Pleasing God; December 15, 2019

Posted on December 19, 2019 by jgarrott

Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Everything about Jesus pleased the Father. The more I think about that, the more remarkable it becomes. As human parents we have moments when we are really pleased with our children, but if pressed, even then we will concede that they have their “rough spots.” Jesus, however, though fully human, was perfectly in line with His Father, and that’s something no one else can claim. The more we grow spiritually the more we become like Jesus, which of course puts us more in harmony with Father God, but even Paul was very clear that he wasn’t perfectly there yet. (Philippians 3:12-14) At times we are tempted to give up on ourselves, but we have God’s assurance that in the end, we will indeed be like Jesus. (Romans 8:29) When we have that promise we need to extend grace and patience, not only to ourselves but to those around us. That can frankly be difficult at times, and it involves the big F word: forgiveness. One of the scariest things Jesus said deals with that. “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15) We must never forget that we are not yet perfect, and stop demanding that others be perfect. We need to encourage each other in spiritual growth, but rejoice in progress rather than demand perfection. The better we do that, the more pleased our heavenly Father will be with us, because we will be more and more like His beloved Son.

As a physical and spiritual father I am often pleased with and proud of my children, but I am also often aware of their imperfections in various ways. I must never let that awareness get in the way of my love for them, but rather let it make me more aware of God’s grace, toward me and toward my children. I must not treat mistakes or ignorance as sins, even when they negatively impact me. I am also not to excuse sins, but rather forgive them. The difference there can seem paper thin at times, but it is vital. God didn’t excuse our sins, He forgave them through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. I do personally desire to please my Father, and nothing takes me out of that category faster than refusing to forgive.

Father, thank You for this timely reminder. Help me indeed be pleasing to You, especially in my interactions with my own children, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Names; December 14, 2019

Posted on December 19, 2019 by jgarrott

Malachi 1:1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.

For once, I was struck more by a footnote than I was by the actual text. The footnote in question says, “Malachi means my messenger.” We don’t think so much about names, but historically, and specifically in the Bible, names have had great importance, with God changing people’s names, as in Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) and many others, as well as specifying names. Of course the greatest example of the latter is Jesus, which means, “God is Salvation.” That name was specified to both Mary and Joseph before He was born. Here we have the name of what is called a “minor prophet,” not necessarily because he was less important than others but because he wrote less to be recorded in the Bible. I don’t remember ever noticing the meaning of his name before now, but it is so extremely appropriate that I wonder if it was actually the name he was given at birth. In any case, he functioned as the Lord’s messenger faithfully, delivering messages that could not have made him very popular, particularly with the priests. His faithfulness is attested to by the fact that his messages were acknowledged as Scripture, even long before Jesus was born. Even today people who are faithful to speak what God is saying tend to get in trouble with the authorities, even in supposedly “advanced” countries, with people being arrested in Canada and elsewhere for supposedly “hate speech” by simply stating the Biblical position on gender and marriage. And of course that doesn’t touch what is going on in China as well as Islamist countries for anyone who dares to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. Being chosen as God’s messenger is the highest of honors, but it can be a fearsome one indeed. To me, the lesson from this is that parents need to be careful and prayerful about what they name their children, but what God calls us is most important, hands down.

Before I was born my parents decided on two names, since they didn’t have ultrasound to let them know my gender ahead of time. I have no idea what girl’s name they chose, but the one that was given to me was chosen by asking my paternal grandfather, Ernest Perry Jackson Garrott, which of his names he liked best, and then adding my paternal grandmother’s maiden name, Maxfield (which was also my father’s middle name, and the one he went by), making me Jackson Maxfield Garrott. When I was an infant someone said to my mother, “That’s a mighty big name for such a small baby.” She replied, “He’ll grow.” I don’t remember ever disliking my name, but I do remember choosing to be called “Jack” rather than “Jackie” from the point I entered the 1st grade. I have always considered it a great honor to carry one of my father’s names, and particularly the one he went by. (My brother received his actual first name, William.) As grateful as I am for my name, I understand that what God calls me is far more important. I would be more than honored if He called me Malachi, but I hardly think I rise to that level! I do desire to be faithful in speaking out in love all that He speaks to me and to be immediately responsive any time He calls me, whatever He calls me!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I have indeed inherited a good name from my ancestors, (Proverbs 22:1) with no stain of disgrace or rebellion against You that I am aware of. May I indeed carry the name of Christian and the title of Disciple in all faithfulness, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Things God Hates; December 13, 2019

Posted on December 15, 2019 by jgarrott

Zechariah 8:16-17 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.

