Every year, in the middle of November, we make it an annual event to bless children. And we do have such an event today of course. These children are here gathered to receive blessings, just as the children did when they encountered Jesus in His days. We all have a responsib ility as both parents and Christian adults to lead and guide younger minds so that they can walk with Jesus throughout their lives.

In the Japanese language, we have certain greetings: "Ohayo gozaimasu"; "Konnichi wa"; "Konban wa", and so on. In other languages of course other peoples have other greetings. In English, quite a few greetings start with the word "good". This "good" originated from the word "God". So probably, in the long past, they hoped to share the new day with God all of the time. [This is Pastor Hirota's thought, if anyone has any related information to this thought, they are invited to email the editor here ~ ] "Shalom" is Hebrew for "May peace be in you and with you", and actually, Jesus left this greeting with His disciples.

A certain survey held recently shows that lots of people need and desire to have peace of mind. They are very much conscious of being without peace. Most of the people have found out that their life is vain and badly need to find some purpose for living. Just look around, without some special knowledge, we still know that something is wrong with this world. Recently the news has told us that the suicide rate of men over their fifties has been increasing. [Two months ago, I and some men in my fellowship were discussing this problem in Japan. Economics is certainly a large part of the picture here. Men are laid off, in my country of Canada too, because of corporate down-sizing, in which not so much of the lower as upper employees are "let go" into a future that increasingly does not need them. Middle-aged employees are not generally welcome. They are more expensive, harder to retrain, and slower to react in obedience to the newer management style and personalities. In the face of this: what hope do they have? In a slightly different manifestation, people have been encouraged to 'spend, spend, spend' by commercialization, advertising, and by the pervasive materialism that seems to afflict wealthier nations, people who don't have the money to pay their debts have turned to shadier "loan companies", who later encourage them to commit suicide so that they, in turn, can collect the substantial life insurance monies. If these pressures were not enough, there is also the embarassment that is, perhaps, peculiar to Japanese people. Life is tough! Isn't it nice to believe in 'reincarnation' and 'starting over again'? Only, as Christians we know that "it is given once for man to die" after which we must face God's judgement -- see He.9:27] We, human beings, are now living in a time of uncertainty and no peace.

Verse 27. Jesus said, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.' Jesus mentioned his peace. Then, what kind of peace is it? Well, it is totally different from that kind of peace that the World gives us. Lots of Japanese office workers used to put their faith in their companies. There used to be a saying: 'Once you get a job at a Japanese company, you won't have to worry until you retire.' But this saying no longer applies to our present generations. We are not sure of anything. [And this reminds me of that enigmatic passage in Isaiah 14:1-12:

      "For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, 
    and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with 
    them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.  And the people shall 
    take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall 
    possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and 
    they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall 
    rule over their oppressors.  And it shall come to pass in the day that 
    the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and 
    from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.  That thou shalt 
    take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the 
    oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!  The LORD hath broken the staff 
    of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.  He who smote the people 
    in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is 
    persecuted, and none hindereth.  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: 
    they break forth into singing.  Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and 
    the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is 
    come up against us.  Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at 
    thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of 
    the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the 
    nations.  All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become 
    weak as we? art thou become like unto us?  Thy pomp is brought down to 
    the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, 
    and the worms cover thee.  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, 
    son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst 
    weaken the nations!" KJV

Jesus said My peace -- this peace is one He retained even through the agony of the cross. Even during that terrible time on the cross, Jesus had His peace within Him -- read Jn.14:10-11.

Jesus certainly could have this peace, for He completely knew the love of His Father. No matter what kind of hardships may have tried to overcome Him, He knew that nothing could conquer Him, for the love and strength of the Father was with Him all of the time. Jesus had a perfect relationship with His Father.

One of Christianity's great saints, Augustine, had been wandering until he finally found Jesus in his life. Behind his repentance and rebirth though were the earnest prayers of his mother. His mother strongly believed that prayers were heard by God. After being saved, Augustine boldly told people that without coming to the Father it is impossible to have peace inside of us.

Another factor that makes people feel uncertain, living in this World, is that they have no idea what will happen after death. But, we don't have to worry, for Jesus Himself said that when He returned to Heaven, He was going to prepare mansions there for us to live in. There are lots of places to live there, in the Home of the Father!

There is still one thing that really makes us worry, and that is the conviction of sins. Even though we may not know God personally, we human beings have a conscience that tells us what is right and wrong. Last week, I had two college students at Grace Chapel. One of them was really suffering from a bad thing he had done. His friend was so worried about him that he brought him there to Grace Chapel. There we had a chance to pray to God for the forgiveness of our sins. The ruler of this world, Satan, always tries to kill us with this conviction of sins. But we are to recall the Holy verse "The blood of the Son cleanses us from every single sin." He.9:14.

Various things do happen in our lives, it's true. But grasp our purpose of living and the truth that we have been cleansed, and walk with the peace that Jesus gives us! In us, there is not one single blemish for He has washed our sins away!