Pilate; March 2, 2019

Posted on March 3, 2019 by jgarrott

John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

I am very interested to realize how sympathetic a figure I am finding Pilate to be. He was far from sinless, as Jesus implies here, but he was really caught between a rock and a hard place. He was about ready to recognize that Jesus was Divine, or at least supernatural in some way, but the Jews framed the issue in terms of how it would look to Rome, to which Pilate had to answer temporally speaking. We know from other historical sources that Pilate didn’t have a sterling reputation in the Empire at this point, and he was very interested in preserving his career and his skin. In consequence, he was directly instrumental in crucifying the Lord of Glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8) We learn from other sources that the decision to do so haunted him the rest of his life. At any point in that, if he had cried out in repentance to the One whom he had crucified, he would have been forgiven and saved, but we have no record of that. As a result, he is one of the more tragic figures in history. That said, we need to recognize that our sins put us in the same position as Pilate. Every human being is just as much in need of forgiveness as Pilate was. Even Jesus here says that Pilate’s sin was “lesser,” yet we paint him as a terrible villain. Pilate’s story should inspire us all to deep humility and repentance.

The more I think about it, my sins are at least as bad as Pilate’s, because I have known from earliest childhood that Jesus was the Son of God, and yet I have done various things in my life deliberately disobeying Him. On top of that, there are the many things I have failed to do that He wanted me to do, and all of that doesn’t touch the countless things that I have done without deliberate intent, but which actively violated His will and His character. God’s grace is glorious because it’s so essential! As I seek to share the Gospel with others, I must never forget that I myself am totally hopeless without it. When I lose that awareness I instantly descend into hypocrisy. That’s not to say that I am to constantly look at myself as dirt. On the contrary, I have been forgiven and cleansed and made to be a child of God. I am to rejoice indeed in that, and know that since God could do it for me, He can do it for anyone!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the opportunity to interact with the guys last night and share the basics of salvation with them. One attended a Christian high school, so my remarks were a refresher for him. I pray that each of them would recognize that what they have seen in Cathy and me over the past few weeks has been Christ, and hunger for Him themselves. May they be the “break in the dam,” allowing a flood of young people to enter life in Christ, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Truth; March 1, 2019

Posted on March 3, 2019 by jgarrott

John 18:37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

I find myself surprisingly sympathetic to Pilate as I read this. The fact that the Jews would go to the trouble of hauling Jesus to him just so he could be legally executed showed the depth of their hatred for Him, but Pilate couldn’t figure out the reason for that hatred. Frankly, it is very reminiscent of the political situation in the US today. Trump is certainly no Jesus, but the hatred for him seems at least comparable to what we read here, and for equally irrational, subliminal reasons. Pilate had never met anyone like Jesus, but then, He was and is the only Savior. He is obviously in danger for His life, and yet He isn’t frantic, but rather keeps speaking as the great Teacher He is. Who else, in a situation like this, would say profound things about Truth? It’s no wonder Pilate responded with his famous, rather snarky rhetorical question, “What is truth?” That said, Jesus’ statement here is important. He is restating His mission, the reason He was born into the world as a human baby. It was to go on trial and be crucified as a testimony that God is absolutely holy and pure, and He is also love. That is the truth that the devil wants desperately to keep from human beings, because when we learn that and believe it, we repent and are saved, passing out of the devil’s domain into life. What Jesus says here brings to mind what He said earlier to Nicodemus: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19-21) We cannot have real truth without the light of Christ, and vice versa.

