December 20, 2016

Posted on December 24, 2016 by jgarrott

Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Many people are hazy about the Holy Spirit, but here we have a description. Some people look at Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians and imagine the Holy Spirit as wild and weird, but that’s hardly the case. Right off the bat this says that He is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. That sounds pretty desirable. Then it says that He is the Spirit of counsel and of power. The Japanese expresses that as the Spirit of decision making and ability. Who hasn’t felt indecisive at times, and we would all like more ability! However, it’s the last part of the description that is actually the most fundamental. The English isn’t wrong in how it expresses it, but I like the way the Japanese breaks it down: the Spirit of knowledge of the Lord and of fear of the Lord. We cannot have the Spirit of God without knowing God, and when we know Him we will fear, that is, fundamentally respect, Him. I think one reason the devil attacks families, and especially fathers, so hard is that it is through our human fathers that we gain our first understanding of Father God. When fathers fail to both love and discipline their children, those children grow up with a badly distorted image of God. The only real remedy for anyone who has emotional/spiritual scars in that area is the Holy Spirit, because He can teach us from within what we failed to learn from our circumstances. There are some people who would like the Holy Spirit to come on them if it meant only the first two pairs of descriptors in this verse, but we can’t have any of it, really, without the last pair. As it says in Proverbs 9:10, and with variations in many other places, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” That’s what the Spirit of God is all about.

When I first started learning about the baptism in the Holy Spirit I got this wrong. I started seeking the ability to speak in tongues, rather than the Lord who gives that ability. It’s all part of the same package! There was a little chorus back then that said, “I want more of Jesus, more and more and more.” The last line said, “and He wants more of me.” A missionary friend told me my father changed that last line to, “so I’ll give Him more of me.” I have indeed learned that if I want more of God, I have to surrender more of myself. That doesn’t make me any less me, it makes me more like Him. That’s what the Holy Spirit is all about. God will fill me with more of His Spirit when I press into Him with more of me. My grandfather Carver used to say that when we are saved we give Jesus the key to our heart, but like a large building, there are many doors inside as well. Spiritual growth is giving Jesus the keys to more and more rooms. Sometimes we are successful in giving Him a master key that opens many doors, but most people have one or more rooms that require unique keys, and we can be very possessive of those keys. I need to seek constantly to leave the whole set of keys in God’s hands so that the Holy Spirit may come in and clean house as I need it, for my blessing and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Helping someone move has been a reminder of how much stuff we allow to accumulate, spiritually as well as materially. Help me be totally open to your house cleaning on every level, not hanging onto anything You say I don’t need, so that in its place I may indeed receive more of You, for that is the desire You have birthed in my heart. Thank You. Praise God!

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December 19, 2016

Posted on December 24, 2016 by jgarrott

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

This verse directly echoes the message I preached yesterday morning! That in itself is a little exciting to me, but far more than that, the Japanese here clears up a theological problem I’ve had with every English translation I’ve looked at. Put into English, the Japanese says, “He was born before all that was created.” Jehovah’s Witnesses and others have used this verse to try to insist that Jesus wasn’t fully Divine, that He was merely a created being. Of course that flies in the face of many other passages, but the slight twist in expression clears that up even for this verse. For those who are as familiar as I am with the English Bible it doesn’t sound quite right, but it is theologically very satisfying indeed. To me this is further confirmation (as if I needed it) that the Bible is God’s Word, fully trustworthy and reliable.

