Weekend Greetings (aug 5, 2005)

Meet Shizukiyo & Naoko Ishikawa. In front from left to right are their triplet-sons, Daichi, Ōzora, and Taiyō. The boys’ names mean BIG Earth, Sky and Sun. The Ishikawas used to attend our church, where Naoko-san played the piano during worship services. 

Mr. Ishikawa was a medical doctor in the Munakata area until about four years ago when he was offered a job as a university medical instructor and general practitioner in Tochigi Prefecture in northern Japan. The family usually makes an annual summer trip to northern Kyushu to visit relatives, so they stopped by for a visit about a week ago. Andrea and I met them at the church and had a great time listening to the boys play the piano, pose for pictures and eat lunch. We bought a whole bunch of “pigs in blankets” at the bread store and gave the boys chocolate pudding-filled pieces of bread for dessert! They loved it!

Bread that makes little boys wonder Even while eating their pieces of bread, Big Sky, Big Sea and Big Earth look with anticipation and wonder what the next bite will be like. These pieces of “choco-pan” were created in the shape of a face with a big nose, rosy cheeks, wide eyes and a big smile and filled with a big surprise chocolate pudding! Eating this kind of bread is sure a lot of fun. Imagine each bite full of delicious, sweet, chocolaty pudding, and each time you bite into it, the flavor and fun literally makes you want to eat more and more. 

Wonder Bread And Jesus said, “Make them sit down.”  Take a load off your feet, a load off your mind and sit somewhere in the Presence of God for a few minutes. The men sat down, in number about five thousand! Jesus took the loaves of bread, gave thanks and distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to the people who were sitting down.

Then something wondrous happened. The people devoured it and were filled! Something that was lacking, something that was empty was filled in other words, the people’s hunger was satisfied. 

The next day Jesus said to the people who were looking for Him, “You haven’t come looking for me because you saw miracles, but because you ate the bread I gave you, and were filled, you were satisfied. What you were lacking was given to you.” (personal paraphrase of  John 6:10, 11, 26)

Jesus continued: “I am the bread of life. I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live FOREVER. And the bread that I give is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world.” John 6:48, 51

No question about it. Jesus satisfies a person’s every longing, whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual. 

Why not sit down this weekend, grab a piece of what Jesus has to offer and satisfy the hunger of your heart? It’ll rosy your cheeks, widen your eyes and put a big smile on your face. And what, do you suppose is the best part?  It’s the “chocolate pudding” on the inside.

Jesus is like that, you know!

Posted in Weekend Greetings.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *