March 15, 2026

Of all the books of the Bible, Revelation probably causes the most confusion and frustration. It is a book that is often avoided in our daily Bible reading because of its sometimes difficult imagery. And yet of all the books of the New Testament, it probably has the simplest and easiest message. The interesting thing is that the message of the book is on a shoe. 

You would be hard pressed to find someone who does not know of the name brand Nike. Most of us have had a pair or two of Nike shoes. If you were young when I was you know that Air Jordan’s were an essential piece of a kid’s wardrobe. What most of us don’t know is that we were running around with the key message of the last book of the Bible on our feet. 

There are many ways of looking at the book of Revelation. Some far better than others but even the worst interpretations of the book I have ever seen admit that the theme of the book is victory. My English Standard Version mostly uses the word conquer, some use overcome, or victor but the message is the same. God will be victorious in the end as will those who remain devoted to him. The Greek word translated victor or conquer is the word nikao which Thayer defines as: 1) to conquer 1a) to carry off the victory, come off victorious 1a1) of Christ, victorious over all His foes 1a2) of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions. When we look at the definition it’s easy to see why Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight chose Nike as the name of their shoe company. The word Nikao is found 17 times in Revelation describing various figures being victorious but especially describes those who are faithful to God. 

It is Christians then who deserve to wear the term Nikao or victor because they will stand victorious with God consider: Revelation 2:7 To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God; 2:11 The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death; 3:5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels; 5:5 the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals; 17:14 The Lamb will conquer them for he is the Lord of Lords and King of kings and those with him are called chosen and faithful; 21:7 The one who conquers will have his heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. 

So the next time you see a Nike commercial, or lace up your runners, or pass someone on the street with the famous swoosh on their shoes remember Revelation, and the reminder it offers, that not just in sports but in eternity there are winners and losers. The winners are those who chose to be on the winning side with God and Christ. And ask yourself which side am I on?

~ Kevin Cleary

March 8, 2026

I am always perplexed at the ongoing debate among Christians over what is really important in our relationship with God. Often the situation is described in terms of relational verses institutional or traditional verses contemporary. What perplexes me is not so much the claims being made by one group or another but that there is a debate at all. A story will help to illustrate.

A few years ago my family and I traveled to Waterloo, Ontario to visit my sister and her husband. There was no long discussion about the purpose of our journey everyone knew it was to visit with beloved family members. That was why we were going. While on the way my wife and I did not once stop to debate the way we were going to turn or if I was going to signal my turns. We didn’t wonder if we should go north or south, we didn’t ask what side of the road to drive on. All of these things were decided based on the point of the journey which was to visit with family. Not one time did I say well they live left but the road to the right looks much nicer for traveling, and the sun won’t be in my eyes. Not once did I say I’m not crazy about Waterloo lets go to Toronto. Why not? Because I knew if I wanted to get to my sister’s place there was a way to get there and that’s the way I was going to go.

In current Christian discussions no one doubts that glorifying God while on earth and spending eternity doing so in Heaven is the point. Meanwhile allowing God’s love to change us so that we can demonstrate it to others is what we are about while on earth. God has revealed to us certain things that relate to how we show him our love, and what we do to express it. Questioning what God has said about worshiping the right way or living the right way or how a person comes into relationship with him is foolishness. It would be just like me saying I don’t want to turn left at this street I like going right and so that’s what I’m doing. And don’t you dare tell me I can’t get to my sisters any way I want. She’s my sister after all, and she loves me so I am sure I’ll get to her house. We know what the main point is and God has told us how to achieve that main point so why argue with him?

Of course a life changing relationship with God and our brethren is the point. No one questions that. But the directions that God has given us for our faith (that is what we are to believe) and practice (what we do as God’s people) facilitate the main point. So, to use some of the jargon, institutional matters allow us to achieve the relational ones.

We don’t want to be like the Pharisees who stressed doing the right activities to the point that the heart was removed from the equation. But we need to remember that when Jesus chastised them he said “you should have done the former without neglecting the latter” (Matt 23:23). He didn’t say forget doing what God says do just have a changed heart because, a changed heart has such a strong desire to serve and obey that there is no room for questioning God (John 14:15). Those who want to argue that because of God’s love and grace we don’t need to be concerned about obeying him need to examine their hearts.

Meanwhile those who want to reduce Christianity to a series of commands need to realize that obedience that does not come from the heart does not please God (Joel 2:13). If we would put down our accusations, stubbornness and opinions and pick up our Bibles we would go a long way in closing the gap that has opened between those who are supposed to be Christian Brethren.

~ Kevin Cleary

March 1, 2026

Sarah moved south of Tokyo in 1919 to Okitsu-machi in Shizuoka Prefecture, with Oiki San and Oiki San’s mother, and established a Bible school and kindergarten. Periodically a Japanese evangelist (Otoshige Fujimori)³ would be invited to conduct a meeting in their home. They made friends with the parents of their students and invited them to the meetings. Their work, which also included benevolence and Bible distribution, resulted in the planting of at least four congregations (in Okitsu, Shemedza, Numazu, and Shizuoka City), which eventually grew into eight.

When World War II broke out, although U.S. citizens (including the McCalebs) were evacuated from Japan, Sarah was determined to stay. She was concerned that if all the missionaries left, the Japanese government would seize property and force the Christians into a government-controlled State Church. She was imprisoned in 1942,⁴ and because of damp conditions and a starvation diet, she contracted tuberculosis and was sent to her home in Numazu, Shizuoka to die.⁵

Seventeen wounded soldiers were brought to Sarah’s house for her to nurse. She was allowed only one cup of rice each day, and at times was so weak she had to crawl between cots. She had to sell her furniture, piece by piece, to buy food. She boiled leaves and cornstalks for nourishment, used seawater for salt, and ate grasshoppers. Neighbourhood children, to whom she had ministered, supplemented her measly diet and helped prolong her life. In July 1945, near the end of the war, the city was bombed while Sarah slept. The entire area was devastated, and the only house left standing was hers.

For nearly three years there was no communication between Sarah and her loved ones in the States. Her sister, Mrs. T. B. (Myrtle) Thompson in Tyler, Texas, regularly invited air force men for Sunday dinner, and she gave each one the last known address for Sarah. Weeks after General Douglas MacArthur entered Tokyo, a Christian soldier and two comrades, with an address Myrtle had provided, drove a Jeep 70 miles to find Sarah weighing only 75 pounds and near death. The soldiers left their emergency rations, returned to Tokyo, and came back with groceries and supplies, saving her life.

Sarah continued working with churches in Japan and opened a rest home for women whose husbands and sons had died in the war. Although she didn’t like leaving the work,⁶ periodic furloughs to the U.S. were necessary because of her poor health. While at home in 1958, only three years before her death, Sarah’s family begged her to stay. She simply replied, “It is as near to heaven from Japan as it is from Tennessee.”

Back in Japan, where she had lived 46 of her 69 years, Sarah Andrews suffered a second stroke and died on the 17th of Sept. 1961. A monument was erected for her by both Christians and non-Christians, inscribed with these words: “She dedicated her whole life to her beloved Japan and Japanese people. She taught and trained many believers in Jesus Christ and gave all the glory to God. When she knew it was her time to leave, she recited Psalm 23 for hours, which moved those attending her death bed to tears.”⁷

Back in the United States, the year before Sarah’s death, a baby girl was born who would grow up to continue the legacy of Sarah Andrews as another outstanding servant of God. Her name was Roberta Edwards, and she will be the subject of the next post.

—Kevin L. Moore

~ Kevin Cleary

February 22, 2026

Sarah Sheppard Andrews was one of at least eight children, born to Mr. and Mrs. Will Andrews on a farm in Dickson, Tennessee in the early 1890s.¹ The family lived about 25 miles from the nearest congregation, so they started the church in their own community. Sarah was baptized at age 14 by their preacher, I. B. Bradley.

Having learned of the missionary endeavours of J. M. and Della McCaleb in Japan, and hearing bro. McCaleb speak in Dickson in 1904 about this work, young Sarah began dreaming of becoming a missionary to Japan. She wrote to bro. McCaleb about her intentions, and he encouraged her to get an education to help prepare for this work. Sarah then earned a certificate in teaching from Dickson’s Normal College and took additional classes at State College in Memphis and David Lipscomb College in Nashville.

In the summer of 1915 Sarah received commendations from McCaleb and Bradley in the Christian Leader. Bro. Bradley observes, “She is enthusiastic over the prospects of going to Japan and to the work. I think she is dependable and will make an earnest, zealous worker. I have … watched her development and noted with delight her zeal and earnestness, as well as her loyalty to the Lord’s revealed will and way” (as quoted in J. M. McCaleb, “Another Worker” 4). Later that month, in a subsequent issue, Sarah writes:

Will say at the outset that I expect, with God’s help, to continue to remain within the bounds of woman’s realm as clearly taught in the New Testament …. If God permit, I expect to care for the sick, give to the poor, help the heavy ladened, weary and oppressed, teach in the school if Bro. McCaleb desires – in fact, do anything by which some may come to the knowledge of the truth. Is there a better way of teaching humanity than by becoming a servant to all? True happiness comes through helping others. In Japan alone there are forty millions who have never heard of Christ as the Saviour of mankind. Hence, there is plenty of work to be accomplished. In many respects woman’s place in the church cannot be filled by a man. (“Sister Andrews” 4)

In her early-20s,² sponsored by no congregation and supported only by her parents, Sarah left alone for Japan on Christmas Day 1915, boarding a ship in San Francisco and arriving in Tokyo in January 1916. For many years she was largely supported by her parents, and later by the Dickson congregation. Initially intending to stay in Japan for 5 to 7 years, she ended up serving there for 46 years.

Sarah started out in Tokyo working with the McCalebs, learning the Japanese language and teaching Bible classes in English. She struggled to acclimate to her new environment and developed a number of health issues. She taught cooking and sewing to neighbourhood women and children, and helped them learn about Jesus. As the years passed the kids became teenagers and were baptized along with some mothers and fathers. Among the early converts were a young girl named Oiki San and her mother. Oiki San (a.k.a. “Bible Woman”) became Sarah’s lifelong friend and coworker.

~ Kevin Cleary

February 15, 2026

I want to consider the story of Hansel and Gretel. You will recall that this old German folk story tells of parents who during a famine lead their children into the woods with the intention (at least on the stepmother’s part) to leave them behind because they are unable to care for them. Initially the children leave a trail of stones to follow home. The second time however the children are unable to gather stones and leave bread crumbs which are eaten by birds leaving them well and truly lost. Eventually the children come across a house made of gingerbread and in the hunger begin to eat. It’s this point in the story I want to focus on. As the reader we immediately feel uncomfortable at this point in the story. Why? Because we know that a house made of food when your starving is just too good to be true. We understand that the children are too immature to come to this conclusion and therefore are in considerable danger. Houses made of gingerbread don’t simply show up in the forest without a reason. In this case the reason is quite sinister. Suppose these children had an adult around to ask where they think the house came from and what purpose they think it had? They would likely answer based on their hunger and say I don’t see anyone around and I think we are just lucky to have stumbled upon this house now please move aside and let me eat. We can understand the impulse but we also know that a sober second thought is in order here. 

This brings us to one of the most popular modern efforts to remove God from his place and supplant the ruler of the universe with ourselves. The apostle Paul describes these people in Romans chapter one. There we read: “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator.” Even people with very little training can do basic logic. The logic in this case could not be simpler. If the universe came from nothing for no reason, then humans are the top. There is nothing smarter or more capable than us and so we should do what we want and like. What is it that accounts for the raw materials of the universe or the mind which was able to manipulate them so effectively? We are somewhat like Hansel and Gretel; we found the house and are enjoying it we don’t want to think about where it came from. However, a moment’s thought will force us to realize that gingerbread houses don’t appear out of nowhere there must be someone who made it for some reason. This brings us back to Paul and Romans one: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

~ Kevin Cleary