Divine Appointments; August 26, 2020

Posted on August 29, 2020 by jgarrott

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

I am reminded of the story, perhaps apocryphal, of two priests who were walking in the Vatican, seeing all the beautiful, ornate decorations. One of them said to the other, “We can’t exactly say, ‘Silver and gold have I none,’ can we?” The other replied, “No, and we can’t say, ‘Get up and walk,’ either.” Peter, regarded by many as the first Pope, was placing all the focus on Jesus, and that was why he could have Jesus’ power flow through him. It is worth noting here that Peter specified “of Nazareth,” because Jesus was hardly an unusual name, any more so than Joshua would be today (or even Jesus, in Spanish speaking countries). Even more important is the fact that he explicitly called Jesus the Christ, the promised Messiah of God. We so associate Jesus with that title that some people literally think that “Christ” was Jesus’ last name, but it was and is an essential part of confessing faith for salvation, particularly for any Jew, who would know what it meant. We don’t know how long this man had been using this particular location for begging, so we don’t know if he had actually seen Jesus, but it’s a safe bet that he had heard about him at any rate. That prepared him to respond in faith to Peter’s bold statement and action. And we do need to remember that Peter didn’t just say nice words, he actually reached out and did something that would have made him look stupid if God hadn’t acted. He was obviously acting in obedient response to the Holy Spirit, and that is something we all can do. Divine appointments might seem mystical to some, but they are actually just flowing with the Holy Spirit, listening obediently to what He says. When we do that, He is free to operate through us, and God is glorified.

I’ve had plenty of divine appointments, but none so dramatic as this. Often enough, I don’t realize it was a divine appointment until after the fact, when I recognize that God had me where He wanted me, doing what He wanted me to do. I have to say it feels wonderful to come to that realization! I don’t always respond perfectly, or even well. I have had many times of realizing I’ve just missed a divine appointment, and that doesn’t feel good at all. The important thing is committing to obedience before I know what the task is. Hesitating often lets the opportunity escape. That’s why daily devotions are so important: they help keep me focused on listening obediently. I rarely have advance notice of God’s appointments for me, though sometimes I do. I need to be available on God’s schedule, and not worry about my own.

Father, thank You for all You have done in the past 24 hours. Thank You that my surgery started early and went smoothly, and that I’ve only had to take two pain pills so far. Thank you that those pills were available! Thank You for all You are doing with others in the church right now. I pray that each one would open up to what You are doing in and through them so that they would be willing participants, and not resisting You. May indeed Your name be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, right here, as perfectly as it is in heaven, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Confessing Christ; August 25, 2020

Posted on August 29, 2020 by jgarrott

John 12:42-43 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Human nature hasn’t changed, certainly in 2000 years and probably from creation. The first part of John’s statement here shows that at least some of the leaders weren’t deaf and blind, unable to recognize the many signs that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah, but the second part of the statement is actually very sad. We know the names of two of the men here described: Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. They found their courage, finally, after Jesus was crucified, and saw to Jesus’ burial. God actually used their cowardice to keep them in a position where they could go to Pilate and request Jesus’ body, but at the same time, that doesn’t excuse their failing to confess their faith openly earlier. John wasn’t picking on them, but he was being bluntly honest. I feel sure that many of the men here mentioned were later active members of the Church, but their earlier behavior removed all room for pride. The thing is, we all do this at times. We fear the reaction of people and so fail to stand up for, or even state, the truth. Today’s “cancel culture” makes that all the more acute. In America today, it’s all too easy to lose your job over simply stating, in a social media forum, that the Black Lives Matter organization is a Marxist fraud. The devil tells us that failing to speak the truth is not the same as denying Christ, but it is certainly at least closely related. The devil knows that when truth penetrates, it sets people free from his lies. (John 8:32) In that sense, it comes back to what Jesus said was the 2nd greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39) If we love our neighbor, we want them to be free from the lying traps of the devil, so we will speak the truth to them in love, even if they don’t seem to receive it. It’s all part of living with Jesus as Lord. Our lifestyles are an inseparable part of our confession of faith.

