Marriage; July 27, 2020

Posted on July 30, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 19:4-6 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

This is a passage I quote every time I do premarital counseling, warning the couple that they’re getting into marriage for life. It speaks to the human condition, and as such is as up-to-date as tomorrow’s headlines. The Pharisees had just asked Jesus about the rabbinical opinion that it was OK for a man to divorce his wife over anything, with the specific example given in such arguments of her burning his breakfast. That might seem absurd on the face of it, but sharia law, taught by Muslims around the world, says essentially that, and all a man has to do to divorce his wife is say, “I divorce you” three times, and it’s final. I’ve heard of men saying it twice right off the bat so they’ll only have to say it one more time, in order to keep their wife subject to them. That again seems heartless, but then America has “no fault divorce,” that really treats marriage just as casually. This passage also deals with the whole homosexual/transgender mess, with Jesus quoting Genesis 1:27 about mankind being created male and female, with no other options. Mankind has always looked for “other options” besides what God has said and done. The thing is, God knows the end from the beginning, so He’s always right! In verses 11 and 12 Jesus talks about exceptions to this, but here he is talking about God’s design. Marriage is not something to be entered into casually, but for the vast majority of people it is part of God’s good plan for them.

I grew up with such an attractive example of marriage in my parents that I was eager to get into it, and so got married at 20, less than 24 hours after graduating from college. People are regularly amazed at that, but I couldn’t be more grateful. We had our children while we had plenty of youthful energy, and we’re still going strong after 51 years. Marriage has been an integral part of who we are, and I have no trouble understanding and agreeing with the expression, “one flesh.” Japanese has an expression to refer to this that I like very much, that means “one heart same body.” The Bible I use in marriage counseling uses that expression, but more recent editions of the same translation limit it to “one body,” since that is a more literal translation. I still like including the heart! In Jesus’ day the idea of a woman divorcing her husband didn’t even come up, but I counseled one woman to whom I said, “Congratulations,” when her divorce was finalized! It was a sad occasion, even so. Being in such a good marriage myself, it is always something of a mystery to me when I deal with people who are struggling in marriage. Being self-centered is the greatest enemy to genuine happiness, and certainly to a good marriage. I have learned that I’m not to ignore myself or my needs, but the way to greatest happiness and satisfaction is to focus on my wife and her needs. I find it fascinating that, as a single man, Paul could have written so accurately that “He who loves his wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:28) I delight to love myself through loving my wife, and I am convinced that is God’s plan for us.

Father, thank You for Your overwhelming grace toward me. Help me be an example and an encouragement to others, so that the lies of the devil may be exposed and people be set free to walk in all that You have planned for them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Faith; July 26, 2020

Posted on July 27, 2020 by jgarrott

Matt 17:19-21 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.)

There are several things about this passage. The first is that the disciples expected to be able to deliver the boy from the demon and were surprised when they were unable to do so. They genuinely wanted to know why they couldn’t. The second is that they were embarrassed that they hadn’t been able to deliver him, which means that they were used to much better results generally. The third is of course Jesus’ response to their inquiry. He didn’t beat around the bush! The descriptive word for their faith in the Japanese is “thin,” as in a thin piece of paper, or your hair getting thin. I’m sure that stung their pride a bit! His next statement tests our faith indeed! We don’t claim mountain-moving faith, yet Jesus said it takes only a very small faith to be able to do such things. I have always felt that the metaphor of a seed was important, because a seed, properly planted, doesn’t remain small, but grows because it’s alive. That said, this is still an earth-shaking statement on Jesus’ part. I wonder if verse 21 wasn’t added by some copyist as a escape clause of sorts, which is why only some manuscripts have it. (Even though it appears in other Gospel accounts of this incident.)  I really think we have very little understanding of faith, even on the most basic level. Some Christian teachers seem to have faith in faith, rather than faith in the Lord! It is true that we have only begun to touch the level of authority originally invested in Adam and Eve, which they proceeded to relinquish to the devil by their sin. However, “I believe in me” can get you into a lot of trouble. The Japanese word for confidence is written, “self-faith.” When I deal with the English word in my Medical English classes I tell my students that I don’t believe in me, because I’ll always betray myself. Rather, I believe in God, and so I can have assurance. The world is inspired by the Rogers and Hammerstein song that says, “I have confidence in confidence alone. So, can’t you see, I have confidence in me.” That is worlds apart from the faith Jesus is talking about, and that’s why we fail so often.

