Worthy; December 15, 2023

Posted on December 16, 2023 by jgarrott

Philippians 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Just two days ago we had Paul telling us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received,” (Ephesians 4:1) and here he is telling us to live worthy of the Gospel. That seems like a lot of pressure! The thing is, in our own strength and righteousness, none of us are worthy of any of that! We trip up in countless ways, but that is why God’s grace is grace: we don’t deserve it, but God loves and supports us anyway. In terms of the two passages, I would say that they are just two ways of saying the same thing, because a life worthy of the calling we have received is worthy of the Gospel, and vice versa. Either way, it’s a matter of maintaining focus on Christ and living consistently with that focus. That’s why the devil works so hard to distract us, and why trials can sometimes be a huge blessing. People under active persecution often have a much purer and stronger faith than those in nominally Christian societies. As has been said, there’s nothing like impending execution to sharpen our focus! As this chapter makes clear, Paul wrote this letter while he was under the threat of execution. Most scholars think he lived for some time after this, and may even have been released from prison for a while, but 2 Timothy was clearly written shortly before he actually was executed. He followed his own advice, which is why he was able to write, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) With such an example, and of course, that of Jesus before him, we too should fix our eyes on the goal and give it our all, just as Paul wrote later in this same letter. (Philippians 3:13-14)

And this naturally applies to me! At 75 I am much closer to the finish line than I have been in earlier periods of my life, so this is certainly no time to slack off. Retiring from secular teaching, I will have much more “discretionary time” than I have had previously – so I must use discretion in the use of my time! Since I will have fewer scheduled events, I will need to be all the more sensitive to the Lord’s appointments. Just yesterday I had an unexpected call to translate an important legal document. I don’t necessarily enjoy that, because I’m not exactly turned on by legalese, but it’s something I could do, and the Lord enabled me to do it, in fairly short order. I was scheduled to give a final examination to my nursing students today, but ¼ of the class has come down with COVID, so the exam is postponed and I have another clear day in my schedule. That calls for consciously seeking how the Lord would have me spend each moment, and that’s a good thing. I know from experience that, left entirely to myself, my life is not particularly worthy of the Gospel, of the calling that God has given me, so I need to be fully intentional in seeking and following Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s certainly timely! Thank You for reminding me that I need to draw up the January Scripture reading list today, and I need to get more ink to print Christmas cards that church members have requested. Help me flow on Your schedule without being anxious, resting, relaxing, and rejoicing in You just as You have told me to do, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Words; December 14, 2023

Posted on December 15, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel

You might think that someone like Paul would not need to make a prayer request like this, because words were his “stock in trade,” so to speak. However, he wasn’t “hawking his own goods,” but expressing the words of his Lord, and that made all the difference. By this point he had learned, doubtless the hard way, that anything he said entirely on his own was essentially worthless, but that when God spoke through him, anything could happen. That’s a lesson every preacher, in particular, needs to learn! Frank Viola puts it in terms of speaking to the head, to the emotions, or to the heart. The first two are common, and recently, speaking to the emotions seems to be the goal of many. However, it is only words that penetrate to the heart that make a lasting difference, and those need to come from the One who created the heart, and everything else. I think we underestimate our total dependence on God, because we fool ourselves into thinking we are accomplishing things in our own strength and wisdom. Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” to cure him of that deception, and that was a blessing. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) The higher profile the preacher (or politician, or entertainer, or whatever) the more they need such reminders. We are remarkably adept at fooling ourselves, (James 1:22) and anything that protects us from that is to be welcomed.

I am talking about myself here, because I have always been a person of words. In the 7th grade I made a higher score on a comprehensive vocabulary test than my English teacher did! However, having a lot of words at my disposal didn’t, and still doesn’t, mean that I necessarily use them correctly from God’s viewpoint. I may be a stickler for grammar, but that’s not what I’m talking about. If I’m not expressing God’s truth in the way He wants it said, then my words are meaningless, chaff that deserves no better than to be blown away by the wind. I have certainly experienced speaking chaff, and I have also experienced speaking the words of God. There’s no question which I want to do! This isn’t to say that I am to be mute until the Spirit moves me, but it is to say that I am constantly to be praying that God would set a guard on my lips to keep me from speaking that which is not of Him. I have seen my words bring blessing, and I have seen them bring pain. I want to be an instrument of blessing! Sometimes, as my father cautioned me at the point I was entering college, my words are to be a scalpel, cutting away undesirable things from people’s hearts, but I must be very careful that they aren’t infected with any trace of envy, pride, or hatred. Like Paul, I want to consistently make known the mysteries of the Gospel, so that people may be set free to repent and believe for their salvation, for the glory of God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the gift for words You have given me. May that gift, and my words, always be used as You intend, defeating the devil and setting people free, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Calling; December 13, 2023

