Mortality; September 9, 2022

Posted on September 12, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

This Psalm is unique in being the only one attributed to Moses, and as such is perhaps worthy of special attention. It is amusing that he famously speaks of human lifespan as 70 or 80 years (verse 10) when he himself lived to 120. It is particularly poignant to read that this morning, when the top news item is the passing of Queen Elizabeth at 96. All of that, including the news item, points up the importance of the prayer in this verse. None of us know how long we will live, and we will lack wisdom until we come to terms with our own mortality and choose to spend our days in right relationship to our Creator, from Whom we came and to Whom we return. I think that’s what it means when it says, “number our days,” since we don’t know how many we will have. Many parents try to shield their children from the reality of death, even avoiding having pets because most pets have short lifespans, and they don’t want their children to grieve. That is terribly misguided, because death is indeed part of life, and failure to recognize that leaves us foolish indeed. I once watched a video of someone talking to young people about HIV, I think it was, and he said, “No orgasm is worth your life.” Failure to recognize our mortality can cause us to take all sorts of stupid risks. The flip side of that is people who live in such fear of death that they never really live, focusing on avoiding all possible risks. Wisdom lies in recognizing not only our mortality but also where our life comes from in the first place, and living each day in obedient gratitude toward the One who gave it to us.

This is pointed for me because in two weeks I will have outlived my father by 10 years, since he died about a week after his 64th birthday. The news about Queen Elizabeth comes at a point when I have a friend with terminal cancer and an 85-year-old church member recently was running a high fever, and her son came by to discuss the eventuality of her passing. I have lost count of how many funerals I have conducted, and for how many people I was present at their passing. I am instantly recognized at the city crematorium! I have certainly learned the difference between the death of a believer and that of an unbeliever. For believers, I have conducted some genuinely joyful funerals! We get so tied up in physical life that we lose sight of the reality that 100 years, even, is essentially insignificant on the scale of eternity. I personally would not want to be stuck in this body for eternity! I am personally to rest, and revel in, the eternal life I have by grace through faith in Christ, and I am to use my days, however many I am given, to draw others to that life as well. As Jesus assured us, in this life we will have trouble, (John 16:33) but it is an opportunity to learn of God and His love for us, and choose to follow Jesus as Lord, with everything that means.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for Your perfect timing for everything. Thank You that I have my first class today with a new group of nursing students. I pray that my every interaction with them would point them to Christ. They too will rub shoulders with death in the course of their careers. May they indeed learn to number their days aright and commit themselves to their Creator, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Singing to the Lord; September 8, 2022

Posted on September 11, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

This Psalm progresses from a joyful declaration of God’s faithfulness, in this verse and following, to an impassioned plea for God to demonstrate His faithfulness to whoever the king was at the time this was written. This verse and several others have been set to music and as such are very familiar, but the flow of the Psalm as a whole indicates to me why the nation was in trouble. Verse 6 indicates that the Psalmist considers Yahweh to be the greatest of the gods, but not necessarily the only one. That’s dangerous territory, and was a persistent problem for Israel. It’s like the people today who pray to various saints, rather than to the Trinity, and then they say, “Saint so-and-so helped me,” if things turn out to their liking. We seem to have trouble with genuine monotheism! It is good and appropriate to sing of God’s love and faithfulness, as this verse says, but we need to have it clear in our heart and mind just who the Lord is, and not give glory to anything else.

The version of this verse that I have sung for many years says, “the mercies of the Lord,” where the NIV says “love” and the Japanese says “grace/blessings.” (The Japanese word carries both meanings.) Evidently the original Hebrew fits somewhere in the middle of that Venn diagram! I feel like I am called to inform people of God’s reality, His character, and actually, singing has a good bit to do with that. My vocal quality is declining somewhat with age, but people still tend to take notice when I sing. I need to be careful that my singing directs attention to the Lord more than to me! I use music in teaching vocal production and pronunciation to budding speech therapists, and one song I use with them is You are the Words and the Music. As I tell them, it expresses my attitude toward music beautifully. My singing, and my life, aren’t to be focused on me and what I want, but on my Lord who does all things well. All sorts of things happen that I would rather be different, but the Lord assured me over 20 years ago that He feels the same way, and He’s got the perfect plan for the resolution of everything. My response to everything in my life should be gratitude and praise toward the One whom I know loves me so incredibly, not only because He deserves no less but also so that those around me may likewise be turned and tuned to Him, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You again for music and the huge part it has in my life. May I make the use of it that You intend, on every level, so that Your plans for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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David’s Heart; September 7, 2022

Posted on September 10, 2022 by jgarrott

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

This Psalm’s attribution is very simply, “A prayer of David,” with no special circumstances mentioned. However, for anyone familiar with the Bible that would pretty well go without saying, because the various things expressed in this Psalm are so typical of him. David is famous for having stumbled so badly with Bathsheba, but that was in a sense atypical of him. The heart expressed in this Psalm is precisely what made him “a man after God’s own heart.” (Acts 13:22) He was a wealthy king, yet he refers to himself as “poor and needy.” (verse 1) He was a descendant of Abraham, yet he had a heart for all nations. (verse 9) He was under attack from enemies, (verse 14) but his focus was on God. All of that is rooted in the attitude expressed in this verse. He asks to be taught God’s way, and commits himself to walk in it. He is aware of temptations and distractions so he wants an undivided heart, not to make him strong but so that he will relate rightly to his Creator and Lord. That’s an attitude worthy of emulation by any disciple of Jesus Christ. When Jesus made no mistakes, sometimes just looking at him doesn’t teach us how to deal with our mistakes. David is an excellent “substitute example,” so to speak, because he followed faithfully in spite of his mistakes.

This definitely applies to me. I certainly haven’t lived in “sinless perfection,” but this verse has become more and more the cry of my heart the longer I have lived. People are surprised and/or impressed that we have been ministering in Omura for 41 years now, but I’m not sure if that’s faithfulness or simple inertia. I’m too lazy to pick up and go somewhere else! Yesterday a close friend was talking about how he didn’t know why God allowed faithful servants to be afflicted, as we talked about a mutual friend who has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. I don’t rejoice at such news, but I’m never surprised at it, because Jesus said so clearly that “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) We do have heaven to look forward to, so temporal things shouldn’t shake us. I need to walk in the attitude expressed in this verse, whatever is going on around me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for making it so clear that I’m to speak on Faithfulness this Sunday. I ask for Your anointing that it may be Your Word indeed, to encourage and inspire all who hear it, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Listening to God; September 6, 2022

Posted on September 10, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 85:8 I will listen to what God the Lord will say;
he promises peace to his people, his saints–
but let them not return to folly.

This verse starts with an extremely wise position: listening to God. The Japanese expresses it as a desire: “I want to hear what the Lord God will declare.” We have a bad tendency not to listen when God tells us stuff, and it’s recorded in the Bible all the way back to the Garden of Eden. I bring this point up frequently in sermons, but if we want to hear God, we need to start with the commitment to obey whatever He says to us. The latter part of this verse deals with that, saying, “let them not return to folly.” I think just about everyone has experienced being corrected by God, and then we turn around and do whatever it was again. That is certainly the height of foolishness! At the same time, we often fail to include ourselves  in “God’s people, His saints.” The terminology here is perfectly in line with New Testament usage, where Paul consistently refers to all believers as saints. We tend to feel the term implies perfection, when Biblical usage flat doesn’t do that. We aren’t saints because of what we have done or not done, but because of what God has done for and declared about us. He says we’re saints, and that settles it! The flip side of that is that even saints have the tendency to “return to folly,” and we are not to do that. Every child of every parent does foolish things at times, but that doesn’t make them any less children of their parents. On the human level that shouldn’t be surprising, because there’s no such thing as a parent who hasn’t been foolish, in their own childhood or recently. We cannot rely safely on our own “wisdom,” because doing so will quickly demonstrate it’s not wisdom at all. We all need to take Proverbs to heart: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6) That’s why we need to listen to God!

