Lord Jesus; October 18, 2018

Posted on October 19, 2018 by jgarrott

Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul was never one to mince words, and here he explains why. He was the very antithesis of politically correct! He wasn’t deliberately abrasive. Elsewhere he says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) However, he had no patience at all with anyone who was deliberately trying to twist the Gospel for their own purposes. Today many churches are run as democracies, which tends to turn the pastors into politicians. We need more politicians who are like Paul, doing what is right instead of just what will get them reelected! Even in non-democratic church structures, often more attention is given to tradition than to what God has said clearly in His Word, when Jesus explicitly condemned such behavior. (Mark 7:8) Every believer, and not just pastors, needs to seek to please God first and foremost, rather than worrying first about people. We have an extremely current good example to follow. It has been in the news that Pastor Andrew Brunson was released this month from prison in Turkey, but I don’t think most news sources have focused on why he was imprisoned in the first place. The charge was terrorism, and he was convicted. The sentence was greatly reduced because of US pressure, but by Islamic logic, the charge was actually accurate. The court documents used the word, “Christianization.” In other words, pastor Brunson was being dedicated and effective in evangelism. In an Islamic country, that can’t be allowed because it will destroy the nation as it is today. That’s precisely why the Roman Empire persecuted Christians: they wouldn’t accept Caesar as the ultimate authority. When we insist that Jesus is Lord, and mean it, we are placing Him above any and all government, not to mention everything else. Everything is subservient to Him. No totalitarian regime is going to want to put up with that! People in genuine democracies don’t have the same pressure, but we still tend to let all sorts of other things control our lives, rather than Christ.

Many years ago a “thought question” was making the rounds. “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I’ve thought about that off and on in the perhaps 40 years since, because it’s a valid question. If you took away cultural trappings, for many people the answer would be no. I don’t want that to be true of me! Pastor Brunson’s case has really brought this back into focus. There was very severe persecution of Christians in Japan over a period of over 300 years, and that’s where I minister now. That persecution started for largely political reasons, because the Edo government reasonably feared that Christians would be loyal to other than the nation of Japan. That’s very much like the situation in Islamic nations today. Before and during WWII Christians were extremely suspect for precisely that reason. Today, the major “religion” is secularism, but even so, someone who lives with Jesus as Lord is definitely “out of sync” with the rest of society. My challenge is that I am trying to generate more and more “out of sync” people! I am never to give up, but seek to be sure that Jesus is my Lord, in every area of my life, for His glory.

Father, this is going to be a pretty severe message. I pray that You would enable me to speak it in Your love, so that all who hear it would be set free from the lies of the enemy, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Authority; October 17, 2018

Posted on October 19, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 13:10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

Authority is a strange thing. Some people crave it, some people don’t want it, and many people resent its being exercised over them. However, it’s part of the way the universe is made and organized. We have to understand and accept it to discover and fit into the place God has for us. The Centurion with the sick servant is famous for having understood authority and being commended by Jesus for that. (Luke 7:1-10) In this verse Paul touches on some very important things about authority. In the first place, it is given from above. Even Jesus, in the Great Commission, said that “All authority has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) As the Centurion realized, authority operates in a flow. Sometimes people take authority or seize authority, but that can be entirely bogus. The other point that Paul stresses here is that authority is to be constructive, not destructive. We are to operate in the authority of Christ to destroy the works of the devil, certainly, (1 John 3:8) but even that is to set people free and build them up. Too often we treat authority like a stick, and just flail around with it, wounding people left and right. When that happens in the Church, it is a real tragedy.

I’ve always had something of an uneasy relationship to authority myself. I tend to shy away from exercising it, and that certainly doesn’t fulfill the purpose for which it is given. As a teacher in the classroom I have had to learn to exercise authority judiciously, to gain the respect of my students and teach them as I am called to do. As a pastor in this church I am still learning the extent and limits of my authority, and how to use it to extricate believers from the traps of the enemy. More broadly, I feel I have been given authority by God in and over this city, but I am still rather in the dark about that, not knowing what is God’s plan and what is my imagination. In every case, as the Centurion said, I’ve got to be submitted to God’s absolute authority over me before I will be able to exercise properly whatever authority He has assigned to me. Jesus said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:19-20) I will never be able to operate in that authority unless I am submitted to Him. (James 4:7)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I ask for more and more revelation of Your plans for me so that I may fulfill them in every detail, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Depending on God; October 16, 2018

