Grace and Truth; December 15, 2022

Posted on December 16, 2022 by jgarrott

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John the son of Zebedee was the youngest of the 12 apostles, and there were probably some who really wondered when he was so designated. However, he had a sensitivity and a depth of insight that made him invaluable in many ways. He was the one to whom Jesus entrusted His mother Mary at His crucifixion, (John 19:26-27) and he was the one to whom Christ entrusted the vision that is recorded as the last book of the Bible. Here he encapsulates his experience of walking with Jesus in His earthly ministry, and it is worthy of deep meditation. From the time he heard John the Baptist call Jesus “the Lamb of God,” (John 1:36-37) he was entranced, and quickly became part of Jesus’ inner circle. This verse expresses why he responded that way, because it tells us how he came to see Jesus. He saw Jesus’ power manifested in many different ways, from healing to calming a storm to raising the dead, but what stood out to him most was grace and truth. We only have small glimpses of the interactions among the group that traveled together for three and a half years, so we don’t know all the things, little and perhaps big, that demonstra­ted grace to John and his companions. We do know that Jesus was absolute truth, not simply avoiding lies but also not saying or doing anything that was incorrect. We can only dream of such an existence! These days it’s popular to speak of “my truth” and “your truth,” as though there were no absolute, objective truth. Jesus showed how wrong that is by actually being the Truth, as He Himself said. (John 14:6) If He were just Truth we would have no hope, because we are truly sinful. However. As John says here, He is full of grace as well, so that we may be saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) This is the glorious reality of Christmas: the Word of God became a human being in order to express God’s grace and truth to us, who need it so desperately.

Of all the people in the Bible, my favorite after Jesus is John. (People tell me I’m more like Paul, but that’s a different matter.) Raised by a father who held absolute honesty as one of his foundational principles, I love to share God’s truth with others. However, it I fail to express grace in the process I am worthless, driving people away from God rather than drawing them to Him. Paul spoke of it in terms of love, in 1 Corinthians 13 and elsewhere. Truth without love and grace is a hammer, smashing people and driving them into the ground. I am to be totally dedicated to God’s truth, but I must flow with His love and grace. The stresses and frictions of life test that constantly, but in the process I am trained and grown. This Christmas, and every day, I am to rejoice to be an instrument of God’s grace and truth, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I can forget this as the stresses pile up! Help me recognize what You have for me to do each moment, resting, relaxing, and rejoicing in You, so that those around me may receive Your grace and truth through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Forgiveness; December 14, 2022

Posted on December 15, 2022 by jgarrott

Luke 1:77 “…to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.”

This same verse came up in our readings just two weeks ago, and I wrote about how John the Baptist’s commission has now been given to every believer. No human being can give another eternal salvation, because we aren’t God. However, we can tell others about the salvation that God has already provided through His Son, who gave His own life so that we may be forgiven of our sins. That forgiveness originates with God, but we are called to be agents of it as well. After His resurrection Jesus told His disciples something absolutely shocking: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:23) To be honest, I still don’t know entirely how that works and is to be applied, but it brings up something else Jesus said much earlier in His ministry: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15) Forgiveness is central to the message of salvation no matter how you look at it. We have to be careful to recognize and communicate that forgiveness is not the same as excusing. God never says that it’s OK to sin! If that were the case, there would have been no need for Jesus to be born as a human being, live and grow and then die, both as a representative human being and as the eternal Son of God, taking the penalty for our sins. Forgiveness isn’t cheap! Even on the human scale it sometimes takes a huge expenditure of emotional energy to forgive, both those who have hurt us and sometimes even ourselves. However, when we understand that Jesus has already paid the ultimate price for forgiveness, both for us and for those who have hurt us, then it becomes possible both to receive that forgiveness and to forgive others. After all, nothing someone could do to us is worse than what we have done to our Creator, denying Him in countless ways and refusing to obey what He has laid out for us. It is when we understand God’s forgiveness toward us that we are then able to give others “the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.”

