When God Seems Distant; July 23, 2019

Posted on July 25, 2019 by jgarrott

Psalm 13:5-6 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me.

The past few days it has come out how David heard from God, but this Psalm makes it clear there were times when he felt like he wasn’t hearing a thing. We all have times like that, and they are an indication that God is a good parent. Being totally available to your children 100% of the time tends to make them self-centered and stunts their growth. Of course, we are physically and emotionally limited in just how much attention we can give our children. God has no such limitations, but He still seems to back off sometimes. The path of maturity is to stay obedient to what we have already heard from Him, doing what these verses say David did: remind ourselves of how good God has already been to us, and praise Him accordingly. As came out strongly in this past Sunday’s message, trusting God is a choice, and we won’t learn to make it consistently until we learn to make it when it’s hard. An interesting difference in translation comes out in verse 5. I chose the Scriptures for this series by doing a computer search for the English word, love, and then deciding how much context to include with the verses that came up. However, as I read the passages in Japanese, I find that about half the time the term that is used isn’t the one that is usually rendered “love” in English, but rather the one that is usually rendered “grace.” They are indeed inextricably connected. God would not be so gracious toward us if He didn’t love us, and because we can’t earn His love, it is by definition grace. Here, the Japanese says, “I depend on Your grace.” When we remind ourselves of how much better God has treated us than we deserved, we can get through all sorts of trials with flying colors.

This is certainly true for me. Considering how much I have ignored God over the course of my life, despite having known a lot about Him from infancy, I hardly have room to complain if He doesn’t seem instantly responsive to me! That said, the longer I walk with Him, the more responsive I feel He really is. It’s like the Bill Gaither song says, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.” As a pastor, I am constantly dealing with people who haven’t gained the maturity to trust God regardless of their circumstances. Interestingly, that includes parents who are constantly complaining about their children, not recognizing the irony of the situation. I know that since becoming a parent I have learned a lot about God that I otherwise would not have grasped. Now that I am a grandparent – and great-grandparent – I have learned about how God can sometimes be downright indulgent toward us. Over time I have learned how incredibly patient God is with us, and I am deeply grateful. I need to extend that same patience toward those to whom I minister, giving them the chance to grow as God intends, for their blessing and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me remember that You are never far from me, whatever it feels like, and help others to come to that same realization, so that we may all be the children You desire, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sanctuary; July 22, 2019

Posted on July 24, 2019 by jgarrott

Psalm 11:3 “When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”

Two things strike me about this verse. One is a sharp difference in translation between the English and the Japanese here. Where English translations are pretty thoroughly agreed in saying “foundations,” the Japanese says, “sanctuary.” I don’t know that it makes a huge difference, but it’s interesting. The other thing is that the English and Japanese agree that this is part of the quotation that starts at the end of verse 1 with “Flee like a bird.” In other words, this is something said by someone who is trying to discourage you, to make you give up. However, David very rightly comes back by saying, effectively, that his foundation, his sanctuary, is the Lord Almighty, not any physical thing or even any social construct, and nothing can destroy Him. Recent years have seen severe attacks on the foundations of civil society, most notably in America and in China. Those attacks have taken very different forms, but their goal is to make people abandon God and His order of things, which makes their origin very clear. In America, some people have responded to the attacks by indeed fleeing, retreating to some place they can live “off the grid,” isolated from the chaos they see in society. They’re listening to the wrong voices! The Early Church should be very instructive here. God allowed persecution specifically to get them moving, away from the communal comfort of Jerusalem and out “to the ends of the earth” so that they could fulfill the Great Commission. In a few hundred years they managed to flip the Roman Empire to Christianity, but there were all sorts of problems there, too. The point for us today is to remember that whatever is happening in society around us, we are not powerless so long as we are rightly related to the Lord in faithful obedience. We are to be instruments of God’s name being acknowledged as holy and His lordship being established as His will is done, right here on earth as perfectly as it is in heaven. That won’t happen if we fear man more than we fear God.

Living in Japan, I view both America and China from a physical distance at least, but I feel a lot of emotional connection. China is ramping up active persecution of religion in general and using technology as a tool to that end. The Communist government is the very definition of “godlessness,” and they take pride in that. After all, a religious person has a higher loyalty than to the government, and they can’t allow that! However, their efforts are driving more and more people to take refuge in the only true sanctuary, the Lord Almighty who loved them enough to give His Son for them. In America, which was founded on expressly Christian principles, the picture is more chaotic, but light and darkness, good and evil, are being ever more starkly contrasted, and more and more previously lukewarm Christians are waking up. We may not like the fight, or even some of the people God chooses to fight for us, but we are not to “flee as a bird,” but rather submit to God and resist the devil. (James 4:7)

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Help me support my brothers and sisters who are in the middle of the conflict through prayer, giving myself to You so that Your will may be done through me, whether I am physically involved or not. Help me recognize the devil’s schemes in my own immediate sphere as well, to stand firmly against them. Thank You for the assurance that the final outcome will indeed be glorious. Even so, come Lord Jesus! Hallelujah!

