God’s Protection

“I am your God and will take care of you /until you are old, and your hair is gray. / I made you and will care for you; / I will give you help and rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 【TEV】

I am happy that I am considered as a senior at “Don Quijote” & “Ross” (Tuesday Senior Discount) and “McDonald’s (senior coffee).”

I arrived in Honolulu with my parents from Japan when I turned 16 years old. My father, Kunihiro was called to be a pastor of Olivet Japanese Department in 1978 (46 years ago). He served as a pastor of Olivet for 22 years and half until the end of year 2000.

I came back to Olivet in 2002 as a pastor of the Japanese Department after serving in Japan for 14 years. Now, I have been serving for 22 years and half at Olivet, the same amount of time as my father served here. I am now 62 years old. Time flies!

The third Monday of September is designated as “敬⽼の⽇ , Kei Rou no Hi” in Japan.

“敬Kei“means “Respect,” “⽼Rou” means “Elder,” and “⽇ Hi,” means “Day,” So, altogether, it means “The Day to Respect Elders.” Our Japanese Dept. will recognize members who are over 80 years young during our worship service on Sunday September 15. We all respect and appreciate their lives who demonstrated their faithfulness in Christ, dedication, love and care for our church. Our elders are the good examples, and encouragement to the younger members of our church.

Even when we become seniors, that is not the end of our active lives. God told Joshua when he became older: “Joshua was now very old. The Lord said to him, "You are very old, but there is still much land to be taken”: Joshua 13:1【TEV】 I believe that there are still many things to do even when we become older. You can actively pray for your family and members of Olivet. You can encourage your friends and younger members by your loving, and kind words with your caring attitudes. These are the precious tasks God gives us to testify His love and glorify Him.

As I quoted Isaiah 46:4 at the beginning of this article, the Bible promises that God takes care of you until you are old because He is the creator who made you and loves you. So, we can all face tomorrow as God leads us.

May God continue to protect, rescue, and bless you!

Makito Watanabe

Japanese Language Pastor