Boasting; July 19, 2017

Posted on July 22, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 20:11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’ ”

Now that’s a snappy comeback! It was obviously a proverb of the day, but it’s true enough even today. We hear a lot of people boasting about what they are going to do, but that’s nowhere as impressive as someone who calmly recounts what they have done. “Advance boasting” is used as psychological warfare, trying to intimidate opponents. It is often part of what is called “trash talk,” insults and put-downs of opponents. The flip side of that is to bolster the courage of the one speaking. However, talking big often betrays a coward behind the bluff. It is certainly a risky maneuver. For the Christian, we are to hold to what God said. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

One time in my life an empty boast stood me in good stead. I was an 11th grader in Tennessee, having spent most of my life in Japan, and I was fresh meat for bullies. One bully in particular really bothered me, so one day I called him over privately and said, “You know I come from Japan. Well, I know karate, and if I happen to kill you it would be bad for both of us.” He never bothered me again! In fact, I had never studied karate and only knew a few kata (moves) from observation, but I think God gave me wisdom for that occasion. That was certainly an exception to the rule we’re talking about! Far more often, I have gotten myself into trouble by boasting about things I hadn’t done yet, or even things I claimed to have done that weren’t true. I am a perverse bundle of pride and insecurity, and I have demonstrated that more times than I like to think about. I would have done far better to obey God’s words to Jeremiah. Right now we are faced with huge challenges. My focus, both in my words and in my inmost thoughts, must be on my Lord who is more than able to deal with those challenges, because the minute I think or say that I can solve them on my own, I’m in deep trouble. The less I think I can do it, the more I can have assurance that He can and will do it through me.

Father, thank You for this reminder and encouragement. Thank You for the various things You’ve brought me through to this point to teach me to trust You. May I not trust in myself, but be active in my obedience to You, so that Your wisdom may be manifested at every turn to accomplish Your will for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

Encouragement; July 18, 2017

Posted on July 22, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

This is an enormously encouraging passage for many pastors, especially those who are distressed by the general state of society. Elijah had every reason to fear for his life as he ran from Jezebel, so there is a definite irony in his asking to die in verse 4. Jezebel would have been happy to grant that request! However, every Church leader has reason to be depressed at times. God’s answer to Elijah was to give him specific tasks to do and tell him who would be his successor in ministry. Knowing that ministry isn’t going to stop with you can be very comforting! Then he says this, letting Elijah know that not everyone in Israel had abandoned Yahweh. That too is enormously comforting. The people who spit in God’s face are very visible, because many of them try to be, but we must not overlook those who genuinely seek God. There are countless reasons why we might overlook them, but God doesn’t miss even one. The discouraged pastor needs to ask first for ears to hear God and then for eyes to see those whom God has reserved for Himself. God is never defeated, whatever things look like, and neither are those who are in Him. (Romans 8:37)

This is certainly applicable to me, as I’m sure it is to every minister in Japan. The “rate of return” for ministry in Japan is the lowest in the world, from statistics I have seen. I can certainly believe it! However, things aren’t necessarily as they seem to human eyes. Just the other day I was talking with someone who had been attending a good-sized church in the Tokyo area, and they said that they thought the majority of the people in their age group at church had told no one at their job that they were Christians. They feared the social repercussions of being “different” from their peers, forgetting Jesus’ very strong words on the subject: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26) That’s pretty severe! I perhaps need to contact the pastor of that church (who is a friend) and let him know what I heard. I also need to encourage the believers here to “let their lights shine,” (Matthew 5:15-16) not fearing people’s opinions but taking their personal worth from God, so that they may lead others into the light of life.