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Hearing God; July 21, 2019

Posted on July 24, 2019 by jgarrott

Psalm 6:8-9 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
the Lord accepts my prayer.

The assurance that God has heard you is a marvelous thing, but I find myself wondering how God gave David that assurance. Today it’s very easy to hear God through reading His Word, but as the Lord reminded me just yesterday, David almost certainly didn’t have that opportunity. And there you have it! God spoke to David’s heart, just as He speaks to ours if we are listening. It can be a huge blessing and encouragement to go back over what I’ve written on previous days and recognize that God was indeed speaking to me, and I heard Him. Actually, in this example David had been in the sort of situation where it can be particularly hard to hear God, because our own desires and emotions are so strong. The extreme and perfect example for us to follow is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Every part of His humanity cried out against the suffering that He knew lay ahead of Him, but He still prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39) Many years ago Joy Dawson wrote out points for hearing God and receiving His guidance, and a very important one was, “Die to what you are praying about.” By that she meant releasing it fully to God, firmly committing to accept God’s answer whatever it is. Frankly, that’s not easy! We do need to get rid of all guilt for desiring whatever it is we are praying for, but unless it is something manifestly sinful to begin with, (which we aren’t likely to be praying for in the first place) asking isn’t wrong. One of the great mysteries of the universe is that the Creator indeed cares about, and speaks to, His seemingly insignificant little creations, us. Just as He gave David assurance that he was heard, He will speak to us in all sorts of ways, if we have the faith to listen.

I know people who often receive dreams from God, but that is a rare occurrence for me. I have one friend who sometime has “waking visions,” where he suddenly sees things in his spirit that would not be visible to his physical eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those! My wife has the gift of Words of Knowledge, (1 Corinthians 12:8) where God tells her things about situations and people that are not obvious to others. (We have even had people leave this church out of fear that they were being, or would be, exposed because of that gift.) I have experienced that at least once, but it’s hardly common with me. However, every time I open the Bible I am aware that God is speaking. That’s why you can’t convince me not to have my morning devotion times! I have pastor friends who labor over sermons, and that’s not limited to those who aren’t very good at preaching. However, once I’ve heard what the topic is, the rest of the sermon notes generally just flow, almost like I’m taking dictation. (That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes preach duds, because I do, but that’s the usual pattern.) As a pastor I want everyone in the church to recognize that God is speaking to them, and not just through my messages. I want them to read the Bible expectantly, listening for what He is going to say, so that they can act on it in full obedience. If they will do that, I have no worries, because they are firmly on the road to full discipleship.

Father, thank You indeed for speaking to us Your children. Help us all open our hearts and our ears to You more and more, in full joy and obedience, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Fellowship with God; July 20, 2019

Posted on July 22, 2019 by jgarrott

Psalms 5:3 In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

If anyone wonders why David was described as “a man after God’s own heart,” (Acts 13:22) this verse makes it pretty clear. David not only talked to God regularly, he expected an answer. How many people really do that? David was totally convinced that God was real and that He cared, and that impacted every part of his life. He was certainly as human as the rest of us, sometimes ignoring God to the point of committing adultery and then having someone killed to try to cover it up, but when it was pointed out to him what he had done, he repented fully and at no point did he accuse God of injustice, even though he had lots of bad stuff happen in his life. As Jesus said clearly, life on earth is like that. (John 16:33) However, saying that God isn’t real or that he doesn’t care isn’t the answer to anything. Recently I read of another study (there have been several) that said regular Bible reading was far and away the best predictor/indicator of spiritual maturity. If we really believe God exists, you would think we would want to know what He has said and is saying! Given the culture and technology of the day, it is doubtful that David had a personal copy of the Torah until after he was king, if then. However, as a youth he had discovered that when he prayed, God answered. That’s why he wrote so many Psalms that are part of the Bible today. Intimacy with God is something He desires far more than we do. If we will commit ourselves to seek His face as David did, we will discover that He is more real and more present than anything we can see with our physical eyes.