I too have to be careful of this, because I want people to like and accept me as much as anyone does. However, I have learned the hard way that not everyone is going to like me regardless of what I do. That leaves the only logical course as seeking to please God, because those who are in tune with Him will certainly like me for that. I have never been a “hellfire and brimstone” preacher, but this past Sunday I stated clearly that ignoring God, not to mention rebelling against Him, destines you for hell. There were two non-Christian ladies here, and rather than taking offense, they seemed hungry for more. I couldn’t begin to count how many times I’ve failed to express the Gospel in such clear terms out of a fear of people’s reactions. Genuine repentance of that sin means that I must be bold from here on out, so that as many as will may repent, believe, and be saved.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. It’s not that I haven’t known this, but I still need to work at practicing it! Thank You that I enter the hospital this morning for surgery. I pray that in all my interactions, with my roommates, the medical staff, and whoever, I may be Your agent indeed, speaking Your truth in love and not letting myself get in the way, so that they may be drawn to You for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Spiritual Vision; August 24, 2020

Posted on August 27, 2020 by jgarrott

John 9:41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

This issue is enormously important, and it trips up countless people. We don’t like to admit our weaknesses, our inabilities, our guilt. That gets directly in the way of our receiving the strength, the abilities, the forgiveness that God has for us. We speak of “meeting felt need” in our interactions with others, but we have to recognize our own need in interacting with God. Just yesterday in the message I was talking about how ignoring God, not to mention directly disobeying Him, destines us for hell. There were people here who have not yet committed themselves to Christ, and I think they hung up a bit on that point. They have a lot of company! Japan, having a “shame culture” rather than a “sin culture,” strongly discourages people from acknowledging personal responsibility before God. That leads to such things as including convicted war criminals among those commemorated at the Yasukuni Shrine. The Bible, in sharp contrast, is all about honesty before God, with David confessing his sin in Psalm 51 and Jesus talking about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and a repentant tax collector. (Luke 18:9-14) If you don’t acknowledge you’re headed the wrong direction, you aren’t going to turn around, and that’s what repentance is all about. The Japanese word for repentance, kui aratame, is a compound that explicitly says, “regret and re-do.” It is sad indeed that so many people have trouble doing just that, not only in Japan but around the world.

I have had trouble with pride and conceit most of my life, so I don’t have the high ground on this issue. I must not, and indeed cannot, look down on people who balk at admitting their sin, but I also must not fail to speak the truth to them in love. I can forgive sin, as it is committed against me, but I must not excuse sin, in others or especially in myself. I must not go around claiming that I have spiritual eyesight while selectively closing my eyes to specific sins, in myself or in others. I need to seek God for Him to enable me to see things as He does, to see through the lies of the devil in order to lead people out of the devil’s traps, as well as walk out of them myself.

Father, thank You for all You did yesterday. I pray that the impact You had on those ladies would remain and bear abundant fruit. I pray that everyone in this church would continue to grow as You intend, to be and do all that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Experiencing God; August 23, 2020

Posted on August 27, 2020 by jgarrott

John 9:25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

It has been observed that a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. This man had just experienced the grace and power of God in Christ Jesus, and nothing the Pharisees said could take that away from him. Theology, and knowledge in general, are important, but they cannot substitute for experiencing the presence and love of God. That’s why we speak of “ivory tower” academics, people who deal in theories entirely and never get into the down-and-dirty of real life. Too much evangelism seems to be geared to getting people to agree to a set of facts, when what is needed is to encourage them to open their hearts to their Creator who loves them, so that He can touch them and make them whole. Bill Gaither’s song, He Touched Me, is about exactly that. Likewise, the song, He Lives, speaks of assurance because of Jesus living in our heart. There is much we don’t know in this life, and indeed cannot know, but if we have experienced the touch of God in our life and accept Him by faith, we don’t really need to know anything else.

