Words; October 6, 2022

Posted on October 7, 2022 by jgarrott

Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

From verse 14 on there are many statements about words and speaking. This certainly brings to mind Jesus’ statement that “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36) Words are an essential part of daily life, and are in fact a part of the definition of what it is to be human. Various medical issues can make people non-verbal, to be sure, but higher-order thought processes require words even if they aren’t spoken. Some dogs can learn the meaning of up to hundreds of human words, but that still is different from formulating them and expressing them. The question then becomes, as Jesus said and as this verse indicates, what we do with our words. I think everyone has experienced being wounded by someone else’s words, but how often do we wound others? Sometimes it is done deliberately, and sadly, some people make a habit of it, but such people quickly end up with few if any genuine friends. When friends, genuine companions, are essential to real happiness, it would certainly be the part of wisdom to use our words for healing rather than wounding, just as this verse says.

As I have commented frequently, I am a man of words and I make my living with them. That makes Jesus’ statement very sobering to me, and I really need to take verses like this one to heart. When I was a teenager I felt very inferior when it came to sports and I tended to compensate with words, using them as weapons and thinking I was building myself up by putting others down. How sadly foolish! I think I have come a long way since then, but I’ll confess the temptation still arises. I am better able to watch my words in English than in Japanese, because not having attended Japanese schools I haven’t learned all the nuances of some terms. (Actually, I have found that in either Japanese or English, not everyone takes the same nuance from a given term. Some people seem determined to be offended!) I am reminded of what my father wrote in a dictionary he gave me as I was entering college. “The words are here. Use them. You have a gift for words. God has given it to you. Let Him direct you in developing  it and using it. Use words accurately. Use them responsibly and constructively. Use them creatively, for creativity is included in the image in which He has made us. Use them to give life, not to destroy; to heal, not to hurt. When healing calls for the scalpel, see to it that it is not poisoned or infected by any iota of rancor or arrogance or callousness. ‘In the beginning was the Word…. In Him was life.’ Let Him give you the words and the ideas. Speak the truth in love.” At that point he ran out of space on the flyleaf of the dictionary! I have a magnificent example to follow, as indeed, he followed our common Lord.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and thank You that I still have that dictionary (even though I seldom use it) and knew exactly where to find it. I do pray that my words, and even my thoughts formulated in words, would be pleasing to You, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) Praise God!

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Righteousness; October 5, 2022

Posted on October 6, 2022 by jgarrott

Proverbs 11:6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

This is one of many ways that God’s rules are good for us. The devil tells us that God’s rules are to hem us in, to deprive us of “fun,” when the opposite is true. God’s rules are to protect us from ourselves and this fallen world we live in. Addicts never start out by saying, or even thinking, “I think I’ll get addicted to something.” However, addictions in general are destructive to say the least. That’s what this is talking about. If our hearts are set on following God and obeying His rules, addictions aren’t an issue. As David said, “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” (Psalm 34:19) That of course agrees perfectly with Jesus’ remarks in one of my favorite verses: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) The Bible never promises us “easy street,” but the way to get through all the mess is to follow God’s instructions. That’s what righteousness is all about.

One of the finest compliments I’ve ever received was from one of our church members, a recovering alcoholic who has since gone to be with the Lord. We were having a Bible study, and he suddenly came out with, “You’re addicted to the Bible. I know addiction, and you’re addicted to the Bible.” I cried tears of joy at that! Analyzing the Japanese word for addiction, it means something that can’t be done without, implying a strong dependence. That is indeed what the Bible is to me, and I am deeply grateful, not only for the Bible but for relating to it in that way. I certainly wouldn’t be righteous without it! The issue for me is how much I put it into practice, because as James said, just knowing the words and failing to apply them is deceiving myself. (James 1:22) I know full well that this world is a mine field, and when we get off God’s path we get blown up. I want to follow God’s path and lead as many as possible to do likewise, not trusting in human wisdom or accomplishment but in the grace and love of God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that my wife made it through her surgery yesterday, though she was hardly rational at the point I had to leave her, because of the remnants of her anesthesia. I ask for Your patience for us both as Your healing is manifested in her, that her nerves will recover well and promptly from having been so abused and that she will rebuild the muscles that she has been unable to use because of pain. Thank You for her surgeon, and for the other hospital staff. I ask Your protection for her from the few “bad apples” among the staff, and pray that she would be an agent of Your grace and blessing to them all, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Nourishing Words; October 4, 2022

Posted on October 5, 2022 by jgarrott

Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of judgment.

