Unity in Variety; October 13, 2021

Posted on October 15, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 14:15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

We cut ourselves off from so much when we get into a rigid either/or mindset. Right now the US is being torn apart by extremes, to the benefit of only the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. This seems like something far milder, but the principle is the same. There are churches of all flavors, and I’m not just talking about the ones that have gone over to apostasy and hedonism. Some genuine Christians feel that only traditional hymns are pleasing to God, and some won’t sing anything more than 20 years old. Some forbid any of what Pentecostals would call “manifestation gifts,” and some feel you haven’t really “had church” if nobody falls down. Paul doesn’t agree with that at all! His attitude is obviously both/and! We tend to lose sight of the incredible richness of God’s provision for us, the incredible variety with which He has filled creation. This is a major issue in cross-cultural ministry. I remember a tidbit from a Music in Missions class I took in seminary. The professor told us about some missionaries in West Africa who loved a hymn that includes the line, “Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow,” and insisted that it be translated and sung in their services. The problem is, not only were the locals not white, they didn’t even have a word for snow, so the song ended up saying, “Now wash me and I shall be whiter than cold!” We need to be able to worship God from our hearts, not getting into ruts but allowing God to grow us in all the ways He wants us to relate to Him.

This is something I’ve really walked through. I grew up in a very musical family of faith, and some of my sweetest memories are of my family gathered around the piano singing through the hymnal – and the hymnal in question was the 1954 Baptist Hymnal, with occasional excursions into the Broadman Hymnal. I was introduced to the Charismatic Movement around 1972, and loved that music as well. All of that said, I realize that some hymns are fossilized, so to speak, and don’t speak to most people today, and some modern “worship songs” are shallow and man-centered to the point of not really being worship at all. Because we do things bilingually here, I’ve translated a lot of songs from English to Japanese and vice versa, including re-translating some originally English hymns with rich content but totally archaic Japanese in the previous translation. Some of the originally Japanese songs are rich indeed, and I delight to be able to share them in English. To go back to the specific point Paul is talking about here, I agree 100% with what he says in verses 18-19. My use of tongues is private, but extremely valuable to me. It indeed builds me up, as yesterday’s passage talked about. However, in group worship I operate in both English and Japanese, but always to be understood by those around me so that they may participate in my worship of the Lord. I want this church to be fully open to all the Lord wants to do in and through us, and that probably includes things we haven’t dreamed of yet!

Father, thank You for all that You have brought me through in so many ways on so many levels. Keep me from looking down on anyone who hasn’t walked the same path, but rather “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3) Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spiritual Gifts; October 12, 2021

Posted on October 15, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

Often we unconsciously view spiritual gifts as merit badges, even service ribbons like a military person would wear on their dress uniform. That misses the point entirely. Actually, everything God gives has a purpose, and the better it is applied to that purpose, the more blessing is involved. The topic of this entire chapter is spiritual gifts, and particularly the gift of tongues. The reason that gift is so divisive is that it doesn’t require another person for it to be exercised. On rare occasions the Word of Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8) might be given simply to inform the person who receives it, but otherwise, such gifts are pretty much by definition given through someone for the benefit of another. Tongues, on the other hand, are only rarely for the benefit of others present, unless, as Paul mentions in verse 5, there is interpretation into a known language. (My wife experienced one of those rare exceptions, when she discovered she had been praying in Tagalog with a group of Filipinas, when she actually doesn’t speak a word of Tagalog!) We indeed should seek to have all the gifts God has made available, but we must never make the tool more important than the task for which it is to be used. Tongues are important to build up the individual believer, as Paul mentions in verse 4, and Jude mentions in verse 20 of his letter, and they should be used freely to that end, but they are not for the purpose of impressing others with how spiritual you are.

As I have written before, I was slow to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit because I was effectively seeking the gift of tongues more than I was seeking the Holy Spirit Himself. As a pastor, I want the believers here to seek spiritual gifts as earnestly as the Corinthians did, but I want them to do so to build up the Body of Christ, just as this verse says. I operate mostly in prophecy, not in the predictive sense but simply as speaking out what God is saying. Often that sounds like a sermon, and as anyone will tell you, I’ll preach at the drop of a hat! I personally find tongues to be useful in refocusing my heart on the Lord. The world is certainly full of distractions! That said, I can’t remember the last time I actively spoke in tongues in the presence of others, except as a demonstration of what it is like. In Systematic Theology class in seminary I wrote a paper on “The Use of Tongues in Ministry,” convincing my professor I was from the Assemblies of God denomination, when I was a died-in-the-wool Baptist. It might do me good to go back and read what I wrote those many years ago! I exhort others, but I too need to be careful to use every gift I’ve been given to build up the church, just as Paul said.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I too need to go back and look at things that sometimes I think go without saying, and so effectively forget them. Help me be an effective, faithful steward of all that You place in my hands, to build up the Body of Christ and draw many more into it, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Diversity; October 11, 2021

Posted on October 14, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 7:7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

I read the English first and chose this verse, but then I read the Japanese and was surprised at the choice of characters at the very end. The pronunciation would be exactly the same, but where I expected it to say, “Each has his own way to live,” it says, “Each has his own way to go/act.” I’m thinking it might even have been a typo! That, however, is beside the point of what Paul wrote. The first thing he says in this verse is something we are all prone to say, or at least feel. We want everyone to be like us! God wants unity, but He absolutely loves diversity, and we need to get used to it. In this particular instance, if everyone had the gift of celibacy the human race would die out very quickly! That said, the current use of “diversity” has been very perverted from God’s intention. Differences aren’t to be an excuse for debauchery! In the previous chapter Paul goes to some length to tear down the “it’s only natural” argument and honor the sanctity of marriage, and he wasn’t even dealing with some of the absurdities that we encounter today. (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) The point of different gifting is something Paul gets into far more detail with in chapter 12, and there too he makes the point that no one is ungifted. We tend to say that someone is “very gifted,” when what we mean is a particular gift in that person is outstanding. There is one “politically correct” phrase that I think has a lot of validity, and that is, “differently gifted.” We tend to rank people on the basis of whether their gifts are useful to us, and that is a sad mistake indeed. God doesn’t make mistakes, but we often enough completely misconstrue what He has done and twist things around horribly. Each of us needs to be at peace with how we were created and not decide that God made a mistake. Some people are deceived by how the devil has tricked them and insist they were “born this way,” when that isn’t the case at all.

Many years ago I wrote a brief bit of verse that is fundamentally true:
Satan is a liar;
that I know full well,
and every word he speaks to me
comes from the pit of hell.

The problem for the vast majority of people is that they don’t recognize when it is the devil speaking to them. That’s why the devil on one hand strives to be worshiped, but on the other hand seeks to have people dismiss him as a superstition. After all, a superstition isn’t going to be giving you suggestions! We need to be so full of the Word of God that every false word is immediately recognizable. Bankers don’t study counterfeit bills, they study the real thing so as to be able to recognize the counterfeits and reject them. I am in no way to insist that everyone be like me, but at the same time I am not to wallow in the “anything goes” of the world and the devil. As a pastor, I am to help people recognize how they are gifted and discern how they may serve God with those gifts, for their blessing and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. The whole matter of spiritual gifts came up just last night. Help me locate the testing material my friend needs and get it to him in time for his teaching session. Help us all keep growing in recognizing and developing our own gifts and those of others, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Praying for Missionaries; October 10, 2021

Posted on October 14, 2021 by jgarrott

Romans 15:30 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

Reading this with the awareness of the events recorded in Acts is very interesting. Obviously, even someone like Paul had the issue of making good, righteous plans and then having God change them completely. It would seem that he had not yet had the first of the various warnings that arrest and imprisonment awaited him in Jerusalem. That said, this request for prayer is one that resonates with every missionary, certainly. Until the advent of the Internet, missionaries were limited to in-person visits and letters, just as Paul was. Missionary “prayer letters” are a tradition and a responsibility that many identify with, both in good and bad ways. In the Facebook group for MKs that I’m a part of, several people have written about their feelings of visiting a home in their sending country and seeing one of their family’s prayer letters up on the refrigerator. For children, it can be embarrassing to have their picture up in the home of total strangers, but with more understanding, there is deep gratitude that people genuinely care, and evidently do pray. The NIV translates this verse as “join me in my struggle,” but the Japanese is a little stronger: “pray with me to the limit of your strength.” In other words, “Give it all you’ve got.” I don’t think many of us have experience praying that way! We tend to pray casually, either on a schedule or whenever it occurs to us, but the idea of “exercising strength” seems a bit removed from what we do. There are areas of prayer we haven’t experienced yet! Probably the ultimate example of praying to the limit of strength would be Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. After praying with such intensity that His capillaries ruptured, an angel had to come and strengthen Him. (Luke 22:43-44) He was praying for Himself, yes, but He was also praying for all mankind, who would have the path of salvation opened for them because of what Jesus would endure. We might be completely sure we could never pray like that, but God never calls us to do anything that He won’t enable, As Paul said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) When we are fully submitted, there is no limit to His strength!

As an MK myself, some of my parents’ prayer letters are real treasures. With the Southern Baptist system we weren’t begging for money, as many missionaries are reduced to doing, and for that I am grateful. The flip side of that is that in my own missionary career we’ve never had a sending organization, and thus no support outside of our own direct activities. Once we had permanent residency (the equivalent of a US green card) we were free to do anything that would be legal for a Japanese, and I have done various things for income, including computer consulting. However, we have been strongly impressed that our support is from the Lord. We have had various unexpected “windfalls” and the like. Cathy has been very faithful in writing Christmas letters (that sometimes didn’t come out until February), but maintaining address lists, first for physical addresses and now largely electronic, has been a major challenge. As I said, we don’t get material support from those, but prayer support is absolutely essential. There was a period in which we had largely lost our prayer support, and it was almost like I didn’t know what I was doing here or why. The spiritual warfare here can be subtle, but it is certainly intense, and we need all the “prayer backup” we can get! Today we are trying to re-launch children’s ministry in this church, and I have zero confidence humanly speaking. I need to pray to the limit of my strength! God’s plans for us might be as different from ours as His were for Paul, and I need to be at peace with that.

Father, thank You for Your plans. I certainly don’t know what they all are, but I know they are good. Help me flow with Your Spirit not only in Your plans for me, but also in praying for others. I’m not to be selfish and self-centered about prayer! May we all rejoice to participate in Your plans through prayer, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Conceit; October 9, 2021

Posted on October 10, 2021 by jgarrott

Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

There are many blessings to reading the Bible in multiple languages, or at least in multiple translations. This passage as a whole is loaded with pithy aphorisms that really hit home and apply to our daily lives, and I started to write on any of a number of them. However, it was this verse in Japanese that most grabbed my attention. It starts out with, “Be of one heart with one another.” Yes, that’s “harmony,” but it seems deeper than that. Then it says, “Adapt yourself to those of low social standing.” That too seems stronger than “willing to associate.” However, it was the last line that hit me between the eyes. Rather than just “conceited,” it says, “Do not think of yourself as the one with knowledge or wisdom.” In this Information Age it’s often said that knowledge is power. However, sometimes we forget that what we do with what we know is of vital importance. James 1:22 is very pointed in this regard: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Simply having information isn’t enough; it must be applied. That’s why this devotional system, as developed by Wayne Cordeiro, is Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer (SOAP). Without application, just reading the Bible can become an “ivory tower” exercise. As I wrote just a couple of days ago, any time we read the Bible we need to do so with the attitude that “This applies to me.” Anything less can quickly lead to self-deception.

Conceit, and especially intellectual conceit, has always been a problem for me. I was blessed with an IQ somewhere north of 150, and it has taken me a long time to realize that does not make me inherently more valuable than any other person on this planet. In the first place, compared to God, differences among humans are like acorns comparing height (to quote a Japanese proverb). In the second place, I neither chose nor earned my genetics; everything is a gift, something held in trust. As Paul so wisely stated, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2) I have been entrusted with various abilities, but the question is not so much the abilities as what I do with them. I entered college out of the 11th grade, having skipped my senior year, and I was tied for the highest test scores of any entering freshman, but the girl with whom I tied had an absolutely stellar academic record, while I failed two courses my Freshman year! (Interestingly, we both ended up as Drama majors, and I never knew about our test scores until many years later when we met for a class reunion.) Thinking, “I’m the smartest guy in the room,” can be very self-defeating, just as Paul cautions here. I do enjoy “vacuuming up information,” but what I do with it is the question.

Father, You know the problems I’ve had with conceit even better than I do. Thank You for Your patience with me. Help me be the steward You want me to be of everything You have placed at my disposal – and may I not just dispose of any of it! Help me be a useful tool in Your hands to draw others to You, destroying the works of the devil and setting people free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Evangelism; October 8, 2021

Posted on October 10, 2021 by jgarrott

Romans 10:13-14 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

This passage is the foundation of all evangelism, and particularly of missions. When God convicts you of the reality of people going to eternal destruction because they have never heard the Good News of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, how can you not commit yourself to tell them that Good News? When they have heard, then the responsibility for their salvation rests in their own hands, but that is a different matter. One of the most frightening truths in the whole Bible is actually stated to Ezekiel twice, in Ezekiel 3:17-19 and 33:7-9, and that is that if we fail to warn people of the consequences of their ignoring God, then the responsibility for their destruction lies on us. Ezekiel 33:1-6 fleshes that out with more detail, and it’s a truth we ignore to our own peril. Actually, this principle applies even in the most culturally Christian nations, because no one is born knowing the Gospel. However, even Christian parents “farm out” their children’s spiritual education to Sunday School teachers and the like, when Sunday School wasn’t even thought of until a couple of hundred years ago. Each of us has personal responsibility to share the Gospel with at least those close to us, but sometimes those people are the most emotionally difficult, because we most fear rejection from them. I think everyone preparing to share the Gospel thinks, on at least some level, “What if they laugh at me? What if they get angry?” The devil does all he can to stoke that fear, because stopping us from sharing damages both us and those with whom we would share, and he is always out to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10)

My recent experience of speaking to the Rotary Club was a good reminder of this situation. I will speak at the drop of a hat to any group, large or small, but I discovered I was anxious about how I would be received. After all, I would be quoting Scripture, and it was a pretty evangelistic message, when they are a strictly secular group. However, the response was gratifying, with the chapter president saying they wanted to be sure to have me again next year, and someone in that conversation saying they wanted me to come again next month! What they do with the words I spoke is between them and God, but I can trust the Holy Spirit, and I’ve done my part in that particular situation. However, I’m not to think that doing that sort of thing occasionally gets me off of the hook. Very few of the people around me really know the Gospel, much less have a personal relationship with their Creator, so I’ve got lots of work to do! If I will be open and available to my Lord, He will let me know what to say to whom, and there will be no end to the opportunities to share.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I do pray that all of Your children would wake up to their responsibility and privilege of sharing the Good News of salvation in Christ. The challenges are limitless, but none are beyond Your ability to meet and overcome. Help us all trust You fully, so that Your will may be done through us for the salvation of many, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

God’s Supply; October 7, 2021

Posted on October 9, 2021 by jgarrott

Romans 8:32 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?

It’s very easy to understand why this is my wife’s favorite chapter in the whole Bible! It’s right up there at the top for me too, but I have to say it’s got a lot of competition! The key to being blessed by reading the Bible is to understand, “This applies to me.” If we fail to have that understanding, it is great literature but nothing more, and occasionally dense and even boring. When we come at it with the feeling, “God has written this to me,” then the blessings are endless. Just now this particular verse stood out to me because of the talk I gave to the Rotary Club recently on Giving. As I told them, God is a giving God! This verse, properly understood, should eliminate all anxiety about God’s supply to us. Our anxieties are generally based on experiencing wants not being met, rather than on needs not being met. Jesus famously addressed this issue in Matthew 6, using clear illustrations from nature and concluding with, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) At the time He said it Jesus hadn’t yet been given over to death, as Paul is referencing, so He couldn’t use Himself as an illustration! However, we have Paul’s frame of reference, so we should rest as assured as he did.

Naturally, this applies as much to me as it does to anyone. I have learned from experience that God doesn’t spoil us, because He wants us to grow into responsible, accountable children, but He still delights to give us good things. I’ve also learned that we need to be alert to recognize what God is giving us. A sense of entitlement is a massive hindrance to genuine happiness and joy. There’s an excellent reason John Newton chose the adjective, amazing, when he wrote about God’s grace. When we fail to recognize that everything we have is an expression of God’s grace and that we really haven’t earned any of it, we lose the gratitude that turns it all into the blessing God intends it to be. I too like to feel that I have achieved things, but if I lose the awareness that God gave me the ability, the opportunity, and the drive to do it in the first place, then the blessing is fleeting at best.

Father, thank You indeed for Your truly amazing grace. Thank You for all that yesterday held, and all that You have prepared for today. Help me recognize your hand in it all and give you the thanks and praise that You alone deserve, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Gospel; October 6, 2021

Posted on October 9, 2021 by jgarrott

Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

One of the goals of the devil and those deceived by him is to make Christians ashamed of the Gospel. That is a major element of the “political correctness” business. The moment we start talking about the righteous standards of God, we are accused of “hate speech.” The moment we say that everyone is equal before God, we are accused of “racism.” The moment we state, as the Bible does, that God created us male and female, we are accused of “homophobia.” That sort of thing has probably existed for a long time, but it has really intensified in recent years. (That’s another of the many things that I and many others think point to our being in the Last Days.) In the middle of all this mess, believers have to remember that the Gospel really is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” As the next verse brings out, we can’t talk about the Gospel without talking about righteousness, and that is what people react against so strongly. They don’t want it pointed out that they are unrighteous! The thing is, you won’t receive salvation until you acknowledge you need it. That’s what repentance is all about. “Repent” is considered the vilest of hate speech! Like Paul, we must not bow to this vile nonsense, but keep speaking the truth in love. Failing to communicate the Gospel is not love!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to the local Rotary Club, and I’ve obviously been a bit uptight about it. The notes the Lord had given me quoted Scripture, starting with John 3:16, and I was nervous about how it would be received. As it turned out, everyone seemed to enjoy my remarks and I got a good bit of positive feedback. The devil had been trying to make me ashamed of the Gospel, but thankfully he didn’t succeed! Yesterday I had email and a phone call about a major speaking engagement in December, and I am to be properly prepared for that. At the same time, these “outside” speaking engagements are neither more nor less important than my speaking in this building every Sunday. For that matter, I am always to be prepared for whatever appointments the Lord has for me, because He knows who is ready to hear what He wants to say through me, and when. His appointments don’t necessarily appear in my date book! At the same time, regularly scheduled things, like my school classes, are no less opportunities to be His representative. Thinking things are just “business as usual” is a trap to dull me to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He is totally faithful, so I should be looking forward eagerly to what He is going to do through me next.

Father, thank You for Your power for salvation, for me and for everyone I encounter. Help me not hold back in any way, but allow Your Good News to flow through me unhindered, never fearing the response of people but assured of Your power that is so much greater than my weaknesses, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Testing God; October 5, 2021

Posted on October 8, 2021 by jgarrott

Acts 28:3, 5 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

As someone with a good bit of experience with snakes, I have a major question about this account. The vipers with which I’m familiar strike but do not hang on. However, non-poisonous snakes, because their teeth slant backwards, can’t let go once they have bit something. The locals should have been familiar with the snakes of the area, but a lot of people automatically assume that any snake is bad. I don’t know the lighting at the time, or whether there were similar-looking snakes, but this sounds a lot like a case of mistaken identity to me. Luke naturally went with the identification given by the locals, and in any case, God used this incident mightily in establishing Paul’s bona fides with the locals. This incident certainly calls to mind Jesus’ statement to the 72 disciples after they returned from their “evangelism practicum.” “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19) Some groups have extrapolated that to snake handling as a part of worship services, but to me that is a clear example of “testing” God, which is forbidden in Deuteronomy 6:16 and elsewhere. That’s different in nature from God’s instructions to “test” Him with such things as tithing. (Malachi 3:10) Paul wasn’t looking for snakes! However, God used his encounter with one to open the hearts of the locals (and I would bet, the Roman soldiers, too) to hear what Paul had to say. It certainly brings to mind Romans 8:28, which Paul had written some time previously.

As I said, I’ve had a good bit of experience with snakes. I had a pet one for a while that never tried to bite me, but one time I caught a rather magnificent aodaisho (a Japanese snake similar, I believe, to the American king snake) around 160cm. long. I was putting him into a cardboard box for safe-keeping, but wasn’t holding him with my left hand immediately behind his head as I should have been, and when I went to put him into the box he latched onto my right hand, right between my thumb and forefinger. With his recurved teeth, he was stuck! I had to use my left hand to unhook each side of each jaw in turn. I got him safely into the box, washed my hands and applied antiseptic to the punctures, and was none the worse for wear. With his size, he would have been a bit difficult to “shake off!” That said, I too need to be careful not to “test” God by deliberately doing stupid things. I do plenty of stupid things without being deliberate about it! God has protected me remarkably, but I do have plenty of scars to show for my stupidity. God is totally faithful, but I certainly don’t need to dream up scenarios to “make” Him prove it.

Father, You really have protected me remarkably. I’m reminded of that in traffic almost every day! Help me be a good steward of all You place in my hands, so that Your purposes for everything may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bold Evangelism; October 4, 2021

Posted on October 8, 2021 by jgarrott

Acts 26:29 Paul replied, “Short time or long–I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

As we read on September 23rd, when Paul – then Saul – was sitting blind in the house of Judas in Damascus, God explicitly told Ananias, “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16) Here we have him boldly evangelizing King Agrippa! Two things were certainly characteristic of Paul: seeing everyone as equal, and unflinching boldness. Some people want to see everyone else as equally beneath them, and others really resent it when someone seems to place themselves on their level. This incredibly bold declaration by Paul was inviting everyone to come to his level, and that is the attitude every child of God should have. We get caught in the trap of feeling big only when others are small, not realizing that when we are dealing with an infinite God, the very idea of a “zero-sum game” is an absurdity. There’s always more available! We’re used to dealing with a finite “pie,” and if one person’s “slice” is bigger, another person’s share will be smaller. That’s not how God works! When more people enter the family of God by faith, nobody loses – except maybe the devil. Paul didn’t limit his invitation to the very influential king, he extended it to all who could hear him. That’s the boldness we all need.

As I have written before, the circumstances of my childhood taught me that “bigwigs” are just as human as the rest of us, and I have always approached everyone from what I considered an equal footing. I have enormous respect for those greatly used by God – meeting Dennis Balcombe felt like meeting Paul – but I know that what makes them special is the same God who created and loves me, too. At the same time, I’m not a “natural evangelist,” twisting every conversation into a Gospel presentation. Tomorrow I will be speaking to a Rotary Club meeting about the differences in patterns of giving in the West and in Japan. Such men tend to be highly placed in local society, and it’s probable that I know several of them, but the odds of any of them being Christians are low. The notes the Lord has given me are very clear that it’s the God of the Bible who motivates people to true generosity, but I’m definitely not to talk down to them in the least. Like Paul, I’m to seek to bring them to where I am, regardless of any differences they might perceive between us. God is big enough for us all!

Father, thank You for this very timely reminder. I’ve been asked for a manuscript of my remarks for tomorrow, but I can’t provide that ahead of time! I pray that I would operate in full humility and submission to You, so that Your words may flow through me as You desire, accomplishing Your purposes in the hearts of all who hear, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment