Genuine Faith; March 12, 2021

Posted on March 13, 2021 by jgarrott

Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

Over the years I have become more and more impressed with the faith the early believers had in the Lord they proclaimed. We depend on seminaries and committees and organizations, when Paul and Bar­nabas depended very simply on the Lord. Frankly, we also don’t often go to prayer and fasting when it comes to decisions. We’re more likely to have a pot-luck dinner! It’s almost like we’re not really serious about what we say we believe. The current atmosphere of hostility to genuine Christian faith in various parts of American society may turn out to be a very good thing, because it will force believers to get serious about their faith. Is it real, or is it just a social convenience? Up until now there were few risks if any to being a Christian in the US, in stark contrast to how it is in, say, North Korea. There are of course exceptions, like gang members who face getting killed by their own gang if they genuinely commit to Jesus Christ as Lord, but in general, being a devout Christian has been seen as an admirable thing. Just in the past few years, that has turned around to the point that standing up for Biblical morality will get you labeled as a bigot at least, and can cost you your job and your livelihood. At the time of the American Revolution we had the expression, “sunshine patriot and summer soldier.” Today, we have Christians who cave to social pressure and online insults, becoming silent if not actually withdrawing. We need to learn from our brothers and sisters in places where openly saying Jesus is Lord can get you killed. We need to commit ourselves on every level to the Lord in whom we say we believe, just as Paul and Barnabas did, doing a bit of fasting to let our flesh know it’s not in command, to clear our hearts and minds to listen obediently to whatever our Lord would say to us.

I’m preaching to myself here! I don’t think I’ve encountered any real downsides to being a Christian. I’ve been excluded from some social circles, but they weren’t ones that would have really benefited me in the first place. However, I’ve made lots of decisions, even about this church, without getting really serious about asking God what He wanted. Right now I’m genuinely seeking the next person to lead this congregation, but I haven’t done much fasting in connection with that. I have watched pastoral succession in other churches and seen that it can have a massive impact in various ways. I want the next pastor of this church to take it far beyond where I have brought it, and I know that in Christ that is entirely possible. I need to be focused, fixated, on my Lord, seeking Him and listening to Him and obeying Him, so that His purposes may be accomplished in and through me on His schedule for His glory.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Help me not just say, “oh that’s nice,” and then fail to follow through. Help me listen obediently to You no less than Paul and Barnabas did, so that I will not get in the way of what You desire for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Evangelism: March 11, 2021

Posted on March 13, 2021 by jgarrott

Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

This is in some ways a difficult passage. We don’t like the idea of God deciding who will believe and who won’t, who will be saved and who won’t. It’s all part of the mystery of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. In verse 46 we find Paul telling the Jews of that town, “Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.” Human choice is always involved. I have encountered a “hyper Calvinist” pastor who said that we have no responsibility to evangelize because “God will save those He wants to.” After over a year of association with me, he changed his mind! At the same time, anyone ministering in Japan is going to wonder why more people don’t accept the Gospel and receive salvation. There are mysteries we cannot know. That said, if we don’t present the Gospel they will have no chance to believe and be saved. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “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?” (Romans 10:14) We cannot force anyone to repent and believe, but we can present the opportunity for them to do so. It is as the Lord told Ezekiel: “When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 3:18-19) We cannot save anyone, but God can and does use people in His plan of salvation.

This is something I have struggled with for a long time. The clear evidence that God had been true to His Word and baptized me in His Holy Spirit was when I started sharing Christ with a total stranger on a train. I had never seen him before and to my knowledge have never seen him since, but he heard the Gospel from me! I am an introvert by temperament, and I had never done that sort of thing before in my life. That’s another reason I’m convinced that when I am fully submitted to God, I will share the Gospel and not just keep it to myself. At the same time, the rate of return for effort in Japan is statistically the lowest of anywhere in the world. That said, I’m never to give up, but keep presenting the good news of salvation in word and deed. One of the biggest problems is that the average Japanese is a nice person who goes by the rules, as they understand them, and they don’t consider themselves “lost.” At the same time, as I’ve mentioned recently, Buddhism lacks even the concept of “salvation,” instead teaching that “nirvana” is an “emptying of self.” The ultimate goal is nothingness! I’ve got to demonstrate that it is possible to have a personal relationship with our Creator, and that such a relationship is eternal life. At the same time, I’ve got to convince people that such a relationship is possible for them, and not just for a weird Caucasian. The situation is challenging indeed, but nothing is impossible for God.

Father, thank You for this clear reminder of the task at hand. Today we’ll be seeing a 95-year-old friend, who likes us very much but can’t seem to bring herself to believe Your salvation is for her. I ask for a direct intervention of Your Holy Spirit to shatter the lies that have her bound, so that she may receive Your salvation while there is time, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Division of Labor; March 10, 2021

Posted on March 12, 2021 by jgarrott

John 4:38 “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

There are certainly many different functions in the Body of Christ and the kingdom of God. Paul talks about this several times, probably most famously in 1 Corinthians, both chapter 3 and chapter 12. We aren’t supposed to be doing the same things! At the same time, we aren’t to be dismissive of things that we don’t necessarily consider “our job.” Paul told Timothy to “Do the work of an evangelist,” (2 Timothy 4:5) even though that was apparently not his gifting. Perhaps the most striking example of that is Moses, who was tasked with leading the entire people-group of the Israelites when he was obviously not gifted in administration. The whole point is to be submitted to God and do whatever He assigns to us. Harvest work is joyful, as the Bible mentions many times, but we should also find joy and satisfaction in planting and watering, and for that matter, in tilling and preparing the soil. The problem is, we often don’t see things that way, and get envious of those with high-profile jobs and grumble about our own “grunt work.” When that happens, we have lost sight of the reality that the high-profile stuff couldn’t happen without the “grunt work” having been done! Actually, none of us work in isolation, regardless of how isolated we might feel. Our work is connected to those who have gone before us, and will in turn connect to those who come after. We need to remember that God is the Lord of the harvest, (Luke 10:2) and trust Him to know what needs to be done by whom.

Just yesterday I was talking with a close friend, a recently retired Japanese pastor, about this very thing. He brought up the missionary who led him to faith, and how we continue to see fruit from the labors of that man and his wife, though he has retired to the US and his wife is in heaven. Particularly in a field like Japan, tangible results can be hard to come by. Often we feel like quoting Isaiah: “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” (Isaiah 49:4) I need to remember that God sees the whole picture, and that my seemingly fruitless efforts may bear abundant fruit at a time and place I can’t see. I’m not to resent putting in hard work, but neither am I to feel I’m the only one who can do things. My doing too much has been a problem for this church over the years, because I have failed to train people up by entrusting work to them, feeling instead that I could do it better. That has been a major failing on my part, which I didn’t recognize because I was focused on me. Even at this late date I need to learn how to step back and let others fulfill the functions God has for them, before God takes me out of the picture all together and they find themselves untrained and unprepared.

Father, thank You for this strong and timely Word. Thank You for the Word through Michael Cho to be using the messages this month to clarify our understanding of what Your Church, and this church, is supposed to be. I pray that when we come to the business meeting next month that we will all be prepared to hear from You through each other what You want us to be doing, individually and corporately, for the joy and satisfaction of each believer and for the advancement of Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Breadth of God’s Love; March 9, 2021

Posted on March 11, 2021 by jgarrott

Luke 13:29-30 “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

Several Old Testament prophets speak of the scattered Jews being returned to their homeland, but this goes far beyond that. This ties in exactly with the verse I wrote about on March 4th, about many being called and few chosen. (Matthew 22:14) God’s invitation goes out all over the world, with no geographical limitations at all. It’s amazing how much trouble we have getting that through our heads! The average American Christian can hardly imagine that a Kachin or Karen tribesman of Burma might be a better Christian than they are! We go by all sorts of external factors in evaluating people, when the fact that God looks on the heart is one of the fundamental truths of the Bible. (1 Samuel 16:7) It is a statistical fact that there are more “3rd World” Christians today than there are “1st World.” We all tend to have an unconscious bias that people like us are the “good guys,” when our definitions of “like us” and “good guys” are both unreliable! That’s where the last being first, and vice versa, thing comes in. We need to ask God to open our eyes to see people as He does, and then allow Him to do that. It can actually be quite shocking! A recent example played out on the world stage, as someone we would classify as an immoral braggart became president of the US, and then turned around and enacted the most faith-friendly administration in US history. Those who were not faith-friendly couldn’t stand that, and mounted unprecedented opposition. They have had seeming success, but what is really happening is that the veneers with which they covered their activities previously are being peeled back, and their true motives are being exposed. In response, we need to apply genuinely Biblical standards, rather than cultural ones, first to ourselves and then to those around us. We need to be sure to take our own place at the feast in the kingdom of God, and not block others from doing so by our own prejudices.

I certainly didn’t expect to get political when I started, but this issue goes far beyond politics. The devil seeks to divide, and I must not cooperate with that effort. I must remember that we are all in need of repentance, dependent on the grace of God. I’m not to use that to excuse sin, in myself or in others, but I am to remember that the cross of Christ overrides absolutely everything else. I don’t usually pay much attention to the ecclesiastical calendar, but this is Lent. I too need to meditate on how intentional Jesus was in dying for me, and allow that grace to flow over and through me to all who will receive it. I too am a product of human culture, both American and Japanese, and I need to let God remove the blinders created by culture, to see and love people as He does.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. I pray that I would be more and more effective in communicating the glorious reality of redemption and resurrection in this season, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Exposure; March 8, 2021

Posted on March 11, 2021 by jgarrott

Mark 4:22 “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.”

This isn’t the only time Jesus said this sort of thing, and it’s really bad news for a lot of people! As it says in John, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20) Sometimes discovering hidden things is exciting, and sometimes it’s horrifying. Right now the things that are coming out into the open in American government are downright disgusting, as we see the veneer of “compassion” and “public service” coming off of so many politicians. Raw thirst for power and personal advantage are never pretty. That exposure is perhaps the best thing to come out of the current situation, but we need to remember that nothing ever surprises God. The fact that Jesus actually was surprised by such things as the Centurion’s faith (Matthew 8:10) is proof that He really did take on our human limitations, and was acting in the power of the Holy Spirit rather than in His innate power as the Son. We need to remember what it says in Hebrews: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) That’s the last thing some people want to hear, and if we’re honest, it makes us a little uncomfortable as well! The point is to live with this awareness, asking and trusting God to lead us in ways that will bring blessing to others, honor to us, and glory to Him.

There have been plenty of things in my life that I didn’t want exposed, but at the same time I’ve been aware that they weren’t hidden from God. That’s actually a huge blessing. It helps me live the sort of life that doesn’t need to be hidden. At the same time, I am very aware of what Paul called “the message of knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 12:8) It has happened to me several times, but to Cathy with some frequency, that the Holy Spirit will reveal information that there was no natural way to know. It is closely related to prophecy, which is why the Samaritan woman at the well said, “I can see that you are a prophet” to Jesus when He said things that exposed her personal life. (John 4:19) Actually, people have left this church out of fear of what God would show Cathy about them! Often what God shows us is not to be expressed to anyone, but rather is to be ammunition for prayer, but sometimes it is to be used to call someone to account, to turn them away from the path they are following. Cathy and I have both experienced people thinking they were confessing something that would shock us, but they were the ones shocked when it was clear the Lord had already let us know what was going on. I am to live my life in the awareness that I am completely transparent to my Lord, so that it won’t matter if I am transparent to the people around me.

Father, thank You for all the wonderful discoveries You allow us to make. Keep us from obsessing over the unclean things that get exposed, but rather rest in the assurance of Your omniscient love, having Your wisdom as to how to respond to everything, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Meeting Needs; March 7, 2021

Posted on March 9, 2021 by jgarrott

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

This is a very famous teaching, but it is often ignored and/or misinterpreted. Everyone who reads it wants to put themselves on the side of the sheep, not the goats! There are those who use this as justification for focusing entirely on social welfare ministry, essentially divorcing it from sharing the Gospel. However, various other things Jesus said point up the futility of meeting physical need while ignoring a person’s relationship with their Creator. The flip side of that is those who are so focused on the “spiritual” that they ignore the physical needs of those with whom they interact. They like to pretend this passage isn’t in the Bible! I am reminded of something attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach constantly. When necessary, use words.” We are to be active in communicating the Good News of the kingdom of God, but if our lives aren’t congruent with what we say, it’s essentially meaningless. James was very clear on this point throughout his letter, and he grew up watching Jesus. This is the tragedy of high-profile Christians who succumb to moral failures, or even, short of that, demand honor and privilege because of “who they are.” (Actually, someone who is over impressed with who they are is ripe for moral failure.) This all fits in with what Jesus said was the 2nd greatest commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-40) For ourselves, we certainly want eternal life, but we also want our immediate needs met. In priority, the eternal outweighs the temporal, (2 Corinthians 4:17) but it’s hard to focus on God when we’re cold, hungry, or in pain. We are not to ignore those in need any more than we would want to be ignored, but we also need wisdom, because we cannot meet all the needs around us. We need to let God show us how we are to be His instruments, and hold nothing back.

I have always tended to be on the “focus on the eternal” side when it comes to dealing with others, so this story of Jesus is a strong warning to me. I am bombarded with requests for money to support various groups of people, to the point that I tend to tune it all out, which is very wrong. I have long been impressed with Samaritan’s Purse, and their ministry of meeting needs in the name of Jesus, but there are other genuinely worthwhile ministries as well. At the same time, I must not ignore the needs that are right under my nose, so to speak. I tithe faithfully, but I’m not to think that eliminates my responsibility in this area. At the moment I’m feeling the strongest pull toward supporting a specific ministry to persecuted Christians, so I need to discuss it fully with my wife and act in agreement with her and the Holy Spirit. I’m not trying to “earn brownie points” but I do want to be an obedient, faithful steward.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Keep me from letting it slide, but rather help me follow through to do Your will for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Talents; March 6, 2021

Posted on March 8, 2021 by jgarrott

Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!'”

The central place of the Bible in Western culture is illustrated by the current usage of the word, talent. In Biblical times it was actually a weight, as is illustrated by the many references in the Old Testament to talents of gold or silver. Because the term was used in weighing precious metals, it then became a unit of money. Scholars differ as to how much it was, but it was significant. The point of the parable is obviously that we are to make full use of what God supplies to us. A secondary point is that what He supplies is valuable! Many people have noticed that the actual quantity is not an issue in the outcome. The words of commendation to the man who doubled 5 talents are exactly the same as those to the man who doubled just two. However, the only servant who was condemned is the one who did nothing with what he was given. Many people today insist they are not “talented,” and so fail to exercise the gifts and abilities they have received. Looking at this parable, that seems to be a very dangerous course of action! It’s possible the man who received just one talent was in a snit, angry that the other men received more. The same thing happens today, with people jealous over what others have in various ways. Jealousy has never benefited anyone! The point is to stop looking at others, recognize what you yourself have, and be fully accountable for it. Jesus is clear that it’s not a matter of what you start with, but of what you do with it.

This whole parable of the talents could in a way be said to be central to my family. I come from two lines of gifted individuals in a wide variety of fields. How wide? Well, Alan Shepard, America’s first astronaut to make it into space, was a relative on my mother’s side, though I’m sure he had no idea I existed. For myself, “underachiever” was a term that was probably used of me many, many times. I was tied for the highest entrance examination scores the year I entered college, even though I had skipped my senior year in high school, but I failed Freshman Math and 1st Year German my first year. School had always been so easy for me, I didn’t know how to focus and study. I’ve had some painful lessons in that area! In the years since then there have been few signs of focused achievement. I have worked at various jobs, showing that I can make a living in a wide variety of fields, but I have been too easily distracted. I don’t know whether my longevity as a missionary is more from faithfulness or inertia! I do know that my greatest desire is to receive the accolade recorded in this verse, but I am not a good judge of myself, so I can only cast myself on the grace and mercy of my Lord. I am deeply grateful that His grace is sufficient.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for helping me realize that I literally would have had to live several lives to develop fully all the gifts You gave me. Guide me in what You want me to do each day, so that Your purposes for me may be accomplished, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Loving God; March 5, 2021

Posted on March 8, 2021 by jgarrott

Matthew 24:12-13 “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

The Japanese here goes with the more traditional, “the love of many,” but I like the NIV stress of saying “the love of most.” Also, the Japanese goes with “the increase of lawlessness,” rather than the more general, “wickedness.” We forget that God’s laws really cover everything about life. We also forget that in the Upper Room Discourse Jesus very specifically said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) We are prone to say to Jesus, “I love you, but….” We want to pick and choose what we obey of what He says to us, but that is a cold love indeed. Looking at the world and saying, “I’m better than that,” is a false comparison, because the world is currently the devil’s territory. We need to let the Holy Spirit shine His light on us and show us where we have compromised, how we have let our love grow cold. The pressures are relentless, and we need to keep close watch over our hearts. The comfort is that we can have the assurance that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) That doesn’t remove our responsibility to cooperate fully with the Holy Spirit, but it should be a good defense against the blanket accusations of the devil.

Recently I got news of yet another person who was in a position of great trust in the Church being persistently unfaithful over a period of years. It boggles the mind at times, but I need to take it as a strong admonition not to let down my guard. I have a very crafty enemy who has no power in himself besides what I give him, but his lies can trip me up. I do consider loving God my highest priority, but as the little chorus says, “But how much I love Thee my actions will show.” When I let my flesh take priority, being lazy and the like, I am not loving God with all I am. I have another month of very relaxed scheduling, and I need to make the use God intends of each minute, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. I do have a lot of stuff I need to get done, but I have ignored or avoided it, from filing my US taxes to making appointments to various kinds of straightening and cleaning. My first priority for this morning is the sermon notes for Sunday, but there are a lot of other things waiting as well. Help me love You enough to be fully faithful, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Dinner Invitation; March 4, 2021

Posted on March 6, 2021 by jgarrott

Matthew 22:14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

This is a famous saying of Jesus, but generally quoted out of context. The deciding point in whether someone was chosen was very simply their acceptance of the invitation. It specifically says in verse 10 that “both good and bad” people came to the banquet. One detail that confuses a lot of people is the person who failed to wear appropriate clothing, who was treated much like those who had refused to come in the first place. (verses11-13) All of this becomes much more clear in the light of the rest of the New Testament. We are told of “the wedding supper of the Lamb,” (Revelation 19:9) and how God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)That agrees with this parable perfectly, but what about the wedding clothes? That is clarified by, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) And how do we clothe ourselves with Christ? By repentance and faith. It is very dangerous to be in the Church without repentance! Hell isn’t reserved for those who openly reject God, it is also for those who act like they’re Christians without letting God change their hearts. It doesn’t matter what we once were; what matters is whether we repent and believe the Good News. (Mark 1:15) So many people hang up on one side of that or the other! Either they think they aren’t worthy of the invitation, (spoiler alert: nobody is) or they think they can get by without letting God change their heart. Those who reject repentance accuse God of being discriminatory, when His invitation is open to absolutely everyone who will repent and believe.

This is of course my message, as I seek to communicate the Gospel in Japan. I have said for 40 years that I didn’t come to Omura to teach a religion, I came to introduce a Savior. (In Japanese that’s almost a pun.) There have been many barriers, not least of which is that Buddhism doesn’t teach salvation at all. I’ve had three different Buddhist priests, at different times and in different places, acknowledge that fact frankly. The ultimate in Buddhism is nothingness! No wonder the Japanese rate of suicide is so high! People haven’t been given the mental framework to think about God’s offer of salvation through the cross of Christ, so it seems like a very foreign religion indeed. However, Paul and the others in the 1st Century faced the same sort of barriers, so I have no reason to lose hope. I am to keep inviting people to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and at the same time make the dress code clear. The nice thing is, our wedding finery is already paid for! I just need to help people understand what it is, and accept it.

Father, thank You for this beautiful parable, and for explaining it through me this way. Help me be more and more effective in gathering Your guests, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Stewardship; March 3, 2021

Posted on March 6, 2021 by jgarrott

Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

Some people have used this verse to justify what is called “Replacement Theology,” which says that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plans. However, as Paul said forcefully, “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29) Jesus wasn’t speaking of the entire nation of Israel (or Judea at the time) but of the leaders, as they themselves recognized, which is recorded in verse 45. The point of this parable is that everything belongs to God, and we are accountable to Him for what we do with it. That applies to material things and even to the much more important matter of the whole kingdom of God, as Jesus says explicitly in this verse. We forget that to our peril. In most churches “stewardship” is treated as a matter of how much money you give, but it actually applies to absolutely everything. As Paul pointed out, “It is required that those who have been given a trust (stewards) must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2) God gives us His kingdom, even, (Luke 12:32) but we are totally accountable to Him for it. That’s why the ultimate accolade is, “good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21) When we focus on the material, important as it is, we miss the greater part of what stewardship is all about. As again Paul pointed out, “To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7) Likewise, Peter said, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10) Every ability we have is on loan from God, and we should treat it that way. No ability on earth is eternal, except the ability to know God and love Him. Any older person can testify to that! Stewardship deals with everything we have right now, and recognizes that the Owner can call for it at any moment.

This of course applies to me, since it applies to every human being. Frankly, I’m not a very good judge of my own stewardship. I can’t say conclusively how well I’ve done as God desires of me in using the things He has supplied. I guess I’ll find out at the Final Audit we all go through! That said, I can certainly choose to focus on listening to my Lord, seeking to hear and obey His directions for everything. Experience, not to mention logic, has taught me that His way is always best! I am to be faithful, but not uptight about it. After all, I couldn’t do it right on my own in any case! As He so kindly told me personally, I’m to rest, relax, and rejoice, not drawing back from anything He directs and not holding back anything, afraid that He won’t supply everything I need. He has demonstrated His faithfulness to me in countless ways, big and small, and my response should certainly be faithfulness to Him.

Father, I have no words to express my gratitude for Your faithfulness, and it’s certainly rare that I’m at a loss for words! Help me be the steward You want me to be, so that all of Your purposes for all that You have supplied to and through me may be fulfilled, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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