Lifted Vision Ministry

Hello faith-filled family in Christ!
I pray this message finds you well and that you are abounding in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Today’s mission update will hopefully clue you in on the spiritual status of Osaka, Japan where I am stationed serving as a full-time missionary!
Now as you may know already, Japan is not a Christian country, but is actually founded on the principles of not just one false religion, but two (Buddhism and Shintoism). As a country contending with more than one false national religion, you can imagine the extent of the idol worship that might take place here. From my observations, on seemingly every single block of Osaka, you can find a shrine. While some are in plain view, others are very hidden! I didn’t realize that there was one right outside of my apartment for a while because it was hidden in a corner! When you take a closer look, you can also see that these shrines are very well maintained and also readily used. I’ve witnessed people taking care of them diligently by sweeping around them, turning the lights on inside the shrine every night and then turning the lights off promptly during the day time, replacing the flowers, keeping the candles burning, etc. People come to these shrines to pray and give money to the shrine “god” in the hopes that they will, “hear” their prayers.
Now as you can imagine, due to all of this, the spiritual atmosphere is very, shall I say, thick. There is a strong level of misguided faith and belief here. I’ve found that most Japanese people have a searching heart to know the things of God, as they diligently attend to and care about the things concerning who they think god is. However, the sad truth is that they simply do not know Him yet! They do not know that He is not a stone or carved image. He’s not a statue and He cannot be contained inside a box. They haven’t met Him yet and most haven’t even had the opportunity to encounter Him being raised up in this type of society. Due to the fact that most Japanese have only been exposed to Buddhism and Shintoism, those are the belief systems that they know and practice. However, it is my earnest believe that through planting a church in this physically and spiritually impoverished area, that these Japanese people would be able to see with open eyes the True and Living God; the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. It amazes me in the worst way that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of false shrine “gods” in this area and not a single Christian church. I believe God has sent me to this area to illuminate the truth of who God is to a people who do not know Him and to also create a place for the Holy Spirit to inhabit in this area! Can I get an “amen!?”
Please pray with me friends, that hearts would be ready to receive the true gospel of Jesus Christ with rejoicing and gladness.
Be blessed!