February 15, 2017

Posted on February 17, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 26:12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him.

To be honest, most of the messages I’ve heard that used this verse were distortions of Biblical truth. “Prosperity Gospel” preachers link this to such passages as 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 and talk about “seed faith,” saying that if you “plant” offerings into their ministry you will get a hundredfold in return. I won’t say that never happens, but when it does, it is by the urging of the Holy Spirit and not by the pleading of some preacher. What this verse says to me right now is that if you don’t plant, you won’t harvest, but that has very little to do with money. If you aren’t getting out the Good News of salvation, then people won’t be added to the Family of God. It is true that often we harvest what others have planted, but somebody had to plant! By the same token, seed that we plant is often for others to harvest. God will bless us, but we are not to be passive, even if we don’t see any direct fruit of our labors.

This is extremely applicable to anyone ministering in Japan, because by any objective measure, Japan has the lowest rate of return on investment of personnel, time, and money of any country when it comes to evangelism. God made it very clear that this was where He wanted me to be, but I can’t say it’s been easy. I’ve got to keep my eyes on Him and keep planting, rejoicing in whatever harvest I see but not making my obedience dependent on “results.” That’s not to say I’m not to examine how I do things, so that I may improve my plowing, planting and watering, but it is to say I’m to find my joy in serving Him, knowing that my reward will eventually make it all more than worth it. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Father, this has been a particularly rough few days, with the rejection from the Agricultural Land Committee coming in the middle of a bad cold. That’s real training in “giving thanks for everything!” (Ephesians 5:20) Help me focus indeed on pleasing You, on how You see me, rather than on how anyone else views me, so that I may be available for whatever You want to do through me, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 14, 2017

Posted on February 16, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 26:3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.

We need to remember the context of this statement from God. Verse 1 starts off with, “Now there was a famine in the land.” We don’t have much emotional connection with that statement, but in those days, with no refrigeration and negligible international trade in foodstuffs – things we take for granted today – a famine meant people, or at least livestock, starved to death. Such famines occurred from time to time throughout the Bible, but when a drought happens today we are quick to blame “global warming,” or at least “climate change.” The fact of the matter is, weather does change, and it is hubris to think mankind has very much to do with it. (Other than the drastic effects of deforestation, but that’s another story.) The point here though is that God is telling Isaac to “tough it out” and not go looking for literally greener pastures. As the story continues we see that he was richly rewarded for his obedience, but at this point it was essentially blind faith. God promises us great blessings, but at the same time He doesn’t promise us “easy street.” Sometimes we have to tough out a famine, either materially or spiritually. Such things rightly cause us to examine ourselves to see if we have heard God correctly, but if we have confirmation from Him, then obedience is far more important than visible results.

Once again the Lord has spoken directly to my circumstances. I have been ministering in Omura for over 35 years now, but current Sunday morning attendance is around 10. We have been very caught up recently in the dream of building an assisted living facility on the land next to the church here, but yesterday the Agricultural Land Committee put a nail in that. At this point I’m having to work through the stages of grief about it, and that’s not easy. However, looking at the situation objectively, I realize that emotionally I was substituting the land and building for the fruit I wasn’t seeing in people. Such a facility wouldn’t be bad, but I’m not going to take land and buildings to heaven. This is an opportunity to reexamine the ministry here and be sure we have the focus God intends. The pastors conference we attended last week was on “Gospel Centered Church.” I need to let the Lord show us how to restore our center, so that we will be bearing the fruit that He desires rather than whatever our imaginations come up with.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for showing me Your purpose in not letting us go ahead as we had been planning. Thank You also for pointing out that it was precisely my failure to plan that made us ineligible for the rezoning that was called for. Help me get through the grief of the death of the dream so that I can see Your dream for us, which is without question better than anything we could come up with. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 13, 2017

Posted on February 16, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 24:50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.