Father, You know what’s going on in and around me better than I do. Thank You for reminding me of that fact just now. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in You, just as You have told me, so that my light may be bright and draw many to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

God’s Supply of Strength; July 17, 2017

Posted on July 20, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 18:46 The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

This was another miracle, but not being as dramatic as the immediately previous “power encounter” it doesn’t get as much press (though I have seen a photograph of an oil painting someone did of it). We occasionally get news reports of people doing seemingly impossible things for a brief time, like lifting a car off of someone, but this was a sustained event. I don’t know how far it is from Carmel to Jezreel, but it was surely more than a few hundred yards. Even if Ahab’s chariot was moving slowly, this was a sustained effort at pretty remarkable speed. Frankly, I don’t know why Elijah would have gone to Jezreel at this point, because the following events show that it was dangerous territory for him. The whole point to me is simply that God provides the strength and endurance we need to accomplish whatever He indicates we are to do. Sometimes we really need to be reminded of that! God told Paul that His grace is sufficient for us, (2 Corinthians 12:9) but when difficulties loom over us we can have trouble believing it. Peter points out that faith is worth more than Gold, (1 Peter 1:7) so God allows us to get into situations that stretch our faith and deepen it. As has been said, He is far more interested in our character than our comfort.

I don’t enjoy being forced to grow any more than other people do, but I have seen good results when I have stopped protesting what God intends for my blessing. My immediate situation is hardly one I would have chosen, but it has caused me to pray a good bit more than I had been doing. That’s good! I don’t know what the hours, days, weeks and years ahead hold, but I do know that God loves me and His plans for me are good. (Jeremiah 29:11) I need to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to Him and do exactly what He says, whether it makes any sense to me at the moment or not. It would be especially shocking if He told me to run the way Elijah did, since I’ve never been a runner, but if He says to do it, I need to be obedient. The tasks that seem to be ahead are much less physical but no less difficult. I am not to draw back at any point, but as Paul said, I am to press on, keeping my eyes on the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Father, thank You for the assurance that You will get me through everything, whether it feels like a kick in the stomach, a slog through mud, or stepping off of a cliff. Thank You that there are no surprises for You, so all I have to do is follow You. Thank You for what You have done in this week in the city gallery. I frankly don’t know what that is, since attendance has been sparse, but You have allowed me to speak Your truth to a few people. I pray that this last day, including taking everything down, would go smoothly and we would be accurate representatives of Christ, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Choosing God; July 16, 2017

Posted on July 20, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 18:21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

This is the story of the most dramatic “power encounter” in the whole Bible, short of Jesus’ cross and resurrection. The events of the exodus were misty folk tales for most of the people. Since this was in the northern kingdom of Israel, they didn’t even have the temple worship to remind them of the true God. Through Elijah, God set up a demonstration of His reality that would echo throughout history. The question Elijah asks here is one that applies to every person in every age. We are free to choose whom we will serve, but we cannot fail to make the choice, because that is choosing to serve the devil by default. That’s something most people don’t realize. Yesterday a man came into the gallery (we are having a show of my photography, Cathy’s papercraft, and the calligraphy of a lady in the church) and told me, “I used to be Methodist, but now I’m Sokagakkai.” (That’s a rather militant Buddhist sect, equivalent to Jehovah’s Witnesses.) I asked him why he had changed, and he said, “Oh, I was in Seicho no Ie (another of the Japanese “new religions”) for a while too, but found that Sokagakkai was most satisfying for me.” He’s made his choice, and unless he repents, he will live with that choice for all eternity. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in his shoes! The problem is, people choose religions because of cultural pressures, convenience, or in his case, what pleased his flesh. I once heard a Sokagakkai person say, “The Bible insists we do impossible things, like love our enemies. Sokagakkai never does that.” We have such trouble believing that God never asks us to do anything He doesn’t enable us to do, if we will yield ourselves to Him in faith. I recently saw a strictly secular comment that “There is no growth without pain.” I presume it was talking about mental/emotional/spiritual growth, because simple physical growth isn’t necessarily painful, but taken that way, it’s quite in line with the Bible. We don’t like to make hard choices, to be obedient to God instead of indulge our flesh, but we bear the consequences of our choices whatever they are. As Elijah said, the question is whether we will choose God.

This is applicable to me every day of my life. I seek to encourage others to choose God, but my own choosing needs to be consistent, and I’m not 100% in that. Right now I feel He is directing us in a project that is quite literally impossible for us. Some in the church are in panic stage, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. It is quite true that those things could go wrong, and the way will not be easy, but if God is directing this, it will succeed. We lost people when we built our current building, and that was painful indeed. We are looking at a far bigger project right now, and we very much run the risk of losing people, when we have very few to lose! I am to trust God and speak and act as He directs, however painful the immediate consequences. If this is His idea, as I believe it is, I am to let go of it and let Him carry it through, because He is more than able.

