Decisions; September 16, 2021

Posted on September 19, 2021 by jgarrott

Acts 1:24-26 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

This frankly strikes me as strange even today, but there is a very long history of this sort of thing, even in the Bible. From Exodus 28:30 on, the Urim and Thummim are mentioned many times as a means of determining God’s will. No one is sure of the details, but apparently they were stones (or some other material) of different color that were otherwise identical, and when drawn from a pouch, sight unseen, were taken as a yes or a no from God. (We don’t even know which was which.) This is very much in that tradition, but it still feels strange, because we are used to people hashing things out and deciding on the basis of human reason. In this instance, human reason and criteria were involved in choosing the candidates, but the final selection was left up to God. I have heard various people say that Paul was actually God’s intended choice, but even given the time factor, he wasn’t a witness of Jesus’ resurrection until the dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus, and in any case he hadn’t walked the roads of Judea and Galilee with the group. I have nothing against Matthias, the man chosen here, but I wonder if the very idea of “needing to complete the number” was a strictly humanistic thing that God didn’t care about particularly. We have trouble not only in making accurate decisions, but even in knowing which decisions are important.

Like everyone else, I deal with decisions constantly. I had to decide what to wear this morning! I have come to the awareness that God indeed cares about every one of our decisions, since He even keeps track of the number of hairs on our head. (Luke 12:7) However, not all decisions are of equal importance, just as it doesn’t matter particularly if I have a few hairs more or less. The problem is, I often fail to recognize the relative importance of my decisions. Going on to a different dorm after the first girl I was interested in wasn’t there turned out to be an extremely important decision, way back in 1969, but I didn’t think much of it at the time. The longer I live and the more I learn, the more I realize I really don’t know anything! Casting lots might or might not be the way to go about it, but I need to seek God’s will all the time, in decisions big and small. The bigger the decision, in my perspective, the greater the stress. However, as I just illustrated, I often have no idea how big decisions really are. I’m back to what the Lord told me several years ago: I need to rest, relax, and rejoice. He is more interested in my decisions than I am, and if my heart is fixed on Him, He will guide me.

Father, thank You for this reassuring reminder. Thank You for the many, many ways You have guided me over the years. Help me indeed keep my heart fixed on You so that I will recognize and follow Your guidance in every instance, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Perception; September 15, 2021

Posted on September 19, 2021 by jgarrott

Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

It is interesting to try to imagine the atmosphere in this prayer meeting. They were obeying what Jesus had said that Luke recorded at the very end of his first book: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) However, what was most different, I think, from previous gatherings was that Jesus’ mother and brothers were with them. My guess is that Jesus had appeared to the members of His genetic family individually after His resurrection the way He did for Peter. (Luke 24:34) What a shock that must have been! To know, without a shadow of a doubt, that your weird older brother, whom you thought had really flipped out, was actually the Son of God! I have a feeling that their previous attitude had a lot to do with something He said at the point He announced the start of His ministry: “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” (Luke 4:24) They were used to thinking they knew Him better than anybody, but now they were with a group of men whom He had chosen and trained, and those men knew Him better and deeper than they did. They certainly adjusted, however, and James eventually became the leader of the Church in Jerusalem, and Jude wrote one of the letters included in the New Testament, never calling Jesus his big brother but rather calling Him “Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Jude 1:25) We too tend to think of people from a strictly human perspective, rather than as God sees them. It’s like Paul said, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” (2 Corinth­ians 5:16) We all need God to correct our perspective on people, even on ourselves. It won’t be until we are before God’s throne that we will be able to know ourselves and others with full accuracy, (1 Corinthians 13:12) but until that point we need to keep allowing the Holy Spirit to “correct our vision,” so to speak, so that we will see things more and more as our Father does.

