Seen and Unseen; November 16, 2020

Posted on November 17, 2020 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I would imagine a lot of people are trying to comfort themselves with this Scripture at this point. Frankly, things are not looking good in America, with an increasing probability that people are going to get away with an illegal, unfair election. However, The legal challenges aren’t over, and God is still God. There were numbers of prophecies, by prophets with highly respectable track records, of a second pro-life, pro-religious freedom administration, and nothing is impossible for God. It is quite possible that those very prophecies caused some people to relax their spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness. Be that as it may, God is still God and His Word is still true. The point is for believers to keep believing, not in politicians but in Jesus Christ the Lord. People are saying, “The conflict is about to get very personal,” but it should have been personal all along. Each genuine Christian should have been active in prayer and witness, submitting to God and resisting the devil, (James 4:7) all along, but many, if not most, have not been. Conservatives bemoan the love the Left has for Big Government, but then turn around and seek to avoid their own personal responsibility. Each must personally give account to God for their stewardship of the resources and opportunities that have been placed at their disposal. (Romans 14:12) We tend to think of stewardship in terms of money, but it applies to far more than that. Yesterday I spoke from Romans 12:1 about how everything in our life should be an expression of worship to God, and this connects perfectly with that. When we are indeed looking at the unseen, eternal things, then our stewardship of everything else will be far closer to what it should be.

I am of course speaking to myself here, just as I was preaching to myself yesterday. I quote verse 17 fairly frequently, and verse 16 certainly applies to me, particularly at my age. With that understanding, I should be applying this verse intentionally more and more. In some ways that is ironic, since as a photographer I am quite focused on what I see, but even my photography is focused on capturing the ephemeral, the scenes that a moment later do not exist. I need to apply that more broadly, aligning my value structure with the unseen spiritual world, rather than being mired in the physical. That’s not to say that I’m to neglect my stewardship of the physical as well, but it is to say that I’m not to hang onto it, either in possessions or in circumstances. That is the way of genuine peace and overcoming.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Thank You for the deep conversations I’m able to have with my daughter who is visiting. I pray that throughout her time here, the three of us would see and receive the invisible blessings You have for us, growing and shaping us more and more into the likeness of Your Son, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Plans; November 15, 2020

Posted on November 17, 2020 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 1:17 When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

Changes of plans are always awkward. This can be particularly awkward when the one announcing the plans is seen as a leader, a man of God. It is in a way comforting that even Paul was confronted with this problem. Those who were disappointed, emotionally hurt by the change, accused him of being flighty and unreliable, and that stung. It’s also comforting to know that even Paul wasn’t impervious to such criticism! In other places he fully acknowledges his weakness and imperfection, but here he shifts the focus to God, essentially pointing out that it doesn’t matter how we change, or even fail, because God is totally faithful. We are indeed to plan, and do so carefully and prayerfully, but we must always be open to changes in those plans. Sometimes it is the planning process itself that God wants of us, along with the willingness to let Him be Lord and change those plans. However, we must never use that as an excuse for changing plans casually. We do need to recognize that our plans never affect only us; other people are involved. It is often in our interactions with those other people that God works most deeply, and we need to be aware of that.

I don’t have a very good track record in the area of planning. I tend to take things as they come, and my failure to plan has been a real weakness. However, I do seek God’s will in the plans I make, whether others recognize that or not. A major problem has been in failing to include others in the planning process, so that those involved fail to own the plan and participate. A major example was in our plans just a few years ago to build a senior care center on the land next to the church building. Bureaucratic red tape was the biggest specific obstacle, but God could have worked His miracles there, I think, if I had talked more with the church members from the beginning and brought them along with me. God did show Himself mighty in all of that, providing a line of credit that I certainly hadn’t anticipated, but the church members weren’t brought along so that they would have the faith to believe that the whole project was possible. It was painful to me and painful to them, and people left the church as a result. I must not let the experience keep me from planning big things, but rather teach me to bring others along with me in the process. In the final analysis, the people are more important than the plans.

