The Love of Jesus; January 12, 2023

Posted on January 13, 2023 by jgarrott

John 17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”

It struck me just now that it would be good for me to read this chapter, Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, every day and meditate on it. Every detail of it is incredibly powerful, not to mention meaningful. It strikes me right now that this verse comes after Jesus explicitly expands His prayer from those present with Him at that time to all who would believe in Him because of their message, in other words, to us today. (verse 20) That Jesus wants me to be with Him blows my mind, as I think it should. I am not worthy of approaching Him, much less basking in His glory as He mentions here. John much later got a taste of that on Patmos, and as close as he had been to Him as His youngest disciple, it just about did him in! (Revelation 1:17) We are to live in gratitude that Christ feels that way about us, as He does about every one of His children. This fits in perfectly with yesterday’s reading, because our Lord isn’t just alive, He loves us and wants us to be with Him. If that awareness doesn’t generate joy and peace within us, we’ve got a lot of growing to do!

Of course, even though I’m a pastor, if I just preach this to others and fail to appropriate it for myself, I gain nothing. I am never to think that any title, or for that matter any ancestry, makes me more special to God than any other of His children, but rather rejoice that He is big enough and powerful enough to care individually about every one of His children. Only an infinite God could do that, but Jesus drove the point home by telling us that God even keeps track of how many hairs we have on our heads. (Matthew 10:30) As He has told me personally, I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in His perfect love for me, being anxious about nothing at all but rather looking forward to the glory that awaits me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me remember to meditate on this chapter indeed, letting it percolate through my mind, soul, and spirit. Your gracious love is indeed amazing. Help me grasp it more and more, responding to it and allowing it to transform me as You desire and intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Risen Savior; January 11, 2023

Posted on January 12, 2023 by jgarrott

John 16:22 “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

Here we have the secret to why the apostles were able to rejoice “because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” (Acts 5:41) We often fail to grasp what an incredible, wonderful thing it is that we “serve a risen Savior,” as the song, He Lives, puts it. When unpleasant things happen, we should be like, “What difference does that make? I serve a risen Savior!” The fact that He rose, after being so horribly and undeniably murdered, is proof positive that He is the Victor, and when we are in Him, we share in His victory. That premise has been called Christus Victor Theology, and put down for being “simplistic.” Those who put it down are forever saying, “Yes, but….” One of the best-known proponents of Christus Victor was Corrie ten Boom, who survived a concentration camp and seeing her sister murdered in front of her and went on to be a powerful witness and evangelist to the whole world. That’s plenty of authentication for me! One hesitation the naysayers have is that they don’t want to “serve” even a risen Savior. It’s no accident that Paul expressed the mechanism of salvation this way: “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) It was that very confession that brought persecution, both then from the Roman emperors and today from Communists and totalitarians of all stripes. They don’t want competition for Lordship! However, if you haven’t made Jesus your Lord, you don’t really have Him as your Savior. Our obedience is imperfect in this life, but the commitment must be there. If it is, we’ve got nothing to worry about!

This is something I need to be reminded of with more frequency than I would like. I too get distracted by the immediate difficulty in front of me, effectively forgetting that I serve a risen Savior. It’s all a matter of perspective. When my heart is turned and tuned to Him, “the things of earth will grow strangely dim,” as Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus puts it. (I’m very thankful for all the Biblical songs in my head and heart!) I tend to be a joyful person, but I too can effectively forget that I serve a risen Savior, and so get depressed. That’s no fun! It’s not at all that I ignore difficulties, nor should I, but I seek to remember that “God’s got it all in control,” as yet another chorus expresses. When I forget that, I allow the devil to steal my joy, and he doesn’t have any right to me or my blessings. Material things are unimportant, but my joy is from the Lord, and the devil can’t have it, either to take it from me or to make it his own. The fact that he is incapable of such joy probably motivates him with jealousy to try to keep me from having it either! As I allow that joy to radiate from me it will be a powerful attractant to draw people to Jesus, who is of course the source of my joy. And I certainly want people to be added to the family of God!