This of course applies as much to me as it does to anyone else. I’ve got to remember that “listens” here is actually, “listens and obeys,” as the Japanese puts it explicitly. If I am on the side of truth – and I earnestly desire to be – I need to live out the truth I know, and not deceive myself. (James 1:22) Following in my father’s footsteps, I have maintained a policy of absolute honesty for the major part of my life, but this is more than that. I need to seek and receive the Holy Spirit’s help in distinguishing the truth from all the falsehoods that bombard us constantly, and receive only the truth to make it my own. That’s far easier said than done, but nothing is too difficult for God. I certainly can’t do it properly on my own! I see people all around me who are chained, crippled, and even destroyed by falsehoods they have accepted as true, and it is tragic indeed. That’s why I must always speak the truth in love, so that people may perhaps receive it and be set free. (John 8:32)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ll have another attentive audience this evening. I pray that each person’s heart may be prepared to receive Your love and truth through Cathy and me. May they not just like us, but rather love You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Knowing God; February 28, 2019

Posted on March 1, 2019 by jgarrott

John 17:26 “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

I don’t know what I was thinking when I put the whole Pastoral Prayer as one reading! There is so much marvelous truth in this chapter that it calls for verse-by-verse digestion, and then continued meditation. That is so that Jesus may indeed make the Father (the Japanese, with the Greek, says, “Your name”) known to us more and more. We have a problem with capacity. It’s kind of like trying to download terabytes of information through an old dial-up modem. That’s one of the many reasons the Holy Spirit is essential to us, because He can “trickle it through” as fast as we can take it. (John 16:12-13) As the Lord has been pointing out recently, knowledge by itself is static; it must be applied to be effective. However, we must have the knowledge in the first place to be able to apply it. That’s the same principle that applies to evangelism and salvation: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15) We have already been sent by Jesus, (John 17:18; 20:21, Matthew 28:18-20) so we are to preach (proclaim) the Good News we have received. Salvation is actually the first step of really knowing God. It is a process that will be completed only when we are before Him, with nothing in the way. (1 Corinthians 13:12) Our task on this earth is to keep learning more (continuing that download) and applying what we learn, which also means sharing what we have learned with those around us. Since we are analog rather than digital beings, we need to let the Holy Spirit also do constant “error-checking.” because our understanding of God can really get distorted at times. However, He is more than up to the task, so we need to be diligent but not anxious, rejoicing in Him.

I’m amused at the computer analogies that came out in that, but they shouldn’t be surprising from a geek like me! This whole issue is a major issue for me, because as a pastor I have particular responsibility in teaching people more about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am never to think I’ve already got it all down, that I don’t need to learn any more, but at the same time I am not to hesitate to share with others what I do know. It is fascinating to experience God revealing more of Himself to me even as I am sharing Him with others.

That’s something I have experienced many times, and have observed in others as well. I am always amused, as well as delighted, when I see/hear a supposed “non-believer” telling someone else about Jesus. I can be absolutely sure their baptism won’t be far off! In this next week I will have various opportunities to share Christ with people who haven’t yet opened their hearts to Him. I’m very caught up with preparations for going to our granddaughter’s wedding, but I must not overlook any of the opportunities the Lord has for me to share the Gospel before then. I am to keep learning more of Him, even as I share Him with all who will receive.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how You are demonstrating Your control of time and schedules. Help me be anxious about nothing, but fully faithful and diligent in everything, so that all of Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Assurance; February 27, 2019

Posted on March 1, 2019 by jgarrott

John 16:22 “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

The disciples who heard Jesus say this went through some incredible hardships, with John the only one to die a natural death, and he actually didn’t get off any easier than the others. However, in all of that they had a joy that no amount of suffering could negate, because they served a risen Savior! They had definitive proof that this world wasn’t the be-all and end-all of everything, and they were on the winning side. This is behind a verse in this same chapter that I quote very frequently: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) We tend to allow all sorts of things to distract us from this glorious reality: physical pain and disease, interpersonal relationships, finances, disasters of all sorts. However, none of those are a match for being in Christ, our risen Lord and Savior who very literally went through hell for us (as the Catholic version of the Apostles Creed proclaims). That is why abiding in Christ, as He tells us repeatedly to do, is so vital. We abide in Him through loving obedience, and with that done, everything else fades to insignificance.