Father, thank You for this somewhat painful reminder. Help me keep growing as You desire and intend, so that Your plans, for me, for this church, for this city and nation, may be fulfilled on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Comfort; November 14, 2020

Posted on November 15, 2020 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

This is is a central part of God’s economy that I mention to others often. God’s provision is abundant, but it is rarely if ever just for the immediate recipient. It’s not that the immediate recipient isn’t blessed. Far from it. However, those blessings are to be passed on to others, like the ever-expanding ring of ripples when a stone is dropped into still water. In the physical world, entropy and gravity soon still the ripples, but in God’s economy, sometimes later ripples seem even bigger than the first! That’s because the true source isn’t the triggering event, but rather God Himself, and He can “add energy,” so to speak, at any point along the line. As an excellent example, by Paul writing the letters that are included in the New Testament, the things that God did for him have been multiplied in countless believers down through the centuries. We need to recognize God’s grace toward us with full gratitude, and at the same time be open to however He might want to express that grace through us to others. The specific example Paul mentions here is comfort. This isn’t as in “being comfortable,” physically or otherwise, as our modern, luxurious society would have us think. Rather, it is in recovering from all the junk the world and the devil throw at us. As Jesus told us explicitly, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) When we’ve been hit with some of that stuff, we need to be comforted. However, God’s supply of comfort is unlimited, and He often uses people to spread it around. We need to recognize that and volunteer to be a “spreader,” and not just a receiver.

This is something I think I recognized very early on. As someone with Teacher gifting I’m rather prone to give lectures, but those are rarely comforting! I need to keep learning how to come alongside those who are hurting and simply be there for them, expressing God’s love and grace through simple presence far more than words. Just as God has encouraged me many times through many people, I need to let Him do the same through me, even though that isn’t my primary gifting. He has gifted me with words, so I need to be faithful to use words not just to convey information but, more importantly, to convey God’s gracious love and comfort to all who need it – and that includes everyone! Frankly, my words aren’t always comforting. There are times when love needs to be firm, but quite apart from that, at times my words are needlessly hurtful, causing a need for comfort rather than supplying comfort. I need to keep growing, allowing the Holy Spirit to mold me into the image of Christ my Lord, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this clear reminder. It seems my words, or my expression of them, were hurtful a few times even just yesterday. Help me gain Your sensitivity, recognizing what is needed when, and allowing You to supply it through me, for the blessing of all around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Amazing Grace; November 13, 2020

Posted on November 15, 2020 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 15:10 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.

What a marvelous explanation of grace! I think that to the day he was martyred Paul was sharply aware that he had been a persecutor of the Church, as he brings up in the verse before this. He knew full well that he didn’t deserve to be called, sent, and used by God, but at the same time he couldn’t deny that had happened. It’s not surprising that the book of Acts deals so much with the activities of Paul. Not only was Luke evidently won to the Lord through Paul, Paul was perhaps the most widely active of all the Church leaders of the day, just as he says here. However, he takes no personal credit for that, stating flatly that it was all God’s grace. What a marvelous example! We are so prone either not to do what God is saying to do, or else trying to take credit for what God has done through us. Paul did neither of those things, and half of the New Testament is part of the result!

I have fallen in both those areas, both failing to be obedient and trying to take credit for what has gotten done. By God’s grace I think I do better now, but at times I’m a slow learner! At 72, the world says I’m supposed to be retired, but I don’t think that’s in my contract. At any rate, I hope I never stop serving God! I really don’t know what all God has planned for me, but I’m still praying and working toward the vision God has given us of Omura again being the foremost Christian city in Japan. That is still quite obviously a humanly impossible thing, but nothing is impossible for God, and I want to stay available to Him. In the mean time there are lots of shorter-term tasks and goals and I don’t want to miss any of them. The end of the year is always a frantic time, to the point that I essentially dread Christmas, and that attitude is hardly good. I need to remember that it is indeed God’s grace that has brought me safe thus far, and that same grace will get me through everything ahead, just as John Newton so famously wrote.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s such a basic issue that at times I overlook it. Keep me from procrastinating on the things that I know are to be done. Rather, help me recognize which tasks are on Your schedule for me and do them promptly, and recognize which things are simply distractions, to decline them. Thank You that Ann is arriving today. May the three weeks she will be here be truly blessed in every way that You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Church; November 12, 2020

Posted on November 13, 2020 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