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for giving me such a clear, joyful message for Sunday. I ask for Your anointing as I prepare the notes for that, so that I will say everything, and only, what You want me to say, working Your will in the hearts and lives of my hearers, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Joy of Obedience; January 10, 2023

Posted on January 11, 2023 by jgarrott

John 15:11-13 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

When we read this I think we tend to miss the context, which is that of obedience. We all want the joy of the Lord, I think, but we don’t realize that it comes in full only when we are in obedient step with the Lord. Of course, the very next verse is the famous command to love each other as Christ has loved us. That doesn’t seem like a very onerous command to obey, but it’s not always so easy! That said, allowing the love of God to flow within the Body of Christ is certainly a joyful thing indeed. It is my observation that churches that aren’t very loving aren’t very joyful, and vice versa. When we take ourselves too seriously we can’t loosen up enough to let God’s joy flow through us. We also need to remember that Christ’s love is totally unselfish. Rather, it is sacrificial. Most people have experienced the joy of giving in order to meet the need of another. That joy is often in proportion to the level of our own sacrifice. It is worth considering whether meeting needs or having possessions brings the greater joy. The world and the devil want us to focus on possessions, but that will not bring us the joy that God has prepared for us. We need to keep remembering that the world’s standards are not the standards of the Kingdom of God, and God’s standards are always better!

It gives me great satisfaction that this church is very loving. Just this past Sunday, as people were sitting around in fellowship after we had eaten a meal together, I was talking with someone who is not yet a committed believer, but has had a lot of exposure to another Christian tradition. I said something about how we didn’t seem so much like a church as a family, and the man agreed fully, with a degree of awe. I’m reminded of what Jesus said shortly before today’s verses: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) Everything is tied together: love brings obedience which brings joy. I am not to fail to proclaim God’s holiness and the need for repentance, but I think we will be most effective when we love people into God’s family.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for all You have done in me and in this church over the years. Thank You for the ties of love that people evidently still feel even though they are geographically far from us. Thank You for the extremely loving wife You have given me, who has set the example for this church and been an “open faucet” of Your love. May Your love indeed bring many into Your family, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Lies and Truth; January 9, 2023

Posted on January 10, 2023 by jgarrott

John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Reading this I can’t help thinking about all that’s going on in the US right now. There is a world of difference among the three categories of fiction, mistaken information, and lies, but those who are of the liar, as Jesus calls him here, deliberately try to blur the distinctions, and the volume of lies being poured out is astonishing. Those who are on the side of the liar applaud and reinforce the lies. Politicians gain much of the publicity, but this sort of thing extends to every area of society and life itself. After all, we have a Supreme Court justice who claimed she couldn’t “define a woman” because she “wasn’t a biologist.” When lies about sex and gender are vehemently defended, we are in deep trouble! Thankfully, it seems like a genuine backlash is kicking in. Recent events in politics have been encouraging, but the cover over the culture of lies is only beginning to be peeled back. We live in the Information Age indeed, and the liar has kicked into overdrive, knowing his days are short. (Revelation 12:12) It is of great importance that every believer seek the Holy Spirit as a filter for all the information that pours in, so that we may be able to discern the truth from all the lies. We also need to be careful that we don’t mistakenly relay information that isn’t true, because we don’t want to be party to the lies. The devil is indeed crafty, and he can make his lies sound very reasonable or likely. We also need discernment to distinguish between those who have been duped by the lies and those who are actively promoting the lies. Our real enemies aren’t visible! It was not casual that Jesus proclaimed Himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Those who belong to Him need to apply themselves fully to walking in the truth.

As I have written before, I had the great blessing of being raised by a man who took Absolute Honesty as one of the pillars of his life. I’ve never been comfortable with lying, thankfully. I have had to learn not to be gullible, expecting others to hold to the same standard! As a reader and writer I enjoy and appreciate fiction, and so am very aware of the distinctions between that and lies, but I have found that lies can be incorporated in fiction as well. Some of the books I have read incorporated some of the lies that are current in society today about gender and the like. I do not need to be entertained by lies! As someone with Teacher gifting, I tend to feel that stating truth should be sufficient to communicate it, but that is seldom the case. Since I desire that everyone know God’s truth and so be set free, (John 8:32) I need to come alongside them and walk with them so that they can recognize the truth themselves, rather than trying to dictate truth to them. Teachers like to dictate! All of that said, one of my anticipations of heaven is that everything will be truth there, with no lies whatsoever. What glory!

