Authority; April 26, 2024

Posted on April 27, 2024 by jgarrott

Mark 1:22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

I find this a fascinating comment. Jesus not only taught as someone with authority, He demonstrated that authority by casting out evil spirits and healing people. The “teachers of the law” didn’t do that, because they had no such authority! Today, we should be operating in the delegated authority of Jesus, (Matthew 28:18-20) based on the Scriptures. The problem is, the devil has tricked many current “teachers of the law” into teaching that the Bible isn’t reliable, and is merely a source of truth, instead of the inspired Word of God. They not only relinquish their own authority, they teach that such authority is unavailable to men. No wonder the Church has lost power in society! A young man I was involved in discipling who is currently pastoring a denominational church called me yesterday, asking, “When and how did this denomination become so liberal? I thought they were Bible-based!” I was able to point out some specific individuals and influences to him, and he was encouraged to stand firm on the Word, despite denominational influences. When the Church loses its mooring on the Bible, it has lost just about everything, and becomes no more than another human organization.

I am well aware of the difficulties of translation, being bilingual myself, and my father and one of my grandfathers were both actively involved in that issue. I also know about textual criticism and the like, but I also know that God is in control of His Word, and He sees to it that the essential truths get preserved. Truth is not just a matter of opinion, whatever anyone might say! Just yesterday I ran across two or three articles that specifically touched on that, and the chaos that attitude engenders. There is no “my truth” and “your truth!” I shouldn’t be surprised at this current confusion, because there have been signs of its coming for a long time. Even when I was in seminary, from 1976-78, I was required to quote commentaries in the sermons I wrote for Preaching class. The opinions of men were being placed on the same level as the Bible! A Japanese pastor, now a close friend, confessed to me over 30 years ago that he was more familiar with Barth than with the Bible. I feel sure that’s changed now, but he still struggles with assurance about what God is saying to him. I can have no authority apart from what God delegates to me, and I won’t have that if I take His Word lightly, or particularly, place the opinions of men over it.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for that call yesterday, and that I have generated such an opinion of my theological position and grounding. Help me indeed be faithful to You and Your Word, proclaiming Your Word so that it may accomplish everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:11) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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War; April 25, 2024

Posted on April 26, 2024 by jgarrott

Matthew 24:6 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”

Human history is in many ways a sequence of wars. Just yesterday I was reading an article that talked about how “peace” was a very strange concept in most places throughout history. The Bible even includes a phrase that we find shocking today: “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war!” (2 Samuel 11:1) In a sense, war was a method of population control. Specifically, polygamy was unsustainable without killing off a lot of young men, and war is a way of doing that. That actually is a major factor in various Islamic countries today. As Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) The human lust for power is amazing. That’s why the difference between a politician and a statesman can be so striking, even though we all too often don’t recognize it until after the person is gone. The current state of affairs in the world, including but not limited to Ukraine and the Israel, is regrettable but hardly surprising, and the people who are stoking the conflict are despicable but hardly unusual. Human beings are sadly bloodthirsty! That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Those who know Jesus as Lord are already children of God, and we need to act like it, not stoking conflict but actually promoting peace. At the same time, there is the sad reality that justice often requires a forceful response to aggression. The reality that Russia made an unprovoked attack on Ukraine is complicated by the undeniable corruption of Ukrainian society. What’s going on in Gaza is generated by the genocidal hatred of Jews by Hamas and others, to the utter disregard for the safety and good of their own people. Answers are not easy to come by! What Jesus is saying in this verse is that this is how the world is, so don’t get all stirred up about it. The vast majority of people aren’t in positions to do much about international conflict, but we can control our personal attitudes and actions. We can recognize that we are ambassadors for Christ, (2 Corinthians 5:20) and so represent Him in drawing people to repentance and faith, which is peace indeed.

I’ve never been a particularly combative person, but I was drafted in 1970 and spent 2 years in the Army, thankfully stationed in Hawaii rather than Vietnam. I’ve known lots of people who have known far more about war than they ever wanted to. From my training, I know that I am quite capable of killing people, and it’s not a nice feeling. Even in Basic Training I almost got myself court martialed for writing and performing an anti-war poem. At the same time, I have a strong desire for justice, and that kicks in when I think about Ukraine and Israel. The only real answer I can come to is prayer, that God’s rule and reign may be established and His will be done, as perfectly on earth as it is in heaven. That may seem like a copout, but I don’t think it is. I am to strive to bring that prayer to pass in my own life, and trust God with everything else. I need to be sure that Jesus is the Victor in my own heart!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for telling me many years ago that You aren’t happy with much of what goes on. Help me indeed trust You with the resolution to it all, so that I won’t get in the way of Your answering the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Repentance; April 24, 2023

