Gods and Idols; May 5, 2023

Posted on May 6, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 115:2-3 Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.

This exchange might seem a little odd to those not used to physical idols, but the truth in it is important to us just the same. Right after this passage the Psalm goes into detail about the deficiencies of idols, that are inanimate regardless of what they are made of. Verse 8 is very pointed: “Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” As I mentioned a few days ago, the current work on AI is, on some levels, aimed at creating “gods” who will eventually supplant humans, but verse 8 still applies. It is an entirely different matter to know and worship the Creator of the universe, who indeed is in a plane far above our own and does whatever pleases Him. When our concept of God is limited to our own intellect and senses we cut ourselves off from the infinite eternity that God inhabits, and the our loss is greater than we can imagine.

Almost 50 years ago we were living in Sasebo, and a burgler broke into the church we were attending. They only stole some sound equipment, but they had previously broken into a Buddhist temple and stolen a statue. When the police came and investigated, one detective said, “I see they stole your god,” because there was no crucifix on the wall, it being a Protestant church. The pastor and I laughed at that, but it showed the cultural mindset of Japan. I left Sasebo to go to seminary in the US, but returned to Japan in 1981 and continue to minister here now. The cultural mindset still hasn’t changed! Only now, Japan is on the forefront of robotics technology, creating bodies for the AI that is being developed in the US and elsewhere. My challenge is to demonstrate the reality of the Creator and His interaction with people through my own life, being faithful to say and do what He desires. As this passage says, He does whatever pleases Him, but I desire to do only what pleases Him as well. After all, I know that in the not too distant future I will be with Him in heaven. I desire to take as many people with me as possible. There is no such thing as heaven being “too full,” because it is truly infinite as well as eternal. I know that desire is pleasing to God, because the Bible states clearly that He “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) And that means being rid of idolatry in all its forms.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Ministry in Japan often feels like beating my head against a wall, but nothing is impossible for You. Thank You for those who do discard idols, physical and otherwise, and open their hearts to You. May their number increase greatly, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Blessings of Fearing God; May 4, 2023

Posted on May 5, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands.

This anonymous Psalm certainly paints a desirable picture for us to aim for. Japanese grammar expresses this verse more on the lines of, “It is a blessed thing when a person fears the Lord and takes great delight in His commands.” We certainly want such blessings! So why do we often fail to fear the Lord and delight in what He tells us? That’s because we are deceived by the devil and our flesh into chasing after anything but God. This is exemplified by the song, My Way, made famous by Frank Sinatra, who certainly lived as that song depicts. How totally empty and pathetic! To get things right, we first have to acknowledge that there is an absolute authority, and we aren’t it. For that matter, neither is the government, and that’s why totalitarian regimes of all stripes suppress religion, replacing God with the State. That’s most obvious in North Korea, but China is coming in a close second these days. They would love this verse if only it said State instead of Lord! However, a person with spiritual perception will realize that no human organization can be perfect, or even close to it. (That includes churches and denominations, but that’s another discussion.) We need to grasp that the focus of this verse, and actually the whole Psalm, isn’t the person (though it seems to be) but the Lord whom he fears and trusts. (verse 7) When our heart is fixed on the Lord and being obedient to Him, the blessings that accrue are beyond counting.

I had the incredible blessing of being raised by a man who fit the description in this Psalm. There’s a bit of irony in the mention of “his heart,” because my father didn’t wake up after heart surgery at 64, but that was just the physical. Otherwise, it seems like a description of his life. Even now I hear stories of him, and I am humbled. I doubt I will be awarded anything at my death the way he was given a very high award from the emperor at his, but like him I will receive the crown of life, (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10) which is infinitely more important. Having had that example, it is easier for me than perhaps for many to follow this verse. I certainly pray that I will do so faithfully, accomplishing God’s purposes for His glory.

Father, once again I am in awe of how You have blessed me, and impressed with how it is totally grace, and not anything I have earned. If anything, I should have been disqualified from having received the blessings! Help me be the steward You want me to be of all that You have poured out on me, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Wisdom and Understanding; May 3, 2023

Posted on May 4, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise.

