Men's Cabin Fellowship
Hello Friends,
Merry Christmas to you all! The Christmas season naturally brings to mind the nativity story as well as the the extraordinary faith of Mary and Joseph. Both were simple people from the small and poor town of Nazareth who were planning on getting married and living quiet and simple lives. Probably both had a strong image of what life was going to be like for them. Then suddenly God showed up and called them to live much differently than they had planned. To take part in something that neither they nor anyone else had ever done before: To be the Step Father and Mother to the Son of God himself. While the most natural answer would be to say no and to hold on to what they had planned or to buckle in fear at the weight of what they were being called to do, these two did not. They trusted God knew what he was talking about. They received what God was calling them to do immediately and with great faith. And because of their faith, they were able to take part in the greatest work of God on this earth which we continue to celebrate to this day.
There are those times when our plans have been made and everything is set and then suddenly God shows up with something much different than you had imagined and calls us to faith that He knows what he is talking about.
At the beginning of this year, I would have said to you that I was going to be
Sunday School Christmas
Pastoring at Tokyo Horizon Chapel for the rest of my life. That was the plan and the image that I had for myself and my family. We have been serving at Horizon for the last 14 years and as such we are the longest serving missionaries that the church has ever had up to this point. We were blessed very much by our years at Horizon as well. I was trained for ministry and ordained as a pastor here. My wife and I met each other here. We raised our kids here. God used our time at Horizon to grow us in our faith and relationship with Him. And all the ministry that we have ever done was done at or through Horizon.
However during the course of the year, God showed up and began to speak to me and my wife about stepping out from Horizon and into a new season of ministry. Now while we were willing, we continued to ask where He was sending us. To show us a door that we could walk through. But no door appeared. Just the continued leading to step out.
Setagaya International Fellowship Time
At first I did not want to acknowledge the leading because I wanted a destination God was calling us to first. But during the course of the year, God convicted me (by one of my own messages that he spoke through me). I was preaching that often God will give us an instruction and wait for us to be faithful in taking that leading before revealing his next work, much as the priests were called to put their feet in the Jordon before it was parted. Even as I spoke it out, I realized God was speaking to me. It was then that I set in my heart that before the year was out, I would follow his instruction. And if I had not had clear leading by then, I would go into a transitional time of seeking, studying, and serving in anyway I could.
Once convicted, I shared with my wife and together we started making steps in that
Tokyo Pastors Meeting
direction. And it indeed felt like God brought the earth up to meet our feet with every step we took into the unknown. Suddenly, by “chance” we started to meet missionaries and people from outside of Horizon. One missionary family that God brought us into relationship with had been brought out of a long period of service in the same ministry one year earlier and had gone through a similar transitional time as the one that God was calling us to do. They gave us much insight and wise council for the season. Through this family as well, we were connected with Grace Garden Church, a church plant in Ebina which is only 15 minutes away from us. The pastor there understood our situation and said we were welcome to attend and serve at his church while we were seeking. As soon as the next step revealed itself, he said we were free to move on from them with their blessing. He also said he would be introducing us to other church’s as well during our time there that we could expand our connections and understanding of what God is doing in Tokyo. Then God connected us with a group of pastors serving in Tokyo that meet on a monthly basis to support one another and I learned much from meeting with them as well. God willing, we will be able to continue in connection with them as my family steps out in the new season.
And so, as I write this to you all, we are now one week out from our last day at Horizon. God has been filling the needs and currently my previous responsibilities and ministries in this church have been filled by a variety of faithful servants. In our time preparing to leave, God also blessed us with many confirmations about the work He has done through us to teach His word and to point people to Jesus. This was our greatest hope. Also many encouragements came from those we have been serving that God will continue to use us outside of this place, with many praying for us. And from next week
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we take that first step of faith off of the map and into what the Lord will show us. Please continue to pray for us that God would continue to meet us as we are stepping out. And that more and more he would open the way to the next season of the ministry he has for us, whether here in Japan or anywhere he would call us.
We thank you always for your love, support and prayers. We are praying for you all!
Much love and Merry Christmas,
Alex, Tomoko, Daisy, Caleb, Hazel, and Olive Robinson.