Father, this is a painful time of growth indeed. Help me not draw back, but let You do in and through me what You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

Ministering God’s Truth; July 15, 2017

Posted on July 19, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

What’s really interesting to me about this is that it seems like it took her son being raised from the dead for this woman to recognize that Elijah was a man of God who spoke God’s truth. You would have thought the flour and oil not running out would have been a strong clue! People at times display a remarkable insensitivity to the things of God. Two people can be in the same service and one be touched deeply and experience intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit and another be bored to tears. That’s certainly not always the case, but it does happen. That makes the job of the worship leader and the speaker all the more challenging! However, if we focus too much on the congregation and how they will perceive things, we can close our own ears and hearts to what God is saying, becoming no better off than the person who is bored to tears. The answer, as it is in every area of life, is to draw closer to God ourselves and allow Him to use us in touching others. It is after all the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8-11)

Beside me on the wall here I have an outline titled “Preaching to Change Lives.” I got it from a pastors’ session at a conference headlined by Mark Conner of Australia. The subtitle is, “John 12:49 – what to say and how to say it.” I looked that reference up again just now. “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.” If Jesus Himself made a statement like this, how much more do we need to let the Holy Spirit tell us what to say and how to say it?! I would say that one session with Mark Conner did me more good than the whole semester of Preaching I took in seminary! The first of the five points in the outline is indeed, “Who’s listening? (audience).” However, even there the guidance of the Holy Spirit is essential, because as the Gilbert and Sullivan song says, things are seldom what they seem. I need to ask and allow the Holy Spirit to show me the spiritual condition of my hearers. I personally am prone to talk over the heads of my audience, spiritually speaking. I was baptized over 60 years ago and the Bible is second nature to me, but that’s not the case for those I’m talking to. I need to seek God not only for the food to feed His flock, (John 21:15-17) but also for how to prepare and present it so that it will be taken in and digested. It’s entirely possible for me to speak what is entirely true and yet have it do my hearers no good at all. I am merely a channel for God’s truth, but I color what comes through me. I need to be humble enough that it’s more “Jesus color” than it is “Jack color.” I am not to put people down for spiritual immaturity, but gently and strongly encourage them to grow, so that together we may be the flock that God desires.

Father, once again I’m encountering challenges in this area, but then those are pretty constant! Help me respond to people with Your grace and love, never thinking I’m above them but bringing them along with me as I follow You. May I indeed serve them as You intend, so that I may be useful to You in building up the Church as You intend. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Doing What God Says; July 14, 2017

Posted on July 19, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 17:5 So he did what the Lord had told him.

This chapter introduces us to Elijah, considered one of the greatest prophets and one who appeared with Moses to talk with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Matthew 17:3) The story of Elijah is marked by repeated supernatural provision, particularly of food but also of other things he needed. However, I think this verse gives the key to all that: obedience. There was no humanly logical reason for Elijah to do and say what he did, but he genuinely sought first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, (Matthew 6:33) and God followed through remarkably. We tend to look at things on the basis of our past experience, unable to imagine that things could be different in the future. I think that cuts us off from a great deal the Lord wants to do for and through us. Elijah’s story wasn’t an easy one for him, with danger of death from various quarters, but his commitment was to God in full obedience, and the end result was glorious. We are not to expect, much less demand, that things will be easy, but our focus is to be on God and what He says, trusting that His plans are for our good and His glory. (Jeremiah 29:11)

We are getting into a project that isn’t very big on a global scale, but it’s impossibly big when you consider the size of this church and our past history. As God has pointed out to me very clearly, this project is certainly an impossible one for me and for this church, but that’s all the more reason to believe it is of Him, so that He may receive all the glory. Perhaps my biggest failing to this point has been in the area of sharing the vision with the whole church. I don’t want us to be consumed with this project, but rather focus on God Himself, and like Elijah, do as He says.