Sometimes the world seems insane, with people insisting that biology is meaningless, good is evil and evil is good. This verse clues us in on where all of that comes from. When people start from a point of insisting that their opinions, their feelings, are ultimate, that there is no absolute truth, then the probability of their arriving at wisdom is essentially zero. They really can’t grasp what reality is. As this verse says, it is those who act in accordance with their accountability to their Creator who have good understanding. Those who start by rejecting God, whether they believe He exists or not, are really to be pitied because they are quite pathetic, but they can do a lot of damage in their foolishness. Rejecting God, they reject His love for them as well, and in the process reject the very meaning for their existence. This delights the devil, and is the reason why he attacks the family so strongly. If a person has no physical father in their life, or even if their father fails to discipline them and earn their respect, then they will have great difficulty relating to Father God. All the psychology I have studied, along with my personal experience, tells me that homosexual people do not have a right relationship with their father, and that applies to both men and women. Mothers may or may not be directly involved, but the father is key. If we don’t respect our father, we won’t respect Father God. Another point to remember here is that wisdom isn’t the same thing as intelligence. To take a point that is very much in the news today, “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) is being pursued by people who have high IQs, but perhaps little wisdom. They are effectively trying to create electronic gods, and in the process wipe out people and their reason for existence. Trying to create on their own, they are forgetting that they have a Creator, and leave Him out of their equations. The current situation requires great wisdom and patience on the part of those who seek God to be obedient to Him, but we’ve got to remember that nothing is impossible for Him, and He knows the end from the beginning.

I was gifted with a high IQ, so I know the temptation to descend into hubris. I am more than grateful that I not only received superb genetics, I was raised in a home that genuinely loved and served God. My parents weren’t perfect – no parent is – but they modeled devotion to and fellowship with God, and that was most important. Whe­ther I am wise isn’t for me to judge, but I do know that I seem to see a lot of things more clearly than many, and I’m not talking about my physical eyesight. I’ve got to be very careful of pride, but I am also to be grateful for the understanding I am given, so that I may exercise it in service to my Lord.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me live my life in right relationship to You, so that I may then be in right relationship to everything else, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Gratitude; May 2, 2023

Posted on May 3, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 106:24-25 Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.

What follows this is a horrendous record of idolatry and child sacrifice, certainly bringing to mind the tragedy of abortion. However, all of that sprang from what is mentioned here: a failure to believe God, appreciate His blessings, and listen obediently to Him. Faith in God will open our eyes to recognize His gracious blessings to us, generating the obedience that comes from gratitude. It is actually very ironic that we refuse to be grateful, when psychologists, and actually all of history, teach us that gratitude is the key to happiness. However, the devil is out to steal, kill, and destroy, (John 10:10) so he attacks gratitude in every way he can. Gratitude requires an object, someone to whom we are grateful, so atheism by its very nature is antithetical to happiness. As Dennis Prager says, you won’t find a happy Leftist. Conversely, a genuinely happy person isn’t going to be a Leftist. Genuine happiness requires recognizing that, as James said, “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) Gratitude toward people is certainly appropriate, but true happiness requires the recognition that good things may come through people, but they originate with our Creator. Faith isn’t for God’s benefit, it’s for ours!

I’m very grateful that I was raised to be grateful. At Christmas, each gift was opened individually, with everyone watching, and they didn’t come from “Santa,” but from a person who was to be thanked. Year after year, that became a powerful lesson to me. I also learned the joy of giving, taking more delight in others opening the gifts I had chosen for them (even if they weren’t bought with my money) than in what I received myself. I would be happy if that attitude permeated my life more than it does, but my primary gifting is Teacher, rather than Giver. However, I do have a clear grasp on the reality of what James said, and that makes me a generally happy person. I have had more than enough struggles with pride, that deafens my ears to God and makes me forget that everything I have is because of His grace. He has told me to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, so that needs to be my focus.

Father, thank You for that reminder. We were really under spiritual attack yesterday, and it was no fun. Thank You that indeed, joy comes in the morning! (Psalm 30:5) Help me receive this day from Your hands with appropriate gratitude, rejoicing in You and blessing others in the process, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Impatience; May 1, 2023

Posted on May 2, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 106:13 But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.