Posted on April 25, 2024 by jgarrott

Matthew 21:31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”

We have trouble grasping, or really believing, that it doesn’t matter what a person has been so much as it does what they are willing to become. That’s what repentance is all about. In Ezekiel 33 God says clearly that trusting in past good to cover up present evil results in our destruction. At the same time, there are many examples, such as David, of people who did good, fell badly, and then repented and turned to the Lord. We aren’t to write people off, and particularly, we aren’t to write ourselves off. Someone was once telling me about a woman who came to him distraught, thinking that she had committed “the unpardonable sin.” His answer to her, which he reported to me, was spot-on: “If you’re worried about it, you haven’t committed it.” The devil tries to hide this truth from us, telling us that we’re too far gone, that we might as well give up and plunge further into sin, but that is one of the nastier of his lies. A major element of the Gospel is that it’s never too late, if you have a heart to repent and believe. The deadly option is thinking you have nothing to repent of, and can get into heaven on your own merits. That’s not to say that we’re to go around putting ourselves down as miserable sinners, but rather that we need to be like Paul, who said, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:4) We just need to keep our repentance up-to-date.

Of course, this applies to me. Every once in a while I mention something in my past that shocks the person I’m talking to, but I don’t parade those things. Rather, I seek to live as a demonstration of the reality that walking in step with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25) is a real possibility. To do that, I’ve got to be honest with God and with myself about my weaknesses, and be quick to repent when I stumble or fall out of step. As a pastor, I need to help people understand that God’s forgiveness is real, and they probably haven’t done anything worse than I have! People need to realize first of all that they need salvation, and then they need to realize that it is genuinely available. The devil tries to hide both of those things, so spiritual warfare is very much involved. I’ve got to take Ephesians 6 to heart and go to battle for the souls of the people around me, because God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for recent reminders of my emotional weakness. Help me never think I am strong without You, and at the same time know that I can do everything with You. (Philippians 4:13) May I be an effective tool, a faithful servant, in Your hands, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Stewardship; April 23, 2024

Posted on April 24, 2024 by jgarrott

Matthew 13:12 “Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

This seems manifestly unfair to many people, but we’re talking about spiritual realities here. As Paul observed, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) It’s not that God is mean (as I say repeatedly), it’s that our heart attitude is just about everything. Also, much truth and knowledge depends on a solid foundation. You can’t grasp trigonometry if you don’t have basic arithmetic mastered. Spiritually speaking, if we don’t accept that we have a Creator who loves us and has a good plan for our lives, the Gospel will seem like a total fantasy. This is a major issue in Japan, that doesn’t even have a firm foundation of monotheism. This is one reason why 1st generation Christians might be effective evangelists, but deep theologians are likely to have been raised in Christian homes, at least. That’s one of many reasons why it’s important for Christian parents to actively, intentionally, lay a foundation of faith in their children. It is the single most important, most valuable, thing they can do for them. Everything else is temporal, but that is for eternity.

This certainly applies to me. My parents were missionaries, one grandfather was a pastor and the other a seminary professor, and one of my great-grandfathers was a pastor. Many spiritual concepts have seemed simple to me, when they seemed dense to people around me. When I was first exposed to the Charismatic Movement in 1973 I immediately recognized it as Biblical, though I had heard nothing of the sort previously, at least to remember it. That doesn’t make me “better” than others, it just gives me a different toolkit. And certainly, it’s not something I chose, much less earned. The thing is, as Jesus said clearly, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48) It would be easier if I hadn’t been given so much! Just yesterday I was going through things in a drawer of a desk I inherited from my father, much of which I had put in there and some of which had been there when I received the desk over 40 years ago. The emotional strain just about broke me down, because I am currently more than 11 years older than my father was when the Lord took him home. The question is always, what have I done with what I have been given? I am not a good judge of that, but I know and depend on the reality that God is a righteous and gracious Judge, and I am covered with the blood of Jesus. My rewards are up to Him, but my salvation is sure, and I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for yesterday, and for Cathy’s presence and love that helped sustain me. I ask for wisdom in dealing with all the stuff that was in that drawer, and for skill in repairing the bottom of it that is tearing up. May I be a good steward of all You have given me, on every level, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Proof; April 22, 2024

