Love; May 5, 2020

Posted on May 7, 2020 by jgarrott

1 John 4:11-12 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

The first letter of John blows me out of the water every time I read it. There is so much vital, deep truth in it that it speaks to me afresh again and again and again. Here, John has been talking about God’s incredible love for us, but then he turns around and applies that to our own love for each other. It is demonstrably true that being aware that we are loved makes it easier for us to love others. That’s why in a sense, a husband and wife can “feed off of” each other’s love in a beautiful recursive cycle. Sadly, with differing “love languages” that all too often doesn’t happen, because the love doesn’t transmit. That said, here we’re talking about a much bigger issue. The better we grasp God’s love for us, the more readily we will love each other. Then John says something that immediately brings to mind what Jesus said to Philip in the Upper Room: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9) God is invisible, and at this point Jesus isn’t visible to our physical eyes, but if we love each other as God loves us, then Jesus is manifested in and through us for the world to see. It’s again as Jesus said: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) Sadly, some churches are known for quarrels and backbiting. Jesus isn’t very visible there! One of the major themes of the Bible is that those who know God are to represent Him to those who don’t yet know Him. That can only happen when we allow His love to flow through us to those around us.

I have a number of very personal illustrations of this truth, but one I frequently mention in counseling couples about parenting involves my two grandsons. They are less than two years apart, so when I first met the older one (they live in the US, and we in Japan) he was 14 months old, and his brother was already on the way. He was a supremely happy child, and about the third day of our stay I found the reason why. He did something for which he had been disciplined previously, and when his mother noticed it she called him down firmly and asked her mother (my wife) to slap his hand. He proceeded to extend his own left hand and slap it with his right! He was such a happy child because, with appropriate boundaries set by discipline, he had full assurance that he was loved. Often a first child will be very resentful of the second, but when his brother arrived, no one was more delighted. Secure in his parents’ love, it seemed totally natural to him that his brother would be loved as well. He will shortly be a teenager, but he is still a very well-adjusted, loving person. Even closer to home, I think my wife’s and my relationship is one of the most powerful testimonies we have. People are regularly in awe of it, and we have actually had women who were not so loving to their husbands leave the church because they couldn’t stand the contrast, and were self-condemned. The Church, though made up of imperfect people, is still to be a reflection of a perfect God. We certainly can’t do it on our own, but God is able to do it in and through us.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the training You give us regularly with “unlovable” people! Help us open up more and more to Your love to allow it to flow through us unhindered. May indeed Your name be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Failures; May 4, 2020

Posted on May 7, 2020 by jgarrott

1 John 3:19-20 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

I’m glad John stuck this into his letter. He has been expressing so many things that, on reflection, we don’t seem to measure up to, and so our own hearts condemn us (with plenty of encouragement from the devil). John is reminding us that God knows us better than we know ourselves, and He loves us anyway. He knows what we have done, and He knows what we are going to do. His love is not conditional on that. All that is required is our faith, our commitment. Even there we tend to condemn ourselves, saying that our faith is deficient and our commitment intermittent. God knows that better than we do! It can help to realize how many times Jesus chided His disciples for their small faith, but He loved and trusted them anyway, knowing that the Holy Spirit would iron it all out. For the child of God, active submission is perhaps the most important thing. We need to rest in the assurance that God indeed knows everything, and He’s big enough to handle it all.

I once had someone withdraw from the church because I was talking about “commitment” so much. They wanted to hear more of “the Gospel” in my messages. Not long after that they moved to another part of Japan, and I trust they have grown since then. We are indeed saved by grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8-9) but we are also created to do good works. (Ephesians 2:10) We can’t earn salvation, but we are to respond to salvation with gratitude and obedience. That said, none of us gets it perfectly right, as I know only too well. That’s why this passage is so important. I am to rest in my knowledge of God’s grace, and I am to communicate that grace to all who will receive it. As John said in the verse just before this, I need to do so with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18) I deal with people who have failed so many times that I am tempted to give up on them, and/or never trust them again, but then God reminds me of my own track record, and I repent. God knows about all failures before they happen, and He loves us anyway. He doesn’t want us to fail, and if we will be humble and honest before Him He will cleanse and strengthen us so we will be less likely to fail in the future, but even if we do, that’s not the end of the story. As a recipient of God’s grace, I am to be an agent of God’s grace.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the various things I see going on in the people all around me. Thank You for what’s going on in me! May I continue to grow, and be Your agent in helping others to grow, so that we may all become mature in Christ, children fully pleasing to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sin; May 3, 2020