Father, thank You for Your truth, and for communicating it to my heart. Help me indeed walk in the light of Your truth consistently so that Your will may be done in and through me for Your glory. (1 John 1:7) Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Salvation by Faith; January 8, 2023

Posted on January 9, 2023 by jgarrott

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

John puts these words in the mouth of John the Baptist. Whether he was who spoke them is not important, because they are certainly true. God’s plan of salvation is shockingly simple: faith, period. The Japanese is a little clearer here in defining that faith, because where the NIV gives “rejects” as the antonym to faith, the Japanese says “does not listen obediently to.” If we really believe in Him we will love Him, and as Jesus Himself said, if we love Him we will obey Him. (John 14:15) This points up the distinction between faith and intellectual ascent. If we believe a chair will hold us up we will sit in it. However, the chair might or might not be worthy of such faith. The thing about Jesus is that He is absolutely worthy of our total faith. He is more than worthy of the statement Paul made not long before He was martyred: “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) Saving faith produces loving obedience.

I find myself wondering at times how obedient I am. However, as God reminded me just this past week, He’s the Judge of that. I look at myself and see flaws without limit, and that drives me to greater dependence on His grace. I desire to hear Him accurately and consistently and obey Him with zero hesitation, but that remains as an aspiration rather than an accomplishment. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, I’m not fully there yet! (Philippians 3:12-14) However, God has certainly placed the desire in me, and He is working in me to bring that to fruition. (Philippians 2:13) My declaration of the Gospel must be salvation by grace through faith, but at the same time I am not to leave off the loving obedience that saving faith generates. Our Verse for the Year is Ephesians 2:10, speaking of doing the things God has prepared for us to do. I am not to leave that out of my message, and I am to seek always to improve my own level of obedience.

Father, thank You for this reminder, particularly at the beginning of a new year. May 2023 indeed mark steadily improving obedience, even as You’ve had me saying in my Faith Declarations for many years now, so that Your will may be done through me indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Understanding the Bible; January 7, 2023

Posted on January 8, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

The simple fact of the matter is, the Bible doesn’t make much sense without the help of the One who wrote it. We can see surface meanings, the record of history and the like, but it takes the Holy Spirit to connect all those things to each other and, most especially, to us in our daily lives. Linguistic analysis can only take you so far. That was the big problem with the theology that was all the rage around the turn of the 20th Century. They were finding manuscripts that had been lost, and “textual criticism” was all the rage, debating who actually wrote what, and when. In the process, some forgot that this was the Word of God, and some actively denied that it was. It hit me as I was writing that there is a lot of parallel with what is going on in the US right now, and it all stems back to the same period, when Marxists were trying to figure out how to destroy society, and they came up with “Critical Theory.” When they realized that simple economics weren’t going to cause the overthrow of democracies they went after other methods to divide people, and the current iteration of that is Critical Race Theory. In recent months I have learned more than I wanted to know about all that mess, but I hadn’t realized until just now that the destruction of trust in the Bible dates back to exactly the same period, and actually to the same group of people, because they all spoke German. Theologically speaking, some of them were honest scholars, but no amount of scholarship can substitute for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is indeed important and valuable to locate and identify early manuscripts, and understanding of language itself can improve. Translation is rarely an exact science! That’s all the more reason to ask the Holy Spirit what He meant when He caused something to be written.

This is very close to home for me, because my grandfather was a seminary professor right at the time of the rise of “textual criticism,” and was a Greek scholar to boot. For that matter, when my father got his PhD in Biblical Greek in 1934 his dissertation was liberally sprinkled with German, because he had to quote the scholars who were investigating and comparing the early manuscripts. Thankfully, both generations maintained their allegiance to the Author of the Bible. My grandfather was known for asking his students how big their Bible was, not in terms of printed matter but how much of it was in their mind and heart. That’s a question I ask myself, with the emphasis on the “heart.” I have a lot of the Bible in my mind (though I often can’t give you chapter and verse, for which I depend on my computer) but I have learned the hard way that until it gets into my heart and is expressed in my thoughts and actions, it doesn’t do me a lot of good. Just as the disciples needed Jesus to open their hearts to understand what the Old Testament said about the Messiah, I need the Holy Spirit to open my heart to grasp what the whole Bible is saying to me about my Lord, and about how I am to follow Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the incredible heritage I have of generations of ancestors dedicated to You and Your Word, and my own immersion in it from infancy. May I not presume on any of that, but in gratitude allow it to bear fruit in my own life and ministry, countering the lies of the enemy and setting people free with Your truth, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Plans; January 6, 2023

Posted on January 7, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 19:41-42 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.