Sometimes the Lord makes things extremely clear, and when He does so, we had better get in line. The social context here is unfamiliar to modern society, but the vast majority of marriages were arranged, and the “bride price” was the order of the day. Abraham’s servant had given ample evidence of the wealth of his master, and Rebekah’s parents had no social reasons to object. However, it was the specificity of the servant’s prayers and how God had answered them so completely that really “sealed the deal.” I’m sure that Rebekah was listening to all of this, and it is significant that when it occurred to them the next day to ask her opinion in the matter, she opted to go with Abraham’s servant on what was for her a great adventure into the unknown. (Genesis 24:57-58) Maybe she didn’t like any of the local boys! In any case, though God didn’t speak in an audible voice on this occasion, His guidance was certainly clear. We seldom hear Him this clearly, but the point is that obedience is always called for. When God opens doors, we had better go through them, but we also need to be discerning, because as Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) Any door that God opens is going to be in line with the principles He has already laid down in His word, but the devil will tempt us to cut corners to make things happen the way we want them to.

This is, as always, applicable to me. We have been getting mixed signals about the land next to the church building. God has provided the funds miraculously, but legal and human factors stand in the way. Today I will be taking a petition and a letter to the Agricultural Land Committee at the city office, seeking to get them to remove the legal barrier to our purchasing the land. Even if they do so (for which there is no legal precedent that I am aware of) there remains the matter of the current landowner, who has certainly demonstrated himself to be difficult in the past. Nothing is impossible for God, but He seems to be piling up the circumstances to make it very clear this could only be His doing. I honestly don’t know where my faith is in this. Part of me is reconciled to the land being sold to a developer, part of me doesn’t want to give up, and part of me is just tired of the whole mess and wants to put it behind me. I can’t make anything happen, but my actions are still important in what is going on. The very intensity of the spiritual and health attacks we are experiencing right now is an indication that this is somehow a big deal in the scheme of things. I am to stand in the completed work of Christ Jesus and exercise His authority so that His plans may be fulfilled, on His schedule and for His glory.

Father, thank You for what You have brought us through to this point, and that You will take us all the way through to the end. (Philippians 1:6) Thank You for the rest and healing we experienced last night. Help us indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You throughout today, so that Your will may be done in and through us without distortion, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 12, 2017

Posted on February 15, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 24:15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.

This line immediately brings to mind the Lord’s words to Isaiah: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24) That in turn brings to mind Jesus’ words: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) We get all tied in knots over all sorts of things, when what is called for is obedient trust. Some people look at this and want to know why we should pray in the first place, since God knows everything. If we fail to pray, we fail to focus our hearts on God and we miss the joy of knowing he hears us and cares about us individually. Abraham’s servant was overjoyed to have his prayer answered even as he prayed. I’m sure he came out of this experience with far more faith than he had before it happened! One of our problems is that we tend to focus on the times we don’t receive what we ask for, instead of recognizing the many times God is gracious to us. Actually, often God’s “No” answers are at least as gracious as His “Yes” answers, but we seldom understand that until later, if at all. Prayer is fundamentally communication with our Father, and is more than worth pursuing whatever our immediate situation.

I am deeply grateful to have been raised in a home where prayer was as natural as breathing, but that still doesn’t mean I make full and proper use of it myself. I do pray a good bit, but I am still growing in intercession and in praying in full harmony with the Holy Spirit. I am quick to pray about my own felt needs, but they are generally trivial compared to the needs of so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. I delight to pray in words the Holy Spirit provides, but I need to be just as guided by Him when I pray in English or Japanese. When I pray in full submission and faith I can be assured that God will do what is best, whether I see that response immediately, as in this story, or not until years later, or even until after I am gone from this earth. I am not to insist on my timetable. I have seen God answer prayers, and specifically my prayers, more times than I could count. I am to ask, seek, and knock, (Matthew 7:7-8) and at the same time rest, relax, and rejoice in my Father’s love and provision.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know my current situation better than I do, with a full day today but feeling like I’m coming down with a cold again, and then a momentous day tomorrow and another full day the next day. I ask for health and strength as I need it, to do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 11, 2017

Posted on February 15, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 24:6-7 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.