I’ve certainly had this issue! I have both been conceited and had inferiority complexes about myself, and I have looked at others through a “fleshly filter” all too often. I have had people I thought were dear friends disappoint severely, and I have had people of whom I thought very little turn out to be God’s instruments. I need to remember that God sees all of our faults but loves us anyway, and also that all of our “good points” are no better than filthy rags before Him. (Isaiah 64:6) I am to walk in God’s grace that requires repentance, repenting of my own sins and allowing others to repent of theirs. I wonder how Jesus’ brothers felt about how they had sometimes treated Him? I think we all tend to feel that our perception of things is accurate, but that is manifestly not always true. I need to walk in genuine humility, allowing God to show me what is real, about people, about myself, and about the world around me, so that I will respond as He wants me to, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this clear reminder. It’s an interesting Word for my birthday! The world sees me as a “senior adult,” but in Your eyes I’m still just a kid! Help me indeed see myself and others as You do, to be Your agent of grace, blessing, and salvation itself, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Assignments; September 14, 2021

Posted on September 15, 2021 by jgarrott

John 18:11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

John doesn’t record Jesus’ agonized prayer about this “cup,” but at the time he wrote that was already circulating through all three of the other Gospels. John wanted to make very clear that Jesus consciously accepted His assignment, even knowing the agony it involved. We all receive various assignments in life, some of which might delight us and some much less so. Sometimes we receive assignments for which we are woefully inadequate, but if we will depend on God, He will accomplish them through us. The thing is, we aren’t put on the earth just to exist. As Paul put it, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10) Some people are very aware of their calling, feeling driven to fulfill it, but the majority of people are much less so. Sometimes that calling, those good works, seem big and important, and sometimes they might seem inconsequential to us or to others. However, our perspective is extremely limited. I’ve always liked the illustration of someone making a hand-knotted tapestry. From the perspective of the one tying the knots, it’s a tangled mess, hard to recognize as a distinct image of anything. However, from the other side it’s a beautiful picture of a scene or a person or something else. When we’re busy “tying the knots,” it can be very hard to imagine the beauty that God sees. Jesus’ flogging and crucifixion were the ugliest of ugly, but from the other side, they were the absolutely glorious victory over the devil and the redemption of all who would believe. Jesus had the advantage of knowing the purpose of His assignment, and we don’t necessarily have that. However, if we will be faithful to “tie the knots,” the resulting “tapestry” will have a beauty beyond our current imagination.

I’ve experienced this and I’ve seen it in others. I’ve been eager to accept some assignments, only to discover how difficult they were. I’ve been reluctant to accept other assignments, only to discover how rewarding they were. And some things I haven’t even recognized as having been assignments until after they were done! The point is to remain open and obedient, whatever the Lord has for me to do. This morning, His assignment was to sleep an hour later than I usually do! That’s not exactly a hard assignment, but I’m convinced it was part of His plan for me. With a birthday coming up tomorrow, it’s a time of reflection over what assignments I have completed, and which are still in progress. I know that my ultimate assignment is to grow to be like my Lord, and that will only be completed when I am before His throne. In the mean time, I am to keep speaking the truth in love, (Ephesians 4:15) comforting others with the comfort I have received, (2 Corinthians 1:4) and allowing God’s Spirit to flow through me (John 7:38) for the blessing of many and for His glory.

Father, thank You for Your various assignments. I’ve certainly done better with some than with others! Help me not be anxious but simply faithful, applying all that You supply to the task at hand, so that Your plans may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You, Praise God!

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Identifying with Christ; September 13, 2021

