Children and Fruit; January 21, 2019

Posted on January 25, 2019 by jgarrott

Matthew 3:8-10 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Two things speak strongly to me from this passage. The first is that fruit is vitally important. Jesus Himself said that “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:20) However, in thinking about fruit we have to remember that a tree doesn’t decide on its own what kind of fruit it will produce. You can’t get oranges from an apple tree! Of course, oranges and apples are both good, but there are also trees that produce inedible fruit. What governs the fruit is the character of the tree. That’s why repentance must not be a matter of words only. If there is no heart change, then there will be no change in the fruit, and John makes it clear that’s very dangerous. We aren’t very good at changing our own hearts, but we have been given the ability to choose. If we choose humility before God, if we choose obedience to Him, then He takes care of everything else. A tree doesn’t get anxious over whether it can produce fruit, it just expresses its nature in season. The second thing that speaks to me here is that we aren’t indispensable to God. That might sound pretty severe, but John is pointing out that God, as the Creator, can make for Himself anything He likes. Frankly, sometimes I wonder about God having created mankind as we are and putting up with our nonsense as much as He does! However, He wanted children and not robots, and any parent can tell you children don’t automatically do what their parents would like. That said, we must not take God’s grace and mercy for granted, but seek to please Him out of gratitude for all that He has done for us.

This passage is intensely personal for me, because God brought it to mind at a crisis point in my life. Cathy had suffered a miscarriage, and the doctor made it clear that another pregnancy would be quite life-threatening for her. We had two daughters, but I really wanted a son. That was when the Lord brought to mind the line about raising up children out of stones, and He spoke it to me as sons, and not simply children. I am very proud of my biological daughters and wouldn’t trade them for anyone, but God has indeed given me some spiritual sons, and I am very grateful. At the same time, I am also very aware that spiritual children don’t always do what you would like, either! I am to pray for my children, both biological and spiritual, but continuously yield them to their Father in heaven, because I can’t control them and it wouldn’t be good if I could. I am to keep watch over my own fruit, allowing God to tweak my character to bring it more in line with Christ, and I am to speak the truth in love to all my children so that they too may choose full obedience to God.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing. Help me be fully responsive to what You tell me to do, but not be anxious about any of it. You know the two sons I am particularly concerned for at the moment, and You know their situations far better than I do. I ask Your very best for them, that they may produce the fruit for which You created them, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Evangelism; January 20, 2019

Posted on January 25, 2019 by jgarrott

Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Even with all the horrendous descriptions of plagues and disasters and judgment, the message of Revelation is still the same as that of the rest of the Bible: repent and believe for your salvation. (Mark 1:15) In this verse, the Spirit is of course the Holy Spirit of God. The bride, on the basis of this book, is of course the Church. We have no trouble with those. However, then it gets very personal, saying that everyone who hears the call is to pass it on. That’s where we have a severe breakdown. The vast majority of Christians have never invited anyone to come and drink of the water of life. I was talking recently with another pastor, saying that evangelism has been watered down to the point of simply inviting someone to come to church, and he countered with the opinion that the majority of believers haven’t even done that. I am of the conviction that in the Early Church, virtually all evangelism took place outside of meetings, with few exceptions. In other words, people were believers before they ever attended a church meeting. (Acts 5:13-14) That is to say, those who had heard the message and received it, passed it on. We need to get back to that today. We are so politically correct, so afraid of offending, that we don’t dare to tell someone that without Christ they are headed for hell. Part of the problem is that we aren’t sure if we believe it ourselves! We like to think that if someone is a “nice person” they are OK, when the Bible is very clear that’s not the case. We don’t like to admit that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We want a salvation without repentance, and that’s simply not going to happen. The devil does all he can to suppress the message of repentance, because he knows he can never stand against repentance and faith. However, to come back to the imagery in this verse, no one is going to drink of the water of life until they admit they are thirsty. The job of the evangelist is to help people realize they are thirsty, and then offer them living water.

