Singing Praise; August 20, 2022

Posted on August 24, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 33:1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

This Psalm as a whole is very joyful, with the only negative reference I can see being the mention of death and famine in verse 19. We have no idea who wrote it, but it is certainly an expression of faith. These first few verses expressly mention the appropriateness of music in responding to God. When our hearts are right before God, it is entirely reasonable that we would respond to Him with music. Actually, a resistance to praising God in music is an indication that something isn’t right with us. The Japanese expression for “upright” literally means “straight.” When we don’t want to praise God, we’ve gotten bent somehow! All sorts of things can do that, particularly our circumstances, but as has been said, we can’t control our circumstances but we can control how we respond to them. Even in times of great sorrow and pain we can choose to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and rejoice that He loves us so much. I am well aware that is much more easily said than done sometimes, but if that is our desire, God will enable us to do it. And, there’s no reason not to! There is no benefit to wallowing in misery, particularly when a clear, simple alternative is available.

I feel like putting a big “ditto” on all I wrote yesterday about songs of deliverance. I was greatly blessed to be raised in a household that was not only musical, it was a household of faith, and singing to God and of God was the most natural thing ever. There are many who consider me righteous and upright, but I am so only by the grace of God. I do, however, choose to sing to and of the Lord with considerable frequency, in my heart even when not out loud. It is a great joy and privilege. I’d say that a song rises in my heart and mind most mornings when I open the Bible, and particularly now while we’re in Psalms. Sometimes I can hardly read for singing the songs that have been made from the passage! Believe me, I’m not complaining! My wife, and others who have been to heaven and come back, say that heaven is filled with music, and even the grass and trees sing praise to God. That’s certainly something to look forward to! Until I get there, however, I can taste that joy by choosing to sing praise to God in every circumstance.

Father, thank You for the incredible gift of music, of singing praise to You. May my music draw others to know and praise You as well, to swell the ranks of Your choir, (Revelation 7:9) for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Songs of Deliverance; August 19, 2022

Posted on August 24, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

I know that “shouts of deliverance,” as the Japanese has it here, is probably the more accurate translation, but I still like “songs,” because of how much music is part of me. Considering David, “songs” might really have been what he was thinking, because of his poetic gift. He had been writing songs ever since he was a young shepherd boy, watching over his flock by himself out in the wilderness. (I would be fascinated to know what tunes he used, but those are lost to us.) That experience also gave him an awareness of hiding places, because there were many dangers of various sorts, from scorpions to snakes to bigger animals that could do him harm. Growing maturity had taught him that such physical dangers were relatively minor compared to the spiritual dangers of sin. He had encountered men who were worse snakes than any pit viper! At the same time, he had recognized his own tendency to sin, as he mentions in this Psalm. His own lyrics probably helped him recognize and resist temptations and sin, since his anointing caused those lyrics to be included in the Bible. Setting Scripture to music is an excellent way to remember it, and it is never a bad idea to store up Scripture in your mind and heart. (Psalm 119:11) These days it’s easy to hear physical recordings of such songs, but it’s even better to let them “play” in our memory, because that encourages us to think about what they say. Doing that really can keep us out of a lot of trouble!

As I said, music is very much part of me, and I am grateful. I can’t really imagine what it’s like for those who don’t have a musical background, but I must not let that puff me up. Rather, I am to meet people where they are, teaching them simple songs that will act as “ear worms,” repeating God’s truth to them. I have always said that you can tell a church’s theology by what they sing, and teaching songs is far more effective than lecturing. I want people to know, and sing, songs that will draw them into right relationship with their Creator, comforting and building them up, but also admonishing them and encouraging them in active discipleship. That’s a tall order, and obviously one or two songs aren’t going to do the trick. In this church we generally sing six or seven songs per service, some of them multi-verse traditional hymns, some very simple choruses, and most somewhere in between. We’ve got a lot to choose from! The Lord has blessed me with translating quite a few songs in all of those categories, both from English to Japanese and from Japanese to English. Sometimes that gets convoluted, as in the Indonesian song that I know only in Japanese, that I translated into English. Sometimes translating allows me to “clean up” the theology of the original! It’s interesting to see songs that are better in translation than they are in the original language, and I’m not at all just talking about my work. That’s an indication that the Holy Spirit is at work in it all, and He is the one we need to teach us God’s truth. (John 14:26) I am to seek to be His agent, and allow Him to sing His songs into my mind and heart.