One of the sharpest memories of my childhood is of a time I was riding in the car with my parents. We happened to be on the Administrative Annex of Itazuke Air Force Base, where I went to school since it was the only American school in the city. I even remember the specific part of the base. My father was driving, and I was asking my mother how I could be really sure I was a Christian. (I had been baptized on the profession of my faith at age seven.) My mother responded by reminding me of a song that I knew and loved well, titled, He Lives. The last line of that says, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.” That satisfied me then, and it satisfies me now. My goal in life is for everyone I know to be able to make that confession with the same assurance I do. It won’t happen to that degree, because God doesn’t violate our free will, but I know that God desires it even more than I do. (1 Timothy 2:4)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that my cold is so much better, day by day. Thank You also that it’s been several years since I last had a cold like this. Thank You that everything is in Your hands, flowing on Your schedule, so I don’t need to be anxious about any of it. Help me indeed not waste any emotional energy on such anxiety, but trust and obey You fully in every detail, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Being Liked; February 26, 2019

Posted on February 28, 2019 by jgarrott

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”

In the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush because He knows He doesn’t have time for that; this is his last chance to teach them before His crucifixion. This one short verse is a gut punch for anyone who is all upset because they aren’t universally liked and admired. In America at least, being a Christian has generally been seen as admirable, but not so much any more. The media are quick to accuse anyone who holds to Biblical values of being a “bigot,” a “homophobe,” and “intolerant” in any of a number of ways. We’ve got to remember that anyone who refuses to follow Jesus, even when they know about Him, is actively following the liar, whether they realize it or not. As such, we should hardly expect them to make true statements! One reason “identity politics” are all the rage is not just that the devil loves division (though he does) but that lumping people into groups makes it much easier to dismiss them, to despise them. That’s what the devil wants us to do, so that should tell us what we should do instead! I think it was Stalin who said, “Five people being killed is a tragedy. Five million people being killed is a statistic.” That’s why he went so big with his killing. We are to look at people individually and treat them as individuals for whom Christ died. When people get to know us individually they may be surprised at some of the things about our lifestyle, but they will very likely be attracted by the Christ they see in us. History has many examples of persecuted Christians who brought their jailers to salvation, just as Paul did. (Acts 16) We are not to complain about being disliked or even hated, but rather love in return, (Matthew 5:43-48)

I feel like I have very few enemies, but I’m not sure if that is good or bad! Some people have expressed that they feel I live by “impossibly high standards,” but I try to be honest with them about my failings. Some people, particularly Christians, have resented it when I have expressed God’s truth to them. All I’m doing is quoting God! I am not to offend needlessly, but neither am I to come across as excusing things that are clearly in violation of what God has said. In our upcoming trip we will be seeing at least two people in openly homosexual lifestyles. I don’t have the wisdom called for! However, God can use even me to call those people back to Himself. I must not forget that Jesus didn’t hesitate to associate with prostitutes, even though He never “patronized” them. I am to express God’s love and righteousness, not feeling superior but allowing my heart to be broken, so that the Holy Spirit may bring these brothers to repentance.

Father, it can be hard to walk in Your purity without the world seeing me as a “goody two shoes.” Help me not fear that, but abide in Christ fully, in all circumstances, so that Christ may shine through me for the salvation of those who see me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Bearing Fruit; February 25, 2019

Posted on February 28, 2019 by jgarrott

John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This whole passage is so incredibly rich that after reading it I had to just sit for a few minutes, asking what I was to write on. Andrae Crouch’s song, My Tribute, came to mind. “How can I give thanks for the things that you’ve done for me?” It goes on to say, “The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude.” I very much feel that way as I read, really anywhere in the Upper Room Discourse and the Pastoral Prayer that follows. Specifically thinking of this verse, every person is concerned about their life having meaning, about leaving a legacy, if you will. The thing is, God wants us to do exactly that, and Jesus tells us how. In verses 4 and 5 Jesus makes no bones about how we are helpless/worthless apart from Him, but even in verse 5 He promises that if we remain in Him, we will be fruitful. That is the context of this verse. Disciples aren’t particularly significant apart from the master they follow. We have the ultimate Master, and we must never forget it. One of the fundamental attributes of God is glory, and here Jesus tells us that when we bear fruit as His disciples, it gives God glory. The more you think about that, the more mind-blowing it is. God wants us to bear fruit, for our sake and for His own. We need to trust Him with that.