I get worked up over how the average believer never shares Christ with anyone, yet I do it too little myself. I have had the privilege of leading several to go through the motions, but God is the judge of whether they were really born again. I cannot let that stop me, but must keep making the most of every opportunity the Lord gives me to share the Good News of salvation. (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5) My prayer must be to recognize those opportunities and not hesitate when they appear. I, too, fear offending people! I cannot save anyone by my own strength and wisdom, but I can be a tool in God’s hands to get the job done. I’m not to worry about whether I’m a good looking tool, or whether I’m a strong or even an appropriate tool. If God wants to use me to hammer in a nail, I’m to rejoice even if I think I’m a wrench! It is a statistical fact that people with Teacher gifting, like I have, seldom become evangelistic missionaries. I’m not to use that as an excuse! I have heard God’s call and I’m to transmit it, so that as many as will may indeed drink of the water of life.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I make too many excuses too much of the time. Help me be fully faithful and available, and leave the results up to You. Thank You. Praise God!

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Light; January 19, 2019

Posted on January 21, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The Bible is full of references that connect God to light, in both the Old and New Testaments. Of course, God started Creation with light. (Genesis 1:3) John speaks of Jesus as light, (John 1:4-5) probably because he had heard Jesus speak that way about Himself. (John 3:19) James speaks of it slightly more obliquely, (James 1:17) but in John’s first letter he says definitively, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7) Of course, Isaiah spoke one of the most famous prophecies of the Messiah. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2) When you come to Jesus, there’s no escaping the light! That’s bad news for those with something to hide, as Jesus pointed out. (John 3:19-21) Coming back to this verse in Revelation, the point is not a matter of physics, but rather that God illuminates far better than anything physical ever could. It follows that human attempts to hide are totally futile. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the Word of Knowledge. (1 Corinthians 12:8) That operates by the Holy Spirit illuminating something we couldn’t see otherwise. We have had people leave this church because they were afraid they were going to be found out! The point is, we are to live lives with nothing to hide, and we aren’t to be afraid of the dark, literally or figuratively, because our God is light.

I am to rejoice in the light myself, and I am to be a conduit of the light to those around me. (Matthew 5:14) I am to be careful, when the Lord illuminates things to me that people want hidden, that I speak the truth in love, and only as He directs. I’m not to take pride, much less feel superior, that God has shown me things about people and situations, but I am to ask for His wisdom and guidance as to what He wants me to do with that information. Occasionally He shows me things I’d just as soon not know! However, I am to keep growing toward the light, just as a house plant will do. Recent studies have shown how essential sunlight is to our physical health, and God’s light is even more essential to my spiritual health!

Father, thank You that I grew up in a very well-lit family, spiritually speaking. Thank You for repeatedly shining Your light into areas that I wanted to keep dark. Thank You for Your incredible grace and mercy toward me. May I be an open channel of that grace and mercy toward all, so that nothing will hinder Your light. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Faith; January 18, 2019

Posted on January 21, 2019 by jgarrott

Rev 21:6-7 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

This is the passage to remember when everything seems crazy and nothing seems to go right. Christ in His glory on the throne explicitly told John to write this down, (verse 5) because it is vital information to help us get through all the junk on this world. Throughout Revelation we see the phrase, “he who overcomes.” To me, that brings to mind what Paul wrote to the Romans: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) Paul gives quite a list of negative things that would threaten to overcome us, but he says clearly that in Christ we are the ones who overcome, and more. Jesus’ statement to John here brings to mind what He said to the disciples while He was walking the earth with them, that He indicated to me was to be our Verse for the Year: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) Here He uses the term, inherit, but the effect is the same. We literally can’t imagine all that means. (Ephesians 3:20) The point for us here and now is not to sweat the small stuff, but rest in the assurance that in the final analysis it’s going to turn out better than we have words to describe. That can be really difficult sometimes, but the key is to do as the old hymn says: trust and obey. Faith is a choice. The devil does all he can to hide the results of that choice from us but we need to make it anyway. Trusting obedience is the road to the victory referenced here. (1 John 5:4)

