Perspective; June 29, 2021

Posted on July 1, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 102:12-13 But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.

This Psalm is interesting because it claims to be “a prayer of an afflicted man, when he is faint and pours out his lament to the Lord.” We have no idea who wrote it, nor the circumstances around it. In that sense, it could be called generic. The first 11 verses are both personal and really down, with no real hope in sight. However here, with that important word “but,” it really changes gears. From this point on through the end of the Psalm it is almost entirely focused on God and on the nation, rather than the writer’s personal distress. In that respect it is a good example for us. The more we are focused on our personal misery, the less likely we are to remember the magnificent grace of God. It is when we shift our perspective to look at God instead of ourselves that we can receive hope and peace. It’s not that we aren’t important and valuable to God, but rather that His plans are far bigger and broader than we can grasp, and we have to be at peace with that. We need to realize that God is in charge, not just of the nation or even of the world, but of all of creation. On that scale, we are like a single cell of our body, if that. Each cell is important, but the cells of our body are continually replaced, just as we are on this earth for a limited time. Rather than being upset because we aren’t in charge, we need to be grateful that God cares about us at all, when in fact, He even keeps count of the number of hairs on our head! (Luke 12:2) When we gain that perspective, it’s much easier to accept what Jesus told us just before His crucifixion: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I’m not sure how many years back John 16:33 really took root in my heart, but it was quite a while, and I’m very grateful. It helps me understand that my difficulties are no big deal! I certainly don’t want it to happen, but I could lose everything on the scale of Job and it wouldn’t change the magnificence and faithfulness of God one bit. I don’t expect disaster, but even if it happens, God is still God. I have read the Revelation to John many times, and the scenes it paints are often horrific, but the outcome is glorious. Many feel we are already in the events described there, and that could well be the case. It won’t be easy, but eternity will be more than worth it all! (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’m too easily distracted from this truth! Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You told me to do, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Lifespan; June 28, 2021

Posted on June 30, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years–
or eighty, if we have the strength.


I find it deliciously ironic that this is from a Psalm introduced as, “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” Moses didn’t lead the Israelites out of Egypt until he was 80, and he was active for a full 40 years after that! The thing is, we don’t know how long we will live, and it messes us up to worry about it. This Psalm in general, though it starts with a beautiful declaration of the sovereignty of the eternal Creator, is pretty dark and pessimistic. As a prayer, verse 12 seems to me to be quite good: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The thing is, since we don’t know how long we will live, this comes down to the wisdom of being aware of our mortality, and so making the best use of each day. That’s not to say we are to be driven to accomplish stuff, but rather that we should ask our Creator how we are supposed to use each day. Even Jesus took His disciples aside for rest from time to time. However, each of us exists for a reason, and fulfilling the purpose for which we were created is the only way to real peace and satisfaction. The one common purpose each human being has is to seek and find God during their time on earth, whether that be short or long. Secondary or tertiary to that, each of us has assorted unique tasks that God has in mind for us, and the more of those we fulfill, the more joy and satisfaction we have. A danger we all face is in thinking different people are to have the same task. Often our individual purposes are complementary, so we work together and find joy in doing so, but still, no two people have the identical function. Being forced to do someone else’s job is bondage, and trying to get other people to do your job is frustration! We are prone to try to mimic people we admire. That can be educational, teaching us things about self-control and the like, but it has real limits. We are to learn from whatever sources the Lord provides, but our path is ours alone, laid out by our loving Creator. Precisely because we don’t know how long it will be, we need to be faithful and obedient, rejoicing in and being grateful for each moment the Lord gives us on earth, whether that moment seems enjoyable or not.

This is very pointed for me, since I’ve already passed the lower limit mentioned by Moses. As a matter of fact, my paternal grandmother, on reaching 80, decided that was enough, and though she didn’t commit suicide, she died within the year. I don’t want to do that sort of thing! On the other hand her son, my father, didn’t wake up physically from heart surgery at 64. Many people said his life was “cut short,” but as another Japan missionary who visited him in the hospital the day before the surgery said, “I never saw a man with more reason to live, or more ready to die.” (That missionary, incidentally, died not long ago, well past 90.) In another couple of months I will have reached the age at which my mother graduated to heaven. There is nothing in my current health picture that would indicate I don’t have quite a few years left, but the point is how I use them, however many or few they might be. Yesterday I spoke on “Prayer of Commitment” from Romans 12:1, including Jesus’ remarks in Luke 9:23-24 about taking up our cross daily. My task each day is to seek my cross for that day, surrendering my life for my Lord so that I may gain it for eternity.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that my life is in Your hands, and I don’t need to be anxious about it. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice, just as You have told me to do. May I fulfill every one of Your purposes for me, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Decisions; June 27, 2021

Posted on June 30, 2021 by jgarrott

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

David recognized the common human condition of being indecisive, and he wanted his decisions to come down on the side of God’s truth. This is a very wise prayer! We need to remember that David didn’t have most of even the Old Testament as we know it, and he certainly didn’t have his own personal copy of even the Books of Moses at least until he was king, if then. We have the huge advantage of the ready availability of the whole Bible, but the question then becomes, do we use it? We too need to pray this prayer! The statement of intent in the second line is vital to receiving the request of the first line. If we aren’t going to live out what God shows us, why would He show it to us? Again in the second half of the verse, the stated purpose of being decisive is to be in right relationship to God. It’s no good to be decisively in rebellion against God! Some of David’s Psalms are pegged to specific events in his life, but more are not. It is interesting to see his spiritual growth, but it is clear that the consistent thread throughout his life was his awareness that God was real, that He cared, and that it made a difference how David acted and responded to Him. We need to have that thread in our own lives! Just as David slipped up at times, sometimes very badly, we too will not be perfect, but our goal, our purpose, must be to walk in God’s truth.

I haven’t gone off the rails as far as David did, but then I’ve had less excuse, because I was raised from birth with the Bible to teach me God’s ways. Indecision is sometimes a problem for me, as I think it is for everyone, but I’m very grateful to have the foundation principle of doing what God wants. I’m indecisive only when I’m unsure exactly what that is. I’ve learned – and I’m still learning – to hear God in many different ways: through the Bible of course, but also through circumstances and through people around me and even through secular fiction and articles. I can’t say my decisions have always been accurate, but God has been remarkably faithful in guiding me. My heart is divided only when I take my eyes off of my Lord and fix them on my circumstances and my flesh. When I fear God, that is, acknowledge Him as transcendent over everything, then decisions become much easier and more accurate.

Father, thank You for this reminder. We’ll be needing to make some decisions today about church programs and activities. Help us all turn to You as David did in this verse, so that we may do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Focus; June 26, 2021

Posted on June 28, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

It’s a little difficult to read Psalm 84 because of all the songs that pop up in my head! It has certainly been used by God to bless many people through music. That’s definitely appropriate, since the introduction indicates it was intended to be musical. (I wonder if gittith is a tune name, a musical style, or a particular instrument?) This particular verse talks about those who are set on drawing near to God. The Japanese expresses it as, “in whose hearts is the highway to Zion.” I wonder if the NIV translators were just trying to be more relatable to the average English-speaking reader, or if they were actively trying to avoid being taken for “Zionists?” If the latter, it’s sad indeed. Zion was the physical location of the tabernacle of David, where the Ark of the Covenant, and thus the very presence of God, was available to all. When our hearts are fixated on drawing near to God, to being in His presence, then He does flood us with His strength. As he told Paul, and as countless believers have experienced, His power is indeed “made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Often our own weakness forces us to focus and depend on Him, and that is precisely why God allows all sorts of difficulties in our lives. Thinking that we can get by without God is the surest way to failure, and it leads to eternity apart from Him. We aren’t to be desperate and anxious about it, but we do need to be careful to keep our focus on God and what He desires. The Bible tells us that in countless ways.

Yesterday I watched a video in which Dennis Prager, a devout Jew, said that his relationship with God wasn’t one of love, but that he really wanted to do whatever God wanted of him. In a way I found that admirable, but in another way I found it sad. I continue to pray that Dennis, whom I respect very much, will discover and acknowledge that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and through that, open his heart to the love of God expressed so famously in John 3:16. Too many Christians leave off the “doing whatever God wants” part, but the motivation for obedience should be love that is a response to God’s love for us. I grew up convinced that God loved me, and I avowed my love for Jesus in return, but my obedience was spotty. For that matter, it’s still not perfect, but He’s working on me! I am deeply grateful that He has indeed placed “the highway to Zion” in my heart, and I rejoice to travel on it, ever closer to Him.

Father, thank You for drawing me to Yourself. Thank You for my hunger for more of You, and less of myself. May I be effective in drawing others along with me as I draw near to You, so that together we may give You the thanks, praise, and obedience You alone deserve, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Influence; June 25, 2021

Posted on June 28, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 69:6 May those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me,
O Lord, the Lord Almighty;
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me,
O God of Israel.

This needs to be a regular part of the prayers of any church leader, but it unfortunately doesn’t seem to be for too many. As John Donne wrote way back in 1624, no man is an island; what we do always involves and impacts others, whether we realize it or not. David had experienced the reality of this many times himself. The fact that he prayed this doesn’t mean he always lived it out! He certainly wasn’t thinking of anyone but himself when he spotted Bathsheba and called her to him! Generally, the more visible a person is, the greater their influence, but even the most anonymous person impacts those they encounter. Looking at it negatively, if we fail to fulfill the purposes for which we were created, we are depriving others of blessing that God has intended. That’s why the New Testament speaks so frequently of our being parts of the Body of Christ, with Paul explaining that metaphor in some detail in 1 Corinthians 12 and elsewhere. We don’t think about how the different parts of our physical bodies affect each other, but injury or disease point it out to us very strongly! Different cultures place different emphasis on this, with American culture tending to the individualistic and Japanese culture tending to the group, but ultimately, each individual is personally accountable to God for their actions, which certainly includes how they impact the group. Americans need to realize they aren’t as independent as they like to think, and Japanese need to realize that going with the group doesn’t absolve them of individual responsibility.

Growing up as an American in Japan, attending a US Air Force dependents school while being in Japanese society otherwise, I probably have been more aware of this issue than many are. However, I have made countless self-centered, selfish decisions in spite of that. Having been a school teacher and pastor for the past 40 years, it’s been my job to influence people! On top of that, as a Caucasian in Japan, I have been very visible all my life. Anonymity has never been an option, as has been driven home in the multiple times I have overheard a total stranger telling someone else all about me! I can’t escape influencing others, so I need to be humble before God, praying this prayer from my heart, so that God alone may be glorified.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I pray that my influence would indeed draw people to You, and in no way drive them away or give them an excuse to despise You or Your children. Thank You. Praise God!

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Full Commitment; June 24, 2021

Posted on June 27, 2021 by jgarrott

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

It’s interesting that the Japanese puts this verse in the present tense rather than in the past like the English, but both are conditional: “if.” Thus the lesson is the same. Human beings are complex creatures, to the point that we sometimes can’t even trust our own motives, but God, as our Creator, sees through everything and knows our hearts in intimate detail. We sometimes don’t want to admit that we are cherishing sin, but it certainly happens, and God will make it clear, either to our heart or to the whole world. To our heart is far preferable! The point is to be sensitive and submitted, quick to obey both in positive action and in rejecting things contrary to God. It’s always a matter of choosing God over everything else. Jesus put it in what, for the day, were very graphic terms: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) We associate crosses with jewelry, but in the 1st Century they were an instrument of cruel execution. Even choosing physical life over Christ excludes us from the eternal life that is found only in Him. The most difficult part of this is that, as Jesus said, it needs to be daily. We slip and fall in countless ways, but forgiveness is always available IF we acknowledge our sins and turn to God in repentance. (1 John 1:9) It is when we think, that wasn’t so bad, that we are starting to cherish our sin, and a barrier comes up between us and the fellowship with our Creator for which we were created.

I’m certainly speaking from experience here! I often think that, of the sons of Zebedee, James had the far easier course in being beheaded for Christ, in contrast to John who lived to past 90. I can think of far too many examples of times I chose other-than-God ahead of God, which makes me deeply grateful for His mercy and grace. I know that I am holy only in Christ, but I also know that in Christ, I am genuinely holy. That makes it imperative that abiding in Him be my highest priority. I do not want to cherish anything, whether it looks like sin or not, ahead of Christ Jesus my Lord.

Father, thank You for this strong Word. Thank You for reminding me last night that I’m to speak on Prayer of Commitment this Sunday, and for how that has been falling into place and building even as I have been writing these notes. I pray that I would speak Your truth in love, saying everything You want me to and nothing You don’t want said. Keep me from aiming at anyone, or from holding back from a fear of offending anyone. May I myself be fully committed to You so that I will be useful to You in drawing others into full commitment as well, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Religion; June 23, 2021

Posted on June 27, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 65:2-3 O you who hear prayer,
to you all men will come.
When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave our transgressions.

Man can, and does, postulate all sorts of characteristics for deity. Investigating different religions turns up all sorts of concepts, backing up what many atheists claim, that man creates gods in his image, rather than the other way around as Genesis 1 proclaims. However, David here picks up two things about God that eclipse all sorts of theology that people argue about: God hears prayer, and He forgives sin. I am aware of no religion that doesn’t include at least some sort of prayer. Some religions twist that around to the point that people are really praying to themselves, calling it “meditation” or whatever. Meditation is good and useful when it is focused on our Creator and what He has said to us, but that requires taking the focus off of ourselves, and much teaching on meditation is inward-focused, telling you to “find” things in yourself. Biblical meditation allows God to show us things about ourselves, but the focus is on God. Biblical prayer arises from the conviction that our Creator cares about us, and is listening. Inseparable from that is the joyful faith that He forgives sin. Anyone who comes to God must acknowledge that He alone is truly holy and pure. We sing a song in this church that talks about trembling when we encounter God’s holiness and purity. Faced with perfect purity, it is natural to be overwhelmed by our own lack of it. That God forgives sin, that He has provided atonement through His own Son, is unspeakably magnificent and glorious. Such a God is more than worthy of our total love, obedience, and devotion.

I obviously grew up in a strongly Christian environment, but I have been exposed to a wide variety of religious traditions. Here in Japan I am surrounded by Shinto and Japanese Buddhism, and I have read about other branches of Buddhism, as well as Hinduism and Islam and various minor religions. Nowhere have I found anything to compare to the God of the Bible, who loves us enough to deal with our sins, forgiving them and taking them from us. From the time I came to Omura in 1981 I have been telling people I didn’t come to teach them a religion, but to introduce them to the Lord Jesus. (There’s a bit of a pun in that in Japanese.) This continues to be true. This past Sunday in a group prayer time a man who has only been a believer a few years said, “This isn’t a religion, it’s a way of life, faith itself.” I was very happy to hear him say that, but I hadn’t connected it to my statement from 40 years ago until just now. I think people find me strange because I’m obviously religious, in a sense, but I don’t focus on forms and ceremonies. It’s not that I don’t do ceremonies, such as baptism and Communion, but that the forms are almost irrelevant. I don’t want to make people be “good Baptists,” (or good Catholics or whatever) but I want them to be good disciples of Jesus Christ. For that, I’ve got to be more committed to my Lord than I am to any tradition, even though I feel I have benefited greatly from various good traditions. I need to rejoice in my Lord who hears prayer and forgives sin, and introduce as many people to Him as I can, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for Your indeed amazing grace to me. Help me not take it lightly, but be an open channel for that grace to flow to as many as will receive it, for their salvation and Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Isolation; June 22, 2021

Posted on June 24, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 61:2 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Verses six and seven indicate that David was already king when he wrote this, so we know that the imagery in this verse is metaphorical and/or emotional, but it’s still striking. We do sometimes feel like we’re “on the backside of nowhere,” disconnected from all we find familiar and comforting. The turn of phrase in the Japanese makes that a little clearer, using the same character in “ends of the earth” and “heart grows faint.” For all the fact that the earth is a globe, and thus has no “ends,” we would still agree, I think, that Antarctica, for example, would be “the ends of the earth” geographically. Few people ever have the chance even to visit there, but emotional isolation is a different matter. It is possible, and indeed not uncommon, to feel intensely lonely in a dense crowd. What we long for is the connection with others, the belonging. David recognized that God was the ultimate answer to that, because as Paul said, (quoting a Greek poet) “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) At issue is not whether God is near, but whether we feel He is near. The problems are always on our side. When we are submitted to Him, quiet before Him, then we can be aware of Him and our sense of isolation disappears. It is indeed nice to have other people in the picture, but as much as we might like that, it’s not essential. I’m reminded of the child who didn’t want to be alone in their room at night. When their parent reminded them that “Jesus is always with you,” they replied, “But I want Jesus with skin on.” When we have experienced such feelings ourselves, it is important for us to be willing to be “Jesus with skin on” for others.

I’m a member of a Facebook group for children of missionaries, many of whom, like I, are missionaries themselves. Frankly, a sense of isolation is very common in that group, not feeling like we “belong” wherever we are. From the standpoint of the “sending country,” the expression, “the ends of the earth” is often very appropriate! The community, the acceptance and understanding we feel in that group can be very sweet and affirming. At the same time, we need to remember that our ultimate acceptance and belonging is in Christ, and nothing less. I currently feel more accepted than I have perhaps any time since I became aware of the world outside my immediate family, but I must not let that be a substitute for abiding in Christ and letting Him abide in me by His Word and His Spirit. I can never be isolated when I am in Him!