This is of great relevance for me, because I have passed 70 and I minister in Japan, a place notorious for sparse fruit from Christian ministry. Just in the past couple of weeks I’ve been given various opportunities to touch people as a representative of Christ, and the responses haven’t been bad. I need to remember that God is even more desirous of my being fruitful than I am! My task is to abide in Christ and allow Him to abide in me, because Jesus cannot be unfruitful. I am to be careful to make the most of every opportunity, (Colossians 4:5) so that the seed of the Word may be planted in every bit of soil that is ready for it. I’m not a good judge of the readiness of the soil, but the Holy Spirit is, and I’ve got to listen to Him. If I will be faithful in that, planting and watering, God will provide the fruit, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There is so much going on all around me that I have a definite impulse to run and hide, particularly with the cold I have at the moment. Help me not run from any situation into which You lead me, but rather be fully obedient as a disciple of Christ Jesus my Lord. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Blessings of Obedience; February 24, 2019

Posted on February 27, 2019 by jgarrott

John 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

The Bible uses all sorts of words to mean much the same thing. That is particularly evident in Psalm 119, which mentions the Word in practically every verse, but uses a number of different terms to do so. Here, where the NIV says “obey my teaching,” the Japanese says, “keep my words.” (That’s as in, “keeping the rules.”) Actually, this verse repeats the content of verse 15 and adds more, and it all brings to mind 13:17. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” We know full well that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) However, there are blessings to obedience, and we put ourselves in real danger if we forget that. Nothing could be a greater blessing than what Jesus says here: the Father and the Son make their home with those who love Jesus and obey Him. That’s what the Holy Spirit is all about, which Jesus talks about throughout this section. It’s not that we “earn” the presence of God by His Spirit, it’s that we get rid of the things that hinder His manifestation in and through us. Many people think of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in terms of spiritual gifts, but they are actually secondary. God pours His Spirit out so that Christ may be formed in us, (Galatians 4:19) as we are transformed into His likeness. (2 Corinthians 3:18) I don’t think we really grasp what a big deal it really is that God would make His home with us. If we really did, I think we would do anything to allow it to happen.

I’m talking to myself here. It’s been many years since I realized I needed to make James 1:22 the theme verse of my life: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” I have been a poster boy for knowing the Bible without putting it into practice. It’s not that I’ve done a lot of stuff that the world would consider bad, it’s just that I’ve been familiar with the Bible from infancy and yet haven’t applied it consistently. By the grace of God I have grown, spiritually speaking, and I’m understanding better and better what a magnificent thing Jesus is promising here. I want it to be fulfilled in my life! Realizing how long it has taken me to get to this point, I should have patience and empathy with those who aren’t there yet, as well as admiration and appreciation for those who have already surpassed me. I desire the manifest presence of God in every one of our church gatherings, so for that I need to be a walking repository of that presence. This is in no way to abdicate my responsibility for consistent faithfulness; exactly the opposite, in fact. It is as I am faithfully obedient that God will manifest Himself through me, for His glory and the salvation of many.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. Thank You for the various ways You have used me over the past week. I pray that today also I would be fully welcoming and yielded to You, so that I may speak Your words and touch with Your hands, for the blessing of all and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Trusting God; February 23, 2019

Posted on February 26, 2019 by jgarrott

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

I have preached many times on various parts of this first half of John 14, and verse 6 is one that I quote frequently, but at this moment I feel the Lord is speaking this first verse to me. We let our hearts be troubled by all sorts of things. The term used in the Japanese translation carries the feeling of stirred up, noisy, or very busy. What could be more applicable to the day we live in? The world around us is moving at a furious pace, and we find ourselves empathizing, at least, with the title of a Broadway hit of a few decades ago: Stop the World! I Want to Get Off! And that’s just life in general. Each of us has specific circumstances that put us into our own private storm. That’s why it’s so important that Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled/frantic.” Our wills have a great deal to do with it. We can’t control our circumstances much of the time, but we do have authority over our response to those circumstances, and that is what Jesus is talking about. The answer is faith/trust. I think the NIV translators were wise to use “trust” here rather than “believe,” because trust is very immediate and active, whereas believe can be abstract and theoretical. The answer to life’s storms isn’t philosophy, but rather an active commitment to the Lord who is above and greater than the storm. We don’t know about tomorrow, as the old Southern Gospel song says, but if we know Who holds the future and know that our hand is in His, then we can have peace regardless of our circumstances.

The reason the Lord spoke this to me right now is that my schedule is totally packed for the next month. We leave for America in less than two weeks, and there are lots of things to be done before then, including two graduations of schools where I teach and a host of other things. Then, the trip to the US covers four states and dozens of people, including the wedding of a granddaughter. It would be very much of a stretch to call it a vacation! Just this week we have had a memorial service at the request of the family of someone who died a year ago, and then a good friend died and we have been majorly involved in that. This is major training in trusting in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! However, God is more than worthy of our trust, and all that we are going through is absolutely no problem for Him. I will be performing two weddings today, and tomorrow after the service we have a farewell party for a church member who is moving to Kyrgyzstan, and then more things each day after that. I have to choose not to let my heart be troubled! Choice made, I can rest, relax, and rejoice in my Lord, as He told me to do many years ago. He is able, and that’s enough.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. Thank You that we’ve been able to allow some Rehabilitation College students study here over the past two weeks for their National Board Exam on Sunday. They have their own internal storm right now! I pray that each of them, and especially the one who is a member here, would choose to trust You and allow You to quiet their storm and enable them to do their best, and even beyond their own ability. May they, and we, be drawn to You by our storms, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Love of Jesus; February 22, 2019

Posted on February 26, 2019 by jgarrott

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus said He was giving His disciples a new commandment, but He Himself had quoted Leviticus 19:18 and said that loving your neighbor was the 2nd greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-40) So what was new about it? The very next sentence gives the difference: “As I have loved you.” Jesus’ love for us His disciples is beyond anything that is possible for us without the help of God. That’s why God chose Greek as the language of the New Testament. Just as the Inuit language has many different words for snow, Greek has four words that can be translated “love,” ranging from storge, meaning simply to like something, all the way to agape, the unconditional, selfless love Jesus is talking about here. Hebrew, English, Japanese, and every other language in my awareness lack such distinctions. Because we can’t generate agape on our own, it stands to reason that demonstrating it proves that we are indeed Jesus’ disciples. I’ll never forget the time I was with my mother in a park in Fukuoka that has a huge bronze statue of Nichiren, the founder of a sect of Japanese Buddhism. A young man spotted us and made a beeline for us. He was a member of Sokagakkai, a militant offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism, and he figured my mother was a missionary. (My father would probably have been too imposing for him to approach!) When he got to us, after confirming that my mother was indeed a missionary, he immediately went on the attack, saying that Christianity required things that were impossible, while Sokagakkai did no such thing. He particularly took offense at the command to love our enemies, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. (That command is famous in Japan, by the way.) He said that Christianity had to be a lie, because loving your enemies was impossible. My mother countered with the story of an American couple who came to Japan right after WWII to track down the person who had murdered their son, who had been a POW. By the time they found the murderer, they had learned that he was a young teenager who had been conscripted as a prison guard but had lost all his family in Hiroshima, and in blind rage and grief shot the American who was closest at hand. The American couple ended up adopting the young man who had killed their own son, choosing to love him as God loves us. The Sokagakkai young man had no answer to that story. God indeed enables everything He asks of us, if we will trust Him enough to allow Him to do so.