Posted on October 18, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is an enormously important passage that runs directly counter to our fleshly impulses. We don’t like to be weak! However, it’s a foregone conclusion that, as Paul himself pointed out, “The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) If we want God to work, we’ve got to get out of the way! The sad thing is, too often we’d rather muddle through in our own weakness and foolishness, because we want to be “independent.” How can we be independent when it is only by God’s grace that we exist at all? Physicists have posited a “strong force” and a “weak force” that make the universe behave as it does, but they still aren’t sure at all why it doesn’t just dissolve into disassociated particles. I’ve got a clue for them: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17) Christ is the “cosmic glue” they’ve been trying to discover! Paul received a lot of revelation of the mysteries of God, (1 Corinthians 4:1-2) and He had him write them down for our benefit. What we have here is another of those counter-intuitive mysteries, that when we are weak, then we are strong. The most dangerous thing about pride is that it deceives us into thinking we don’t need God, or that we can appropriate His attributes in fullness. That’s exactly what the devil dangled in front of Eve in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:5) The better we understand our total dependence on God, and rejoice in it, the more He will be able to do in and through us.

I remember my mother telling me about one time we had a family emergency and she had to fly to the US by herself to deal with it. She was using the Good News translation (TEV) for her devotions at that point, and was reading the Bible on the plane, and got to this passage. The TEV renders it as, “My grace is all you need.” That really spoke to her, and it sustained her not only through that emergency but for the rest of her life, all the way through my father’s death and her own bout with the cancer that took her life. Even more personally for me, I can never forget the time the Lord got it through to me that He’s smart and I’m not. I’ve never been particularly proficient at sports, so “strength” was never a major consideration for me. However, I was proud of my mind! I had long acknowledged that God was smarter than I was, but I still placed myself somewhere on the same scale. How foolish! I’ve got to remember Jesus’ plain, unvarnished words: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Sometimes I just have to ask myself, “What part of nothing don’t you understand?” Like Paul, I need to rejoice in my limitations, since they are opportunities for God to manifest Himself. Like my mother, I need to rest in complete peace that God’s grace is indeed all I need.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the many things each day that remind me of my dependence on You. Help me be a good steward of all that You place in my hands, but never for a moment think that I’m the source of any of it. My I be fully useful to You as Your instrument, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Weapons; October 15, 2018

Posted on October 17, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Reading this really brought to mind the escalating political violence in the US today. Those who are becoming violent are indeed setting themselves up against the knowledge of God, because the thing they are most frantic to protect is the “right” to murder unborn infants. There is a real temptation to become violent in reaction, but that would be relying on the weapons of the world. I’m not saying anything against the right of self defense; if I lived in the US, I would get a concealed-carry license. However, those who have knowledge of God and seek to be obedient to Him aren’t to go looking for trouble. There’s plenty of it without that! Rather, we are to stand firm in the Lord and come against the spiritual forces that are behind what is going on. People in the flesh aren’t our enemies, even if they are beating us up physically. They are certainly to be pitied, because they are submitting themselves to the one who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) We are rather to submit to God and resist the devil. (James 4:7) If we aren’t submitted to God, His weapons aren’t at our disposal. The mention of “arguments and pretensions” here really rings true, because what we are seeing is a clash of ideas, of world views. Those who are centered on humanism are blind to the truth of God, when that is the very thing that can set them free, and freedom is what they crave. (John 8:32) We are to pray, in full submission to God, and we are to speak His truth in love, even when that love requires that we be forceful in our speaking. We’ve got to remember that Christ has already won the victory, and if we are in Him, we will see it too.

Some might say this is easy for me to say because I don’t live in the US. However, physical distance can help with objectivity. I have plenty of family and other loved ones in the US! I may not come into direct contact with masked thugs or screaming protesters, but I can pray, and distance is no barrier to the power of God. I was part of the army praying for Andrew Brunson, for example, and I pray for Asia Bibi in Pakistan. There are many strongholds of the enemy in the world, both in individual lives and in society, and I am to do my part in tearing them down. I am to thank God for the freedoms I have and be diligent on behalf of those who do not have those freedoms. One of our church members is going to be moving to one of the former Soviet republics next year. I am to pray for her to be Christ’s agent in every way, both toward her husband and toward everyone around her, so that she may be protected and be a channel of God’s salvation, for the glory of God.

