Discipline; December 12, 2021

Posted on December 15, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 107:15-16 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

This Psalm is a series of vignettes of people who got into deep trouble either by ignoring God or actively rebelling against Him, and how He saved them when they came to their senses and turned to Him. There are no specifics, either of people or locations, but that is deliberate, because we can all identify with one or more of these ourselves. It’s like Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) The point is not to keep ignoring God, much less run away from Him, but rather to turn to Him in humility. We’ve got to remember that God isn’t mean to us, but He allows things in our lives to mature us and teach us to rely on Him. There are lots of things that aren’t fun in the moment, but if we will respond as God desires and intends, we will discover they bring blessings we couldn’t experience any other way. Like it says in Hebrews, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11) Many of the stories in the Old Testament are to teach us what not to do, along with all the stories of God’s grace and mercy. The faster and better we learn our lessons, the easier we will have it!

I feel like God has been remarkably restrained in His discipline of me, and I’m grateful. I have certainly earned some figurative spankings, but they haven’t left scars. I have also gone through some things that weren’t the result of my own misbehavior, but rather that of others. Those haven’t been fun either, but they have taught me to forgive and have matured me in various ways. There have been certain types of problems that have repeated, and I realize that generally indicates I didn’t get a “passing grade” the first time. As a school teacher myself, I’m all too familiar with re-tests! I need to seek God for His answers always, and not presume that I know how to figure things out myself. As I seek to do with my own students, He never tests me on anything He hasn’t taught me, one way or another! I am never to belittle another person’s problems, but I am to seek to help them gain perspective, and above all, to help them turn to God and receive what He desires to give them by and through their circumstances, for their blessing and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. This year’s Christmas season is both familiar and different from past years. Help me receive each thing fresh from You, responding as You intend, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Abortion; December 11, 2021

Posted on December 14, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 106:37-38 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.
They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.

There are those who insist that abortion isn’t mentioned in the Bible, but I am convinced this fits perfectly. In fact, some satanists have spoken openly of the “rite” of abortion. There is a deadly pun there to the more openly declared “right” to abortion, which thankfully is probably in the process of being recognized as nonexistent. The recent oral arguments before the Supreme Court rightly pointed out that the justices of a past generation had “made up” the “right” out of whole cloth, in complete violation of the Constitution. Legal niceties aside, it is certainly demonic to tear infants limb from limb, or even to poison them. That a major political party would make that practice a pillar of their platform boggles the imagination, but it is present reality in America. As it says here, that desecrates the land. It’s no wonder America is weakened in so many areas. People in general are very hesitant to attribute anything to spiritual causes, but the Bible certainly doesn’t hesitate to do so, and neither should anyone who claims to believe the Bible. As I really grasped only fairly recently, we aren’t physical beings who happen to have spirits, we are spiritual beings who inhabit bodies. That doesn’t make what we do with our bodies unimportant, but it does mean that the underlying reality is spiritual. The one certainly affects the other, but if we go at it strictly from the physical side we are going to be frustrated at every turn. We need to understand that our stewardship of the physical is a spiritual function and obligation for which we are accountable to God, the Spirit who created us and to whom we belong.

I have far more familiarity with abortion than I would like, and I am deeply grateful for the grace and mercy of God. I have been involved with various people on one side or the other of the practice, and the spiritual element has been very clear. The most frequent motive for abortion has been and is a worship of self, of convenience and pleasure. The consequences have always been tragic, and not just for the child that is sacrificed. I am to keep praying, whatever decision comes from the Supreme Court in June. They won’t abolish the practice, but just send it back to the states. California has already declared that they will become a “sanctuary” for abortion, and welcome “abortion tourism.” How unsurprising, since they are already the world center of pornography! With other believers, I am to keep praying for God’s rule and reign to be established and His will to be done perfectly, just as Jesus told us to do, and that includes submitting myself personally to His Lordship, to do only what He desires. I cannot think that this is a problem “out there,” and fail to be the Lord’s servant, His agent, in everything I touch.

