Refugees; November 5, 2019

Posted on November 7, 2019 by jgarrott

Isaiah 16:5 In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it–
one from the house of David–
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.

It is fascinating that this clearly Messianic prophecy comes in the middle of a passage talking about refugees from Moab. People from many nations have indeed found refuge in Israel, but the Church is open to people from every ethnic group on earth. Refugees flee turmoil and seek stability, and Christ is indeed the Rock of salvation. In recent years the whole category of refugees has been muddied and confused, with massive movements of people for a wide variety of motives, making for political chaos in the places they end up. This naturally calls for wisdom in national leadership, but above all it calls for seeking the One this verse is talking about. On the human scale, often the influx of people disrupts the very stability they say they are seeking. Sadly, some seem to be bent on taking over, imposing the system from which they supposedly fled on the land and people where they end up. It often takes supernatural discernment to see people’s motives and, as the current terminology has it, vet them. As it is, the people with the most genuine, sincere needs are too often left behind and those with ulterior motives get ahead. As Jesus said, we need to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) As His agents we are to “seek justice and speed the cause of righteousness,” just as this verse says.

Living in Japan I have had little direct contact with refugees, because Japan is very ethnically closed. Omura has one of two major Immigration Detention Centers in the country, for people who have run afoul of Japan’s strict immigration laws, and some of those would indeed qualify as genuine refugees in my book. However, the majority were in the country for simply economic reasons (legal or illegal) and failed to maintain proper visa status. I have dealt with some of those, who insisted on their innocence and purity but when given leniency turned out to be completely false. Another pastor in town has a remarkable ministry in the Detention Center, and has gained more people for the Kingdom there than in his Japanese congregation. I pray for him and seek to support him, but that isn’t a ministry the Lord has assigned to me. In this information age I am aware of refugee issues around the world, and this confirms the reality that God’s smart and I’m not. I am to be active in prayer, at least, so that God may be acknowledged as holy and His rule come as His will is done, for refugees and everyone else, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. We just had the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. I haven’t run into any refugees who would fit in that category, but I know there are many worldwide. I pray that whether you want them to flee or to stay put, in either case they would be filled with Your peace and even joy, in the middle of whatever their situation might be, so that those around may see the hope that they have and be drawn to You, (1 Peter 3:15) for a great harvest in Your kingdom. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Love and Man’s Pride; November 4, 2019

Posted on November 5, 2019 by jgarrott

Isaiah 5:15-16 So man will be brought low
and mankind humbled,
the eyes of the arrogant humbled.
But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,
and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.

When we read such passages as this we need to remember that this chapter starts with a declaration of love. God’s judgments aren’t because He is vindictive, they are because He is both love and holiness itself. He loves us, but we forget His holiness to our peril. As is so common throughout the Bible, the human problem here is pride. The moment we forget that we are created beings, that we exist by and for the pleasure of our Creator, we get into trouble. (We get the opposite problem when parents think their children exist by and for their pleasure, but that’s a different discussion.) We have the strange tendency to forget that God is the source of everything good, (James 1:17) and somehow think we generate good things on our own. Creativity is one of the ways in which we are made in the image of God, (Genesis 1:27) but the motive power behind it comes from God Himself. The past 150 years have seen explosive growth in technology, to the point that our everyday lives are the stuff of the science fiction of not long ago. That can make it all the easier for us to forget where it all comes from, and think we don’t need God. The results of such thinking are tragic indeed.

I encounter this all the time, both from people of considerable intellect and ability and people with much less. Recently a teacher of one of the believers here specifically told him that “There’s no God, so stop thinking He’ll help you with your national board exam.” How sad! Thankfully, that was enough of a shock to the believer that he is far more active in church than he was before. God uses even those who speak against Him for His purposes! I well remember how I have been tempted to forget that God’s gifts to me are just that, gifts, and so become arrogant. I’ve fallen for that more than I like to think about! I’ve got to remember that God loves every human being equally, and I’ve got to relate to them as someone loved by God. That is the “identity” that counts, completely wiping out all the identity politics that is so rampant. I see so much evil that is the direct result of forgetting our Creator, and I must not succumb to any of it. Rather, in all humility I must recognize that God alone is holy and righteous, and we become holy and righteous only as we relate rightly to Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You did in the day yesterday. I feel like I’m under attack at the moment, but You allow that just to teach me to depend more fully on You. I pray that I would learn better and better how to rest, relax, and rejoice in You, doing Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Pride and Repentance; November 3, 2019

Posted on November 4, 2019 by jgarrott

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”

