Treasure; January 1, 2020

Posted on January 5, 2020 by jgarrott

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

It was exactly two weeks ago that we had this very passage, and the Lord indicated that this was to be our verse for the year. It seems almost too simple, like a secular aphorism rather than a Word from the Lord, but it’s not only very true, it is something we tend to forget. The whole matter of values and priorities is inextricably connected to our world view. If we believe that physical life is all there is, that will be our focus, and everything else will suffer. The saddest thing is, in that situation such people generally just try to fill their emptiness with more stuff. On the other hand, if we believe we are created by a loving heavenly Father for eternal fellowship with Him, then improving and deepening that fellowship becomes our focus. Since everything physical was created by Him, we will be careful stewards of that creation, being respectful of everything from our fellow human beings on down. That’s what Jesus was talking about in the verse before this one, where He said to store up treasures in heaven. The thing is, this world is temporary, and certainly our tenure on this earth is limited. Even strictly on the basis of self-interest, which is the lowest of motives, investing in the eternal makes far more sense than betting on the temporary. As Jesus goes on to explain after this, we tend to get all worked up over temporary needs. It’s not that those needs aren’t real, but rather that our heavenly Father knows about them. (verse 32) That’s why He said in verse 33 that if we have our priorities straight, God takes care of everything else. Now that’s certainly something to be desired and work toward!

This is something I have experienced and confirmed time and time again over the course of my life. I have had times when I was so fixated on physical things that I got myself into real trouble, yet even those things that I acquired are no longer of any value to me, if I even still have them. On the other hand, I have had times when there was no logical reason for my needs to be supplied, yet God provided abundantly. When I feel a need for something physical, my first step – which I don’t always take, yet – is to ask God how it fits into His kingdom and His righteousness. If I get a green light, then I can move toward acquiring it. Sometimes He does give me green lights, sometimes yellow, and occasionally red. Paying attention and “obeying the traffic rules” is always the best course!

Father, thank You for the privilege of having this time with You on the first morning of the new year. Thank You for how You have shaped and guided my focus over past years, and how You have purified my concept of “treasure.” I pray that in this year I would indeed seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, so that my treasure, and my heart, will be with You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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2020

Posted on January 2, 2020 by jgarrott

Happy New Year to all my readers, faithful and otherwise. I rarely post anything that’s not an edited version of my personal devotions, but the Lord’s been giving me some thoughts that I want to share with you. I mentioned my topic to my wife over breakfast, and she said the Lord had been saying something of the same sort to her, so that’s confirmation! (She’s usually my editor, before things are pronounced fit to upload.)

People in other countries may have difficulty relating, but America has long used a system for measuring visual acuity based on how much you “should” be able to see at a distance of 20 feet. For example, a 20/45 rating means you really need glasses, because at 20 feet you can only see as much as you could expect to see at 45 feet. Because of that system, 20/20 has become part of American English as meaning clear vision.

My prayer for each of you, and for us all, is that in 2020 we will be able to see the vision that God has for us, distinguishing between what is of Him and all the countless distractions, and choosing to follow Him consistently. We all have a history of making decisions, or so we think, and then straying from them rather quickly. Sounds like New Year’s resolutions, doesn’t it? That’s why my prayer is that we will realize we can’t do this right on our own, and ask and allow the Holy Spirit to do it in and through us. Father God desires accurate vision for us, so we can pray for this with confidence, not in ourselves but in Him.

May 2020 be a year of discovering God’s riches of glory that He has prepared for us in Christ Jesus, so that His name may be acknowledged as holy and His kingdom come as His will is done, in and through us.

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Baggage; December 31, 2019

Posted on January 1, 2020 by jgarrott

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.”

This is a dearly loved passage, set to music multiple times, but it still deserves meditation. When passages are very familiar we tend to take them for granted and not really think about what they mean for us personally. To me, the big thing about this is that virtually everyone carries emotional baggage to some degree. That’s actually part of what makes us who we are. When that emotional baggage provides a nice soft cushion when life knocks us down that can be a good thing, but far more often it’s a weight that holds us down, so we won’t be knocked down again (or so we think). The problem is, that ignores the Creator of the universe, our loving Father God who has good plans for us. When we remember the past, we need to focus on all the times God met us where we were and blessed us far more than we deserved. Everyone has such times, however much they might try to deny it. Part of the problem is that we tend to feel entitled to a trouble-free life, and when that doesn’t happen, we feel short-changed and resentful. Jesus told us flat out, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) Once we really get that through our heads, we can be pleasantly surprised that we have no more trouble than we do! God is saying here through Isaiah that He still does creative miracles, converting desolation to abundance. When we really get it through our hearts and minds that He can and does do such things, we start living life on the edge of our seat, looking forward to whatever God is going to do next.