Posted on April 23, 2024 by jgarrott

Matthew 12:38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

There are all kinds of proof, and all sorts of reasons for asking for proof. Jesus had been giving many demonstrations of divine power, so it was obvious from the outset that these people were less than sincere. Anything Jesus could have done would have been discounted. On the other end of the scale we have Gideon, who asked two times for signs that he was hearing God accurately, and God gave them to him. (Judges 6) Receiving those proofs, Gideon acted decisively, and God’s will was done. I have heard countless testimonies of people who really wanted to find God and asked Him to do something, and He answered marvelously, just as He did for Gideon. I have also known people who probably won’t submit willingly to Christ when He returns in triumph from the skies! These men who questioned Jesus were in that last group, so Jesus told them the only proof they would get would be His own burial and resurrection. I wonder if any actually did repent and believe at that point? The whole issue is heart attitude. If we honestly want to know God’s will and obey Him, then He will give us all the proofs we need. If our demand for proof is just an excuse for not obeying Him, then we are in deep trouble.

I don’t know that I have ever demanded proof from God, but I have asked for clear guidance many times. Sometimes His guidance has seemed clear, and sometimes not! Looking back, I can see that the times when it was less than clear have been training in faith. I have done far too many things without ever asking what God wanted! At this point I feel like I have a lifetime of evidence that God is righteous, faithful, and loving, and that is proof enough for me. I think I honestly desire to live each day according to His plans for me, and that is a source of deep peace. I still slip up, certainly, but He has “worked in me to will and to do His good pleasure,” (Philippians 2:13) and I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance, just as He has told me to do.

Father, thank You for this encouraging Word. Thank You for yesterday and all it held. Thank You for speaking through me clearly, and for the response. Thank You for the wonderful time of fellowship we had in the afternoon. Thank You for Your plans for today, and that You will enable me to fulfill my part in them, for Your glory. Praise God!

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Divine Revelation; April 21, 2024

Posted on April 22, 2024 by jgarrott

Matthew 11:25-26 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

It struck me just now from verse 26 that Jesus might not have thought about this until He said it. God reveals His truth to us in various ways. As Jesus says here, it isn’t on the basis of our “mental horsepower,” but by His sovereign, gracious, choice. I have personally experienced God speaking to me by what He was saying through me. In other words, I didn’t know it until I said it, or wrote it. That isn’t at all a case of, “If I said it, it’s true.” Rather, it’s an example of the reality that we often can’t grasp things until we articulate them. The “wise and understanding” generally don’t like to say things they don’t already know, so their minds and hearts can be closed to fresh revelation. Adults can be convinced of things that aren’t true, or at the least aren’t complete. That’s why Jesus said repeatedly that we have to be like little children to enter His kingdom. (Matthew 18:3, Luke 18:7) Just yesterday I heard a talk by a man who has been very instrumental in Japan’s rocket industry, and he talked about how he likes to hire people straight out of high school who maybe didn’t even do well in school, but they have curiosity and drive, a dream that pulls them on. He said that if something’s never been done before, nobody can teach you how to do it! It was a very challenging, inspiring talk, particularly since the majority of the audience was students. We do need to be careful that we don’t abandon Biblical teaching in our search for the “new.” Those who do that quickly get mired in the lies the devil has been telling since the Garden of Eden. However, we aren’t to be limited by the theological boxes that various people and groups have built. God is by definition bigger than any box ever could be!

I long ago lost count of how many times God has shown me things by having me say them or write them. It happens with some regularity with my morning devotions! That’s why writing things out – journaling, as some people call it – is very helpful indeed. I’ve been called a geek for doing my devotions with a computer, but my handwriting is slow and sometimes illegible! I have indeed had times when God showed His love to me in ways that are beyond words, but those have been the exception. God gave me a gift for words, and His gifts are always to be used as He intends. I am to speak and write as He directs, both for the sake of my listeners and readers and for my own sake, and always for His glory. Again, I’m never to think or feel that because I said it, that makes it true. I am to be humbly submitted to my Lord and allow Him to correct my misunderstandings, however He might choose to do it. There is so much more of Him than I can grasp, so I am to rejoice in whatever He chooses to reveal to me.