Father, thank You for how accepted I feel at this point. It’s a sign of the depth of it that I haven’t thought about it in quite a while! I ask that You use me as “Jesus with skin on” to demonstrate Your love to many, so that they too may discover “the Rock that is higher,” for their salvation and healing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God Cares; June 21, 2021

Posted on June 23, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

To be honest, I had forgotten that this was in the Old Testament. I just had Peter’s expression of this in my mind: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) The Japanese translation here is much closer to what Peter wrote than the NIV is. In any case, the truth is that God cares about His children. From one standpoint that seems absurd. Why would the Creator of the universe care about such insignificant beings as we are? However, we have the very clear evidence that He cares so much that He sent His Son to die in our place, taking the penalty for our sins. The flip side of that is that He cares whether we are obedient to Him or not. Some people don’t want God to care, because they want to do their own thing. We have such trouble really grasping that all of God’s commands are for our good. If He didn’t care about us, collectively and individually, then it wouldn’t much matter what we did, because we’d all go to destruction anyway. We don’t know who wrote Psalm 116, but it contains a very important truth: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15) We might misunderstand that, thinking God is happy when someone dies, but the actual meaning is that human death is something of great importance to God. The Psalmist probably didn’t have a clear understanding of eternal life, but he did grasp that human life is a big deal to God. There are many things that are essentially beyond the grasp of human intellect, and the depth of God’s love and care is one of those. We can’t really explain it but we can receive it by revelation. As in so many things, it comes down to our choice: we can choose to believe, and we are incalculably blessed if we do.

Once again I am reminded of something I wrote just two days ago when the subject was depression. I was thinking about all the junk in the world, and God clearly said to me, “How do you think I feel?” The thing is, He cares. I have every reason to believe that, not only from the Bible but from everything in my life, but I still waver from it at times in practical terms. Part of my difficulty is that my caring burns out. Caring is emotionally expensive! However, not caring leaves me emotionally bankrupt. I can’t begin to carry the burdens of everyone around me, but instead of running from them, I need to let God carry those burdens, and sometimes even use me in the process. When I want to be like my Lord Jesus, I need to let Him express His caring through me, for the blessing of many and for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for the example of my wife, who is the most caring person I know. She is greatly loved, because she loves so much! Help me learn from her, and from You how to be a more effective and accurate vessel of Your caring for everyone in my sphere, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Answers to Prayer; June 20, 2021

Posted on June 23, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 54:7 For he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

The introduction to this Psalm indicates it was written when David was in yet another really tight spot. That leaves us with the question of whether this verse is referring to past times the Lord had delivered David, or whether it is a faith declaration of what God was about to do. In either case, the focus is on God and His power, and not on how clever or strong David is. When we pray it is helpful to remember all the times God has answered prayer, or even acted before we prayed, (Isaiah 65:24) to bolster our faith and give us anticipation of what He might do this time. Prayer is hardly a deterministic system, where if you do A, then B will always happen. It is far more wonderful and powerful than that, because it isn’t limited by our perceptions or intellect. That’s all the more reason to be careful our prayers are focused on God, and not on ourselves or our circumstances. Joy Dawson very wisely said that to hear clearly from God, we need to die to the issue about which we are praying. By that she meant that we need to surrender our judgment, our desires, to God, trusting fully that He knows the end from the beginning and He desires the very best for us. Sometimes we get ourselves into situations where the way out, even, is quite painful, and of course, Jesus cautioned us that in this world we will have trouble, regardless. (John 16:33) However, we need to rest in the assurance Paul had, that “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) We will come to that assurance only when we get our eyes off of ourselves and our circumstances and fix them on Christ Jesus our Lord. (Hebrews 12:2)

This certainly applies to me, as I have learned through sometimes painful experience. I have had prayers answered instantly, I have had them answered over time, and I have had prayers receive a rather firm, “No.” I need to thank God for every one of those, and not just the “quick answer” type. I need to trust God enough to ask, seek, and knock, (Matthew 7:7-8) trusting that however God answers, it will be the best thing for me, whether it’s what I expected, or desired, or not. (Matthew 7:9-11) And actually, I need to rejoice and thank Him before I know what the answer will be. I’m reminded of the story of a Bible smuggler into eastern Europe before the fall of the Soviet Union. He was in a room with a row of tables across the middle for customs inspection, and he had a suitcase of “contraband” Bibles. It came his turn, and the customs agent opened his suitcase, seemed oblivious to all the Bibles, closed it up and sent him on. As he moved to the other side of the room with his bag he was naturally rejoicing, but then he heard God say to him, “You’re doing that on the wrong side of the room.” In other words, he should have been rejoicing before the customs agent opened his bag. I don’t have that kind of faith consistently yet, but I would sure like to! However, I’ve moved a long way in that direction, and my peace and joy continue to grow.

Father, thank You for Your incredible faithfulness. Thank You for the countless times You have met my needs far better than I could have specified, and often better than I was asking. I am faced with challenges daily, but You already have it all worked out. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance, just as You have told me to do, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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