I have known this verse from childhood because of its being set to music, and it is a marvelous verse indeed. Even to a child, the imagery was clear and easy to understand. The only sticking point is whether we acknowledge that we have indeed sinned. I keep coming back to feeling that pride is at the root of virtually all sin. Somehow we feel we know better than God, so we do whatever seems attractive or expedient to us, instead of what, in our heart of hearts, we know God wants. That was precisely what snared Adam and Eve in the garden, (Genesis 3:6) and it continues to snare us today. (1 John 2:16) And there’s no question that it is the single greatest barrier to repentance, which is our only path to salvation. Some people try to rely on the objective fact that Jesus died for their sins, without ever repenting of those sins in the first place. Jesus placed repentance before faith! (Mark 1:15) Verse 27 of this chapter says, “Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.” The Japanese says, “repentant.” God’s free offer of salvation is open to all, but we have to let go of our pride, acknowledge our sin, and repent of it.

This first chapter of Isaiah is significant to me because I based my final sermon in my Preaching class in seminary on it. It was graded by a doctoral student rather than by the professor, and he gave me a C, saying that I was “too extreme.” My response was that if I was too extreme, then Isaiah and the Holy Spirit were too extreme! (My title was, “There’s Blood on Your Hands,” from verse 15.) People don’t like having their sins pointed out to them! I was indeed fed up with the hypocrisy of organized religion, but then, so was Isaiah. The danger in pointing out such things is in being blind to the same things in ourselves. We all need the grace of God! As I seek to lead others to repentance I must not fail to keep my own repentance up to date. I was talking with a brother just last night about how the Holy Spirit doesn’t show us everything about ourselves at once, or it would destroy us. Rather, He shines His light on one thing at a time. When we repent of that, He goes to the next thing. We aren’t to go picking at ourselves, trying to find things to repent of. That’s neurotic, and will keep us from recognizing how God wants to use us, imperfect as we are. However, the moment the Holy Spirit does indicate something that needs to change, I need to repent and ask His help in following through.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the truly blessed time of ministry last night. Thank You for the awareness that I can’t save anyone, but You can and do use me in saving people. The brother last night said he had trouble imagining me as other than I am now, fully committed to You. I gave him some minor examples! I pray that You would indeed show Yourself fully real to him, that his faith may be deepened and strengthened so that he may blossom into all that You intend him to be, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Eternity; November 2, 2019

Posted on November 3, 2019 by jgarrott

Ecclesiastes 9:1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.

These first 10 verses of chapter nine gave me an AHA moment about how Solomon could live the life he did: he had no grasp of eternal life with God, of eternal rewards. Despite writing, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men,” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Solomon failed to understand that what we do and how we live does affect our eternity. I have always wondered how on earth he could participate in idolatry with his foreign wives when God had spoken to him personally and given him such a massive intellect. If you don’t think life on earth affects anything other than life on earth, what you do becomes relatively unimportant. The thing is, the rest of the Bible, and of course the whole New Testament, makes it very clear that the choices we make now govern our eternity. That’s why the devil works so hard to remove belief in hell: if there is no eternal punishment, then why bother to try to obey God? Paul wrote forcefully on this subject. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) Solomon lived on this earth in great luxury, his every whim answered, but the beggar Lazarus that Jesus talked about (Luke 16:19-31) was ultimately far better off, just as Jesus told that story to help us understand. We sometimes speak of someone living “as though there were no tomorrow.” That echoes the attitude Isaiah talked about: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (Isaiah 22:13) Paul referenced that in his discussion of the subject. (1 Corinthians 15:32) We may not have the intellect of Solomon, but we can have far more wisdom, because we know through the resurrection of Jesus that this life is by no means all, and we can live accordingly.

I had the enormous blessing of being raised in a home that was founded on faith in a risen Savior. One of the favorite songs of my childhood was, “I serve a risen Savior; He’s in the world today.” I made the commitment to serve Him at age 7, but my obedience was spotty at best until after He confronted me when I was already a father. At this point I delight to live as His child, with a growing anticipation of what awaits me after I am removed from the mess the world is in. My wife had a brief taste of that when she died from a heart attack in 1975, and then God sent her back. She says that before that experience she was afraid to die, but she certainly hasn’t been since! I don’t know all the ins and outs of physical resurrection, but I know that it is promised in the Bible, and I believe it. More than that, to me, is the awareness that if I abide in Christ now, I will get to abide in Him for eternity, whether I have a physical body or not, and that is a prospect too wonderful for words. The thing is, far too few people have that understanding, so they don’t live like it’s true. My task is to speak the truth in love so that as many as will may accept God’s free offer, repent of their rebellion and unbelief, and believe for their own salvation.

Father, thank You indeed for Your incredible grace. Help me be an open channel for that grace to flow to all, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Satisfaction; November 1, 2019

Posted on November 3, 2019 by jgarrott

Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.

Solomon writes a good bit about wealth, which is hardly surprising since he was fabulously wealthy. In all of that, however, this verse might be the most perceptive. It speaks to an important part of the human condition, and that is that the only thing that can satisfy us ultimately is God. That is actually only logical, because only God is infinite. The wealthiest man in America about a century ago was asked, how much money is enough? His answer, perfectly in line with this verse, was, “A little more.” There are enormously wealthy people in the world today. Their wealth brings them influence and notoriety, but it evidently doesn’t bring them real happiness. Among those, Elon Musk stands out to me because he doesn’t seem obsessed with money so much as what he can do with it, with space exploration and other cutting-edge technology that could ultimately be very beneficial to mankind. However, even the physical infinity of space can’t satisfy like God. It’s very important that Solomon used the term, love, here. I keep coming back to Jesus’ definition of the 1st and 2nd Commandments. (Matthew 22:37-29) We were literally created to love God and to love our neighbor, and when we love other things instead, we are in deep trouble. As John said, “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16) The world cannot satisfy, period.

This is a lesson I have had reinforced over the years. As a computer geek, I have “lusted after” the latest hardware and software, and though I haven’t had the budget to indulge that completely, I have certainly experienced how quickly the thrill of acquisition passes. The same applies to photography equipment, power tools and the like. I’m very grateful to say that my love for my wife hasn’t faded over the past 50 years. God has protected me from the desire for “more” in that area (as in the money referenced in today’s verse). Rather, I have sought more depth in our relationship, and God has given it to us with no end in sight. That has close parallels to our love for God, because there is always more we can learn of Him, and more of ourselves we can give to Him. My father’s trademark phrase was, “Give all you know of yourself to all you know of Christ.” That is marvelous advice, and completely supplants the lusts that John cautioned us about.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There are still material things I would like to have, but You have taught me where real satisfaction comes from. Thank You. I ask for the satisfaction of sharing Your truth and love with all who will receive it, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Time; October 31, 2019

Posted on November 2, 2019 by jgarrott

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven.

This is one of the more famous lines in the whole Bible, loved by secularists because it doesn’t directly reference God. However, the Japanese carries an implication of Him, because it says “settled time,” which implies that someone or something settled it. I don’t think philosophical atheism was very common in the ancient world; there were too many mysteries people couldn’t explain, so the supernatural seemed perfectly logical. However, polytheism was rampant, and that’s a trap Solomon, of all people, fell into. Even he failed to recognize that Yahweh was the absolutely unique Creator, and he built shrines to the pagan gods of some of his foreign wives. That said, he did pen these famous lines, down through verse 8, that people have used and misused down through the centuries. People have found comfort in them and they have also used them as excuses to do whatever they wanted, with no regard for God. For the person of faith, the lesson is to ask God what the present time is, not only for the activities mentioned here but for anything at all. We have great difficulty grasping that God, as the Creator, is outside of time, since we, being material, are firmly in the flow of time. Because He is outside of it all, He can plan the exact time for everything, and from our perspective He has already done so. That said, we have the choice of how to respond to His schedule, and that affects everything. The more we trust Him, the more effectiveness and the more peace we will have. What complicates all of this is that the devil is always trying to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) by manipulating our emotions. Not only does he try to make us rebel against what is happening, or seems to be happening, he also tries to get us to accept things that should not be happening. That applies to such societal evils as slavery and abortion, both of which are rampant today. William Wilberforce recognized God’s timing to combat the slave trade of his day, and we need to recognize His timing in dealing with human trafficking today. That’s why we need to be fully sensitive to the Holy Spirit to hear Him, saying, “Not yet. Not yet. Now!”

I am by nature very time sensitive, hating to be late for anything. I have had to learn that not everyone has been given that personality, so as to be forgiving of those who are perennially late. I have also had to learn not to resent people taking what I consider my time, recognizing that it’s all God’s time in the first place, and I only get to use it. That said, I can chafe at second-by-second schedules, which the Japanese are very good at creating. I appreciate it when it comes to trains being on time, but I laugh when it comes to something like a Christmas program. The important point for me is to recognize that whereas I’m to be a faithful steward, I’m not the one in charge. I am to speak the truth in love and admonish when called for, but God is the time setter and He is the judge, not me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. We have a somewhat time-sensitive day today, driving over an hour each way for a doctor’s appointment for Cathy, and then being here for friends to park their car here and then we take them to the airport. Help me be fully relaxed in it all, flowing with Your Spirit on Your schedule, so that we won’t miss any of the things You have planned for us in this day, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Simple Life; October 30, 2019

Posted on November 1, 2019 by jgarrott

Proverbs 29:6 An evil man is snared by his own sin,
but a righteous one can sing and be glad.

