October 8, 2016

Posted on October 13, 2016 by jgarrott

Mark 11:24-25 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Verse 24 is one of the most famous in the whole Gospel of Mark, but it is important to note that verse 25 follows it immediately. Those who have faith in faith, rather than really trusting the only One who is worthy of being believed, seize on verse 24 as an unconditional statement, but verse 25 should give pause to that. We are to trust the One to whom we pray, but we also need to be in sync with Him for our words to have the power of His. That’s what Jesus was talking about in His many instructions to “pray in His name.” (John 14:13-14, etc.) In those days someone’s name was seen as being indicative of their essence, their very being. You could claim to do something in someone’s name (Mark 13:6, e.g.) without harmony with that person, but you couldn’t really act in their name without it. We very glibly tack “In Jesus’ name, amen,” onto our prayers without any real thought of whether we are in harmony with His character and being led by His Spirit. That’s why verse 25 here is so important. If we are harboring unforgiveness against anyone, we certainly aren’t in harmony with Christ! When we are in harmony with Him, then we do need to believe and trust that our words echo His, and will be accomplished.

This is an issue I have heard a great deal about over the years. “Word of Faith” teachers have indeed benefited the Body of Christ, but there have also been many abuses, leading to the pejorative term, “name it and claim it.” That kind of thinking ignores such passages as James 4:3. I have certainly experienced magnificent answers to prayer, but I have also prayed and gotten no results that I could see. Frankly, that’s where faith and trust come in. I must not discard the faith I have simply because some formula I was using didn’t seem to work. Faith is neither mathematics nor magic. We can’t just “plug in the numbers” and expect things to happen, nor can we use special incantations and move the universe. For myself and for those I lead, I’ve got to focus on whom I believe, rather than anything else. (2 Timothy 1:12) I need to ask, seek, and knock, (Matthew 7:7-8) while letting Him be Lord and trusting that He knows everything I need before, and better, than I do.

Father, thank You for this clear reminder. Thank You for Your amazing, gracious faithfulness toward me. Help me be faithfully obedient to You, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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October 7, 2016

Posted on October 13, 2016 by jgarrott

Mark 11:12-14 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

This particular episode has always bothered me, because it doesn’t seem like my mental image of Jesus. If it wasn’t the season for figs, why did He curse the tree for not having any? I’ve heard explanations that said such trees often had a few figs even out of season, but that was pretty unconvincing to me. However, two things come to mind. The first is that this generated a powerful teaching moment (which comes up in tomorrow’s reading). Jesus needed His disciples, and by extension, us, to know that His power was for judgment as well as for healing. However, that still begs the question of why the tree was judged. The second thing that comes to mind is from Paul’s instructions to Timothy. “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season.” (2 Timothy 4:2) We are to be prepared to do our Lord’s bidding regardless of times or places, and the fig tree was no exception. That should really give us pause. We are very prone to serve God when we think we’re ready, when the proper response is simply, “Yes Sir.” We forget that the power, the ability, and everything else come from Him, and so we judge “seasonableness” by ourselves. What a loss! We need to be so focused on Him that we are available to Him whatever the time, place, or circumstances. If we will do that, His power will be manifested through us for the blessing of many and for His glory.

Not only do I face this issue in myself, as a pastor I also deal with it in others. It is very much to his credit that my newly-ordained assistant pastor didn’t draw back when I asked him to preach four Sundays in a row while I was on this trip. Frankly, he’s not yet “in season,” but God is using this to train and grow him. I’ll need to “debrief” him thoroughly and gently after I get back, to guide and cement that growth, but he accepted the challenge in dependence on God. We need to grow together as we walk out what God has for us, individually and as a church, and that applies to me as much as it does to him.

Father thank You for this Word. Thank You that the trip is winding down, and we’ll be back in Japan in less than a week (though not yet back to Omura). Help me accept and fulfill Your assignments for each moment, not basing my obedience on my ability but trusting You completely, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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October 6, 2016

Posted on October 12, 2016 by jgarrott

Mark 9:23, 29 “If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” … He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

I have always loved the father’s exclamation in verse 24, but just now what strikes me is the proximity of these two statements by Jesus. There certainly is absolute truth, but what we take as blanket statements often have subtleties that we overlook. We tend to think that if everything is possible for him who believes, then all that is required to do anything is just to believe. However, here Jesus follows that up with saying that you can believe until you are blue in the face, but if you fail to pray, nothing is going to happen. Down through the centuries countless Christians have taken verses out of context and even built denominations on them, insisting that all other positions were invalid. That is sad indeed. We exclude people from the Kingdom of God, either actually or by refusing fellowship, over things that are not so black and white. C. S. Lewis wrote that one thing we can know for sure is that when we get to heaven, every one of us will discover that there were things about which we were mistaken. We need to read the whole Bible, with the Holy Spirit as our guide, and we need to let the love and grace of God cover all our interactions, both with believers and with non-believers.

My primary motivational gifts (see Romans 12 and Don and Katie Fortune’s books) are Teacher and Perceiver. Both of those, and especially the latter, have a tendency toward being black and white, so I’ve got to be especially careful on this issue. Without the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit, I could found a cult! Even on this trip I have been accused of being judgmental, because I was talking about how grieved I am at people not living as obedient children of God. I replied at the time that I am fully aware that I am just as much in need of the grace and mercy of God as anyone, but it is not loving to fail to confront sin, to excuse it and accept it as normative. It may be normal, but there’s a big difference between that and it being normative, that is, a standard to which others are to conform. Jesus’ words about sawdust and planks (Matthew 7:3-5) are very important, but we aren’t to say that everyone should have sticks in their eyes. I am to walk in the truth I have been given and share that truth in love with as many as will receive it, not backing down, but I am also not to reject someone because they don’t yet see things as I do. I may be the one who needs to change perspective!

Father, it all gets very complicated sometimes. Help me walk in both humility and assurance, trusting Your Holy Spirit absolutely and my own intellect not at all, (Proverbs 3:5-6) so that I may indeed walk straight, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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October 5, 2016

Posted on October 12, 2016 by jgarrott

Mark 6:46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Praying by Himself was obviously a fairly common practice for Jesus. Even so, the disciples must have wondered at His sending them across the lake without Him. However, His authority was clear enough that they obeyed Him, even when they didn’t understand what was going on. That in itself is a marvelous lesson for us. Often we also don’t have any real idea what the Lord is doing, but we still need to be fully obedient to Him. This particular incident resulted in a marvelous demonstration of Jesus’ power. (It’s interesting that Peter, in his dictation to Mark, chose to leave out the part about his own getting out of the boat and walking a few steps. I think that by the point he was talking to Mark, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.) We are far more likely to participate in the marvelous things God does if we don’t demand to know all the details ahead of time. We need to focus on personal faithfulness and obedience, and let Him be God. It’s for sure none of the disciples would have planned for things to happen the way they did that day!

A major factor of traveling is that normal routines are fractured. That can be refreshing, but it can also be frightening, and certainly irritating. Stress comes from a disconnect between how we think or feel things should be, and how they actually transpire, or seem to be transpiring. That’s why traveling tends to amplify and/or multiply stress. We’ve certainly experienced times of that already this trip! This is training in releasing events, schedules, and people – including ourselves – to God, letting Him be God and us being His obedient children. Last night I created problems for us (as I perceive it) by changing the dial of the combination lock on our oldest suitcase, when I didn’t have a record of what the number was. That means we won’t be able to get to what is in it without cutting the suitcase open. However, that was a suitcase we hadn’t really planned on opening until we got home, as well as being one we wanted to replace, so this is strong confirmation that we aren’t to fool with it! (Though I was a fool for fooling with the lock.) We have another 8 days before we head back to Japan (after having another stop in Seattle). We know some of the things on our schedule and will have to decide others, but we certainly don’t know everything that will happen. We need to be at peace with that, allowing God to teach us and use us as He intends, for the blessing of everyone involved and for His glory.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. Help me take it to heart and remember it as I need to throughout the coming days, so that we may indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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October 4, 2016

Posted on October 9, 2016 by jgarrott

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

I think it is very significant that Mark’s Gospel has this in the first Chapter. Scholars are pretty well universally agreed that Mark recorded Peter’s memories of his time with Jesus, so Jesus doing this sort of thing obviously made a huge impression on one of His closest disciples. I am consistently mystified at Christians who don’t seem to feel they need to pray, much less have consistent morning devotions. When morning prayer was obviously so important to Jesus, how can we think we don’t need it? There are two advantages to morning as a time for devotions. The first is simply the lack of distractions. The world has a way of grabbing our attention pretty early, so we’re better off choosing to focus on God as early in the day as possible. Jesus obviously did it before dawn sometimes. The other factor is one of human physiology. It has been demonstrated that we learn best mentally in the morning, while physical learning is more efficient in the afternoon. That makes students’ staying up all night to study all the more ironic, and even sad. There is a third factor involved, and that is simply the matter of priorities. When we place God first in time each day it’s easier to keep Him first in our thinking and decisions throughout the day. Jesus is our example, and we do well to follow Him.

