Who is Jesus?; May 17, 2017

Posted on May 19, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 16:15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

This is the single most important question for any human being on the face of the earth. How it is answered determines the eternal destiny of the one answering. It is the ultimate test of whether someone is a brother or sister in Christ or a deluded heretic. There are groups that use the name of Jesus and would like to be accepted as Christian, but their answer to this question exposes the devil’s schemes. Recently a prominent Mormon politician got publicly upset with the statements of one of the pastors who prayed at the dedication of the US embassy in Jerusalem, claiming he was a bigot for not accepting Mormons as Christian, when Paul said strongly, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:8) The Mormons teach that the angel Moroni revealed the Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith, and that book claims that Jesus and Satan are brothers! There’s a lot more I could go into, but right there we have a disqualifying answer to Jesus’ question. Likewise, Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but rather was accepted as the son of God because he lived such a good life. There are many people who say that Jesus was a great teacher, but unless He is the Son of God to you, His cross was insufficient to take the penalty for your sins. Actually, there are probably members of groups like the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses who are saved, but it’s only because they deviate from the standard teaching of the group. Right in line with this is Paul’s statement that “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) There are many who have gone through the motions of baptism and the like without ever making Jesus their Lord. That’s not a different category of Christian, it’s part of the definition of Christian, and sadly, there are many who don’t meet it.

This is of course of vital importance to me, as it is to everyone. As a pastor, and particularly one serving in a largely non-Christian nation, it consumes my life. (If you read all of Romans 10, you see that it consumed Paul as well.) As Jesus said to Peter, who He is has to be revealed to us by God. However, as came out a few days ago, the big issue is whether we receive the revelation God offers us. I can’t save anyone with my own powers of persuasion. I know; I’ve tried! Even so, God can use me to open people’s eyes to Himself, so I’ve dedicated my life to being available for Him to do so. Knowing who Jesus is isn’t enough for me. I want everyone else to know Him too! All I can do is walk in faithfulness, speaking the truth in love so that the Holy Spirit may take my words and use them to touch people, so that they too may be brought to Peter’s confession, for their salvation and the glory of God.

Father, this is my eternal struggle. I so want those to whom I minister to open their hearts to You, submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord, but I can’t make it happen. I ask You to pour Your Spirit out on this city and this nation, so that the lies of the enemy may be exposed and people set free to repent and believe, for a mighty harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Trusting God; May 16, 2018

Posted on May 19, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 15:33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

The disciples were being humanly logical, but they were forgetting that they were with the Son of God. Actually there are many examples of that recorded in the Gospels, and we are no better. If anything, we do it even more, because we don’t have the physical Jesus we can see with our eyes. The specific irony here is that this followed Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33), which came immediately after Jesus having fed an even bigger crowd than this on one boy’s lunch. (Matthew 14:13-21) What is encouraging about all of this to me is that it shows we aren’t necessarily worse than the apostles! However, that’s not an excuse for lack of faith. We all need to be more consistent in remembering that we can do nothing on our own, (John 15:5) but if we are abiding in Christ, He can do anything at all through us. Material provision can be a real test of our faith, both because it is so measurable and because it is something the world focuses on a great deal. Most church budgets are set the same way a secular company would set their budget, that is, examining anticipated income and then deciding what should be done with it. What churches need to do is prayerfully seek God for what He wants them to do, and then know that He will provide the funds and other resources necessary to do that. That’s not to say that we are to be passive. Here, just as in the earlier instance, Jesus asked His disciples to give everything they had. If we are unwilling to let go of what we have, we will be unable to take hold of what God wants to give us. Too often we fail to believe Jesus wasn’t just blowing smoke when He said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

I have certainly experienced this in my personal life, and this church has just gone through a very rough experience of people failing to grasp this truth. All sorts of things were and are at play, but we have not moved forward as I believe God desired, and people have left the church in the process. Part of that was in my failing to cast the vision properly, helping the people own it, but the biggest issue seemed to be total panic at the large sums of money involved, when God was making it clear that wasn’t a problem for Him. I’m still having to deal with forgiveness over it all. That particular project is now on a back burner, but I don’t believe God has given up on it, so I’m not to do so. Currently, God has given us another project, and that seems to be moving along fairly well. There are many unknowns involved, but God is leading. The whole point is that if God says to do something, we do it, and He will supply everything necessary.

