Our Perception of Christ; December 19, 2022

Posted on December 20, 2022 by jgarrott

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Just yesterday in Children’s Church I was talking about how nobody could see God before Jesus was born, but His birth changed that. Some people, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others, try to claim that this verse means Jesus wasn’t actually God, but was a created being. His physical body was created through the miraculous action of the Holy Spirit on Mary’s ovum, but He Himself existed before anything material did, as the following verse makes clear. I like the way the Japanese expresses this verse. In Japanese, there are two ways to indicate birth, one with the character used in “obstetrics” and the other with the character that means “life” or “alive.” The second of those is used here, making this come out as, “He was alive before everything that is created.” (We use that character in the name of this church, Shinsei no Sato, which means literally, “Home of New Life.”) Paul may possibly have seen Jesus during His ministry, but we have no record of that. What we do know is that Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, and he was forever changed by that encounter. (Acts 9) His knowledge and perception of Christ continued to deepen from that moment, leading to total commitment and martyrdom, with such things as this passage written along the way. Shortly before his martyrdom he wrote to his spiritual son Timothy, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because 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 1:9-12) How we perceive Christ makes all the difference in the world, both in this life and for eternity.

I’ve never had a visual revelation of Christ, but He has spoken to me many times in many ways. The question, for me and for everyone else, is how I have responded. If my commitment, my loving obedience, is less than perfect, then I haven’t perceived Him sufficiently. However, as Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Cor 13:12) I have to be at peace with my current incomplete perception of my Lord and be satisfied that I will one day stand before Him, and everything incomplete will be washed away by the glory of His presence. I am to keep pressing in to know more of Him as long as I am in this body, but know that my current limitations are no eternal obstacle.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the musical setting You gave me for this passage, over 43 years ago now. Help me indeed perceive as much as I need to of You, Your Son, Your Spirit, and respond appropriately, being and doing exactly what You want of me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Rest; December 18, 2022

Posted on December 19, 2022 by jgarrott

Hebrews 4:9-11 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

Rest is a vital topic for just about everyone. Our bodies and minds require it, but we don’t seem to be very good at getting it properly. One thing that we often miss is that there’s no such thing as rest if it has­n’t been preceded by productive activity. We confuse rest with inaction, and that makes for all sorts of problems. Rest isn’t the same as leisure! We need a sense of accomplishment in order to rest properly. Obviously, God being omnipotent, didn’t “need” to rest after Creation, but the Bible records that He did so anyway. (Genesis 2:2) Even that is putting it into terms we can identify with, because for God, who is outside of time, “before” and “after” are relatively meaningless terms. That said, we’re back to what this passage is talking about. When we get frantic, thinking we have to do everything, we are abandoning faith in God who has already accomplished it all. I’ve always thought it was ironic that this passage talks about “making every effort” (traditionally, “labor”) to enter into God’s rest. That seems to be a direct violation of what we think of as rest! The thing is, we want to take credit for what we get done, when it is God who enables every good work we do or ever could do. It has become something of a cliché, but we need to “make every effort” to “let go and let God.” Emotionally speaking, that can sometimes take a lot of effort! God wants accomplishment and satisfaction for us, but we will achieve that only by recognizing that the Source of all power and accomplishment is our Creator God, who loved us so much that He gave His Son to take the penalty for our sin.

I honestly think I understand this better than a lot of people, but I still struggle with it. I’ve learned that inactivity does not bring peace or satisfaction, but I’ve also learned that being frantic totally wears me out. This time of year is always a trial for me, because there are so many demands on my time. I need to receive each thing as a gift from my Father, neither complaining nor trying to escape – and I’m tempted to do both! As I have said repeatedly to the congregation, this is an excellent opportunity to share the Gospel with people who are likely to be more receptive than at perhaps any other time of year. I must not duck any appointment the Lord sets up for me, but “always be prepared to give an explanation for the hope that is within me.” (1 Peter 3:15) Then I will indeed be able to rest, relax, and rejoice, just as the Lord has told me to do.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s certainly timely! Thank You for the experience last night of being able to rest only after I had done something that You had for me to do. Help me be faithful in everything, so that all of Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Priesthood; December 17, 2022