Posted on May 5, 2020 by jgarrott

1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

For once I have an almost violent reaction against the Japanese translation of this verse, and indeed of here through verse nine. However, since the Japanese agrees with how a lot of English translations render this passage, it’s important that I deal with the issue. It’s all a matter of Greek grammar, but the misunderstanding has caused a lot of damage in a lot of sensitive people down through the centuries. Greek has more tenses than either English or Japanese, and for once, the NIV renders it accurately, because what John used is the “continuing present” tense. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible, and in this particular case, it’s even the same book of the Bible. John himself wrote, from 1 John 1:8- 2:2, about how we all sin. Those who believe in Jesus have been saved from the penalty of sin and they are being saved from the power of sin, but one of the most attractive things about the hope of heaven is the prospect of being saved from the very presence of sin. Until we get there, we continue to trip up at times, so repentance must be an ongoing thing. If we don’t believe that forgiveness is real then we can have genuine difficulty letting go of what are called “besetting” sins, from older translations of Hebrews 12:1. Peter addressed that in 2 Peter 1:9. Back to this particular verse, it is true that while we are actively abiding in Christ we don’t sin, but unfortunately, on this earth we don’t do that 100%. That’s not an excuse; we should hate sin, and repent the moment we become aware that we have committed it. Paul dealt with that in Romans 6:1-2. A lifestyle of sin is certainly incompatible with salvation. However, some people have despaired of salvation because of the mis-translation of this passage in 1 John, and that is tragic.

I have had a distaste for legalism for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think that’s just from being rebellious! I am deeply aware of, and grateful for, God’s grace, and I desire that everyone believe and receive that grace. However, that is in no way to say I abandon righteousness and holiness. I am absolutely convinced that we can never clean ourselves up on our own sufficiently to be acceptable to God, since He is absolutely pure and holy, but the whole point of the Gospel is that Jesus died for such hopeless beings as we are, covering over our sins with His blood so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Our holiness is a response to and reflection of what He has done for us. The more we are conscious of His love and grace, the more we will reflect Him in our attitudes, words, and actions. I am still very much a work in progress, and as such I am to extend God’s grace to those around me, but never without speaking the truth in love. I am not to allow grace to be mistaken for approval, and that can be difficult at times. I don’t have sufficient wisdom for the task, so I’ve got to stay humble before my Lord and allow Him to speak and act through me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for what You did yesterday. I can’t change people, but you can! I pray that all of Your purposes for today may be fulfilled, in this church and in each of the churches of Omura. I don’t think any are meeting in person, but at least two are holding online services, including us. May Your Spirit have free rein in each service, each heart and life, so that the Body of Christ may be built up, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Desires; May 2, 2020

Posted on May 4, 2020 by jgarrott

1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

The Bible is so full of rich truth! It is like a deliciously rich dessert that is also nutritionally balanced and good for you. However, describing it in those terms is highly ironic in light of this verse. We have trouble with both parts of the first half of this verse. We don’t like to think of the world being destroyed, but natural disasters and war give us some sort of image of what that might be like, However, we can’t even think of the world’s desires passing away, because our desires seem to define us as human beings. We tend to feel that if we have no desire, what’s the reason for existence? However, we need to realize that this is talking about the world’s desires. When we want more of God, when we desire greater obedience to and intimacy with Him, that is holy and pure and is as eternal as He is. The nice thing is, there is no limit to it because He is infinite! Because we exist in the flow of time and the material universe, these things are hard to grasp. However, it fits in perfectly with one of Jesus’ most famous sayings: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) When our desires are in line with God, they are met abundantly! A major part of growing as a Christian is getting our desires in line with those of our Lord. It’s recently come up that He wants us to be holy, (1 Peter 1:13-16) and Paul states clearly that He wants everyone to be saved. (1 Timothy 2:4) It is when we allow God to replace our desires with His that we discover the barriers to fellowship with Him have gone down and we experience the deep peace and joy for which we were created.

This is something into which I am continuing to grow. I’m not there 100% yet, and that’s OK. While we are on this earth, it’s OK to enjoy life, but I’ve got to be very careful were my love lies. As verse 15 makes very clear, my love is not to be for material things or the world’s system, but for my Lord and His children. The straighter my priorities are, the more I enjoy life! As a pastor, I deal with some miserably unhappy people. In my experience, the majority of their unhappiness comes precisely from this point of their desires and priorities. It’s like James said: “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:2-3) That’s a pretty good description of the effects of selfishness. One of my most common statements in counseling is that selfishness never leads to happiness; at best it leads to momentary pleasure. When I say that to others so often, I’d better remember it myself! It’s like David said, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) When the Lord is my desire, He meets that desire abundantly!

