I wonder how my death could glorify God?
It is easy for us to expect the apostle Peter to glorify God with his death, but do we expect the same of ourselves?

Recently I found out that Jerimiah Bragg died in June in Uganda, maybe of a heart-attack or malaria, and nobody seems to know how old he was.
Jerimiah was one of the people who God used to start the Roses Church (or the park church) which is a disciple-making group in the poor part of Osaka.  Jeremiah was not a perfect person, and if you met him, you may have found him unrefined and unusual.  However, Jeremiah was a person who was unusually sold-out to Jesus.  He left the comforts of America behind years ago and started following the Spirit’s leading around the world, doing the work of an evangelist and perhaps a faith-healer.  He was stuck in Japan for most of the COVID period which is when God started the park church.  After several months, he returned to Africa to continue his work there with orphans, evangelism, and setting people free.  In June he passed away – far from home, of unknown causes, at an unknown age, and the embassy had to search for his family in the states to let them know that he had passed away.

Perhaps all of us would like to have it said that we “passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends”. However, have we paused to ask how our death might glorify God?  In other words, how our whole-life or our lifestyle might glorify God?

Might it be said that “She died in downtown East-Side Vancouver while spending herself on behalf of the poor” or “he died on a first-nation up north with the people that had become his family”?

I’ve heard some Jesus-followers say “I’ve had a pretty blessed life.  It has been easy for me to believe”.  Is it possible that our abundance belongs to others?  Basil the great said “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes”.  In the same way, is it possible that our “yoyuu” (Japanese for surplus, margin or abundance) belongs to those who have no yoyuu?  This is why we must seek after the abundant life in Christ – so that our surplus will be for those who have none, that our hope will be for the hopeless, that our comfort will be for the comfortless, that our home will be for the homeless, that our love will be for the loveless.

Last week I (Cory) went with some of the disciples to the home of a woman who is depressed and not able to get out of bed.  We prayed with her all of the prayers we knew how to pray and tried to encourage her as best we could.  At times like that you are in over your head and just have to cry out to God!  It is our prayer that she has received some of the hope, comfort and love that we have received from Christ.

Also, we hope that we are building a life,
exemplifying to her a life,
following Jesus towards a life,
in which our death would glorify God!

Thank you for praying, 

Cory and Masami 

Praise Items:

• For the two months we had with Baby E (our 7th foster child). Please continue to pray for the healing for her family. She and her siblings now wait in the orphanages for family reunification. 
•  For Mr. Y who joined the Roses Church for the first time this week. His first sentence to the group was, “I am a sinner!”. Roses church people shared the gospel with Mr. Y and he accepted Jesus as his savior on that day. Praise the Lord! Please keep Mr. Y in your prayers.

Prayer Requests

• Team Jesus Ministry November 28th to December 2nd in Kyoto, Osaka and Nishinomiya.  
• December 10th& 11th as we share the testimonies and visions with Ishibashi MB Church.
• Christmas outreaches and celebrations of Ishibashi MB Church and Roses Church
• For the translation and publication of Soul Care book
• For the translation of the Radical Movie
• For guidance for Joshua’s post high-school plans
• For Masami’s parents (87 and 81 years old) salvation