By this point Abraham’s faith was pretty firm. He had experienced God’s provision enough times in enough ways to be sure that He would provide a wife for Isaac. In the next verse he gives the servant an “escape clause,” so to speak, but I really think that was for the servant’s sake rather than from any doubt on his part. The Biblical instructions to “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6, Matthew 6:31, 34) do get easier to follow with experience, but we have to be careful not to create “needs” in our own imagination, but rather let the Lord show us what we should be asking for. (Psalm 37:4) God is perfectly faithful, but we must not be presumptuous. We must be humble and keep our priorities straight. As a good Father, God delights to give good things to His children, (Matthew 7:11) but He isn’t going to give us stuff that will be bad for us. When our hearts are genuinely set on God’s kingdom and His righteousness, (Matthew 6:33) everything else will fall into place. Someone has said, “Where God guides, He provides.” That is true indeed, even if it isn’t in the Bible.

I have experienced God’s provision in more ways than I could possibly count, but I still have momentary anxiety at times. I need to keep growing! I still have trouble with trying to dictate just how God is going to meet a particular need. That’s not exactly smart. I even have been known to decline His provision at times, not wanting to be greedy. As Isaiah told King Ahaz, when God says ask, He means ask! (Isaiah 7:10-13) I know I won’t stop God’s plans, but I can easily miss out on blessings that He intends for me, and for others through me. We have been in a period of intensive training in this area for the past few months in relation to the land next door. I continue to feel strongly that God intends that land for the advancement of His kingdom, but I also recognize that I have been somewhat presumptive about it, and right now it is going to take a genuine miracle on His part for the legal hurdles to be cleared and the owner agree to sell to us, when he has stated definitively that he has decided to sell to the developer. The neighbors have been very supportive, and Monday I will take a petition to the Agricultural Land Committee, but I don’t know that there is any legal precedent for our actions, and Japan is very strong on precedent. Even clearing that, the owner has shown himself to be very stubborn. All that said, nothing is impossible for God, (Luke 1:37) and I need to walk in the peace of that assurance.

Father, thank You for all You have done over the past four days at the conference. As they were saying there, now we’re back to “reality.” Help me remember that You are just as powerful here as there, and be faithful as Your agent for Your will to be done, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 10, 2017

Posted on February 14, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 23:20 So the field and the cave in it were legally made over to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

This chapter is a fascinating look at social and legal customs of the day. The group action, the offer to “give” the land, all the terminology involved, all sound very “Oriental” to Westerners today. The point is, God provided what Abraham needed, but didn’t violate the customs of society in the process, since those customs didn’t violate His rules. The price paid was a steep one, but earlier passages make it clear that Abraham could afford it, and he didn’t hesitate. The point is, God provides, but He most often uses very prosaic means to do so, that a non-believer would not recognize as being from Him. He does use miraculous provision at times, like ravens feeding Elijah, (1 Kings 17:4-6) the widow of Zarephath’s oil and flour not giving out, (1 Kings 17:7-16) and the huge crowd being fed from one boy’s lunch, (John 6:1-13) but those are certainly the exception. The thing is, the “non-miraculous” methods are just as much God’s provision as the miraculous. Our place is to trust God to provide and not insist on exactly how He is going to do it.

This is intimately connected with me just now, because of the issue of the land next to the church that we want to purchase to build an assisted living facility. God has already provided the funds, in a way that is certainly close to miraculous, but the neck now is the impatience of the owner and the legal hoops involved. God has already let us know that He has more land available to us elsewhere in the city, but I cannot let go of the feeling He intends the land next to the church for us as well. I cannot dictate to Him and I should not try, but I am to trust Him fully and be obedient to whatever He shows me, so that we may stand in the flow of His provision in order to do what He desires, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder at this time. Thank You that everything is in Your hands. Thank You for the demonstration of Your presence and power in the service last night. Help me operate in Your power more and more consistently, not just in “religious” settings but in every area of my life, so that Your will may be done in and through me for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 9, 2017

Posted on February 14, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 22:17 “Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies.”