This is of course central to my ministry, since I am a pastor in Japan. It is particularly difficult here, because Japanese culture and language lack a clear understanding of either sin or forgiveness. The idea of retribution is enshrined in Japanese folklore, with people who sacrificed everything, including their own families, to exact vengeance on an enemy being held up as great heroes. The story known as “The 47 Samurai” in English is titled “The Storehouse of Faithfulness” in Japanese. I hone in on the necessity of forgiveness every time I do marriage counseling, stating clearly that a marriage that lacks forgiveness is not a happy marriage. I remember a tv show a few years ago in which a housewife was proudly showing the camera a notebook in which she kept a record of all the things her husband did that she couldn’t forgive. How utterly pathetic! I am not only to teach but also to model the forgiveness that God has provided through Christ, so that as many as will may repent and believe for their salvation. (Mark 1:15)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I pray that in the events of the next two weeks I may deliver and model the message of salvation effectively, for people’s salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Perception; December 13, 2022

Posted on December 14, 2022 by jgarrott

Luke 1:62-63 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”

The total lack of understanding shown here of the people about handicaps has always struck me. I don’t know that people today are that much better. Zechariah was not deaf, he was just unable to speak. There was no reason for them to “make signs to him” to ask him a question. This is just another example of the insensitivity that is so common throughout mankind. We have our mental frameworks, and anyone or anything that falls outside of those frameworks is not understood, or even not perceived. Even the prophets had trouble with this, when God showed them visions that were totally outside of their normal experience. Ezekiel and Daniel come to mind, as well as John on Patmos. They recorded as best they could, but they had no clear context, other than their lives to that point, to identify what they actually were seeing. It’s relatively easy to recognize this sort of thing in others, but we are generally blind to it in ourselves. We need to constantly ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate and explain what we are seeing and experiencing, but we have Jesus’ word that He will do exactly that. (John 14:26) Our biggest job is simply to be aware that we don’t grasp the whole picture, and so depend on the One who does.

I have experienced this from many angles. Living in Japan I have seen countless cross-cultural misperceptions. I could probably write a book on them! As a pastor and teacher I have seen very many medical misperceptions. One that I always quote to my medical students is the discovery that people in deep comas can sometimes hear, understand, and remember what is said to them. A young man in my church in the US was in a car accident and entered a deep coma after a traffic accident. When he came out of the coma six weeks later his family was astonished that he remembered all the things I had said to him in my frequent visits. We don’t know what others are perceiving, and we often don’t recognize what we are perceiving! I need to remember that at all times, not getting angry or lashing out at people but remembering that they are acting congruently with how they perceive things. I need to pray for them and for me to understand things as God knows them to be, because none of us perceives perfectly.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I too am very self-centered in my understanding of things, assuming that my perception is right. Help me have the humility to seek You in order to gain Your perception, so that I may speak and act as an instrument of Your grace, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Being Used by God; December 12. 2022

Posted on December 13, 2022 by jgarrott

Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

I think I probably write on this verse every time our readings cover it, because it is just that impressive. It was not spoken by an angel like Gabriel in verse 37, or even by a “prophet,” but it is no less true than if it had been. It was spoken by someone filled with the Holy Spirit, (verse 41) and that is the only credential needed. God delights to speak to us and through us, and He does it all the time. The problem is, in failing to expect it we often fail to recognize it, and that is a real waste. He doesn’t necessarily need someone wearing sackcloth and eating locusts and wild honey, as John the Baptist was in his public ministry, and we are often numbed by the very ordinariness of things. That makes it more difficult to receive the blessing Elizabeth speaks of here. The reason this very true statement is so important is that we tend to “half-way believe” what God says to us. The Japanese in this verse uses an expression that means “believed completely and finally.” Our faith tends to waver! Even John the Baptist, in prison and shortly to be executed, sent disciples to Jesus to ask if He really was the One John had been talking about. (Matthew 11:2-3) We aren’t to be down on ourselves because of such doubts, but we are to ask God for the faith necessary to meet the current challenge, whatever it might be. And that includes faith that God can and will speak to us and through us! Perhaps the greatest lesson of the Bible, after the fundamental one of salvation in Christ, is that God can and does use fallible human beings. Jesus is the only perfect person who has ever lived, yet the Bible is filled with stories of people we recognize as “great.” King David, of course, is a prime example, as someone used mightily by God yet deeply flawed and sinful. Even Paul rather reasonably characterized himself as “the chief of sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16) We are always to “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me,” (Philippians 3:12) as again Paul said. We are certainly imperfect, but we should expect God to use us, and especially to be true to His Word.