Father, thank You for this clear Word this morning. The devil doesn’t want me writing, and he distracts me in countless ways. Help me focus on what You have for me so that I won’t miss anything You want to say to me or through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Plans; April 20, 2024

Posted on April 21, 2024 by jgarrott

Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

It is significant that Jesus began His public ministry after John was arrested (verse 12). John’s ministry was to prepare the way for Jesus, as had been prophesied (Luke 1:17) and as he himself had proclaimed. (Matthew 3:11) John’s ministry was all about repent­ance, so the people knew what Jesus was talking about when He started saying the same thing. That is still largely true in culturally Christian countries like America, but it sounds quite foreign in Japan, even though the Japanese term for repentance is if anything easier to understand than the English. (It means, regret and start over.) Because of that, evangelism in Japan requires a lot of “soil preparation” for the “seed” to be received and take root. Jesus’ parable of the sower is certainly applicable here! (Matthew 13) It is also striking to me that the Japanese translation I’m using, in this verse, where most English translations say “preach,” uses the term that is applied to missionaries. Analyzed, it means, “proclaim knowledge.” By extension, that means, “proclaim religion.” There are church groups in Japan that use that term for Sunday preaching, though I didn’t grow up doing so. The term I grew up with is still often used in a religious context, but it is also used for a parent “dressing down” their child for an infraction, which is a nuance “preach” can carry in English as well. The thing that comes through to me from this whole story is that God had prepared Jesus, as is demonstrated by His response to the devil’s temptations, He had prepared His audience, and, as comes up immediately after this, He had prepared His disciples as well. God has His plans, since He knows the end from the beginning and so knows what is going to work. We don’t know what the next minute will bring, so we need to be sensitive and obedient to whatever God is saying, because the probability of our getting things right otherwise is totally negligible.

This is certainly applicable to me! I’m not very adept at planning, so the secular proverb of, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail,” is all too appropriate. However, my first priority is to seek God for what He is planning and get with His program. That said, I’m not to use that as an excuse for my own failures in planning! God’s plans for me have not included massive harvests, such as Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke experienced, but I’m not to be resentful or jealous. I may not see the outcome of what He tells me to do today, but that doesn’t mean I should fail to do it. I may recognize His appointments for me and rejoice in them, or I may overlook them entirely, not recognizing that He has used me. That’s my problem, not His! I am to be active in seeking His direction and following it, doing His will on His schedule, so that His purposes may be fulfilled for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Today I’ll be attending a ceremony marking 100 years of the school where I taught for 42 years. It feels like a big deal, even though I will be an insignificant attendee. May my attitude, actions, and words be exactly what You desire of me, so that I may be Your agent for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Results of Repentance; April 19, 2024

Posted on April 20, 2024 by jgarrott

Matt 3:8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Throughout the Bible, repentance is defined by changed actions. We may even think we have repented, but if our actions don’t change, then we are only fooling ourselves. The same thing applies to reading the Bible and listening to sermons. As James said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) We are not saved by our actions, (Ephesians 2:8-9) but our actions are a demonstration of the attitude of our heart. It’s kind of like the old secular proverb, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” We might be able to keep up appearances, but God knows what is in our heart. Words are important, as Paul said in his salvation formula, (Romans 10:9-10) but it is possible to say words with nothing behind them. This is a difficult point that everyone deals with. Believers struggle with it, but nonbelievers just pass it off as daily living! If your conscience no longer bothers you about anything, you are in deep trouble. The flip side of that is that the devil tells us that when we repeat sins of which we have repented, then we are hopeless and should just give up. That too is a lie, as is everything he says to us, even if it might have true elements in it. God allows us to sin again so that we will recognize our complete powerlessness without Him, and so depend on Him fully. It is when we do that, that our actions indeed change, and we manifest His righteousness and holiness. That is what repentance is all about.

This is something I have struggled with essentially all my life. I will never forget the time when, as a young adult, God tapped me on the shoulder and, when I turned, had a mirror for me to briefly see the blackness of the pride in my soul. That was over 50 years ago now, and I still struggle with pride! However, I know without question that the blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse me from it all, so I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, as He has told me personally. The difficulty is in my tendency to take it for granted and to get careless. That can do a lot of damage! However, God’s grace is sufficient, and He can use even such a one as I am for His purposes.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I don’t want to be hypocritical, but at the same time I am deeply aware that, like Paul, I am far from having reached sinless perfection. (Philippians 3:12-14) Help me keep growing, repenting in truth when I stumble, so that Christ may be formed more and more fully in me, (Galatians 4:19) drawing others to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Results of Serving God; April 18, 2024