I come from a very academic, intellectual family, but fortunately it was rooted even more in faith than in intellect. My father wrote his PhD dissertation on the Greek use of In Christ in the New Testament, but he told me that he didn’t understand it until after that, when he had a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit. As academic and intellectual as he was, it was the experience that brought it home and made it real. I distinctly remember one time as a child asking my mother how I could really know I was a Christian, and she quoted the song, He Lives, to me about Jesus being alive in my heart, and I was fully satisfied. I wish I could say I listened obediently to God consistently after that, but unfortunately I got all wrapped up in intellectual conceit, thinking I was somewhere above the “ignorant masses” around me. God had to give me another personal encounter with Himself to snap me out of that, and it was devastating, but I couldn’t be more grateful. I too have experienced God in ways that no argument can shake. As the secular song says, “They can’t take that away from me.” I minister in Japan, which is demonstrably one of the hardest mission fields in the world, with less than 2% active Christians after enormous resources have been poured into evangelism for over 100 years. The Guinness Book of World Records proclaimed the Japanese to have the highest average intelligence of any people group, and I think that has distracted things. From the start, missions in Japan tended to focus on the upper class, the intelligencia, and there were some notable successes but not much penetration into the culture as a whole. In contrast, in Korea it was the common people who received the Gospel, and conservative estimates put Christians at at least 30% of the population. My gifting is as a teacher, but I must not think that facts alone will actually change anyone.

Father, this is a huge issue. I ask You to manifest Yourself in and through my ministry, so that I may be able to say as Paul did, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) I am a man of words. Help me remember that words alone are never enough. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Sovereignty; August 22, 2020

Posted on August 25, 2020 by jgarrott

John 9:1-3 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

This is the beginning of one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I’m guessing the man had a sign to help his begging that said something like, “Born blind. Please help,” because otherwise, how would the disciples have known his circumstances? In any case, they brought up a very important theological question that seems to have been much debated. Forgetting the Book of Job, the teachers of the day insisted that since God was not capricious, every bad thing had to come from someone’s sin, so they argued over the cause of congenital defects like what this man had. Jesus settled that question once and for all. It’s not at all that sins don’t have consequences; we see that around us all the time. However, being simplistic and deterministic just brings guilt trips and helps no one. It is true that children can suffer the effects of their parents’ sins “to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 20:5 and more) We see the sad evidence of that constantly. However, using your ancestors as an excuse for your own sins is falling for a lie of the devil. We live in a fallen world, and there is genetic damage in everyone. When those genes express, (as the medical term is) we get congenital, or later, problems. The point is to seek God in everything, allowing Him to turn things around and use them for good, just as happened with this man.

This could not be more timely, because from yesterday we are hosting two representatives of the Japan Cockayne Syndrome Network, which Cathy founded nearly 30 years ago as a support group for families with that genetic problem. One of the ladies’ son died exactly a year ago, and she was talking about how after he died she had a dream of him rubbing his hands over his body and saying how much he liked that body, handicaps and all. She is not yet a baptized Christian, but God has certainly used her son to draw her to Himself, and I feel she is very close to full commitment. I will have opportunity to talk with her more today, and Sunday they will be attending our worship service, so I need to be fully available for whatever God wants to say through me to her. God certainly wants to use her son for her blessing and His glory!

Father, it’s awesome to see You working. From the time we picked them up at the airport, You have been in control. Thank You. May this be the time of salvation for both ladies, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Good Judgment; August 21, 2020

Posted on August 25, 2020 by jgarrott

John 7:24 “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

At first glance this might seem like a pronouncement of “Mister Obviousman,” but the thing is, this is something we all have problems with, often without realizing it. We rely on our senses to evaluate things, and often enough it’s questionable whether our higher reasoning has anything to do with it at all. That’s why public media have such an easy time, often enough, swaying public opinion. As the old computer saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” All of that is compounded by the fact that we never have all the information, even if the information we have is accurate in itself. That’s why we need to rely on the Holy Spirit: God is the only one who genuinely knows it all. It’s like Jesus Himself said right before this: “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17) We need to choose to be obedient to God before we “get all the facts” and make a decision. An amusing illustration of this was posted recently on Facebook, using a picture of a ski resort with the headline, “Florida Ski Resorts Not Practicing Social Distancing.” There are so many layers of intentional absurdity in that, but at least one comment on it seemed to take it halfway seriously! Not so long ago, “critical thinking” was considered a desirable skill, something to be taught by both parents and school teachers, but that seems to have gone out the window, with emotions and slogans taking its place. We need to pause, take a deep breath or two, and choose to listen to God.