Among public figures, the two types of people mentioned here are fairly easy to discern. Dr. Ben Carson immediately came to mind as an example of the first category, and sadly, there are many examples for the second! In that context I would describe the righteous as those who are focused on pleasing God and helping people, and the foolish as those who are focused on pleasing people and enriching themselves. As Jesus very pointedly said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36) Far too many people are focused on temporal things like wealth or influence, not realizing that they are sealing their own very horrible fate. When a genuinely righteous person speaks, it builds up their hearers just as this says. We think of taking in nourishment through our lips, but this is talking about dispensing emotional and spiritual nourishment in what we say, that is, through our lips. As it says in the chapter just before this, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) When a person’s focus is on God, their words will reflect that and lift people up, drawing them closer to their Creator who loves them and desires the best for them.

Since I am a man of words (verse 19 is scary to me) I need to pay close attention to this. With computers and the Internet, communicating through writing is easy to a degree that would have been unimaginable when Proverbs was written. I’m sure in those days people were much more careful before they committed words to writing! I use both my mouth and my keyboard to generate a lot of words, and I need to be very careful that those words are nourishing. Just the other day one of my daughters commented that it was obvious the degree of stress I was under when I left out an important sentence in something I had written, because “You are so careful with your words.” I took that as a major compliment, even though it was in the context of a failure of mine. I do desire that my words nourish, whether spoken or written. That nourishment might be in imparting facts and know­ledge, it might be in provoking thought through humor, it might be in providing comfort or encouragement. Whatever the details, I want my words to represent accurately the Lord I love and seek to serve, thereby drawing those who receive those words to open their hearts to Him for their salvation.

Father, I didn’t expect to have a clear example of this truth going on while I was writing! Thank You for guiding me in that as I was texting. Even people in “helping professions” aren’t necessarily righteous! I pray Your peace for Cathy as she deals with that nurse, that she will resist the devil firmly and calmly, not trying to control the situation but letting You be Lord, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Joy; October 3, 2022

Posted on October 5, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 149:4-5 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.
Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.

When the NIV says, “rejoice in this honor,” (the Japanese says, “rejoice in glory”) it seems important to confirm just what honor is being talked about, and that clearly seems to be the content of verse four. It is indeed an incredible honor, great glory, even, that the Creator of the universe would delight in someone, or anything, for that matter. After all, He created all the wonders of space, including what we are now seeing for the first time with the James Webb Space Telescope. We certainly seem insignificant compared to all that! It strikes me that this is one of the few places the Japanese Old Testament translators chose to use the word, love, saying, “He loves His people.” When we come right down to it, being loved by God is the ultimate honor, and it’s not one we earn, in the sense of working for it. A newborn baby hasn’t worked to be loved, yet virtually every parent can testify to the overwhelming sense of love they felt for their child the first time they held it. God allows us to feel that love in part so that we will understand His love for us. His love should make us very happy indeed! The image in the last line of verse five has struck many people, because we don’t usually think of singing lying down. What comes to me is that lying down is the least assertive posture we can take; it’s one of the few things a newborn infant can do! Recognizing the huge imbalance of God’s love – we couldn’t possibly love Him as much as He loves us – should make us irrepressibly happy, to the point of singing. I can relate to that!

Something that came to me strongly as I was writing that is that lying in bed is precisely what the ill, the infirm, do. When my wife is in the hospital awaiting back surgery tomorrow, that’s pretty much all she’s able to do. This strikes me as a Word to her and to all who are in her position, quite literally. Even when we are helpless, unable to take care of our own needs, we should be rejoicing that God loves us. That’s easier for me to say than it is for her, because I’m not the one in pain, but it applies to every problem in life. I’m back to John 16:33, which I have loved for a long time: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) A testimony I read just yesterday from someone who has had two near-death experiences indicates that a famous statement of Paul may be quite literally true: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) We don’t know that definitively, but we do know that the old Southern Gospel song is true: “We will understand it better by and by.”