The Japanese is much more clear than the English that the “you” throughout this passage is plural. Later Paul speaks of our bodies as “temples of the Holy Spirit,” (1 Corinthians 6:19) specifically in connection with sexual immorality, but here he is talking about the Church, which includes the local congregation. It is sadly not unusual for people, for various reasons, to disrupt or even destroy a local congregation. Paul says clearly that such people are inviting total destruction on themselves. The local congregation is God’s plan to nurture and train His children. It is to be effectively a nursery, a hospital, and a sheltered workshop, raising up believers to be warriors in the army of God, people who will accurately and effectively represent Christ to the world at large. That sort of thing rarely if ever happens in isolation; we need each other. That’s why local churches are so important. No two churches are identical, and no church is perfect. I well remember one of my seminary professors saying, “Stop looking for the perfect church. Even if you find it, it will stop being perfect the moment you become a part of it.” That is too true! Precisely because there are no perfect individuals, there is no perfect congregation, and we need to accept that. Each congregation has a different personality, so to speak, and different strengths and weaknesses. We are to seek God for where He wants us to be planted, and then we are to strive to be His instrument in building and strengthening that congregation. Far too many Christians are passive, consumers rather than participants. God is not pleased with that! When God destroys those who destroy churches, it follows that He builds up those who build up churches. That certainly seems more desirable to me!

I am in a relatively unique position in this, as the founding pastor of this congregation, all the way back in 1984. Its weaknesses can certainly be blamed on me, in large part at any rate. Over the years I have grown, and I believe the church has grown, even though that growth has rarely been in numbers. Our Sunday morning attendance has seldom topped 30 that I can remember, and is currently around a third of that, but we have sent out people to the ends of the earth, literally, including some who are in full-time ministry. I have sought to ground people in the Word, encouraging them to be open to being filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit, and some have accepted that challenge. I feel my responsibility is not just to this congregation but to this city, and I have sought to build up the other congregations as well. God is my judge, but my prayer is indeed for the fulfillment of our church vision of Omura again becoming the foremost Christian city in the nation, as it was 450 years ago, for the glory of God.

Father, thank You for Your plans, and for including me in them. May I indeed be fully useful to You in building Your Church, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Rest, Relax, Rejoice; November 11, 2020

Posted on November 13, 2020 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

I think every sincere Christian has moments when they worry about their own ability to remain true to Christ, to hang in there until the end. That’s hardly surprising when society around us is such a mess. Here Paul is speaking to that directly. Frankly, the church in Corinth was a mess as well, with factionalism and even immorality, so it’s particularly significant that Paul wrote this to them. The focus, as always, is on God’s faithfulness rather than on our inability. I really like the word order in the NIV here, because it makes that focus very clear. It’s not so common that I prefer the NIV to the Japanese! This fits in perfectly with something the Lord had me preach on December 5, 2010: Rest, Relax, Rejoice. That’s something I understand in theory, but I sometimes have a hard time applying in practice. There is just so much to be uptight about! That’s certainly the case today, with the turmoil over the US election. When everything falls apart, as it seems to be in the process of doing, we’ve got to remember that not only does God have a Plan of the Ages (my grandfather’s term) that will bring it all out right in the end, He also has each believer firmly in hand, so we have no reason for personal anxiety either. When we have that settled in our heart and mind, we can indeed rest, relax, and rejoice.

Looking back over the past few weeks of my devotions, it’s clear that I’m going through yet another period of intensive training in this area. However, God is indeed faithful! Yesterday I woke up at 3:30 and was unable to go back to sleep because of everything on my mind. Last night I realized that every one of those issues had been resolved during the day, and this morning I slept until 6, when we usually get up around 5. Maybe I’m learning something! I know full well that God is still God whatever happens in America, or in Japan. I need to be faithful in the tasks specifically assigned to me, including prayer, and leave everything else – and specifically the results of what He has me do – in His hands. One of the things yesterday was making the very large payment for our new water heater, and the church has two fairly large-ticket items coming up as well. God is still Yahweh Yireh, the Lord our Provider, as He has demonstrated time and time again in the past. I am to recognize the overwhelming magnificence of His grace toward me, and us, and rejoice!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for showing me how to check on exactly when it was that you said this to me. It’s been a large item in my awareness ever since. Help me keep growing in applying it! Thank You. Praise God!

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Resisting Evil; November 10, 2020

Posted on November 12, 2020 by jgarrott

Romans 16:18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.