This is a lesson I’m still learning. I am still prone to accept the anxiety the devil tries to heap on me, but I’ve learned by experience that all such anxiety is counterproductive, benefiting no one and robbing me of peace and joy. It’s been several years now since the Lord told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. I’m still learning, as I said, but I can certainly testify that that’s the way to go. Japanese has an expression, “The seed of a headache.” Every day brings plenty of those! I’m not to plant them, much less water and tend them, but I see many around me who do exactly that, torn up by things that haven’t happened yet and may never happen. As a pastor I am responsible for my flock as well as for myself. I need to speak the truth in love, teaching people to trust our totally trustworthy Lord, so that all the lies of the devil may be defeated.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know the several people who came to mind as I wrote that. I do ask Your grace and mercy for each of them, that they may learn to lift their eyes to You and rejoice. Help us be faithful to do what You have prepared for us to do, (Ephesians 2:10) but indeed be anxious for nothing, (Philippians 4:6) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Truth and Honesty; January 17, 2019

Posted on January 20, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

It’s interesting when technology starts catching up to the Bible, so to speak. Much has been made of the “mark of the beast,” mentioned in various places from Revelation 13:16 on. That is now entirely possible, and is even being done in some places in electronic form, where an embedded chip enables people to pay for things simply by waving their hand over a scanner. The technology itself is neutral, but it is all too easy to see how it could be used for total control of the lives of individuals or even entire populations. In this verse, the idea of every detail of our lives being recorded is already coming shockingly close to reality, with Google, Facebook and the like knowing so much about us. That freaks some people out, and such human-run corporations are hardly to be trusted, but we forget that God has always been omniscient; we just never had an emotional grasp before of what that looks like. We are constantly trying to hide things from others, and even from God, but this verse is a reminder of the foolishness and futility of doing so. We need to remember that it is the devil who is the liar, (John 8:44) and God is always true. (Romans 3:4) Anyone who genuinely fears God – and that is the very definition of wisdom (Job 28:28) – is going to be honest and open, because we are called to be like God.

This is an issue in every culture, and certainly so in Japan. With a strong predisposition to population density, even when land is available to spread out in, there is a concurrent fixation with “personal space” on an emotional level. It can be shocking how little people know about even their close neighbors, and that is by choice from both sides. My father was led to a personal principle of absolute honesty shortly after he arrived in Japan as a missionary in 1934, and he raised his children on that principle. That made us very different from those around us, and it had nothing to do with our complexion or the color of our eyes. I remember being expected to tell lies in various situations, and have even lost friends over my refusal to do so. It can make for awkward situations, but it’s nice not having to remember what I’ve said to whom! Jesus’ statements about coming to the light in John 3:19-21 come to mind. I am not to go around accusing people of lying, even when I am sure they are being less than truthful, but I am always to speak the truth in love, letting God sort it all out. I am to take comfort in the assurance that nothing escapes His attention, and every lie will be exposed and condemned.

Father, it is very troubling when I see and hear Your children not walking in truth, not from a doctrinal standpoint but in their daily lives. I pray Your grace and mercy for them, that they would have a revelation not only of Your omniscience but also of the nature and character of the devil, so that they may commit themselves to truth, for their liberation (John 8:32) and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Representing God; January 16, 2019