This passage may be even more loved by Japanese Christians than by those elsewhere, because the history of the Church in Japan to this point is hardly glorious. When the Gospel first came in through the Catholics about 500 years ago it met with amazing success. Some of that was doubtless from wrong motives, but there were certainly many thousands who surrendered their lives rather than surrendering their faith. Because of such things as the Latin mass, which was memorized but not understood, just as Sanskrit Buddhist sutras are today, the “Hidden Christians” of the period of persecution didn’t propagate their faith, and syncretism and compromise took their toll. When the Catholics were allowed back in during the Meiji period, some of the Hidden Christians indeed rejoiced to recognize they had the same faith, but others focused on the differences and preferred to stick with their own traditions. Around that same time Protestant missionaries arrived. There were flashes of brilliance, but repeatedly, what seems in retrospect to have been genuine moves of God were shut down by people in authority who wanted to maintain control. That was exactly the motive of the Pharisees in opposing Jesus! My own family history of missions in Japan goes back to 1934, and it will continue at least as long as the Lord keeps me in this body. My parents did some fairly remarkable things, but even my father prostrated himself on the floor and cried out to God, “Lord, if I am standing in the way of revival in Japan, then take me out of the way!” I have total empathy and agreement with that sentiment! This church has been operating as a church for over 35 years, and yet current Sunday morning attendance is often less than 10. I have baptized over 50 people of various nationalities, and some are serving as pastors even now. However, if I focus on the “sparse fruit” of the past, I am likely to miss what God is doing right now. I want to be able to recognize the “new thing” that God is doing and participate in it, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for His glory.

Father, thank You for this Word. Frankly, at 71 the idea of “new things” doesn’t have the same ring it did when I arrived in Omura at 33, much less than when I got married at 20. Help me indeed remember and be grateful for Your abundant past mercies, but not let even them hold me back from what You want to do now, so that Your name may be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Standards; December 30, 2019

Posted on December 31, 2019 by jgarrott

Luke 6:31, 36 “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

These two verses reference two different standards, one subjective and one absolute. We refer to the first as the Golden Rule, but as I tell couples in marriage counseling, because it is subjective, it can actually be very dangerous, especially between a man and a woman. It is a very common thing for a man to treat a woman as he would like to be treated and get a very bad response, and vice versa. That’s very easily understood when we look at studies that show that, of the 12 universal emotional needs of humans, the ones that come in at 1-6 for men come in at 7-12 for women, and vice versa. Especially husbands and wives need to understand this, and investigate how their partner would like to be treated, rather than making assumptions. Subjectivity isn’t a good foundation for a relationship. On the other hand, God is an absolute, so there is no subjectivity involved in being like Him. However, what a standard! I don’t think it’s physically possible for humans to be as merciful as God, without His direct help. When you look at the context though, that should go without saying. Loving our enemies and doing good to them does NOT come naturally! However, Jesus doesn’t leave us any wiggle room. “Just as” doesn’t allow for any excuses! As Paul said about some people, “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12) We are all guilty of that at times! We need to accept the absolute standard of Jesus Christ and, knowing that we can’t meet that standard on our own, live in grateful dependence on the grace and mercy of God – which of course involves extending that grace and mercy to others.

This is something I thought I knew many years ago, but I keep getting refresher lessons! I find I need help in knowing how people want to be treated, and should ask God about it first. Some people are self-aware enough and open enough to tell you if you ask, but many are not, so checking with those close to them can be helpful. In that, however, I need to keep God’s standard first, because sometimes what God knows we need isn’t what we would choose for ourselves in that moment. Anyone with genuine faith wants God’s will to be done most of all, because they know that is the absolute best, but most people don’t really have that level of faith. That’s where being merciful has to kick in! I am to seek to see myself and see others as God sees us, and speak the truth in love. It can take a lot of love and mercy to confront someone who is headed for destruction.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. You know better than I do how I have run from confrontation most of my life. Help me love people enough to confront them when You say to do so, but always extend Your mercy and grace to them. May I indeed be “like my Daddy,” for the blessing of all I encounter and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Rebellion Against God; December 29, 2019

Posted on December 31, 2019 by jgarrott

Mark 12:7-8 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.”