Father, thank You for this very clear reminder. Thank You for what is going on in the Supreme Court right now. I do pray for the justices of the court, that why would adhere to Your justice indeed. That said, I pray even more for a general spirit of repentance to fall on the nation of America, that 2 Chronicles 7:14 may be fulfilled indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Learning from God; December 10, 2021

Posted on December 14, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 106:12-13 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.
But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.

This is so human! We are so prone to rejoice in what God does for us, praising Him at the time – if we even remember to do that – and then in no time forgetting what He has done for us. Looking back over Israel’s history, as this Psalmist is doing, that pattern is easy to see, but we overlook it in ourselves and so repeat it again and again. As has famously been said, those who don’t know history are condemned to repeat it. God never allows us to go through anything that can’t be for our good, but if we don’t learn whatever the lesson was the first time, we’re likely to have to go through it again. Names and places might change, but the lesson itself is essentially the same. As has been said, God is far more interested in our character than our comfort. He’s not mean. Those who insist He is are generally those who most stubbornly resist learning what He’s trying to teach them. Andrae Crouch’s song, Through It All, is a beautiful testimony of someone who learned the lessons God was teaching him, who let go of all excuses and grew as a son and a servant. Not many years before he graduated to heaven Andrae was on a Bill Gaither video, and I was impressed by someone who wasn’t interested in being the star, but who was willing to testify to all that God had brought him through and done for him. Too often we do as Israel did, being proud and feeling entitled because of our “special status” with God, not realizing that absolutely everything is because of His grace, and not because we have earned it. When we look back over our lives, as we all should do occasionally, we need to recognize God’s hand of grace and mercy in it all, and not only give Him praise at the realization, but also remember it going forward, whatever circumstances we go through. As it says in verse one, “His love endures forever.” (The Japanese says, “His grace endures forever.”)

This is my life in spades. I’ve been incredibly blessed, but all too often I’ve taken it for granted or felt like I’d somehow earned it. How stupid! As the old proverb has it, “We grow too soon old and too late smart.” A big part of that is that wisdom is very different from intelligence, and wisdom is far more important and valuable. As Proverbs famously declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) My focus has to be on knowing God and following Him in joyful obedience, whatever He takes me through. Just recently, lots of little irritations were piling up and I was getting quite out of sorts, and then I remembered a friend who has been given a very serious cancer diagnosis, and his wife is already a cancer survivor. I started praying for them, and my mood shifted dramatically! Like the Israelites, I need to learn perspective, gratitude, and obedience. On my own I will mess up, but God is able to straighten me out in spite of myself, and He is to be trusted. (Philippians 1:6)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for this fairly intense schedule I have right now. Thank You for enabling me to record the outlines for the messages for Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That Thursday one was really hanging over me. Help me remember that it is You who will carry me along, and that my job is simply to be humble, submitted, and obedient. May I be diligent and faithful in my part in it all, and may Your will be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Focus; December 9, 2021

Posted on December 12, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 105:1-3 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

It’s hard to know where to stop when quoting this Psalm! It is essentially a litany of God’s acts on behalf of His covenant people, with this as the introduction. As comes out many other places in the Old Testament, a major reason for this recitation is to let the peoples of other nations know about the greatness of the Lord. The Jewish people have a very spotty record of following that pattern, but Jesus certainly confirmed it in the Great Commission, (Matthew 28:18-20) and He said that it would be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8) For that to happen, however, God’s people need to be aware of God, His grace and power, themselves. That’s what this introduction is all about. The Japanese has a rather unique phrase here that may or may not agree with the Hebrew, but it is certainly different from the English. Where the NIV says, “tell of all His wonderful acts,” the Japanese says, “cover/hide your thoughts in His wonderful acts.” That to me is a very good image of what it means to meditate on God, His character and His Word. Our imaginations come up with all sorts of thoughts, but the more we are aware of God, the more the thoughts that are at variance with His thoughts fade into the background. The devil is constantly trying to distract us, so it takes an act of our will to focus on God. However, if we will do that we will know His joy in a way that those who don’t know Him can’t imagine.

