Sin and Grace; January 31, 2021

Posted on February 4, 2021 by jgarrott

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?

This is a rhetorical question, but Paul answered it clearly: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) For that matter, David was clear on the subject in Psalm 14:1-3 (repeated essentially in Psalm 53:1-3) and Solomon picked up the theme in Ecclesiastes 7:20. For anyone who would dispute this, we have Jesus’ clear words: “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28) For any woman who might be feeling superior at this point, just ahead of that Jesus said, “Anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:22) The point is, we are all sinners, disqualified from fellowship with God and eternal life. The devil wants us to accept that, say “Hang it all,” and not even try to follow God, but he’s a liar as usual. God says, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Paul famously explained that “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) As Paul said, human beings have no room for pride before God. However, God’s grace and love are even greater than our sin, just as the hymn says. The better we grasp that, the freer we will be from the traps and lies of the devil and the lusts of our own flesh. (1 John 2:16) We cannot purify and save ourselves, but God has provided purification and salvation for us in Christ Jesus. We need to respond in full, grateful obedience.

I am certainly in the middle of living this out. I am very aware of what has been called “the three tenses of sin.” That is, we have been saved from the penalty for sin, we are being saved from the power of sin, and we will be saved from the presence of sin. I do look forward to that future tense, with sin completely out of the picture! At this point, I am deeply grateful for the Holy Spirit to point out when I have sinned, or am sinning. I am also grateful to have learned the difference between His very pointed admonitions and the devil’s blanket condemnations. It is no accident that the devil’s name is Satan – the accuser. As a pastor I frequently tell people that if they feel they are hopeless, they can be sure it’s not God speaking to them. The devil hates hope! The Holy Spirit, in contrast, hates sin, but He is very specific in telling us what to deal with, and if we will allow Him to, He gives us wisdom and strength to do it. I am very grateful to have learned that by experience.

Father, help me proclaim Your message of grace without glossing over the reality of sin. May we be a repentant people, doing Your will with great joy that You have lifted us out of the power of sin, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Words; January 30, 2021

Posted on January 31, 2021 by jgarrott

Proverbs 18:20-21 From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

I just had my mind blown! These two verses were quite familiar to me in English, particularly since I am obviously a man of words. It is clear that we reap what we sow with our mouths (and fingers). Both verses were underlined in the Japanese half of my Bible as well as in the English, but I don’t think I paid much attention to what they said in Japanese at the time I underlined them. In the translation I use, the second half of verse 21 reads, “Loving one or the other, a person will eat that fruit.” When the first half of the verse speaks of the tongue having the power of life and death (the Japanese says, “death and life”) that makes it a question of whether we love life or death, because our words will reflect that choice. James is very clear throughout his letter that words need to be backed up with actions, but our words do have remarkable power and impact. The saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is frankly not true. They have great power to hurt not only the hearer but also the speaker. That’s why James said, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak.” (James 1:19) Our words reveal our hearts, and we need to be careful with them. One of Jesus’ scariest warnings is, “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37) Words matter, because they display our hearts.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a man of words. It is rather a shock any time I am at a loss for words, because such moments are few and far between. My father recognized my gift for words in a dictionary he inscribed to me as I was about to enter college at 16, and he cautioned me that when words are used as a scalpel they must never be infected with pride or envy or anything of the sort. I have tried to take that to heart, but it wasn’t until several years later that the Lord showed me the depth and depravity of my pride, and I repented in abject tears. Recently in an online conversation we have regularly with our daughters, each of us was saying what we loved and appreciated about each of the other three. It was a very moving, profitable conversation! Both my daughters said that they had learned from me to be careful with their words, and I was surprised. I didn’t know I’d been that successful! As a teacher and pastor I continue to make my living with words, so to speak, (pardon the play on words there) but I still am all too prone to speak unnecessarily. I need to pay more attention to James’ admonition to be slow to speak and quick to listen. One of my greatest joys is allowing God to speak His Word through me, but I must be very careful not to pollute that Word with my fallen humanity. Often I am convicted by the words that come from my mouth. I must never modify those words just to make myself feel better.

Father, thank You for the gift of words. Keep me from misusing it. Help me always pay close attention to what You say to and through me, so that loving life, I may reap the fruit of Your words of life, (John 6:63, 68) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Attitude toward God; January 29, 2021

Posted on January 31, 2021 by jgarrott

Proverbs 14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him.

This proverb can be taken two ways, both of which are valid. The first is that a person’s lifestyle is evidence of their attitude toward God, and the second is that their lifestyle generates a particular attitude toward God. It really is a self-reinforcing mechanism. If you start out with an awareness of God and a desire to be pleasing to Him, all sorts of things are going to confirm that in your heart and mind, and your life will certainly reflect that. If you start out thinking that religion is stupid and man is supreme, you will consider yourself the ultimate authority and do whatever you please. That in turn will blind you to the abundant evidence of a gracious Creator, and you will discount such when it is pointed out to you. Simple logic tells us which of those produces the better result! We are surrounded with examples of both of these, but the latter is much more likely to be in the news. Only a few news sources pick up on good, happy news of people who are acting as agents of God’s love and grace. However, we are bombarded with news of people who make a wreck of their own lives and the lives of those around them. Actually, the devil uses the media to convince us that “everybody’s doing it, so we might as well get our own piece of the action.” That’s something a really sane person wouldn’t want “a piece of!” The devil does all he can to make us think we can “get away with” stuff, blinding us to the reality that God really does see everything, and He is perfectly holy. We toss around words like “omniscient” and “omnipotent,” but since we are neither of those things we can’t really grasp what it means that God is both of them. It’s kind of like someone saying they “don’t accept” the law of gravity, and they walk off a cliff. Walking straight – and not off a cliff – out of respect for a holy Creator is clearly the path of wisdom.

Again, I had the huge advantage of being taught about God from infancy, by parents who had an active, personal relationship with Him. The devil tricked me into feeling that my superior knowledge made me superior, period, and that pride was a major snare to me. I nearly went off that cliff I was talking about, but in His grace and mercy the Lord opened my eyes to the state of my soul. That was devastating! However, His grace is indeed sufficient for us, and my life today is such that people think I’ve always walked “the straight and narrow.” I’ve tasted twisted paths! As a missionary pastor I deal with people across the spectrum, but I am aware that I have no reason to look down on any of them. My anger needs to be reserved for the devil who has deceived them, remembering that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6:12) I need to lead people in the path of righteousness by teaching, admonition, and example, for their deliverance and God’s pleasure and glory.

Father, thank You again for Your truly amazing grace. I couldn’t begin to count up all of Your blessings to me personally. Help me be an open channel of Your grace and mercy to those around me, so that they too may walk Your good road that leads to eternity with You. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Integrity; January 28, 2021

Posted on January 30, 2021 by jgarrott

Proverbs 10:9 The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

This verse seems singularly appropriate right now. There’s nothing wrong with the English translation, but the Japanese here gives fresh insight: “The walk (life) of the person who walks straight is safe, but the person who bends his own road will be found out.” The point in both translations is that it’s a matter of choice. It has been pointed out that if you always tell the truth, you don’t have to worry about which story you told to whom, and you also don’t have to worry about what will be uncovered. Right now in America all sorts of things are becoming obvious, to the shock of those who had previously been deceived and the somewhat grim “I told you so” of those who had seen through things previously. What the legal repercussions will be remains to be seen, but politicians are being exposed right and left as lying opportunists. Those with integrity are also becoming obvious, and it is at times surprising to see who is which. The lesson, for those who aren’t politicians as well as those who are, is to walk the straightest path possible. When you’re trying to get elected, the temptation to say whatever people want to hear can be extreme, but politicians aren’t the only people subject to that temptation. We are all observed by many people, and it’s not wrong to care what they think, but ultimately we are only accountable to One, and there is no “shadow of turning” with Him. (James 1:17) Some people get a perverse thrill out of lying, and they are to be pitied but not trusted. The Japanese term for integrity is literally, “unity of word and action.” Choosing to do what you say and to say the truth is always the safest path.

I’ve talked a lot about being raised by a father who took absolute honesty as one of his guiding principles, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that heritage. There are things in my past, and even in my present, that I would sooner not be trumpeted to the world, but I will never lie about them. That makes it sad to see all the all the intentional deception in the world. I have been impressed with Mike Pompeo, who was in a position of knowing many things that needed not to become common knowledge, but in my observation he never lied about them, but just skillfully declined to answer. I have at times hurt people needlessly by saying things that were true but didn’t need to be expressed, particularly by me. Integrity doesn’t mean blabbing everything! I am to choose the straight path always, but speak the truth in love, to build up and not tear down.