This particular issue has snared people throughout history, and it certainly does today. Forgetting all that God has done in the past, we think, “I’ve got to do something.” This particular phrase appears almost countless times in the Old Testament and is captured beautifully by the Japanese translation, but I have yet to run into an English Bible that does it justice. The Japanese says, “wait in hope,” that is, expectantly. Waiting for the sake of waiting is certainly tedious, but those who know God should be able to wait expectantly, like a child waits for Christmas. In the famous play, Waiting for Godot, Godot never shows up. That’s not the way it is with God! Many Jews today feel that way about the Messiah, not accepting that He showed up over 2000 years ago, and even now is waiting for them to acknow­ledge Him. This particular verse says they failed to wait expectantly for God’s “counsel,” that is, His instructions. Wise people down through the centuries have known that until God tells you something different, you need to keep doing the last thing He told you. We tend to want to know everything ahead of time, but God generally doesn’t tell us stuff until we need to know it. The flip side of that is that today we have the Bible, so if we genuinely want to hear from God we should be reading it. After all, He’s not going to tell us anything that contradicts the Bible. Those who say otherwise are revealing that they are false teachers, serving the liar (John 8:44) instead of the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) We indeed need to wait at times until God makes Himself clear, but we should spend that time getting more of His Word into our hearts.

I have had my times of impatience, but I don’t seem to struggle with it as much as some do. I have certainly experienced God’s guidance, provision, and blessing countless times in countless ways, so I have no excuse for impatience! The biggest thing I’m still waiting for is what my parents waited for as well, and that’s God’s massive move of revival in Japan. My father once prostrated himself on the floor, crying out to God, “Lord, if I’m what’s standing in the way of revival in Japan, then take me out of the way!” As a young single missionary he had visited the Shantung Revival in China, and he knew what revival looked like. I’ve been ministering for 42 years in Omura at this point, and I too have yet to see the revival I desire. I know without question that I can’t make it happen, so I seek to keep myself available for however God might want to use me. He has been giving intimations recently that His time might be near, and that’s exciting, but again, it’s in His hands, so I’m to wait expectantly for Him, and not go off on any tangents.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the past few days with Hank and Doug here. They have been an encouragement to us and to others, and have worked to tear down the works of the enemy. (1 John 3:8) I ask Your protection and blessing on them as they go to Tokyo today and then back to the US this week. I pray that what You did through them in these days would be cemented and multiplied, contributing to Your rule and reign being established right here as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Trusting God; April 30, 2023

Posted on May 1, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 91:2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

I have loved the musical setting of these first three verses for over 40 years, and in this case, familiarity has not bred contempt! This Psalm is anonymous, which in a sense makes it easier for anyone to claim as their own. It speaks of God’s protection, and verse 12 is what the devil quoted when he tried to get Jesus to display His power by jumping off the temple. Of course Jesus squashed that by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 about not putting God to the test, (Luke 4:10-12) but that does indicate the importance of this Psalm. (That incident also indicates the importance of not “cherry picking” verses out of context, but that’s another discussion.) This verse tells us the foundation for the protection listed, and that is trust. I have long felt that trust was in some ways a better term for a right relationship with God than faith, because faith can be treated as something abstract and theoretical, whereas trust is immediate and practical. Verses three and six are very timely, with their mention of disease. The worst thing about the recent pandemic was the fear, even more than the actual death toll, and that fear was actively stoked by governments and media. Of course that was orchestrated by the devil, which is why such a big deal was made of the “infection cluster” that occurred at a choir practice in Washington State early on, to keep people from gathering to worship and especially praise God. That factor alone made it completely obvious to anyone with spiritual perception that the whole thing was demonic. The flip side of all of this is that there can be a fine line between trust and presumption. As Jesus responded to the devil, we aren’t to put God to the test for our own purposes. At the same time, God famously tells us to put Him to the test when it comes to tithing. (Malachi 3:10) Having enough faith to trust God to be true to His Word is certainly not sinful!

I have experienced this in various ways many times. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit only when I trusted God to be true to His promise to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. (Luke 11:13) I have experienced His provision when I stepped out in obedience to do what He said, even though the necessary resources were not at all visible. Throughout the pandemic we continued to hold worship services, going “online only” for just two weeks in early 2020, and we had no “cluster infections.” Cathy and I both had mild cases of COVID in late March, but we didn’t infect anyone else. A few times in my life I have apologized to God for keeping my guardian angel busy, but He has been more than gracious. I have had my times of “stepping out of bounds” so to speak, including breaking my wrist in January, but that in no way invalidates this Psalm. I am to walk in trust all the time, giving God the gratitude and praise He deserves.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your indeed all-sufficient grace. (2 Corinthians 12:9) May I walk in the obedience of love that is the only appropriate response to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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An Undivided Heart; April 29, 2023