Father, thank You that more and more of Your children are waking up to the conflict they had been ignoring. May we all stand up, as a mighty army, so that the works of the devil may be destroyed (1 John 3:8) and multitudes set free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tools; October 14, 2018

Posted on October 17, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

This whole passage, from verse 6 through verse 15, has been used by unscrupulous shysters so much that it can be hard to hear what God is really saying through it. That is sad, because Paul was accurately conveying God’s truth here. This verse makes it clear that God’s provision always has a purpose. He doesn’t pour His grace out on us to puff us up, but to equip us for “every good work.” It is true that much of what we are called on to do requires material resources of various sorts, and God will always provide for us whatever we need to do His will. However, we are constantly tempted to focus on the tools rather than on the work to be done. We seem to have particular difficulty in looking at money as a tool, rather than as something to be desired for its own sake. That’s why our stewardship of money is such an indicator of our spiritual condition. Often our attitude toward money has to change before God can trust us with much of it. Money isn’t evil of itself, but loving it for its own sake, rather than seeing it as a tool, creates all sorts of problems. (1 Timothy 6:10) Our priorities should be first, what does God want me to do, and then, what does He want me to have in order to do that. That includes giving to others, which is the focus of this passage as a whole. We are to see everything God places in our hands as His grace toward us, and we are to seek His will as to what He wants us to do with it.

I have never been especially greedy for money, but I have always been something of a “tool nut.” I get great satisfaction at having the right tool for the job, whatever that job might be. A tool catalog can be a great temptation to me! However, I have tools right now which I use very seldom, because I’m not called on for whatever work for which they would be necessary. At this point in my life I need to be paring down, eliminating things I don’t need. However, some of those things might be needed by someone else, which is why I still have them. Recently my wife has been coming to the same realization, and is delighting in blessing others while reducing her own clutter. I certainly need to do that! At the same time, I need to be active in using what God wants me to hang onto, material or otherwise, to do the work that He has prepared for me to do. (Ephesians 2:10) I’m not to complain about someone else’s stewardship (though I am to speak the truth in love where called for) but am to be careful of my own, for the glory of God alone.

Father, thank You for Your abundant provision. May I indeed see it all as Your grace toward me and as tools to accomplish Your will, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Giving; October 13, 2018

Posted on October 15, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 8:12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

This is an important principle that often gets overlooked, even though Jesus expressed it very clearly Himself. (Luke 12:1-4) God never asks of us anything that He hasn’t already provided, if we have the faith to realize it. Sometimes we have to step out in faith before that provision is visible to us and to those around us, but in God’s economy, it’s already provided. The devil loves to dump guilt trips on us. After all, “Satan” means, “the accuser.” However, his specialty is in accusing us of things that aren’t true. Recently the whole matter of unsubstantiated accusations has been much in the news, but we aren’t to assume that accusations are false when first heard. They are always to be submitted to God in full humility, asking the Holy Spirit to show us anything of which we need to repent, and doing so immediately for anything He shows us. That said, we’re back to the reality that false accusations that seem real are the devil’s specialty. When it comes to giving, which is the subject in this verse, we are inundated with pleas for money from all sides. We are certainly to be generous, however much or little we have in our bank account, and our tithe is to go to the local congregation where we are fed spiritually, but everything beyond that is to be submitted to God for His directions on how much to give to whom. We are to be faithful stewards, knowing that everything we have is simply in our care, rather than belonging to us in an absolute sense. Accordingly, we are to use everything – money, abilities, time, whatever – as the Owner desires, to accomplish His will for His glory.

I have been a consistent tither for about 48 years now, and I seek to live all of my life in obedience to the Lord, but as a pastor, this is an issue involving each person in this church. By God’s mercy we don’t have any wealthy people, so each person knows their offerings make a difference, I think. One of our most faithful givers has one of the most limited incomes! I am to encourage the believers in “the grace of giving,” as Paul puts it in verse seven, but I am not to make anyone feel put down because they don’t have the resources to give a lot. I would be delighted to have a good group of solid wage-earners in the church, but since that isn’t our current situation, I am to trust the Lord and rejoice!