Posted on December 14, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

As often happens in Paul’s letters, the rest of this chapter unpacks all the meaning contained in this deceptively simple verse. There are three issues here: what calling we have received, understanding what that calling involves, and living it out. Virtually everyone falls down on at least one, and I would say all three, of those points. In the first place, many people fail to recognize that God has called them to come and be His children, living in fellowship with Him. I don’t think anyone is left out of that, because as Paul said, God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) Expressing God’s calling is the major task of evangelism, but as anyone who has tried it can testify, responses are all over the place, even though there is no salvation without a repentant response to this call. In the second place, we tend to misunderstand our calling, even when we come to Christ as our Lord. Everyone is gifted differently, and everyone has different life circumstances that shape them. Faithful obedience to God for one person isn’t going to be identical to equally faithful obedience for another person. This can really get tricky, because we are so quick to compare ourselves with each other. We tend to puff ourselves up or put ourselves down because we aren’t the same as someone we’re looking at, but again as Paul said, “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12) Each of us is individually accountable to God for ourselves, and we aren’t accountable for how our neighbor responds to God’s call. The third point is closely related, because it is how well we live out the calling we have received, and that is the overall point of the verse. In the verses following, Paul speaks of different functions for different people, as well as universal principles that apply to all believers, but those are actually all included in this verse.

I don’t think I’ve ever unpacked this verse this thoroughly before, and I’m grateful for the insight. As I was saying to my wife and daughters just recently, I tend to feel that I have been an underachiever, considering all that God has poured out on me. I was very touched that my younger daughter stood up for me strongly, insisting that I have been very faithful, but I am reminded of something Jesus said: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:10) As Paul said, comparisons aren’t wise. I am to remember that my first calling is to draw near to my Lord, and my second calling is to be fully obedient to Him in every way. I haven’t fulfilled either of those perfectly, so I’ve got to keep growing.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for this clear explanation of this verse. Thank You that my calling extends into eternity, where I will be with You forever. Help me indeed keep that in mind and live appropriately each moment, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Plans; December 12, 2023

Posted on December 13, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

After expressing his prayer for the Ephesian believers, Paul can’t hold himself back from praising God. The better we know God and understand how much He has done for us in Christ, the more praise and thanksgiving will well up from within us. The word order in Japanese hit me just now as I read this, because it starts with “According to the power that works in us.” This isn’t some pie-in-the sky thing, it is already working in us! It also isn’t simply historical, grateful that something happened 2000 years ago, or anticipatory, that someday we’ll be in heaven, but it’s right now, working in us. The more we think about that, the more it should blow our minds! That Paul would say, “more than we can ask or imagine,” is very significant. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve got a pretty active imagination! This is another reason why we should never try to dictate to God: His plans for us are always better than anything we could plan for ourselves, regardless of what they look like in the moment. Sometimes He takes us through some pretty deep stuff, but it’s always for our good. Paul himself went through times that “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.” (2 Corinthians 1:8) No one in their right mind would choose that sort of thing voluntarily, but in the very same letter he tells us, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) We can’t imagine the extent of the glory that awaits us, but God is working in and through us right now to prepare us for that glory, and we should be very grateful.

This is something I have continued to grow into over the years. My “asking and thinking” has been pretty immature at times, but God has been patient with me. I continue to ask for and imagine an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Japan, bringing repentance and faith as all the lies of the devil are smashed, but I could no more accomplish that on my own than I could take a quick trip to the Andromeda Galaxy and back. As John wrote, faith is indeed the victory over all the opposition. (1 John 5:4) I need to keep trusting God to bring about His perfect plans, keeping myself available for however He might want to use me in them, so that He will receive the glory and satisfaction that is due Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that You are doing in and around me, much of it unexpected. Thank You for being an infinitely better planner than I am! Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You as Your plans are fulfilled, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Grace; December 11, 2023

Posted on December 12, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Everything is dependent on Christ. That’s why Jesus said so clearly, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Apart from faith in Christ, anyone drawing close to God, in our natural, sinful state, would get zapped, much like in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sometimes fiction can help us understand truth! We really have trouble understanding the absolute holiness of God, and how sinfulness simply cannot exist in His presence. The more we understand His holiness, the more we grasp how incredible and magnificent His grace toward us really is. We rightly love the song, Amazing Grace, but most of the time we live without a grasp of how essential that grace is to us. Physicists tell us about matter and antimatter, and how they are totally mutually exclusive. When they touch, both are instantly converted into energy, to the point that the reaction has been considered as an energy source for space ships and the like. (The problem is in how to maintain a supply of antimatter within a vessel of matter, so it’s strictly in the area of mind games at this point.) When sinfulness touches the holiness of God, the destruction is just as total for the sinfulness, but God cannot be destroyed; it’s no skin off of His nose. That’s why the truth expressed in this verse is so incredible. The New Testament is loaded with passages that speak of God’s grace, expressed in Christ Jesus, and there are plenty of Old Testament prophesies that point to it as well, most notably Isaiah 53. Only God could have come up with the plan to sacrifice His own Son to atone for the sins of mankind! We do, however, have to believe it for it to be effective in our lives personally. That’s why all who believe in Christ for themselves are compelled by God’s love to share the knowledge of Christ with those around them, so that they too may have the opportunity to believe. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

This is of course the reason why I live, and specifically, why I live in Japan as a missionary pastor. So few Japanese know enough about Christ to believe in Him! The biggest mystery to me is why more Japanese don’t recognize their need of salvation. There are many factors to that, but I keep reminding myself that nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:37) I am to remain humble and faithful, knowing that I have no hope apart from Christ, and that in Him I have every hope indeed. I am to keep sharing His truth, however He gives opportunity, and trust Him with the outcome.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that You are doing here. People are being drawn, and I praise You for that. I pray that every lie of the devil would be defeated and everyone You are calling would follow through, so that Your children may rise up as a mighty army in this place, defeating the works of the enemy, (1 John 3:8) setting people free, and preparing the way for Christ’s return. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Comfort; December 10, 2023

Posted on December 11, 2023 by jgarrott

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

We have a strange relationship with the word, comfort, in English. As a verb, as it is here, it is an emotional thing, but as a noun, it can mean what is given by the verb, or it can mean something entirely physical, and the adjective, comfortable, takes it entirely in that direction. That can leave us somewhat confused as to exactly what the Lord is talking about here. I am reminded of the very true saying that God is far more concerned with our character than with our comfort. This verse isn’t talking about putting us in a nice, soft chair! We even speak of a high income as “comfortable circumstances!” That is of very little importance, because it is strictly temporal. Emotional pain can be far deeper than physical pain, but we sometimes try to mask the emotional by dealing entirely with physical issues, which doesn’t work. Just ask someone who has just lost a loved one whether they care about how soft their chair is! God is here speaking of the emotional and spiritual support that only He can provide. All too often we lose sight of that reality and try to cover up the ache in our heart with physical pleasures, but it never works in the long run. We need to remember that one of the titles for Holy Spirit is “the Comforter.” He is the One who can touch our heart where it really hurts and bring the healing we need.

I have experienced both comfort and discomfort both physically and emotionally. In college at one point I simply wanted to die, and I tried to do it, but God stopped me. That’s why I know that suicide is both self-centered and stupid. I haven’t endured active persecution for my faith, but I have certainly experienced disappointments, both with myself and with others. I have experienced medical issues, but compared to my wife, certainly nothing to speak of. I have experienced the loss of my parents, and I anticipate the loss of others close to me. All of that makes me very grateful for the comfort that only God can give. I am never to put others down for the pain they are experiencing, whether it be physical or emotional, but rather seek to be a channel of God’s comfort to them. Sometimes that comfort requires repentance to be received; sin is never to be excused. However, my focus is never to be on inflicting pain, but rather on healing it. I am all too adept at inflicting emotional pain!