Father, thank You indeed for all that You are doing. Thank You for last night’s conference. Help me respond as You want me to so that faith will be built in everyone involved. I have a growing assurance that You are going to use this project to bring many into Your kingdom. I pray that we would not lose anyone along the way, but rather stand against every strategy of the enemy because of our submission and obedience to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

Examples; July 13, 2017

Posted on July 18, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 15:11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done.

From here on through the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile we have a succession of bad kings and an occasional good one. Asa was the first really good one after David, and the first good king of Judah after the northern 10 tribes split off. He was actually David’s great-great-grandson. Already Solomon’s great intelligence and wealth are overlooked, because they weren’t the factors that really mattered. Solomon simply enjoyed – and wasted – all that David laid up by his dedication to God. Solomon’s one significant achievement was the building of the temple. By his idolatry with his multiple wives he laid the foundation for great misery down through the centuries, and the writers of Kings recognized that. Asa, on the other hand, is commended for doing what he could to roll back the various abominations of the previous three generations, even having to deal sternly with his own grandmother in the process. (verse 13) We don’t know how he happened to turn out so well, but he is bound to have had someone close to him who taught him about the Lord, probably from a young age. Whether that was his mother or someone else we don’t know; it certainly wasn’t his father. However, God knows, and that person has certainly been rewarded. Throughout the history of Israel and Judah we see a failure to transmit faith from one generation to another. It would appear that fatherhood wasn’t given much thought, other than as a biological function. Even David failed to transmit his faith to his children. The Old Testament is given to us for examples, (1 Corinthians 10:11) but they aren’t necessarily good examples! We need to see what worked and what didn’t, and let the Holy Spirit show us how to live our lives so that we will be good examples for those who follow us.

This, of course, applies as much to me as it does to anyone. I am aware both of physical generations and spiritual generations. I personally have a magnificent heritage in both those areas. I have physical descendants, and many more spiritual descendants, and I am still an example to them. I need to live so that they will be drawn to ever greater devotion and obedience to God, so that the devil will be unable to steal, kill, or destroy that which God has provided.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Someone was talking just yesterday about how they hoped my example would be followed. I pray that my example would be worth following! Keep me from pride and presumption on every level, so that people may indeed see Christ through me and be drawn to their own salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

Death; July 12, 2017

Posted on July 14, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 14:12-13 “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.”

This story, and this verse in particular, have long stuck in my mind, because this expressly says that the death of a child was a reward to that child. That completely flies in the face of human expectation and understanding. We mourn death in general and the death of a child in particular, but here God is saying that this child would die because he alone in his family was pleasing to God. I would guess that I’ll see that child in heaven, but not any of his family. Our perspective on things is so distorted by our physical frame of reference. We are on this earth to get to know God and to choose to serve Him; absolutely everything else is secondary. We measure our lives in terms of material possessions or power and influence or even accomplishments, when the only thing that ultimately matters is whether we know God. God spoke to Jeremiah very clearly: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24) That’s on the side of things that we view as positive, but it applies to the things we view as negative as well: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) Separation on this earth can be painful, and usually is, for those left behind, but it is a tragedy only if the one who dies does so without having joined the family of God.

One reason this issue is so clear for me is that when my father didn’t wake up from heart surgery a few days after his 64th birthday, my honest first response was, “He won’t have to retire.” He had been dreading being forced to retire and leave Japan, where he had served as a missionary for over half of his life, but God said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come on home.” I missed him drastically, but I never felt God was mean to him. At this point I’ve outlived him by almost five years, but that is a meaningless statistic. What matters is whether I am walking with God, doing what He wants for however long He wants me to be here.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I don’t have a “bucket list,” but rather a desire to be with You both now and throughout eternity. Thank You for making that possible through Jesus Christ my Lord. I do ask that You enable me to take as many as possible with me, that they too may experience Your salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

Results; July 11, 2017

Posted on July 14, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 13:6 Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