Father, thank You for this Word, and thank You for that testimony I was able to read. I do pray for Cathy, that she wouldn’t suffer any unnecessary pain and that she would be able to communicate freely with the nursing staff. I pray also that they would have accurate sympathy for her, doing what her unique situation calls for and not just “going by the book.” May all of Your purposes in allowing this situation be fulfilled, for her blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Authority; October 2, 2022

Posted on October 4, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 145:1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.

This comes out in several of David’s Psalms, but it’s very interesting that though David himself was a king, back when kings were the ultimate authority in their realm, he refers to God as King. It’s not that he doubted his own authority, temporally speaking, but he recognized that God was as much above him as he was above the lowest person in his kingdom. Leaders who have that fundamental awareness have authority indeed, because they are submitted to God’s authority. It’s precisely like the Roman Centurion said to Jesus, and Jesus lauded him for his faith. (Matthew 8:8-9) When a leader fails to recognize the authority over him, he loses the basis for his own authority, whether or not he realizes it. That gets complicated in democratic representative governments because the citizens are the ultimate authority, but that calls for a citizenry that are submitted to God. That also means that every elected representative needs personally to be submitted to God, and sadly, that is seldom the case. We see countless cases of politicians who enrich themselves through their office and fail to exercise their authority responsibly. It’s easy to point fingers at such people, but we need to bring this principle closer to home. Parents are to have authority over their children, but to do it right they too must be submitted to God’s authority. We hear of countless cases of abuse, and conversely, there are countless cases of abusive neglect, where parents fail to exercise the authority that has been entrusted to them. A person, parent or otherwise, who is genuinely submitted to God’s authority isn’t going to be abusive, but they aren’t going to be weak. David was a strong king because he was submitted to God, even though he slipped up at times.

As I have written numerous times before, I have had an uneasy relationship with authority. I haven’t been terribly rebellious, but I also haven’t been very comfortable with exercising authority. I think I’ve grown in this area, but I would make a very poor despot! As a pastor, the church has sometimes suffered for my failing to exercise church discipline when it was called for. I’ve got to remember that Christ is my King, and all authority in heaven and on earth is given to Him. (Matthew 28:18) When I am acting in obedience to Him, that authority flows through me. I have had fantasies of speaking and things happening, but I’m not yet sufficiently submitted to God for that to be current experience. I’m not to be greedy for power, but I am not to draw back from the power and authority God wants to exercise through me.

Father thank You for this reminder. You know that one place I want to exercise authority is in commanding my wife’s body to be healed, but that hasn’t happened. I pray that Your perfect will would be done, before, during, and after the surgery, so that people would be drawn to You as You are glorified. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Righteousness and Salvation; October 1, 2022

Posted on October 4, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 132:9, 16 “May your priests be clothed with righteousness;
may your saints sing for joy.”
“I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints will ever sing for joy.”

This is presented as a prayer, and then God’s response. It strikes me that in the prayer, the request is for the priests to be clothed in righteousness, and in God’s response, He says “salvation.” From the people’s standpoint, they certainly want their priests to be righteous! Unrighteous clergy have been a problem from at least the days of Eli and Samuel, as recorded in 1 Samuel 2. Righteousness is always desirable, but it isn’t sufficient to gain salvation. As Paul so famously explained, that is by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) God is here saying that He will go beyond righteousness to salvation. Actually, righteousness is a natural outgrowth of salvation; those who are saved are going to tend toward righteousness in response to God’s grace. As John makes abundantly clear in his first letter, that doesn’t mean that saved people never slip up, or even fall flat on their face, it just means that they are never satisfied with that state of affairs, and strive to draw closer to God in obedience. When spiritual leaders have this straight, then those under their care can indeed sing for joy!

