Remorse and Repentance; March 30, 2018

Posted on April 1, 2018 by jgarrott

Luke 22:61-62 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

It would be hard to imagine anything more devastating for a believer than this. However, we all fall short of our aspirations at times. Many people have pointed out the parallels and the differences between Peter and Judas. Both denied Jesus and both realized they were in the wrong, but Judas tried to stay in control, and he killed himself in an act of self-centered contrition. (Suicide is always self-centered.) Peter, on the other hand, wept bitterly but still left himself in God’s hands, letting God determine his fate. 1 Corinthians 15:5 indicates that Peter got a personal visitation from Jesus after His resurrection, gloriously depicted in Don Francisco’s song, He’s Alive! I am convinced that was because God knew the depth of his humility and his repentance, in stark contrast to Judas’ trying to deal with his situation on his own. Many people have speculated about Judas’ motives for what he did. One of the kindest scenarios was that he was trying to force Jesus to demonstrate His power so that the Romans would be overthrown, but even that betrays the fundamental sin of man trying to take the place of God, to be in control. We all get in such trouble when we do that! Most often it’s not active rebellion, but rather simply ignoring God and trying to live without Him. We can’t do that, since every breath is a gift of His grace, but we like to think we can.

I am tempted in this area just like everyone else, so sometimes God has to allow things into my life to show me I’m not in control. Whether those things are pleasant or unpleasant, their purpose is to remind me to take my eyes off of myself and get them back on my Lord. I remember frequently my utter devastation when the Lord figuratively tapped me on the shoulder back in 1972 and, when I turned, held up a mirror for me to see the state of my soul. All I could do was fall to my knees and cry out, “My Lord and my God!” I feel a considerable empathy for Peter! Since that day my road hasn’t been straight nor my progress consistent, but I have grown, and I have learned the difference between remorse and repentance. Both Judas and Peter had great remorse, but only Peter carried that through to repentance, changing his behavior and casting himself on the mercy of God. As a pastor I have seen too much remorse pretending to be repentance. The difference becomes clear over time. As John the Baptist told people, genuine repentance bears fruit. (Matthew 3:8) I am not to go around accusing people of remorse without repentance, but I am to speak the truth in love so that they won’t deceive themselves.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that You know what is going on in each person’s heart and mind. Help me be honest with myself, and use me to open people’s eyes so that they may be honest with themselves, to be a people fully and totally committed to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Responding to Situations; March 29, 2018

Posted on April 1, 2018 by jgarrott

Luke 22:35-36 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”

I have seen this passage quoted numbers of times in the gun control debate, reasonably enough, but it strikes me just now that the issue is much broader than defensive weaponry. I think the whole point is that different situations call for different responses. When Jesus sent out the 12 (Mark 6:7-11) and the 72 (Luke 10:1-12) there wasn’t active persecution yet, and the assignment was short term. However, here He is talking about a far more open-ended situation. Tradition has it that Thomas went all the way to South India! When we take Scripture out of context we risk all sorts of problems. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t abiding principles, but it does mean we have to listen to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Lord wants us to drop everything and do something, and sometimes He wants us to prepare carefully. If we aren’t in the habit of listening to Him, we will probably get it wrong in one direction or the other. Even though Jesus talked about swords here, when Peter used one of the two they had on hand in very sloppy fashion against the High Priest’s servant, the timing was wrong and Jesus called him down for it. (vv. 50-51) Personally, I can’t imagine the level of ineptitude that caused Peter to cut off an ear! We need to know how to use what the Lord provides. However, the most important skill is in hearing the Lord accurately in the first place.

This of course applies to me, just as it does to every believer. I have said for several years that if I lived in the US, I would get a concealed-carry permit, but since I don’t, that’s not an issue. I have missed the Lord’s best at times by rushing into things unprepared, but I have also missed His best by overthinking things and hanging back. As a pastor, one of my greatest failings has been a failure to plan. I want to be “instantly available,” but that’s not to be an excuse for not planning. I am to be flexible, certainly, but I am also to be prepared. We are at the end of a fiscal year in Japan, and I need to be prepared to lay out a vision for the year ahead in the business meeting in two weeks. That’s a real challenge, but it has the potential for really turning this church around. I need to seek the Lord and let Him show me His plans, for me and for this church, so that we may participate fully as He intends, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this Word. I didn’t exactly expect it! Show me how to be quiet before You to listen, and also how to prepare for what You have for me/us to do, so that we may indeed move into all that You have planned, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Music; March 28, 2018