I’ve thankfully never gone as far as adultery and murder, but otherwise I can see a lot of parallels between me and David. I was raised to love Jesus from birth. Around age five I was recorded as saying, “Mommy, I really, really love you, but I don’t love you nearly as much as I love Jesus.” I was baptized by my own decision at age seven. I clearly remember at least one time of fairly intense worship, all by myself, when I was in the 7th grade. Even so, I drifted into pride, and didn’t let Jesus be Lord of my decisions. There was plenty of stuff that I can only place under the blood of the Lamb. However, I have come away with an unshakable conviction that God is real, and that He cares about every detail of my life. I remember telling someone about a time of worship I had in which I was totally aware that God was more real than I was, and that person really couldn’t understand what I was saying. As a pastor, one of my strongest desires for each member of the flock is that they have a regular, genuine devotional time, taking in His Word and talking to Him about it. So far, few have really taken that up to walk in it, but some have, and that is deeply satisfying. I’m not much of a pastor, but we all have the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, (Hebrews 13:20) and I want everyone in my care to be rightly related to Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. This morning I’ll be seeing one of my wandering sheep. He has done himself far more damage than he realizes by stopping reading Your Word. I ask You to place a hunger for You and Your Word in him that cannot be denied, so that he will take in Your truth and so be set free from the rotten lies the enemy has dumped on him. May even today be a day of liberation for him, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Sleep; July 19, 2019

Posted on July 21, 2019 by jgarrott

Psalms 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety.

Sleep disorders of one sort or another are a very common problem these days. We prioritize “screen time” and let our hearts get so busy that we essentially forget how to rest. David didn’t deal with screen time, but he spent a significant chunk of his life running from King Saul, who was literally out to kill him. That sort of thing can certainly get your heart stirred up! David discovered the same thing Paul did. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) The answer is simply, and obviously, to trust God. The problem is, we have great difficulty doing that in practical terms. We know it in theory, but when push comes to shove, we often balk, to our great loss. Often we fail to see how our life choices run counter to faith. Take the matter of screen time. Our priority needs to be fellowship with our Lord, even above “getting things done” for Him, much less entertaining ourselves with things of the world. When He says to do something we need to do it, but He is not a harsh taskmaster, and He knows how to handle our work load. He even told us that directly! (Matthew 11:28-30) It almost always comes back to trusting Him enough to be fully obedient to Him, in our time allocation in particular but in all other things as well.

This is particularly timely for me, because my wife got up because of pain, (not an unusual occurrence for her) and when I woke up for a bathroom break at 3:30 I went into her workroom to check on her. I logically decided it would be wise for me to get some more sleep after that, but once in bed, my mind went into overdrive. Finally, around 4:30 I gave up and got up. I know the truth of what I wrote about this verse, and I recommend it to others all the time, but I don’t always practice it effectively myself! Little things like this should keep me humble as I minister to others, keeping me from accusing them when they fail to follow through on the truths I share with them. As a teacher I tend to feel that speaking truth should be sufficient, but my own life is a demonstration that is not so. I need to walk alongside them, as well as recognize my need for others to walk alongside me, coaching and encouraging rather than accusing. That is what the Holy Spirit does, which is a good check on whether we are hearing His voice or that of Satan, the “accuser of the brethren.” (Revelation 12:10)

Father, thank You for this timely Word. Thank You for getting me through the day yesterday without excessive tiredness, because I woke up awfully early yesterday, too. I do ask Your strength and clear guidance for me today, not only to get the things done that filled my mind in bed this morning but also in terms of when and how to get the rest You have for me. Keep me from trying to run my life by myself, because that’s a sure recipe in how to ruin my life. Help me trust You enough to obey You fully, in every detail, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Prophecy and Predestination; July 18, 2019

Posted on July 21, 2019 by jgarrott

Nehemiah 1:8-9 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'”

When reading Deuteronomy it is tempting to think that the words attributed to Moses were actually written by someone after the Babylonian Captivity, because they describe it so accurately. However, here we have clear evidence that Moses was a true prophet indeed, speaking and recording the words of God about things that were hundreds of years in the future, as far as Moses was concerned. We tend to forget that one thing Father God can never do is be surprised. He is outside of time, so He is aware of everything at once, from the moment He created the universe to the moment He brings it all to an end. We get tied in knots over what might happen tomorrow, when God knows what will happen throughout eternity! One of the great philosophical mysteries, as far as man is concerned, is how human free will fits into that, because if we are “fated” to do something, we should bear no responsibility for it, and the Bible clearly contradicts that way of thinking. Paul uses the term “predestined,” in Romans 8 and Ephesians 1, but that simply points out that our minds don’t grasp quantum mechanics very well. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is just words for most people, but the Bible is full of things that are “now but not yet.” We are made to be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, (2 Corinthians 5:21) but at the same time we are not yet made perfect. (Philippians 3:12-14) We are tempted to agonize over all of this, but God wants us to trust Him enough to release it all into His hands, knowing that our minds can’t comprehend it all, but He’s got it all covered.