The longer I live, the more aware I am of the truth of this verse. When you live in honest, sincere obedience to God, everything becomes much simpler. You don’t have to figure how to get out of holes you’ve dug for yourself, just as this verse says. God’s rules are never to oppress us, they are to set us free from our own folly. God desires good for us His children, but the devil, as Jesus so famously said, is only out to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) The devil tries to entice us with all sorts of things, so we need to fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God in order to see through all the devil’s lies. (Psalm 119:11) After all, the only logical counter to a lie is the truth! There are so many contrasts between God and the devil: truth vs. lies, light vs. darkness, life vs. death, and on and on. Focusing on God and sticking with Him in loving obedience is the only logical course, but we can be terribly illogical at times! When we find ourselves in a hole, the first thing to do is look up. That generally requires repentance for whatever we did that got us into the hole in the first place, and repentance is certainly required for actually getting out of the hole. However, we won’t actually repent so long as our focus is on ourselves; that’s why we have to look up. In other words, repenting and looking to God for salvation are part of the same things, and can’t be separated. When we realize that God’s way is the only way to go, that settles all sorts of questions and life not only becomes much simpler, it also becomes much more joyful. Jesus warned us that we would have problems in this world, but He also assured us that He’s already beaten every one of those problems, so if we stick with Him, we can rejoice. (John 16:33)

The NIV here says “sing,” but the Japanese says, “raise the voice of joy.” God doesn’t want us singing the blues! I grew up in a very musical family, and singing and joy are certainly intertwined in my heart and life. I’ve already planned some of the songs I want sung at my funeral! It will be a joyous occasion indeed for me, and I want all present to realize that, and know that it is possible for them as well. The path I have walked has many holes in it that I dug for myself, but God has gotten me out of every one. As a pastor, I desire to help as many people as possible avoid such holes, to join me in songs of joy both here and before God’s throne. Some have done themselves grave harm already, but God can redeem anyone and turn anything around to use it for blessing, if we will allow Him to do so. (Romans 8:28)

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know the various people I encounter, and You know what each one needs. I pray that I wouldn’t try to figure out on my own what to do, but be fully sensitive and obedient to You so that Your plans, and Yours alone, may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Paradoxes; October 29, 2019

Posted on October 31, 2019 by jgarrott

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs has several verses that reference this sort of thing, but it also has several that encourage planning ahead. There is a real tension between making plans and accepting what happens, and we’ll never get away from it in this life. It’s the tension between free will and the responsibility/accountability that comes with it, and the sovereignty of God and the faith and trust that should engender. There are many such tensions in life! One of the most striking to me is the one between our already having been included in Christ by faith, and yet not being made perfect in this life. I think God planned it that way so that we would keep growing and not be static. We try to avoid stress and resolve conflict, but with either of those we fail to grow as human beings. Understanding that should be a big comfort and encouragement, so long as we remember that God is ultimately still God, and He’s got it all worked out in the end. Conservative commentator Bill Whittle uses the phrase, “mental horsepower,” to describe what we lack to be able to grasp the mysteries of the universe, and this is certainly one of those. We are to use everything we’ve been given, but at the same time exercise faith in relation to what we don’t have. We don’t necessarily like it that way, but that is the path God has laid out for us to be “conformed to the likeness of his Son, (Romans 8:29) for His glory alone.

This is an issue that has grown in my awareness over the years. Going back to the original verse, I’ve never been much of a planner, and that has made problems for me and for others. However, I am blessed with faith that God is genuinely God, and not just some human construct that we use to explain things. I get frustrated with the paradoxes of life at times, wanting to be more Christlike myself and wanting those in my care to be so as well. I’ve got to be at peace with the reality that my vision is limited by being squarely in the flow of time, so I can’t see the solution to all the issues that God has already worked out. I tell people that we should plan to live to at least 100, and for the generations to follow, and at the same time live so that we would have no regrets to leave today. That’s easy to say and not so easy to do! As I’ve already said, I tend to fall short in the planning department, and if God were to take me home today I’d be anxious for my wife and others. I too need to keep growing! However, in all my struggles I need to keep remembering that God’s grace is sufficient, (2 Corinthians 12:9) for me and for everyone else, and He’s going to work everything out for good, and for His glory. (Romans 8:28)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for everything that happened yesterday, and for all Your plans for today. As I go hand out Gideon Bibles this morning I pray that the young people would not only be glad to get them, they would read them and discover You through them, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Parenting; October 28, 2019