Since I am a pastor, I’d better pay attention! I have no doubt of my own salvation, but I can’t say I’m fully satisfied with my response to God’s grace toward me. However, I do see signs that I’m growing! When even Paul could lay no claim to perfection, (Philippians 3:12-14) I am neither to give up nor to keep picking at myself. I am to walk in humility, listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and correction and repenting instantly when He shows me I’ve slipped up. I am to walk in His righteousness because of His salvation, and indeed sing for joy because of His incredible goodness and faithfulness toward me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for this period of three weeks of Cathy in the hospital, that hasn’t passed the first week yet. I realize that to a degree, my righteousness has depended on her, because she is such an excellent partner and counterpoint to me. It’s not that I’m beset with temptations, it’s that my days feel empty, and I need to be proactive in seeking what You want me to do with each moment. Help me be fully sensitive to You, recognizing Your schedule and following it, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled in Your timing for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Tears Before Joy; September 30, 2022

Posted on October 3, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

This is a justly famous passage, and it has been beautifully set to music in Japanese by a friend of mine. I’m sure it has been a massive comfort to countless saints over the centuries. The Psalm was doubtless written after the return from the Babylonian Captivity, but I’m sure it was quoted again, with great joy and vigor, after the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The point of these last two verses, however, is far more broadly applicable to many situations in life. Joy is far better appreciated when we have something with which to contrast it! The figure of planting seeds is very applicable, because we never really know how many plants will come up, nor how great the yield will be. We don’t appreciate a good harvest until we’ve had a bad one or two! This figure seems particularly appropriate for evangelism in Japan, since the “yield” is generally so sparse, whether the one planting is Japanese or not. That’s why many Japanese cling to this passage in hope of the eventual joy of harvest.

Since I minister in Japan, this is particularly appropriate to me. As I have written before, my father once prostrated himself on the floor and cried out, “God, if I’m standing in the way of revival in Japan, then take me out of the way!” As a new missionary he had visited Shantung Province in China in 1935, so he knew what revival looked like. He had even been urged to switch fields, in order to get a better harvest. However, he knew his calling was to Japan, and he stayed true to that. He never saw revival here except by faith, but from his current perspective I’m sure he sees it, and rejoices! I’ve been here as a missionary myself for over 40 years, and I too have yet to see revival with my physical eyes, yet I do have assurance that it is coming. Whether I will be a part of it is up to God, but that is a completely unimportant detail. My current prayer is that my planting and my tears may be useful to God in bringing about His harvest in His timing for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for what You’re doing even now, using Cathy’s pain and my distress in Your plan in ways that we can’t currently perceive. Help us keep our focus on You, on Jesus who went through the cross for us, and rest assured of “the joy that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:2) so that we won’t give up but will remain faithful to the end, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Gathering to Worship; September 29, 2022

Posted on October 3, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 122:1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

I don’t remember how old I was, but I was quite young when I first memorized this verse (not in the NIV of course). I was certainly raised to go to church, and to this day a Sunday not attending a worship service feels very wrong. Of course this Psalm was written when there was only one “house of the Lord” in the whole world, and now we know that anywhere two or three believers are gathered in the Lord’s name, He is right there, and it is His “house.” (Matthew 18:20) Christians are is a strange place on this issue. There is great freedom to not being tied to a physical location, but there is great risk of taking the whole matter of worship very lightly. Houses of genuine worship are to be valued highly, but that worship must be genuine for them to have that value. Asked about the issue of the location of worship, Jesus replied, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” (John 4:21) He followed that up with, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) Having a dedicated place to gather regularly to worship is a blessing, honor, and privilege, but we must never forget that the whole point is worship, and specifically Whom we worship, and not the physical location.

This is driven home to me right now by the fact that my wife is in the hospital, and for that matter was not able to be in the sanctuary this past Sunday, though she was in the building. I know she will be very glad indeed when she is next able to gather with other believers in this “house of the Lord!” Familiarity indeed breeds contempt, and I need to help the believers here value the experience of gathering to worship. This has been an issue ever since the early Church, because the writer to the Hebrews felt compelled to say, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) I am not to fail to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as this Psalm famously instructs in verse six, but at the same time I am to nurture a love for “the gathering of the saints” among all with whom I have influence.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that Cathy was able to enter the hospital yesterday, and that the staff members are starting to understand her situation. I pray that You would give them wisdom in dealing with it! I pray that You would likewise give them wisdom for the other patients who experience great pain, and give Cathy anointing as she prays for such people. I pray for Your patient endurance for her in the time until her surgery on Tuesday. May all of Your purposes in allowing this to happen be fulfilled, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Human Weakness; September 28, 2022

Posted on October 2, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.