God’s plans, and specifically how we fit into them, are often a mystery to us. The people of Jerusalem – the majority, and certainly the leaders – were unable to recognize who and what Jesus was, but if they had recognized it at this point, the redemption of the cross would not have taken place. That’s beyond our mental and emotional power to calculate and comprehend. Jesus wept over the city because it had to be this way, not because of His own anticipated suffering but because of the multiplied suffering that would happen leading up to and following the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Mankind’s sin had set the course, and history was going to follow it. There are many, many things in human history that are totally tragic, yet God has worked good in and through it regardless. We really can’t wrap our minds around that. Romans 8:28 is of vital importance, but we grasp its truth only sometimes and never totally, it would seem. I’m reminded of the Southern Gospel song, We Will Understand it Better By and By. “Sophisticates” turn their noses up at such songs, but that doesn’t make them any less true. Like Jesus, we too at times weep over the state of the world, and sometimes even our own situation, but faith will lead us through that. As John wrote, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) That’s not “faith” that everything will turn into a bed of roses, because it won’t. And anyway, roses have thorns! It is faith that God is God, He knows what is going on, and He has a plan that, though we can’t comprehend it at this point, will work out for our blessing and His glory.

I have had plenty of training in this area, particularly in recent years with my wife’s health issues. As I tell people frequently, I know that God isn’t mean and He doesn’t pick on us. I also know that He is far more interested in our character than our comfort. That doesn’t mean I have to like any particular detail of my life, but it does mean I need to submit and surrender it to God, for Him to make the use of it that He intends. Tears aren’t anything to be ashamed of, but I’m not to dwell on the negatives, but rather look forward with great anticipation to God’s resolution of everything. At this point I am looking at roughly three months of a very empty schedule. Just as God has gotten me through the past months of Cathy’s hospitalization and the hectic Christmas season, He will get me through the next three months as well – as well as every day for the rest of my life. I am to focus on Him and let Him dictate how I spend each moment, whether my flesh is happy about it or not.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I am frequently confronted with my own immaturity. As You have told me to do, help me rest, relax, and rejoice in You, allowing You to use me or not use me however You please, in complete trust that Your plans are perfect, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sin and Repentance; January 5, 2023

Posted on January 6, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

I think we tend to misunderstand two things about this parable. In the first place, it doesn’t say that there is no rejoicing in heaven over the righteous people, but rather that there is more rejoicing when someone repents. In the second place, if you relax and place yourself in the category of “the righteous people,” you can be in real danger, as Paul pointed out. (1 Corinthians 10:12) In fact, Jesus’ greatest conflicts were with the Pharisees, who were considered by the general populace, and by themselves, to be righteous. When Jesus is our standard of righteousness, how can anyone be satisfied with their own level of righteousness? Again as Paul said, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:4) We aren’t to wallow in things we know aren’t pleasing to God, but neither are we to be self-righteous. That certainly isn’t pleasing to God! We are to walk in the righteousness of Christ, all the time remembering that it’s not our righteousness but His. (2 Corinthians 5:21) That attitude will make us pleasing to heaven indeed.

The longer I walk with the Lord the more I am aware of this, I forget from whom I first heard this way of explaining it, but it’s like our hearts, our lives, are a field with a huge rock in the middle of it. That rock is our sin. When we repent and believe for salvation, God takes that boulder away, and we feel totally liberated. However, as we walk around our field we start to notice numbers of head-sized rocks scattered here and there, and we have to lug them out of the field ourselves. When we largely dispose of those, we notice many more fist-sized rocks all over. Those can perhaps be thrown out, but our arm gets really tired doing that all the time. And then there’s the simple gravel that gets under foot. Repentance is an ongoing occupation! I’m not to be digging constantly for more stuff to repent of, but I am to be fully sensitive to the Holy Spirit, because He’s very good at shining light on what needs to go. I am not to excuse sin, in myself or in anyone else, but my focus needs to be on Christ who dealt with that sin in His own body of the cross, and so rest, relax, and rejoice in Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There are things I keep discovering about myself, and sometimes it gets confusing. Help me indeed yield each new discovery to You, all the while learning more about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that I may avoid the traps of the enemy and walk in Your light. Thank You. Praise God!