I am certainly prone to distractions! My interests are past counting, and my mind flies all over the place. The blessing of that is that I’m not likely to be bored, but the downside is a lack of focus and follow-through. I’ve got plenty of room to grow in covering my thoughts with those of my Lord. I don’t hesitate to talk with others about the latest advances in science and medicine, or actually almost any subject under the sun, but I need to be more focused on talking about the Lord and what He has done. The confirmation that I had indeed been baptized in the Holy Spirit came through my talking with a total stranger about Jesus, and Acts 1:8 came to mind, but I’ve got to remember that’s not to be a merely occasional activity. When my thoughts are filled with the presence of my Lord, my words are going to be as well. I’m not to be “so heavenly minded I’m no earthly good,” but my focus indeed needs to be on God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

Father, thank You for this reminder. The next two weeks are certainly packed with opportunities to talk about You and what You have done. Thank You for giving me the outlines for the messages for this Sunday and then the prayer meeting on Wednesday. Thank You for the start on the outline for the big Christmas service on Thursday. I ask for guidance and anointing as I continue to work on that. Thank You for the class Christmas parties I’ll be holding, and of course there’s the service here on the 19th, with it all culminating in the Christmas Eve candlelight service on the 24th. Help me be so focused on You that all of these are a joy and not a burden, effectively communicating the Gospel to those who need to know it, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Hubris; December 8, 2021

Posted on December 11, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

For once the NIV, along with the footnote alternate translation, gives more insight than the Japanese. The Japanese goes with the main translation, saying, “The Lord made us. We belong to Him.” However, it’s that alternate translation, “He made us, and not we ourselves,” that strikes me most strongly at the moment. That is of course the traditional, KJV translation and so is perhaps suspect in terms of accuracy of source material, but it still strikes at the heart of human hubris. We don’t like to admit that we are created beings, that we don’t have ultimate power over ourselves. In literary terms, I happen to be a fan of science fiction, and this is a common theme, both from a “mankind can do anything” perspective and from a “hubris will destroy us” perspective. The first of those is far more common! Human beings are indeed pretty remarkable. As David noted, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.” (Psalm 8:4-6) That’s pretty exalted status, any way you look at it! Even so, we are still created beings. Right now we are working actively on Artificial Intelligence, and scientists have just announced the creation of self-replicating biological robots, starting with frog cells. However, all of those things start with what God has created. Even if we were to eventually come up with “artificial people,” as science fiction posits, we can never create life from nothing, the way God did with us. We are back to what Proverbs so famously declares: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) If we fail to start with the awareness that we are created beings, fully accountable to our Creator, then we are guaranteed to go off the rails.

As I said, I like science fiction, and I love the possibilities that God has laid out for us, but by God’s grace I am fully aware of the dangers of cutting Him out of the picture. I have had more than enough experience with pride, with hubris, and I know it leads to destruction. Psalm 100 has been familiar to me for as long as I can remember, and I have sung various musical arrangements of parts and all of it, but more than that, I want to do what it says, living a life of gratitude and obedience, and not one of presumption and pride. I am not to discount the abilities God has given me, or given mankind as a whole, but I must remember that He alone is God. After all, it was wanting to be like God that tripped up Eve! (Genesis 3:5)

Father, thank You for Your incredible grace toward me. Help me live in constant awareness of You, giving You the love and obedience You desire and the praise and gratitude You deserve, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Worship; December 7, 2021

Posted on December 11, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 95:1-3 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

