January 26, 2017

Posted on January 28, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

It is interesting that Peter, who was certainly uneducated by the world’s standards, (Acts 4:13) would quote this chunk of Psalm 34. I am reminded of evangelist and pastor Stewart Briscoe who, when asked what seminary he had attended, said, “Bedside Bible College.” When pressed with, “How do we know you’re a preacher,” he said, “Sit down and listen!” We get all impressed with human credentials when we should be looking for what God says about a person. Many seminaries have done a lot of good, but quite a few have actively destroyed Biblical faith – and sometimes those are the same schools! Knowledge, especially of the Bible, is in general a good thing, but we must remember Paul’s admonition: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1) We are to know, but above all we are to love God and love our neighbor. Initials after a person’s name mean nothing if that person doesn’t love God in all humility and gratitude, and in consequence love their neighbor. John said, “As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.” (1 John 2:27) I’m sure he was referencing what he heard Jesus say before His crucifixion: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) If we don’t have an active relationship with Christ by His Spirit, all the academics in the world won’t do us any good.

I would not say my own seminary degree was worthless, but my time there was more valuable for the experience itself than for the academics. I had many classmates who genuinely loved God and were called by Him to serve in “full-time ministry,” but I also had classmates who were there for various other reasons, and I would hope that God in His mercy quickly removed them from church leadership. The school my associate pastor attended deliberately focuses on developing faith and commitment, with as many practical exercises as academic classes. He has said repeatedly that it was rough at the time, but he is currently very grateful for the experience. The thing is, God has us all in a “life-long learning” program. As soon as we make it through one part of His curriculum, He starts us in on another, and if we fail to learn properly, He doesn’t hesitate to teach us the same material all over again, perhaps in a slightly different way. I’ve been in something of an “intensive course” in faith and trust over the past two months, and I’m not through yet. I need to remember my own struggles as I deal with others. They may be struggling with a lesson I passed years ago, but that doesn’t mean I’m “better” than they are, just further along in school. I need to function as a tutor, as God gives opportunity, because teaching is the best refresher course!

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for this perspective on my immediate situation. Having a cold on top of it all is simply a reminder that I can’t get through this in my own strength, but Your grace is really all I need. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I do pray for Your perfect will to be done, in the situation and in me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

January 25, 2017

Posted on January 27, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

This verse has caused a good bit of controversy in recent years, as feminists have bristled at women being called “weaker.” However, it’s a simple fact of physiology that in general men have more muscle strength than women. With individual variations, there are certainly some women who are considerably stronger than some men, just as there are some women who are considerably taller than some men. However, this isn’t talking about psychological strength, tolerance for pain, or any of a number of other factors. The thing is, this verse also stresses equality of value, saying “heirs with you,” when that was a pretty rare thing back then. When we get hung up on measures of equality we quickly forget equality of value, and everything becomes a mess. The problem comes when people confuse equality with uniformity. We are of equal value, but we are certainly not the same! The last line of this verse means nothing to secular people, but it is of great importance to anyone of faith. The marital relationship is the closest we can have on this earth, even exceeding that of parent and child, though many refuse to believe that. It is of extreme importance, not only because it was the first social contract God established (Genesis 2:18, 24) but because it is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5:25-33) It is the most logical thing in the world that when we are at odds with our spouse we have trouble praying! One of the tragedies of Church history is that John Wesley, mightily used of God as he was, had a very poor relationship with his wife. That’s very ironic when he had a magnificent mother, but it’s possible the two are connected. If he was always comparing his wife to his mother in his mind, it’s no wonder the marital relationship suffered. God deals with us individually, but He also deals with couples as units. We will not grow as God intends as long as we are wrongly related to our spouse.

I could write on this for hours, since I have been greatly blessed in my own marriage and I do marriage counseling frequently. That said, I have certainly experienced my prayers being hindered when I was at odds with my wife. As I always tell couples, I am convinced that marriage is the biggest job of anyone’s life, but it also carries the greatest rewards. Spiritually speaking, I couldn’t begin to count the number of times my wife has spurred me on to greater depth in my relationship with God, providing insight and revelation. Just as Peter says, I am physically stronger than she is, but there are areas in which she runs rings around me. Our relationship is better than the average for any country, I would think, but especially in Japan it is quite unusual, and many people have expressed admiration and envy. I am to use that impact to draw people not simply to us but to Christ. The difficulty is that because we aren’t Japanese, people see us as “other,” perhaps to be admired but not necessarily to be emulated. The Holy Spirit can get through that wall, so I need to pray that He would do so, and seek to be available for however He would use me.

