Art for Jesus - in Japan

1/3/06 from Holly's Cafe at Den-Den Town in Nipponbashi.

God, please come to Nippombashi, too, in Your time and in Your way.

Hmm, I feel You sneaking up the side streets... yes, where people live, where the homeless are, and even where the warui & otaku places are.

Jesus, come. I pray for Your presence & passion to fill the hearts of those in Nippombashi's streets, and to rest on that place & in those streets. In Jesus' name & Your perfect timing, Amen.

(You know all of them, each one who works, lives or visites there. You know each one & all, and how best to reach them with Your love! Lord! Holy Spirit reach them & draw them to You, Jesus. I claim them for You, in Iesu no namae, aamen.)

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

"Christ as the Pillar of Relationship"
Scott Arany

My partner and I are standing on the ground. We both have firm and secure footing on the ground (which represents Christ). Facing each other, we reach our arms out and hold hands. The holding of hands represents our relationship together. We hold hands in mid-air with nothing for support except our own arms. We can't let the hands fall apart and separate because that would break the handhold and thus the relationship). But what is holding this relationship up and keeping it together? Only our own strength. Even though our feet are grounded in Christ, eventually our arms will grow tired and need rest. We don't have the strength to hold our hands like this for a long time. The relationship will be broken even though we had our feet on Christ.

As we start to grow tired, we realize that we need something to support our hands. But now it's too late to go reaching for that support. To do so would involve letting go of each other. It's physically impossible to build a support now and still maintain the handhold.

Now we need to start the "relationship" over again. We let go and bring a pillar to set between us. Like the ground, the pillar also represents Christ. Again, we reach out and hold hands, resting our hands upon the top of the pillar. This relationship no longer depends on human strength for support. Nor is there a need to break apart to search for support; the two of us are supported from the very beginning. In this position we can hold hands for a very long time without growing weary.

Never start a relationship without the pillar in place. Never move the pillar. So long as we rest in Christ together our relationship will not falter. The foundation of our relationship shouldn't be about *making* God our support -- He should *already* BE our support. Even though our own personal bodies are supported by the rock of Christ, we too often trust in the strength of our arms to hold-up a relationship in mid-air. Christ is to be the rock for both our feet (personal walk and faith) and our hands (shared walk and faith).

"For where two or three come together in my name,
there am I with them!" (Matthew 18:20)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when there's none
The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?
What it's done to me?

Love left a window in the skies...

Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. \ (Ephesians 2:4-6)

"Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

"In that day," declares the Lord,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master'." (Hosea 2:14-16)

I wanna run, I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside.
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name.

I wanna feel sunlight on my face.
I see the dust-cloud
Disappear without a trace.
I wanna take shelter
From the poison rain
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name.

We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love.
And when I go there
I go there with you
(It's all I can do).

The city's a flood, and our love turns to rust.
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust.
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name.

We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love.
And when I go there
I go there with you
(It's all I can do).