Father, thank You for the privilege of participating in the flow of Your provision. I do pray that each person in this church would understand and delight in that joy, for the blessing of everyone involved and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Godly Sorrow; October 12, 2018

Posted on October 14, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

This verse gets a little confusing in Japanese, because the Japanese term for “repentance” is “regret and redo.” That makes saying “no regret” and “repentance” in the same sentence paradoxical. The NIV fixes that with the simple word, “leaves.” We do have to regret what we’ve done in order to repent in truth, but once we’ve repented, there’s no regret left. With that potential misunderstanding out of the way, this verse expresses a very important truth. Some people try to go through life with no sorrow at all, but that’s a flat impossibility. I quote it very frequently, but Jesus’ words in John 16:33 are certainly true: “In this world you will have trouble.” The point is not to try to get out of all trouble, but rather to get through it, and gain from that very trouble the blessings God has planned. This past Sunday I spoke on the difference between trials and temptations, referencing what the Lord had said to me in my devotions on September 28th. We are certainly to flee temptations, but trials grow us and train us and ultimately strengthen and bless us. That’s why God allows them, and sometimes expressly plans them, I feel. That is worlds different from what the devil tries to do to us through the world. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, (John 10:10) which is why Paul says very accurately, “Worldly sorrow brings death.” The point is to lift our eyes from our circumstances and fix them on God who loves us enough to send His Son to die for us. If we will do that, we will be able to release our circumstances to Him and allow Him to turn them around for our good. (Romans 8:28) That is true even when our own sin got us into those circumstances in the first place! That’s where “repentance that leads to salvation” comes in.

This is something I have experienced in my own life, certainly, and as a pastor I encounter it in the lives of others frequently. I was texted in the night last night by someone who is seeing no meaning to their life at this point, when the truth is, their biggest problem is that they have regretted but not repented, and so are not walking in submission to God right now. There are others involved in their current situation, and repentance is called for in them as well, but until one or more parties to the problem “let go of the wheel” and let God be in control, the situation isn’t going to straighten out. All I can do is keep praying for them and keep speaking the truth in love, asking God to give them ears to hear and receive His truth so that they may be set free from this trap of the enemy. I’ve been there, so I must be careful not to come across as holier-than-thou, but I also must not fail to speak the truth they need to hear.

Father, once again I am very aware of my own lack of wisdom. I ask Your grace and mercy for the parties involved, and I ask Your wisdom and anointing for me, that I may be Your agent to defeat the works of the enemy in this situation, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living for Jesus; October 11, 2018

Posted on October 14, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

2 Corinthians is so loaded with important truth! Each day I have great difficulty deciding what I am to focus on, because there are multiple messages in each passage. This verse is of course the basis for a hymn I have known since childhood, Living for Jesus. I am blessed that I grew up singing a lot of Scripture-based, or at least Scriptural, songs, because setting things to music really cements them into our memory. That’s one of many reasons it’s wise to be careful what you listen to. Some songs are unavoidable in society, and that includes some pretty unfortunate ones, but many people spend their days listening to music of one sort or another by their own choice. We need to submit our play lists to the Lord and ask Him what should be filling our hearts and minds. That is exactly in line with what Paul says here. He uses different expressions in different places, but Paul was consumed with the reality that he didn’t belong to himself anymore, because Jesus had paid His own life to purchase him from sin and the devil. If we would only have that same conviction! Something I mention very frequently in counseling is that selfishness/self-centeredness never leads to genuine happiness. At best, it leads to momentary pleasure. I stress that in marriage counseling, but it applies in many other situations as well. The problem is, we all tend to be selfish and self-centered. It doesn’t take much introspection to realize that helping and blessing others feels good, but most of us don’t really carry that thought through to its logical conclusion. Paul quoted Jesus as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Jesus gave everything for us, as Paul reminds us in this verse, and we are most blessed when we give ourselves back to Him in return.

This of course applies to me as much as it does to anyone. When I take Communion, I say to Jesus, “Lord, I receive this bread as Your body, and I renew the commitment of my body to you. Use me for Your glory.” It’s been many years since I started doing that, and likewise many years since I started celebrating Communion by myself (with left-over communion bread and, usually, iced tea) every day as part of my morning devotions. (I likewise receive whatever I’m drinking as Jesus’ blood, and ask that it have its full work in and through me.) I wish I could say that I live fully for Christ rather than for myself, but I’m still in process there, rather than at the finish line. It is deeply comforting to know that I will be brought to that finish line when my physical life is finished. (Philippians 1:6) Meanwhile, I try to help others grasp this truth so that they too may experience the peace and joy of living for Christ rather than for themselves.

