August 13, 2016

Posted on August 17, 2016 by jgarrott

Proverbs 28:9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law,
even his prayers are detestable.

We are back to the fact that God sees and pays attention to our hearts, rather than to whatever facade we put up to show the world. The NIV says “the law” here, implying God’s law, which is true enough, but the Japanese is far broader, translating that phrase simply to “teaching.” In other words, if you don’t have a teachable heart, it’s not much use praying. It’s amazing how often we pray with our minds made up, demanding that God do things our way. That is counterproductive, to the point of being detestable. One of the great struggles of faith is the whole matter of leaving control in God’s hands and being at peace with that. That’s not at all to say we aren’t to express to God how we would like things to be; Jesus explicitly told us to ask, seek, and knock. (Matthew 7:7) However, we must do so with teachable hearts, letting God show us how He is going to fulfill our needs, and even our wants, far better than we could have imagined. The devil and our flesh constantly tempt us to try to be God, or at least a god. That’s what got Lucifer thrown out of heaven, (Isaiah 14:12-15) and it got Adam and Even thrown out of Eden. (Genesis 3:4-5) We need to make full use of all the abilities and opportunities we are given, but always remember that God is God, and let Him teach us all that He wants us to know.

As a school teacher as well as a pastor, I certainly know the difference between a teachable heart and an unteachable one. I sometimes get students whose minds are like steel traps – rusted shut! They never really hear what I try to impart to them, much less seek to take it in to make use of it. I don’t want to be that way toward God! Just as the way to stay young mentally is to keep learning, the way to stay like a little child (Matthew 18:3) spiritually is to keep learning from God. It’s interesting that the longer I walk with the Lord, the more I know that I don’t know. Even as I have assurance of some bedrock truths, I realize that the scope of what I don’t know is literally infinite, so I seek to stay open for the Lord to teach me all that He wants me to know. I am to share what the Lord has taught me, but with humility and grace, learning even as I teach, so that I and those to whom I minister may together grow as God intends, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for what You are going to teach me today. Help me be open to all of it, 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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August 12, 2016

Posted on August 14, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 145:1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Prayer and praise have an important point in common: they are both addressed to God. It might seem counter-intuitive, but we are all too capable of leaving God out completely in both of those activities. Jesus spoke of a Pharisee who “prayed to himself,” (Luke 18:11) We might dispute translation on that verse, but He also talked about people who pray to be heard by people more than by God. (Matthew 6:5) In one sense God hears everything we say, but what He listens to is our hearts, and sometimes our hearts are far from Him even while we are going through all the right motions. (Isaiah 29:13) In terms of praise and worship, that would seem to be addressed to God by definition just as much as prayer, but I have been to church services where there was zero focus on God. All the songs, all the activities, were focused on humanity rather than our Creator – and some of those churches were in “Bible-believing” denominations! Such churches are no more than clubs, existing for the members and serving only to make the members feel good. God has nothing to do with such churches, and especially in recent years they have done a great deal to bring shame on the name of Jesus Christ. David had his spiritual head on straight, and his prayers, his praise and worship, were focused clearly on Yahweh. He invited others to join him and he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen and heard, but other people weren’t his focus. For all his failures, that focus on God made him a man after God’s own heart indeed, (Acts 13:22) and we would certainly do well to follow his example.

Growing up in church as I did I have certainly seen and heard a wide variety of churches and Christians. Personal style can vary a great deal and still be pleasing to God. I must not insist that only my style is acceptable! I am to be open to being enriched by others and their styles, but I must always keep my focus on God and not on the style. If I am critical in my heart of others and yet fail to keep my own focus on God, I am a self-righteous hypocrite. I am to love God first and foremost, with all that I have and am, but I must not forget to love my neighbor as well. If I am properly focused on God then I will be all the more aware of the people He created and loves, and love them as I love myself.

Father, this is a strong Word. Show me when and how and with whom to share it. Help me keep this church properly focused on You. I see people all the time who have trouble maintaining their focus. Help me be gracious and gentle, yet unyielding toward them, not giving in to their being self-centered or man-centered but consistently pointing them to You, so that they may escape the traps of the devil and walk in the glorious liberty of Your Spirit, (2 Corinthians 3:17) for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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August 11, 2016

Posted on August 14, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 142:3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who know my way.

The attribution for this Psalm says that David wrote it “when he was in the cave.” That places it in the period when he was running for his life from Saul. Not too many of us have our faith tried like that! However, all of us have times when we are simply worn out, when, as David says here, our spirits grow faint. In times like that we need to remember, as David did, that God knows the way for us; all we have to do is follow Him. Emotional exhaustion will blind us to what is really going on around us, so we’ve got to keep our primary connection in place, seeking God first regardless of our circumstances. It’s amazing how easily we forget that and try to depend on other things: on people, finances, even our own abilities. All of those have their limits and are ultimately unreliable. God alone really knows our way and can get us through it.

I consider it a blessing that I am increasingly aware of my own inability, while having a growing assurance of God’s omnipotence and grace. As a pastor I am frequently asked for guidance and counsel. If I rely on my own intellect and experience there’s a possibility I’ll get it right, but a very large possibility I’ll get it wrong. It is God who knows our way! I’ve got to keep that in focus as I talk with people and pray for them. It is interesting that often the words I use in praying for them turn out to be God’s words to them, giving them assurance of His love and pointing out the next step, even if they can’t see more than the one step ahead. I’m not to be proud or presumptive about that, either, but remember that apart from Christ I can do nothing. (John 15:5) I don’t know my own way that well, but I do know the final destination, and I need to rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me stay humble before You, like a weaned child with his mother, as You pointed out just recently. (Psalm 131:2) Help me reject every temptation to anxiety, but rather trust that You indeed know my way, and will guide me in it. Thank You. Praise God!