Posted on April 19, 2024 by jgarrott

Malachi 3:18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

This is a justly famous chapter, but I think we need to look at it more deeply than just verse 10, as pointed as that is. It is actually God responding very helpfully to the question of the people in verse seven: “How shall we return?” God was calling them to repentance through Malachi, and the people wanted to know how to do that. It bears saying again and again, but genuine repentance always involves changed behavior. In this particular instance, the people had been placing finances ahead of obedience to God, and God was reminding them where their finances came from in the first place. That is common enough today, as well! As was the case everywhere before the Industrial Age, it was a largely agricultural economy, and there seems to have been a crop failure, either from drought or locusts or a combination thereof. We deal with such things as market downturns, corrupt government, and inflation, but the principles are the same. In this verse, God was reminding them that there really are benefits to following His rules. It’s not at all that good people won’t have problems – Jesus was very explicit about that (John 16:33) – but that the blows to society are often softened for the individual who places God first. That said, the person who has it worst-off in countries like Japan or America today lives in more luxury than kings did in Malachi’s day! We need to recognize the blessing we have, and give God the credit, gratitude, and obedience He deserves!

This feels very close to home for me. I feel incredibly blessed, with a wife who really loves me, children doing well, and all my needs met. However, I can’t take credit for it all, and I still find things to get upset about. I do seek to serve God, but my wife serves Him no less than I do, and her health is orders of magnitude worse than mine. I seek to stay healthy so I can take care of her! That said, people do notice my blessings, and they comment on them. I need to be consistent in pointing people to God, for indeed, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) I am not to preach a “prosperity gospel,” but I am to let people know that serving God is not in vain, either for this world or the next.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Sometimes I feel conflicted over the abundance of Your provision, even though we would not be considered wealthy by the world’s standards. Help me be a faithful steward not only of the material things You provide but also of the abilities and opportunities You give me, so that every one of Your gifts to me may accomplish through me exactly what You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Speaking for God; April 17, 2024

Posted on April 18, 2024 by jgarrott

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.

It strikes me that at this point Zechariah was not at all used to being the Lord’s spokesperson. It’s like he is reminding himself that it is God saying these things, and he is insisting the same thing to those who hear him. When we think about it, it is remarkable that the Creator of the universe would choose to speak to, much less through, His creatures! However, virtually every culture down through history has had the tradition that this happens. Part of that comes from the spiritual reality that the devil and his demons, who imitate God in just about everything, do the same sort of thing. Demonic possession is also a tradition with long standing! That’s why John admonishes us to “test the spirits.” (1 John 4:1) That said, it is a glorious thing to allow God to speak through you. We can understand why Zechariah was a bit awed by it all! That’s why it’s all the more remarkable that under the New Covenant, all believers are to seek to be used in this way. (1 Corinthians 14:1) Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that we ourselves need to listen obediently to whatever God says through us. It is sadly common that those used in prophecy feel they are above their hearers, and that they don’t need to pay attention themselves to what God is saying. That is certainly a trick of the devil! It is far more appropriate and beneficial to be like Daniel, who was personally righteous, but repented on behalf of all the Jews. (Daniel 9) We tend to react to people who “speak God’s words” as though they were “super Christians,” but even Jesus cautioned us to look at the fruit of their lives before we swallow what they are saying. (Matthew 7:20) All of those cautionary notes aside, it is still wonderfully true that God does speak to and through His children, and we should expect to Hear from Him through others and keep ourselves available for Him to speak through us as well.


I don’t remember the first time God spoke directly through me, per­haps because I wasn’t even aware of it at the time. I have had quite a few times that I have spoken with a clear awareness that was happening, and I have had a few times when God has stopped speaking and I haven’t. Those feel horrible! Not long after one such time I was in a service and felt a strong urge to speak, so I did, but then it stopped in the middle of a sentence, so I stopped. At that moment, someone on the other side of the room picked it up without a break, and I knew without question that it had indeed been the Holy Spirit speaking through me, and through the other brother as well. In recent years, and particularly in this church, I have had very few times of using the words, “The Lord says,” but I strive always to say only what He is saying regardless. My calling is as Pastor/Teacher, and not as Pro­phet, but I am in trouble if I am only teaching “the traditions of men.” (Mark 7:8) As Jesus said, I am accountable for “every careless word [I] have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36) I am to rejoice in the incredibly gracious privilege of speaking out what God is saying, but I am never to take it lightly, or think I have earned it. I am also to encourage every believer to allow God to speak through them, because there can be no such thing as too much of the Word of the Lord!

Father, thank You for this beautiful reminder and encouragement. Thank You also for the Word You are growing in me for Sunday. It’s coming to me in a somewhat different way than I am used to, but I have full assurance that it is from You. May I deliver it clearly without distortion, so that it may indeed accomplish everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:10-11) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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