Human beings can be incredibly dense at times. From a Christian perspective these things seem like they shouldn’t even need to be said, but society was so perverted that God had to spell it out for them. The thing is, similar things are coming out in the current investigations into the activities of the US government. Courts have been perverted and falsehood has been sworn to, precisely because people were plotting evil against the president. This passage could hardly be more current! When the Creator of the universe says that He hates all of this sort of thing, we had better pay attention! We ignore God and presume on blessings to our peril. The world as a whole doesn’t like to think of accountability and eternal judgment, and the devil is more than happy to encourage that attitude, doing all he can to blind people to spiritual reality. (2 Corinthians 4:4) We need to do more than just accuse other people, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to shine His light into our hearts as well, so that we may see where we too are doing things that God hates, and repent.

I too am adept at spotting sin in others and ignoring it in myself. I get a thrill of righteous indignation at reading the reports of what is being uncovered by the current investigations, but I blithely ignore the little details of my own life that aren’t in line with God. By His grace I have dealt with a lot of that, but I remain fully human and susceptible to deception. To use Paul’s expression, I don’t want to live like a “mere human.” (1 Corinthians 3:3-4) I want to keep growing in my faithfulness and obedience, becoming more and more like my Lord as I follow Him, and drawing others to follow Him as well.

Father, thank You for this reminder. In a way it seems like a simple thing, but if applied it would transform society. Help me be an instrument of that transformation, one step, one interaction at a time, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Time Frame; December 12, 2019

Posted on December 15, 2019 by jgarrott

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

I can’t off hand recall any other place in the Bible where it talks about God singing! The image here is actually very tender and intimate, and at the same time it is filled with deep joy. When you think about it, God didn’t create us just to give Himself headaches! We are created to give God joy, and the more we do that, the more His joy washes back over us. I like the Japanese translation a bit better than the NIV. In Japanese it says, “He will enjoy you with joy. He will give you rest by His love.” Somehow I prefer being given rest to simply being quieted! Any time I run into a prophecy like this I am reminded that God, being outside of time, sees everything at once, in sharp contrast to how we experience time as something linear. That’s why prophecies of blessing and prophecies of judgment are equally valid. In a sense they’re all happening at once. That’s why Peter, even though He was an uneducated fisherman, could have the insight that “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8) We can have God’s rest even in the middle of a severe trial! The better we understand God’s love for us, His delight in us, the more we experience His joy and peace, that are indeed beyond the capacity of human intellect to explain. (Philippians 4:7)

I will never forget one time when I was in a little four-person prayer meeting and I experienced such intense joy that I literally had to ask God to tone it down a little bit, because I felt that with one more drop of joy, my body would give up and I would be transferred directly to heaven. My prayer was something like, “Lord, if You have anything else for me to do here, You’d better take it down a bit.” I guess he did have more for me to do here! I’ve not been to heaven and come back, the way my wife has, but that experience gave me enough of a taste of what awaits me that I’m eager to go. That said, I’m not about to dictate the schedule. The thing for me to do now is to focus on faithfulness, being and doing what God desires as He enables me, delighting in Him so that He may delight in me. As David discovered, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)

Father, thank You for all the joy You do provide, and for choosing to delight in me. Thank You for the understanding You have grown in me of Your timing, and how You are never late. I can get so tied in knots over timing! Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You have told me to do, so that I won’t miss anything of what You have planned involving me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Justice and Mercy; December 11, 2019