Posted on September 15, 2021 by jgarrott

John 17:14-15 “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

It’s not at all that this passage was unfamiliar to me, but I find myself blown out of the water right now as I read. The degree to which Jesus identified with His disciples, placing them on the same level as Himself, is absolutely astounding. Even though they were still dense, not grasping much of what He was telling them, He still says here, “They are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” That is an incredible statement! And then in verse 20 He explicitly included all the spiritual generations of believers who would come after, having believed because of the apostles’ message – and that includes all believers today. That said, we need to remember that Jesus didn’t have an easy time of it. It was a matter of a few hours at most until He was arrested, abused horribly, and then crucified. We can certainly not demand better! Just last night I watched a video report of the persecution that is going on today in India. The “untouchables,” the people at the very bottom of the caste system, are coming to Christ because in Him they discover they have value, they are loved, but they are being attacked even by the government, because being at the very bottom of the pyramid they in effect support everything above them, and when they get out of the caste system by faith, the whole rest of the system collapses. American Christians don’t know how good they have it, even with the current hostility toward Biblical positions on life, marriage, and morality. That’s why Jesus prayed for us all that we would be protected from the evil one. We must not forget that we have an enemy, and that our eventual victory may go through as much suffering as that of Jesus. At the same time we must remember, as Paul reminds us, that “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) Jesus was fully human, just as we are, but here He is saying that, again as Paul said, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” (Philippians 3:20) When we identify with the world, we do so to our own loss.

We once lost a potential church member when, at the close of a service and I was issuing an invitation to commitment to Christ, I said, “Take my hand as though you were taking Jesus’ hand.” She thought I was claiming to be Christ! That was certainly not the case, but at the same time, believers indeed represent Christ. One of my spiritual children has recently been told, “You are like a Buddha,” meaning that his character was so good as to seem “other-worldly.” I too need to be that way, not to draw people to myself but to the Lord whom they see through me. I could easily name countless things that would seem to disqualify me from that, but that would be placing the focus on me instead of on my Lord. I stumble all too often, but I must remember that I am no more of the world than Jesus was while He walked the earth, and so live like it.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. Thank You for all You did in the service yesterday, with several non-Christians present, and evidence that they were touched by Your presence. I do pray that each of them would come to repentance and faith for salvation, and that in the process the current believers would be encouraged and come alive as Your disciples, Your representatives, drawing many into Your family for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Praying for the World; September 12, 2021

Posted on September 14, 2021 by jgarrott

John 17:9 “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

This verse in English has always bothered me a bit. It feels like when God told Jeremiah not to pray for the Jews. (Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14) However, the Japanese makes it a little easier to take. It says, “I request for them.” Etymologically, “pray” does mean “request,” as we have to remember any time we read Shakespeare, but we generally attach very specific feelings to the word today. That said, I think we need to learn something here. What we are to pray in relation to the world is that God’s rule and reign be established and His will be done. (Matthew 6:9-13) If we aren’t careful, prayer can devolve into love for the world itself. In his first letter, John made it very clear what our attitude should be. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15) That’s not to say we shouldn’t enjoy, even “love,” nature, but we need to remember that everything physical is temporary. People get all worked up about “climate change,” when everything about the physical universe is changing. We are accountable to God for what we do with the physical things around us, but they in no way approach the value of a human soul. In praying for people who are not yet in God’s family, and even for those who are, I like a prayer my mother often prayed: “Keep them from unnecessary pain.” Sometimes pain is indeed necessary to grab our attention and force us to turn to God. The thing is, we aren’t infinite, and we are to focus our prayers under the direction of the Holy Spirit. If we try to pray too broadly, we run the risk of loving mankind while despising individuals. When even Jesus focused on those closest to Him, we are not wrong to do the same.

Often as a pastor I want the believers to lift their eyes and pray for more than “I-my-me-mine.” I get newsletters that seek to keep me updated on persecution around the world, and right now you can’t turn on the news or the Internet without being bombarded with situations that cry out for prayer. However, I must be careful that I myself don’t fail to pray for those close to me, being distracted by those far away. I am greatly bothered by those who try to “guilt trip” people into supporting various causes, but I am not to allow that to turn me off to genuine need. Again I am back to needing the Holy Spirit to guide me. As Paul said, we don’t know how or for what to pray! (Romans 8:26-27) I am not to be uptight about it, but pray freely, earnestly, and often, however He directs.