I set these six verses to music back in 1978 (skipping over a little of the content) so changing the wording is jarring to me in a way, but as much as I deal with translating/interpreting on a daily basis, it is at the same time completely natural. I still go in and change things in some of the songs I’ve translated, for example, because my grasp of Japanese has gotten deeper. That aside, the issue of the divinity of Jesus is something I have to deal with frequently, ministering to Japanese. Japanese culture, and specifically Japanese Buddhism, essentially deifies every dead person, so you pray to your ancestors. That certainly clouds the issue! (They don’t say people become gods, but rather Buddhas, but that’s a semantic twist.) On top of that, Shinto, the older religion in Japan, ascribes deity to virtually every impressive natural feature, from the sun to waterfalls to big rocks to some trees. In fact, one Japanese name for their own country is “The Land of 8 Million Gods.” Expressing monotheism, and within that the Trinity, can be very challenging! However, God supplies the wisdom and the words necessary, so I’ve got to be yielded to Him and not try to do it on my own. That said, I’m thankful for the inspiration He gave the translators of the Shinkaiyaku Japanese Bible.

Father, thank You that You indeed resolve all problems of all sorts if they are genuinely yielded to You. Thank You for the training You have been giving us in that very area over this past month. Thank You that today I will be able to send a Balance Statement and a Letter of Intent to the owner of the land next door. I yield the matter of his response to that letter, and everything that happens after that, to You. May Your name be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done perfectly, not just in the matter of the land but in everything, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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December 18, 2016

Posted on December 19, 2016 by jgarrott

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

This is a familiar Scripture to many Christians, yet far too many act like they don’t really believe it. This doesn’t encourage being presumptuous or flippant in prayer, but it says clearly that we should be bold. Verse 14 talks about Jesus’ transcendence, which should give us reverence before Him, but verse 15 talks about how he’s been through what we are experiencing, yet without sin. That lays the groundwork for this verse. If He is divine and thus omnipotent, and yet understands us by His own experience, then why wouldn’t we pray to Him? The biggest mistake people make about prayer is simply not praying. Japanese in particular seem to think they need to be “skillful” before they can pray. Even if that were true, which it isn’t, how are you going to become skillful if you don’t practice? There’s a hymn that expresses how we are to come to God: Just as I Am. It has been somewhat overused in some circles in evangelistic meetings, but the truth it expresses is very real. If we try to wait until we are cleaned up before we come to God, in prayer or otherwise, no one would ever approach Him, apart from incredible conceit. None of us are worthy to approach Him on our own, but as the Bible makes so very clear, He loves us so much that He gave His Son to open the way for us to come to Him. If we know that is the case, it is the worst ingratitude to fail to come to Him.

As a pastor, this is a constant issue for the people in my care. I have no hesitation myself to pray, but few people grew up in the kind of home I did, where prayer was as natural as breathing. They seem to have great difficulty believing He would really listen to them, either because they humbly recognize their own unworthiness or because they have only prayed ignorant, self-centered prayers they don’t feel were answered. They don’t understand that He may tell us yes, no, or later. That’s where spiritual growth comes in. Tolerance for delayed gratification is a prime marker of emotional and spiritual maturity. I need to help people understand that God really is listening to them, even if they don’t get the answer they want when they want it. I also need to help them understand that the major purpose for prayer isn’t to change God (as though we could) but to change us. God does often do the things we ask for in prayer, but He knows we need them even before we ask. (Matthew 6:8) Prayer teaches who He is and who we are, and over time, makes us more like Jesus. You will hardly ever find a person who is both devoted to prayer and is rude or defiant or any of a number of undesirable things. I need to help people understand, however, that you don’t have to be like that before you can pray; prayer makes you like that.

Father, thank You for the intensive training You’ve been giving us in prayer, especially over the past month. Thank You that I’m not the same person I was a month ago. Thank You that today we’ll be signing the paperwork for the loan to enable us to purchase the land next door. There are more steps involved, particularly involving the current landowner and government bureaucracy, but I have peace and assurance that You will take us through them. Help me give You the thanks and praise You deserve, for this and for all things, so that all who know us may be drawn to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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December 17, 2016

Posted on December 19, 2016 by jgarrott

Hebrews 7:24-25 But because Jesus lives for ever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