Sadly, this is a phenomenon we see all too often today. It is ironic, but honest people are often the most easy to deceive, because they don’t imagine that someone is trying to deceive them. This is precisely what Jesus was warning against when He told us, “Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) We ourselves are to be totally straightforward and honest, but we must not assume that others will be the same. The current election is certainly a case in point. As Bill Whittle has said, with the exception of legitimate, requested absentee ballots, we are to the point of needing not only photo ID but also indelible ink to mark the index finger (or whatever) of each person who has voted. As Paul says here, being naive can get you into real trouble. He says in the next verse, “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” Paul mentions both the motive and the tools of devious people: their appetites, and smooth, flattering words. The whole “sexual revolution,” going back to the ’60s, is clearly a glorification of appetite, and the wholesale acceptance and support of abortion, even infanticide, is the logical result. You can call it “a slippery slope,” or “the camel getting his nose in the tent,” or whatever, but the current situation didn’t happen overnight. The Church has been effectively asleep at the wheel, failing to stand for Biblical principles, a Biblical world view, because frankly, too often that was lacking even within the Church. I believe the legal challenges to all the election irregularities will prevail this time, but this has been a crescendo building for a long time. We must be innocent but not naive, standing for truth and speaking it in love. That is certainly not politically correct, but frankly, political correctness has been one of the major tools used by the enemy, because it directly goes against honest communication.

This is obviously something I am pretty worked up over. I pray that more of God’s people would be so as well! I do need to rest, relax, and rejoice in the assurance that God is still God, but that doesn’t mean being lazy, and/or turning a blind eye to evil. Government isn’t sovereign, but rather is a reflection of the people governed. We need to pray and work for righteous government, but we also have to work for righteousness on the personal level as well. We can’t change others, much less legislate righteousness, but we can keep ourselves in obedient submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve got to walk the fine line of active trust, not condoning or overlooking evil, but not letting my heart be troubled, either. That’s not something I can do in my own wisdom and strength! I am to seek God’s guidance at every turn, knowing that He is indeed sovereign, and He delights in those who fear Him.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Thank You for the missionary from Hong Kong who wants to contribute to President Trump’s legal defense fund. That is a clear indication of the magnitude of the current situation. I pray that Your children would indeed wake up and resist the devil, not just in the current crisis but in their daily lives, bringing the revival that America so desperately needs. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Work of a Priest; November 9, 2020

Posted on November 11, 2020 by jgarrott

Romans 15:15-16 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

It’s always interesting when God has me write on a section of Scripture that isn’t underlined in my Bible, because that means it’s fresh revelation. This particular section is especially interesting because if you substituted “Japanese” for “Gentiles,” it’s something I could say about myself! Paul here seems a little concerned about how many toes he might have stomped on in the course of his letter, and I feel I’m something of a “toe stomper” at times myself. The point, however, is that political correctness must never be allowed to get in the way of proclaiming God’s truth. We aren’t to offend needlessly, but we must never fail to express what God is saying out of a fear of offending. We are indeed to speak the truth in love, (Ephesians 4:15) but remember that genuine love cares enough to risk being disliked. We all want to be accepted and liked, but when that takes priority over the truth of God, it becomes idolatry. It is quite interesting to see Paul, who was of the Tribe of Benjamin, refer to “priestly duty,” when Jewish priests were exclusively from the Tribe of Levi. It is clear that he was on the same page as Peter, who famously wrote about believers being “a royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9) Here Paul is saying that a priest is to proclaim the Gospel, which, following Peter, means that every believer is to do so! The objective of that is that our hearers would become “an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” We tend to place the focus of evangelism on people, on “getting them saved,” when Paul is placing the focus on God. We are indeed to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, but before and above that we are to love God with all that we have, all that we are. I think it’s very good to be reminded of that from time to time.

Recently a Facebook friend quoted my father from one of his books, where he said, “The most important thing a missionary can do is to find the Japanese people that God wants to call for Christian workers, help them to hear the call, and then lead them as they train themselves for the work.” In other words, he recognized the poor efficiency of a foreign missionary in evangelism in Japan, so the missionary needed to equip Japanese to do that work. I couldn’t agree more, though I didn’t have that quote in my personal awareness before. That is exactly in line with Paul’s famous statement that the Ministry Gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4 are “to prepare God’s people for works of service.” (Ephesians 4:12) That is to say that I’m not to beat myself up over not being able to do everything, but rather, I am to work on getting others to do it, and prepare them for what they are to do. That’s a lesson I’ve been painfully slow to learn! I am indeed called and sent to present the Japanese as a holy offering to God, but not only can I not do it in my own strength, I’m not even the right person to do most of it directly. Rather, I’m to be a “tool maker,” forging others to do the work God has prepared for them.