When you realize just who God is, what He is, you can’t help but thank and praise Him – unless you are in active rebellion against Him. I really think the biggest reason so many “worship” services are so dead is that those gathered aren’t really focused on the Creator of the universe, the One who loved them so much He sent His Son to save them. Tradition and structure take the place of relationship, and all life departs. If congregations and those who lead them would stop for a moment and really consider why they gather, why they do each of the things they call “worship,” I think a lot would change, and for the better. Sometimes an accurate appreciation of God is going to result in great solemnity, because of His sheer magnificence. Sometimes it is going to result in overflowing gratitude and joy, because of His amazing grace and provision. Sometimes it is going to result in delight and even hilarity, because He is just so good. However, none of those things will happen if we’re just worshiping our own little image of Him, essentially practicing idolatry, whatever we call it, because we have lost sight of God Himself. Throughout history there have been traditionalists – of various traditions – who have insisted that those who didn’t worship as they did had missed the mark, or were even heretics. The problem is, those “new” forms of worship quickly become solidified into traditions themselves, and so lose the reality of worship. It’s not that any of the forms are wrong, it’s that they need to be real, relating to God as He is and not just as we imagine Him to be. That’s one of the marvelous things about heaven: all worship there will be real, and it will be constant, because everything we do will be acknowledging God as He is.

I am deeply grateful to have been introduced to the Charismatic Movement in 1973, because it opened up vistas of worship and relationship that I hadn’t imagined before. At the same time, I have seen that even such things as that can become ossified, set in stone, as people get into ruts and build traditions. This church is a case in point. We have been operating as a congregation for 37 years now, and the only things that are still here from the first are Cathy and me! We have definitely created traditions, some of them very good, but some that are peripheral. As the pastor, I need to hold all of those things loosely, not insisting things be done “my way,” but recognizing that the Holy Spirit can use others as well or better than He can use me. That’s not to say that I am to abrogate the responsibility the Lord has given me as a shepherd, but it is very much to say that we need to keep moving away from being pastor-centered and really move into being totally Christ-centered. Thankfully, I feel that we are making progress in that direction. I need to be sure that my own worship is both fresh and real, not falling back on tradition just because it’s easy, but not rejecting tradition for the sake of being new, either. I too need to see God as He is, and not just as I have always imagined Him to be.

Father, thank You for this reminder, particularly in this extremely tradition-encrusted season. Help me worship You in spirit and in truth, even as I sing the Christmas songs that I’ve sung countless times. May my own appreciation for Your amazing grace transmit to those around me, so that they too may be drawn into a saving relationship with You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Position; December 6, 2021

Posted on December 8, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 75:6-7 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt a man.
But it is God who judges:
He brings one down, he exalts another.

We tend to pay lots of attention to who is popular, who is in power at the moment, forgetting that all such things are ephemeral. Much of society indeed seems to run on the principle of “It’s not what you know but who you know,” and people are forever chasing gain or advantage from this person or that person. We forget that in the final analysis it is God alone who can truly lift us up. Spatial factors, terms of size and distance and direction, are actually irrelevant when talking about God, since He is infinite and by definition the whole universe exists in Him. However, it is still meaningful from our perspective to talk about heaven, “God’s abode,” as being “above” us. Gravity isn’t an issue for Him, but it sure is for us! That’s why we use “above” and “below” in talking about status, value, influence, authority, and many other things. It has been said that in God’s kingdom, “The way up is down,” meaning that striving for advantage is no way to advance in fact. As James said, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10) James said a lot of really practical stuff! One thing we are sure to find when we get to heaven is that ranking will be nothing like how we see it on earth. People who were total unknowns in this life will have vast power and influence, and “movers and shakers” in this life are quite likely never to make it at all. The thirst for power and position is a deadly trap, just like the love of money. When we find we have these things, the only wise course is to seek God for how they are to be used, for His kingdom and His glory, and not hang onto them for themselves.

I’m as human as the next guy, but I’m thankful not to be a power hog. I grew up with somewhat out-sized influence in some circles, simply because I was a Caucasian kid in Japan, and my father was something of a “big cheese.” I’m used to people paying attention to me, and frankly, that strokes my ego. That’s risky! Next week I will be taking part in events where I will be very much the center of attention, and that’s scary. It’s good that it’s scary to me, because my concern is whether I will accurately obey and represent Christ in each of the activities. The “old me” would have just eaten it all up, feeling it was my due, but now I realize this is an opportunity for influence, to draw people to Christ or drive them away, and the last thing I want to do is drive people away from Christ. Reading straight through what I have prepared to this point, it took just under 10 minutes, when I am allotted 25 to 30 minutes to speak. I certainly don’t want to just rattle, though I have proved myself quite capable of that. I want to say what God wants to say through me, with each word accomplishing that for which He sends it. That calls for a lot of humility and obedience! However, I do know that He is more than capable of using even me, so I’ve got to get my eyes off of myself and onto Him, applying myself diligently but knowing that He will get the job done.