Father, thank You for Your patience and mercy toward us. Keep me from condemning others when You have forgiven me so much. May I personally, and the church as a whole, grow in fixing our eyes on You and trusting that You can and will do anything at all through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Our Concept of God; May 15, 2018

Posted on May 17, 2018 by jgarrott

Matt 15:28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

I have always heard this story told as the woman being praised for her persistence, but just now I had a slightly different flash of understanding. Persistence may or may not come from faith, but Jesus acknowledged that this woman realized that delivering her daughter would be a trivial thing for someone with Jesus’s spiritual authority. Comparing exorcism to crumbs falling from a table seems like a far stretch to us. Such movies as The Exorcist put far more focus on the power of the demon than they do on the power of God. That’s why the devil is delighted in such movies! We forget John’s very succinct statement: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Most of us have far too small a concept of God. We quote Genesis about how He spoke the universe into being, but we have trouble grasping that absolutely nothing we face is any sort of big deal for Him. That was what Jeremiah was going through when God was telling him Jerusalem was going to be rebuilt and land bought and sold, when he saw the Babylonian army filling the land and God had told him they would destroy Jerusalem for the sins of the people. That’s where this church’s Verse for the Year comes from: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) When we get it through our heads and hearts that anything we could ask of God is comparable to a crumb falling from a table, our faith will be much more what God wants it to be.

I think I have a larger concept of God than many, but it’s not big enough yet. Even so, I struggle more with why God doesn’t do some things than with whether He could do them. The biggest item in that category is the matter of pouring His Spirit out on this nation for repentance and faith. I and my parents before me have labored many years seeking to communicate the Gospel to the Japanese people, with heartbreakingly little response. I am not to give up, but it can be hard to trust God with His timing. I’ve got to accept that I’m not smart but God is, and trust Him to do what is best. I have lived long enough to see that things He allowed in my life that were painful at the time were for my good, just as it says in Hebrews. (Hebrews 12:11) That gives me far more peace about whatever else might come up. At least I know there’s nothing He can’t do!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me keep growing in faith and gratitude. Thank You for what You enabled me to do yesterday in putting in the gutter, and that I don’t have time pressure for the final steps. Thank You for projects like that where I can see the results of my labors, when that’s not the case for so much of what I do. It’s very refreshing! Help me trust You with the results of everything You have me do, so that it may indeed accomplish Your purposes for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Giving to God; May 14, 2018

Posted on May 16, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 14:16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

This is an extremely famous story, but this little detail is sometimes overlooked. Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll give them something to eat,” His said, “You give them something to eat.” That was patently impossible, but when the disciples surrendered what they had – five loaves and two fish – to Jesus, He returned it to them multiplied for them to give it to the people. So it was indeed the disciples who gave the food to the people, rather than Jesus directly, but the supply wasn’t there until they surrendered all they had to Jesus. We tend to think of God’s supply as being like winning the lottery, when far more often it’s a matter of His making what we give to Him go far further than we could have imagined. It’s quite probable that the disciples had been worried about what they themselves would eat, but considering how many baskets of leftovers they gathered, there’s no question they were filled as well. This is actually a very practical demonstration of what Jesus had said not so long before this: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) The disciples needed food, but when they placed obedience to Jesus ahead of their perceived needs, not only were their needs met, they saw a notable miracle. When we hold things back from God they wither, dry up, and blow away. When we give them to Him, they are invigorated and multiplied with His life and many are blessed.

This is something I’ve learned from experience as well as from the Bible, but I find real resistance to it in many people – and I can’t say I’ve been consistent in following it myself. I have a lot of trouble with preachers who tell people to give them all they have so that God will multiply it. If God is telling you to empty your wallet into the offering, by all means do it, but I have strong doubts about people who tell others to do that. I have sought to be faithful in my own stewardship for many years now, but as a pastor I am also responsible for encouraging such faithfulness in others. When I receive a percentage of what is given, that can be awkward indeed. Awkward or not, it needs to be done. I have seen too many people who have essentially shut off the flow of God’s supply for themselves by failing to trust Him enough to let that supply flow through them to others. I have found that this principle applies to far more than finances. When I allow God to speak through me to others, I never lack for hearing Him speak to me. I don’t think that would be the case if I refused to share. I am to recognize God’s supply to me and realize that I am no more than a transit point, and allow Him to pour that supply through me as He sees fit, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I do pray for an infusion of faith in each of the believers here, so that they may experience Your limitless supply in every area they need it, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Receiving God’s Revelation; May 13, 2018

Posted on May 16, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 13:11-12 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