This is certainly the story of my life. I’ve “returned to folly” more times than I could count! As is said frequently in politics, the coverup is worse than the crime. When I blow it I need to be completely open and honest about it, rejecting excuses even in my own heart. That’s not easy! I like to “maintain the façade” as much as anyone, but I have learned, both from Scripture and from experience, that’s not the wisest course. I have felt for a long time that Proverbs 3:5-6, quoted above, and James 1:22, about deceiving yourself, were written expressly for me. They were written for millions of other people as well, but they were certainly written for me! I have found that intellectual conceit is one of the biggest obstacles to hearing God correctly, and I’ve got plenty of that! However, by God’s grace I also have a strong desire to hear and obey Him, and He’s still working on me to straighten me out.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your incredible patience with me over the years. Help me never be satisfied with my current level of growth, but keep pressing in for more of You, more of Your Spirit, so that I may be more like Your Son indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Provision; September 5, 2022

Posted on September 9, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 81:10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

I can’t read this verse without remembering the story of the dentist who took the last part out of context and posted it on the wall of his clinic! God certainly wasn’t talking about filling teeth in this verse!  Jokes aside, the context of this verse is the admonition to listen to God alone, and not to other gods. God is reminding Israel of His power by speaking of the Exodus, and then He tells them He will meet their needs. Back then, people were in danger of starving to death because of climate, because no rain meant no crops and thus no food, whereas today the biggest reason for starvation is politics, since modern transportation makes it possible to transfer foodstuffs around the world. The big focus of a lot of religions back then was actually weather, pleading with deities for rain in season, and God is reminding His people that’s no problem for Him, if they would just listen to Him and be obedient. This has been a continuing issue throughout history. Jesus famously addressed it with, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) If we keep our focus on God and what He wants us to do, we have no worries about our needs being met.

This is something I have known from childhood, but the level of my “seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness” has certainly been variable. I was sharing with people just yesterday how our financial income level has generally been so low we haven’t had to pay income tax, but God has provided abundantly, often in ways that didn’t interest the IRS. I deal with people all the time who are anxious about their supply. I try to point them to God, but most often they can’t seem to believe He is like He is. I am to live my life as an example to all who see me, seeking to help them understand that God is indeed no respecter of persons, playing favorites, (Acts 10:34) but is gracious to all who turn to Him in truth. My prayer is that more and more people would repent and believe, opening their heart to receive God’s provision of salvation and everything else.

Father, You know my heart, and how You have transformed it to be more and more like Your own. I am indeed far more concerned with the salvation of those around me than I used to be. Thank You. You indeed “work in me to will and to do Your good pleasure!” (Philippians 2:13) I ask that You work through me by Your Spirit to bring more and more to repentance and faith, for a massive increase in Your family, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Focus; September 4, 2022

Posted on September 9, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you–
I, whom you have redeemed.

Singing praise to God brings joy. The Psalmist is evidently in a pretty rough situation, but when he shifts his focus to God, the joy returns. I have known for many years that the more we focus on ourselves and our situation, the less joy we have. This is something I consistently tell people who come to me for counseling, but it’s something every human being struggles with. The Psalmist here is reminding himself that God has redeemed him, and that is likewise the source of our joy. We do need enough self-awareness to know from what we have been redeemed, because rough circumstances are a symptom, not the cause. We need to recognize that we are sinful beings, ignoring God and even actively disobeying Him, and only the redeeming work of Christ on the cross gives us an eternal hope. It is when we shift our focus to God and what He has done for us that we are able to receive the joy that He intends for us.

I am in some difficult training in this area at the moment. My wife and I went on Friday to see the surgeon who did her back surgery a few years ago, and he did a nerve block injection to help with her current pain. Sadly, I got up this morning to discover she had a very rough night with pain, having to take a pain pill around 1:30 this morning, indicating the benefit of the very painful injection lasted less than 48 hours. That’s not my pain directly, but my wife and I are indeed one, after over 53 years of marriage, and I would rather bear the pain myself than have her endure it. I find it’s easier to praise God in the middle of my own difficulties that it is to do so in the middle of my wife’s pain. Today being Sunday we have a full schedule, and the challenge is to focus on the reason behind all the things we have to do. That is actually a challenge for every church staff member every Sunday, because the job can obscure the reason for it all. I need to be consciously focused on my marvelous Savior, and not on all the lesser things that vie for my attention. I’m speaking on Guidance this morning, and I must accept and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit whatever that means, and not wallow in self.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that Cathy says her pain is less than when she got up. I pray that You would enable us both to focus on You, trusting You with ourselves, with each other, with this church, and with everything else, so that Your plans may be fulfilled in and through us, or even in spite of us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Emergency Prayers; September 3, 2022

Posted on September 5, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 70:5 Yet I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.

This whole Psalm, though brief, isn’t quite as short as Nehemiah’s “telegram prayer” mentioned in Nehemiah 1:4, but we’ve all been there, needing help and needing it promptly. Just yesterday someone posted on Facebook a picture of a sign that said, “There’s a reason for everything. Sometimes the reason is that you’re stupid and make bad decisions.” That’s all too true! In such cases, God’s reason for allowing it is to help you grow up and make better decisions. That said, God is never mean, and often our greatest need is simple humility, so He allows us to fall flat on our face. That’s a good position for prayer! David had people seeking to kill him many times in his life, and sometimes they were his own children! That came about through his “stupidity and bad decisions” when it came to parenting, but God rescued him anyway. When we come right down to it, God is incredibly patient with us, teaching us the same lessons over and over until we really grasp and apply them. It is entirely appropriate to pray when we are in trouble of any sort, but we need to have teachable hearts, not going through one crisis only to make the same mistakes again.

This certainly applies to me! I have commented many times that if I had been God, I would have squashed me long ago! I have learned, often the hard way, that the time to develop a deep relationship with the Lord is before the crisis hits. Every crisis has indeed deepened my relationship with Him, but it’s the daily listening, with a heart fixed on obedience, that makes the biggest difference. Recently I have had several unexpected opportunities for ministry. If I hadn’t already been “in hearing distance” of the Lord, I wouldn’t have been able to meet those opportunities. It’s a truism, but I don’t know what tomorrow holds, or even today, for that matter. Emergency prayers aren’t bad, but I need to be in constant communication with my Lord and not allow anything to panic me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for getting us through the day yesterday, and that the driving went so smoothly to Sasebo and back, despite the downpour as we were leaving the hospital. Thank You that the nerve block seems to be helping Cathy, and that we were informed of other options besides more metal in her back. Thank You for the surprisingly good report from a friend who has cancer. It’s nice to shock doctors that way! Thank You for the various things You have planned for today. Help us recognize them and flow with Your Spirit, not complaining or getting in Your way but allowing You to use us for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Recognizing God; September 2, 2022

Posted on September 5, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.

Several parts of this Psalm have been set to music, but as famous as this verse is, I don’t off hand know a musical setting for it. However, it is memorable nonetheless. We tend to think of God sporadically, on special occasions of one sort or another. However, as this verse says, God is at work on our behalf all the time. There is a poem I have seen many times in a frame, superimposed on a picture of footprints on a sandy beach, that talks about God carrying us through the roughest parts of our lives, but our not recognizing it. That poem is popular because it is so true to experience. Sometimes we feel God’s presence and sometimes we don’t, but that isn’t because He has changed. As God famously said through one of the Levites, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) We often have great difficulty getting quiet enough to recognize His presence. Even so, He daily bears our burdens, even as it says here. Too often we demand feelings, emotions, before we will acknowledge God, not realizing that very demand is what is hiding Him from us. We need to have faith that He is indeed there, caring for us, tending to us, guiding us into His good plan, whatever it might feel like in the moment.