Posted on April 30, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 86:11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

There are other striking passages in this Psalm, but this verse sings to me the loudest right now. This is a prayer that every believer could and should pray frequently. We want to know the way that God has laid out for us, but we will not recognize it consistently without a commitment to walk in it. As James pointed out, it does no good to just know truth without living it out. (James 1:22) The thing is, as David alludes to in the second half of this verse, we often struggle with a divided heart. Part of us wants to follow God completely, and part of us wants to go our own way. Like the first half of the verse, this too calls for commitment to obedience. The Old Testament talks a lot about fearing God, or as here, fearing His name, where the New Testament talks much more about loving Him. However, we must never forget that Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) He expanded that to say, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching,” and, “He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” (John 14:23, 24) Whether you call it fear or love, obedience is called for! I’m not sure we ever completely gain an undivided heart this side of heaven, because our flesh always wants to get in its two cents. However, we can always choose obedience, choose to love/fear God, and that is what we need to do. If we’re passive, expecting God to move us regardless of our choices, then we don’t understand free will. In a sense, choices are all God asks of us, but He definitely requires those of us. Consistently choosing to love and obey God is how we bring our heart into unity with His, and that is without question the highest good.

This is something I have struggled with, but I think everyone does. My struggles have left me very appreciative of the grace and mercy of God! I’ve never been the captain of a slave ship, but John Newton’s lyrics certainly resonate with me. They are very comforting, because if God could take the captain of a slave ship and remake him into a pastor, He can do anything He likes with me! However, for that to happen I need to be increasingly consistent in my choices. I may not yet have a completely undivided heart, but by His grace I can choose His half of it, and the more I do so the easier it will be. I have learned that the choice isn’t always between good and evil; that’s pretty easy to distinguish. It gets more complicated when it’s between good and God. I don’t want to do the minimum, I want to be and do exactly what God desires, and I’m not wise enough to do that. I’ve got to seek Him at every turn, relying not on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) but on the Holy Spirit He has given me, so that in all things I may be His agent, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I find that every time I draw closer to You, the devil tries to make me proud that I have done so. I pray that I may fully submit to You and consistently resist the devil, so that he may flee and Your will be done in and through me, for Your glory. (James 4:7) Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Blessings; April 28, 2023

Posted on April 29, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 84:12 O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Various parts of this Psalm have understandably been set to music in modern times. As a Levite, the Psalmist had plenty of opportunity to observe people as they came to the temple, so his remarks here are not just theoretical. He himself is obviously someone who is totally devoted to God. He recommends closeness to God from personal experience. Accordingly, this verse is his personal testimony. Not only has he been greatly blessed, he knows it! Actually, most of us are far more blessed than we recognize. Rather than being properly grateful, we tend to take things for granted, and that blocks much of the blessing from reaching our heart. A Japanese proverb says that only the ill know what health is, and I think that’s very perceptive. Trusting in God involves not only knowing that He will get us out of trouble, it’s recognizing that it’s all grace, and we can’t claim credit for any of it. As psychologists have confirmed, gratitude is the key to genuine happiness.

Sometimes I feel like I could be a poster boy for blessing, God has poured so much out on me. I’ve never been wealthy, but in every metric that really counts, I feel like I’m on the high end of the scale. At 74 I’m still active and healthy, and next month we will celebrate 54 years of a marriage that is the envy of many. My material needs are met, and I have more interesting things to do than I can find time for. I could go on and on, because God has been incredibly gracious. I’m not at all sure I could claim my walk has been blameless, but I feel I am a demonstration of verse 11. My task at this point is to be the steward God wants me to be of the blessings He has poured out on me, for His glory.

