Gifts; June 9, 2026

Posted on June 10, 2026 by jgarrott

1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

The things expressed in this verse are central to being a successful disciple of Jesus Christ. In the first place, we have to recognize that we are gifted. Far too many people don’t consider themselves to be gifted at all, and so they feel no responsibility for using their gift, or gifts. Peter is very clear that each person has received at least one gift, so that puts our lifestyle into the category of stewardship. Different translations put different degrees of stress on it, but Peter says clearly that there is a lot of variety in God’s gifts. Too often we expect, or even demand, that other people be like us, and are offended, puzzled, or even angry that they don’t respond to things the way we do. It’s not at all a “your truth, my truth,” sort of thing, because God’s truth is absolute, but it is a recognition that variety is part of who God is. The other thing in this verse is the purpose of the gifts God gives: to serve one another. We are far too likely to consider our gifts ours, for our own pleasure and aggrandizement. No gift is fully realized unless it is used in service to God and His children. Interestingly, one of the best known of the spiritual gifts is seldom recognized as being in this category, and that is the gift of tongues. It is true that praying in tongues builds up the person who is so praying. (Jude 1:20) However, speaking in tongues is prayer and praise, and properly used, those bless others and glorify God whatever language is being used. We encounter countless situations that call for prayer, because we can’t or don’t know how to impact them directly. Praying in tongues allows the Holy Spirit to pray what is appropriate, even when we have no idea what that might be. Coupled with the gift of interpretation, tongues may function as prophecy, though there is question as to whether that is what is happening or whether the “interpretation” is God’s reply to what was prayed in tongues. In any case, every gift of God is to build up the Body of Christ, which is composed of all the people who have been saved by grace through faith. We may be sure we want to do that, but specific individuals can really get under our skin! We can’t rightly withhold the exercise of our gifts in relation to anyone. We need to recognize that we are at least as much in need of God’s grace and forgiveness as they are!

I of course need to remember this for myself, just as much as I need to impart this understanding to others. The Lord has gifted me in various ways, and I am to use every one of those gifts in service to those around me. God doesn’t need my service, but He wants to use me to bless others of His children, and I must not decline to do that. It is always a blessing to me to realize that I have been an instrument of blessing to someone else. Selfishness is one of the devil’s favorite traps, and I must be careful to avoid it. I am as prone to descend into “I my me mine” as anyone else, and I must be on my guard. I am not to neglect myself, because good stewardship involves my own health and wellbeing, but my focus is to be first on my Lord and then on the people around me. As the acronym Jesus, Others, Yourself proclaims, that is indeed the way to JOY.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the privilege of serving You through serving others. May I be a faithful steward on every level, so that You may be pleased as Your will is done through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Freedom; June 8, 2026

Posted on June 9, 2026 by jgarrott

1 Peter 2:16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.

One of the ironies of the universe is that there is no greater freedom than being completely submitted and obedient to God. Conversely, human free will is one of the most dangerous things in the universe. Paul notably said, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) He also said, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) Also, famously, he said, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2) All of that must be balanced with what Peter says here, because the devil loves to twist the true freedom that is ours in Christ into libertinism, living to please the flesh, which is in direct violation of all that God has said. America is a good case in point, because no other nation has stood, and stands, as a symbol of liberty the way America does. At the same time, America is the source of the vast majority of the pornography in the world, as well as being the biggest market for illicit drugs of all sorts, with totally shocking numbers of overdose deaths every year. As we are less than a month from the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this is a good time to consider what freedom means, particularly since we sing, “Sweet land of liberty.” No other country in history has fought a bitter civil war over the abolition of slavery, yet there are great numbers of people trapped in human trafficking even today. The contradictions are unending. We are back to what the Bible says about it all. Like Peter and Paul said, we are to live in freedom, because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, but we are never to use that freedom as an excuse for evil. That applies on the personal level, and it applies on the national level as well.

Of course, this applies to me as much as it does to anyone. I well remember the Christian writer who had never been a drinker, but started to drink some because of people who pointed out that he was free to do so in Christ. However, in short order he came to the realization that not only did he not need to drink to relax or have a good time, he was a strong influence on others, who might come under the bondage of alcoholism. Actually, that is the biggest reason I don’t drink. I don’t like beer, but there are a few alcoholic drinks I find tasty. That said, I feel no need of them, and I am certainly in a position of influencing others. In college I once tried to get drunk and didn’t succeed, but most other people don’t have such strong liver enzymes! I have at different times been enslaved by various not-good things, but God has given me liberty in each case, and I am deeply grateful. As a pastor, I am to lead the flock in the liberty of submission to God by His Spirit, because only in that way will we enjoy all the abundant blessings that He has prepared for us in Christ.

Father, thank You for this reminder. This would make quite a sermon! Thank You for how You so graciously speak to me. Help me know when and how to share Your truth with others, so that by that truth they may indeed be set free, (John 8:32) for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Hunger; June 7, 2026

Posted on June 8, 2026 by jgarrott

2 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

One of the first requirements for spiritual growth is desire, a hunger for the things of God. This statement by Peter isn’t in opposition to what it says in Hebrews about milk being for the immature, (Hebrews 5:12) but rather bringing up the image of a hungry baby. We’ve all seen them, even though we don’t remember having been that way ourselves at that age. Few things can comfort a baby like a properly lactating breast! If our hearts are indeed fixed on seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, (Matthew 6:33) nothing else will fully satisfy us, but we require nothing else. The desires of the flesh, those with which the devil delights to tempt and deceive us, never satisfy for long. The things of God’s kingdom, because they become part of us, grow us and increase our capacity for more of God. Spiritual growth is satisfying in a way nothing else can be, because it is part and parcel of the purpose for which we were created.

This is something that, understandably, I have come to understand more and more over the years. An illustration of this principle is how my wife was after she was baptized in the Holy Spirit, shortly before I got out of the Army and we left Hawaii. She didn’t really know what had happened to her, but she had an insatiable hunger for the Bible. Her foreign language in college had been Biblical Greek, and every morning after I left for work, she would put our daughter in her playpen and then get going with her Greek New Testament, her Greek/English dictionary, and two or three English Bibles and dig in, pausing only when our daughter needed something. Sometimes I’d get home and find she’d forgotten to eat lunch! That, to me, is a perfect example of what Peter is talking about here. I’ve never had that exact response, but I do know that my day is definitely not right if anything gets in the way of starting off as I’m doing right now, reading the Bible and letting God speak to me through it. As a pastor, I think I desire this hunger for the believers perhaps more than anything else, because it is a hunger that God delights to satisfy. As He told Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) If I can encourage that hunger, God will take care of the rest. We have a “seeker” in this church who is gradually recognizing more and more what his hunger really is. My prayer is that, recognizing his hunger, he will open his heart to be satisfied as only God can do it, for his salvation and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There are so many distractions! Thank You for getting us to and from the meeting yesterday, and for the many blessings there. May the Body of Christ in this part of Japan indeed rise up as You intend, demonstrating Your Gospel so that many may repent and believe for their salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Trials; June 6, 2026

Posted on June 7, 2026 by jgarrott

1 Peter 1:6-7 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The Bible is very, very clear that the life of a disciple isn’t easy street. However, it’s equally clear that it’s all worth it. “Peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7) wouldn’t be necessary if life were easy! All the New Testament writers agree on this point. One of Paul’s statements about this has long been a favorite of mine. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) A disciple who hasn’t been tested isn’t much of a disciple. It has been known throughout history that militarily speaking, there’s a world of difference between troops that have seen combat and those who haven’t. That, frankly, is a major difference between the American and Chinese militaries at this point. Only a very few, older people in the Chinese military have actually seen combat, and that was in a border skirmish they lost with Vietnam quite a few years ago. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we aren’t to seek conflict, but it will find us, and we aren’t to shy away from it. This is also a factor in parenting. Parents who try to protect their children from any and all risk are doing them no favors, because, to the degree that they succeed, they are turning them into entitled brats. God doesn’t want entitled brats! I’m reminded of a statement my wife has in her workroom, that she printed out from the Internet: “God didn’t remove the Red Sea, He parted it. God won’t remove your trials from you, but He will give you a way through them.” That’s what Peter, Paul, and the other writers are talking about.

It’s interesting to realize that as I get older, I become more risk-averse. That’s not necessarily good! Challenges don’t seem nearly as inviting as they once did. Turning into a couch potato would be detrimental on every level, and I’ve got to remember that. Today we will be going to a meeting in a place I’ve never been, that’s a full hour’s drive away. I’ve never used the GPS function in the car we recently acquired, and all the directions are in Japanese. There’s no real requirement that we attend this meeting, but it will be a good opportunity for fellowship with people from various churches. I’m thinking it must be important, because of all the opposition to it that the devil is throwing into my mind! I don’t want to “fade into the background” as I get older, but rather keep pressing forward into all that God has for me. Failing to do that would certainly not make God happy with me! On the scale of “trials,” this is extremely minor, but it’s a gentle reminder of what my attitude needs to be. I know that Jeremiah 29:11 is true, from my own experience, so I need to keep looking forward to whatever the Lord has for me, not only for my own blessing but for the blessing of those around me as well, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for today, and all You have planned in it. May I do each thing in turn, on Your schedule and with my whole heart, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on every level, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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World View; June 5, 2026

Posted on June 6, 2026 by jgarrott

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I quote verse 7 of this chapter with great frequency, but this verse too is justly famous. It is completely counter to the way the world thinks and operates, but that’s entirely appropriate, considering verse 4 and its strong words about friendship with the world. All of this is wrapped up in something called world view, that is, how we see the world and expect, or want, it to operate. Sad to say, recent surveys show that a shockingly small percentage of Americans have a genuinely Biblical world view, and that’s in a nation that was founded on Biblical principles! Our flesh wants everything to be about us, to be the center of the universe, when actually, we are remarkably insignificant. The amazing thing is actually that the Creator cares so much about us! I can’t back this up, but I’ve read that human beings are about the median in size of everything that exists, from subatomic particles to galaxies. That sounds about right to me. The point is that we aren’t to think of ourselves too much or too little. As Paul said, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” (Romans 12:3) We aren’t to consider ourselves worthless, because Jesus died for us, and that assigns an incredible worth to us. On the other end of the scale, Jesus was quite blunt: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) As James says here, if we will humble ourselves, genuinely remembering and believing Jesus’ words, then our Lord will lift us up to the status for which He created us, as His children indeed. There is nothing higher than that!

I had an interesting experience of this just yesterday. I went to a seminar at a church about an hour away from here on ministering to Jehovah’s Witnesses. That’s not something that occupies me very often, but it is the major ministry of the man who lead the seminar. Several people gave testimonies of how whey had been trapped in that movement, the longest for 40 years, when God in His grace had opened their eyes to the truth. I frankly had trouble staying awake! However, in the Q&A time that followed, I shared my experience of having a JW elder in my home for over two hours as we “opened the Bible at each other.” The thing that wrapped that up had been when I asked him if his faith gave him joy. He immediately countered that of course, working for the kingdom of God was joyful, but I said, “No, not what you do, but your faith itself. Does it give you joy?” He never answered that, and very quickly made his excuses and left. That story made a big impact on the man leading the seminar, because to this point he has gone at it from the JWs’ various errors in history, theology, and linguistics. He’s obviously had some success, but my story helped him understand that he was looking at only part of the picture. In the sharing time after lunch, more than one person referenced what I had shared, and one former JW said that she had pictures of her baptism as a JW, and she said she didn’t look happy at all. The point of all this is that I didn’t put myself forward, but shared what the Lord had done through me, and the result was that I was greatly lifted up in the eyes of all present. I can’t do anything right on my own, but God can do anything He likes through me!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your incredible grace toward me. Help me indeed see the world with Your eyes, to interact with the things and people around me as You desire, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!