Posted on January 20, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Angels can be so magnificent that even someone like the Apostle John is tempted to worship them. What triggered the reaction here was the angel saying, honestly enough, “These are the true words of God.” (verse 9) We are very prone to mistake the messenger for the source, in both positive and negative situations. We even have the saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger.” That of course applies to the bearer of news we don’t want to hear, but we’ve all at least seen situations where the bearer of good news gets hugged and even kissed. That is often harmless and even amusing (though occasionally awkward), but when it comes to someone transmitting what God is saying we need to be more careful. History is filled with cases of men of God being idolized, which isn’t good for anyone. That is even institutionalized, in the case of praying to Mary and the saints. I have seen a tract that some people find offensive, but which I find quite accurate, titled, Why is Mary Crying? The point is that she, like the angel here, is disturbed at being worshiped. Official Catholic doctrine says that she is never to be worshiped, but only deeply respected, but that line is crossed with considerable frequency. Even the official title of “Mary, Mother of God” violates this, because Jesus was part of the Trinity before He took up residence in her womb. She was the mother of His flesh, but not the mother of God. Such terminology elevates her above the Trinity, and should never be used. Back to this specific example, the angel very rightly says, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” In other words, when someone speaks the words of God, Jesus gets the credit. One of the saddest things is when someone who is used in prophecy starts believing the adulation they receive. That opens the door wide to all sorts of deception, and has led to many horrible sins. Jesus must be the focus.

Having been in ministry for many years, including in prophecy, I am all too familiar with this phenomenon. Frankly, adulation feels good! I have learned that the only right response is gratitude to God for being so gracious as to use me. I am also to be grateful for reminders of my weakness and humanity, such as Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 12:7) It is nice to be respected, but as the angel points out here, we are all brothers. If God uses me, wonderful. I am to keep myself as available as possible to Him for whatever He would like to do through me. However, conceit arising from being used by God brings to mind the Japanese expression, “Acorns comparing height.” We might feel we are better – or worse – than someone else, but compared to God, there is no difference worth speaking of. I’ve got to stay focused on my Lord, whether I am respected or reviled. He alone is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the privilege of acting as Your agent in some situations yesterday. Thank You that, yesterday at any rate, the response was good. Help me be faithful in speaking Your Word in love, whether it is received or not, so that Your will may be accomplished for Your glory. (Isaiah 55:10-11) Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Praise and Worship; January 15, 2019

Posted on January 16, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 15:3-4 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

It has always struck me as amusing that the tune to which this has been set is Pearly Shells, by Hawaiian singer Don Ho. I guess that just goes to show that any musical style can be used to praise God! That aside, this is an illustration of the reality that praise and worship are the highest privileges of the saints. Those who decline to praise and worship God now are excluding themselves from the ranks of the redeemed, because such refusal is a statement that we think we don’t need redemption. That’s why Jesus said more than once, in more than one way, that He didn’t come to save the self-righteous, but those who acknowledged their need. (Luke 5:31-32; 19:10) When you know how much you need salvation, the awareness that God loves you so much that He gave His Son to provide that salvation is going to provoke praise and worship! The Church has always praised and worshiped God, and it is widely acknowledged that all Western music has its roots in the songs of the Church. That’s not to say that you have to use music to praise God, but it certainly helps! Certainly some people are more musical than others by gifting, but it has been demonstrated that only an extremely small fraction of people are medically tone deaf, unable to distinguish different pitch. From that, it becomes evident that the biggest differences come from exposure and training. Some are indeed more gifted than others, but you don’t have to have perfect pitch to praise God. Different people will gravitate to different musical styles for various reasons – even Hawaiian – but all may be offered to God as a sacrifice of praise. (Hebrews 13:15) Failing to do so is our loss on many levels.

I was enormously blessed to be raised in a musical family of faith. A strong and pleasant memory is of gathering around the piano and just singing through the hymn book. (That’s why I could read music before I could read the words.) That said, my experience of praise and worship took off when I was exposed to the Charismatic Movement in the ’70s, and I continue to delight in it. Yesterday was the Kyushu Revival Conference in Fukuoka. Usually that’s a 3-day affair, requiring hotel accommodations for those coming from a distance, as we do, but this year the usual venue wasn’t available, and the committee opted for a 1-day conference at a large (for Japan) church. (I was thrilled to discover after we got there that, though the name has changed, it is a church that was pioneered by my father.) As a day trip, it was much easier for more people to attend, and three of our members joined Cathy and me. In the afternoon the speaker had a ministry time of praying personally for those who requested it. I don’t usually approve of prayer lines limited to one “pray-er,” but God had His purposes in having it that way yesterday. With easily 200 people in line it took a couple of hours, and a pastor who is gifted in music and has a heart for worship led us in singing and praying the whole time. It was marvelous! I think that factor probably accomplished more in the hearts and lives of the participants than anything else. As a pastor I desire that all of the believers discover the incredible privilege of praise and worship, and enter into it wholeheartedly, for their great blessing and the glory of God.

