Open Hearts; April 3, 2018

Posted on April 5, 2018 by jgarrott

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

What a blessed verse, filled with implications for every believer! As Paul noted, it takes God’s help for us to really grasp what He has said to us through the Bible, as well as what He is saying to us now. (1 Corinthians 2:14) However, the good news is that He provides that help to those who seek it. The problem comes in our failing to seek it. The devil does all he can to blind us to God’s truth. (2 Corinthians 4:4; 3:14-15) That’s because he knows that when we receive and accept that truth, we are set free from his traps. (John 8:32) The question becomes, do we want to be set free? I have dealt with someone who actively chose not to be set free from demonic oppression because she had been convinced the demons gave her advantage and excuse to live as she wanted. Her end was pathetic indeed. We may not be in such an extreme situation, but we are all faced with the choice: do we want to follow God and know more of Him? If the answer is yes, then He will supply the insight and strength, and even faith, that are necessary.

I have become totally convinced of the reality of human free will and the absolute importance of choosing Christ. He is Lord, whether we choose to acknowledge Him as that or not, but it is only by our choice that we receive the benefits of His salvation. I’ve learned the hard way that knowledge of Him isn’t the same thing as knowing and following Him. I knew Him in childlike simplicity as a young child, and my baptism at age seven was certainly valid, but my choices after that tended to self-gratification and intellectual pride, and I essentially forgot Him. In His amazing grace He brought me to repentance, but by that point I was already married and a father. Now, as I read the Bible each morning I ask Him to open the Word to me and open my heart to the Word, so that it won’t be just information but will be the light and life that I need. He is amazingly faithful to answer that prayer! Through the Internet I am able to share the insights He gives me, but if I fail to apply those insights myself, I don’t receive the blessing. There are many things about time and eternity that I can’t understand while I am in the flow of time, but if I will choose to turn to Him, God will open my heart to receive all that I need to understand, and I am to submit all the rest to Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You take me through in time to prepare me for eternity. Thank You that my biopsy went smoothly yesterday. I trust You with the results. Thank You for all the many things that are going on: the ones that delight me, the ones that distress me, and the ones in between. Help me submit and release each one to You, allowing You to open my heart to become and do what You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Eternal Plans; April 2, 2018

Posted on April 4, 2018 by jgarrott

Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Every true Bible scholar would love to have a detailed record of what Jesus told those two men! The point, however, is that God had been planning for the cross and resurrection from before the dawn of time. As much as we talk about it, we can’t really wrap our minds around the reality that God, being Spirit and not matter, and having created all matter, is totally outside of time, because time is dependent on matter. Even the words I just wrote don’t make sense to a lot of people! One thing that God simply cannot be is surprised. Because He is outside of time, He is aware of everything at once. We don’t even have logical words to describe how it is for God, because we, inhabiting material bodies, are trapped in the flow of time. That’s one of the glories of eternity with God: we will no longer be trapped in time. We can’t imagine what that will be like, because it is so different from our current experience. The point for us now, however, is to rest in faith that God indeed knows the end from the beginning, and the end He has planned for us is good. Jeremiah 29:11 is quoted often, because it is an important counterpoint to some of the mess we go through. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) As Jesus demonstrated to those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, those plans are from eternity past and they are valid for eternity future. We don’t have that field of view at this point, so we are to walk in faith and trust.

Just yesterday someone wrote my wife that “Jeremiah 29:11 is for you, too.” At this point that is a very appropriate, timely reminder. We are brought back to essentially the numbers we started with when we took the name, Shinsei no Sato, and started operating as a church. Over 50 people have been baptized in the 34 years since then, and many more have been blessed in many ways. At this point we have land and a building and legal status, which we had none of 34 years ago. Rejection from people is painful, but God hasn’t rejected us, so the point is to look forward in anticipation of what God is going to do from here. God isn’t surprised by any of this, and His plans for us are good.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that it comes at Easter. April 1st also happens to be the anniversary of my ordination. Help me indeed return to my roots in You and Your Word and rejoice that Your plans for us are good. Thank You. Praise God!