I have the added risk in this (and I’m not alone in it) of pride that “I’m not like all those sheep who are taken in by fake news.” Thinking I have all the answers is even more dangerous than ignorance! I am to seek God and allow Him to show me what is beneath the surface, both of things that at first glance seem good and those that seem bad. Given my name, I was confused and then amused to hear the expression, “You don’t know jack” – which means, you don’t know anything – because I thought it was talking about a person. However, I need to remember that compared to God, I indeed don’t know anything, despite my love of knowledge in general. It’s like God told Jeremiah: “Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (Jeremiah 9:24) He is to be the basis for all my judgments and decisions.

Father, thank You for this reminder. With all the flood of information, both accurate and fake, none of us can keep things straight without Your help. I pray that Your truth would indeed go out and prevail, setting people free from the abundance of lies that are presented to us as truth. May I always speak Your truth in love, not relying on myself but on You, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Handicaps; August 20, 2020

Posted on August 23, 2020 by jgarrott

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

I am very grateful John included this particular story in his Gospel, because this can be a very important question. Over the years I have encountered many people with various handicaps, and they have tended to fall into two different groups: those who deal with their handicap to overcome it, and those who utilize their handicap to milk it of what they can get out of it. To illustrate the latter, several years ago I met a young man in his 20s who had a cleft palate and couldn’t speak clearly. Since I teach vocal production and pronunciation to budding speech therapists at Nagasaki Rehabilitation College, I took him to talk with one of the full-time teachers about a prosthesis, which I knew would work wonders for his speech. When the Japanese teacher assured him that making a prosthesis would be a relatively simple matter and, with a little training, he could soon be speaking perfectly normally, the young man, after leaving the school, disappeared and I’ve never seen him since. The thing is, handicapped people in Japan, when certified, receive a “handicapped booklet” that gets them discounts on public transportation, and often a monthly stipend as well. He didn’t want to risk losing that, and I think even more, he enjoyed people feeling sorry for him and letting him get away with stuff because of his handicap. He obviously gave a clear “No” to Jesus’ question! This is why we need discernment and wisdom in ministry. It is also worth noting that verse three records that there were a great number of disabled people there, but Jesus healed just this one man. It isn’t at all that God doesn’t care, it’s that we don’t know all the factors about any individual. We are to make the grace, love, and power of God available without condition, but we are to leave all the details in His hands.

This is very relevant to me, not only because I am in ministry but because this principle applies to more than just obvious handicaps. When my wife was studying sign language many years ago her teacher said, “Everyone has handicaps; some are just more obvious than others.” I find enormous wisdom in that, and it has impacted my life rather deeply, even though I only heard it through my wife. I have found that even I sometimes fail to want to get past some obstacles. For one thing, obstacles can be convenient excuses not to do something I don’t really want to do! Also, I might recognize the effort involved and be simply too lazy to apply myself. Those don’t cut it with God, and they deprive me and those around me of blessings God intends. For example, I have always wanted to be more proficient in written Japanese, but I have never applied myself to the concentrated study required to get to the proficiency I desire. Even today I have to practice reading Scriptures I will be using in messages, because otherwise I stumble badly, interfering with the impact of the message. (For longer passages, I simply ask a Japanese to read them.) There are other examples as well. I can get disgusted at people like the young man I mentioned, but I’m not really that much better. I need to be willing to do whatever it takes to do whatever God wants of me, knowing that the power comes from Him, but my will and effort are required.