Father, thank You for this Word. I really do feel overwhelmed at times at all the things to pray for, and I tend to retreat into not praying. Keep me from that! Help me be effective as Your instrument to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) through proclaiming Your will, Your Word, in prayer, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Peace; September 11, 2021

Posted on September 13, 2021 by jgarrott

John 16:33 “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.”

I thought I would be able to write on a different verse from this section, but this verse is too powerful a magnet for my soul! I have quoted it countless times, in messages, counseling, and conversations with both believers and nonbelievers. It is still apropos today! The world is more than full of things that steal our peace, and it has been that way ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. Most people spend their lives searching for peace, and many never find it at all. We try to anesthetize ourselves with various things, creating a temporary, false “peace,” but true inner peace comes only through Jesus Christ. There is a worship song, He Is Our Peace, (that is actually better in the Japanese translation) based on Ephesians 2:14, that sings about this. Paul also famously wrote to the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) As Jesus says so clearly in the second half of this verse, trouble, which triggers anxiety, is part of the human condition. However, if we are anchored in Him, who has already won the victory, we can have peace and boldness regardless of our circumstances.

Any more, a “news feed” is more like an “anxiety feed.” Today is the 20th anniversary of the largest terrorist attack in history, and the events of the past few months have certainly not engendered any sort of peace, either. I find that I skim over much of the news that comes in, because if I dwell on it it’s too depressing. The saddest thing is that it’s people doing things to people, totally blinded and deceived by the devil. And the minute someone points that out, someone else will say, “What makes you so certain you’re right?” There is an all-out assault on truth itself, to the point that even basic biology is denied, and that makes for lots of “trouble.” I am not to ignore the junk, but neither am I to focus on it. My focus must be on Jesus Christ my Lord, because only in Him can I have the peace, and the victory, that I desire. I have no idea what all I will have to go through in this world, but that is ultimately of no consequence. As again Paul wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Father, thank You for this very timely reminder. Even passages that are deeply ingrained in me can bring fresh blessing! I do pray for the many who are commemorating the World Trade Center attack, and I pray that Your kingdom, that is, Your rule and reign, would be established on this earth as Your will is done, by Your children first and by all of creation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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In Jesus’ Name; September 10, 2021

Posted on September 13, 2021 by jgarrott

John 16:24 “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

This verse (along with a few others) is the theological foundation for the almost universal practice of tacking “In Jesus’ name, amen” onto just about any prayer. However, in the majority of cases it has become strictly rote, with no thought or understanding to it, and as such becomes essentially meaningless. It’s kind of like typing a complex computer password and forgetting to capitalize some of the letters. It’s all there, but it doesn’t work. Asking in Jesus’ name isn’t complex, but it isn’t automatic and it isn’t necessarily easy, even. A good example is when Peter and John encountered the man begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple in Jerusalem. Peter famously healed him by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6) He was able to do that because he was operating in the Spirit of Jesus. There have been many examples just as dramatic as that down through the centuries, and they haven’t always included the specific words, “In Jesus’ name.” Using the words as window dressing doesn’t cut it. There are countless prayers that use those words but essentially have nothing to do with Jesus! We need to line our hearts and our words up with the heart and Spirit of Jesus to use His name effectively.

I of course was raised with the practice of adding “In Jesus’ name, amen,” to my prayers, and despite my parents’ generally excellent faith and understanding of the Bible, didn’t receive particularly good teaching on the subject. As I have commented before, prayer was as natural as breathing in our house, but I wasn’t taught about it. In the many years since, I have learned a lot about prayer both from various teachers and especially from doing it. I’m personally a fan of what is called “conversational prayer,” that sounds to an observer like you’re simply talking to someone who doesn’t happen to be in eyesight. In such cases, “In Jesus’ name” rarely enters the picture. When I am praying out loud in a group setting I often say, “In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Praying in Jesus’ name definitely requires submission to His Lordship! I find that is the key thing I need to be careful about in my praying, so I don’t go tacking His name onto a casual or fleshly wish-list. That said, Jesus explicitly told us to ask so that our joy would be complete. It is indeed a gloriously joyful thing to experience answered prayer! As I am trying to teach the believers here, growth in prayer comes most of all through praying, not through “dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s. It is very appropriate that we combine two Scriptures in one song we sing frequently: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” and “Ask and it shall be given unto you.” Asking doesn’t do a whole lot of good if we aren’t seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

Well, Father, the message You’ve given me for Sunday isn’t on prayer, but here You’ve given me another one that is! Thank You. I do pray that I would be effective in raising up a body of believers who truly know You and talk with You and praise You and serve You as You desire, for the sake of Your kingdom and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Legacy; September 9, 2021

Posted on September 12, 2021 by jgarrott

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

It struck me as I read this morning that the Upper Room Discourse was all about Jesus’ legacy. He knew that He was about to be crucified and buried, and He wanted to do all He could to establish His closest disciples so they could carry on in His absence. In that urgency He almost talks in circles, coming back to the same themes again and again. It gives us insight into Jesus and what He considered important, because you could call it a condensation of all He had tried to teach them for three and a half years. It seems to me His themes were love and fruit and endurance, all empowered by the Holy Spirit. This verse relates most directly to fruit and endurance, but it also hints at love, and is of course impossible without the work of the Spirit. I find I quote the last part of this verse fairly often, either in talking with people or simply to myself. I have certainly found that I can do nothing of any real value apart from Christ! Fruit and legacy are in a sense two words for the same thing. That’s why in verse 16 He talks about “lasting fruit.” Frankly, material things don’t last. It is our investment in people, drawing them into eternal life, that lasts. Only the spiritual is eternal. Materially speaking we like to “leave an inheritance” for our descendants, but material things are ultimately ephemeral, and only the values of love, honesty, and discipleship to our Lord remain. When we manage to pass those on, we have a legacy indeed.

I go through periodic bouts of being concerned about my legacy, so it is in a way comforting to see that Jesus was concerned for His. Whether my name is remembered is ultimately of no importance, but whether people are inspired to walk in fellowship with their Creator is everything. I have long felt that one of the most interesting things about heaven will be discovering what my influence has been over the course of my life. There is literally no way we can understand it all before then. Several years ago I was at the funeral of a close family friend, and the pastor conducting it thanked me for something I had said to him years previous that had made a massive difference in his life and ministry. I frankly didn’t remember even talking to him before! Little things like that are a big comfort to me when I start thinking about my legacy. A missionary friend, now retired and in his late 80s, is currently working on a project that I’m sure he sees as his legacy. It would be nice if that works out, but at the same time I work regularly with someone he nurtured and discipled, and that legacy is strong and secure. My focus needs to be on fellowship with and obedience to my Lord, because if I will do that, I will indeed bear lasting fruit.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Coupled with the message You’ve given me for Sunday, it makes me wonder if my time here is shorter than I think! However, that’s not a matter for any concern whatsoever. As You’ve had me saying for many years, I’m to plan to live to a hundred, at least, but live so that any day is OK. Help me indeed abide in Christ so that I will bear the fruit that You desire, on Your schedule and for Your glory alone. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Greater Things; September 8, 2021

Posted on September 11, 2021 by jgarrott

John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

The Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) is so rich you could spend a lifetime meditating on it. There is so much content that we tend to tune it out, because we can’t absorb it all. This verse is one that has challenged countless people for the past 2000 years and it still challenges us today. The “variable,” if you will, in this verse would seem to be our faith. When we look at what we have done and look at what Jesus did, we are forced to concede that our faith is pretty small. It comes down to our definition of “greater.” The Japanese says “bigger,” and from that standpoint we can think of various people throughout Church history who have had bigger numbers at some things than Jesus did in His earthly ministry. Billy Graham, for example, spoke to bigger crowds than Jesus did and brought more people to repentance and faith for salvation. That is in no way to suggest that he was greater than Jesus, just that his numbers were bigger. At the same time, if we get hung up on numbers we miss out on a great deal of what Jesus was all about. I think the point is to trust Jesus more and more and be available for Him to do through us whatever He wants to do. A few years ago the idea of “What would Jesus do,” abbreviated as WWJD, was quite the fad. Such fads, with bracelets, hats, and things like that are of minor lasting impact, but the concept of being God’s agent in the same way Jesus was is something we need to work into our spirits. There will never be, nor could there ever be, another Savior; we must never be deceived about that. But if we look at ourselves instead of at Jesus, we limit our activities to what we think we can do, instead of trusting Him to do whatever He wants to do through us. I think that’s what having faith in Jesus is all about.

This certainly applies to me! I have come back to this verse many times over the years, and it always impresses me with how much room I have to grow. I have been blessed with more abilities than many, but in a way that’s dangerous, because I am more tempted to depend on myself. I learned a long time back that I can’t save anyone, even myself, but God can and does save people through me. The more I depend on myself, the poorer the results. That should never be an excuse to be irresponsible or lazy; faithfulness is always called for. As Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) When I turn 73 next week, I have a lot of examples in my own life to look back on. I am amazed at some of the things God has done through me, and I am also saddened at some of the ways I have failed to follow through on what He was saying to me. I have no idea how much longer He will keep me here, but I do know that it is never too late to be used by Him. I must not demand to be used, but I must also not draw back from anything He leads me into.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the richness of Your Word. Help me indeed let it dwell in me richly, (Colossians 3:16) producing the fruit that You desire and intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Death; September 7, 2021

Posted on September 11, 2021 by jgarrott

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

I have used this passage at every funeral of a believer I have ever conducted, and I think rightly so. The question that Jesus asks here is of vital importance. If you believe what Jesus said, then death loses its power over you. As it says so clearly in Hebrews, Jesus came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:15) Many young people fail to grasp emotionally that their bodies aren’t eternal, and so are foolhardy and irresponsible, but even the most brash can fall into complete panic when it looks like they are done for. Jesus’ words express something we often fail to recognize: we aren’t physical beings who happen to have spirits, we are spiritual beings who inhabit bodies. We are accountable for what we do with our bodies in all areas, both in activity and maintenance. As they say with cars, “mileage may vary.” One striking thing about the current pandemic is that the prime “comorbidity” leading to a bad outcome is obesity, which is our personal responsibility. All sorts of things can contribute, but it boils down to the activity of the individual. That aside, every one of us has a “limited shelf life,” and the sooner and better we grasp that, the more productive, and really happier, we will be. Our bodies wearing out is ultimately of no more concern than our shoes wearing out, and they are subject to “recall by the manufacturer” at any time. When we are secure in our faith, in our relationship with our Creator, then death has no hold over us. The process might be scary, or even highly unpleasant, but death itself is a non-issue.

Raised in a home that was steeped in faith, this has been my understanding for about as long as I can remember. That doesn’t mean I’ve always been the best steward of my body! In college on one occasion I was actively seeking to leave my body behind, when the Lord told me clearly, “Don’t do that.” The odd thing is, even after that experience I didn’t immediately shift into a lifestyle of actively seeking and following the Lord. At this point, my only concern about my physical death is those I will leave behind. As though I could save them by my own strength anyway! God can be trusted with me, and He can be trusted with everyone else. I’m certainly not to slough off my responsibilities toward those around me, nor my responsibility to maintain this body, but when God says, “That’s enough,” then I have nothing to complain about. The thing is, very few people around me have that level of peace, and I have the opportunity to share God’s truth with them. I must not let that opportunity slip by! I have already outlived both of my parents, and I want to make the best use of this body while I have it, even while I look forward eagerly to the “new improved model” I will be receiving.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You keep reminding me of the depth and breadth of Your grace toward me. Thank You! Help me be a good son, a faithful servant indeed, 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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