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the privilege of speaking on this verse this morning. I pray that my words would be yours indeed, both comforting those who hear them and inspiring them to be agents of Your comfort as well, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Belonging to God; December 9, 2023

Posted on December 10, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I hesitated to write on this because it is our Verse for the Year in this church. I am deliberately not going back to January 1st to see what I wrote then! Even saying this with the congregation every Sunday morning this year I realize that there is no Scripture I fulfill perfectly in this life, which is to say I’ve still got growing to do. However, that’s true for every believer, and the sooner and better we realize that, the happier and more fulfilled we will be. God has double rights of ownership to us, having created us in the first place and then, after we sold ourselves to sin, buying us back. As the Scripture-based song says, “I am not my own, I am bought with a price; I am purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.” We have every reason not to like the idea of slavery, but I think God allowed that human – demonic, really – institution to help us understand the position we got ourselves into with sin. We see stories on the Internet all the time about things being returned to their rightful owners, and they are presented, rightly enough, as “feel good” stories. Likewise we see stories of families being reunited, and we rejoice with those as well. God wants us to know that we belong to Him and we are His children, so the ultimate “feel good” story is when someone returns to their heavenly Father. That’s why Jesus told the parable of The Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Just before he told that parable He made a very important statement: “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) There is ultimately no real joy or peace apart from returning to the One who created us in love to be His children and do His will, for our blessing and His glory.

This is something to which I have given lip service most of my life, but I haven’t walked it out in fullness. That’s why I still have times of frustration, irritation, and even depression. Just yesterday I failed to let something slide when someone spoke in thoughtless ignorance and touched a very sensitive spot in my soul. They had no idea what they were doing, and the only ones who suffered from my reaction were myself and my wife, who had to put up with me. I still have plenty of room to grow and heal! Going back to the verse, I don’t know even a fraction of the good works God has prepared for me to do in my remaining years in this body, but I need to be committed to recognizing them when they arrive and fulfilling them in obedience to Him. The danger comes in my deciding ahead of time what they are supposed to be and launching out on my own, or conversely, drawing back from what God has planned. I need to be fully submitted to Him so that I can indeed resist the devil and have him flee, (James 4:7) for my blessing, the blessing of the people around me, and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me keep growing, particularly in my sensitivity and obedience to You, so that I may walk out all the plans You have for me. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Church; December 8, 2023

Posted on December 9, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 1:22-23 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

To be honest, this passage comes out as very confusing in Japanese, for various reasons I won’t go into here. That said, it isn’t a whole lot better in English, because we have such a distorted view of the Church. We forget that in both the Old Testament and the New, every time we see the word, church, it is speaking of assembled people, not a building or even an organization, really. Thus, you can’t have “church” by yourself, but it doesn’t take a very big group to qualify. Jesus specifically said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) That’s a pretty small church, but it qualifies! This isn’t to say that you can’t have times of fellowship with the Lord, just you and Him, or that worship is limited to a gathering. We should all be having such times daily, but that’s not the same thing as church. I would personally define “church” as any gathering where Christ is the Head, just as it says in this passage. Sadly, some “Christian” gatherings fail to be “church” because they fail to recognize Him and His absolute authority. A body without a head isn’t much use! Conversely, people who want to be “lone wolf Christians” are excluding themselves from the Church, and that is both sad and dangerous. What makes it more complicated, linguistically at least, is that a group of people who are connected to each other with Christ as their Head are still a church even when they are physically separated from each other. Some teachers have used the terminology of “the church assembled” and “the church dispersed” to try to make that clear. In any case, the Church is an organism, not simply an organization, and we need to keep that in our awareness.

I have tended to be a conceited introvert, thinking I didn’t really need other people, but God has really worked on me in both halves of that. He has shown me how really, really stupid, not just ignorant, I can be, and He has shown me that I cannot be what He has created me to be without other people. There was a while when I was not comfortable with that realization, but now I increasingly delight in it. I’m still not necessarily skillful at making connections with other people, but at least I realize such connections are essential. As far as this local congregation is concerned, for too much of the time it has tended to be “my church,” since I started it (or so I thought) and I did the majority of the functions in it. The Coaching teaching that I’ve been involved with for the past few years speaks of “The Seven Essences of the Church,” and one of those is “Christ-centered.” I have sought to make this church be Christ-centered, but I have had to learn that for that to happen, I’ve got to take myself out of the center. All the while talking about Jesus, I have tended to make everything revolve around me instead. How foolish! Since I am now 75, it’s obvious that I won’t be here forever, so it’s long past time for this body to indeed recognize its true Head, to be what He desires and intends.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me not just give this lip service, as I have done far too often, but truly live it out, rightly connected not only to my Head but also to the other parts of the Body, for Your name to be acknowledged as holy and Your rule and reign be established as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Blessings in Christ; December 7, 2023