Father, thank You indeed for songs of deliverance. May I be the singer You want me to be, drawing others to sing Your songs, so that we may resist the devil and walk in all that You have for us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Redemption; August 18, 2022

Posted on August 21, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 31:5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.

The first half of this is famous as one of the last things Jesus spoke from the cross, (Luke 23:46) but where the NIV renders the last half as a request, the Japanese gives it as a statement of past fact: “I yield my spirit into Your hands; You have redeemed me.” I kind of like that. It is when we have assurance of Jesus’ redemption that we are able to yield ourselves to Him. I think a lot of people have trouble trusting God for the future because they don’t grasp how much He has already done for them. It’s like Paul said: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Until we realize how utterly without hope we were without Christ, and then realize that God has given His Son to rescue us from that situation, we will have trouble trusting Him with all the difficulties we encounter in this life. God is incredibly patient with us, so we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. After all, Jesus chided even His 12 apostles for their lack of faith! (Matthew 8:26 and several more) One of our most important tasks on this earth is learning how much God loves us and how much He has done for us, because when we grasp that, we will be totally fearless.

I have had a fairly high level of assurance of God’s love from my childhood, but I have had some trouble with grasping just how essential that was for me. I am all too prone to take God’s love for granted, not understanding on the deepest level that it is grace indeed, and not anything I deserve. That said, I have very little fear of the future. The devil goes overtime trying to make us afraid, and it doesn’t matter much of what. In the recent pandemic, the fear of it has been much worse than the virus itself. Young people who had virtually zero risk of death from the virus committed suicide because of the social isolation and the pervasive fear-mongering. I am to be strong and at peace in my knowledge of God and seek to share that knowledge with as many as will receive it. My knowledge and my faith certainly aren’t perfect, but they’re growing, and God is faithful. I am to share what I have been given, for the blessing of others and for God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the treasure trove of letters Cathy found yesterday that remind us of how Your plans for us were set long before we were born, and they are good. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance, sharing it with all who will receive it, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Praising God; August 17, 2022

Posted on August 20, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 30:11-12 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

The musical setting of the KJV of these two verses was one of the first songs I learned when I was exposed to the Charismatic Movement in 1973, and I have loved it ever since. I literally cannot read the passage without it coming to my mind and heart. It is a powerful testimony of joy and gratitude, a fitting follow-up to verse five, which is actually more famous: “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) The phrase, “joy in the morning,” entered the language from that verse. However, it’s these two verses at the end of the Psalm that tell us how to respond to God’s gracious blessings to us: singing praise and giving thanks. All too often we forget to do that! I really like a refrigerator magnet we had for many years that said, “Happiness is seeing a beautiful sunset and knowing Who to thank.” The greatest source of true joy and happiness is indeed knowing and rightly relating to our Creator. When we fail to be grateful, we lose the majority of the blessings right there. God does good things for us precisely so we can recognize them and through them, recognize Him. He created us for fellowship with Him, and the very fact that He did so is astonishing, when you think about it. We need to get over our astonishment and indeed, praise and thank Him!

As I said, I learned these verses when I was introduced to the Charismatic Movement. One of the greatest benefits of that movement has been the restoration of active praise to the Church. Music has been a part of worship since at least the time of David, but it has gone through many cycles, expanding and deepening with each one. Gregorian chants can be beautiful indeed, but they require a lot of musical ability and training to do properly. Musical performance isn’t bad, but what God wants is for all His people to praise Him. I was raised in a highly musical household, but I am saddened when churches leave the singing mostly up to the “worship team.” I love to praise God in song, and I’ll do it even if I’m the only one, but I want everyone to join me! My aim needs always to praise God in such a way that others are carried along to praise Him too. I don’t want them praising me and not Him!