Father, thank You for Your overwhelming grace. When I look back over my life I am in awe of what You have done, and what You have not done that I deserved. Help me demonstrate my gratitude with full obedience, so that I may be a useful tool in Your hands, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

January 24, 2017

Posted on January 27, 2017 by jgarrott

James 5:17-18 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

The story of Elijah is justly famous, but the line in this passage that we hang up on is, “Elijah was a man just like us.” We tend to think of Bible characters as being in a special dimension of spirituality, overlooking the fact that the Bible presents them faults and all. Elijah had suicidal depression, for example. (1 Kings 19:3-4) When we fail to recognize that God uses even deeply flawed human beings for His purposes, we will fail to believe He wants to and will use us. Likewise we write other people off, thinking God could never use them. No one benefits from such thinking. A prominent example at the moment is the new President of the US. There is no question that he is a deeply flawed individual, but any thought that God could not use him is actually ignoring and/or belittling God. God can use him, and God can use our prayers for him, and for others as well. Any time we focus on people to the exclusion of God, we are making a huge mistake. God is not limited by human weakness, nor does He depend on human strength. We have such trouble getting that through our heads! God wants to use us, and the the sooner and better we grasp that, the more we will experience the joy and satisfaction of seeing it happen.

This issue has actually been a major element of my ministry, as I have tried to help people grasp that God is big enough and powerful enough to use even them. Many years ago now I participated in a round-table discussion with a Japanese Christian newspaper. At that point I expressed something that I was already feeling and that has never left me: when the believers of Japan wake up to who they are in Christ, they will change not only the Church but the nation, and not only Japan but the world. I am convinced that the reason the devil holds onto this nation so tenaciously is that he knows that to be true, and he is desperate not to let that happen. So far I haven’t been so successful in getting the message across even to my own congregation! Right now we are facing the challenge of buying the land next door and building an assisted living facility, with the immediate hurdle being legal zoning requirements. We need to believe that indeed, nothing is impossible for God, or for us when we are obedient to Him, (Luke 1:37, Matthew 17:20) and that He will use our prayers and our obedience to bring His plans to fruition. We are not to ignore obstacles, but rather present each one to God in prayer and faith, just as Elijah did.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing. It was a huge boost to my faith when the architect came by yesterday and, with a few questions based on his abundant experience, really solidified the vision in my heart and mind. I’ve been missing the forest for the trees! Help me cast that vision accurately, not just to the believers here but to the neighbors and to the bureaucrats with whom we have to deal. May this be an effective step in opening the believers’ eyes to all that You want to do through them, so that we may be fully effective as Your agents however You want to use us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

January 23, 2017

Posted on January 25, 2017 by jgarrott

James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a sermon on this verse! This isn’t talking about nature, but about the world’s system. Even so, if you are worshiping what God has created instead of the God who created it, you are guilty of idolatry. We are to be good stewards of the natural world, but much of the “green movement” is either idolatrous or a thinly veiled effort to gain power and/or money. Of course “ecology” wasn’t an issue in the 1st Century, but what James was talking about is still very much in evidence today. When we are wrapped up in the latest fashions, consumed with what the glitterati are doing and trying to emulate them, we are setting ourselves up as enemies of God. It is natural to care what other people think, and we are certainly to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, but if we care more about fitting in than about obeying God, we again are taking the place of God’s enemies. This is hardly a politically correct truth, but it is very real and sorely needed in the Church today. It’s all a matter of focus and priorities. The more we focus on this world’s system, the further we get from God. When we focus fully on God the world may think us weird, but people are likely to admire us anyway, whatever they might say. We aren’t to be strange for the sake of being strange, but we are to take our cues from God and His Word rather than from the world.

I can remember desperately wanting to be “in style” as a teenager, with little hope of being so because the styles I was concerned about were on the US Air Force dependents school I attended, and I had no access to on-base shopping. It meant the world to me when my sister went off to college and sent me a Madras-fabric shirt from the US, because they were all the rage (never mind that the dyes bled so you couldn’t wash them with anything else). That abated very little when I went to the US myself, because I still wanted very much to fit in but felt I did so very little. It wasn’t until I married someone whom I felt would love me, whatever I looked like, that I was liberated from that. I still like looking nice, but fashions mean nothing to me. ( I even have no antipathy toward leisure suits!) Even so, that’s no guarantee I don’t let this world get ahead of God at times in my heart and mind. I’ve got to stay focused on Him, loving Him so strongly that everything else falls into place behind and below that. The song, I Am a Friend of God, is popular in some Christian circles, but it is true only when I refuse this world’s idolatry.