This is a big one, and it’s an area where I’m still growing. I am aware of God probably a good bit more than the average person, but that doesn’t mean I’m sufficiently aware of Him. Part of that is that my physical being can only tolerate so much of Him, but a bigger part is that I am self-centered and easily distracted. I have seen the hell on earth that some people generate from being so self-centered, but I don’t avoid it completely myself. I too need to do better at being still and knowing that He is God. The better I recognize Him, the better I will recognize the countless things He does for me, and the more grateful I will be. And of course, gratitude is the key to happiness. Being self-centered leads to feelings of entitlement and victimhood, and that’s the opposite of happiness.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I am indeed surrounded by countless examples of Your grace toward me. Help me recognize them and give You the thanks and praise You deserve, for my blessing and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Purpose of Blessings; September 1, 2022

Posted on September 4, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 67:1-2 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

The more I read the Bible the more I am impressed that even in ancient times people wanted the whole world to know about God. They had a strong awareness of being the chosen people of God, but the ones who had their heads and hearts on straight wanted everyone to know about Him and His salvation. Sadly, instead of standing firm in that, they tended to copy the very nations they were called to transform by example. I’m reminded of something that has been said about the immediate political situation in the US: “The only way the Republicans can lose in November is to act like Democrats.” Ironically, it looks like several are starting to do that. As Paul famously said, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) The devil is such an effective liar, he often convinces us to abandon the very things that are to save us. Until very recently, America sent out far and away the greatest number of Christian missionaries across the world, but American society in general has too often demonstrated a repudiation of the Gospel. That said, genuine evangelism is always on an individual level. A major reason Billy Graham was so effective was that his life was totally congruent with his message; his integrity spoke as loudly as his words. Like the writer of this Psalm, we are to seek God’s blessings not just for our own sake but so that others may know what kind of God we serve, and be drawn to Him as well.

As a Caucasian with an American passport ministering in Japan, this certainly applies to me. Ever since the end of WWII, and actually before that, the Japanese have had an admiration and envy of America and Americans, but there has been an unfortunate tendency to copy the bad parts more readily than the good. I am not to minister as an American, but rather as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Every part of my life is to be a testimony of the character of God, demonstrating His power, grace, and love, laying a foundation for the Gospel I proclaim. As Francis of Assisi said, “Preach constantly. When necessary, use words.” It’s nice when people like me, but I’d far rather they fall in love with Jesus. I am greatly blessed, but those blessings aren’t to stop with me, but rather flow through me to others, drawing them to repentance and faith.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the opportunities You’ve given me to minister in the past few days. I pray that everyone with whom I interact would indeed know Your salvation because of what You do for and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Heart Attitude; August 31, 2022

Posted on September 4, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened

This little verse in an anonymous Psalm expresses an important truth. Everyone sins, but how we respond to those sins, our attitude toward them, makes a huge difference. We are all too prone to revel in sin, to “lick our lips” over it, so to speak. I think that cuts us off from God worse than the act itself. The Bible deals a lot with heart attitudes. David messed up big time, but his heart attitude was such that when what he had done was pointed out to him, he repented in truth and made no attempt to defend himself. (Psalm 51) In contrast, we sometimes delight in much lesser sins, not realizing that our delight walls us off from God. Hanging on to unforgiveness, for example, keeps us from receiving God’s forgiveness, (Matthew 6:14-15) and even ridiculing others puts us in danger of the fires of hell. (Matthew 5:22) How many people court that danger unwittingly? As David recognized, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) Heart attitude is everything.

I’ve been on all sides of this issue more times than I could keep track of. I’m grateful to say that at this point I believe I am far more humble before God than I have been in the past, recognizing the magnificence of His grace toward me. I can look back and see countless times that I toyed with temptation, reveling in it, so to speak, even when I didn’t follow through in physical action. If I had been God, I probably would have squashed me then and there! However, God is indeed working in me both to will and to do His good pleasure, (Philippians 2:13) and it gives me peace and joy to see that happening. This principle of heart attitude can be difficult to get across to others if they aren’t spiritually sensitive, so I’ve got to keep praying and depending on the Holy Spirit. He alone can get past the lying barriers the devil sets up to try to keep people from knowing the truth that will set them free. (John 8:32)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the man You brought here yesterday and for what You did in him during that time. I pray that Your words through me would indeed penetrate and stay with him, setting him free indeed. He is very aware that he is currently far from You. Help him realize that all he has to do is turn around, and You are right there. He is getting a taste of hell on earth. Help him repent and believe so that he may receive heaven, on earth and for eternity, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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