Posted on December 8, 2023 by jgarrott

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Since everything from verse 4 through verse 14 is one sentence in the Greek, this is by far the easiest verse to pull out to write on! (Ancient Greek having no punctuation had its disadvantages.) That said, the rest of the passage could be said to be an amplification of this verse, so from that standpoint it is a good one to write on. Our entire time on this earth is an adventure in unpacking all that is included in “every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Our finite flesh simply isn’t capable of taking it all in, particularly at once, so that’s why we have to unpack it a little bit at a time as the Lord reveals it to us. It’s a matter of the infinite blessings of an infinite God! By definition I have no words to express it all, but the journey of discovery is indeed glorious. It is when our eyes are opened to this reality that all the junk of this world fades to insignificance. As the last line of Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus says, “The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” This is precisely what Paul was talking about when he wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) Any time we are bogged down by life – and there are plenty of opportunities for that – we need to shift our attention to this reality and simply praise God, because what He has done for us in Christ exceeds all the rest of Creation!

This is all very close to home for me for a number of reasons. My maternal grandfather, W.O. Carver, wrote several books, but many people agree that his best was his commentary on Ephesians, The Glory of God in the Christian Calling. He included his own translation of the Greek text, and it is interesting to me that virtually every translation since has chosen to use his reading of parts of this first chapter, in contrast to translations before his. In addition, my father’s doctoral dissertation was on all the appearances of “in Christ” and similar phrases in the New Testament. (He wasn’t my grandfather’s son-in-law at the time.) Despite having been awarded the PhD degree on the basis of his dissertation, my father told me that he had no real grasp of what it meant to be “in Christ” until he had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit, after he was in Japan as a single missionary. For myself, I have used Ephesians so much that the first two pages of it in my bilingual Bible have literally fallen out of the binding! That said, I’m still on a journey of discovery of all the spiritual blessings we have in Christ, and I am blessed indeed. As the Bill Gaither song puts it, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.” My task, as a pastor and simply as a believing disciple, is to introduce as many people as possible to these blessings, because the more I share them, the more I myself enjoy them!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the experience last night of sharing some of what You have brought me through, and how I am assured that since You have done that, I have every reason to trust You. Help me indeed give You the glory for all that You have done and are doing and will do, so that people will realize what a great God You are and yield themselves to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Perspective; December 6, 2023

Posted on December 7, 2023 by jgarrott

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

I have always thought of this verse in terms of getting worn out by heavy work, but the Japanese is very clear that it’s on the lines of, “I’m tired of all that mess.” That brings it closer to home, because we don’t often have physical labor in our doing good, but it can really get old at times. The devil throws thoughts into our mind like, “Why am I doing this? It’s not accomplishing anything.” Paul is saying here that’s a lie, and if we’re doing good in obedience to God, then it is the blackest of lies. As is true in so many areas of life, it’s a matter of perspective. We don’t see down the road, where God is using the echoes of what we do to accomplish His purposes. What Paul is saying is that faithfulness has a good result, whether we see it in this life or not. I’m reminded yet again of a line in Hebrews: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40) That’s why another line from Paul is so vitally important: “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) We don’t know what God is going to accomplish with what we are doing, so we need to trust Him enough to keep doing it until He tells us to do something else.

This is certainly pertinent to me! Yesterday I had my last classes at Nagasaki Rehabilitation College. I still have to give exams, but this closes out 42 years of teaching there. The faculty and staff gathered to give me a bouquet of flowers and a framed print of a group picture they took last week, and the person leading the assembly asked all my former students to raise their hands – over half the faculty! I cannot know the impact I have had on my literally thousands of students, but God does, and He placed me in that school for His purposes. Likewise, this church will celebrate 40 years in May, and I really don’t know all that God has done through me here, either. I can only seek to listen to Him day by day and trust that He will indeed use me. I have been praying for harvest this whole time, but have seen only a small fraction of what I have desired. The passage I quoted from Hebrews really resonates with me! However, I’ve got to leave it all in God’s hands and trust that His plans are always good, for me and for everyone with whom I interact – even when I don’t know I’m interacting with them! Someone is coming this month to be baptized by me, having come to faith far from here but attributing it to his interaction with me about 20 years ago. I literally have no idea what God has already done through me, much less what He is yet going to do through me, so I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, trusting Him with the harvest.

Father, thank You for this encouraging reminder. Help me indeed continue in faithfulness, never taking anything for granted but always pressing in for more of You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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