Father, thank You for this timely reminder. I do thank You that so many falsehoods are being exposed for what they are, and I pray that Your truth would prevail on every level, from the national on down to each individual, so that the works of the liar-in-chief (John 8:44) may be destroyed, (1 John 8:8) for the liberation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Laziness; January 27, 2021

Posted on January 29, 2021 by jgarrott

Proverbs 6:10-11 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest– and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

This past Sunday I preached on Exodus 34:21, that specifies that we are to rest on the Sabbath even in times of plowing and harvest, but the Bible is clear throughout that laziness is not an option. God is our Supply, but we are not to take Him for granted. When He says to rest we are to rest, but He expects us to be industrious. This doesn’t mean everyone is to be a physical laborer, but it does mean we are to be good stewards of the time we are given. I’m reminded of a song from Finian’s Rainbow, “When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich.” How much we have in the bank is beside the point. People in “intellectual” fields can work just as hard as people in construction, for example, and the “work” can be harder to turn off at the end of the day. The point isn’t physical exertion, but stewardship of time and resources. At the time this was written there was no social “safety net,” so the average person was perhaps more likely to expect to work hard for their living. This is in no way to put down those who are unable to work, but the requirement that able-bodied people at least be looking for work before they can receive Welfare payments certainly seems Biblical. When that was instituted in Maine, the Welfare rolls went down by over half! God expects us to work well and rest well, and He will bless us if we do so.

This seems like a strange subject for me to be writing on, since at 72 I am semi-retired, and on top of that, the Lord told me over 10 years ago to “rest, relax, rejoice.” I am at the point in life that I have to stay intentionally physically active for the sake of my health, but my physical activity has little effect on my income. Likewise, in line with that three-word admonition the Lord gave me, I know that my success depends on Him, so being anxious is totally counter-productive. However, my stewardship of time and resources is still called to account. I have very little in my date book from now until school classes start up again in April, so each day I am confronted with how I am to spend my time. “Dreaming my life away,” as the pop song from 60 years ago had it, is certainly not an option! However long the Lord leaves me on this earth, He has a purpose for me, and I am to be faithful and diligent in seeking and fulfilling that purpose, for the blessing of those around me and for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I don’t have financial anxiety, but keep me from using that as an excuse for laziness. May I indeed do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory, so that Your kingdom may come. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Grace; January 26, 2021

Posted on January 29, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 107:43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.

Without giving specifics, speaking of “some” and “others,” the Psalmist has given case after case of people who were blessed by God and then turned away from Him, the consequences of that, and then how God corrected the situation. In this last verse he’s basically saying, “Got that? Straighten up and fly right.” It’s interesting that in the last line, where the English says “great love,” the Japanese says “grace/blessing.” In every one of the examples given the people deserved the troubles they got, but God resolved their situation anyway. Properly considered, that should eliminate any sense of entitlement. That’s why the Psalmist says, “Whoever is wise.” It is undeniable that we have a strong tendency to be foolish, rather than wise, and feeling entitled to blessings is a prime example of that. Study after study has shown that gratitude is the key to satisfaction and happiness, and a sense of entitlement robs us of that. We speak of “karma,” and it’s certainly true that actions and attitudes have consequences, but we can never build up enough “good karma” to compensate for all the times we’ve ignored or directly disobeyed God. We’re totally dependent on the grace of God, but the good news is, that’s enough! (2 Corinthians 12:9) The better we realize that the more grateful to God we will be, and the happier as a result.

I could make a really long list of blessings I’ve received that I had nothing to do with acquiring, starting with the genetics and home environment I received at birth. I know few people who were as blessed as I was in that area, but I had nothing to do with it being that way. Other things, one after another, can be added to that list, but in every case my input has been negligible. I have had moments when my carelessness, foolishness, or outright rebellion caught up with me, but I have no room to complain about that. 40 years ago a friend wrote a little chorus that goes, “We’re blessed, we’re blessed, we’re blessed, we are blessed. We have shelter, clothing, and food; we are blessed. We’re blessed, we’re blessed, we’re blessed, we are blessed. We don’t deserve it and yet, we are blessed.” I have learned the truth of that, and yet I deal constantly with people who can’t seem to grasp it. I guess my understanding of it is something else to be grateful for! I need to keep speaking the truth in love to those around me, not making light of their troubles and suffering but seeking to help them realize that they are recipients of God’s grace, and as such should be grateful.

Father, we are so blessed and yet so foolish. Help me grasp the magnificence of Your grace more and more and help others do likewise, so that in the middle of the troubles of this world we may rejoice in Christ Jesus the Lord. (John 16:33) Thank You. Praise God!

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Righteousness; January 25, 2021

Posted on January 27, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalm 85:13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.

Yesterday in our service we sang a song by Noriko Sasaki based on Hosea 10:12 that I translated into English several years ago, and it has been running through my mind ever since.

Sow for yourselves righteousness and you will find
That you will reap the fruit of God’s unfailing love.
Break up the ground within your heart and turn to Him,
For now the time has come to seek the Lord.
The Lord will come and shower righteousness on you.
The Lord will come and shower righteousness on you.