I have heard this passage used numbers of times, especially in conferences like the one I am attending now. It generally is used with tones of triumphalism, somewhat removed from the nitty gritty of normal church life. Marc Estes has not used this passage, but last night he said something that relates strongly to this. He said, “You will never get the city into the church until you get the church into the city.” That struck me, both for its simplicity and its truth. God does intend for us to express His victory in this world. If that were not the case, Jesus would not have told us to pray for God’s kingdom to come. The thing is, you can never have victory without going into battle. In spiritual warfare we have the “air campaign,” with focused prayer and intercession. That is indeed essential. However, we also have the “ground campaign.” You can’t take territory without “boots on the ground.” That’s what Marc is talking about. We can’t expect people to walk into our churches asking to be led to Christ! That sometimes happens, and it is glorious, but it is certainly rare. This isn’t talking about door-to-door evangelism necessarily, though that can have its place at times. Such things sometimes have the effect of turning people off to the church. Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly don’t have a very good reputation among most people! However, church members need to be consciously present in society as Christ’s representatives. If your neighbor, coworker, or classmate doesn’t know you are a Christian, they won’t turn to you when some circumstance in their life opens their heart, and you will have missed an opportunity. Paul tells us to “make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16) We have to be present to recognize the opportunities we are given. We have to be in the fight to take the gates of our enemy. We can claim, “the gates of Hades will not overcome us,” (Matthew 16:18) but we can’t conquer without being there.

Last night as I was hearing this message I was thinking along the lines of having to go to coffee houses and such, which has never been my lifestyle. That isn’t necessarily the case, though it wouldn’t be a bad idea. The thing is, I need to set the example for my flock of consciously being present in society. I am widely known in the city, but I’m not necessarily conscious about it. Japanese are very private people, and so less likely than Americans to open up about felt needs to even their close friends. However, if I’m not “within reach,” so to speak, they won’t turn to me regardless of the level of their need. As I am reminded fairly frequently, the fact that I am Caucasian makes it all the less likely that a Japanese would open up to me, but at the very least I need to set the example for the flock so that they will be available to those who are close to them. Lecturing them isn’t the way to go! I am to be active in seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance as to how to apply the things He’s speaking to me in these days.

Father, thank You for the opportunity to come here and be challenged like this. May I not slough this off after I get back and return to “business as usual,” but remember and apply all You are saying to me, so that I and the church may be transformed as You intend, for the salvation of many and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 8, 2017

Posted on February 13, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 17:8 “The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

When I decided I was writing on this verse I thought I would be writing about God’s provision of the land to the descendants of Abraham, but as I typed in the verse in Japanese, the last line really struck me. Right now I am reading a book, sent to me by a dear friend, titled Cultural and Theological Reflections on the Japanese Quest for Divinity. Yes, it is just as academic as that sounds, but it is seeking to explain why Japan has been so resistant to the Gospel. It points out that the word that is used for “god” has different underlying meanings in Japanese culture than it does in Western culture. What struck me just now was that even in Abraham’s day, people had a very deficient concept of God/gods. God patiently taught Abraham and his descendants just who He was, but He met them where they were, and this verse illustrates that clearly. By saying, “I will be their God,” He was adapting to the idea, prevalent at the time, of localized, clan gods that were very different from how we see Him today. That is precisely what the author of the book I’m reading points to as to why Japan is so resistant to the Gospel. It wasn’t until Moses that God made it clear that He alone is God and there is no other. Actually, the Israelites struggled with that down through the centuries, but God didn’t abandon them for it, even when He had to discipline them severely. The thing is, none of our excuses for failed evangelism ultimately hold water, because no people group on earth has ever been perfectly prepared and perfectly receptive to the Gospel. There are a wide variety of challenges, but none of them stand before almighty God and the commission He has given us to make disciples.

This is me all over! Like my parents before me, I have committed my life to sharing the Gospel in Japan and have dealt with the extremely low “rate of return” on the investment of time, money, and emotional energy. That’s no excuse to give up! However few they might be, there are those who do commit themselves fully to the God I know, God the Father who loves them, Jesus Christ who saves them, and the Holy Spirit who fills and empowers them. I am to seek to understand where people are coming from, and so be more effective in presenting the Gospel to them, (and that book is helpful to that end) but I am not to think for a moment that the truth of the Gospel depends on how it is received. The speaker for this conference is Marc Estes, who is marvelously called and gifted as an evangelist, and has a “back story” that motivates him powerfully. I am not to feel condemned by his successes, but I am to remember that the same God who uses him can use me, and expect great things of Him.