Father, thank You for the musical gifts You’ve given me, both “nature” and “nurture.” Help me use them not only to praise You myself but to lead others to recognize You and praise You from their own heart, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Turning to God; August 16, 2022

Posted on August 20, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

In several of his Psalms David starts out pretty depressed, but like here, before the end of the Psalm he’s rejoicing. There is remarkable power in deliberately turning to God and releasing your troubles to Him. A frequent lie of the devil is that we are all alone, we have no one to rescue us, and turning to God is following James’ famous instructions: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) There’s no indication here that David has physically seen the destruction of his foes, but God has given him assurance in his heart that the situation is taken care of. One illustration applies to many areas of life. It we are facing a bright light, what we see is light. If we are facing away from it, we see our own shadow, and if we are close to the light, that shadow can seem all-encompassing. Simply turning to God may not change our immediate circumstances, but it certainly changes our perspective. We are reminded, as David is here, that the Lord is indeed our strength and our shield. That’s important in every situation!

The last time things looked really black for me was about 22 years ago, when our money for constructing this building had run out (for reasons I won’t go into here) and the banks wouldn’t touch us because we hadn’t gone through them to begin with. Frankly, I was even starting to feel suicidal. Then the CEO of the plumbing company that had worked on the building came and suggested that I go around to the different contractors involved and present them with a payment plan, since time payments would be greatly preferrable to default. I did that, and the rest is history. And he wasn’t even a Christian! Simply knowing that God had a plan, even if I couldn’t see it yet, made a huge difference. Since then I have had even more peace and assurance that whatever the immediate situation, God wasn’t in a panic and I had no need to be. As a pastor I deal with a lot of people who find themselves in difficult situations. I may not have any answers, but God does! As Andrae Crouch sang, Jesus is the Answer!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You indeed for being Lord of all, for having Your plans that cover everything. Help me be fully submitted to You so that I may recognize Your guidance and be Your agent for Your will to be done, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Seeking God; August 15, 2022

Posted on August 19, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalms 27:8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Once again I see the benefit of reading the Bible in more than one language. Instead of saying, “My heart says of you,” the Japanese here says, “My heart says for You,” or “in Your place.” Our hearts will indeed speak God’s words to us, if we are tender before Him and are listening. David experienced that at times, which is why the first part of this Psalm expresses such glorious assurance. David was a very fallible human being, as are we all, and he didn’t maintain this level of fellowship with God at all times. When he fell with Bathsheba it was certainly drastic, and was an object lesson that we are never to take our relationship with the Lord for granted, but always keep pressing in to Him, just as He was telling David to do here. The moment we think, “I’ve found God, so I don’t need to keep seeking Him,” we are in deep trouble. Since He is infinite, there is always more of Him to find! I am increasingly convinced that my father’s catch phrase, “Give all you know of yourself to all you know of Christ,” is just as important for the seasoned Christian as it is for someone opening their heart to Christ for the first time. We cannot know all of Christ, of God, until we are before the Throne, (1 Corinthians 13:12) and we should be learning more about ourselves each day. We need to keep our commitment up to date on both sides of that equation. That is what God desires of us.

I don’t know how many years ago now that it was, but I wrote “YES!” in my Bible at the time at this verse. God has been calling me closer to Him all my life, really, but my response has been anything but even. At the same time, I agree 100% with the Bill Gaither song, The Longer I Serve Him the Sweeter He Grows. I haven’t been particularly faithful, but He has! Turning 74 next month, I have no idea how much longer the Lord will use me on this earth, but I want every bit of it to be pleasing to Him. The Holy Spirit within me is indeed telling me to keep pressing in for more of my Savior – and that there’s always more to be had! Yesterday showed that God is indeed doing good things in this church, and I look forward to all that He is going to do. At the same time, I am increasingly aware that it’s not my church, it’s His, and what He does through whom is His business. I am to keep equipping the saints to do the work of ministry, (Ephesians 4:12) extending the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth, just as it says in our church vision, for His pleasure and glory.

Father, thank You for this powerful, encouraging reminder. Help me indeed keep growing, in every way You know I need to, so that I may be the servant that You desire, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Focus; August 14, 2022

Posted on August 19, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalms 21:13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.

As came out yesterday, this Psalm seems like one written by a court poet for the benefit of King David, rather than one written by him. Such things as wishing the king live forever (verse 4) were quite conventional in such situations. However, the ultimate focus is on Yahweh, because this is a prayer to Him to bless the king. It starts in verse one by saying that the king rejoices in Yahweh, and it closes with this verse that again turns the focus back to Him. Throughout the Bible we are admonished to keep our focus on God, to remember that He is our Creator, because we owe everything to Him and we exist for His pleasure. Lots of people rebel at that idea, but that’s because they don’t really know God. When we know His love, grace, and mercy, the only logical response is grateful obedience. He is not capricious, even though we often don’t know what He is doing, and He isn’t mean, even when we reap what our actions deserve. The very fact that He is the infinite Creator and we are His very finite creatures necessitates that, as He told Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Trying to put ourselves in God’s place, as we are very prone to do, is the height of stupid pride, which the Greeks called hubris. When our focus is on God instead of on ourselves, we avoid countless pitfalls and walk in the abundant blessings He intends for us. However, we still have to deal with the effects of other people failing to be obedient to God. As Jesus told us very clearly, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) However, when our focus is on God and His Son, we can indeed rejoice, as Jesus went on to say.

This is how I was raised, but it has taken many years of often failing to focus on God to get it into my head and heart even to the extent that it is, and I’ve still got plenty of room to grow. A few years ago God told me personally to rest, relax, and rejoice. I can do that only when my focus is on Him, because the situations around me, not to mention my own weaknesses, certainly don’t lend themselves to that. My ministry of calling people to salvation in Christ and teaching them to be His disciples could be expressed as getting people to focus on God. The world is chock full of distractions of all sorts. I need to both remember and teach that the only way to get through it all is indeed to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)


Father, thank You for this reminder. There’s a lot going on right now, but then there’s always a lot going on! Help me indeed fix my eyes on Jesus and do only what You desire of me, for the blessing of all around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Reliance; August 13, 2022

Posted on August 16, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

I have liked this verse ever since I learned the little chorus that was made from it, along with verses 6 and 8. The Japanese says “boast,” rather than “trust in,” but I think the meaning is clear. The whole point is the matter of who or what the nation is depending on. (Incidentally, this Psalm, along with some others that are attributed to “of David,” seems much more like it was written for or to David, rather than by him.) This is a matter of major importance for every nation in every age, as it is actually for every individual who has ever lived. The issue comes up fairly frequently throughout the Bible, but we are all too prone to boast of/trust in/depend on what we can see, and all too often that comes up short. Just this year Putin has trusted in his tanks and artillery, and has been shamed by the much less equipped Ukranians. Actually, any nation or any individual that trusts in anything less than the Creator is doomed to eventual disappointment at the very least. Militarily, right now the US is on very thin ice because, despite having the best military technology, the top brass is boasting about “woke” nonsense like Critical Race Theory and gender ideology. I just pray that the military won’t be put to the test before that is straightened out. On a more personal scale, we all tend to rely on physical, temporal things, like our job or our 401K or even our social network following. All of those are ephemeral at best. We can have everything the world teaches us to desire and still come up desperately short when push comes to shove. Knowing God and walking in obedient fellowship with Him is the only true security, and it is eternal!

I was raised to trust in God over material things, but I still have had a persistent tendency to trust in the abilities He has given me, rather than in God Himself. That can be subtle at times, but it is dangerous. Right now by God’s grace we are more comfortable financially than I can remember in our 53 years of marriage, but part of that comes from reduced material ambition: we don’t want so much. That is a blessing, but the core issue is still the matter of what we’re depending on. After all, even government pensions are uncertain, and the value of money itself is sliding. I’ve got to keep my eyes on my Lord, who has been more than generous and dependable. That includes making whatever use He indicates of whatever He places in my hands, be it finances or anything else.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how things are going with the photo show. We haven’t had the numbers we might have liked, but You have given us some interesting interactions. I continue to pray that those who see the show would go away impressed far more with You and Your creation than with the abilities You’ve given me. Thank You. Praise God!