It is interesting that the man of God in this very dramatic encounter remains anonymous. His words were confirmed on the spot, which satisfied the Mosaic standard for a true prophet. (Deuteronomy 18:22) Of course, Josiah had not yet been born, but that was obviously a future event, and the sign the prophet specified of the altar splitting indeed happened on the spot. Even so, Jeroboam didn’t fear God until he experienced instant paralysis in his own arm, and then we have this verse. You would think that such a dramatic experience would be enough to bring about genuine repentance, but it obviously wasn’t. It’s possible that Jeroboam’s paralysis shocked even the man of God and he feared retribution, prompting him to pray as the king asked. I can’t help but wonder if the results might have been better had he not prayed, letting Jeroboam taste the power of God in his own body a little longer, but we’ll never know the answer to that. In any case, this is a demonstration that external events are often ineffective in bringing about repentance; that is internal, a change of heart that causes a change of action. That’s why you can’t force anyone to repent; they have to do it themselves, under the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:8-11) We are to speak the truth in love, allowing the Spirit to use our words in our hearers’ hearts, but the results are ultimately up to them.

This issue is very central to my life, because I am dedicated to sharing the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus. I have encountered many who have liked what they heard, but they never followed through with repentance and faith. (Mark 1:15) That’s tragic, but it’s not my responsibility. Like the man of God in this story, I am to be personally obedient, but leave the results up to God. (I also need to take warning from the rest of that man’s story and not let others dupe me into direct disobedience to God!) I am to seek to recognize the opportunities God gives me to sow seed, water, and harvest. Sometimes all I’m doing is preparing the soil! Be that as it may, if I am faithful, the results are God’s business, and I’m to be at peace with that. After all, I can’t see what might happen with those seeds many years down the line!

Father, thank You for the various opportunities You’ve been giving me recently. Help me make full use indeed of each one, so that as many as will may repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

True Religion; July 10, 2017

Posted on July 12, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Kings 12:28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Jeroboam got advice, but it was entirely humanistic and spat in the face of God. He had logical, human concerns about the loyalty of his people, but his solution was horrible. The fact that it worked, for the most part, is proof of how cultural the people’s religion was. They still weren’t out of the general polytheistic mindset of the age, and certainly didn’t have the image of the omnipotent Creator that Solomon declared at the dedication of the temple. It’s very interesting that Jeroboam chose golden calves as his idols, specifically referencing the exodus, when that was the sort of idol Aaron made while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Law. The attraction was probably the association of gold with wealth and bulls with virility. Plenty of people today in all nations worship wealth and/or sex! This brings to mind a short movie I watched yesterday that was created by the US to educate American occupation forces in Japan right after WWII. That movie pointed out how the Shinto religion had been hijacked by the militarists as a tool to convince the Japanese people they had a manifest destiny to rule the world, so the task of the occupation was to liberate the people from such twisted thinking. That’s why MacArthur asked for 2000 missionaries (though he only got about 1,000). Religion has been used politically to control people throughout history, which is a total travesty. America, if we read the Founding Fathers correctly, was an attempt to go the other direction, creating a nation that would be appropriate to the worship of the Creator. It was commented that what they came up with was appropriate for a just, moral population, but would fail without that foundation. The problems we have seen and are seeing in America stem precisely from the degradation of that foundation. Today, people who are in rebellion against God won’t rest until their activities aren’t just tolerated but are accepted as normative. Golden calves, anyone?

I have been amazed at the degree to which social norms have changed in my lifetime. Things that would not have been mentioned without horror and/or shame are now regularly presented on TV shows as “completely normal.” In a way I have been complicit, because the Church has failed to stand up against the tide of idolatry and filth – probably because so many church members were attracted to it! I am not to attack people, but I am to stand clearly for what God has laid out for mankind. I am to speak the truth in love and seek to live out that truth in every area of my life. Specifically, when I seek advice I am to be sure it’s Godly, and give the Holy Spirit veto power at every turn. Our plans at this point might seem to have very little to do with morality, but they have a great deal to do with presenting God for who He is. I need to be sure that what we do draws people into God’s kingdom, His family, and doesn’t divert them in any way.

Father thank You for all that You are doing. Thank You for the many reasons to thank and praise You that You pointed out to me yesterday. I pray that all of Your plans, for each individual in this church and for the church as a whole, would be fulfilled on Your schedule in Your way for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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