Posted on December 18, 2022 by jgarrott

Hebrews 7:24-25 But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Only in Hebrews do we find such an exposition of Jesus’ priesthood, and that is one of many reasons the book is such a valuable part of the Bible. The writer (I personally think it was Apollos, but I could be wrong) was obviously very well versed in the Old Testament, and as a result the book is one of the best commentaries on the Old Testament. The Aaronic priesthood was central to Judaism in those days, before the destruction of the temple and the forced scattering of the Jewish people. That destruction had not yet happened at the point the book was written, so it was extremely timely that it deals with the fact that Jesus was the culmination and completion of the whole concept of the priesthood. Under Jesus our Great High Priest, every believer is to be a priest before God, as Peter famously pointed out. (1 Peter 2:5, 9) We must remember that authority flows from the top down. If we are not submitted to Christ, we have no authority on our own. However, if we are submitted, rightly relating to Him in holy fellowship, then His authority indeed flows through us, and we are able to “make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:18-20) It’s important to note that a major function of the High Priest, and priests in general, is intercession. If we aren’t praying for people, seeking to draw them to God and asking God to forgive them, then we aren’t functioning as priests under Christ. Going back to Peter, this isn’t limited to formal clergy. Some groups retain the title of priest and some don’t, but even those who claim the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer mainly give it just lip service. That is unfortunate indeed. Again referring to Peter, we would all like to be kings, but we try to weasel out of being priests! We’ve got to remember that our priesthood is in Christ, not on our own, and He is interceding for us, as it says here.

As a pastor, duly educated and ordained, I am lumped into the “priest” category by most people, but one of the driving forces in my ministry is the conviction that every believer is to be a priest, acting as God’s agent and interceding for the people around them. I have had definitely spotty results in raising up such believers! A more helpful term has been that of disciple. The Coaching teaching I’ve been receiving for the past few years points out that ministers shouldn’t be asking each other how many members they have, but rather how many disciples. There are a few mature disciples in this congregation and others are growing, but every one of us, me included, has more room to grow. I need to maintain my own relationship to my High Priest in order to nurture the believers around me in their own priesthood, so that the Body of Christ may be built up.

Father, thank You for what You have done and what You are doing in this congregation. Help us keep growing as Your priests, drawing more and more into Your family, Your kingdom, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Spiritual Growth; December 16, 2022

Posted on December 17, 2022 by jgarrott

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

This verse reinforces the humanity of Jesus. Even for Him, total obedience to the Father didn’t come automatically! This doesn’t answer such questions as “the age of accountability,” but it makes clear that the junk we go through isn’t meaningless. I’m reminded of some of the things I was put through in Basic Training in the Army. They may have strengthened my muscles or improved my reflexes, but above and beyond that they taught me to obey orders and work with the group. Such lessons aren’t learned instantaneously. The Japanese in this verse specifies, “the many things He suffered.” Just as in the Army, faster learning means less suffering! We indeed go through a lot, but we don’t have it any worse than Jesus did. When we encounter suffering, the natural tendency is to say, “Why?” This verse should help us say, “Thank You, Lord, for this further training.”

As a family, we are in the middle of a practicum in this. My son-in-law and grandsons were supposed to arrive in Omura last night, but a late arrival in Narita and delays in immigration and customs made them miss their flight from Haneda. They had a lot of exhaustion and we all had a lot of stress, but as a result they are experiencing a capsule hotel in Haneda, which is a uniquely Japanese thing I have never experienced! On a more serious note, my wife is struggling with recovery from her third major back surgery, and is often frustrated at what she cannot do, when she is so used to being active in helping others. That too has unique blessings, even if we don’t perceive them all at the moment. The longer I live, the more I realize that God wastes nothing, but indeed, as Paul said, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) I need to rest in that assurance, and encourage those around me to do the same.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You’d think I wouldn’t need it, after all these years! Thank You for Your patience with me, and with all of us. Help us all keep growing, to, as Paul said, “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) Thank You. Praise God!

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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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