This is one of the several Bible passages that some people claim are unfair. And frankly, on the face of it, it sounds that way to human reasoning. However, this follows verse 9: “He who has ears, let him hear.” God doesn’t force us to receive or reject His revelation, but He knows in advance who will and who won’t. Those who receive what God says to them in all humility and gratitude will indeed receive more and more, to the point of genuine abundance. However, those who hear God’s words as unimportant to them don’t get further revelation, and whatever spiritual understanding they might have soon leaves them. In a sense, we all start out with equal opportunity to know God, because the world itself testifies of Him (Romans 1:20). God holds us accountable for what we do with whatever degree of revelation we have received. That’s what’s behind the stories we hear of people in Islamic countries having dreams of Jesus, drawing them to seek out Christians and get their hands on a Bible. They are surrounded by religious teaching that would separate them from the God of Creation, but He knows their hearts and He gives them opportunity to know Him as He is. On the other hand, there are many who grow up in “Christian” nations who take it all as “cultural myths” and never respond to Christ in repentance and faith. Sadly, that even includes some who are “professional Christians,” just as Judas was one of the original 12 apostles. We are not accountable for what we have not been given, but we are very much accountable for what we have been given.

This certainly applies to me. I was given a great deal right off the bat, growing up in a strongly Christian home, but I very nearly blew it all, falling into the trap of pride. I thought I was a “super Christian” when I had no personal relationship with Him at all. God in His mercy tapped me on the shoulder, and when I turned, He had a mirror for me to see myself. I could only fall to my knees and weep, “My Lord and my God, my Lord and my God.” I wish I could say I’ve been a faithful steward ever since, but at least I have had a growing awareness of my responsibility for stewardship. At this point, I love to teach and share the abundance the Lord has poured into me, but I find an extreme range in people’s reception of what I share. I have a bad tendency to presume more foundation than people have, and people never really hear what I’m saying. I need to meet people where they are and walk alongside them, rather than demanding that they run to catch up. I can’t get it right on my own, but God can do it in and through me, so I’ve got to listen and obey accurately.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the past two days of being involved in the national meeting of the Early Morning Prayer Association. I met some sweet brothers and sisters in Christ, but I also was saddened by some of the deception I recognized. Help me be faithful to whatever part You have for me to play in Your plans, so that more and more people will open their hearts to receive Your genuine abundance, and not any counterfeit, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Words; May 12, 2018

Posted on May 14, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 12:36-37 “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

It is at times fascinating (or depressing) how often people are caught doing the very things they tend to condemn – in others, at any rate. Just in the past week a politician was exposed as being/doing the very things he had loudly been accusing the president of. For that mater, I can think of a number of preachers who have been exposed as being guilty of the very things they preached against. This hits a lot closer to home as well, because we are all quick to see our own faults in others, whether or not we recognize them in ourselves. On top of that, Jesus went so far as to say, “every careless word.” The Japanese says, “wasteful word,” and I’ve seen it translated as “unprofitable word.” I think that hits everybody! It’s a scary thing to be accountable for everything we say! This is just another reason we are all totally dependent on the grace and mercy of God. The flip side of that is that simply not talking isn’t the answer either. My wife just gave me an audio teaching series on marriage counseling (since I do a lot of it) entitled Speech Therapy. When I first saw the case, I thought it was related to the fact that I also teach speech therapists! I haven’t listened to it yet, but reading the blurb I see that it’s talking about how essential it is to communicate, and words are the major tool we’ve been given to do that. What Jesus is saying here is that our communication needs to build up and not tear down, giving praise to God rather than giving people reason to curse Him, and us.

As a person who essentially makes his living by words, this hits close to home! I enjoy words, both as tools and as toys, and doubtless use too many of them. I will confess to an advanced case of “pun disease,” which is unique among diseases in that it makes the people around the individual suffer more than the individual himself! That is of course a joke, but I do need to be very careful that my words don’t wound. My father once pointed out to me many years ago that I had a gift for words, but that whereas words must sometimes be used as a scalpel, to cut away malignancy, they must never be infected with pride or malice. I have used words as weapons far more often than I like to think about. I’ll have to answer for that! My words are to bring light and life and laughter, whether spoken or written, for the glory of God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the opportunity You gave me yesterday to bless people through a public prayer, and for the feedback I got that I had done so. Thank You for the Internet, through which I can share Your words with many. Help me be more and more like Jesus, who only spoke what He heard You saying, (John 14:24) so that the works of the devil may be destroyed (1 John 3:8) and people be brought to life in Christ, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Legalism; May 11, 2018