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Our Relationship to God; April 1, 2018

Posted on April 4, 2018 by jgarrott

John 20:17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

In many ways this was a very extraordinary thing for Jesus to say. His choice of words explicitly brought His disciples up to His level in terms of their relationship to God. Jesus is absolutely unique as the pre-existant member of the Godhead, but we cut ourselves short in the sort of relationship with God we think is possible for us. Shortly before He was crucified Jesus had said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) Now He is giving the message, “I’m about to go to the Father, so the time is here.” That was momentous news indeed. Acts records that just Peter’s shadow falling on people brought healing, (Acts 5:15) which was never said about Jesus. God wants to do amazing things through His children, but we fail to believe, or else pervert the supernatural into being about us. One person alive today who has walked in this is Heidi Baker. The things she has been involved in are astounding to hear about, but she would be the last person to say they are about her. It is only when we discard ourselves to cling to Christ that we truly find ourselves in Him. This is what Jesus was talking about when He spoke of losing and finding life (Matthew 10:39, etc.) and taking up our cross. (Luke 9:23, etc.) We don’t like the idea of doing only what we see the Father doing. (John 5:19) We want to be independent, forgetting that we have no power in ourselves. Jesus was very blunt about that! (John 15:5) We have much to learn about intimacy with God, but the benefits are boundless.

This is an area I have been aware of for many years but I have enormous room to grow in. I desire intimacy with God and I even preach on it, but I walk in only a small fraction of what is available to all of God’s children. I have talked for years about how the Church, the nation, and the world will be transformed when Japanese believers wake up to who and what they are in Christ, yet I don’t even grasp it fully myself. Right now I am being confronted with the reality that I can accomplish nothing good in God’s kingdom on my own, but I haven’t yet reached the point of letting God flow through me unhindered. As has been said, I need to “Let go and let God.”

Father, You know my situation better than I do. I pray that on this Easter morning I would indeed experience the power of Your resurrection, not for my sake but for the sake of those to whom I minister, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Finished; March 31, 2018

Posted on April 2, 2018 by jgarrott

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

This is perhaps the most momentous event in human history. The Christ, a coequal member of the Godhead, took the sins of all mankind on Himself and atoned for them. It is oddly appropriate that the words He used were no different than what anyone would use for completing even a trivial task, because Jesus never put on airs; He was the most authentic person who has ever lived. We really have great difficulty grasping the magnitude of what He accomplished in that moment, and in the time leading up to it. It had started in a stable in Bethlehem, or actually in Mary’s womb nine months earlier. Omnipotent, omniscient God had taken on human form, out of the purity and totality of His love for us His creatures, and here that climaxed in His taking the penalty for our rebellion and pride, opening through His body the way for our salvation by faith. It was important that He rose three days later, certainly, but first He had to die, so that we might live. As the song says, “Amazing love! How can it be that Christ my God would die for me?”

I am no more worthy of such love and sacrifice than anyone else. My biggest problem is in being so familiar with the story that I am numbed to it. I need to let the Holy Spirit refresh it in my mind and spirit so that I may respond more fully and accurately. As a pastor I am charged with keeping this awareness fresh in the hearts of the believers as well. Tomorrow we will be having an early interdenominational service at a martyrdom site, but several of our members have perfectly legitimate reasons they can’t be there. We will be having our regular service at 10:30, but I am not capable in myself of imparting the significance, the magnificence, of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. Once again I am totally dependent on the Holy Spirit, but He has used me before, and I trust He will do so again. The point is that this is about God, from our standpoint, but for Him it was all about us. It is absolutely mind boggling that the Creator would love us so much, so I’ve got to ask and let Him get this truth past our minds and into our spirits, so that we may live accordingly.

Father, thank You for this reminder, for the celebration of resurrection, and for Your infinite love. Help me be so transformed by that love that I become an effective channel for You to pour through me to others, imparting saving faith to them as well, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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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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