Father, thank You for this reminder. This isn’t much of an issue for me at this point in my life, but I see many who struggle with it. Keep me from looking down on them, but rather enable me to speak the truth in love to them so that they may recognize what they are doing and be encouraged to choose You over the world, for their eternal blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

January 22, 2017

Posted on January 25, 2017 by jgarrott

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

No one likes trials, but they are part of life. How we respond to them is the big question. I don’t think anyone responds to every trial the same way. Different personalities respond to the same sort of trial differently. What might be no big deal for one person might seem earth-shattering to another. However, the more experience we have in getting through trials, the easier it will be to get through the next one. That’s why parents who do all they can to spare their children from any possible trial are doing them no favors. Recently the response of numbers of people to the American presidential election has caused the term, snowflakes, to be used to describe them. Snowflakes are remarkably fragile, beautiful in protected isolation but easily crushed or melted. If we have no experience in enduring trials of various sorts we will be snowflakes indeed, done in by the most minor of inconveniences. God isn’t looking for snowflakes in heaven! God allows trials in our lives to toughen us, to teach us to fix our hearts on Him rather than on the things of this world. Jesus famously told us that “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) From a slightly different slant, Hebrews tells us “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11) What seems like a trial to us might be discipline that we have brought on ourselves, but in any case, if we respond to it by drawing closer to God in humility and trust, the result will be good. To get back to the image of parenting, parents who fail to discipline their children are condemning them to much more crushing experiences in the future. Whether it’s a trial or it’s discipline, the wise course is to look to God and “grin and bear it.”

I’ve experienced both circumstantial trials and personal discipline more times than I could count. None of it’s much fun! That said, I can easily see the benefits in my life of having made it through all of them, and I am grateful. As a pastor, my biggest trials are in dealing with those who don’t know how to deal with trials! Some people are so pampered that they make it even to old age without ever being refused anything they wanted. They are really pathetic! It takes far more to deal with them than with the vast majority of other people. I am not to condemn them, but continue to speak the truth in love to them, both in words and in actions, and I am to rejoice at the opportunity to grow further myself. I know that nothing that is yielded to God is ever wasted, but will be used by Him for blessing and for His glory. (Romans 8:28) I have gotten a lot of kickback when I have tried to share this truth, from people who thought I was treating their trials lightly. That has never been my intention, though at times their trials do seem pretty light to me. I realize that my trials might seem light to them! I am to remember at all times that we are all equally in need of God’s grace, and that His grace is indeed sufficient for us all, if we will only receive it. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Father, thank You for all You allow me to experience. When I am writing like this it is easy to be objective, but in the middle of it all I am too prone to lose my bearings. Help me indeed fix my heart on You and teach others to do likewise, so that together we may receive all that You have prepared for us, for our great blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

January 21, 2017

Posted on January 23, 2017 by jgarrott

Hebrews 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This benediction is a mouthful! It starts by reminding us of just who God is. It means a lot that He’s the God of peace. That’s not just the absence of war, it’s inner peace in the middle of very unpeaceful times. Along with that, we are reminded of His covenant and His power. He is One who makes good on His promises, and He has the power to do so. In the process we are reminded that our Lord Jesus is the Great Shepherd. That may not mean so much to us today in our urbanized lifestyles, but throughout the Bible this image is used to indicate both the gap between God and us in terms of intelligence and ability, as well as the level of care and concern that is exercised for us. It is an image that, properly understood, eliminates both pride and anxiety. Then we get to what this marvelous God will do for us, and that is to give us everything we need for what is important. This isn’t a prayer that I would be given an elephant gun, for example. However much I might think that would be a nice thing to have, it would serve no purpose in advancing God’s plans for my life, which are unquestionably the very best thing for me. It is also explicitly a prayer for good things. God’s gifts are always of the highest quality! At the same time, it is a recognition that we need work done in us, and He’s the one to do it. None of us are perfect yet; we will all be under construction until we are before His throne. And then this closes with the purpose for it all: that Jesus Christ be glorified. When you think about it, every believer has the power to bless others through their words. This should serve as a reminder to use that power under the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that God’s will may be done in this earth, just as Jesus told us to pray. (Matthew 6:9-13)

It was about 35 years ago that I attended a conference in Fukuoka held by Yongi Cho of Korea, and something in it (I don’t remember exactly what) impressed me with our power to speak blessing. I remember that in a restaurant immediately after that I intentionally spoke blessing over a little child who happened to be there. In the years since I haven’t exercised this privilege as consistently as I could have, but I think it is a characteristic of my lifestyle. When I am focused on me and my problems, that blinds me to how I can be a channel of God’s blessings to others. I need to be open at all times for God to touch others through me, not only for their sake but also because I know that is the path of greatest blessing for me as well.