Father, thank You for loving me so much! Thank You for giving me the privilege of living for Jesus, rather than in a futile, self-centered rat race. Help me communicate the message of Your love more and more effectively to more and more people, so that the lies of the devil may be defeated by Your truth, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seen vs. Unseen; October 10, 2018

Posted on October 12, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.

Here Paul is restating what he had just said at the end of the previous chapter. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) That’s why the Japanese (presumably agreeing with the Greek) starts this verse with “Certainly.” It takes a real shift in perspective to see things this way, and far too many of us never make it. I have seen far too many Christians who supposedly have assurance of salvation, yet are terribly afraid of death. They haven’t let the Holy Spirit speak this into their hearts. When we finally get settled that everything physical is temporary, it is enormously liberating. The vast majority of our stresses and frustrations are related to the physical world, and Paul is pointing out that doesn’t matter a hill of beans. It’s not that the physical is completely insignificant; we are called to faithful stewardship. However, it’s all a matter of comparative values. Some people have twisted this truth to excuse immorality, and even Paul had to deal with that issue, in Romans 5 and elsewhere. We are in the physical world to prepare us for the spiritual world to come, which is why Jesus talked more about money than He did about heaven and hell combined. As He said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:10-12) We indeed need to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)

I struggle with this too, though by God’s grace I am far from where I once was on the issue. I have come to the place in life where I am actively looking forward to the next life, just as Paul talks about in this chapter, but I still enjoy this life, and I’m not tempted to set my own schedule for the transition. I am realizing, on the emotional level, that the only things that make it into the next life are souls, so everything in this life is to be directed toward the end of getting as many people saved as possible. At the same time, I delight in God’s creation, and love to take pictures of its beauty. I just ordered a new lens for my camera, and I find myself impatient for it to get here so I can take even more pictures. However, my equipment, the photographs, and the world they record, are all momentary against the backdrop of eternity, and I’ve got to remember that. The angels don’t go “Wow” over my pictures! I am to be a faithful steward of everything material, but keep it all submitted to God, who is Spirit. (John 4:24)

Father, You know better than I do that I can’t keep it all straight. Help me stay humble before You, delighting in fellowship with You and being fully obedient in all You direct me to say and do, so that the works of the devil may indeed be destroyed (1 John 3:8) and many brought into Your family, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Knowledge of God; October 9, 2018

Posted on October 12, 2018 by jgarrott

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

I love this whole chapter, but I had wondered what had triggered my including it in the series on God’s Provision, and this is it. I have underlined just about everything in this chapter, but in a sense all of it is referenced in this verse, because it it is all included in “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” There is so much to know about God, and so much that is unknowable apart from His revelation. This verse is talking about that revelation in terms of light shining in, and that is so very apt. I think every believers has experienced situations when it seemed like God suddenly “turned on the lights” and things that had been invisible became obvious. One lady I baptized had seen a friend’s baptism, in which I had asked the candidate, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who died for you and was then raised from death?” (I always include that when I baptize.) The candidate had replied in the affirmative, and been baptized on the basis of that confession, but the lady who was watching thought, “How can she say she believes that?” After that lady had her own encounter with the Lord, receiving a direct and personal response to prayer, she abruptly realized that she had no doubt at all that Jesus was raised from death! God had shone His light into her heart. Sadly, I think there are many church members who are still in the dark. For any of a number of reasons they have gone through the motions, but their heart wasn’t in it and so Jesus isn’t in their heart. That’s tragic, because since they think they are Christians, they stop seeking (if they were ever really seeking in the first place). God’s promise to Jeremiah says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) We need to seek God and welcome the light of His revelation of Himself to our hearts.

As a pastor I desire an intimate relationship with God for each of those in my care, but I can’t have it for them. I can and do keep pressing in for more of Him myself, but all I can do for them is keep praying for them and speaking the truth in love, modeling what it looks like to walk with God and hoping they will seek to do likewise. By God’s grace I do speak messages that are filled with the light of the knowledge of God, but I can’t force anyone to receive it. It breaks my heart when people are stubbornly unreceptive, but that reminds me of how I’ve make God feel when I’ve refused His love as well. I’m to exercise with them the patience God has shown me, and trust the Holy Spirit to do His work. (John 16:8-11)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for those who are receptive, and for each time anyone does receive Your light. Help me never “dim the wattage,” much less burn out. Help me remember that any light that originates in me is no better than darkness, and so allow Your light to shine through me, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment