Examen

Dr. Sachi Nakamura (JCFN Board member, Translator of Christian Books, Spiritual Director)

Daily Examen is a method of prayer taught and practiced by Ignacio de Loyola (St. Ignatius), Jesuits. It is a Spiritual Training to be able to tell the move and the guidance of the Spirit by reflecting the past 24 hours, paying attention to the Presence of God during that period, marked by His love.

Paul taught us to walk by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and live by the Spirit. (Galatians 5) He also said “Do not suppress the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19)  Jesus also said, “Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says. (John 7:38)

We hope to always remain in the flow of the living water and to walk by the Spirit’s leading. But in our actual life, we often step out of the flow of the living water and live a life led by the desire of the flesh. Meanwhile, if we look back, we can tell of many moments when the Spirit helped us, or guided us.

In Daily Examen, we look back a day and consciously examine when we were led by the Spirit, walked with the Spirit, suppressed the Spirit and walked by the desire of the flesh. While doing this, you do not have to go over or analyze every detail of the day. Not only paying attention to obviously important incidents but also you should take note of things that came to your mind, no matter minute they may seem to you. Ask the Spirit to show you everything you ought to know. You might find an unexpected God’s blessing hidden in a detail that you had thought unimportant.

 

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Here are the basic steps of this exercise.

 

1) Be aware of God’s Presence and give thanks.

Take a few deep breaths. Quiet your mind and heart in front of the Lord. Be aware of God’s Presence, His willingness to be with us. Recognize everything—this day, life, salvation—is gift from God and give thanks.

 

2) Ask the Spirit to guide this process

Ask for the blessing that you might be able to look back your day just like the way God is looking at it. Ask also for the blessing that things God wants to show us might come to your mind.

 

3) Look back your day, pay particular attention to the move of your emotions.

By the guidance of the Spirit, with thanksgiving, look back events of the day. What did I say? How did I behave? What was my intention, motivation, and/or emotion at each occasion? What was my reaction to the incidents of today? How did I feel? Joy, concern, excitement, boredom, confidence, irritation, care, anger, relief…?  How was God present to you during the incidents of the day? How God guided you? What was God trying to tell you? How was your reaction, response, or attitude? How did I feel about his Presence or absence? Was I facing toward God or leaving from Him?

 

4) Thanksgiving, Confession, Forgiveness

Come to terms with the power of sins or the power of the blessings that worked within you during the day. It is a good idea to ask the Spirit to show one particularly important incident and focus on it. If you were able to respond to God’s guidance and blessing, give thanks for it. If you realize you were not able to respond to God’s love or calling and sinned or made mistakes, confess them in the Presence and ask for forgiveness.

 

 

5) Pray for tomorrow

Ask God for the blessings and assistances you would need for the following day.

 

The above is one example of this practice of prayer. There are many variations. You could set up the period of reflection for a week, a month, a year, instead of a day.

 

When you look back a day (or for a longer period of time), it is a good idea not to follow the incident in the chronological order but to consider when you felt most thankful, when you felt least thankful, when you were filled with love, when you did not feel love, when you were most alive, when you were most distant from God’s life, when you felt connected with God or others, when you felt disconnected with God or other.

 

Prayers of reflection help us to be sensitive to the moves of God, who works in the flow of your daily life, and to His voice. What a blessing to stop periodically and to look back how you walked with God! This prayer is not to blame you or defeat you. Rather, it will help you to be more thankful by paying closer attention to His Presence in your daily life. This practice also gives us opportunities to repent daily. We hope this exercise of prayer might help you find God’s abundant blessings might flow into your daily life.

 

Reference:Ignatian Spirituality  https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen

CC2019 Preparation Underway!

Hiroki Fukui (Central Conference 19 Director)

 

Praise be to the name of the Lord!

I’m thankful for this opportunity to share about CC19 on JCFN blog.

My name is Hiroki Fukui (people call me Fuku-chan in Tennessee) and am serving as the chair of the preparation committee.

Fist I would like to give you the background on CC.

CC is short for Central Conference. Every year it’s held at Judson University in the suburb of Chicago over the Memorial weekend. Central has the connotation of Central = American Midwest, but I’m based in Tennessee, the worship coordinator is from Florida, and the main speaker Rev. Yoshinosuke Nakao is from California, so it is a Japanese speaking conference, which has widened its scope to all over the United States (in the past, we have had participants from Canada and Japan also).

We had the 16th CC in 2018 and were blessed with over 100 participants to encourage each other and build networks.  For someone like me, who does not have many opportunities to hear the live message, worship, and pray in Japanese on the weekly basis, it was a true blessing to share the time with brothers and sisters in our heart language.

As for the participants’ demography, we had about 20 children under the age of 7 that needed childcare. The trend seems to be that the early participants of the conference have now become fathers and mothers and are coming back with their children.

Although the conference is held primarily in Japanese, we have many American participants who have heart for ministering to Japanese (main sessions are translated, so we can share the messages together). It touches my heart most profoundly to see brothers and sisters seeking faithfully after God’s will and working for salvation of Japanese people, even though many of them have never even been to Japan.

Above is the brief overview of CC, and below, I would like to share what God is doing in preparation of CC2019.

When I accepted the responsibility of CC2019 preparation committee chair, I had received one vision.

That vision was “God’s Family”.

Huh? Sounds like a cliché retreat theme? But does the word “God’s Family” truly resonate through all corners of our hearts and are we putting it into action? (Personally, I haven’t been able to).

So I took advantage of the committee chair privilege and called upon the committee team members to pray together, decide on the main scripture, and come up with a cool theme (I’m really thankful for the team members who has been gathered together by the Lord. CC for sure would not be possible by a committee chair such as myself, alone…)

We had our first face to face meeting at the end of November during Thanksgiving weekend. We shared a wonderful meal without turkey (normally American Thanksgiving = turkey, but since most people would have eaten it elsewhere, so we intentionally omitted that option. Thus another turkey, following the one pardoned by the president Trump, walked free). Of course we had a discussion about CC as well. In that meeting, the theme scripture was decided.

Ephesians 2:18-22

For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Then the theme was decided in December’s skype meeting (actually it was through Messenger, though). Clap, clap, clap (applaud).

“Ecclesia –God’s Family-“

Well the theme gets pretty swanky when a few theological college students are in the committee, don’t you think?

The next meeting will be on 1/26 (Sat) in Chicago. We are going to serve mochi to those who are coming. My recent favorite is to eat mochi with pickled vegetables (pretty much treating mochi like regular rice). Following that, we will have CC2019 meeting every month.

Lastly I have prayer requests for the readers of this blog. Could you kindly remember in your prayers;

For physical and spiritual protection over the committee members as they serve.

For the work of main speaker Rev. Yoshinosuke Nakao from Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christ Church.

For the glory of the Lord be revealed through CC2019. For protection over its preparation.

For provision of necessary volunteers and participants.

With thanksgiving to all things, and with anticipation for what the Lord will show us, I am looking forward to serving prayerfully.

CC2019 “Ecclesia ~God’s Family~”
Ephesians 2:18-22

5/25(Sat)~5/27(Sat)@ Chicago suburb Judson University.

I will share the registration information as it becomes available.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

JCFN Regional Meetings in Nagoya/Kansai

Hello!

Megumix here!

Happy New Year!

Where will you be sent by God this year? I look forward to the Lord’s blessings to be with you wherever you are, wherever God has sent you!

Thank you so much for reading the JCFN blog.

Now, continuing on from the last time, I will continue to introduce JCFN Regional meetings.

This time I’ll introduce, Nagoya and Kansai!

I interviewed the leaders, asking the following items.

 

Regional Meeting Name

When and where is it held?

What types of activities do you do?

What’s your vision?

What are some special things about your area? Tell us an appealing point!

Any thing else? Comment? Feel free to any any additional information!

So let’s look at Nagoya

In interviewed Mr. Kazune Yamada from “Inspa” (Inspire Union)

①Inspire Union(nicknamed Inspa)
②From 2019, we will have an irregular schedule. Our main meeting location will be a share house called Grace House Kamimaezu.

③I want to personally encourage those returning to the Tokai region. Meeting them from time to time for meals, and inviting other people I meet to our meetings.

④We hope to be a prayer and support network, and to be there as a supporting community for returnees.

⑤Are you kidding? “Kishi-men” “miso-nikomi” “miso-katsu”, I’m so silly, I can only think of Nagoya foods!

⑥From this year we’ll make some big changes to the way we do things, we value your prayers. Please feel free to get in touch with me!

Here’s what Inspa looks like

Nagoya foods look so delicious!!!!

If Jesus came to Nagoya he would want eat “miso-nikomi” with us.

Next is ANRK

I interviewed Mr. Kuni Onishi, and he answered in the Kansai dialect!

①All Nation Returnees in Kansai (aka ANRK)

We meet at Mustard Seed Osaka, which is a fast-growing church that has been really growing recently! Cool.

③We worship the Lord, sing praise songs, pray and we take a lot of time for meeting in small groups.I will do my best so that returnees can be connected. Fundamentally, our theme is focused on how young adults should influence and be involved in Japan as a Christians.

④Right now we are meeting in Osaka, but I would like to expand that to other parts of Kansai!I‘d like to see more small groups meeting monthly.There is currently an irregular meeting of young ladies.

Osaka is a town of laughter and eating. I thought so when studying abroad, but there are many people from Kansai in the United States. But when I came back, I wondered where everyone went. Maybe they all went to Tokyo (laughs).

When you come home to Kansai, meet us, be with us, in friendly Kansai!

⑥If you want to do a small group in Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, please contact me.

Here’s what ANRK looks likeThere are children in our group and it gives us a lively atmosphere.

If you are nearby or coming back to these areas, please get info on regional meetings!

Thank you so much, everyone on the receiving end! Regional meetings are the hope for returnee Christians!

There may be a local meeting starting with you.

If you want to create and prepare a place to welcome returnees, a place to grow together, etc. Please feel free to contact JCFN with your ideas.

Hey leaders, thank you for your cooperation!

I pray for each region to be blessed.

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