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Eternal Perspective; January 4, 2023

Posted on January 5, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 10:20 “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

This is a marvelous verse, quoted by many and included by Chu Ko­saka in one of his songs. As familiar as it might be, it is still worthy of meditation. We tend to be hungry for authority, forgetting that with authority always comes responsibility and accountability for how we use that authority. Jesus is saying here that yes, His disciples do have a remarkable degree of authority, but our eternal destination is of far more importance. When we know, without the shadow of a doubt, that our names are recorded in heaven, listed among those who have full right to enter, then all the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (to quote Shakespeare) have very little real effect on us. We aren’t taken out of the world, as Jesus prayed about, (John 17:15-16) but are insulated to a remarkable degree against its attacks on all levels. Many people have talked about how we can’t control what happens to us, but we do have a lot of control over how we respond to it. The awareness that our names are recorded in heaven, and all that means, gives us an enormous advantage in our response. We can forgive others when we know we are truly forgiven! That in no way means that we are perfect in this life, just as Paul wrote mem­orably and repeatedly. However, it does mean that we can get past our failures as well as the actions of others toward us, knowing that our destination is absolutely glorious. Paul wasn’t present when Jesus said these words, but God revealed the contents of them to him in other ways, so that he wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) That’s what “rejoicing that our names are written in heaven” is all about.

Just yesterday I was talking with a close friend and was surprised to be overcome with emotion as I talked about my ultimate goal in life. I don’t remember how the subject came up, but I shared that for many years now I have realized that my goal is to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Absolutely everything else pales in comparison. That such a prospect is even possible is a testimony to God’s amazing grace, because there’s absolutely no way I could earn such an accolade in my own strength. I’m not intrinsically faithful! I feel like I’ve been given a huge reservoir of resources, and I have actually done very little with them. As I wrote that, the Lord reminded me that He’ll be the Judge of that, thank you. He knows exactly what He’s provided to me, what is valuable and what is less so, and He knows what I’ve done with it all even better than I do. I am to walk with Him daily, getting my “to do list” from Him and not from the world, or even my own imagination. It’s been several years now since He told me to rest, relax, and rejoice, but I’m still learning how to do that! I need to trust that He will indeed bring to completion the good work that He has begun in me, just as Paul wrote to the Philippians. (Philippians 1:6)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your incredible patience and grace toward me. I absolutely know I don’t deserve it, but I know it’s real. Help me indeed do with everything You have entrusted to me, authority and everything else, exactly what You desire and intend, so that Your name may be acknowledged as holy and Your rule and reign established as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Truth; January 3, 2023

Posted on January 4, 2023 by jgarrott

Luke 8:10He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.'”

This is part of the mystery of God’s plan. I don’t think anyone can say definitively why some people have tender hearts toward God’s truth and with others it’s like water on a duck’s back. Paul uses the term, “predestined,” and there are places that seem to say some people are created for destruction. How does that fit with the image of our loving Heavenly Father? I don’t think we can ever resolve that completely. Bill Whittle says we don’t have the “mental horsepower” for it, which is true enough, but the issue is even deeper than that. God knows our hearts, so He knows who will absorb His truth and who won’t. I think it always comes back to personal responsibility. If we want to know more of God, then we need to be committed to accept what we learn and act on it, not just “put it on a shelf” as part of our “library.” It fits in with another famous saying of Jesus: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6) We need God’s wisdom and perception as we share His truths, because some people will react violently to them – as can actually be seen in society around us today. This is particularly important in persecution situations, but at the same time, we never know when God will use our words to convict someone of their own need for salvation, and turn them from a persecutor to a brother. That’s why Jesus told us repeatedly to pray for those who persecute us. At the same time, we need to rejoice that God has allowed us to know however much we do know, and seek always to go deeper with Him, absorbing and applying His truth for His glory.

This is something I have struggled with. As someone with Teacher gifting, I tend to feel that just putting the truth out there should be sufficient, but that directly contradicts what Jesus says here. I need to come alongside people and help them recognize the truth for themselves. That’s what Coaching is all about, and it can be very difficult for a Teacher. I am never to stop sharing God’s truth, but I am always to seek God’s wisdom and guidance as to when, where, how, and with whom I am to share it. And again, as I’ve already touched on, I need to be careful that I am applying that truth in my own life. It certainly does me no good if I just transmit and don’t absorb. The truth remains the truth, but there is no life in it for me if I don’t take it personally. As I have said many times, I think James 1:22 was written expressly for me, though it applies to every believer: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” I desire to be effective in the teaching for which I was gifted, but to do that I have to listen to the truth that comes through me and apply it in my own life.

Father, thank You for this reminder. May 2023 be a year of applying the abundant truth You have poured into and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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