Father, thank You for yesterday, and for those who went with us. You are working on so many levels! May we indeed be transformed into the people of praise that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Trouble; January 14, 2019

Posted on January 16, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 11:7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.

Whatever else you say about Revelation, I think you will concede that some pretty bad things can turn out to be part of God’s plan. As has come out already with the discussion of the angel with “one foot on the sea and the other on the land” much of the language is allegorical and/or figurative. Even so, there’s a lot of rough stuff, and it doesn’t just happen to the “bad guys.” These two witnesses at first come across like super heroes, with flame coming out of their mouths, but then it says here the beast defeats and kills them. There is a very strong echo of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion here. Like Jesus experienced the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, things might seem to be going very well indeed, but then it seems like everything falls apart. I think we can agree that every moment of Jesus’ life on this earth was foreknown by God and used as part of His plan of salvation. That’s exactly why Jesus told the disciples, and through them us, that “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Even what looks like complete defeat, as is described here, can be turned around for our blessing and God’s glory. (Romans 8:28) Jesus said His encouraging words to us before He was scourged and crucified. In other words, He didn’t yet have what we would call proof that His words were true. From our current perspective we can see that they were, but there was a lot of faith involved. That’s precisely what is called for in all who follow Him today. We need to trust that He is both omnipotent and perfectly good and loving, which is precisely what some people insist He could not be. Many years ago I wrote a note in the margin of my Bible at Psalm 91:9-10, which reads, “If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the Lord, who is my refuge— then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.” My note says, “Whatever it looks like, it isn’t disaster.” When rough stuff happens, and it will, we need to keep trusting God and look forward to His resolution to the situation, even if it isn’t in this life.

It’s very interesting that God has spoken this to me at this point, when yesterday included unplanned ministry that involved situations that grieved us in the past. We still don’t know how anything will turn out, except that we know that God, and His plans, are always good. I am reminded of my friend who dropped dead of a heart attack very unexpectedly on New Year’s Eve. Right now his wife is in great need of this assurance! Right now the widow of another friend, who died after a battle of several years with cancer, is discovering that God is indeed able to meet all her needs in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) I am to assure others of this truth, as well as keep it firmly fixed in my own heart and mind. If I will do that, people will indeed want to know the reason for the hope that I have. (1 Peter 3:15)

Father, thank You for this encouraging Word. Thank You for all You did yesterday, and for involving us in it. I pray that as we go to the meeting in Fukuoka today that every moment would be exactly as You intend, accomplishing Your purposes not only in the hearts and lives of those involved, but in the spiritual realm as well, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Prophecy; January 13, 2019

Posted on January 15, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 10:11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

Various things in Revelation let us know that the specific things described are not literal. In this chapter, the angel planting one foot on the sea and the other on the land (verse 2) makes that clear, because by normal physics that would mean his right foot would have to be some kind of boat or raft. There are also things like shifting scale, since this angel was huge, yet he held in his hand a scroll small enough for John to eat it. (That of course brings to mind Ezekiel likewise being told to eat a scroll he was given, in Ezekiel 3:1-3. There too the scroll is described as “sweet as honey.”) However, the point of all of this is to communicate God’s truths in ways that will make people really think about them, which is what this verse talks about. Jesus used parables for much the same reason. (Matthew 13:10-13) Often we reject things we are told straight out, but if they are expressed in a way that makes us think them over, we can get to the place where we really accept them as truth. The point for John was to be faithful in speaking as he was told, without saying things otherwise. (verse 4) Valid prophecy still takes place today, and there is also false prophecy, as there has been throughout history. The point for the individual believer is to seek and receive the help of the Holy Spirit in sorting it all out and responding as God intends. Peter gave us some words on valid prophecy: “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21) We need to let the Holy Spirit illuminate our hearts and minds, both as we read the Bible and as we hear and read modern prophets. That said, it’s vital to remember that no genuine prophecy is going to contradict the Bible, but rather agree with it. That’s one reason we can be sure that date-setting prophecies of end times are false, since Jesus explicitly said such things aren’t for us to know. (Acts 1:7)