Posted on December 14, 2019 by jgarrott

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

This is a dearly loved verse, set to music and otherwise, but that doesn’t mean it’s well understood or followed. We are in the middle of revelations of extreme injustice in the US government, which will hopefully lead to some genuine justice. In terms of loving mercy, the political climate in the US at the moment is such that someone who doesn’t agree with you instantly becomes an enemy. There’s no mercy in that! And when it comes to walking humbly with our Creator, the lack of that is what made God have to send His Son to die for us, and we haven’t changed much since then. We do need to understand what this is saying here. Acting justly includes the awareness that there are absolute standards of right and wrong. There are many today who want to deny that, and make everything subjective. That obliterates justice, because it makes everything subject to someone’s whim. In Japanese, “justice” is written as “public righteousness.” The interesting thing is, there are two slightly different characters for “righteousness.” The only difference between them is that one has the radical for “person” on the left, and the other doesn’t. I take it to mean that the one with “person” makes man the standard, whereas the one without that lets our Creator set the standard. When you type the phonetic sound for “justice” into the computer, Microsoft will always give you the one with “person” in it, but the Bible uses the other one. It’s no surprise that the world wants to make man the standard for everything, but it is sad nonetheless. The problem with a focus on an absolute standard of justice is that it can make us rigid and unloving, and that’s why it’s so important that we love mercy. The thing is, we will not really be merciful unless we understand how much we need mercy ourselves. Self-righteousness is the antithesis of mercy. That’s why the third point, of walking humbly with our God, is essential. We have to recognize that we are created beings and not omnipotent or omniscient. We have to acknowledge our Creator, and that He knows best. It is only when we do that, that we are able to walk in His best for us.

This of course applies to me as much as it does to anyone. My blog of a few days ago prompted a response from someone who doesn’t want to acknowledge our Creator, and my response to him prompted a response from another person who essentially wants to assign divinity to mankind. I am saddened by that, but at the same time I recognize my own susceptibility to the same deceptions. As I commented to one of those men, I could easily have become a sociopath, had God not had mercy on me and steered me away from that. I do not want anyone to go to destruction, and I know full well that left to myself and my self-delusions, that was where I was headed. To me, this verse doesn’t just tell me how to live personally, it also encourages me to tell others about my Lord so that they may join me in walking humbly with Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that my words do touch people, one way or another. Whether they are written or spoken, I pray that my words would indeed draw people to You, opening their eyes to Your incredible love, grace, and mercy, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Jonah; December 10, 2019

Posted on December 14, 2019 by jgarrott

Jonah 4:3-4 “Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

Jonah is famous for the miraculous circumstance of his having been swallowed by a “great fish,” but he stands out to me for being so thoroughly, humanly, flawed. His character seems very much at odds with the God who used him. We see absolutely none of the characteristics that he himself ascribes to God in verse two. It seems that he didn’t mind being a prophet of judgment, but it totally ticked him off that the judgment he had prophesied didn’t happen. He had prepared himself a “ringside seat” to watch the destruction of Nineveh, speculating in his mind as to how it would happen, and God disappointed him. God further drove the point home with the vine that shaded Jonah briefly, and then withered. Jonah valued his pride, his comfort, and his anger more than he valued the people to whom he had spoken the Word of the Lord. How very human! We seldom find ourselves in such extreme circumstances as Jonah did, but all too often we are like him. When God calls us and uses us we think we are something special and get an inflated view of our own importance, and that can totally blind us to what God actually wants to do. It is far wiser to remember the story of Jonah, or even the story of Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:21-33) and know that God can use anyone, regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof. When Don Francisco wrote a song about Balaam he included the memorable line, “So if the Lord starts using you, don’t you pay it any mind. He could have used the dog next door, if He’s been so inclined.” That’s the attitude we need to have, or we will miss the blessings God intends for us, even if He touches others through us.

I have never been a particularly “type A personality,” driven to accomplish goals, but even so it has only been in recent years that I have stopped demanding, in a sense, that God use me. I want to be totally available for any way He would like to use me, but that is His business and not mine. I am to strive to “make the most of every opportunity,” as Paul said, (Colossians 4:5) and indeed “Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season,” (2 Timothy 4:2) but not try to create opportunities in my own strength. That’s the recipe for burnout. As God has told me personally, I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, keeping myself available for whatever He wants to do in and through me, but having no deception that I can accomplish anything apart from Him. (John 15:5) Since I operate as His agent and am known as His representative, it is most important that I display His character without distortion.

Father, thank You for this very clear reminder. Help me indeed allow Your spirit to flow through me unhindered and undistorted, so that nothing will stand in the way of people receiving Your grace and mercy through me, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Seeking God; December 9, 2019

Posted on December 10, 2019 by jgarrott

Amos 5:4, 14 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek me and live”
Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.