Doing devotions first thing in the day has been my lifestyle since the early ’70s, and I am deeply grateful. The difficulty of maintaining that is perhaps the thing I dislike most about traveling. (In general I enjoy traveling.) Particularly with flying across the International Date Line, headed East it’s too long between devotions, and headed West I have to manage on the airplane, which is hardly the most conducive environment. I have to take that as training in active focus. I don’t hear the Father as easily as Jesus did, naturally, so I need to read the Bible. However, when I do, I find the Father does speak to me with delightful regularity. I know that He speaks to me far more often than I am listening, and morning devotions are an excellent opportunity to choose to listen. That said, I must always remember James 1:22 and focus on doing what I hear my Lord say to me, and not just play pious mind games. As a pastor I earnestly desire that everyone in my flock discover the joy and blessings of starting each day with active focus on listening obediently to God, and it is a major frustration, and even heartache, when so few really take it up for themselves. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you certainly can’t make him drink. I am not to condemn, but I am to continually admonish and encourage, so that they may choose to accept this powerful tool from their Father

Father, thank You for Your grace to me. Thank You for my parents’ example. I always knew they had individual morning devotions, even though they did them privately. You know how long it took for me to get started in a consistent habit! Help me be a good spiritual father to many, so that they may learn to relate rightly to You and reject the devil’s lies, for their great blessing and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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October 3, 2016

Posted on October 9, 2016 by jgarrott

Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

In the time of His greatest trial, Jesus still gave valuable instruction for the benefit of all who would believe in Him. His disciples obviously were weak, but certainly no weaker than the rest of us. If Peter, James, and John needed such an admonition, how much more do we! Too often we fail to pray because we think, or subconsciously feel, “I’ve got this.” The thing is, we don’t have anything without the grace of God! (John 15:5) Prayer is not only a privilege, it is an absolute necessity for anyone who seeks to follow/please God. That’s why Paul’s admonition to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is such excellent advice. When we are in active communication with our Father, the thief has trouble “getting a word in edgewise.” He will do all he can to disrupt our prayer life, so we need to seek the help of the Holy Spirit, especially since that is promised to us. (Romans 8:26) The better we recognize the weakness of our flesh, the more we will seek, and receive, God’s gracious strength. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This is a lesson I have been learning more and more over the years. As I am aware, and for which I am deeply grateful, prayer was as natural as breathing in the home where I grew up, but that doesn’t mean I really understood how essential it was. Every failure of yielding to temptation could have been averted if I had prayed, and that would have saved me a LOT of grief! I know that now, and as a pastor I certainly try to teach it to others, but they rarely have more grasp of it than I did years ago. I really think that’s a major reason the Lord allows trials in our lives: to teach us that we can’t make it on our own, so that we will turn to Him. The good news is that if we will turn, He will help us, and the trial will be transformed into a blessing. In my observation, the biggest problem comes when the spirit isn’t very willing, and sides with the flesh. The devil loves that! I’ve got to be on guard for that in myself, as well as admonish and encourage others, so that together we may walk in all that God has for us.

Father, this trip is a different kind of trial. I am experiencing things that are blessings, and I am experiencing temptations that don’t necessarily feel like temptations. Help me stay in contact with You all the time, to let Your Spirit flow through me to accomplish that which I could not do on my own, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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October 2, 2016