Father, thank You for all that You have done in me and through me. Thank You that You aren’t through with me yet. Help me not draw back from any assignment You have for me, but rather move forward in complete humility and trust, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Pleasing God; December 5, 2021

Posted on December 8, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 69:30-31 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

I think the secret to David’s relationship with God was the fact that he learned to sing praise to God as a shepherd boy out on the hills. The sense of intimacy gained by that profoundly shaped him, even after he strayed so severely with Bathsheba. In those days the usual concept of “pleasing God,” or, the gods, was offering animal sacrifices. David discovered that Yahweh is personal and not far off, and loves a good song. It seems unlikely that David’s tunes were what we would call “musically sophisticated,” given the limitations of the lyre that was his instrument, but they were certainly heartfelt, and God delighted in them. David’s lyrics, as recorded in Psalms, show his heart, and that was the main thing. Even today we tend to default to systems and rituals in an effort to please God, when He is still most interested in our hearts. In the Upper Room before His crucifixion, Jesus talked about, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) James, who came to know that his big brother Jesus was really the Messiah only after the resurrection, put it this way: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27) When we get caught up in religious systems we all too easily forget the One whom we say we worship. Sunday morning attendance can be a huge blessing and a powerful encouragement to living through the week in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, but by itself it’s no guarantee of pleasing God. Legalism isn’t His bag, but throwing everything out in an effort to escape legalism is a horrible trap as well. God wants an intimacy with us that can’t be understood without experiencing it to at least some degree, and far and away the easiest way to taste that intimacy is through praise and worship. As David said, that really pleases Him.

I honestly have no empathy with those who are genuinely unmusical – and I have met a few. I have some trouble relating to them. My musical heritage is of great value to me, as I know it is to my daughters as well. At the same time, I know that music itself is never to be a substitute for a genuine relationship with God, and for some people it becomes that. There have been very gifted musicians who never acknowledged the One who gave them that gift, and so never used it to praise Him. The Beatles immediately come to mind. The tools are never the issue; it’s always the heart that uses those tools. I am to keep my heart fixed on my Lord, using everything He has placed in my hands and heart as He desires, for His pleasure and glory and not for the sake of my ego. That applies to my gift for words as well, and not just music. My life is to be a praise to Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the song translation You gave me as I was walking yesterday morning. Guide me in getting the music, and then the lyrics, into the computer so that it will be available to help others worship You. Thank You for the example of Keith Green, the original author and composer of that song. May I be no less sold out to You than he was, so that my example may draw others into intimacy with You as well, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Fear; December 4, 2021

Posted on December 6, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalms 56:3-4 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?

One thing that makes David’s Psalms so relatable is his honesty. He expresses aspirational things, certainly, but he doesn’t pretend he’s always at that level. Here he is making a statement of will, expressing a decision of his heart. He doesn’t say, “If I am afraid,” he says, “When I am afraid.” He was in plenty of situations where simple logic would dictate fear, because he was in mortal danger. I don’t think he took risks for the thrill of it, but plenty of people over the course of his life honestly and earnestly tried to kill him. That’s the background of this Psalm, as the introduction says explicitly. Here he acknowledges his very natural fear, but then he chooses trusting God over that fear. The devil tries to tell us we can’t do that, but he’s a liar as always. The past two years have taught us a major lesson in this area. The viral outbreak was real, but the fear generated by it, heavily encouraged by those with ulterior motives, was much worse. The absurdity of trumpeting, “Follow the science,” all the while ignoring the genuine science, would have been laughable if it hadn’t had such tragic effects. The thing that made people so vulnerable to the fear was a lack of perspective. Everyone born on this earth will die at some time, from any of an uncountable number of causes. This new virus just added one more potential cause to the list. What was and is angering is the way effective treatments were and are being put down or outright refused for strictly political reasons. Masks have been shown to be effectively meaningless in preventing the spread of this virus, besides having a very negative psychological effect on human interaction, yet they have been mandated in countless ways. And the “vaccines” that are still being so heavily promoted are now being shown not to limit the spread of the virus at all, besides having many potentially disastrous side effects. In America, the clearest evidence is that the best virus-related statistics in the whole nation are in Florida, which has had and continues to have the fewest restrictions. Fear has been the driving force behind all of this, twisted and manipulated by those with a thirst for power. We need to learn from David to choose trusting God over fear, submitting to God alone and so resisting the devil. (James 4:7)