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Words; August 12, 2022

Posted on August 15, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

It is very difficult to choose just one part of this Psalm to write on, because it is so loaded with glorious truth. The first verse is justly famous, and it would be a fitting label for the images that are coming from the James Webb Space Telescope, or even for some of the sky and cloud pictures I take. Then there’s the section from verse seven and following that has been well set to music, to engrain the truth expressed into people’s hearts and minds. Then the last three verses of the Psalm deal with sin and our capacity for deceiving ourselves into ignoring it. That’s why I finally settled on this last verse, because it is an appropriate prayer not only when reading this Psalm but at all times in every situation. As Jesus pointed out, it’s not what we put into our bodies so much as it is what comes out of them that defiles us – and He wasn’t talking about digestive elimination. (Matthew 15:10-20) David is here talking about words and the thoughts that generate them. Just as God spoke the universe into existence, (Genesis 1) our words have tremendous potential, both for good and for evil. Jesus famously said, “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37) That doesn’t mean never to speak; language is an essential part of our humanity. It does however mean that we are to submit our words to God even before they come out of our mouth, just as David prays here. Words are a powerful gift from God, and we are to be faithful stewards of them just as we are of all His other gifts.

This is particularly appropriate to me since I am a man of words. I sometimes say that I make my living with words, as a school teacher and as a pastor. I haven’t consciously prayed this verse daily up until now, but I’m feeling it would be a good idea to do so. I’ve just finished a book that popped some bubbles about some well-known saints of the past century whom I had admired – and still admire – greatly. None of us are perfect! When words are such a big part of my life, I have all the more reason to focus on keeping my words submitted to my Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. I have quite a track record of hurting people with words carelessly spoken, and as Jesus said, I will have to answer for that. I am seen as an oddity because I preach in Japanese and English together, but that linguistic ability means nothing if the content isn’t from God. I am certainly careful what I say from the pulpit, but I must be more careful what I say in my daily interactions, because they form the vast majority of my influence on other people, and I want to represent Christ and nothing less. My wife Cathy takes the brunt of my careless words, and I need to do better about that. I have shown myself to be very capable of wounding others with my words, and I cannot depend on myself not to do it again. I need to keep growing as an accurate conduit for what God wants to say, so that His perfect will may be accomplished through me for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It has certainly focused and put a point on what You were already indicating that I was to speak on this coming Sunday. I ask for clear guidance and anointing as I prepare the notes for that message, but more than that I ask for You to enable me to put this truth into consistent practice, not deceiving myself but applying Your truth for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Values and Priorities; August 11, 2022

Posted on August 15, 2022 by jgarrott

Psalm 16:2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”

This Psalm is special to me because verse six was a favorite of my father and his father before him, verse 10 was referenced by Peter at Pentecost, and verse 11 has been very pleasantly set to music in Japanese. However, in a sense all of those are dependent on the attitude expressed in this verse. This verse is in a very real sense the key to David’s life; he got into trouble only when he forgot it momentarily. Our lives are filled with all sorts of things both good and bad. David, and countless saints before and after him, recognized that, as James said, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) When we get into trouble is when we think we can have anything good apart from Him. Actually, as I mentioned a few days ago, apart from Him we would be nothing more than random atoms, if that! Life is ultimately a matter of priorities and choices; that’s what free will is all about. It is when we recognize that God is Lord, that He has absolute authority over us, and that every genuinely good and desirable thing is bound up in Him that we start fulfilling the purpose for which we were created and so experience the blessings that He has intended for us all along. The devil tries to keep us from that awareness any way he can, convincing some people that God “made us wrong,” or that we were “born into the wrong time,” or something of the sort. There are many things about our life and circumstances that we don’t understand, but everything becomes immeasurably better when we come to the awareness David expresses here.

I was thankfully raised with this as a given assumption about life, but I can’t say I haven’t deviated from it more times than I could count. I too have listened to the devil’s lies about some “good thing” that God was “keeping from me.” That has never ended well! At this point in my life I’m blessed to say that this principle is pretty well worked into me, but I’m still vulnerable to complaining at times, not to mention dragging my feet even when I know God wants me to do something. As James said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) I need to apply the truth I know with my whole heart, not entertaining the devil’s lies but walking in God’s truth alone, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Thank You also for the book I’ve been reading that has shown me the humanity and fallibility of some people I had idolized. Help me never condemn myself or anyone else for mistakes, but rather operate fully in Your grace, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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