Father, thank You for Your appointments for yesterday. One was something that’s been nagging at me, but the second was completely unexpected. Thank You for giving me a kick in the seat to get me going on the first, which put me in line for the second. Help me indeed be fully in tune with You, operating on the basis of Your desires, so that Your will may be done for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Apostle John; May 1, 2020

Posted on May 4, 2020 by jgarrott

1 John 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Well, you can certainly tell that John was the one who recorded the Upper Room Discourse! He paid attention and remembered very well, with the help of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:12-13) The standard expressed here is so high that on reflection, everyone should realize that they have more to learn of God, further to go in obeying Him completely. This passage is at the root of the novel that started the whole What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) movement of a few years ago. That novel was written quite a while back, but I imagine it will keep getting rediscovered every few decades until Jesus returns. John was indeed the Apostle of Love, starting with his own intense awareness that Jesus loved him, to the point that his own third-person reference to himself was “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” (John 13:23 and several more) Tradition tells us that he was the was the only one of the original 12 to die a natural death, and it is said that when he was very old he would seem to be asleep, but then rouse to say, “Dear children, love one another.” He was a living illustration of the truth he proclaimed. We can give him no higher commendation than that. John was just a young boy, perhaps 16, when Jesus called him as an apostle, and probably a lot of people thought Jesus was pretty stupid to trust a young boy that much. However, he certainly validated Jesus’ choice! Perhaps one reason he succeeded so beautifully is that he didn’t have as many hardened preconceptions as some of the older disciples. He didn’t think he could do it on his own, and so he trusted and obeyed Jesus completely. As the hymn says, there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus!

Of all the people in the New Testament, short of Jesus, the one I would most like to imitate is John. (Some have said I’m more like Paul, but my wife isn’t that wild about Paul’s personality, so I’ll take a pass on that.) I too have been aware of God’s love for me from a very young age, but I haven’t been as consistent in my obedience as John was. I was five when my parents recorded that I came to my mother and proclaimed that I really loved her, but not nearly as much as I loved Jesus. If only that love had remained consistent my whole life! I fell into pride, and though I knew God really loved me, I somehow thought I deserved it, and obedience kind of left the picture as far as I was concerned. Now I do know that God’s love is certainly unconditional, but my love for God must be, and will be, demonstrated by my obedience to Him. I talk about that any time the subject of salvation by grace comes up. My service cannot earn God’s love, but the more I am aware of His love, the more and better I will serve Him. That is the lesson of John’s life, and it is how I want to live.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your infinite love! Thank You that there is always more to learn of it, more to experience. Help me be a clean, open channel for that love to pour through to others, so that they too may be brought to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Freedom; April 30, 2020

Posted on May 2, 2020 by jgarrott

1 Peter 2:16-17 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

The Bible is so intensely down-to-earth and practical! This particular bit seems directly aimed at Americans, who love and tout their freedom. Peter is saying, “Yes you are free, BUT.” As has been said, one person’s freedom to swing their fist ends where another person’s nose begins. We who are so eager for freedom need to, as the Japanese puts it, “use that freedom as slaves of God.” The current COVID-19 business is a good illustration. We are to wear masks, not for our own sake, but out of respect for those around us, since we might be asymptomatic carriers. “Fear God, honor the king” means that we are to obey the rules, but know that God is ultimately in command, and as Peter said before the Sanhedrin, obey Him even if man says otherwise. (Acts 5:29) Recently the devil and those listening to him have been making use of the virus to clamp down on believers in ways that have little to do with public safety. Legal recourse and even civil disobedience are called for there, but always with respect. We see far too many people acting selfishly, demanding their freedom regardless of the cost to others, but the flip side is those who would deny freedom for ideological reasons. Neither is right, or pleasing to God. We need to speak and act as God’s servants, His slaves, expressing His love and justice for His glory.