Father, thank You for this Word. I’m a little frustrated that it’s taken me so long to hear it! Thank You for those who have gone into active ministry because of my ministry. Help me be more and more effective in that work, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Faith and Hope; November 8, 2020

Posted on November 11, 2020 by jgarrott

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How good of the Lord to have this in the reading when I’m speaking on Hope this morning! The devil indeed does all he can to steal and/or destroy our hope, but our Creator is truly the God of hope. We can indeed have hope when we trust in God, because He sees the end from the beginning and has it all worked out, when we can’t even see to the next corner most of the time, much less around the corner. Hope is essential for the joy and peace we all desire, but that hope needs to be based on more than wishful thinking. That’s why faith is essential. (The Japanese here says “by your faith,” where the NIV says “trust,” but trust is faith with its shoes on.) When we find we are low on hope, we need to strengthen our faith. The way to strengthen our faith is to focus on our Creator and all He has done for us, particularly in Christ Jesus our Lord, and then exercise the faith we already have, however small it might be. Faith is very much like muscle: it needs nutrition and it needs exercise. The nutrition it needs is the Word of God, and the exercise it needs is simply to be applied to our real-life situations. So long as faith remains theoretical it isn’t very strong. It is when it is put to work where the rubber meets the road that it grows and becomes “an oaken staff to lead us on our way,” as the hymn says.

Like many Christians, particularly in America, my faith and hope have been getting a real workout over the past week. Honest elections are one thing, but dishonest ones are something else entirely. As I posted on Facebook yesterday (reposted from Intercessors for America) prayer is the answer for the vast majority of people who are concerned about the current situation. Those who are physically “close to the action,” so to speak, of course need to speak up and testify to what they have witnessed, as many are doing, but they are in the minority. The rest of us need to be praying, doing spiritual warfare, but in hope and faith, not in desperation. God is not inconvenienced by the current state of affairs, He’s using the acts of the enemy, and those deceived by him, to train and purify the Family of God. I am to personally rejoice that God is far smarter and stronger than the devil, not to mention me, and rest, relax, and rejoice in Him. That doesn’t mean I’m to take spiritual warfare lightly. After all, He’s given me a full suit of armor! (Ephesians 6) That said, I’m to be a happy warrior, rejoicing that the outcome is in the hands of my Lord.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder, and for its timing. May I indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, faithfully doing all that You have for me to do but not being anxious about a bit of it. May I not be distracted by things like the election and so fail to do what You have for me closer to home. May Your name be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!

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Worship; November 7, 2020

Posted on November 10, 2020 by jgarrott

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.

This is a justly famous verse, and the how of it is expressed both in verse 2 and then in verses 6-8. God is certainly worthy of our worship, but we don’t really know how to go about doing it. Throughout history people have tried all sorts of things to worship deity as they understood it, all the way from meditation to human sacrifice. Paul is saying that in a sense, human sacrifice is indeed the way to go, but not by killing someone, and not by imposing that sacrifice on someone else. I’m reminded of the sons of Zebedee, James and John. They both volunteered to “drink the cup Jesus would drink,” (Matthew 20:22) not knowing it referred to crucifixion, but the way they did it was very different. James was the first of the 12 apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:2), and tradition tells us John was the only one of those 12 to die a natural death. I personally think James had the easier course! John had to keep doing what this verse says, day in and day out, until he was well past 90. That’s a living sacrifice! None of us knows the exact course our life will follow, but we too are called to live our lives for Christ Jesus our Lord, who died and rose again for us. That includes not fitting in with the world (verse 2) and exercising the gifts God has placed in us, for the blessing of those around us and for His glory (verses 6-8).

I had read this verse at least by the time I was 10, but grasping it and living it out is still going on 62 years later! Offering my body to God as a living sacrifice takes many forms, because it encompasses every moment of my life. It includes getting out of the house and walking 5K three times a week, weather permitting, and it also includes going to bed at night so that I will be properly rested. It includes active physical labor, such as the carpentry I did yesterday, and it includes eating what my body needs, and not more. One of the evidences of God’s grace is that all of these activities can be pleasurable indeed, particularly when done with awareness of the God who makes them possible and to whom they are offered. That’s not at all to say that every moment of life is fun, but it is to say that when we live for Christ, the awareness of His presence puts a different perspective on everything. This world puts a lot of pressure on me and everyone else to conform, and resisting that is an essential part of my worship of my Creator. Likewise, faithful stewardship of the gifts He has placed in me cannot be separated from true worship. I delight to worship through song and prayer, both individually and especially with brothers and sisters in Christ, but I must never think that when that is done, I have completed worship.

Father, thank You for this clear reminder. You’ve given me another message, and I haven’t even delivered the one You gave me for tomorrow! Help me share the riches You pour out on me, when and how and with whom You intend, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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