in degrees of sinners.  From the worst:
1. Those who enjoy making others unhappy or neglecting unhappy people, needless to say they try hard to be happy, rich, superior and respected.
2. Those who don't mind making others unhappy or neglect unhappy people, so that they will do it as much as it is necessary for them to be happy, rich, superior and respected.
3. Those who don't like to  make others unhappy or neglect unhappy people, and they will do it only if it is necessary for them to be happy, rich, superior and respected.
4. Those who don't like to  make others unhappy or neglect unhappy people, and thus they avoid it as much as possible even if it hinders them in getting happy, rich, superior and respected.
5. Those who try to save and help unhappy people without trying themselves to be happy, rich, superior and respected.

The point at issue is that human beings should not want to be happy, rich, superior and respected, but they should follow teaching of God who would give them happiness, wealth, superiority, and respect at His will.

It means that Christ Jesus requests us to change our value system.  We should not live to be happy and successful in this society and to satisfy our desire in this world.  We should live to show full respect to God by following His teaching.

In other words, people are trying to be happy, rich, superior and respected like wolves, while followers of the God teaching are like sheep.  But these wolves are against God who created them.  Therefore, sooner or later the wolves will be punished no matter how much they become happy, rich, superior and respected in this world.

And, wolves and sheep are different species; there are no relationships between them.  It means that those who abandon being happy, rich, superior and respected due to the teaching of God will enter Heaven where those wolves cannot be admitted.

It also means that wolves have no ability to feel greatness and power of God, while sheep has.  If you can understand how great and powerful God is through this material world to the spiritual sphere, you would surely follow the teaching of God.  Compared with glory God promises His followers, worldly happiness, wealth, status, and fame are nothing.  So, the key is the ability to sense existence of God.  Wolves have lost or inherently lack this ability.  But those who are not a 100% wolf might repent and change their minds if they are taught truth.






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Mar 5:21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.
Mar 5:22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
Mar 5:23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

"if any of you do err from the truth" - No Terror Issues in the World If...

A Pacific Ocean Shore 200 km West of Tokyo

No Terror Issues in the World If...

According to a study, 2,658 people were killed by terrorists around the world in 2014.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3322308/Number-people-killed-terrorists-worldwide-soars-80-just-year.html

However, violence involving guns in the US results in more deaths than those killed by terror.

Gun violence in the United States results in thousands of deaths and injuries annually.[1] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2013, firearms were used in 84,258 nonfatal injuries (26.65 per 100,000 U.S. citizens) [2] and 11,208 deaths by homicide (3.5 per 100,000),[3] 21,175 by suicide with a firearm,[4] 505 deaths due to accidental discharge of a firearm,[4] and 281 deaths due to firearms-use with "undetermined intent"[5] for a total of 33,169 deaths related to firearms (excluding firearm deaths due to legal intervention). 1.3% of all deaths in the country were related to firearms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States

So, it is not simple statistics that makes terror of today more alarming than violence involving guns in the US.

The following world map indicating degrees of danger caused by terror in countries show the significance of terror.

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11629161/Mapped-The-countries-facing-the-greatest-threat-from-Islamic-extremists.html

Countries in green are safer, and countries in red are more dangerous in terms of terror attacks.

Developing countries almost mean countries with terror risk.  And most of developing countries are Islamic countries.  And some Islamic countries are big oil producers.  And the modern civilization depends on crude oil.  So, the issue of terror is one of major underlying challenges of the modern world.

But more alarmingly those countries under threats of terror are also countries with higher rates of poverty or higher rates of infant mortality.





Terror is from poverty.  And poverty is caused by wealthy people.  Or poor countries cannot be rich because wealthy countries do not help them.

Poverty and Islam are tow major factors of emergence of terror.  The opposite is rich and Christian countries where no terrorists emerge.

Conversely, rich Christians and Judaists are major causes for terror.  If Europeans and Americans are Muslims and poor, there must be no terror issues in the world.




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Jam 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jam 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

"they sought means to bring him in" - Japanese Paddy Agriculture

Paddy Fields around Tokyo

Japanese Paddy Agriculture

Wheat started to be cultivated in ancient Mesopotamia 8,000 years ago, though they made bread without fermentation.  At the same time, wheat was introduced into Egypt, but by chance ancient Egyptians found fermentation process that was adopted to their bread making.  Then this fermentation bread was imported to ancient Greece.  It paved the way for the ancient Greek-Roman Civilization.

The ancient civilizations in India was also established through wheat cultivation.  However in China, a civilization around the Yellow River, established 6,000 years ago, was based on wheat cultivatioｎ, but its another civilization around the Long River was established based on rice cultivation more than 10,000 years ago.

And, today there is a theory that rice cultivation was imported into ancient Japan from a region that belonged to the Long River Civilization about 3,000 year ago, though it was about 2,500 years ago that rice cropping started to prevail in Japan.

What is remarkable about Japan is that wheat cultivation never became a mainstream of its agriculture.  From ancient days to today, the Japanese have mainly cultivated rice.  No bread making from wheat was tried in Japan before its Westernization that started in the middle of the 19th century.

While the Chinese Civilization partly relied on wheat cultivation, the Japanese Civilization solely depended on rice cultivation.  In this context, Japan is the only major civilization that has developed solely relying on rice and paddy fields.  This is one of unique characteristics of Japan among developed countries and major countries in the world.

From one grain of rice, 200 grains are reproduced, while one grain of wheat produces only 20 grains.   From a same area of crop land, rice provides calories 1.6 times more than wheat does.  In addition to the natural environment suitable for rice cropping and making paddy fields, this efficiency of rice must make it the major staple for Japanese agriculture.

But, paddy agriculture is very different from wheat farming, which fostered uniqueness of the Japanese culture against Chinese and European cultures.  Rice cannot be grown in the concave-convex fields.  To fill the field with water, it must be even.  To set up a paddy field is not so easy as to plant seeds in grassy and uneven land.

As for uniqueness of the Japanese culture, Japanese did not experience full-scale hunting and stock raising era.  They entered the era of rice cropping after a hunting-gathering era.  The Japanese archipelago has no great plains or plain forests suitable for full-scale cattle breeding.

So, while wheat farming and experiences of hull-scale hunting and cattle breeding are common in the mainstream of the world, including Europe, India and China, Japan lacks such traditions.  But Japanese have been engaged in almost solely rice farming.

The key to understanding Japan and the Japanese is this tradition of paddy agriculture.

For example, sushi with rice and seafood is a result of this uniqueness.




Trend of Yield Amount of Rice in Japan
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/raichou/20120718/1342585287


Ranking of Rice Yield by Country

1	China	203,612,200
2	India	159,200,000
3	Indonesia	71,279,709
4	Bangladesh	51,500,000
5	Vietnam	44,039,291
6	Thailand	36,062,600
7	Myanmar	28,767,000	2
8	Philippine	18,439,406
9	Brazil	11,782,549
10	JAPAN	10,758,000

11	Cambodia	9,390,000	2
12	US	8,613,094

Rice bowl
http://kenkou-kokoro.com/archives/507



Wheat


Rice


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Luk 5:18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
Luk 5:19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

"not come to destroy, but to fulfil" - Question on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Pacific Ocean Coast 200 km West of Tokyo

Question on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo Prefecture has a public budget reaching 13 trillion yen ($125 billion).  It has 160,000 public servants.  Its GDP is about 92.4 trillion yen ($870 billion) equivalent to GDP of the 14th largest country in the world.

However it is estimated that if an M7-class earthquake occurred (whose probability is 70% in 30 years), Tokyo would suffer 23,000 deaths and economic damage worth 95 trillion yen.

But what the Japanese Government and the Tokyo prefectural office are doing is preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with total costs of 1.8 trillion yen ($17 billion).   What is worse, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear accident is not yet completely fixed while about 100,000 people are still in a state of evacuation in Fukushima Prefecture.

But is there any reason for Japan and Tokyo to venture on the Olympics despite the ongoing effect of the 2011 natural disaster and the Fukushima nuclear accident and the coming disaster?

It is a question for Japanese too difficult to answer now.


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Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

"him that was possessed with the devil" - Haiku Genius Shiki Masaoka

Tokyo-Nagoya Expressway

Haiku Genius Shiki Masaoka

Haiku is a form of Japanese poems, now worldly learnt and practiced.

The most famous author or haiku poet in the history of the Japanese modern literature is Shiki Masaoka, one of the best friends of notable author Soseki Natsume.

Masaoka Shiki (October 14, 1867 – September 19, 1902), pen-name of Masaoka Noboru),[2] was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry.[3] He also wrote on reform of tanka poetry.

Some consider Shiki to be one of the four great haiku masters, the others being Matsuo Bashō, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaoka_Shiki

Shiki Masaoka suffered from illness for a long period time, though he wrote many works while he was forced to stay in his home due to illness.

One night he saw a dream.  There was one dying animal.  It was crying hard, being afraid of its death.  Then, there came a rabbit.  The rabbit showed extreme sympathy to the animal, extending its fore-paw to the animal that held it and put it in its mouth.  And then, the animal died in peace and calmness.  Then, there was another animal dying and crying.  Again, the rabbit approached it, extending its fore-paw to the animal that held it and put it in its mouth.  And then, the animal died in peace and calmness.  Then there was another...

When he woke up, Shiki could not help but recall the dream.


Shiki argued what were commonplace haiku and what were not.

According to Shiki Masaoka, commonplace haiku are descriptive in presenting a scene or a situation without much mind of a poet or without much art of handling a subject.


Splitting firewood all alone
Is my younger sister as if
keeping insides for the winter
- Shiki Masaoka

Shiki Masaoka, when he was still healthy, called his mother and younger sister from his local home town to Tokyo so that they could live together, though his father had died many years ago.  But after Shiki became sick, they devoted themselves to care of him.  According to Shiki, his sister was a very tough and cool woman.




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Mar 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
Mar 5:16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

"the prayer of faith shall save the sick" - The Holocaust and Islamic Wars

Mt. Fuji, Japan

The Holocaust and Islamic Wars

Pious Muslims pray to God five times or so a day.  Muslim women covered their hair and skins with veils or so.  They don't even drink alcohol, at least, so openly.

But contemporary Christian Europeans and Americans do not pray to God so often and their women love to expose their skins.  They have no restriction on drinking alcohol and some of them are drug addicts.

What is worse, under the slogan of liberal or progressive today's Western culture accept abnormal men and women, which Muslims cannot accept.

So, it seems reasonable that God loves Muslims and hates Europeans and Americans.  Accordingly, Satan is attacking Muslims, which can be seen in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.  The more Muslims suffer, the more Satan with corrupt Europeans and Americans is rejoiced.

This is one way of interpretation of the global situation of today from a viewpoint of true religion.

Put simply, the core of Judaism and Christianity has been contaminated by Western material civilization that produced capitalism, commercialism, and worship of money.  But why don't they perish and get terminated, while Europeans and Americans are so rotten and corrupt, being brainwashed by Satan?

The answer is the Holocaust that occurred in WWIII with six million Judaists executed by Nazis.  The aftershock was so grave among Europeans and Americans.  This grave trauma was engraved in the minds and hearts of Europeans and Americans.  It has had effect of protecting them from Satan who wanted to make Europeans and Americans make more wars and kill one another as much as possible.  The reason why the Third World War has not occurred to date is the remaining aftershock of the Holocaust.

No matter how much corrupt and rotten Europeans and Americans, they are still under effect of the Holocaust.  That is why order and law are observed, and total destruction of morals and ethics are prevented in Europe, America and other nations ruled by mostly by the European race.
Today's wars, civil wars, and armed conflicts in the Islamic world must work like the Holocaust.  Its aftershock will be so grave and deep that future Muslims would be prevented from getting corrupt and rotten like the European race.  Of course, this discussion is based on the assumption that the Islamic world will be also modernized and industrialized, getting under influence of capitalism, commercialism, and worship of money as we see in Dubai.

Economies of the ummah
SAKIB SHERANI — PUBLISHED AUG 12, 2013 08:05AM

The most authentic list comes from the seminal 2010 study by the Pew Research centre, which lists Muslim-majority countries at 49. Including the Muslim population of countries that have a large Muslim minority cohort, such as India and Nigeria among others, the combined total of adherents to Islam is around 1.62 billion, or roughly 23pc of the world population. 

Muslim countries account for 21.7pc of the world’s land mass, with the largest Muslim country in terms of geographic size being Kazakhstan. It is followed by Algeria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. 

Nearly 22pc of the Muslim population of the world resides in the Arab countries, while almost 1.3 billion Muslims are residents of the remaining Muslim-majority countries.

The aggregate size of the economies of all Muslim countries put together is around $5.7 trillion — or 8.1pc of the world total. The largest economy in the Islamic world is Indonesia with a size of $846 billion, followed by Turkey ($775bn) and Saudi Arabia ($577bn). Iran is the only other Muslim country with a GDP larger than $500bn.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1035026

At least there is potential for economic success in the Islamic world.  The key to success must be a change of the Islamic paradigm.  For example, if Muslims are given another Koran that recommends them to import the essence of the Western civilization, apart from religious aspects, future Muslims might leverage science and technology developed in the Western world more smoothly.



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Jam 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.