I have encountered people who have taken exception to my being sure God could speak through me, but that’s their loss. I have also had moments when I thought something was true simply because I said it, and that was my loss, and sometimes the loss of those who heard me. It all boils down to faith and humility. I need to have assurance that God can and will use me, and at the same time know on the deepest level that’s not because I’m so wonderful! When I teach the word, confidence, in my classes I tell my students I don’t like the Japanese expression for that, because it means literally, to believe yourself. I tell them I don’t believe myself, because I will betray myself. Instead, I have assurance, because I believe God. In preaching and in counseling I keep coming back to our need to take our eyes off of ourselves and fix them on Christ, because only then will we keep advancing. (Hebrews 12:2) Fixing my eyes on myself puts me into a death spiral. God has told me to rest, relax, and rejoice, but I will do that only when I am fully fixed on Him. (Isaiah 26:3)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I needed it! With so much going on it’s easy to get distracted, both by events and by my reactions to them. Help me receive each moment from Your hands with gratitude and praise, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Expectations; December 11, 2022

Posted on December 12, 2022 by jgarrott

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

This was of course directly fulfilled on Palm Sunday, but we don’t often think about all the implications. The image is certainly a triumphal procession, but there are some elements that betray the usual image of such events. “Salvation,” in the usual context of such events, would have been military victory, symbolized by the king riding a magnificent war horse. However, in the very next verse it says that war horses will be removed from Jerusalem. Rather, this king, whom we know to be Jesus, would be riding on a donkey’s colt. There were those in the crowd on that Palm Sunday who recognized that Jesus was fulfilling this obviously Messianic passage, but I doubt that even they understood the implications. Donkeys are good, reliable animals, but they aren’t something you would ride into battle, and particularly not on one so young that it was still stabled with its mother. (Matthew 21:2) Jesus was without question the Messiah, but He didn’t fit people’s expectations, so they turned on Him and called for His crucifixion. We are all very prone to do that. We set up scenarios in our minds, and when events don’t match we are disappointed at least, and quite possibly in despair, or even rebelling against God who didn’t do things our way. How very foolish! God is always bigger than our imaginations, and He sees all the consequences down the line that we can’t begin to grasp. History keeps affirming what has been called the Law of Unintended Consequences. We need to trust God that He knows all the details, and what will affect what and do what. The world’s biggest supercomputers are used to model such things as benign as weather patterns, and even they don’t always get it right. We need to trust the One who alone is omniscient, and rejoice to know Him and His love.

This is something I have been slow to learn. Being too afraid of unintended consequences produces paralysis, and then I face the consequences of inaction. I need to trust God to guide me and commit myself to follow Him, even when I can’t see the next step. I need to be willing to ride a donkey’s colt even when I long for a war horse! I am not to indulge in painting scenarios in my mind, but rather submit myself fully to my Lord for however He knows things should go, so that I will be fully useful to Him and indeed rest, relax, and rejoice, just as He has told me to do.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how You have indeed guided, not just in recent weeks but throughout my life. May I not be anxious about anything but rather rejoice in You, being the husband, father, and pastor that You want me to be, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Jesus’ Conception; December 10, 2022

Posted on December 11, 2022 by jgarrott

Luke 1:36-37 “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

Verse 36 isn’t underlined in my Bible, and I quite possibly have never written on it before. However, it strikes me that this was the perfect proof for Mary that Gabriel’s words were real. The NIV leaves it out, but the Japanese and other translations include the detail that Elizabeth’s child was a son – and this was millennia before ultrasound! I’m sure that it gave Mary great joy and assurance to be there when John was born, and was indeed a boy. Nothing could be more intimate to a woman than a pregnancy, nothing more meaningful. God used these two miraculous pregnancies to reinforce His message and encourage the women involved. To me this shows that God not only knows what we do, He knows the intimate details of our hearts, and not only knows, He cares. I say it frequently, but God is not mean; He doesn’t pick on us. He knows what we need to grow spiritually, and that is what is most important. Our physical circumstances are in a way almost incidental. God wants us to grow in our knowledge of and love for Him, so that we will be perfected as His children to do His will, for our mutual pleasure and enjoyment. Gabriel’s famous words that nothing is impossible with God apply to every detail of existence, and we need to rest in that assurance.

My wife and I have had three pregnancies, one of which ended in a miscarriage. We know what pregnancy is all about, and understand that even in its most common form it is miraculous that two cells could get together, share DNA, and grow to be a completely new human being. Modern biology can accept and explain Elizabeth’s pregnancy, because even a supposedly menopausal woman can have an oops! baby, but Mary’s is out of the park. Without male participation even parthenogenesis, as occasionally happens in some animals, will produce only females. The miracle of Jesus’ conception was in a sense absolute, totally unique from Creation to the end of the world, and clearly something that only God Himself could accomplish. I need to meditate on it more, to expand my faith that indeed, absolutely nothing is impossible with God. He has told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. I certainly need faith to do that, and meditating on Jesus’ conception can help with that.