Posted on October 8, 2016 by jgarrott

Matthew 24:12-13 “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Of all the “signs” listed in this chapter, this is the one that rings most true to me right now. America is dramatically different from Japan in the number of churches, but even here in the “Bible Belt” I see a pervasive acceptance, at least, of completely un-Biblical moral standards. As Jesus expresses it so succinctly here, that leads most of the population into a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward Christianity, with church attendance being more social than anything else. With an incredible over-abundance of material comforts, God takes a back seat, if He’s even in the picture at all. It’s no wonder the country is in the state it’s in politically! Thankfully, there are exceptions. My son-in-law had a blow-out of a tire on a trailer he was pulling yesterday, in a “bad part of town,” no less, and a complete stranger not only got his own jack and other tools to help him, he went and purchased a new tire, brought it back and installed it, and refused to take anything at all for all of that. From what was reported to me of what he said, he did it simply because he was a Christian, deeply aware of God’s grace toward him and desiring to extend that grace to others. Such people are the hope of the nation! As the background gets darker, the points of light shine all the more brightly. The answer, for America and for the whole world, is not organized religion, but personal repentance and faith. Morality is ultimately personal. There would be no abortions if people didn’t choose immorality over chastity, for example. People are simply trying to escape the consequences of one sin by committing another even worse one. And the widespread acceptance of that sort of thing has dropped the spiritual temperature of the nation to an amazing degree, just as Jesus said. However, He also said that those who stand firm would be saved. Every thoughtful believer should take that to heart indeed, and choose to press into God for more of the oil of His Spirit, to burn for Him.

This is intensely personal for me, with some of my family being earnest for God and some definitely not. That is painful to see, not just because it damages fellowship, but because they are tasting the fruit of leaving God out of the picture. I am not to give up on them, but speak the truth in love. Some are already uncomfortable around me because of the different lifestyle, but I am never to reject them from my side. I am to pray God’s mercy and grace on each one, recognizing that I am just as dependent on that grace as they are. I am to be a light and an example, never holier-than-thou but at the same time not backing down from Biblical principles. I want everyone dear to me to walk in the best God has for them, and that will only come when they place Him first in their lives.

Father, being confronted with this sort of thing is a major reason I don’t really like to visit the US any more. It is painful. Thank You that You do have faithful children left, however small a percentage of the “church members” they might be. I do ask for a spirit of repentance and revival to fall on this nation, so that personal purity will no longer be the exception but rather the norm. May the schemes of the devil be defeated and this nation return to be the incubator of missionaries that it once was, acknowledging Your name alone as holy and actively advancing Your kingdom by doing Your will, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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October 1, 2016

Posted on October 8, 2016 by jgarrott

Matthew 21:22 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

This is one of Jesus’ flat statements that we have a lot of trouble accepting. Those who go whole hog on it tend to have faith in faith, rather than faith in God Himself. On the other hand, most Christians tend to discount it, failing in the very area it is talking about. There are two problems with how we approach this verse. The first is dealt with by James. “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:2-3) We have a wide variety of motives in our praying, and since God sees our hearts, that produces a wide variety of results. Even when we are praying for something that is good and right, we may destroy the effectiveness of our prayer by wanting that thing to happen so that we will be seen as holy, having “special access” to God. We can be remarkably blind to that sort of motivation in ourselves. The second problem is the matter of timing. That subject has come up several times recently, and it’s still very true that we don’t understand God’s timing. Hebrews famously talks about all the saints who died not having seen that for which they believed. (Hebrews 11:39-40) You could call that the ultimate escape clause! It all boils down to trust, which could be called faith with shoes on. Faith can be very abstract, but trust produces action and impacts how we live. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed with perfect faith, knowing that God was fully able to rescue Him, but at the same time He was completely trusting, surrendering His human desires to the Father’s will. We can certainly do no better than to follow His example.

This whole issue of prayer can get terribly complicated. I have long held that prayer is illogical from an objective standpoint. Why would the omnipotent Creator listen and respond to what His creatures say? However, as a parent myself I understand that our heavenly Father would want to talk with His children, and that is what we are. Just as good human parents delight to respond to their children’s requests, but still won’t give them things that are bad for them, our Father delights to give us His kingdom, (Luke 12:32) but He knows far better than we do what effect things will have on us, and He doesn’t want to give us things that will be detrimental in the long run. I have wrestled with this issue much of my life, and I expect to continue to do so until I’m rid of this merely human body. I am not to fail to ask, particularly when Jesus told us to ask, seek, and knock, (Matthew 7:7-11) At the same time I am not to insist that the answers to my prayers be as I imagine them; God’s ideas are always better!