Posted on October 31, 2019 by jgarrott

Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Anyone who has raised children should be able to agree with this to at least some extent. I say should, because sadly, some parents are blind to this reality. It all comes back to our fundamental view of humanity. One side says that we are born pure, and that everything undesirable comes from outside influences. The other side says that we are born with a bent to rebellion, and left to ourselves make a mess of things. That position is called belief in original sin. The irony is that politically, the first group tends toward belief in government control, and thus big government, whereas the second group tends toward a desire for as little government as possible. If people are by nature good and pure, then people should be in charge. If people are by nature rebellious and sinful, then God should be in charge. It’s that simple. An honest religious person will see that they themselves aren’t good enough to rule over others without a LOT of guidance from God, but a humanistic person will tend to feel that their ideas are best, so of course they should be in charge. The rubber really hits the road in the parent/child relationship, because the parent is naturally in charge, particularly in the early years, yet may feel – and be – entirely inadequate for the task. Parenting should teach us a lot about God! We desire the best for our children, yet don’t know how to provide it. When we think of “the best” in material terms (which is very common) we really make a mess of things, because what children need most is the security of unconditional love that cares enough to discipline them. That goes back to this verse. Frankly, applying discipline is hard work, and some parents just get lazy, farming out discipline to school teachers or even the police. If all parents did their job, we wouldn’t need police, and would hardly need teachers!

As a father and grandfather, I have certainly seen this first hand. I am proud of my daughters, but I certainly agree with the writer of this Proverb! I have found, and seen in others, that when boundaries are set early and properly, the various corrections needed are much easier than when those boundaries are not defined. I would certainly not call myself a perfect parent, but I know the perfect Father, and that has made a huge difference. I have found that guiding my children’s growth has been a major part of Father God growing me! I still find “pockets of folly” in my own heart, and at times need God’s “rod of discipline” to clean them out. Right now my active parenting is mostly in relation to my being a pastor, and thus a spiritual father. Discipline frankly can get complicated and messy in a church setting, but I must not shy away from it. I don’t have the necessary wisdom, but God does, and I need to be a willing instrument in His hands.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You did yesterday, in the service and afterwards. Help me keep my eyes on You and rejoice, even as You had me preach yesterday, so that the plans of the devil may be defeated and Your will be done fully, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Priorities; October 27, 2019

Posted on October 28, 2019 by jgarrott

Proverbs 21:21 He who pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity and honor.

It’s interesting to me how many verses in Proverbs bring to mind Jesus’ famous statement in Matthew 6:33. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” If we seek things according to God’s priorities, then we gain what we think we want on top of that. The Japanese here says “sincerity” rather than “love,” and “righteousness” rather than “prosperity,” but the impact is the same. Our minds and bodies think we need and want all sorts of things, but if we choose to make the things of God our first priority, it’s amazing how things straighten out. That’s a good thing, too, because our physical and emotional desires are clearly temporal, affecting us on this earth, whereas the things of God are eternal, valid for this life and the next. David rightly recognized that God’s love is better than physical life itself, (Psalm 63:3) and we do well to remember that ourselves. Advertising is designed to generate feelings of need, and the devil is a master “ad man.” Just as succumbing to commercial advertising can bankrupt us financially, succumbing to the devil’s “ads” will certainly bankrupt us spiritually. In both cases it takes a clear mind and heart to choose what is real and good, and let go of everything else.

This certainly applies to me as much as it does to anyone else. I am uninterested in a lot of the stuff the world chases after, but I am just as human by nature as anyone else. I’ve got to choose to have Jesus’ attitude, as Paul tells us so powerfully in Philippians 2:5-8. I am to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness on every level, not allowing myself to be distracted by all the glitter – or the trials – the devil tries to use to get my attention. I have tasted enough of the goodness of God that you would think I would be immune to other things, but that’s sadly not the case. I am daily dependent on the Holy Spirit to guard and guide my heart and mind. If I fail to remember that, I am at risk of going wildly astray, and I certainly don’t want that.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I need it more often than I realize. As Cathy’s dream in the night demonstrated, we are very much at war, and our enemy never “plays fair.” Help us both put on and keep on Your whole armor, (Ephesians 6:13-18) and stay submitted to You, so that the devil may indeed flee (James 4:7) and Your kingdom be established, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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