Father, thank You for pointing this out to me just now. Help me indeed grasp the magnitude not only of Your omnipotence but also of Your intimate caring about us Your children. The past few months have been rough, with Cathy’s health issues, and those issues aren’t simply resolved. Help us both trust You more and more, regardless of whatever is going on at the moment, so that we may indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Feelings; December 9, 2022

Posted on December 10, 2022 by jgarrott

Isaiah 7:13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?”

This is a very interesting statement by Isaiah in a couple of ways. In the first place, he is responding to what was on the face of it a very pious statement by King Ahaz: “I will not put the Lord to the test.” That actually is obedient to what Moses commanded in Deuteronomy 6:16, which Jesus Himself quoted when tempted by the devil: “Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Luke 4:12) However, in the case of Ahaz it was a cop-out, because the Lord had told him directly through Isaiah to ask for a sign. If Isaiah hadn’t already been a tested and confirmed prophet that would have been more understandable, but under the circumstances it was simple cowardice. And that shows that Ahaz feared his human enemies more than he feared the Lord his Creator! The second thing that is interesting is Isaiah’s conflating his own response with that of God. “Try the patience” is a clear image. Other English translations use “weary,” and the Japanese says “trouble,” but we get the picture. The thing is, those in tune with God do indeed sometimes feel God’s emotions in response to things. A good example is Jesus’ anger at the merchants excluding Gentiles from temple worship, causing Him to make a whip of cords to drive out the animals. (John 2:15) However, it is dangerous to presume on that. Doing so can easily descend into hubris, thinking we are on a plane with God. However, we aren’t to discount the feelings we have, because God can use them both to teach us and to motivate us to do His will.


I will never forget the time I was lying in bed, not consciously praying but thinking, “There are so many things I wish were different.” Completely unexpectedly, the Lord spoke to me with utmost clarity: “How do you think I feel?” God wasn’t happy with those things either! He knew His ultimate solution to it all, but that didn’t cause Him to be pleased with everything. I’ve got to keep remembering that, as I see despicable people elected to public office through evidently fraudulent means, and people abusing other people in indescribable ways. As the Lord pointed out to me recently, the world is a mess because we are a mess, so my first priority is to get the beam out of my own eye, as Jesus so colorfully put it. (Matthew 7:5) However, when I am right with my Lord, I will respond to people and events as He does. Frankly, that’s not always pleasant for me. I would rather just gloss over it all and not be so stirred up, but that isn’t an option if I’m fully in line with my Lord. I am to surrender all of me, including my emotions and my reactions, to my God so that He may use them as He sees fit, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You are taking me through even right now. I pray that my responses would indeed mirror Yours, not to inflate me in any way but to make me fully available and useful to You, for the ultimate blessing of those around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Father God; December 8, 2022

Posted on December 9, 2022 by jgarrott

Luke 1:17 “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous–to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

In all the celebrations of Christmas we don’t often focus on fathers. God’s character is Father, as even the Old Testament makes clear countless times. That’s why He created mankind, because fathers want children! However, He became Father in a very special way when He sent part of Himself, that is, the Godhead, to earth to be born as a human baby. Japanese has an expression, bunshin, that is used to indicate children as being parts or extensions of their parents. In a sense that is true, but in human terms it can be very problematic, when parents make all the career and marriage choices for their children, as used to be quite common in Japan. However, in Jesus’ case it was completely accurate. He was in full agreement with it, but He Himself said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19) Christmas is the celebration of the moment God became Father. That is of great importance, because a major problem in the world today is the lack of genuine fatherhood among men. There are lots of biological fathers who do not function as true fathers to their children, and not all good fathers are biologically connected to their children. As Gabriel said to Zechariah, it’s a matter of the heart. This statement by Gabriel is a direct echo of the last verses in the Old testament: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6) Gabriel didn’t mention the curse, but it’s easy to see that the lack of proper fatherhood is a horrible curse. Christmas is an opportunity for fathers to evaluate how they relate to their children – and it’s not just a matter of getting them the right presents. Those who know the reality of John 3:16 need to let others know that it’s not mythology, but a very real historical event that changed the world, the fate of mankind, or at least of those who would believe. The subject is too huge to even try to cover completely here, but we need to remember that Christmas is a celebration of Father God.