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Discipline; June 4, 2026

Posted on June 5, 2026 by jgarrott

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This is a very important truth that is very difficult to convey properly in Japanese, because there is no word in Japanese that means exactly, discipline. In English, the word can be used either as a noun or a verb. The word with which it is translated into Japanese, for want of a better alternative, can likewise be used that way, but it means training. In English, there is the clear connection to “disciple,” and that is of great importance. We can say that a disciple is one who has been trained, so going to the Japanese, we can say in this verse, “discipleship training,” to indicate that this is more than simple training to do a task. After all, the majority of training wouldn’t be considered painful. In a sense that’s rather ironic, because the Japanese are known for being very disciplined in many areas, sometimes to a fault. However, the principle expressed here, of discipline springing from a father’s love, is far deeper than simple cultural norms. We need to understand that, left to ourselves, we will squander the majority of the opportunities that are presented to us, so the Father doesn’t just leave us to ourselves, but rather disciplines us in many different ways to guide us into the path that He knows is best for us. Sometimes we might think we want God to leave us alone, but that is actually one of the most tragic things that can ever happen to a person. On our own, we’re hopeless! God loves us too much to leave us alone, but in our stupidity, we think He’s picking on us, when nothing could be further from the truth.

I have loved this verse for as long as I can remember, but I can’t say I’ve always welcomed the Lord’s discipline! Indeed, sometimes it has felt painful, but it has always led me toward righteousness and peace when I have yielded myself to it. As a pastor, sometimes I have been put in the place of administering discipline, and if anything, that’s even less pleasant than being on the receiving end! Parents sometimes tell their children, when administering physical punishment/discipline, “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” Children hardly ever believe that! However, it can be quite true. Of course, the ultimate example is that God sent His only Son to take the punishment for our sins. We can’t imagine how painful that was for God, both Father and Son, but He did it for us. As a physical father, I didn’t always apply discipline perfectly, as my daughters can attest. I can’t say I’ve always done it perfectly as a pastor, either. I need to recognize the Lord’s discipline of me and be grateful, and thus be available when He wants to use me in training someone else to be a better disciple as well, so that together we may be what God designed and created us to be, for our blessing and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for showing me how I’m to communicate this to the believers on Sunday. Thank You for telling me to use this as one of the messages for CGNTV later this month. May I not draw back from anything You want me to do, particularly when I don’t know how to do it, so that I will receive Your good discipline in the process, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Witnesses; June 3, 2026

Posted on June 4, 2026 by jgarrott

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

This is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible, so in drawing up the reading list I divided it up to be able to write more about it. I often reference verse 2, about looking to Jesus, but I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard this verse mis-applied. The problem is that in English, we tend to think of witnesses as people watching something, when here it means those who are testifying of something, as in a court of law. I’ve heard numerous people talking about our being in a stadium, with this great number of people watching us run. That’s a complete misunderstanding, as I see it. What this is talking about is the great number of people who testify that God is faithful, just, merciful, and gracious, so we can be assured that we have nothing to fear. The Japanese thankfully uses a term that makes that clear. Lots of people seem to be comforted by the idea that their ancestors are “watching over them from heaven.” I doubt that very highly! To me, that sounds like the ancestor worship that is practiced in Japanese Buddhism and some other religions. There is no distress in heaven, and watching what is going on here on earth would doubtless be pretty distressing! Rather, this is talking about people who have experienced God’s salvation in countless ways, and have left the story behind to encourage us. It is an excellent thing to read biographies of saints, not to mention the Bible itself, to be reminded of how God can and does meet needs even greater than what we experience.