In some ways this might seem to be no more than a legal technicality about Christ, but as such things tend to be, it’s very important. Jesus didn’t just do His job and then go away, He is on the job for eternity. It’s not at all that He’s eternally on the cross, as you might think from crucifixes, but that, resurrected and glorified, He cares for us eternally and so takes our side, speaking on our behalf before the Father. As the Revelation to John and various other places in the Bible proclaim, He is indeed going to return to earth as King, but in the mean time He’s occupying Himself with us, interceding for us. A lot of people don’t have a good handle on just what intercession is. Dictionary.com defines it as, “1. an act or instance of interceding. 2. an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person. 3. a prayer to God on behalf of another. 4. Roman History. The interposing of a veto, as by a tribune.” It’s that 4th definition that was active when this was written, and it spawned all the other meanings. We forget that because of our sins, we are under sentence of death. (Romans 6:23) When Jesus intercedes for us, He is saying, “I veto that sentence. That person is pardoned because of my blood sacrifice.” (Actually, we don’t understand the whole system of blood sacrifices very well either.) That’s where definition 2 comes in: Jesus took our place, so instead of the punishment and death that we have earned, we gain His life and everything that goes with it. That’s glorious!

I have benefited a great deal from definition 3, with many people from my parents onward praying for me. I certainly need to “pay that forward,” praying for others, but I must remember that all human intercession depends on that of Christ. That’s not at all a bad thing, because apart from the grace of God embodied in Christ, an individual human being’s request would be totally insignificant. The whole point is, that grace is indeed available and I must never forget it, both receiving it and applying it to others. I am to apply that grace not just to my spiritual children but to all, even those who “despitefully use” me. (Matthew 5:44) Intercession isn’t for wimps! The movie, War Room, brings that out. It takes real strength to intercede, but God will supply all the strength I need for the task, if that is my choice. When I am to be increasingly like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18) and He is constantly interceding, then I had better be doing likewise!

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for prompting me to pray for a rather disagreeable person in the middle of my writing it. Help me apply all that You say to me, acting as Your agent on every level so that indeed, your Name may be counted as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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December 16, 2016

Posted on December 18, 2016 by jgarrott

Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

As many times as the Bible talks about it, we still tend to forget that Jesus prayed. He prayed so much and so often and so effectively that His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. (Luke 11:1) The kind of prayer mentioned here is what His disciples overheard in Gethsemane, but I certainly don’t think all of His prayers were loud. (It’s interesting that they weren’t able to stay awake even when He was praying so loudly.) We tend to think of prayers as requests, period. In fact, the English word means that, if you check its roots. However, talking to God is far more than that. Effective prayer is aligning our thoughts and lives with the Creator of the universe, who just happens to be our Father. In Jesus’ case that relationship was obvious, but we too are God’s children, if we accept adoption by faith. (Ephesians 1:5 and many more) Jesus was heard by God, but that didn’t keep Him from the cross. Rather, it took Him through the cross and the tomb to glorious resurrection. We need to remember that as we pray, trusting that whatever we face, God has something marvelous on the other side. Sometimes that means the obstacle is taken away, just as we ask, but sometimes it means that in going through the trial we gain far more than we could have had without it. Just because the problem doesn’t dissolve doesn’t mean that God hasn’t heard us, or even that He is displeased with us. We need to be humble and responsive to learn the lessons God is teaching us, repenting immediately when the Holy Spirit shines light on sin, but we aren’t to think hard times mean we are out of God’s favor. As I’ve said, prayer is to get us into line with God, and that should be the primary goal of our lives.

The events of the past month have certainly been intensive training in prayer. Right now I have a high level of peace that God’s will is going to be done, but that doesn’t mean I’m to let up praying! One of my daughters in Christ, who is currently living in Tokyo, sent us a DVD of The War Room, for us and for the church. I am delighted that such a movie exists. As it illustrates so effectively, prayer changes the one praying, just as I’ve been talking about. Since I want to be more and more like Jesus, I need to pray more and more! As a pastor I want the people in this church to be more like Jesus, so I need to encourage and help them to pray more and more. That DVD is going to make the rounds, not as a general announcement but as an individual recommendation, with follow-up after they’ve seen it. We need to be much more of a praying congregation. I believe that is God’s desire and plan, and He is moving us in that direction.

Father, thank You that You do all things well. Thank You for all You enabled us to do yesterday, and for all You have on our slates for today. Help us indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, praying without ceasing with faith and joy, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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December 15, 2016

Posted on December 17, 2016 by jgarrott

John 1:6-8 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

It has always been interesting that it was the Apostle John who wrote this about John the Baptist. I wonder if he felt a sense of kinship because of the name? In any case, all of the Gospels make it clear that what is said here is quite important, because a lot of people in the 1st Century thought that John the Baptist was indeed the Messiah. John himself denied it, but it had been so long since the Jews had had a genuine prophet of God that, coupled with the intense desire to be liberated from the Roman Empire, many people seized on John in their hopes and aspirations. The thing is, the better a representative of someone a person is, the more they look and act like the one they represent. As a genuine prophet of God, John spoke out what God was saying. He not only spoke truth to power, (which eventually got him killed) he was the furthest thing from politically correct. It is important for us to remember that every believer today is a representative of Christ. Paul uses the term, ambassadors. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Right now, with a new government taking shape in the US, the matter of ambassadors and other such representatives is in pretty sharp focus. Such people are of great importance! If we, like Paul, are Christ’s ambassadors, then we need to apply ourselves to be as accurate representations of Him as possible, not distorting Him or His message by our own weaknesses. Having said that, it’s also important to remember that we are not Him, any more than John the Baptist was. Our job is to present His message to the world so that people may believe in Him, not in us. As Paul famously acknowledged, we won’t reach perfection in these bodies on this earth. (Philippians 3:12-14) We are to walk humbly but boldly, knowing whose we are and trusting in Him rather than in ourselves.

This is a genuine issue for me. Some people put me on a pedestal, saying that “ordinary people just aren’t that good,” while others are so distracted by my faults they can’t receive what I say. Someone who is not yet a Christian trusts Cathy and me so completely that she has just offered us a huge loan with no legal guarantees for her at all. That is humbling! It is a constant battle for me to seek for people to understand that anything good they see in me isn’t really me, but Christ in me, and that He is just as available to them as He is to me. I am not to try to degrade my good reputation, certainly, but I must be very careful to point people to Christ at every opportunity.

Father, the legal secretary who is drawing up the paperwork for the loan is having trouble wrapping his mind around what is going on because he’s never heard of such a thing. I pray that everything that is happening would be a powerful witness to many, opening their hearts and drawing them to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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December 14, 2016

Posted on December 17, 2016 by jgarrott

Luke 1:74-75 … to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

The ideas in these two verses are so intertwined that the Japanese translation I use explicitly lumps them together as one verse, 7475. That’s more a matter of word order in Japanese versus English than it is anything theological, but it’s still true that God’s blessings are all interconnected. This is an interesting restatement of God’s promises to Abraham. It’s very interesting, and helpful, to do a study of those promises, especially since Paul says that all of those promises are applicable to those who are Abraham’s children by faith. (Galatians 3:7-9 and elsewhere) Zechariah here seems more focused on blessings in this life rather than in eternity, but he does say that the purpose of the blessings is for us to serve God. It is important to step back and realize, every once in a while, that everything God does to and for us is interconnected with His plans for all mankind. W. O. Carver called it “the plan of the ages.” (Sorry, he was my grandfather, and his books have been out of print for a long time now.) God loves us individually, but not in isolation. The greatest supercomputer possible couldn’t include all the variables God deals with all the time, considering the vastness of the universe, so it is a miracle of the highest order that He cares for each of us individually. In fact, if it weren’t explicitly stated in Scripture (Matthew 10:30) and experienced personally, we would have to dismiss the very idea out of hand as completely absurd. Even the most famous verse in the whole Bible, John 3:16, includes this dichotomy. God loved the world, (the totality) enough to send His Son so that whoever (each individual) might have eternal life. We need to rejoice that God indeed loves us individually, without forgetting that His loving plan includes every other person. If we will do that, we will rejoice to be instruments of His grace and love to one another.