This is an issue for every thoughtful human being. Recently I saw an article about how some Christians treat prophecy like fortune telling, and that is obviously an aberration. If we get too anxious about “what’s next,” we open ourselves up to all sorts of lying spirits. I know of a marriage that was torn apart because the wife consulted a fortune teller who told her that her husband was being unfaithful, when he wasn’t. (He wasn’t being wise, but he wasn’t yet being physically unfaithful.) The devil is only out to steal, kill, and destroy, (John 10:10) and he uses our lack of faith to do it. I’ve got to trust God fully myself, as well as speak the truth in love to those around me, so that the truth may indeed set us free from the traps of the enemy. (John 8:32) When God gives me a word of prophecy I am to be faithful to speak it as He directs, but never think that I am the one making things happen. I am to proclaim the Gospel in all strength and purity so that as many as will may receive it, for their salvation and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for telling me, years ago now, to rest, relax, and rejoice. Help me indeed do that, trusting You with everything and walking in faithful obedience so that Your will may be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Emotions; July 17, 2019

Posted on July 20, 2019 by jgarrott

Ezra 3:13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Intense emotions overlap. Actually, the weeping of the seniors present was from mixed emotions. They too had joy that the foundations were laid, but they also had horrific memories of when the original temple had been torn down. Actually, it’s not at all unusual for people to cry from joy, particularly when difficult circumstances have been endured leading up to the joy. The people who had seen the original temple had seen scenes of famine and slaughter, almost certainly including the deaths of people close to them, and then they had been taken as prisoners on a long trek to a foreign nation and had to endure discrimination and privation, before finally making the long trip back to Jerusalem. It’s no wonder they were emotional wrecks! I wonder if the younger people, those who were simply rejoicing, had any empathy for them? We would do well to recognize that emotions are both powerful and complicated and not dismiss them, either in ourselves or in others. Often enough, we don’t really understand our own emotions! Accordingly, being gentle with others and their emotions would certainly fit in the category of “love your neighbor as yourself.” At the same time, emotions aren’t the same thing as truth, and indeed can blind us to truth. That’s why we need to put our roots deep into God and His Word, so that the storms of emotion won’t knock us over. Emotions are an important part of being human. Josephus reported that Jesus was known for being emotional, and that His emotions could change very suddenly. We must not despise emotions, but at the same time we must not rely on them.

Since emotions are part of being human, I have plenty of proof that I’m human! In pastoral ministry I am constantly dealing with the emotions of others. It is very sad to visit mental hospitals and meet with those under treatment for being “bipolar.” In Japan at least, they are given medication that suppresses all emotion and they live in a gray fog that to me seems hardly to be living. I have to wonder how they would be if they had a caring support network of family and friends to help them deal with both the highs and the lows of emotion, rather than having both extremes cut off by chemicals. My task is to help people – including myself – recognize God’s grace to them and so rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, accepting and valuing emotion but not being whipped around by it. Joy is more than an emotion, but it certainly has a strong element of emotion, and the Bible makes it clear that joy is integral to God’s plan for us.

Father, thank You for emotions, both positive and negative. Help me deal with them as You intend, both in myself and in others, so that the tricks of the devil may be overcome and Your perfect plan instated, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Victory; July 16, 2019

Posted on July 20, 2019 by jgarrott

2 Chronicles 20:17 “‘You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'”

I have loved this story for as long as I can remember. Both the scene here, where God speaks this Word through a very ordinary Levite (in contrast to a recognized prophet) and the king and the people receive it in faith, and the scene the next day and following, when they discover exactly how God fulfilled this Word, make me very happy just reading them. Political correctness would require that I sorrow for the deaths of all the people in the invading army, but the point is, those people had set themselves up in direct opposition to God and His people, so God dealt with them as that deserved. There are people in many nations today who have set themselves up against God, causing great distress and suffering for God’s people. God’s response may not be as immediate or as final as it was here, but it is just as certain. There is a whole political movement in the US that has set itself up against Biblical morality on several fronts, but right now we see them tearing themselves apart with infighting, in a manner reminiscent of this story. The point for those who seek to follow God is indeed to stand firm, speaking the truth in love, trusting that God is still God. As Jehoshaphat said in verse 20, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in His prophets and you will be successful.”