Father, thank You indeed for Your amazing grace. Thank You that the two brothers arrived safely yesterday, and for the blessed fellowship we have been having already. I pray that the teaching and prayer walking we will be doing over the next three days will accomplish all that You intend, destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and setting people free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Repentance; April 27, 2023

Posted on April 28, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 78:38-39 Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

The Psalmist was aware that if God wanted to He could destroy mankind, but having no concept of physics at all he had no idea how very simple it would be. There are countless things about the existence of life, not to mention the universe itself, that if they were just the slightest bit different, everything would fall apart. The odds against all of this coming together by chance are beyond calculation, but there are still people who want to insist a Creator doesn’t exist, simply because they don’t want to acknowledge their accountability to Him. The Psalmist has been recounting some of God’s disciplinary measures toward the Israelites, and here he is talking about God’s restraint in what He did. We too are treated better by God than we deserve, whether we want to acknowledge that or not. Books have been written about “Why bad things happen to good people,” but the fact of the matter is, every one of us has done things that by rights should disqualify us from the eternal life of fellowship with our Creator. It started in Eden and has continued right to today. God was aware of the moral weakness of His creatures, which is why He planned for the Incarnation and the cross from the point of creation. (Revelation 13:8) That’s why repentance is absolutely essential. If we say we believe, yet don’t repent of our rebellion against God, then our “faith” does us no good. James went on at some length about that, and Luther, in a reaction against the teaching that you could essentially buy your way into heaven, called the letter of James “a book of straw.” However, from the first of His public ministry Jesus proclaimed that people should “Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15) When we read all the things people did in the Bible that brought God’s judgment down on them we need to look at ourselves honestly, and be deeply grateful for the grace and mercy of God.

This certainly applies to me! I have commented many times that if I had been God, I would have squashed me a long time ago! I am deeply impressed with God’s mercy and patience. I think it was Jack Hayford who used the analogy of a field with a huge boulder in it. When we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and repent of our unbelief, that boulder of sin is taken away. However, as we walk around our “field” we find lots of “head-sized” rocks scattered around it, and we have to deal with each one, generally lugging it out of the area. Then we start to notice all the fist-sized rocks that seem to be everywhere! That is what Paul was talking about when he was insisting he hadn’t reached perfection. (Philippians 3:13) I certainly agree with him! Major lapses may be a thing of the past, but I know I’m capable of them, and if I get complacent I could fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12) I’ve got to keep my repentance up to date, and rejoice in the gracious mercy of my God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’m certainly not the best judge of my own actions. Thank You that I can indeed trust everything to You, (2 Timothy 1:12) and rest, relax, and rejoice as You have told me to. Hallelujah!

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Education; April 26, 2023

Posted on April 27, 2023 by jgarrott

Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.

At 72 verses this Psalm doesn’t begin to approach the 176 of Psalm 119, but it is still a hardly trivial attempt to do exactly what this verse says. In those days they didn’t even have printed books, much less the flood of digital information we deal with, so oral transmission of information was of extreme importance. Illiteracy was the norm, which is why even today a major feature of a bar mitzva, the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony, is reading from the Torah, the books of Moses. Jewish children have been taught to read for thousands of years so that they would know the Law of God. A side effect of that has been the incredible intellectual achievement of the Jewish people, because education has been undervalued by many cultures. I don’t know the figures, but a remarkable percentage of the Nobel Prize winners have been Jewish. In the early days of America literacy had a similar motivation, and the Bible was a staple of every schoolhouse. Naturally, the devil hates that, and in America he has made a concerted attack on education, first turning the public universities into cesspools of indoctrination and now extending that down all the way to kindergarten. When children are not taught about God they have no mooring, no foundation on which to build their lives. When they are actively taught things in violation of God’s law, chaos results, as we see around us every day. Thankfully some parents are waking up, even though their own foundations may be very weak. This verse needs to be a rallying cry in order to rescue society.

My family has been committed to education for several generations at least, with all four grandparents being 4-year college graduates and even great-grandparents being educated. Sadly, some of my relatives have been led astray from the purpose of education stated here, seduced into intellectual conceit, and that is sad. Thankfully, my father got his PhD at 23, but he poured himself into following God, and the university he was involved with still proclaims the dying words of the founder: “Seinan, be true to Christ.” I have considered getting a doctorate, but realized that the title would bring no genuine benefit, and the programs I investigated included lots of essentially meaningless busy work. I have supported my ministry activities in Japan by teaching, and though the curriculum has been secular, I have sought to communicate Christ in the process. Just this month I have decided to retire from secular teaching at the end of the school year (which is March in Japan). However, I hope and intend never to retire from telling succeeding generations about the greatness of God, His incredible love and grace and how He has demonstrated that down through the centuries and even today. My motivational gifting is that of Teacher, and I hope to exercise that until the day my Lord takes me home to be with Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s very encouraging and affirming. Help me indeed exercise all that You have poured into me to accomplish Your purposes for me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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