I didn’t expect to jump up on my soapbox like that, but I am quite disgusted with the fear mongers. Hand sanitizers are logical, but the majority of the other junk isn’t. The suicide rate alone should have been sufficient reason to stop all the nonsense! I currently put on a mask going into stores, simply because I don’t want to offend needlessly, but have made no other changes to my lifestyle. We did cancel Sunday service for two weeks in the spring of last year, when there was very little real data available, and we started online streaming as an option, but that’s the total extent of the accommodations we made. We have been attacked for our position, but God has certainly been faithful. I know that in this world we will have trouble, just as Jesus said, (John 16:33) but I will choose to trust God whatever comes my way, knowing that my eternity is with Him.

Father, thank You for all that You are teaching those who have ears to hear. Help us share the the Gospel of life, of freedom in Christ, with all who will receive it, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Giving to God; December 3, 2021

Posted on December 6, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 50:14-15 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

For several verses before this, God is pointing out to His people that He doesn’t actually need anything from them. That’s a good reminder, because sometimes we get to the point of “God owes me for all I’ve given to Him.” God doesn’t owe us a thing, because anything we could possibly give Him, He created or enabled in the first place! At the same time, we have this verse, and it speaks much more of our response to God’s provision than it does of our “earning” anything. We need to give to God, not because of His need but because of our need to recognize and acknowledge our dependence on Him. When we recognize how gracious God is toward us, it is entirely appropriate, and helpful to us, to give Him something in response. It has become a truism, but we can’t possibly out-give God. Sadly, some people seem to have a “give to get” theology, and that too is a misunderstanding. Such an attitude tends to reduce God to a business transaction, and that is a loss all the way around. Our attitude is of the utmost importance. As Paul famously noted, “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) God doesn’t “need” anything, but He desires our hearts, and our response to the material things in our possession both demonstrates and affects our attitude toward Him. That’s what this passage is all about.

I was raised in a giving family, being taught to tithe from the point I was first given an allowance. That’s actually a very good illustration of this principle, because I certainly didn’t earn that allowance, and the amount I gave had no practical impact on the church we were attending. However, that lesson stayed with me, even though I got away from tithing at some point while my heart was wandering away from God. I honestly don’t remember when I stopped tithing, but I do know that it was during that period when we had a car repossessed by the bank. Failing to keep God first in my finances had a very bad effect on my finances as a whole. It was a few years after that, around the time our second daughter was born, that my wife and I both came to the conviction that we needed to tithe. As I have written repeatedly, God had very graciously drawn me back to Himself, showing me the state of my heart. Our finances were a wreck at that point, so much so that Medicaid paid for just about everything involved in our daughter’s birth, because we simply didn’t have the money. We wanted to tithe, but we never had a tenth left over at the end of the month. Finally we said we were going to give a tithe as soon as any money came in, and trust God with it all. From the point we did that, our finances took a decided uptick, and we started having a little bit left over! That’s been over 48 years ago now, and God has never let us down. There have certainly been times when we wanted more, but God has met every one of our genuine needs, and we are deeply grateful.

Father, thank You indeed for Your gracious provision. Help me be the steward You want me to be, using everything You place in my hands, material or otherwise, exactly as You desire, so that Your purposes for it all may be fulfilled, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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