This is a struggle for me, as I’m sure it is for every thoughtful believer. I am more sure that God is real than I am that I am real, but I still don’t necessarily speak to mountains and have them move. I can say that my faith is growing, which is encouraging, I certainly can’t say I have faith in my faith, but I do know without question that anything at all is possible for God, and He might even use me in the process. I do pray for many things, but I don’t do much demanding that things happen. I have learned that God knows things perfectly, and I don’t know much at all. That was a hard lesson for me! I am still learning about faith, and I certainly look forward to the day when I stand before my Lord and faith becomes sight. Until that day I am to be faithful, seeking His will and being fully obedient, so that His will may be manifested in and through me for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that You are doing. I see so much upheaval in the world, and so many plans of men being totally frustrated. Thank You. Help me follow Your plans and not my own, operating in the assurance of Your presence and guidance. As You told me, help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Giving Credit; July 25, 2020

Posted on July 27, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 15:31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Performing so many miracles, Jesus naturally got a lot of attention. However, He managed to do it in a way that caused people to praise the God of Israel, and not think any of the other gods with which they were familiar might have been responsible. People in general try to take credit for whatever good or impressive things they might do. In contrast, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19) In His time on this earth, Jesus didn’t exercise His power as a part of the Trinity, He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit, in strict obedience to the Father. That’s why He could say, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) To the degree that we are filled with and operating by the Holy Spirit, in perfect obedience to the Father, we have the same power flowing through us that Jesus did. However in such a case, taking credit is the furthest thing from our mind. We will be like Peter was when he said, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” (Acts 3:12) Peter knew exactly where the power had come from, and he gave full credit where it was due.

I’ve not had remarkable miracles manifesting in my ministry, but at the same time I am deeply aware that I couldn’t do what I do apart from the grace and power of God. I have had people be amazed at how I have forgiven some people, and even Christians have told me they don’t have my faith in that area. However, I know that I couldn’t do that apart from the grace of God in my own life. When God has forgiven me, how can I not forgive others? God has brought me through some trials of faith that I don’t wish on anybody, but in all of that He has taught me that His grace is indeed sufficient for me. To put it like the TEV translation does, His grace is all I need. However, I wouldn’t have that assurance if it weren’t for His grace, His presence in me. That might seem like somewhat circular reasoning, but it reflects the reality that everything good in me comes from Him. I took credit for my accomplishments far too many times, and I now know the stupidity of that. I want my life to cause people to praise the God of Israel, because He alone is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the trip to the emergency room last night, and for the peace You gave me in that. Thank You that we were treated respectfully and kindly, and that the care we received has been helpful in reducing Cathy’s pain. Father, she endures so much of that! I do pray that You would keep her from any unnecessary pain, and that together we would indeed cause people to acknowledge and praise You, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!

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Focus; July 24, 2020

Posted on July 26, 2020 by jgarrott

Matt 15:25-28 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

This story is one I have struggled with in the past, because it seemed to me to be so uncharacteristic of Jesus. His remark about “little dogs” seemed incredibly cold, and not like the image I had of Him at all. What I realize right now, however, is that absolutely everything Jesus did was in obedience to His Father; He did nothing outside of His instructions. After His resurrection the commission expanded to all of mankind, but at this point He was sent strictly to the Jews. So much for antisemitic Christians! This woman’s humility and faith, accepting the label of “little dog” and still clinging to Jesus, moved Jesus to the point that He granted her request. However, Jesus’ focus was on what He felt God was telling Him to do at that moment. There are several places where the Bible says things like, “He healed all who came to Him,” but it’s obvious He didn’t heal everyone in Judea, or there wouldn’t have been the beggar at the Beautiful Gate for Peter and John to heal after Jesus had gone back to heaven. (Acts 3) Some people seem fixated on making other people feel guilty for not participating in whatever they have as their ministry. That’s simply wrong. It’s not that their ministry isn’t valid and important, it’s that it’s their ministry, and not everyone is supposed to participate. This causes a lot of conflict in individual churches and in the Church as a whole. We are to rejoice when God sends people to work alongside us, and we are explicitly told to pray for such fellow-workers. (Matthew 9:38) We are to let people know of the opportunity to serve God in that way, but we are not to dump guilt on them if they don’t jump on our bandwagon. And we ourselves are to be faithful to pray for all the concerns the Lord brings to our attention, but listen carefully before we jump in to do more. We are not to ignore the divine appointments God gives us, certainly, but we are not to be man-centered in seeking them out. We are far from perfect, but the devil delights to make us feel guilty for things that aren’t our responsibility.

This is a complicated issue that I have struggled with over the years. I’m sure I have failed to follow through many times when God had a task for me to do, but I have also over-extended myself by taking on tasks that God did not intend for me. It all boils down to the fact that I don’t have the wisdom and knowledge I need to get it all right. Only God has that, so my focus must be on listening accurately to Him and obeying Him fully. There are things He has for me to do that He hasn’t assigned to other people, but He certainly hasn’t assigned me to meet every need even in my own field of view, much less in the whole city, nation, or world. God cares about all those things, but He has other people He wants to use to deal with them.

Father, this is an important revelation. Thank You. Keep me from using it as an excuse to avoid things You do have for me to do, but keep me from being distracted by the limitless supply of things I could do. May I seek Your will alone, recognize it, and do it with all I am, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Failures; July 23, 2020

Posted on July 25, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 14:28-29 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

The whole story is so famous that I had a hard time deciding how much to transcribe for this. We put Peter down for losing his focus and starting to sink, and even Jesus chided him for his lapse of faith, (verse 31) but how many of us would have had enough faith to get out of the boat in the first place? For that matter, how many of us would have had the boldness to ask for confirmation the way Peter did? Peter was a man with many rough edges, but Jesus recognized qualities in him that would be very valuable in establishing His Church. It was not long after this that Jesus asked His disciples to define Him, and Peter so beautifully replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) I would venture to say that the experience of walking on water had a lot to do with the assurance of that declaration. God knows the gems He has placed in each human being, and He knows what it will take to bring those out and polish them. Some people accept the “mining” and polishing that requires, and some reject it and run from Him. Peter’s ultimate test was one he seemed to fail, when he denied three times that he knew Jesus, but where he didn’t fail was that he didn’t run from Jesus, but just acknowledged his own fault. (Matthew 26:75) In response, Jesus gave him a personal audience after His resurrection that we aren’t given the details of, just that it happened. (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5) We often focus on failures, our own or others’, and fail to see the good things God is doing in that process. In today’s story, if Peter hadn’t started sinking, he might well have become insufferably puffed up about himself, instead of being absolutely convinced of the deity of Jesus. We are not to condemn, either ourselves or others, but rather seek God for how He is going to turn failure into blessing. (Romans 8:28)

I have long known that there has never been anyone who achieved great success without also experiencing failure. One of the notable things about Elon Musk is that he has consistently said, “Failure is an option.” Playing it safe doesn’t bring great victory! At the same time, I don’t know how well I have applied that knowledge. So long as knowledge remains theoretical, it’s just words. It is only when it is applied and experienced that it becomes real. That’s what James was talking about in James 1:22, that I quote frequently. I need to be willing to “get out of the boat,” even if I sink a few times, to apply my faith that my God can do anything at all, even using me.

Father, thank You for this Word. Guide me in communicating it on Sunday. Thank You for the beautiful paintings Jim Van Farrow did for us of this story. Show me how to use those to get the message across. Guide in who reads the Scripture in Japanese. Lord, it looks like we will have a larger-than-usual group here Sunday. Help me not be distracted by numbers or anything else, but be fully faithful and obedient to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Jesus’ Compassion; July 22, 2020

Posted on July 25, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

This is such a picture of Jesus’ heart. He had just been told of his cousin John’s execution by Herod, and He wanted some time away by Himself, both to grieve and to order His thoughts, since He knew He was destined for a cross Himself. However, He placed the needs of the people above His own. With 5000 men, plus women and children, this was a huge group. We don’t know how many of them needed healing, but Jesus was willing to do it. In terms of spiritual authority He could have spoken a healing command and everyone would have been healed at once, but then they wouldn’t have felt Jesus and the Father’s personal love for them, and that was a matter of great importance. We have many records of Jesus healing with just a word, but more often He touched the person being healed, and I feel that was probably the case here. That’s a lot of touching! We can add physical exhaustion to the emotional stress Jesus was experiencing. Even so, His concern was for those to whom He was ministering, rather than for Himself. The result was the astonishing miracle of feeding that great crowd from one boy’s lunch, as we know from John 6:8-9. John didn’t repeat very many of the things recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, because He wanted to add to the record, but feeding this huge crowd was too big an event to pass over, and he did add more detail. In any case, Jesus’ compassion on the people resulted not only in the healing of many but also in a major demonstration of His authority.

I find myself having more empathy for Jesus here than I might have had before, because I just did the funeral of a man I baptized 22 years ago. Over the three days of seeing him on his deathbed, then holding his wake and his funeral, the emotional exhaustion built up, and I wasn’t very enthusiastic about ministry to someone else Monday night, even though they needed my full attention. I need to remember that even on the cross Jesus was concerned for others, praying for forgiveness for us whose sins sent Him there (Luke 23:34) and interacting with the man crucified beside Him. (Luke 23:39-43) In myself I couldn’t follow that example, but as God assured Paul, His grace is sufficient to get me through anything He brings me to. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Some years ago someone came up with a catchy little illustration that has a lot of truth to it: JOY is found by focusing on Jesus, Others, and then Yourself. As has been pointed out, self-care is important, but Jesus must be my first priority, and then those to whom He sends me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for getting me through this past weekend, and for blessing others through, and even in spite of, me. Help me be faithful, available at all times as an instrument of Your grace, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Knowledge of the Kingdom; July 21, 2020

Posted on July 23, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 13:11-12 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

This is a passage that a lot of people have choked on. By human standards it hardly seems fair! However, by speaking to the crowds in parables Jesus was keeping the door open for all who would choose to believe. It is by faith that we receive from God, and once we make the choice to repent and believe, the door is never shut. Anyone reading this with an open heart is going to be in the category of those who have opened their heart, and so should take this as beautiful encouragement that they will receive more and more in abundance. We do need to be careful to remember that this is talking about “the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,” not material wealth. If you focus on material wealth you put yourself into the category of those who do not have what really matters. As Paul discovered, there is no limit to what we can learn in this area. (Philippians 3:12-14) The minute we think we have it all, we prove that we don’t really have anything. We need to remember that we are finite and God and His kingdom are infinite, so there is always more. Scarcity is an impossibility, except as we refuse the abundance that God offers.

The home in which I was raised gave me an enormous head start in this, but I had to learn the hard way that having it in my head but not my heart meant I didn’t really have it at all. I have long felt that James 1:22 was written just for me! That said, for much of my life I have noticed that Biblical concepts that to me seem totally obvious strike others as very deep. I am still learning how to express the basics of the kingdom in small enough bites that people don’t feel buried in information. Sometimes asking me a question can be like hitting the Print key on a computer and then not being able to stop the output! I am to be grateful for all that the Lord shows me, but I need to seek and appropriate His wisdom for how to share it. At the same time, I need to be honest and humble to recognize what I don’t know, and not be afraid to admit it.

Father, thank You for getting me through the past three days. Spending Saturday at the hospital and with the family, and then Sunday with the regular service and then the wake, and then yesterday with the funeral and the crematorium was exhausting in a number of ways. Thank You for what You did through me. I pray that those who don’t yet know you, which includes the vast majority of those at the wake and the funeral, would receive and think about what they saw and heard, giving them a hunger for the assurance of eternal life that was expressed here. I do pray for the widow and her sons, that they would not just be comforted but would be drawn closer to You and Your plans for them, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Kingdom of God; July 20, 2020

Posted on July 22, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 12:28 “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

It struck me just now that whereas the proclamation of the kingdom of God is at the core of the Gospel, (Mark 1:15) for those who set themselves up against God it is the direst of warnings. I don’t think I’d ever thought of it that way before. The kingdom of God is the farthest thing from what is called a theocracy, a government run by religious leaders, because any human organization is quickly defiled by pride, ambition, and lust of all sorts. God’s genuine rule and reign is the destruction of all such human systems. The Pharisees desired a theocracy, since they were at the apex of the religious system, but the genuine rule of God was a threat to all they were (as opposed to all they said they were). Today we see politicians who insist they are “the champions of minorities,” all the while practicing and promoting policies that have the long-term effect of oppressing minorities. They are terrified of being exposed, when their hypocrisy is becoming more and more evident. That’s not at all to say that any political party is “the kingdom of God,” but it is an illustration of what was at work between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus’ assorted descriptions of the Pharisees, scattered throughout the Gospels, sound very familiar to anyone who is paying much attention to the political scene! As has been pointed out by many down through the centuries, both those for and against the Church, genuine believers are the ultimate revolutionaries, because their allegiance is to God and not to any human authority. It is very instructional to pay attention to who is for genuine freedom of faith and conscience today. Those who are against it are becoming more and more brazen, abandoning in turn each of the excuses they had used for their behavior, but the danger for believers then becomes spiritual pride, since we can see how bad the “other guys” are. That too does not bring the kingdom of God! It sounds like a contradiction of terms, but what is called for is a rock-hard humility and submission to the Person and Spirit of Christ. Jesus was in no way weak, but He was totally submitted and obedient to the Father. The kingdom of God in the simplest terms is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Those for whom Jesus genuinely is Lord are operating in the kingdom of God, and those who reject that Lordship ally themselves with the devil.

I find I have to keep close watch over myself to be sure I’m not straying into “enemy territory.” I have a full complement of human weaknesses! I intensely desire the rule and reign of Christ in my life, but all too often I don’t really act like it. That certainly ought to keep me humble! Pride has been a stumbling block to me all my life, which makes it very easy to see how pride trips others up as well. I am to proclaim the kingdom of God, but in no way think it revolves around me. I am to speak God’s truth in love, (Ephesians 4:15) but all the time remember that I am no more than a cracked clay pot. (2 Corinthians 4:7) In the kingdom of God, He is not merely supreme, He is everything.

Father, this is a powerful Word, and as such is bound to offend some. Help me not cause needless offense, but not fear it any more than Jesus did. May I be so totally focused on You that Your Word comes through me unfiltered, accomplishing that for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:10-11) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Condemnation; July 19, 2020

Posted on July 22, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 12:7-8 “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

What caught my eye about this just now is the fact that condemnation is all the rage these days. People are being called racists for completely innocent things. That is to be expected from leftist activists. The history of political communism is filled with horrible examples, and it actually goes back before Marx, with the Jacobins during the French Revolution gleefully executing people for any reason or no reason at all. The term may be new, but “cancel culture” has been a blot on humanity from prehistory, in all probability. Here, Jesus is defending His disciples, but He Himself was perhaps the ultimate victim of this sort of thing when He was arrested, scourged, and crucified, and that at the instigation of the religious leaders! It is no surprise to get this sort of thing from leftists, but the sad thing is that some believers are falling for it too. I am in a Facebook group that is largely, and honestly, Christian, but there have been instances of horrible blanket accusations, particularly of the very people who would be most innocent of what they are been accused of. The Church has always been a breeding ground for legalism, and that is what Jesus is speaking against specifically here. God’s rules are real, but we have a bad tendency to embroider on and expand them to give us grounds to feel superior to someone else by condemning them. Jesus rightly quoted Hosea 6:6 to point out how wrong that is in God’s eyes.

I have disliked legalism for as long as I can remember, but at the same time I have a perfectionist streak, and I can be guilty of that which I hate. I am to proclaim mercy and grace, but at the same time not confuse that with excusing (rather than forgiving) sin. I am to proclaim the absolute truths of God, but at the same time recognize that only God knows people’s hearts. Today I will do the wake and tomorrow the funeral of someone who was a somewhat unconventional believer, but I believe his faith was real, certainly by the time he “graduated” yesterday, and I expect to see him rejoicing before God’s throne.

Father, thank You that my schedule was empty yesterday when I got the call from the man’s wife. Thank You that their sons are both able to be here for today and tomorrow. I pray that everything that is done would point people to You, particularly those who will be attending the services, who will be largely Buddhist. May my words, and Your presence in me, cut through the lies that have bound people and set them free to receive the Gospel, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Stumbling; July 18, 2020

Posted on July 20, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 11:6 “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

This verse is actually closely linked to verse 15: “He who has ears, let him hear.” God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, (Hebrews 1:1-2) but it is up to us to receive that revelation and not choke on it. There were those who choked in Jesus’ day and refused to listen to Him, and there are those today who likewise reject the Gospel, simply because it requires accountability and repentance. Recent events have exposed the true motives of some of the “protesters” in the US, as they have started attacking religious statues and burning churches. That was actually what they were about all along, but they dressed it up with calls for “racial justice.” As has been pointed out, America does have racist people in it, but it is the least racist multi-racial country in the world. That was never the true issue. The devil has always been working, but especially over the past 70 years he has been corrupting America’s institutions, particularly focusing on education, so that prayer and the Bible were thrown out of schools and an actively anti-Biblical agenda was promoted. I am deeply blessed that I attended a genuinely church-related college, because that was in the period when “hippie” culture exploded, with its emphasis on throwing off societal norms. From that period on, many people deliberately stopped their ears and closed their eyes to the Gospel, and in that state it is guaranteed that you will stumble. (The Japanese translation of this verse says “stumble,” rather than “fall away.”) The only solution is for those who have accepted the Gospel to proclaim it in love, not “going along to get along” but going against the tide of filth and rebellion against God. We aren’t to be discouraged, however, but remember that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) We are on the winning side!

I didn’t get the worst of the hippie culture, and again by God’s grace I got married right out of college, so that was further protection, but I was still influenced by the flow of society, as I think we all are. I had grown up with the Bible, but my ears got pretty dull there for quite a while, and I wasn’t listening to what God was saying to me. I thought the Bible was good as the guideline for society, but I failed to apply it to my specific situation all too often. That should give me understanding and empathy toward the people I deal with as a pastor, but “understanding and empathy” must not preclude speaking the truth in love. I must call sin, sin, and not excuse it with whatever society is saying these days. When people stumble I am to extend a hand, but not let them pull me down into the mud with them!

Father, all of this calls for more wisdom than any human being has naturally. Thank You that You do share Your wisdom with all who ask for it in humility. (James 1:5) May I operate in Your wisdom and not my own, so that I will not stumble or cause anyone else to do so, but walk with assurance in obedience to You. Thank You. Praise God!

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