This certainly applies to me, as it does to every other human being. I am very prone to get caught up in the individual moment, which can totally stress me out. However, from the perspective of my whole life, not to mention eternity, those moments are rarely of great importance. Little things like stubbing my toe, forgetting appointments and the like can really ruin my day, when they certainly don’t change God or the fact that He loves me. He has gone so far as to tell me personally to rest, relax, and rejoice, and yet I fail to do one or all of those all too often. Yesterday was a good example. God did something marvelous, downright miraculous, but then later in the day I couldn’t see well as I was backing the car and I bumped a rock. The damage wasn’t major by any means, but it soured my disposition for a while even though I had experienced God’s greatness just a couple of hours earlier. I’ll be glad to get to heaven, where I’ll be done with this foolish, sinful nature! I need to rejoice that He’s working on me even now to transform me into the likeness of His Son, and so not sweat the small stuff.

Father thank You for the huge reminder of Your faithfulness yesterday. Thank You also for the reminders of areas I still need to grow, as well as where I need to be active in Your service. May I indeed serve You in righteousness all my days, so that Your name may be hallowed because of me and Your will be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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December 13, 2016

Posted on December 14, 2016 by jgarrott

Luke 1:62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.

It has always struck me that Zechariah and Elizabeth’s friends and neighbors assumed he couldn’t hear, when all Gabriel had said was that he wouldn’t be able to speak. This actually is a common thing. When someone doesn’t respond as we expect, we assume they didn’t hear properly in the first place, but that isn’t necessarily the case. They may think we are talking to someone else. Sometimes they are thinking about it, considering the answer. Sometimes they don’t want to give the answer they know is expected and/or desired. Sometimes they are ignoring us deliberately! We act that way toward God often enough. He speaks to us often, through His Word and otherwise, but our responses are all over the place. It’s true that we often don’t recognize that He’s speaking to us, either because our spiritual ears are dull or because we think what He said doesn’t apply to us. That’s why Jesus said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15 and many more. In Revelation 2:7, etc. He cuts it down to one ear!) Several years ago Don Francisco recorded a song that has the line, “He’s talking to the hypocrite, Pharisee, anybody else but me!” We register that God has spoken, but we fail to apply it to ourselves. That’s exactly what James was talking about, and he said that’s no more than self-deception. (James 1:22)

I’m certainly talking to myself here. I couldn’t begin to count all the times I’ve failed to receive and apply what God has said to me, even when I heard Him clearly enough. That should give me patience in dealing with those around me, but often enough it doesn’t! We are all deeply flawed human beings, and it is only by the grace of God that we make it through at all. I’ve got to remember God’s grace toward me and apply that grace toward others. That doesn’t mean excusing them, but it does mean forgiving them. The longer I live the easier it is to recognize character flaws in people, but at the same time I have to recognize that those same flaws are reflected in me. As often as I have heard God and failed to act, I shouldn’t despise anyone for doing the same! Especially when I am the instrument through whom God is speaking, I need to express the message as many times as necessary, in as many different ways as possible, so that they may have the maximum opportunity to receive it and act on it.

Father, this is a daily exercise, as You know well. Help me never give up on anyone, but also not take their feigned deafness personally. May I be a willing and conscious mouthpiece for You, not going around saying “Thus sayeth the Lord,” but allowing You to touch people through me to open their eyes, heal them, correct them, and otherwise turn them to You, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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December 12, 2016