Though I live in Japan, I follow what is going on in the US, and since I am registered to vote in Virginia, it breaks my heart to see and hear some of what is going on there. I keep telling myself, “this too shall pass,” but it does provoke some pretty intense intercession at times. The good thing is that the masks are off, and evil is plainly exposed. (That’s rather ironic when physical masks are the order of the day!) I am to pray that God’s children be protected and supplied, and find their refuge in God alone. I am to pray that they wake up and recognize what is going on, and when this is over, not go back to “normal” but be alert and on fire as God’s agents, so that His kingdom may come as His will is done. I need to pray the same thing for the Church in Japan. We don’t have church-specific regulations here, but believers certainly need to be more aware of the place God intends for them in the world. We too need to be awake and active, bringing in the harvest that God desires, for the salvation of multitudes and His glory.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. Help me not just agree with it and fail to act, deceiving myself. (James 1:22) May I be faithful in prayer, faithful in word, faithful in action, so that Your will may be done for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Holy; April 29, 2020

Posted on May 1, 2020 by jgarrott

1 Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[

I have the impression that before he met Jesus, Peter was a pretty profane sort of guy. However, Jesus transformed him completely, and here he delivers one of the most straightforward commands to holiness in the whole Bible. He’s not abstract about it either. In the verse before this he talks about being self-controlled, and about God’s grace. He was very aware that we are not naturally holy! He also was aware that it starts with how we think, so we have to get our minds in on it. (OK, so I’m really writing on 13-16!) We’ve got to remember that we are God’s children, and live so as to please our Father. We see children of all sorts around us. Some are a delight to their parents, and some not so much. A little reflection will show us that we have had time in both those camps! However, Peter here isn’t focused on our physical parents, but on Father God, which makes our response of utmost importance. We start out as ignorant, and operate on the principle that was widely quoted around the time I was in college: “If it feels good, do it.” That’s not the way of holiness, or the way to please our Father! However, God in His grace reveals more and more of Himself to us, particularly through the Bible but in many other ways as well. That said, we can’t accomplish holiness on our own. We have to start by accepting what God has done for us in Christ, and then allow that to be worked out in every detail of our lives. As Paul said, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Again as Peter said in verse 13, that grace will be revealed fully when we stand before Christ Jesus our Lord.

This certainly applies to me! Actually, I can’t really claim ignorance as an excuse, because I was raised in a home that was awash in Scripture and faith and love for God. That gives me no excuse for all the times I succumbed to evil desires! I am all too aware that our enemy indeed “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) He constantly dangles his bait under our noses, so to speak, so we must not let down our guard, but be active in submitting to God and resisting the devil. (James 4:7) As Don Francisco sings, “Holiness. It’s the Lord’s command, not the Lord’s request.” We all stumble at times, but 1 John 1:9 is operative, and God will indeed cleanse us from everything and restore us to the holiness He provided for us in Christ.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Help me live consistently as Your obedient child, recognizing and avoiding the traps of the devil and representing You to those around me, drawing them too to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Joy; April 28, 2020

Posted on April 30, 2020 by jgarrott

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

I really love 1 Peter! I appreciate the anointing of the Holy Spirit on Peter as he expressed these truths, and that same anointing on Silas as he recorded it in well-organized, grammatically correct sentences. (1 Peter 5:12) This first section seems very appropriate, as so much of the world is involved in the trial of dealing with COVID-19. That said, this particular bit reminds me of a video I saw yesterday. I’ve recently discovered the One for Israel section of YouTube, and I have been greatly blessed by all the testimonies of Jews who have discovered that Yeshua is indeed the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. One that I watched yesterday was by a woman who indeed radiated the joy that Peter speaks of here. Actually, all of them have been pretty joyful! So many people go through life seeking joy, and the best they find is momentary pleasure. We tend to confuse fun with joy, and they are distinct, though sometimes concurrent. There is nothing wrong with fun, but it actually can be a distraction from the joy that our souls crave. I am reminded of when I was first married. There was a lot of fun, in the physical relationship and various activities, but there was also a deep joy that I had found a life partner with whom to share everything. And frankly, that has only grown in the 51 years since! I think that some couples may never get through to that joy, because they don’t allow their connection to get that deep. That is directly analogous to what Peter is talking about here, just as Paul expressed in Ephesians 5:22-33. The deepest possible joy comes from our connection, our intimacy, with our Creator, who loves us so much He not only made us, He gave Himself for us in the Person of His Son. (Galatians 2:20) The more we discover of that connection, the deeper we get in that relationship, the deeper and stronger our joy becomes.

As is evident, I can’t talk about with without relating it to myself (as in my comment about my marriage), because God has been so gracious to me. I have fun with a number of things, but joy comes in things related to my Lord. There is great joy indeed in sharing Christ with others, especially when they receive Him! There is joy in sharing the riches of His Word that He so graciously pours out. There is joy in meeting His appointments, that are so often unexpected in terms of my schedule. I think you could say that joy comes from participating in my salvation, as Peter says here and as Paul referred to in Philippians 2:12. There, Paul mentions “fear and trembling,” but in my experience, joy is predominant. Peter had already experienced denying Jesus three times, and I think he had gotten that fear behind him! It is my conviction that the joy of knowing my Creator more than outweighs all the trials I have ever experienced, and, I believe, ever could experience.