Father, this is yet another example of needing to live out the truth I know. Help me not deceive myself, but do and be all that You have spoken to me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

January 20, 2017

Posted on January 23, 2017 by jgarrott

Philemon 1:6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Reading various English translations I realize that the NIV is something of an anomaly, but I still like it very much in this verse. The Greek obviously talks about “fellowship of faith,” but given the total flow, taking that as “sharing faith” doesn’t seem much of a stretch. Whether knowing what good things we have in Christ produces the fellowship/sharing (as the Japanese expresses it) or the other way around (as the NIV has it) would seem to be a toss-up. In any case the more we know of how good God has been to us, the more we are going to be sharing that faith/knowledge with others, and conversely, the more we share, the deeper our own appreciation and understanding become. It is something of a truism that the best way to learn something is to teach it. That applies to faith as well. When we speak God’s truth to someone else, we are hearing what we say as well, and as Paul said, faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) I’ll never forget one time a man who attended our church, whose wife was a Christian but he had never been baptized, was actively telling someone else about Christ. It wasn’t long after that happened that he asked for baptism! At this point he is a very active Christian, though a job transfer has taken him to another city. In a way, faith/knowledge of Christ is like love: the more you give it, the more of it you have.

I have certainly seen this principle in action, both in my life and in the lives of others. That has been true both positively and negatively. It is rare indeed that someone who shares Christ regularly on a personal level has a crisis of faith, but people who decline to talk about Jesus seldom grow in their own knowledge and appreciation of Him. Japanese culture treats faith as something very personal, not to be talked about, and religion is seen as a cultural, even racial, thing. As a result, the average church member has never shared their faith and is likely to be somewhat shaky about it. I don’t have the gift/office of Evangelist, but I love to talk about God and His Word, and that has had a very good impact on my faith. At the same time I feel like I run into a wall every time I encourage the believers to do likewise. They feel that because they’ve never been to seminary, they aren’t qualified! I point out to them that seminaries didn’t exist until several centuries after the start of the Church, but that doesn’t break through the Japanese tendency to “leave it to the pro.” (Actually, Japanese are astonished at all the things I can do for which I’ve never been to school or had other formal training.) I need to help them understand that sharing Christ does as much, if not more, for their own faith as it does for the other person.

Father, this is obviously something I can’t get across by my own wisdom and persuasiveness. I ask You to open the eyes and heart of each believer so that they may grasp more and more of who You are and what You have done for them, and in the process discover who they are in Christ, for their great blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

January 19, 2017

Posted on January 22, 2017 by jgarrott

2 Timothy 1:12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

I have always looked at this verse in terms of bearing up under physical persecution, which Paul was certainly doing. However, the Lord just showed me that it applies to any suffering that comes from the enemy. If we are under attack in any way because we are serving God, we should take it as a badge of honor. The thing is, we often fail to recognize attacks for what they are, ascribing our circumstances to any of a number of things with no spiritual connection. That can blind us to what we need to do. That is especially true when the attack is psychological. God created us as emotional beings, which is not a bad thing, but we have to be careful not to be deceived by our emotions. God is faithful regardless of how we feel about things. Like Paul, we need to be convinced that God is able to keep not only our souls but the fruit we have worked for safe until the day of Christ’s return.

This is a Word I’m very much in need of right now. At the prayer meeting last night I was praying about how I am emotionally exhausted from the quantity and variety of demands on me, and this is God’s answer. In the first place, I don’t have to be embarrassed about being tired; I am certainly as dependent on the grace of God as anyone else. In the second place, this really is an attack from the enemy, who doesn’t want to see God’s plans for me and for this church succeed. It’s been quite a few years now since God told me to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, and He is allowing this as further training in doing exactly that. Last night I had word that one door I had been counting on had been closed, but with it came another possibility, and it was from an unexpected source. I need to acknowledge my own inability while resting and delighting in my Lord who can do all things.

Father, thank You for all You are allowing me to go through. Thank You for the phone call last night from the owner of the land next door. Cathy had said I needed to call him, and my reaction was to try to escape. Then, after prayer meeting we discovered a message from him on the answering machine, so I went ahead and called. This is the first time I have felt he genuinely would like to see things fall into place legally for us to be able to buy the land. That’s quite a change! Thank You. Thank You for the advice he gave me about what steps to take today toward that. Help me be faithful and diligent in following through, so that I will not be in the way of what You desire to do right here, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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

January 18, 2017

Posted on January 22, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

This was before the days of Social Security or “safety nets” of any kind. The Church was God’s idea for taking care of people when they couldn’t take care of themselves. When we foist it all off on government we do everyone a disservice. Back then lifestyles were much simpler than they are today, but that should serve simply as a reminder of how little we actually need. Our expectations have inflated even more than the cost of living! That said, the principle here is one that seems very little understood in the Church, much less in general society, today. The first social unit God created was the family, starting with the husband and wife. Today even that is under severe attack, and society as a whole has suffered greatly. Reading this we would tend to think Paul was guilty of hyperbole, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Failure to take care of your own family means you have placed yourself ahead of God, and that is indeed “denying the faith.” God provides abundantly, but most often He uses people in the process. If we decline to be channels of that provision, chances are good we will fail to experience it in our own lives.

This of course applies to me. My parents both passed before they reached very advanced age, but I have other family members who are in less than ideal circumstances. The situation is greatly complicated by my living on the opposite side of the globe from them! Even so, I cannot write them out of my life, so to speak, but am responsible to do whatever I can, starting with prayer. I wouldn’t even know of their situation if it weren’t for the Internet, but God knows their situation and He knows mine, and I need to be fully available and obedient. My own children are very concerned for my wife and me in our “declining years.” Thankfully, Japanese health insurance, and health care in general, is excellent, and adding together my Japanese pension with the little American Social Security I get, we could survive even without additional income. That said, I still teach and perform weddings, and look likely to be able to continue to do so for quite a while to come. However, this isn’t just about me and my family. As a pastor I am involved in many families, and we are hoping to open an assisted living facility. That would be an opportunity to show the world what the Family of God looks like, and I trust He is going to bring it to pass.

Father, You know all the family care issues that confront me, with both blood kin and the church family. Help me receive and act on Your wisdom so that Your will may be done in each situation, not only for the good of those involved but also as a testimony to all who are watching what is going on, leading them to repentance and faith for their salvation as well, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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

January 17, 2017

Posted on January 21, 2017 by jgarrott

1 Timothy 4:4-5 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

This passage clearly counters any dietary restrictions. That is clear not only from the words here but from the context of all of Paul’s letters. That said, this short passage doesn’t touch on the matter of moderation and other considerations. Paul knew nothing of nutritional science, and assorted human concoctions were centuries in the future. Gluttony is one of the traditional Seven Deadly Sins, even though that ranking is hard to justify from Scripture. That said, gluttony can certainly be physically deadly, and it is clearly a form of idolatry. Just because something isn’t bad doesn’t mean you need more of it. This passage has been applied to alcohol, and I’m sure someone has probably applied it to marijuana as well. In genuine moderation, alcohol can help the circulatory system and it serves as a relaxant, but even the Bible is loaded with cautions about over-use. Though it does not appear in the Bible, the same can be said of marijuana. The fiber has been used since prehistoric days for rope, and assorted medical benefits have been demonstrated, but with the recent huge increase in usage in America, assorted medical problems of over-use are being identified as well. One factor in that is that through selective breeding, mankind has greatly increased the intoxicating chemicals in it, rather than those that have medical benefits. It might be hard to identify the modern form as “something God created!” What we’re back to is being submitted to God, placing Him first rather than anything else. That is the best insulation against any misuse of what He has created.

This naturally applies to me as much as it does to anyone. Thankfully, I have never liked the taste of beer. For that matter, not many alcoholic drinks have tasted good to me. I also seem to be well endowed with the enzyme that breaks down ethanol, because the one time I actually tried to get drunk I didn’t succeed. That said, I know that it would be easier for me than for many people to become dependent on alcohol precisely because I can “handle it,” so that is one of several reasons I don’t drink at all. The same can be said of marijuana. Having been in the US Army in Hawaii in 1970-71 I’ve certainly been exposed to it, though not the much more potent modern varieties. Since I stopped smoking a pipe in college after I decided I liked to taste my food more than I liked to smoke, the idea of deliberately drawing any kind of smoke into my lungs has not appealed to me. (It also helped that I had an uncle on one side of the family who was a biochemist doing cancer research, and one on the other side who died of lung cancer after a life of smoking.) However, I can say that crushed marijuana seed makes a very nice seasoning for beef gravy (discovered in an Army mess hall in Hawaii). Recently the medical benefits of canabinol oil have come to my attention, and that is not the intoxicating (THC) part. That has real potential to be of personal benefit in the future. It all comes down to personal accountability before God, serving Him in such a way that those who see me will be motivated likewise to serve God, for His pleasure and glory.

Father, thank You for all that You have created. Help me be the steward of it that You intend, yielding no territory to the devil, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!

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