I was blessed with an excellent human father, and I have sought to be a good father to my children, both biological and strictly spiritual. I certainly haven’t done a perfect job, but at least I’m aware of the issue. I talk about it in counseling frequently, as I touch on parenting in talking with couples before their wedding. I need to keep looking to and learning from my Heavenly Father, and I need to encourage the believers to do the same. Many people are looking for healing for the wounds they bear from absent or inadequate fathers. I can’t reach them all, but I can help the believers understand that they too can be agents of putting people into right relationship with their Heavenly Father, so that the kingdom of God may overflow with His children.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. Once again You’ve made it clear what I’m to speak on Sunday! I ask for clear guidance and anointing as I prepare the notes, so that what is said may be exactly what You are saying, neither more nor less, and not deviating in any way, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Glory of the Gospel; December 7, 2022

Posted on December 8, 2022 by jgarrott

 Jeremiah 33:2-3 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it–the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know’!

God was about to give Jeremiah a Word that would indeed overload his imagination, so here he lays the groundwork. This was immediately after He had told Jeremiah to buy from one of his relatives land that was at that time overrun by the Babylonians. That was so strange that Jeremiah had questioned God about it, and He had replied with the very famous words, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) This is a continuation and follow-up to that. He starts by reminding Jeremiah that He is the Creator, giving His credentials, so to speak. He then warns Jeremiah that what He will tell him will be beyond his understanding. (The Japanese puts it that way, rather than “unsearchable,” which seems a bit vague to me.) In what follows, the Lord touches briefly on the current situation, in verses 4 and 5, but then He goes on to describe a future that was probably literally unimaginable to Jeremiah. The climax comes in the explicitly Messianic prophecy in verses 13 and 14, culminating in one of the great names given to the Messiah, Yahweh Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. It would be hard to get more glorious than that! That covenant name was explicitly confirmed by Paul when he wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Hallelujah! Just writing about it makes it well up within me, and I am filled with gratitude and praise. My circumstances have never been such that I have been surrounded by houses filled with dead bodies, as Jeremiah was about to be, so I have no excuse to be down about anything. I serve the same God as Jeremiah, and Jesus is indeed my righteousness. This is a major chunk of the glory of the Incarnation that we celebrate at this time of year, and I must never forget it. I don’t enjoy crowds and busyness, but I must not let that detract from my celebration of the Messiah. The next three weeks in particular are packed with things to do and places to be, but I must not take my eyes off of the One who is the reason for it all. I will have opportunities to share the Gospel in words with people who probably have never heard it expressed clearly before, and I must keep myself fully available for that purpose. I want His joy to so overflow from me that people will be drawn to Him, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this very timely reminder. Thank You for yesterday and all it held. Thank You for giving me wisdom and skill in putting up more handrails for Cathy, and that her healing is progressing despite her pain. I pray that our hearts may be tuned to You each moment, so that we won’t miss any of the things You have planned for us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Light in the Darkness; December 6, 2022

Posted on December 7, 2022 by jgarrott

Isaiah 60:2-3 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Verse one has been our Verse for the Year, so we have been saying it every Sunday, but the glory doesn’t stop there. Yesterday’s passage caused me to write on how the world is a wilderness, and as this passage says, it’s a dark wilderness! The darker things are, the brighter even a small light appears to be. The Bible has a lot to say about darkness and light. Two passages from John immediately come to mind. “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood (overcome) it.” (John 1:4-5) “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19-21) I could literally go on and on, because this is one of the great themes, as other religions, even, have recognized. The point for believers to remember is that we are not the source of the light. The moment we start thinking we are, we fall into the trap of Lucifer. His name means “light bearer,” but he wanted to claim that light, that glory, for himself, and in that moment became the devil, the embodiment of evil. We are not the light, but we have the privilege and responsibility to let the light shine from and through us. As in just about everything else, it’s a matter of choice. Jesus stated clearly, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) As we let the light of Christ shine through us, it indeed becomes our light, and people will be drawn to us out of their darkness.

This is an awesome truth, and I can’t say I’ve appropriated it fully myself yet. I have had science fiction-type fantasies of being clothed in light, with commensurate powers, but this is quite different and far better. As I touched on above, I must never think or feel that it’s about me. As the chorus of a song by Chu Kosaka says, “Jesus is the light; He’s shining in the darkness, and you know that He’ll lead you.” (That’s my translation of the Japanese.) As many times as I’ve preached on light, I still have dark areas in my heart and life. I need to let the light of Christ flood me fully, leaving nothing out, so that in every area, every moment, I may represent Him accurately, shedding His light on the people and situations around me, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. We are very much in the middle of spiritual conflict right now, as Cathy’s dream this morning made clear. Help me not hesitate, but move forward boldly under the direction and power of Your Spirit, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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