Father, thank You for getting us here safely yesterday and for all the things You have done since we arrived. Thank You for all You are going to do today. Help me be quiet enough before You to hear what You are saying and receive it, allowing You to heal and energize me, and to use me to do the same for others, so that the Body of Christ may be built up, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 7, 2017

Posted on February 13, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

This short verse is one of the foundation stones of the entire Bible. Paul goes on about it at some length in Romans 4, and it is the basic concept that sparked the Protestant Reformation. The theme of the readings at this point is God’s Provision, but we receive that provision fully only by faith. After all, that most important of God’s provisions, salvation through His Son, seems completely absurd to the strictly “rational” mind. It’s certainly not something we can work for, much less create, and then hold in our hand. God, being perfectly righteous and holy, cannot put up with sin, so He provided the perfect atonement for sin through the cross of Christ, and gave us faith as the as the means of receiving that atonement. There’s a Southern Gospel song that says, “Prayer is the key to heaven, but faith unlocks the door.” We can go through the motions and say the right words, but if we don’t repent and believe, we don’t receive salvation. Abram believed God, and that made all the difference.

Naturally, this applies just as much to me as it does to anyone else. My relationship with faith is rather atypical, because I grew up in a home that was saturated with faith and the Bible, but all of that was effective in my life only to the degree that it became personal. We have a record of my proclaiming my love for Jesus when I was around five, and I was baptized by my own choice and decision at seven, and I had intermittent times of experiencing the Presence of the Lord throughout my childhood and youth, but I still descended into pride and presumption, not loving Jesus enough to obey Him in all the decisions of my life. (John 14:15) It was not until He tapped me on the shoulder and, when I turned, showed me a mirror to see the the state of my soul, that I came to the repentance that really allowed me to believe. (Mark 1:15) Life since then has been quite an adventure as He has taught me to believe and trust Him, and that process is hardly through yet. My life now is dedicated to sharing God’s truth with others so that they too may repent and believe, receiving God’s righteousness and salvation and everything else. I am far from perfect at the task, but my focus is to be on Him rather than on myself, because He never gets it wrong no matter how badly I mess up, and He has told me to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him

Father, at times I feel like I’m in a continuation of Hebrews 11, where at the end of the long list of people of faith it says, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.” (Hebrews 11:39) Help me maintain full trust in You, regardless of what the world around me is doing, so that Your will may be done in and through me on Your schedule, regardless of whether I see the fruit in this life or not. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 6, 2017

Posted on February 12, 2017 by jgarrott

Genesis 13:17 “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

I wonder if Abram thought about the seeming paradoxes of God’s promises to him. He has just parted from Lot, who chose what seemed to be the more settled, prosperous way, but he himself is still a nomad, wandering from place to place. God here tells him to keep walking, but it is to see the totality of the land that will be given him and his descendants. Because we see only in the short term, we often fail to recognize the validity of God’s promises in the long term. It’s not that the short term is unimportant, it’s that it isn’t the final answer. For every believer, the final answer isn’t until Jesus’ return as Lord, so any seeming defeats we have right now fade to unimportance in comparison. Humanly speaking, it can be hard to hold on to long-term promises of God in the face of immediate circumstances that seem like disaster, but that is what faith is all about, and faith is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The question that faces us is whether we will accept the gift that God offers.

I have certainly been going through training in this over the past few months in relation to the land next to the church. I would still be thrilled if the Lord worked a miracle and caused the land to be sold to us, but this morning’s reading is a reminder that God’s plans are much bigger than this plot of land. In the past, God directed me to do what He here told Abram to do, and I have indeed walked the length and breadth of the City of Omura, both in prayer walks and before that, in putting tracts at fully 80% of the homes in the city at the time. The Lord has given me the vision of Omura again being the foremost Christian city in the nation, and that definitely involves the whole city. I am not to let my faith be crippled by past results (as I have seen them) or even by present circumstances, but rather know that my God is omnipotent, and if He says something, that is going to be. I am to keep myself available as His instrument in fulfilling His plans, but I am not to insist on how that is going to come about, or I run the risk of missing Him entirely.

Father, as long as I have walked with You, I still feel I have so much to learn. Help me not rebel against Your lessons but accept them with gratitude and praise. May I be a demonstration of faith to all who see me, so that they too may be brought into right relationship with You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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