The Lord said something directly to Israel, and then Amos amplified and explained it, with great accuracy. Seeking God, the Creator and source of all life, is without question the most logical thing to do if you want to live. In verse 5 the Lord specifically contrasts seeking Him with seeking specific places of worship. Every time revival breaks out somewhere, people travel great distances to go there. If they are genuinely seeking God, that can be a very beneficial thing, but we are very quick to confuse the location with the blessing, and think, “If I can only get to that place.” God says not to do that! Amos gives us practical advice on how to seek God: seek good. Since God is invisible and not tied to a specific place of worship, we need to seek Him in other ways. Each of us has a conscience, and we can think of that as a “GPS” to lead us to God. We don’t want to damage that GPS! Paul speaks of “hypocritical liars, whose consciences have be seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:2) When you get yourself into that category, you certainly aren’t going to be seeking God, however much you might claim that He is with you. Sadly, we have seen that in some Church leaders down through the centuries, and the results have been tragic. We need to be honest and humble in seeking God, asking Him to sharpen our consciences so that we will seek good, and thus seek God, more accurately. It is only through Him that we have life, and through His Son that we have eternal life. (John 3:16)

One of the many blessings of being raised in a strongly Christian home was the early establishment of a pretty strong conscience. That’s not to say I haven’t ignored my conscience more times than I like to remember, but it was there even when it wasn’t being used. As a pastor I constantly run into people who have a very confused conscience, and it can be very sad indeed. It reminds me of the GPS in my car, that is about four years old. Most of the time it can be very helpful, but it doesn’t know about recent road changes. When we take the new exit off the expressway closest to our house, for example, it goes crazy! Most of us need corrections, at least, to the data in our “GPS.” Sometimes we need an almost completely new data set! If someone doesn’t know about Jesus, they are missing the data for the only “off ramp” to eternal life. In that analogy, my task is to supply the updated data set to all who will accept it. To do that, I’ve got to be careful that my own GPS is set accurately, so that I won’t be leading others astray.

Father, thank You for this very clear, modern analogy. It’s not one that Paul would have known about! Help me continue to seek You with my whole heart, rejoicing in how You have revealed Yourself to me and always seeking more, because You always have more to give. Thank You. Praise God!

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Repentance; December 8, 2019

Posted on December 10, 2019 by jgarrott

Joel 2:13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

This is a good counterpoint to yesterday’s verse. What we do and say is certainly not unimportant, but what happens on the inside is even more important. We don’t have the custom of tearing our clothes as a sign of contrition or mourning, the way they did in that culture, but the picture is still clear for us today. Going through the motions, acting pious, isn’t what God is after. We can become very skillful at deceiving those around us, and even deceiving ourselves, but we can never deceive God. One thing that can hold us back from genuine repentance and submission to God is the lie that He is not as He is described here. As it says in Hebrews, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) If you don’t believe God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love,” why would you seek Him and try to please Him? That’s why the devil tries so hard to convince us that God is mean, capricious, and vindictive, when He is none of those things. When we have it straight who and what God is, and then who and what we are, it becomes a simple choice to commit ourselves totally to Him. Today I’m speaking on Commitment, from Mary’s response to Gabriel when she was told she would bear the Messiah. (Luke 1:35-38) She was able to do that because she had an accurate understanding of God’s character, and she knew He was to be trusted absolutely. If we have her faith, we will still sin because of our human weaknesses, but repentance will be immediate and complete, and that is what God desires.

As I keep being reminded, because I know “the motions” so well, I always have the risk of “going through the motions” without having a real change of heart. I’ve got to stay in focus, asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to shine His light into every dark corner of my soul, so that I won’t trip up over some hidden sin. I’ve got to be totally honest with Him and with myself, repenting immediately and fully of each thing He shows me that is not pleasing to Him. I am indeed to do what He tells me, as a good servant, but even more importantly, I am to be what He wants me to be, as a good child. I won’t follow through with either of those things if I allow my understanding of Him to be distorted. He is my perfect heavenly Father, and I am to be at total peace with that, trusting Him regardless of what my senses or my intellect might say to the contrary.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. That was a very disturbing dream I had last night. Help me trust You fully and not hang onto anything besides You, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Words; December 7, 2019

Posted on December 9, 2019 by jgarrott

Hosea 14:2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.”

The Bible talks many times about how words alone are not enough, but at some times, some words are absolutely vital. Paul indicates that the moment of salvation is one of those times. “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10) Verbal confession of Jesus as Lord is vital, and verbal confession of sin to God is likewise vital. Everything material that we have comes from God in the first place, so giving it back to God, while important, affects us more than it does Him. Words, however, if they come from our heart, are genuinely something we can give to Him. The expression, “the fruit of our lips,” immediately calls to mind a verse I have known and loved for a long time: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15) For our words to be acceptable sacrifices, they must absolutely be sincere. This goes back to what I said first about words alone not being enough. As John the Baptist said, we need to “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8) Words are essential, but we need to act in keeping with those words for them to be true.

This is a continuing major issue for me. I have had a gift for words most of my life, and growing up in the Church, I know all the “right words” to say. Accordingly, I know from painful experience that words alone aren’t enough. However, I must not let that distract me from the importance of words. After all, Jesus said, “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36) That really bites! Particularly when I have a gift for words, I need to be very careful that my every word is a gift back to God, holy and acceptable in His sight, to whomever it is spoken or written. That’s not at all to say that I am to be stiff and formal all the time. I’m convinced God has a sense of humor, because of how He made us! Several of the prophets, and even Jesus Himself, used puns to get their point across, and clean laughter is indeed very healing. As Paul said, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6) I am to glorify God by blessing Him and those around me with my words, not letting any of them be empty or careless.

Father, thank You for this powerful Word. It really brings me back to basics. May my words indeed bring You praise, whether they are addressed to You or not. In other words, may my words cause those who receive them to praise You, for You alone are worthy of all praise. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Waiting in Hope; December 6, 2019

Posted on December 8, 2019 by jgarrott

Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.

This is yet another of the many passages that seem they would be better translated as “wait in hope,” or “wait expectantly.” That is a standard expression in Japanese, and it would seem to be so in Hebrew as well, but it doesn’t seem to be in the vocabulary of translators into English. Just waiting is passive, which is one reason it’s so hard to do. Waiting in hope is far better! Hope is very closely related to faith, whereas waiting by itself can be resigned or even despairing. When we are being called to return to God and maintain love and justice, faith would certainly seem to be essential. “Maintaining love and justice” is emblematic of the things we should be doing as we wait, and to be done right, they require faith in the God who is perfect love and justice. Those who insist that there is no God discover that there is no basis, no fundamental reason or even framework, for either love or justice without Him. That is the fundamental paradox of atheism. Recently a rather prominent atheist conceded that the world would be a much nicer place with more Christians in it! When we return to God in faith, we receive His strength to become more like Him, and that is good for everyone and everything.

This phrase by itself makes it a good thing to be bilingual! Every language has things that are easier to say in it than they are in other languages, and often, things that are essentially impossible to say in other languages. Yesterday I watched a video of a beautiful praise song being sung in more languages than I could keep track of, alternating lines and sometimes even simultaneously. (It was particularly interesting to hear one section being sung in Mandarin and Cantonese at the same time. They use the same written system, but they are distinctly different languages.) The whole point was taken from Revelation 7:9, where it talks about the “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language” standing before God’s throne and singing His praises. That’s another thing to look forward to in heaven: knowing and understanding every language ever given to mankind! That simply adds to the hope that I have, which makes it far easier to wait for my God. The more assurance I have that He is omnipotent and He loves me, the easier it is to wait for His timing. That’s not at all to say I don’t get anxious at times, because I do, but at least I realize how silly such anxiety is. I see examples all the time of God’s perfect timing, even when I do so by realizing I have missed it! Yesterday a couple was quite late for marriage counseling. I got rather irritated with them, when actually God was making time for me to make a phone call I needed to make. However, I didn’t remember that phone call until I was in the shower last night! Waiting isn’t to be passive, it is to be done in obedience to God. Often enough His plan for that time is prayer, or meditation on Scripture, but He always has a plan, and I need to seek it consistently.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me make that phone call at Your right time, and not be anxious about it. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You have told me to do, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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