I am not to be too quick to attribute evil motives to people, but I am to be very firm in trusting God. Yesterday I saw a very disturbing report of what is going in in China with the suppression/oppression of religious minorities, and I know that time is limited for the ruling cadre there. I read of what is going on in North Korea and Islamist countries and my heart aches for my brothers and sisters in Christ in those places, but there too, I know that God is still God, and His arm is not shortened nor His strength abated. The Revelation to John makes it very clear that the devil makes a lot of trouble, but his end is already sealed. I am to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ wherever they are and whatever they are going through, that they may stand firm in the assurance that “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) For that matter, I need to keep remembering that myself! My challenges probably won’t be as dramatic as that faced by King Jehoshaphat, but the answer is still the same: trusting obedience.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for this marvelous record of Your gracious plan. We do face challenges every day. May we not be anxious, but move out against them in faith, just as You told Jehoshaphat, so that Your plans may be fulfilled for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Judges; July 15, 2019

Posted on July 19, 2019 by jgarrott

2 Chronicles 19:7 “Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

It strikes me that this chapter would make good reading for the judiciary of any country! As it stands now, outright bribery isn’t at all unusual in many countries, but even in countries where that isn’t the case, partiality/favoritism is a major issue. Even in America, that was built on a solid foundation of the constitution and laws, far too many judges rule on the basis of how they think things should be, instead of on what the law says. Frankly, such judges show very little fear of the Lord. They, including the justices of the Supreme Court, will eventually have to stand before the Highest Court of all and have to answer for everything, (1 Peter 4:5) and none of their excuses will hold water. In the meantime, their rulings can cause problems for many. It is no accident that the 10 Commandments are the foundation of Western jurisprudence, but it is also no accident that many people are even violently opposed to their being displayed. The devil doesn’t like laws and rulings that are founded on the fear of the Lord!

My only experiences of being in court were when I was working as an interpreter during a brief stint in the Seattle area while our younger daughter was getting settled in college, and that was just traffic court for Japanese exchange students who had gotten caught in minor infractions. Even so, I remember one young man who was hit with a charge that at the time, I felt a Caucasian would have gotten no more than a warning at most. Favoritism is unfortunately an issue. On a more personal level, as a pastor and as a school teacher I have had to render judgments many times, and sometimes the consequences were great for the one being judged. I too must root all of my decisions in the Lord and His Word, whether the issue at hand seems to be directly connected to that or not. I’ve got to remember God’s righteousness and holiness as well as His grace and love, and interact with people accordingly.

Father, this is a difficult issue for every one of Your children. Only You can enable us to evaluate accurately without being judgmental. Help me love everyone unconditionally, forgiving without excusing, so that Your name may be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Worship; July 14, 2019

Posted on July 19, 2019 by jgarrott

2 Chronicles 7:3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,
“He is good;
his love endures for ever.”

The people gathered there were just as blown away as we would be at such a supernatural display. Their response was, appropriately enough, worship, in posture and in words. I really think their words were along the lines of, “This is how you’re supposed to be, so please don’t zap us!” Very few Westerners have ever worshiped with their face to the ground, but it is a standard posture for Islamic prayer, which is why they have prayer rugs, to avoid having to put their faces to the dirt. There are many places in the Bible that speak of people worshiping God in this posture, and indeed, the Hebrew word for worship at least implies this sort of thing. It is actually a natural response to extreme and fearsome power and authority, as we have here. However, if our response to God stops with fear, we have a real problem. It is vital that we know God is totally powerful, and is to be feared from that standpoint. However, it is important that we also not forget His other attributes, as these people were reminding themselves with their words. As Paul told Timothy, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Being able to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) is a blessing that is unimaginable in most religions. Far too many of us take God for granted, and are even flippant about worship. That is spiritually very dangerous. We cannot grasp the magnificence of His grace unless we realize how awesome and powerful He is.

Raised in a family that rightly focused on the love of God, I fell into the trap of taking Him for granted. It was in November of 1972 that God in His mercy allowed me to see what I had become as a result of that, and I repented in tears, literally falling to my knees and crying, “My Lord and my God.” I am deeply grateful for God loving me enough to call me to account. Since then I have had many times of being acutely aware of His reality, His presence, and each of those has been a treasure to me. I have had times of being prostrate before the Lord, and times I felt like He was holding me in His arms. I am to walk in the conviction that He is who He is, whether I feel anything or not, and so worship Him in spirit and in truth, just as Jesus said. (John 4:23-24)

Father, thank You for this reminder. We are expecting a small group for this morning’s service, with several people having very legitimate reasons to be elsewhere, plus it’s raining. Keep me from allowing my worship of You to be contingent on people or circumstances, but rather be all that You desire and deserve, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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