And now, this is in today’s reading! Psalm 85 seems to be remarkably applicable to America today. From verse one it talks about how God has been gracious in the past, and then verse four says, “Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us.” That couldn’t be any more timely! However, this last verse is extremely important. America has done many good things, but in recent years there has been a rising tide of unrighteousness, and actions have consequences. Christians, even genuine believers, have tended to be passive, being satisfied if their own little bubble was blessed, rather than actively praying for those in leadership (1 Timothy 2:1-4) and destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). In the process, society has become increasingly polluted. Even within the memory of most adults, standards of decency have eroded to an amazing degree, and things that were acknowledged as disgraceful not long ago are now even celebrated. If we want our Lord to come in blessing, we have to remember this verse. It is interesting that in English we say that righteousness “prepares the way for [the Lord’s] steps,” but the Japanese says, “Righteousness makes a road of the Lord’s footprints.” In other words, righteousness is involved in the Lord’s coming and going, and we must not forget that. We cannot be fully righteous on our own, but at the same time we aren’t to be casual about it and say, “He counts my faith as righteousness, so it doesn’t matter.” Paul was very clear on that point! (Romans 6:15) For America to experience the restoration that so many desire, we have to make righteousness a priority.

I don’t live in America, but this applies as much to me as it does to anyone. I too am susceptible to the rising tide of filth. I am to recognize it and stand firm against it. Internet browsing is a minefield, and “click bait” is often poisonous. I have enjoyed science fiction ever since I first encountered it in my teens, but I was recently shocked to encounter filth in a book I had downloaded. Whether that is an accurate reflection of society or not is beside the point. I don’t need to be taking it in! My chief goal is fellowship with my Lord and obedience to Him, and that is inseparable from righteousness, just as this verse says. I am never to be holier-than-thou in dealing with others, but I must never take holiness lightly.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I am to be vigilant at all times and make Jesus my standard. Help me be Your agent in every area of my life, whether it seems to involve others or not, to that I may be increasingly transformed into the likeness of Your Son, (Romans 8:29) for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sharing God’s Blessings; January 24, 2021

Posted on January 26, 2021 by jgarrott

Psalms 67:1-2 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,
that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

Motives can be hard to determine, especially thousands of years after the fact, but putting the best possible face on this, it is noble indeed. The anonymous Psalmist seems to be asking God for blessings not from a strictly self-centered viewpoint, but so that all the nations of the earth may know about God. That is noble indeed, and the sort of prayer God delights to answer positively. We tend to be all about I-my-me-mine, but that is not the way of true blessing. God does care about us individually, but He cares about all of us individually. He does provide special blessings for those who respond to Him rightly, but that doesn’t mean that one person has inherently more value than another. It is a paradox, but every person alive can rightly say, “I am special in God’s sight.” God doesn’t “clone people for background,” they way they do in computer graphics for movies and such, He creates each person individually in the womb, just as David wrote so beautifully in Psalm 139:13. That’s why abortion is a sin against God, as well as against the child. Because He creates each person, He wants each person to know Him. When we grasp that truth and live accordingly, we enter into a dimension of blessing and fellowship with Him that can happen no other way.

I am something of an odd case in this area. It is a statistical fact that people with Teacher gifting seldom become active evangelists, tending to be more theoretical than practical, I am not only a missionary Teacher, I am the son of a missionary Teacher. God’s grace and His plans are indeed far higher than the merely human! (Isaiah 55:9) I have found, by observation and experience, that there is no deeper or higher joy than being used by God to bring someone into the family of God. I am not naturally very social, to the point that I don’t really like parties of more than a very few people, but by the grace of God I will speak to total strangers about Him, and rejoice in it. I have found that the better we understand the breadth and depth of God’s love, the less self-centered and the happier we are. God loves me enough to send His Son to die in my place, but He also loves each other individual that much, so sharing His love with other individuals is the best thing I, or anyone else, can do.