Father, thank You for this strong Word. Right now we’re facing a complete update of our church website, which is something I have put off for several years now. We have a man who will do the “heavy lifting,” but there are things I need to do to make it possible for him to do his part. That involves learning new things, and part of me is drawing back. For that matter, I have wanted to be able to take aerial photos for a long time, and now have an inexpensive drone to be able to do so, but I find I draw back from learning to fly it properly. I am only hurting myself! Father, help me recognize the lies of the devil and stand firmly against them. Help me recognize my part in each thing You have for me and apply myself fully, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Hearing God; August 19, 2020

Posted on August 23, 2020 by jgarrott

John 4:44 Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

John, writing years after the actual events, sometimes put things into a different chronology than the other Gospel writers, and he deliberately recorded things that they hadn’t, but he lived through the same experiences as Matthew and Peter (whose recollections were recorded by Mark). That said, this is an affirmation of Luke, who wrote his Gospel on the basis of interviews and research. This particular statement of Jesus is recorded in Luke 4:24, though He may have said it more than once. The attitude to which Jesus referred is something most of us have experienced. It’s part of the whole, “familiarity breeds contempt” phenomenon. It’s a major reason why it is very refreshing for a preacher to be invited to speak at a church other than his own, and the farther away the better. A visiting speaker can come in and say essentially the same things the pastor has been trying to get through for months, and the congregation will respond like it is new revelation. This obviously is a problem endemic to human nature, so we need to be aware of it in ourselves, and not just point fingers at others. Our focus needs to be on hearing God accurately, whether He speaks through a “superstar” preacher, your spouse, or a total stranger.

As a preacher myself, I remind myself that God used a donkey to speak to Balaam, (Numbers 22) so I’m not to be overly impressed with myself when He speaks through me. However, I’ve got to turn that around and be willing to hear Him through whomever He chooses to speak. I am grateful that I have a far larger audience over the Internet than I do here in person, but I’ll confess I don’t spend a lot of time listening to other preachers over the Internet. That may be a mistake. I am extremely grateful that He is so faithful to speak to me through the Bible, particularly as I read it early each morning, but I must not specify, even unconsciously, how He “has to” speak to me. Yesterday He used a good friend to help me organize my day, telling me to do the “weed eating” after supper when it was cooler, and use the afternoon to draw up the Scripture reading list for next month, in air-conditioned comfort.

Father, I truly delight to have You speak through me, but I need to delight to listen to You even more. Help me remember the first time You spoke to me through what might as well have been an audible voice, when I was pestering You for guidance until You finally said to me, very clearly, “Well then, shut up.” Help me not rattle, at You or at anyone, but listen first and speak only as You direct, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Suffering; August 18, 2020

Posted on August 20, 2020 by jgarrott

Luke 22:41-44 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

This scene of Jesus praying in Gethsemane is one that every believer should meditate on, probably frequently. Nothing of what happened to Jesus from this point surprised Him, though we don’t know how much detail He was aware of. There have been martyrs in the centuries since then who have faced things similarly, but the emotional pressure and the strength of commitment involved are hard to imagine. In a sense, Jesus was cursed to be both fully human and fully Divine, because the tension had to be incredible. In His humanity He certainly didn’t want to go through a minute of the hours that were to follow, but in His divinity He fully understood what it was going to involve. The phenomenon recorded here, of blood mixing with His sweat, is unusual but medically recorded in cases of extreme emotional anguish. As has been said, courage isn’t not being afraid, it’s being afraid and going ahead anyway. Jesus not only endured scourging and crucifixion for us, He endured the foreknowledge of that suffering, and again, He did it for us. It was after enduring this pinnacle of emotional anguish that He performed His last act of physical healing, as recorded in verse 51. We wouldn’t be fit to do anything for anybody in such a situation! This is the Savior we serve, and He is more than worthy of all our love, honor, obedience, and devotion.

I don’t feel like I have suffered very much, and certainly not with foreknowledge, like Jesus here. I don’t look forward to the local anesthesia injections I’ll receive with my surgery on the 25th, knowing how much they hurt, but that is certainly small potatoes compared to what Jesus went through for me. I am very aware that I have no room to complain about anything in my life – but I sometimes do it anyway! In teaching Medical English, in the section on symptoms there is a footnote in the textbook explaining that some people will say, “I am suffering from a runny nose,” or whatever, as opposed to just saying, “I have a runny nose.” I always tell my students that anyone who says that has no idea of what real suffering is! Being aware of the persecution being endured by many of my brothers and sisters in Christ in many places in the world, I often feel like I have no idea of what real suffering is! My wife endures a great deal of pain because of her Parkinson’s Disease and other factors, and she is remarkably uncomplaining about it. My respect and admiration for her are very high. That’s another reason I feel like I have no room to complain about anything. Today has a packed schedule, but God will give me both the wisdom and the strength to get through it, accomplishing each thing as it needs to be done. I need to be grateful in advance, fully trusting that God will be true to His character.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thinking about all that needs to be done puts real pressure on me. Help me rather focus on the task at hand, not doing the next thing in my mind ahead of time, so that I may indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, as You have told me to do. Thank You. Praise God!

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Gratitude; August 17, 2020

Posted on August 20, 2020 by jgarrott

Luke 17:14, 19 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

This is a fascinating story on several levels. All 10 men in the story evidently had faith that Jesus was able to heal them. They had doubtless heard many stories of Jesus doing it for others. Jesus didn’t touch them, or even really come near them, but just told them to do what was necessary in order to be certified that they had been healed (much like the certificates about COVID-19 some people in America have been talking about). Simply acting on those instructions was the trigger for their healing. Famously, only one of the 10 then returned to thank Jesus and praise God. Jesus told him his faith had made him well, but the other nine had evidently also had such faith. I would venture a guess, however, that this man was far more deeply blessed by his healing than the other nine, because of his righteous response. The others were so self-centered that they forgot gratitude. That is a sad weakness indeed, and it cuts us off from untold blessings. So many people have a “what’s in it for me?” attitude toward religion and faith. I have heard Japanese Christians say that is the reason so few Japanese become Christians, but I’m sure the problem isn’t limited to Japan. The English theological term would be “transactional faith,” and in my view it is sterile and devoid of true joy. It is when we worship Jesus for who He is, and not for what we can get out of Him, that we are born again. Too many Americans familiar with the outline of the Gospel want a “ticket to heaven,” to be “into bliss and out of blister,” as my grandfather used to say. My grandfather had a very dim view of whether such people were even saved, and he had a point. Gratitude to God should be a signature characteristic of every true believer.

My own story of salvation is theologically messy, since I proclaimed my love for Jesus at age five and was baptized, by my own genuine decision, at age seven, but I was 24 when the Lord showed me my pride-filled heart and I collapsed in abject repentance. That experience was so dramatic that I requested, and received, a second baptism, but I don’t know that I wasn’t saved before then. I do know that I am a child of God now, and I am deeply, deeply grateful. I see so many differences between my attitude toward life and that of others, and I have trouble understanding how they can tolerate living! Gratitude is in a sense required of us, but it is also the key to happiness. I think God genuinely wants us to be happy, and that’s why the Bible tells us so many times to give thanks to Him, even for the things that aren’t fun at the time. I have a third basal cell carcinoma surgery coming up next week, and I am grateful for many things about it. I am grateful that it isn’t a worse form of cancer, I am grateful that I have a very good medical facility very close to my home, I am grateful that it can be done under local anesthesia so I won’t have to be intubated, and the list goes on and on. I am definitely in a high percentile of good health for someone my age, and I have God to thank, and I do.

Father, thank You indeed for bringing me along this far, and for the many examples of gratitude that I have had to follow over the years. I pray that my example would in turn cause others to open their eyes to Your incredible love and grace, for their salvation and Your glory Thank You. Praise God!

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