After this great long Psalm in which the writer comes across as a great Bible scholar, he ends with this humble, rather plaintive verse that confesses his own inability to stay on the path. The image of the shepherd seeking the lost sheep was a familiar one to everyone in those days, and Jesus famously used it in his parable of the lost sheep. (Matthew 18:12-14) The image of God as the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20) is a warm and comforting one for anyone familiar with sheep farming. The writer’s specific point seems to be that simply knowing God’s commands doesn’t guarantee that we keep them, and failure to keep them makes us wander. The good news is, as Jesus said in His parable, that God does care and He does seek us out when we wander, even though He knows precisely where we are at all times. The “seeking out” is more of a reaching out, making us aware of God rather than the other way around. Many things in life can dull our awareness of God, and we need His touch to remind us that he’s been there all along.

This is very applicable right now. I was talking with a close friend just yesterday about how I seem to have been given a spiritual gift of faith, because I find I can’t not believe that God is there and that He has a good plan, but then I’m not experiencing intense physical pain the way my wife is at this point. I find that our “song of the month” has been running through my head with remarkable frequency the past few days. It’s originally Korean, and was introduced to us in the Japanese version by one of our members. I translated it from the Japanese version to English, so I can’t be totally assured of the accuracy, but it says, “The Lord’s blood  has cleansed my soul forever. The Lord’s blood has set me ever free. I will praise the Lord for all He’s done for me. I will give my soul, my everything to Him. The Lord’s hands were torn to give me healing, and the Lord’s feet were pierced to pay for all my sin. Now I live not for myself but for my Lord. He has given up His life that I might live. On the hands of the Lord I’ll place my hands. My feet I’ll place with His and take the nails with Him.  For if I die with Jesus I also know I’ll live with Him eternally. I will live for Christ my Lord.” As I see my wife’s suffering I am sharply aware of what Jesus suffered for us, and I remember that He spoke John 16:33 before He was scourged and crucified, knowing full well what was going to happen. I need to live my life in gratitude and obedience, whatever that means in the short term, trusting that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that Cathy does check into the hospital today for the surgery that will hopefully deal with all this pain. I continue to pray Your touch, physical, emotional, and spiritual, for her so that she would come through this receiving all that You intend for her in it, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Praise and Obedience; September 27, 2022

Posted on October 2, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 119:108 Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,
and teach me your laws.

Verse 105 is insightful and has been set to music numbers of times, but this verse strikes me this morning. The word that stands out to me is “willing.” Lots of people go to church and go through the motions of singing hymns and the like, but unless those lyrics come from the heart, they are meaningless in that person’s relationship with God. The thing is, God isn’t going to teach His laws to someone whose heart isn’t turned/tuned to Him. Such a person is likely to be thinking about ways to get around those laws, anyway! Conversely, someone who doesn’t desire to obey God isn’t going to be offering up sincere praise, either. Jesus put it very bluntly. “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” (John 14:21) And, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” (John 14:23) We express our love for Jesus through praise and obedience; you really can’t separate the two. Praising God feels really good. It’s the best sort of addiction! However, praise without obedience isn’t meaningful praise at all, but rather hypocrisy.

I of course need to remember this in my own life. We hear of Christian leaders and musicians falling into gross sin with depressing frequency, so I must always be careful that my own praise and worship are from my heart, backed up with dogged obedience. Sometimes the “dogged” part can get really hard, doing the same thing over and over without ever seeing the harvest for which I pray. I’m to be wise in terms of methodology, but recognize constantly that it’s a matter of spiritual warfare, and not shrink back from the fight. We’re in a real trial right now, with Cathy’s intense pain, but at least we have an appointment tomorrow for her to check back into the hospital for the surgery that hopefully will alleviate the pain. Seeing her soldiering through, punctuated by pain, is a real mind-check on my own obedience. It is too easy to make excuses, to pull back from the fight, but that doesn’t honor and please my God, who gave everything for me. My days need to be filled with willing praise, whatever my circumstances, trusting that God indeed rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Father, thank You for getting us through the day yesterday and for the medication Cathy was able to receive, even though she wasn’t able to check into the hospital as we had hoped. Thank You that we have tomorrow as a firm date for that. I ask that You enable us both to get through today, pain and all. I ask for wisdom in all the things I have to do for Cathy, that I would be the husband she needs, and also that I would know when and how to nap so that I will be able to drive safely tomorrow. The lack of sleep is building! May we both grow in our obedience, resting, relaxing, and rejoicing in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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