That Jesus told this parable is an illustration of how stupidly evil mankind can be. It says in verse 12 that the targets of this parable knew He spoke it against them, but it didn’t deter them from carrying out their plan. There is incredible stupidity here. These men were setting themselves up against God (Ant, meet steamroller) and yet somehow thought they could win, and not only win, but take the spoils, as it were. We forget that our every breath, our very existence, is by the grace of God. Physicists literally can’t explain why the universe exists as it does, why atoms, or even subatomic particles, hold together. Paul had a flash of revelation: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17) Christ is the “cosmic glue” the physicists can postulate but can’t prove exists, except circumstantially. The Jewish leaders of Jesus day didn’t realize that God could cause them to cease to exist just as easily as He could keep them around. However, we are hardly any better. We entertain all sorts of absurd ideas of what we can “get away with” when it comes to God, not grasping that He is infinite and omnipotent and we aren’t, period. The only logical, reasonable response is to submit ourselves to our Creator and inquire what He desires of us. Thankfully, He has given us the Bible as a remarkably complete guide, and on top of that He gives us His Holy Spirit to live in us so that we can have continuous fellowship with Him, if we will accept it.

I’ve been all over the place on this issue, struggling with hubris that tried to usurp the place of God in my own heart, but also receiving revelation that God’s smart and I’m not, and walking in growing fellowship with my Lord over the years. I still need reminders of my own frailty – like the cold I’m dealing with right now. However, I have tasted the amazing grace of my Lord enough that any hesitation in obeying Him is absurd. I see people all around me who are in various stages of rebellion against God, and I know full well that there, but for His grace, go I. In seeking to open people’s eyes and hearts I am not to paint God as a “boogyman” but I am also to remind them that He is indeed their Creator, and their existence depends on Him. That He would have chosen the path He did, sending His Son to take the penalty for our rebellion, is the most incredible miracle of all, and is indeed the best Good News that has ever been given to mankind.

Father, thank You indeed for Your amazing grace. I didn’t follow the path John Newton did before he wrote those lyrics, but I have no more claim to be Your favored child than he did. Help me express Your love and grace more and more effectively, so that more and more people may repent of their rebellion and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Lawlessness; December 28, 2019

Posted on December 29, 2019 by jgarrott

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

Where the NIV uses “wickedness,” the Japanese uses “lawlessness.” Read that way, this sounds like current news! I have ceased to be amazed at the incredible disregard for the law in America today, from illegal immigrants having been deported multiple times only to come back, to top law enforcement officials deciding they are above the law, to Congress trying to make the Constitution say whatever they want it to say, and everything in between. It is disgusting, and disgust is not in the spectrum of love. However, before we go dumping on everyone else, we need to take an honest look at ourselves, just as Jesus said. (Matthew 7:4) Do we obey speed limits and other traffic laws? Do we fudge on our taxes? Even more importantly, do we do things we know are not pleasing to God, just because we want to or they feel good? Society isn’t going to clean up its act until the Church cleans up its act. It is astounding to hear politicians and others claim Christian faith while espousing such things as infanticide. Their love would put liquid nitrogen to shame! A major factor in that is that we rank sins in our own minds and hearts, and we always rank the other guy’s as worse than our own. We forget that James pointed out, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.” (James 2:10-11) We want the rest of the world to obey the law, but take a pass for ourselves!

I am just as much prone to this as anyone else. To be honest, if I lived in the US I would get a concealed carry license, because I love my wife enough to want to protect her. (And yes, my Army experience tells me I am quite proficient. I feel that comes under Jesus’ instructions in the Garden of Gethsemane, recorded in Luke 22:36.) However, I am all too aware that I am not the ultimate judge of my own righteousness or lack thereof. Like Paul said, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:4) I am to ask and allow the Holy Spirit to keep tabs on the temperature of my love for God and for my neighbor, and do whatever He indicates to correct any cooling. I can’t generate agape love on my own, so my task is to “keep the riverbed clean” of anything that would hinder the flow of God’s love through me.

Father, thank You for this reminder that nothing in the world today is any sort of surprise to You. Help me trust You fully, not going around judging others but rejoicing in Your grace toward me, so that Your grace may flow through me to those others I am tempted to judge, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Titles; December 27, 2019

Posted on December 29, 2019 by jgarrott

Matthew 23:8-10 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.”

This is a particularly awkward Scripture for the Japanese Church, because titles are so ingrained in Japanese society. The Japanese translation I use gives “Sensei” where the NIV says “Rabbi.” Anyone who has ever studied Japanese martial arts is familiar with that term, because it is the title of Teacher, (literally, “one born before,”) and failure to use it is considered very rude. That overlaps with verse 10, so they use another term there that means more literally, teacher, but is also the second character in the terms for pastor, missionary, and a number of other professions. However, that’s no more awkward than the situation for the Catholic Church, that has institutionalized the title of Father to a degree that is totally pervasive. In Japanese Catholic churches priests are addressed as “Shinpu,” which literally means, “Father of God!” That doesn’t seem strange to Japanese, because Shinto priests are called a title that means “god owner!” An American Catholic missionary friend explained that the title for priests was imported directly from China, where the character that the Japanese use for God has a meaning much more along the lines of “spirit,” so the translation would be, “Spiritual Father.” Even so, he agreed that it was in violation of this Scripture. Japan is an extremely vertical society, to the point that people rarely have close friends who weren’t in the same grade with them in school. Everyone else is either “senior” or “junior” to them, and how can you be friends with someone like that? American, not to mention Biblical, egalitarianism is a foreign concept indeed, and the barriers are being overcome very slowly. We have the saying, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross,” but that seems a stretch even in many American churches, and it is certainly difficult for Japanese believers to grasp fully.

As a pastor/missionary as well as a school teacher in Japan, I get called Teacher daily, and I often refer to others that way. Avoiding it with others would be rude in the extreme, and that would hinder the Gospel getting through to people. Within this church I have succeeded in getting most people to call me “Mister Jack” or “Pastor Jack,” but there are some who balk at that. In general society I don’t rebuke people for the titles they give me, (though I do correct them when they refer to me as Father) but one of my points of distinction over the past 38 years has been how I treat everyone the same. I am on friendly terms with the mayor and some other politicians, as well as a number of doctors and the like, but I treat them no differently than I treat anyone else. It has been shocking to some, but they have excused me (I think) because as a foreigner I’m “not expected to know all the social niceties.” It was a help to me that I grew up as the youngest child of one of the highest-status people in the whole city, who nonetheless treated everyone the same. That is an example that I have sought to follow all my life, so that nothing would interfere with speaking the truth in love.

Father, You alone know how well I have done in following this. I ask You to continue to grow and train me, so that just as Jesus humbled Himself, I may be fully humble as Your agent, drawing many to be Christ’s disciples indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Lies vs. Truth; December 26, 2019

Posted on December 28, 2019 by jgarrott

Matthew 2:8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

This is a verse I’m sure I’ve never written on before! However, it has a very modern ring to it, because it records the words of a lying politician. We make jokes about it, but people in positions of political power, or people desiring such positions, often discard truth if it seems to get in the way of their ambitions. There is a severe irony to that, because all power ultimately stems from the One who cannot lie. Lies, on the other hand, are the native language of the devil. (John 8:44) When we choose to lie we are placing ourselves in the devil’s camp, and that is a very dangerous place to be. From the world’s perspective some liars seem to be very successful, at least for a while. However, Jesus said clearly that “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37) We never ultimately get away with lying! There are some people who seem to be congenital liars, hardly able to make an accurate, honest statement, but they actually weren’t born that way. A small child can’t be anything but honest, but there comes a point in their development when they learn to lie. In terms of psychology, some people insist that’s progress, but it is actually quite sad. The issue is what happens from there. If their initial lies seem advantageous to them, they will learn to lie more and more. If their parents fail to instill the value of honesty through appropriate discipline, lying can become a runaway train, with nothing to stop it. Sadly, we can get to the point of feeling, “If I say it, it’s true.” Discovering the fallacy in that can be life-shattering. Lies are an attempt to hide truth with darkness, but as John wrote, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

I had the enormous blessing of being raised by a man who held absolute honesty as one of the foundations of his life. I have tried to do the same, and I must say it makes life more simple. I don’t have to remember what I told someone, because I just have to tell the truth! That said, I haven’t always held to that. I have particularly lied to try to build myself up in other people’s eyes, and that is total foolishness! When I seek to be honest myself, I can sometimes be too accepting of what other people say, when they aren’t likely to have been raised as I was. Again as Jesus said, I am to “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Being shrewd (or wise, as many translations have it) doesn’t necessarily mean telling lies, but it does mean seeing through them. I am to be fully dependent on the Holy Spirit, because no lie can get past Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your incredible grace toward me. I am often saddened and even disgusted by current events. Thank You for the assurance that Your truth will ultimately prevail, whatever is going on at the moment. May I be an open channel of Your truth that sets people free, (John 8:32) for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Response to Experiences; December 25, 2019

Posted on December 28, 2019 by jgarrott

Luke 2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

When I have all 20 verses essentially memorized, it can be hard to know exactly what the Lord is saying to me through this passage right now. However, this verse is a matter of the shepherds response to what they had experienced, and that is a vital question for every individual in every situation. Every person experiences highs and lows, things that please them and things that don’t. It’s not just for those who are bipolar! The important thing isn’t so much what happens, as how we respond to it. In verse 15 we have the record of how these shepherds responded to the angelic visitation, and here we have the record of their response to the total experience. Simply put, they allowed what they experienced to prompt them to action, changing them in good ways. After the angels left them they didn’t lie around going, “Man, what a trip! That was freaky!” Rather, they acted on the information they had been given, and sought out the newly-born Savior. Then, as it records here, after telling Mary and Joseph about the angels, they went back to resume their responsibilities with the sheep, but not as they had been before. They went from being terrified when the first angel showed up (verse 9) to glorifying and praising God, unable to hold back the joy that welled up from within them. They had just had proof that A, God was real, and B, He cared about them enough to send a Savior, even if that Savior was a helpless little baby, lying in a manger of all places. God deals with each of us in different ways, but the message is always the same: He loves us and He wants us to live as His children, in all holiness and joy. At the point of this story, nobody imagined just what this little baby was going to do to be our Savior. Crucifixion wasn’t on anyone’s mind! We never know all the ramifications of what we experience, but the better we know God, the more confident and assured we are that He is going to work everything together for good, and we rejoice. (Romans 8:28) When we fail to rejoice, it proves that we have more to learn about God and that we need to grow more in our faith.

This of course applies to me as much as it does to anyone else. I have had 71 years of experiences so far, and continue to experience life moment by moment every day. In that I am no different from anyone else. My desire, and what God wants for me, is to respond to everything I experience with gratitude and praise, recognizing that I am held in His hands of love. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Right now I have just gotten over a major “hump” in the year’s calendar, but that doesn’t mean at all that things stop happening. Life will continue to go on, moment by moment, so my focus is to be on making the use that God intends of each of those moments, giving Him glory by saying what He is saying and doing what He is doing. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I know Him, and that should enable me to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, just as He has told me to do.

Father, thank You for all that You allowed me to experience yesterday. Thank You that I could go to the funeral as planned and still take care of other things. Thank You especially for Your grace and blessings in the Christmas Eve service last night. Some people we expected weren’t here, but others we didn’t expect were, and You blessed us all. I pray especially that those who were here for the first time would be unable to forget what they experienced of Your presence and be hungry for more. I pray that everything about today would be as You desire, that we wouldn’t miss any of what You are doing by demanding something else. May we be Your children, Your agents indeed, every moment of today, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Name of Jesus; December 24, 2019

Posted on December 27, 2019 by jgarrott

Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Virtually every detail of the Christmas story is miraculous, but we are so familiar with it that we forget that fact. Of all the parts of the story, the detail that the world most tries to dismiss as fable is the virgin birth. Sex is so pervasive today it is almost rare for anyone, male or female, to make it to their wedding day a virgin. In recent decades sex has been elevated to the point that some people celebrate the “right” to destroy infants in the womb so that nothing will inconvenience the free practice of sex. That God would bring His Son into the world without making use of sex is an affront to such people. However, of the two people who recorded the Christmas story for the Bible, it was Luke, the physician, the scientist, who went into the most detail about the virgin birth. He probably had a lot of trouble with the idea initially, too, but he had seen enough of the power of God to convince him it was real. Matthew, on the other hand, simply states it as fact, and then fleshes it out with the human details as well as connecting it to Old Testament prophecy. Here he tells us how the angel specified Jesus’ name, and that is powerful indeed. We don’t often think about the fact that “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua,” (Yeshua) or realize that it means, “The LORD saves.” That tidbit has been grasped by Messianic Jews, and to me it is beautifully powerful. There is a very simple chorus that I like very much that just says, “Yeshua is Lord,” over and over. It is when Jews recognize that and acknowledge it that they are truly united with the Body of Christ, and that is glory indeed, as Paul wrote in Romans 9-11. Gentiles too need to realize that even the name, Jesus, speaks God’s plan of salvation.

This is something I have known for many years now, but it is a reality that keeps growing in me. Tonight I will have the opportunity once again to tell the Christmas story to a mixed group, some of whom will think they are familiar with it and some of whom will be quite unfamiliar with it. I need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to express it clearly with words and body language that will be understood and received, so that the complacent may be encouraged to action and the unbelieving brought to faith, for the salvation of many, building up the Body of Christ for His glory.

Father, thank You for all You have done already in this year’s Advent season. Every year we get overwhelmed with the busyness of it all, and tend to lose focus on the joy of what it represents. However, You brought us through a very long day Sunday, and You will bring us through today as well. Help us indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, so that You may use us to build Your Church, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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