Father, I am back to the realization of how little I know about prayer, though I love it and practice it frequently with joy. May I continue to grow in my knowledge and understanding of You and Your kingdom, so that I may be a better child and more effective servant, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 30, 2016

Posted on October 6, 2016 by jgarrott

Matthew 21:1-3 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

Something struck me as I read this just now that I don’t recall being stressed very much. Not only do we have a donkey and colt going with strangers, (and the colt being ridden for the first time) we have the owner agreeing immediately to the use of what could well have been a major chunk of his material wealth. Often the real test of our faith and our priorities comes when the Lord indicates something dear to us and says, “I need that.” Letting go can be painful at times, but the result is always far better than trying to hang onto whatever it is. Sometimes that includes our own children. When Cathy and I were headed to Japan as missionaries, her father offered me five acres of land and help in building a house, (they lived on a large farm) and we turned him down. He seemed satisfied with that, and said, “Just checking.” He was releasing his daughter and two of his grandchildren to the Lord. Sometimes we balk at releasing much smaller things. Peter famously asked Jesus what the score was for himself and the rest of the 12, and Jesus’ response was magnificent. “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29) Any time God asks us to give anything up for Him, He always has far better for us in return. We may not be able to imagine what that might be at the moment, but it is true nonetheless.

For me, I think the biggest struggle may be time. I tend to think of time as mine, and be resentful when other things impinge on “my” time. The thing is, I’ve committed my life to Christ, and lives are measured in time, so what’s my gripe? I think I’m growing in this area, but I haven’t reached perfection yet! I need to hold everything loosely, not failing to use it as the Lord directs, but not getting possessive about it either. Frankly, I have hoarding tendencies, not liking to throw anything out because “I might have a use for it later.” I have little trouble giving things away to people who need them, but sometimes the Lord indicates that I just need to NOT have some item. That can be painful! I know, from years of experience, that the Lord is more than able to supply everything I need, and I need to trust Him more completely with that.

Father, thank You for this very timely reminder, as we have been going through things we have had stored for over 30 years. Help us have Your peace about each item, and especially about the things to which we have a sentimental attraction. Give us Your wisdom about the disposition of it all, so that we will be equipped as You intend and others will be blessed as well, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 29, 2016

Posted on October 6, 2016 by jgarrott

Matthew 19:13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

The implication from the text that we have is that this happened immediately after Jesus had given His definitive teaching on divorce. We have to wonder whether the mothers (presumably) who brought the children had heard what Jesus said, and that was part of their motivation. We have trouble grasping the social context of the day, but what is coming out about Islam should give us some insight. It is taught, and legally practiced in some Islamic countries, that all a man has to do to get rid of his wife is to say, “I divorce you,” three times, and it is done. We have to realize the context of the question in verse 3, “for any and every reason.” There were some teachers in that day who said that burning breakfast was sufficient reason to divorce a wife! Jesus’ response gave both partners equal dignity, and that was revolutionary. Any wife who heard that would quite understandably have wanted Jesus’ blessing on her children! In a marriage where the husband fails to cherish his wife properly, she has no emotional sup­port for her self-image other than her children. We see that around us all the time. That’s why such women place their children ahead of their husband in their priorities about almost everything. The women here may well have been thinking, “I don’t know when my husband may try to divorce me, so Jesus, bless my children!” The devil hates marriage and intact families, as is very obvious in the world today, so standing up for the Biblical description of marriage and family is a major way of resisting the devil and destroying his works. (James 4:7, 1 John 3:8)

One ministry the Lord has given me has been marriage counseling and weddings, so this is an issue I think and talk about a lot. I have been blessed with a magnificent marriage, but that hasn’t been a very strong shield even for my own children. Every generation has to deal with this for themselves. Unfortunately, the majority of young people lack the spiritual maturity to seek and follow God’s prescription, and so bring lots of unnecessary grief on themselves. Parents need to be clearer and more open about their own marriage with their children. I don’t know that my own parents were as clear as they should have been, seeing my siblings, and I know I wasn’t sufficiently clear with my own children. All the passages about transmitting God’s Word to succeeding generations aren’t just blowing smoke! As I teach on marriage and family I have no room for pride, but Cathy’s and my relationship is noticed and held in awe by many who know us. I am to be fully grateful, and be consistent in speaking the truth in love as the Lord gives opportunity, so that I may indeed destroy the devil’s work and be an agent of God’s kingdom.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Many things on this trip have been reminders of what the devil is doing to tear down families. May I be fully submitted to You so that I may be fully effective as Your agent in proclaiming and establishing Your truth, so that many may be set free from the devil’s lies, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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