Father, thank You for Your incredible, overflowing grace! Thank You for the truth of what Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Thank you that as the Japanese puts it, I can be triumphant in my joy in Christ Jesus my Lord. May Your joy through me draw others to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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James the Brother of Jesus; April 27, 2020

Posted on April 30, 2020 by jgarrott

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James is the opposite of politically correct, which is why his letter is so valuable. I think he learned that from his older Brother! Reading this letter gives us some real insight into what it must have been like to grow up as the half-brother of Jesus, yet without accepting that He was the Messiah. 1 Corinthians 15:7 tells us that after the resurrection Jesus came to him personally, as He had done for Peter, but neither he nor his brother Jude make any claim to their genetic kinship to Jesus, but rather proclaim that they are His servants. In other words, James is speaking here from personal experience. As Paul mentions in Galatians 1:19, it was well known that he was raised in the household of Mary and Joseph, and that doubtless colored people’s perception of him. He became the de facto leader of the Church in Jerusalem, after Peter, but he didn’t do it by throwing his weight around. Growing up he doubtless watched his older Brother, and he saw what absolute integrity looks like. He learned that words have to be backed up with actions, and actions have to come from the heart. We need to learn from him not to let familiarity breed contempt, as it is so prone to do, but rather press in to know more of Christ, while being fully aware of our total dependence on Him.

I didn’t grow up with a perfect older brother, but he was pretty good! I did learn a lot from him in various ways, and I still have the warmest regard for him. We were both raised by an awesome father, but as magnificent as he was, he still was not perfect. So we can’t identify with James’ experience completely, but we did learn a lot along the way. I have had my problems with expecting special treatment because of whose son I was. Part of that has come from indeed receiving special treatment, because of my father and my maternal grandfather. When God brought me up short and showed me the blackness of my heart, part of that was indeed the sense of privilege because of my pedigree. I certainly need to learn from James! Like just about everyone else, I think, I enjoy being put on a pedestal, but that is a very dangerous perch. As James says here, I indeed need to humble myself consistently before the Lord so that I won’t get in the way of whatever He wants to do through me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that the Facebook Live worship service yesterday went pretty smoothly. Thank You for what we learned from that first experience. I pray that next Sunday would go even better, and that we would know whether You want this to be a regular feature of our services. Keep us from “performing for an audience,” but rather enable us to worship You in Spirit and in truth, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Mercy; April 26, 2020

Posted on April 28, 2020 by jgarrott

James 2:12-13 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

I think a lot of people are vaguely aware this is in the Bible, but they totally forget it in their daily lives. We human beings have a nasty habit of setting ourselves up as the “righteous standard,” and everyone who doesn’t meet our criteria is inferior. In the process we totally overlook the many areas in which we ourselves fail to meet the genuinely righteous standard of Jesus Christ, and so don’t realize how much we ourselves are in need of the mercy of God. This can be particularly true for those who haven’t committed what society calls “major sins.” After all, everything we have ever done is justified! That is one of the devil’s favorite lies. We forget something else that James wrote just before this: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10) Mercy is closely tied in with forgiveness. And one of the strictest things Jesus is recorded as saying applies here: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15) It is when we fail to recognize our own need for forgiveness and mercy that we fall most badly.

This is something with which I am all too familiar. Since I loved Jesus even as a child, I thought I was in good shape, not realizing that I was allowing pride to blind me to my own failures. It wasn’t until I was a married father that the Lord showed me a mirror, and I got just a glimpse of the blackness of my own soul. I was devastated, but it has given me an awareness of my own need for mercy and forgiveness, which has made it much easier to show mercy and forgive others. That’s not to say I do it perfectly! As a pastor I sometimes deal with people who don’t see how they can be forgiven, but I have to say they are much easier to work with than those who don’t see how they can forgive someone else. Such people are terribly bound! As this passage says, God’s law, that requires mercy and forgiveness, is indeed the law of freedom. Anything less is the bondage of sin.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the incident just this past week when I blew up because of my own stresses and pride, and for the mercy that was shown me then. I continue to pray that we would all allow Your grace and mercy to flow through us freely, lifting each other up and defeating all the plans of the enemy, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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