This of course challenges me as much as it does anyone else. I am no more capable of loving my enemies on my own than I am of turning myself into a duck. The longer I walk with Christ the more I appreciate His love for me, which makes me realize that the bar of “as I have loved you” is even higher than I had thought. However, nothing is too difficult for God, even expressing His love through me! I have been given opportunities recently to love people who have acted as my enemies, and it has been shockingly easy. That gives me a deep awareness that it’s not me, but Christ in me. We are currently ministering to a lady who has just lost her husband, and she has commented that just hearing my voice over the phone makes her cry, because of the gentleness she perceives. That isn’t anything I have generated, either intentionally or otherwise. My prayer is that God’s love through Cathy and me would draw this woman to Him, so that she may perceive that love directly. Sometimes recognizing that we are disciples of Jesus may make people run away from us or even hate us, but at the very least we will have made them aware of Him, and that can give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to touch their heart.

Father, I am sharply aware of my imperfections. Thank You for using me anyway. I pray particularly that as I go to the crematorium today on behalf of the widow, as Cathy stays with her at the home, that Your love through us may indeed draw her, and her siblings, to You for their salvation. Thank You. Praise God!

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Doing Truth; February 21, 2019

Posted on February 23, 2019 by jgarrott

John 13:17 “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

The entire Upper Room Discourse, from the beginning of this chapter through Jesus’ pastoral prayer in chapter 17, is incredibly rich in every way. It is worthy of a lifetime of meditation and preaching. However, we are all too prone to deceive ourselves, just as James said. (James 1:22) Here, after the first little bit of the whole Discourse, Jesus gives a word of caution that applies to everything He taught. Just knowing truth isn’t enough; it has to be applied. Knowing truth is important, but by itself it isn’t enough; we have to act on it. I will never forget something I heard from my Systematic Theology professor, Dr. John Kiwiet. He was a young man in Holland when the Nazis invaded, and he was quickly conscripted for a labor camp. He managed to escape, and spent the rest of the war dodging German bullets and American bombs. He told us that one time during that period he saw a church officer literally knock women and children down in his haste to get into a bomb shelter, and John Kiwiet realized that if our theology doesn’t affect the way we live, it is meaningless. That’s exactly what Jesus is saying here. God’s truth isn’t a talisman to carry around, a “good luck charm” to protect us simply by being there. Rather, “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) We act like it’s dead, to be put in a museum, but treated like that, it’s essentially worthless. It’s when we take it into our hearts to apply it that we are blessed.

This is a major truth that I have experienced from both sides. Growing up steeped in the Bible, I’ve known a lot about it for as long as I can remember. I read through the Bible (RSV) the first time before I was 10. However, I didn’t have a coach to help me apply what I knew in my head. My parents were very busy as missionaries, and they assumed that since I “knew” all this stuff, I was handling it correctly. Not so. I became a textbook illustration of a famous statement by Paul: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1) Spiritual pride was a huge snare for me. God brought me up short about that when I was 24, and I repented in tears. However, that didn’t mean I was instantly transformed into a “doer of the Word.” As someone with Teacher gifting, I have a strong tendency to feel, on an emotional level, that simply knowing stuff is enough, so all I need to do as a preacher is transmit information. Again, not so. I am trying to be a coach now for those around me, walking out God’s Word with them, rather than lecturing them about it. Lecturing is much easier for me! However, I’ve got to remember that the ultimate accolade that I desire is “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25:21 and 23) not, “well said.” I’m gifted with words and I delight in them, but I’ve got to live them out for them to have meaning.

Father, thank You for this powerful Word. Help me indeed live it out! Thank You also for answering my prayer about what to speak on next month when I will be at the church I pastored years ago before coming to Omura. May I be Your agent in all things, both in word and in deed, (Colossians 3:17) for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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