Posted on May 14, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 12:7-8 “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus had a running battle with the Pharisees over legalism. It was eventually what they killed Him for, because they derived their authority and sense of moral superiority from the very laws that Jesus said were secondary at best. We forget that they were the church leaders of the day, the best of society, as it were. There were certainly some genuinely good people among them, such as Nicodemus, but the typical Biblical record shows them as self-righteous hypocrites. The problem is, they still exist today, just without the organizational name of Pharisee. Different groups have different rules, which in itself isn’t necessarily bad. The problem comes when those groups condemn each other for those different rules. We do have to be on our guard against genuine heresy, as Paul, James, Peter, and John all make clear in their letters, but at the same time Paul devoted the entire letter to the Galatians to attack the idea that external rules of behavior, such as Jesus was dealing with here, are a way to gain favor with God. This particular example is fairly extreme, because observance of the Sabbath is commanded in the 10 Commandments. The problem was in the rigid interpretation of what it means to “observe the Sabbath.” When we make our faith into a rigid framework of rules, we have lost our faith in the process.

I will confess to having been startled to read that Barbara Bush sipped bourbon during her final hours on this earth, because I grew up in a strictly tea-totalling family. That I don’t drink now is not simply from that background, but because I feel no need of ethanol in my system and because my position as a teacher and pastor causes a lot of people to look at me as an example. They probably don’t have the abundant supply of liver enzymes I discovered I have, the one time I decided to get drunk as an intellectual exercise. (It didn’t work.) However, I find I do tend to set my personal habits of piety up as a standard in my mind, and judge others as to how they meet that standard. That makes me something of a Pharisee, too! I am not to adopt an “anything goes” attitude, but I am to apply the standard Jesus gives here: mercy, not sacrifice. I am convinced that the way I live is the path of greatest blessing, so I am to recommend it to all, but I am not to sit in judgment over how closely they follow it. After all, I don’t follow it perfectly myself!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Today and tomorrow Nagasaki is hosting the national convention of the Early Morning Prayer Association, with people of many denominations gathering. I pray that I would exercise what You have just reminded me of here, in my official function and in my private interactions, so that the Body of Christ may be built up in love, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Intellect; May 10, 2018

Posted on May 11, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 11:25-26 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”

Intellect alone will not get you to God. That’s not to say we aren’t to use the minds God has given us, but it is to say that those who take pride in and depend on their intellect are going to have a hard time finding Him. Just yesterday I was talking with one of our members who is a school teacher, and he was telling me about a couple he had met. They were both retired pharmacists, and so qualified as fairly highly educated. The wife’s parents had been dedicated Christians, and she was pleased that our member was one, but they said, “We are agnostic.” Our member commented that “Intelligentsia have a hard time being Christian.” (The Japanese use “intelli” to refer to such people, as an abbreviation of “intelligentsia.”) We spent some time talking about the irony and tragedy of that. He and I are both in the top 1% of the world’s population in terms of formal education, but thankfully we have avoided that trap. The attitude expressed by the couple is essentially a worship of intellect, reinforced by a feeling of superiority because they have it. That is simply one of the more subtle forms of idolatry, and it’s all the more pernicious because it’s not obvious that’s what it is. Sadly, even theologians can fall into that trap, leaving the simple truths of the Gospel in their pursuit of “deeper knowledge.” That was a problem even in the 1st Century, and such people were called Gnostics, from gnosis, the Greek word for knowledge. Paul wrote extensively against such teaching, and John turned the very terms the Gnostics used right around and applied them to Christ, in the first chapter of his Gospel. Intellect is not bad, but when it is relied on and coupled with pride it can be a horrible trap.

I come from a very intellectual, educated family. My father earned his PhD at 23, and I’ve lost count of how many advanced degrees there are among my immediate relatives. Even both my grandmothers were college graduates, which was rare at the end of the 19th Century when they were in school. With that kind of background, school work was generally pretty easy for me, and I was snared by the trap of pride, partially as a defense because of my lack of athletic ability. God was more than gracious to me, drawing me back to Himself in genuine repentance when I was already a married father, but it was actually only a few years ago when it finally got through to me that God’s smart and I’m not. I had always thought of it in terms of “God’s much smarter than I am,” but that still leaves room for my “smarts.” As I started out saying, I am to make full use of the mind God has given me, but I’ve got to realize my intellect doesn’t even get into the room, so to speak, when it comes to God. As Jesus says here, God reveals Himself to those who come to Him as little children, not in the pride of what they can discover with their superior intellects. I have been blessed in the IQ department, but I must never let that come between me and God, or even between me and other people. We are all equally valuable in God’s sight, regardless of how differently gifted we might be.

Father, thank You for Your grace to me on so many levels. Thank You for what You enabled me to do yesterday, for the mind to grasp what needed to be done and the skill to follow through and do it. I ask for Your guidance today, not only as I continue that project this afternoon but also as I prepare sermon notes now and then go teach my Speech Therapy students. May I make the full use that You intend of all that You have placed in me, in full submission and obedience to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Salvation; May 9, 2018

Posted on May 10, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 10:40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.”

This verse has been both a comfort and a frustration to me, and probably to many if not most missionaries. It all comes down to the definition of “receive.” In our almost 37 years of ministry in Omura many people have been very kind to us, but without ever becoming overt Christians. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is to “make disciples,” and it would be hard for me to describe most of those people as disciples of Christ. Looking at the following verses, many people look at me as a righteous man, I think, and some people receive me as a prophet. Jesus says they will be rewarded accordingly. The problem is, I have no idea what that means! We have been given many things by the people of Omura, but whether they gave us those things because we were Jesus’ disciples or simply because they thought it was the polite thing to do, I have no real idea. It all comes back to the fact that salvation is God’s business. Only He can save, and only He correctly defines what salvation is. The message continues to be, “Repent and believe the Good News,” (Mark 1:15) but we have to leave the definition of repentance and faith in God’s hands.

This couldn’t be any more personal to me than it already is. My parents before me also labored to communicate Christ to the Japanese people, and they too received a very low “rate of return” for their efforts. God is the Judge. When I have already outlived my father by over five years, legacy is an issue that comes to mind fairly often. I don’t care so much about how I am remembered here on earth, but I care very much about who I take with me to heaven. I have lost several people whom I counted as real friends, but who never made open commitments to Christ. Agonizing over them does me no good, so I’ve got to commit them, as I commit myself, to my gracious and merciful God. I consider Universalism to be a very dangerous heresy, but part of me wishes it were true! I’ve got to keep being faithful, asking the Holy Spirit to work through me to open the eyes of those around me and to give me the strength to keep keeping on. I have full assurance of my own salvation, but I’m certainly not satisfied with that. I want to take more people with me! Letting that tie me in knots will rob me of the peace and joy God has for me and accomplish nothing good, but I must maintain urgency in sharing the Gospel, because I have no idea how much time I have available.

Father, this issue keeps coming up again and again, because people are so slow to believe. Thank You for the many people who have received us on various levels. I do pray that You would reward them with saving faith, for their eternal blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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No Snowflake Disciples!; May 8, 2018

Posted on May 9, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 10:24-25 “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”

Jesus really laid it on the line for His disciples that He wasn’t leading them to Easy Street. The Church is no place for snowflakes! At the same time, He was very encouraging. This is all perfectly in line with one of my favorite Scriptures: “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) He warned His disciples, and He warns us, precisely because He doesn’t want us to lose our peace, our joy, or our hope in what He has planned for us. It’s all a matter of perspective. When our hearts are really fixed on Jesus, His kingdom and His righteousness, then the things of this world will have minimal effect on us. That’s not to say they won’t hurt, or at times be delightful, but they won’t have the power to shake us. About 18 years ago we had a group of mostly elementary and middle school girls here from America on a missions trip, and one of their chaperons was a lady pastor whose trademark comment was, “That’s temporal.” That is to say, “That’s temporary and will pass. Don’t focus on it.” Needless to say, herding a group of girls like that she had plenty of reason to use that expression! That was a powerful object lesson that has stayed with us, and I’m grateful. I don’t want to be a snowflake, going into a panic or even complaining over stuff that happens, but rather be a faithful servant, doing what my Lord has assigned to me until He comes to get me.

Yesterday I read a heartbreaking email that was at the same time an enormous testimony of faith. A dear retired missionary friend was writing about his wife, who has a debilitating nerve disease, being diagnosed with cancer. They are having a course of radiation treatments, but he actually seemed grateful for the cancer, because it would be a much quicker and less painful way to “graduate” than the progressive disease she already has. That hit especially close to home for me, because my wife has Parkinson’s Disease. At this point it is progressing so slowly the doctor is surprised, but he is talking about increasing her medication after she gets back from her current trip. As I read that email yesterday I couldn’t hold back the tears, because medically speaking, I can see that in our future. How and when the Lord takes either of us home is His business, and I know His plans are good. In the mean time, we are to be active at the tasks He has for us, drawing others into His family and giving Him the praise and gratitude He deserves.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing. Yesterday was full of a lot of stuff and much good was accomplished, but not without stress. That applies to me and to Cathy! I continue to pray that the rest of her trip would be filled with delightful experiences and that she would return greatly blessed and encouraged. I do pray for Your physical protection for her, particularly from falling, which she did twice yesterday. May all of the plans of the devil be foiled and all of Your plans fulfilled, in Your way and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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