Posted on December 14, 2016 by jgarrott

Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Like Gabriel’s statement to Mary that nothing is impossible for God, (Luke 1:37) this is a simple statement of fact, but it is profound from two different directions. In the first place, believing God keeps us out of trouble. Eve didn’t believe fully what God had told her and so she fell for the devil’s lie that she wouldn’t die from eating the fruit of the tree, and mankind has been suffering ever since. (Genesis 3:4-6) Failure to believe God has eternal consequences! However, there are other benefits to believing God on a more immediate scale. The Japanese here specifies “believed completely” and “certainly be accomplished.” The more firmly we believe God the more peace we have. Isaiah put it this way: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3) There were all sorts of repercussions, immediate and potential, for Mary in what she had been told, but Gabriel had started his message to her with, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28) If she was highly favored and the Lord was with her, then it was bound to turn out well! This is actually part of the victory that faith brings us: victory over anxiety. (1 John 5:4) That is a blessed thing indeed!

I have missed out on a lot of peace because of the weakness of my faith. When we were building this building and ran out of funds because of cost overruns from errors in the blueprints, and banks wouldn’t touch us because we hadn’t gone to them before we started, the thought of throwing myself in front of one of the trains that runs by here was actually pretty tempting. However, God used the CEO of one of the companies to which we owed money to suggest the idea of setting up time payments to each of our suppliers. All of them accepted my proposal, and the building was paid for in an amazingly short period of time. Right now we are faced with our current lack of funds to purchase the land next door, which we need not only for the group home we feel the Lord wants us to build, but also for parking for the people the Lord is going to bring in to the church immediately. There were people at the City Christmas yesterday evening specifically because of the fliers and tracts I took around on Friday, and some of them indicated they want to attend our regular services here. One was in the service yesterday morning! I need to believe completely that God’s plans will certainly be accomplished, even when I have no idea how He is going to do it, and so rest in perfect peace.

Father, thank You for yesterday and all it held. Thank You that the City Christmas went so well, and thank You especially for the positive feedback from my tracting on Friday. Help me be active in seeking first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, not slacking off because of any perceived lack of results but rather believing completely that You are going to bring abundant fruit in Your time if I will simply abide in Christ, (John 15:5, 8) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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December 11, 2016

Posted on December 13, 2016 by jgarrott

Zechariah 9:12 Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

I probably write on this verse every time the passage comes up in daily Bible readings (which is every December). However, it’s a powerful verse, and bears a lot of reflection. What strikes me right now is the matter of the fortress to which the hopeful prisoners are told to return. Even in the original context a physical construction seems unlikely to be what God is talking about. I would think that the fortress would be hope itself, faith that God is going to be true to His word and come through, regardless of how things look at the moment. Those who have that assurance are indeed protected, which is what a fortress is all about. We are all too likely to wander from that fortress, which leaves us open to all sorts of attacks from the enemy. That’s why he tries so hard to distract us, to keep us from the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. If we maintain our relationship with God as our first priority, we have a fortress indeed. That’s why James says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Submission to God, listening obediently to Him, is the fortress we need. Without it, the devil will hardly flee, but rather will pile on his attacks.

Yesterday I felt very much under attack. I had some important opportunities for ministry, for which I am grateful, and the devil did all he could to steal my joy. At one point it seemed like there was someone who might loan us the money to be able to get the land next door, but then that seemed to pass, and my emotions took a toll. We had planned on one course of action and circumstances made it clear that wasn’t the best, but the change from expectations was again taxing. With those and other things, by nighttime I was exhausted and went to bed at 9. Today, in addition to the morning service, we have the City Christmas from 5, and I’m the point man/MC for that. I’ve got to stay in my fortress if I want to make it through! I have real hope that we will have good turnout for the 24th and 25th, but that’s two weeks off. I need to be careful my hope is in God, rather than in people and especially not in my own performance. When demands are great I tend to focus on how I will perform under those demands. That’s an invitation to disaster! I need to keep my focus, my anticipation, on God. Such hope will never be disappointed. (Romans 5:5)

Father, it seems like Christmas is this way every year, which makes me dread it. Forgive my foolishness! Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, delighting in the reality that You sent Your Son and in the opportunity to share that good news with others, so that Your purpose in sending Jesus would be fulfilled more and more, (John 3:16-17) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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