I have been used in prophecy numbers of times, but never in such wide-ranging terms. I have experienced the flow of the Holy Spirit, even being surprised at the words that came out of my own mouth, but I have also experienced continuing to speak when the Spirit had stopped. That’s horrible! At a point after that experience, one time I was prophesying in the congregation during worship and the words stopped mid-sentence. I closed my mouth, and someone on the other side of the room picked it up without the slightest break, making it very clear that it was indeed the Holy Spirit speaking, using two different individuals. I have also experienced interpreting for someone (English to Japanese) and having people say afterwards that it was like hearing one person speak through two mouths. Sometimes interpreting is hard work, but that was a delight! The point for me on a day-to-day basis is to keep myself available for God’s use however He wants to use me, in words or actions, but not try to launch out on my own. I have neither wisdom nor strength for that, but God can and does use very imperfect human vessels for His glory. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I do seek to allow You to speak through me at all times, particularly on Sunday mornings, but sometimes I do better at it than at others. Thank You for the message You’ve given me for this morning. I ask that You enable me to transmit what You are saying with Your words, not distorting it in any way but allowing You to work Your will in all our hearts and lives, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Differences; January 12, 2019

Posted on January 14, 2019 by jgarrott

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

I don’t see how any true believer could read from this verse through the end of the chapter without wanting to shout, hallelujah! Verses 10 and 12 have been wonderfully set to music, and can be powerful indeed in corporate worship. The comforting message of verses 15-17 is marvelous indeed. However, it is this verse that is the greatest joy to anyone with a heart for world missions, because it says that no people-group will be left out of heaven. We are so prone to what is currently being called “identity politics,” creating groups in exclusion of each other, largely so that we can feel superior about our group, however we define it. Some separate by race, others by income level, and recently a lot of fuss is made about gender. On top of that we add political affiliation and even more factors, and we get the mess that we see today. It’s not that there are no differences among people, it’s that we see different distinctions than God does. In His eyes, the only differences that count are faith and obedience. Paul put it very clearly: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) It has been said that 11 AM on a Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America, but that is certainly not God’s vision of the Church. It is not wrong to worship in what could be called “kinship groups” of various sorts, but we must not stop there. Every group brings its own flavor, its own gifts, before the throne of God. The important point is focusing on Christ in worship in Spirit and in truth. If we will do that, everything else will fall into place.

Growing up as a Caucasian in Japan, not to mention as a missionary kid attending a US military dependents school, I have been aware of differences all my life. I have been most blessed when those differences have evaporated in genuine worship. The closest I have come to heaven on this earth was in a small prayer meeting of four men: a German Jesuit priest, an American Augustinian friar, a Japanese Pentecostal pastor, and myself. We had been singing to the Lord, in Japanese as I recall, and the level of joy in me rose to the point that, in my heart, I literally told the Lord He would have to back off if He had any more work for me to do on earth, because my body couldn’t take any more joy! That is how I imagine this scene before the Throne, because there we won’t have any physical limitations to the joy of worship and communion with our Lord. I have loved fellowship with believers of all descriptions. When I preached in a Black church in Ohio, I didn’t want to stop! People of many national backgrounds have been members of this church over the years. God made each one of us unique, but I have learned that is to teach us the difference between unity and uniformity. We are to delight in our differences, supporting one another, because we have unity in Christ.

Father, thank You for all You have taught me about this over the years. Thank You for the assurance that some, even many, of those to whom I have ministered will join me before Your throne. Help me be increasingly effective in adding to that number for as long as You keep me here, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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