Posted on March 31, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

To my recollection this is the only place where it says anything at all about Jesus making music in any form. As big as music has been in my life, I find myself really wanting to know what He sang! I can’t say I’ve ever encountered research into what it likely would have been, but I am sure there were traditional Passover songs that could be identified even today. I do know that the rest of the Bible mentions music and singing quite a bit. When Paul talked about worship services with the Corinthians he mentioned hymns, (1 Corinthians 14:26) and he famously told the Ephesians to “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:19) and also told the Colossians something very similar. (Colossians 3:16) King David is probably the most famous singer/songwriter in the Bible, and Revelation speaks of singing in heaven. (Revelation 15:3) Music is obviously Scriptural! Psychologists are still studying how it has unique abilities to inspire and express all sorts of things in and through us. It is very powerful, which is why the devil dries so hard to corrupt it. Western music comes directly from Church music, with influences from various cultural streams, but some of what passes for music today would be hard to imagine in a church setting! There are certainly cultural and personal prejudices in that statement, because any musical genre can be used to express thanks and praise to God, or even a sincere heart-cry, but some lyrics are expressions of direct rebellion against God. What we listen to, and what we allow our children to listen to, impacts us and society as a whole far more than most people realize.

I was raised in a very musical family, with every member playing at least one instrument as well as singing. Some of my fondest memories of “family time” are of gathering around the piano with one of my parents playing as we sang hymns in 4-part harmony. I ended up with a Music minor in college, and my major assignment in the Army was as 1st chair clarinet in the 25th Division band. My wife had a similar background, singing in Gospel quartets and the like at various functions both with family members and with others. It’s not surprising that both our daughters gravitated to music in college and continue to be very musical. However, with all of that background, I am quite aware that music can be nothing more than an exercise in narcissism, if we lose sight on the One who gave it to us. I don’t mean at all that all music has to be “religious,” but I have seen and heard performances even of religious music that had essentially nothing to do with God. I like good jazz, for example, and I have heard performances of “The Lord’s Prayer” that were nothing more than the singer showing off their vocal abilities. The important thing isn’t the style, but the heart behind it. One project I still haven’t gotten around to is a rewrite of “My Way,” that Frank Sinatra made so famous. It is musically admirable, but the lyrics express exactly how the devil wants us to be: completely self-centered. I want to rewrite those lyrics to “Thy Way,” as a commitment to follow God rather than my flesh.

Father, thank You for music in all its forms. Help me make full use of it to lift people up and encourage them to follow You, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sent by Christ; March 27, 2018

Posted on March 31, 2018 by jgarrott

John 13:20 “I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

This is an absolutely amazing verse because of the level of authority it gives those sent by Christ. However, it isn’t unique, because it fits in perfectly with the Great Commission. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20) It also fits even more closely with what Jesus said in that same upper room after His resurrection: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21) I think sadly few Christians live in the awareness that they they have been sent by God. Society makes a joke of the idea, as in the line from the Blues Brothers movie, “We’re on a mission from God.” We aren’t to get puffed up over it, but remember how people treated Jesus, just as He said. (Matthew 10:24-25) However, we must not put ourselves down, but remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors, and act accordingly. (2 Corinthians 5:20) If every believer did that, the world would be a far better place!

This verse has been a comfort and a frustration to me throughout my ministry in Japan. It makes me wonder about the definition of “accept!” We have made numbers of very good friends, yet few even of those have acknowledged Jesus as Lord. Interestingly, in the past couple of years as we have talked about the idea of building an elder care facility, several non-Christian friends have been more accepting and encouraging than even people in this church! I’ve come to the conclusion that we won’t know the extent of our harvest until we are before the Throne. I have the feeling we will see some people there we never saw in church, but we may not see some people there whom we did see in church. God is the Judge, and I’ve got to be at peace with that. I am to rejoice in God’s gracious calling and live up to it as He enables me, (Philippians 3:16) speaking His truth in His love and participating in His plans for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me not insist on how You are to use me! Help me rather be fully and joyfully submitted to You so that I won’t get in the way, but rather be fully available to You whether the task, or the reward, is great or small. And help me not try to figure that out ahead of time! Thank You. Praise God!

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Doing Truth; March 26, 2018

Posted on March 28, 2018 by jgarrott

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

Jesus wasn’t stingy in His teaching; He taught deep truth even to the multitudes. However, He often included things like, “He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15) In other words, not everyone was capable of receiving what He had to say. To His chosen apostles He said, “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” (Matthew 13:16) In other words, they had the capacity to receive what He was giving them. However, it doesn’t stop there. Judas was one of the 12, yet he didn’t fully appropriate and apply what he heard. Jesus’ half-brother James hit the nail on the head: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) Coming back to this verse, if we fail to apply and live out the truth we know, we miss the blessing. I’m not sure this is a matter of salvation as such, but rather a matter of the abundance that God has prepared for each of His children. Now, I’m NOT talking “Prosperity Gospel” here, at least not in the sense of finances. I am totally convinced that “Where God guides, He provides,” but finances are just a small part of the picture, and focusing on them for any reason can blind us to what God is really saying to us. Jesus had just given His disciples a graphic illustration, with commentary, of servant leadership. With the exception of Judas, each would go on to be highly revered by many, and Jesus wanted them to understand what sort of leaders they needed to be, if they were to participate in the flow of God’s grace and power. In a sense, we don’t really know until we do.

This certainly applies to me, but it’s equally not exclusive to me. My father did his PhD dissertation on the usage of en Christo and related phrases in the Greek New Testament, but he told me he didn’t really know what it was to be “in Christ” until after he was a missionary in Japan. I personally believe the experience he was referring to was his baptism in the Holy Spirit, though to my knowledge he never spoke in tongues. (He spoke in quite a few languages, but all of them were human.) He had a great deal of knowledge of God’s truth, but the full blessings came after he applied that truth to live it out. I likewise grew up steeped in the Bible, but had difficulty grasping the difference between knowledge and action. In the 60+ years since I was baptized, I have indeed learned the truth of what Jesus told His disciples after He washed their feet.

Father, thank You for the depth of Your Word, that it keeps getting better and better the more I get into it and let it get into me. Help me indeed do it, applying Your truth more and more consistently in every situation, so that Your name may be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Praising God; March 25, 2018

Posted on March 27, 2018 by jgarrott

Matthew 21:16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
‘From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise’?”

As many have noted, Jesus changed one word in quoting Psalm 8:2. Interestingly, the NIV has adjusted the translation there to match this verse, but most translations render the verse in Psalms as “ordained strength.” As countless people have experienced, praising God really does bring strength on virtually all levels. The reason why is simple: actively praising God shifts our focus to Him, allowing Him to replace our weakness with His strength. The KJV may have mistranslated Proverbs 23:7, but it is certainly true that how we think affects how we are. That’s why God holds us accountable for our thought lives as well as our overt actions. (Matthew 5:28) The best antidote for all the devil and the world want to shovel into our minds is to choose to praise God. When our hearts are focused on Him in gratitude and praise, we enter His throne room, at least to an extent. (Psalm 22:3) The more we experience that, the less hold this world has on us and the more victory we experience.

I can never forget the time I was in a prayer meeting with three brothers in the Lord and we were singing praise together. The joy and Presence of the Lord flooded me so strongly that I literally told God He would have to pull back a little if He had anything more for me to do here, because my flesh simply couldn’t take it. One more drop would have translated me out of this world! However, even having experienced that, sometimes I forget to praise God. Things can look dark for me, too. I have learned, both from the Word and from experience, that praise and gratitude are choices we make. We think that if we don’t feel grateful, that’s it. However, our feelings are notoriously unreliable. I couldn’t begin to count how many times I have chosen to start praising God in spite of circumstances and my emotions and have been lifted up as a result. However, I have also learned that simply telling someone to praise God doesn’t do much good; they have to be coached and guided. Right now several people are pretty discouraged about this church, seeing what’s gone on over the past year or two. I understand that, but I also know that, as our Verse for the Year says, nothing is too difficult for God. (Jeremiah 32:27) The point for each of us is to get our focus off of ourselves and our circumstances and onto Him, in gratitude and praise both for what He has already done and what He is going to do, even though we don’t know just what that is.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ve been experiencing some subtle “negative programming” myself even this morning. Help me apply this truth consistently, praising You so that my vision won’t be clouded by the enemy and I’ll be able to follow You fully to do all that You have planned, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Character; March 24, 2018

Posted on March 27, 2018 by jgarrott

Hosea 11:9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.
For I am God, and not man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come in wrath.[

This verse wasn’t underlined in my Bible before, but it really struck me just now. God can be so gracious and forgiving precisely because He is God. People simply aren’t that way, apart from His presence in them. When man acts strictly as man, we have revenge and cruelty and a whole host of mess. When God instituted the famous, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” rule, (Exodus 21:24 and others) it wasn’t to be sure those punishments were meted out, but to limit punishments to no more than the original crime. That wasn’t cruel, it was kind! Left to himself, man does things like the Nazis killing 10 prisoners in retribution for one escaping. This verse is a declaration of God’s character as being higher and better than that of man, much as He told Isaiah (Isaiah 55:9) The problem today, however, is that we have come to take God’s grace and mercy for granted. Bonhoeffer called such thinking “cheap grace.” As we are about to enter Passion Week it is entirely appropriate to remember just how costly that grace really is. The song, Here I am to Worship has a line, “I’ll never know how much it cost, to take my sins upon that cross.” That is very true, and is a meditation more than worthy of our time and attention.

I am grateful the Lord has revealed to me, to a degree at least, how much better He has treated me than I deserved. I still have a persistent tendency to take His grace for granted, but it’s much less than it has been. Accordingly, I need to let His character operate in me and forgive as I have been forgiven. I live in a society where revenge has traditionally been highly valued, and forgiveness hardly understood. That can make things very difficult at times. I am to be faithful not to pay back on my own, but to leave things in God’s hands. I am to express God’s love and grace in words and action, regardless of what is said or done to me. I can’t be that way on my own! That means I’ve got to focus on and be submitted to my Lord, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) Only then will I be effective in drawing people to repentance and faith for their salvation.

Father, the bar is very high, but by Your grace and strength I’ll get over it. Thank You that I don’t have to rely on my own strength and wisdom! Help me submit fully to You at all times so that Your Spirit may flow through me unhindered, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Using What We Have; March 23, 2018

Posted on March 26, 2018 by jgarrott

Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.

In the middle of condemning Israel’s inexcusable behavior, God gives the prescription for healing. This verse has been set to music in Japanese almost verbatim, and I can’t read it without the song running through my mind. That’s more proof that music is an excellent tool for memorizing Scripture! This verse expresses one of the paradoxes of God’s economy. We are told to sow righteousness for ourselves, and then God will shower (or pour) righteousness on us. To the human mind it would seem that God would have to supply the righteousness before we could sow it. In the larger sense that’s true, but the point is, we have to use what He’s already given us before His greater supply is revealed. The agricultural imagery here perhaps doesn’t click for the modern urbanite, but it’s really very clear. It’s not much use plowing if you don’t have anything to plant, but if you plow in faith, planting what you have, God will give enough and more than enough. Unfailing love is perhaps the most universal of all human desires, and God says the way to get it is to make full use of the righteousness He has already supplied, seeking Him for the more that we need. Throughout the Bible, and especially in Jesus’ teaching of the talents, (Matthew 25:14-30) we are told that our stewardship of what we have been given already is the key to our receiving more, and that poor stewardship brings punishment. This verse would indicate that applies even to such intangibles as righteousness.

This is something I have learned by experience, as well as through reading the Bible. At the same time, it’s something I have had difficulty communicating to others as a pastor. Telling people we have to use everything we have in order for God to pour more out on us tends to provoke a panic reaction! We like to have a cushion, to hold something in reserve, when God wants us to trust Him fully. We need to have the faith of Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice Isaac in the assurance that God could supply another son if necessary. I’m not totally there myself, but I am to apply the faith I have, and seek to bring others along with me. I’m coming to the position that mankind’s biggest problem is pride and the biggest need is faith, expressed as trust. When we don’t trust God with everything we have, we can’t receive everything He has for us. Right now this church is greatly shrunk in numbers. I’m to break up the fallow ground and plant what we have, to receive the harvest God intends for us.

Father, thank You for this Word. Help me understand fully how to apply it, encouraging and equipping the believers to be the salt and light You intend them to be, so that many may be drawn into Your kingdom for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Repentance; March 22, 2018

Posted on March 25, 2018 by jgarrott

Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.”

On the face of it, the first three verses of this chapter are a magnificent declaration of repentance and faith. Verse three has been set to music in Japanese as a very nice church song, and as such I delight to sing it as a promise of revival. However, the following verses indicate that in context, those who sere saying this sort of thing were doing so hypocritically, presuming on God rather than genuinely repenting. If these three verses are declared from the heart and lived out, you could hardly do better at pleasing God. However, there is a tinge of “do this so God will do that” about them. Verse 6 is a statement by God that He wants our hearts rather than our religious rituals. The Japanese word for “repentance” is very good. It is a compound that means, “regret and do over.” Regret means acknowledging that we have done wrong, and not just that we don’t enjoy the consequences of what we have done. A lot of what passes for repentance is just that, but as soon as we escape those consequences, we are back at whatever brought them on. The flip side of that is doing over. If we say, “I was wrong,” but then make no move actually to change, that’s not repentance either. Usually true repentance involves acknowledging to God that we can’t do it right on our own, and asking Him to do it right through us. He’s happy to oblige, as 1 John 1:9 says. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God taught Hosea about repentance through his marriage, and He seeks to teach us as well. We would do well to learn the lesson!

I’ve had my own encounters with repentance and they have taught me that indeed, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) I have also learned that God’s forgiveness is real, and once I have repented in truth, I don’t have to drag around the guilt of what I have done. That’s glorious good news indeed! Sometime God has to discipline me, even painfully, but when I turn to Him instead of just running from the pain, the healing and restoration are glorious. I think the reason I like the song made from verse three (and translated it so we could sing it bilingually) is that God has rescued me from hypocrisy so that I can sing it with a clear conscience. As a pastor I have to deal with my own human imperfection even as I deal with that of others. All of us need to keep our repentance up to date, as even Billy Graham affirmed not long before he died. However, I serve a perfect Savior, and my life is hidden in Him. The fact that is possible by faith is the very essence of the Gospel, and I must proclaim it boldly.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for reminding me of Your truth morning by morning. Help me indeed live it out more and more fully and consistently, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Ignorance; March 21, 2018

Posted on March 25, 2018 by jgarrott

Hosea 4:6, 14 “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
A people without understanding will come to ruin!”

I am reminded of a famous legal statement: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Breaking God’s moral laws has consequences, just as much as trying to break the laws of physics. Ignoring the law of gravity and walking off a cliff will get you killed, whether or not you understand physics at all. This chapter as a whole is accusing the priests, who were responsible for teaching God’s law to the people but hadn’t done so. Frankly, I am reminded of the US today. Over half of even Christian men view pornography regularly, and it is starting at such a young age that people think the things they see in porn are normative, rather than often horrible aberrations. The Information Age is a curse rather than a blessing when the “information” people are getting is lying junk. (Of course that applies to more than sexuality, but that is the context of this chapter.) Pastors are responsible to educate their flocks in the truth, but a sad percentage of even pastors are mired in porn. The devil puts out the lie that it is a “victimless crime,” when nothing could be further from the truth. Paul said that immorality is sinning against your own body, as well as against God and whoever else is involved. (1 Corinthians 6:18) Pastors need to be willing to go against the tide and stand for the truth, in their own life and family as well as in their flock. How else will society be saved from the lies of the devil?

This of course applies to me as much as it does to any other pastor. I have had my own struggles in this area, and know that God is able to give victory. I’m not to dwell on this issue from the pulpit, but I’m not to avoid it either, and I’m to be completely frank in private conversations. Just yesterday I was counseling someone over the telephone in this area. I’m grateful that he called me, to get advice and support. Such a person does not remain ignorant, and so avoids destruction. I am not to condemn those who stumble and even fall, but rather share the good news of repentance and forgiveness, just as I did over the phone yesterday. God’s grace is sufficient for us all, if we will receive it. That is good news indeed!

Father, thank You that Your Word is so clear. We tend to avoid passages like this out of embarrassment, but that is playing into the hand of the devil. Help me speak Your truth in Your love all the time, letting Your Spirit guide me as to what to say when to whom, so that the lies of the devil may be exposed and Your people set free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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