Father, thank You for Your incredible grace. Thank You for creating me as You did and bringing me through all I have experienced. Thank You most especially for using me in spite of myself, letting others know of Your love and grace and drawing them to You. I haven’t had the results I would have liked, but that is Your business. Help me be faithful, keeping my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and doing Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Faith; January 23, 2021

Posted on January 26, 2021 by jgarrott

Job 5:2 Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

Job’s friends’ pronouncements are largely collections of platitudes and truisms, but they do contain some nuggets worthy of meditation. Verse seven of this chapter – “Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” – is very well known, and this verse too seems worthy of being in Proverbs rather than Job. The negative effects of resentment and envy are undeniable. It is very true that personal success and happiness don’t depend so much on what happens to you as they do on how you respond to what you experience. Everyone goes through rough times, just as verse seven says, but some people come out “smelling like a rose” and some people are devastated. The deciding factor is ultimately faith: faith that God is, and loves you, and that your life has meaning and purpose. Such faith is a greater treasure than anything this world can offer. As John said, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) Faith in a heavenly Father who loves us so much He sent His Son to die in our place so that we might have eternal life (John 3:16) is the ultimate defense against all the junk the world and the devil throw at us. That’s why Jesus could tell us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) The more we are fixated on this world, the more we feel “It’s all about me,” the more miserable we are. The more we realize we are a very small dot in the universe, but at the same time, a dearly loved dot, worth the life of the Son of God, the happier and more at peace we will be,

I have had people be amazed at how much I enjoy life, and also at how easily I can forgive people, but I can’t say I do either of those things perfectly. I too am still learning! I have the huge advantage of having been raised in a home where I had complete assurance of both the love of my parents and the love of God, but I still stumble on resentment at times, and occasionally even envy (though that is rare). I have been essentially unfazed by health issues I have had, but I certainly don’t rejoice at those my wife experiences. I do have trouble, just as Jesus and this chapter have said, but God has told me personally to rest, relax, and rejoice. As long as I am obedient to Him, life is good indeed! As a pastor, I am constantly dealing with other people’s problems of one sort and another. I seek to lift their eyes off of themselves and their circumstances and fix them on the God who loves them so much. When they can do that, the battle is won, even if nothing seems to have changed around them.

Father, thank You for the magnificence of Your love and grace. I have no words to express them fully, nor to thank You sufficiently. Help me live in full obedience to You as an open channel of Your love and grace, so that those who see me may be drawn to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Fatherlessness; January 22, 2021

Posted on January 23, 2021 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 24:18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

We can be thoughtlessly cruel, and Moses didn’t want that to happen. He wanted the people to remember that no matter how wealthy they got, that wasn’t where they started. I am reminded of Bill Whittle saying that some of the most unhappy people he knew were those whose parents had given them a massive trust fund, so they never had to work for anything. Those who struggle for finances tend to envy such people, but that’s not how human beings are made. Especially when we’re on the abundant side of things we need to remember that somebody in some way worked for everything we have, whether we did it ourselves or someone else did it for us. Ultimately it all comes down to God’s grace, and that’s what Moses wanted the people to remember. If you don’t remember being hungry yourself, you aren’t going to be as understanding and gentle as you should be with someone who is. Moses used aliens, the fatherless, and widows as a general category for the disadvantaged, and just now it jumped out at me that he didn’t say “orphans,” but specifically “the fatherless.” Right now in America there is an epidemic of fatherlessness, and only a small fraction of that is caused by death. Rather, biological fathers are absent from their children’s lives, because of divorce, government programs that reward unwed mothers, or because the conception was the result of a casual encounter. Only a small minority of people seem to recognize what a tragedy, a danger, that is, but thankfully that minority seems to be growing. Statistics are clear that the lack of an effective father figure is one of the biggest handicaps anyone can be saddled with, and at the same time it is the most easily preventable. We of course need to completely overhaul the welfare system to stop penalizing girls for getting married, but most of all we need to return to valuing the family and each member of it. Mothers are fully as important and valuable as “successful career women,” and some can indeed be both at the same time. Fathers are just as vital as mothers to the success of their children, and not just to their conception. Children are precious gifts from God, and not inconveniences to be eliminated in the womb, or ignored if they are born. There is a reason God has chosen to be called Father, even though there are people who rebel against that very idea, even rewriting the Bible to remove gender references. Being fatherless is a tragedy.

I was greatly blessed with a great father, but I am not to look down on those who were not so blessed. I titled my contribution to my father’s biography, due out in April, A Father for the Ages. As I look around me I see relatively few who were so blessed, and some who have been crippled by fatherlessness. I cannot have literal empathy with them because I’ve never experienced that, so I need to ask, and allow, the Holy Spirit to guide my interactions with them. He has allowed me to become a father figure to some, and that is as big a blessing to me as it is to them. I am to remember that everything is by the grace of God, and rejoice to be a channel of that grace to all with whom the Lord connects me, for the blessing of everyone and for His glory.

Father, You really changed the course of this from where I started! Thank You. I am quite prone to go with preconceptions, and that can blind me to what You are actually saying. Help me hear You accurately and obey You fully, so that Your will may be done in and through me for the destruction of the devil’s works and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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