I thankfully have many relatives and family members whose lives were testimonies of God’s faithfulness, and I am encouraged. They were imperfect, just as I am, but when they trusted and obeyed God, He acted. With that background, I am working on my own autobiography, not to puff myself up, but to testify to the grace of God. Yesterday I wrote another page and a half, for the first time in several months. I don’t know why it’s such slow going, or why I’m so easily distracted. I trust it will be much easier to read than it is proving to be to write! I don’t know who will be interested to read it, but I too want to be part of that “great cloud of witnesses,” because God is certainly worthy of every scrap of praise, adoration, obedience, and gratitude that He can be given.

Father, thank You for this reminder. May I indeed be an effective witness, testifying at every opportunity of Your goodness, Your faithfulness, so that as many as will may repent and believe for their own salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Knowing the Lord; June 2, 2026

Posted on June 3, 2026 by jgarrott

Hebrews 8:11 “No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.”

What a blessed eventuality! The thing is, we certainly aren’t there yet, so we indeed need to be encouraging each other to know the Lord. There are far too many people, even in “Christian” nations, who may know His name, but they certainly don’t have a personal relationship with Him. And on top of that, there are still places in the world where people don’t even know His name, or know it only as a curse. There’s a lot of work to do until the fulfillment of the new covenant! The average person doesn’t even think about God most of the time, so encouraging each other to do so is a very good exercise. God made this promise to Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 31, which was over 2500 years ago, so we’re dealing with God’s timeline here. However, if God said it, that settles it, so we’d better live like we believe it! We need to be active in making disciples of the people of all nations, just as Jesus told us to do very clearly just before His ascension. (Matthew 28:18-20) We call that “The Great Commission,” but most of us ignore it! Discipleship should be the dominant theme of our lives, making more disciples as an outgrowth of our own discipleship toward our Lord. That it isn’t, even for most Christians, is a very sad commentary on human nature. The more and better we know Christ, the more we will want everyone else to know Him too, for a blessed cascade of discipleship.

This is indeed the theme of my life, but I’m certainly not perfect, or even fully consistent, about it. I live in a distinctly non-Christian culture – though Japan has much to admire – so the opportunities to share Christ are limitless. However, as my recent trip to the US reminded me, modern culture can hardly be called genuinely Christian anywhere! There are obstacles to communicating the Gospel everywhere I go, but I can do everything God asks of me, (Philippians 4:13) and nothing is impossible for Him. (Luke 1:37, Matthew 17:20) I am to rejoice at every opportunity the Lord gives me to share His truth, His love, so that more and more people may indeed know Him, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the extreme dizziness and nausea You allowed me to experience yesterday, and for the reminder that was of the very high level of good health I enjoy most of the time. Thank You for the help of my wife’s care manager in getting to a doctor, and that the whole thing seems to have been a passing incident. I pray that yesterday’s events would indeed draw that care manager, as well as the man who was helping with our yard work yesterday, to seek and know You for themselves. May every moment of my life accurately reflect Your presence in me, so that all I encounter may come to know You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Maturity; June 1, 2026

Posted on June 2, 2026 by jgarrott

Hebrews 5:12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

There are many pastors who could say this to their congregations. That said, there are many pastors who aren’t really very spiritually mature, either! I would dare to say, in most churches there is at least one believer who is closer to Christ than the pastor is. We need both humility and the desire to press in for more of Christ. Physical maturity is more or less automatic over time. Exceptions to that are considered medical problems. However, emotional and spiritual maturity are entirely different matters. This isn’t just a matter of knowledge, though information is important. Rather, it is a matter of internalizing God’s truth so that we not only understand it, we live it out. As James famously said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) English translations of this verse tend to say, “by this time,” but the Japanese is even more blunt: “by the number of years.” There are people who have been church members since childhood who have the spiritual maturity of a preschooler! That is sad not only for the individual but for everyone who relates to them. When we know the Gospel and have the full Bible at our disposal, we have no legitimate excuse not to grow spiritually. The rate of growth will not be even throughout life; we all have “growth spurts.” The painful truth is that it is generally crises that produce those spurts, because God allows situations to cause us to confront our lack of spiritual maturity. God never picks on us, but sometimes we need a real kick in the seat to get us moving as we should be. As it says later in Hebrews, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11) That’s why we need to “Give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20) Whatever it feels like in the moment, it is ultimately for our good!

This is something that, naturally enough, I have realized more and more over the years. I have also noticed that spiritual maturity only has a minor connection to physical age. I’ve met plenty of immature seniors, and I’ve met some remarkably mature young people as well. I’m not to go around with some sort of “maturity meter,” evaluating the people with whom I interact, but I am to allow the Holy Spirit to give me insight as to the maturity level of each individual, so that I may meet them where they are and encourage them to come up higher. And of course, I must remember that I’m not “perfectly mature” myself! I too am constantly running into situations that offend my immaturity, forcing me to turn to God. That’s a good thing! Yesterday’s church barbecue party was one such, because I was less than gracious a couple of times when we were setting up and later, taking down the large tent I had borrowed for the occasion. Likewise, this morning someone will be coming to talk, once again presenting their side of a situation, when I recently got to hear, for the first time, the other side of the story. I feel caught in the middle, but that too is forcing me to depend on God. I don’t have the wisdom to bring about a good resolution, but God does, and this is further training in depending on Him. I desire growth and maturity in my flock, so I must not run from it myself! There are many things on the schedule today, and I’m not to be anxious about any of them. Rather, I’m to rest, relax, and rejoice in my Lord, just as He has told me to do, so that His plans may be fulfilled on His schedule for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for getting us through the day yesterday. Thank You that the rain that had been forecast for this afternoon doesn’t seem to be coming after all. Help me rejoice to be Your agent in everything today, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Normal Christians; May 31, 2026

Posted on June 1, 2026 by jgarrott

Titus 2:1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

What follows might not seem very “spiritual” to some people, but it’s enormously practical. Simply put, Paul is saying that believers are to be good people. There’s nothing here about special rituals, esoteric things that would mark believers as different. In a sense, it’s just common sense, but that can be all too uncommon. This is in direct contrast to what some groups have done, such as snake-handling churches, where people had to “prove their faith,” or churches that forbade marriage, or any of a number of other activities to prove they were “set apart.” The distinctive of a disciple of Jesus Christ is that they know Him, and so communicate with their Creator on a regular basis. That by itself is plenty to set us apart from the world at large! The sad thing is that this isn’t emphasized in many churches, so people end up with a very hazy knowledge of and relationship with Christ, to the point that their world view is indistinguishable from that of all the people around them. And this isn’t limited to “the people in the pews.” There is a current US politician who is a seminary graduate, but his public pronouncements are downright bizarre. He may know Paul’s letter to Titus in his mind, but he certainly doesn’t practice what it says! We are to be the most “normal” people around. Our biggest distinctive should be the hope of eternal life that we have in Christ, and the peace that results from that. (1 Peter 3:15) If our personal goal is deeper fellowship with Christ, then all of this will flow naturally from that, not by our power but by His.

I have been an outlier most of my life, growing up as a Caucasian in Japan, a Missionary Kid attending a US Air Force dependents school, and on and on. I have felt isolated and rejected many times and in many ways, but as my own daughters were reminding me in an online chat just yesterday, there’s no such thing as “normal.” The guidelines Paul lays out here to Titus should be quite sufficient. I am to value each person as an individual, and at the same time promote the “sound doctrine” Paul talks about. I am to encourage each person in their unique gifting, and at the same time point out how to fit together smoothly with the other people. There will be friction, certainly, as comes out pretty much daily, but the “oil of the anointing” should help greatly with that. As a pastor and spiritual father, I am to cherish the children in my care, while remembering that they are God’s children far more than they are mine.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me live it out, particularly today, when we not only have a praise and testimony service, we have a barbecue in the parking lot afterward. May I not try to “bull through” in my own strength and wisdom, but rather allow You to fill and guide me, so that Your will may be done in every detail, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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