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August 10, 2016

Posted on August 11, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 140:6 O Lord, I say to you, “You are my God.”
Hear, O Lord, my cry for mercy.

The organization of the book of Psalms is interesting. It is obviously made up of several different collections, with David’s name appearing frequently in some and much less so in others, with some Psalms even being from after the Babylonian exile. They certainly aren’t arranged chronologically. Psalms by David appear again in this very last section, and they continue to flesh out the picture we have of him. We know very little of his physical appearance, except that he was considered reasonably good-looking but wasn’t exceptionally tall the way Saul was. However, we’re given a lot of information as to what he was like as a person, from the narrative of his life and from his own writing. In this Psalm we do not see him as particularly kind and forgiving toward his enemies, but in this verse we again get confirmation of one of his major distinctives: he was committed to Yahweh alone, and had no use for idolatry. That makes it all the more ironic and sad that his son Solomon was pulled off in that direction by his foreign wives. In Western countries open idolatry hasn’t been an issue for a long time, though in America it is making a comeback, specifically in open Satan worship. That comeback has been enabled by people making idols of all sorts of things, without the trappings of religion. It is no accident that popular entertainers are referred to as idols. We would do well to reaffirm in our own hearts and minds just who it is we worship, and why. Far too many worship finances, or physical comfort, or sexual pleasure, or any of a number of things. When we pray we need to be able to say, “Lord, You are my God,” and mean it.

Ministering in Japan I have battled a polytheistic mindset from the outset. I find many people like what they hear of Jesus, so they want to add Him to their god shelf along with all their other gods. Raised as I was, I don’t really know how to counter that well, without totally rejecting the person and their genuine interest in Jesus. The more I read the Bible the more clearly I understand that a lot of the people in it weren’t the strict monotheists we imagine. As committed to Yahweh as he was, David probably didn’t discount the gods of the nations around him; he just thought his God was bigger, stronger, and better all the way around. That was what laid the groundwork for Solomon’s “tolerance” for other gods that led to his downfall. I’ve got to speak the truth in love, never compromising the full truth of the Gospel but not rejecting those who aren’t there yet. I don’t have the wisdom necessary to do that, so I’ve got to rely on the Holy Spirit to do it in and through me. A very small percentage of Japanese are Christian in name, but the Lord knows how many of those are really His, as well as those who don’t bear the name but who still choose Christ over what they see as all their other options. I’ve got to walk in personal devotion and purity and let the Lord use me however He chooses to bring in the harvest that He desires, for His glory.

Father, we are daily reminded of how You are drawing people to Yourself through us, yet we see so few come to the point of repentance and commitment that we desire for them. I ask that You pour Your Spirit out on this city, this nation, to tear down the lies that have bound so many for so long. Many before me have prayed this, but we don’t see the fulfillment yet. I pray that the day would be soon, for a mighty ingathering of people into Your kingdom, Your family, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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August 9, 2016

Posted on August 11, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139 has long been a favorite of mine – but then, I have too many favorite passages! If understood and appropriated, this Psalm goes a long way toward making us into the kind of worshipers God seeks. (John 4:23-24) It is an expression of God’s omniscience and omnipresence, (He knows everything and He is everywhere) but it wraps up with this truly beautiful prayer in response to all of that. David has already said that God knows everything about him, but here he asks God to do what he has already said God does, lending his will to God. There is much we don’t know about prayer. Specifically, we don’t know why or how it works, since God is omnipotent and we aren’t, and there isn’t much logical reason why the Creator would listen to such ignorant beings as we are. However, we are back to the mystery of human will. God has entrusted the physical world to mankind, (Genesis 1:28-31) and that includes both authority and responsibility. Sadly, mankind ceded much of that authority to the devil through sin, but that doesn’t negate the fundamental principle. Prayer is exercising the authority that is still ours, no matter how distorted it has become, so that God’s will, His plans, may be fulfilled. When we pray, as David did here, that God do what we know that He alone can do, we are aligning ourselves with Him to get with His program. That is true wisdom, and indeed gets us onto God’s everlasting way.

In this church we often sing these two verses, set to music by Wayne Cordiero and beautifully translated into Japanese by Jon Yamasaki. It wouldn’t hurt us to sing that song every day! I have learned the importance of genuine, humble honesty before God, and that certainly includes this prayer. I’ve got to welcome the convicting work of the Holy Spirit any time I need it. (John 16:8) After all, trying to hide anything from God is the height of stupidity! As a pastor, I pray that each member of this church would do likewise. I am well aware that this is an important measure of spiritual maturity, so I pray and work for the maturity of each person in my care. (Galatians 4:19) There is a huge difference between being childlike and being childish. We are called to be childlike, in trusting simplicity and delighted wonder at all our Father has done for us, but childish self-centeredness benefits no one and greatly hinders our participation in all that God has planned. I am to speak the truth in love, never drawing back out of a fear of human reactions but caring enough to risk being disliked. I am to ask God to show me myself, so that I may yield and submit every part of me to Him, and I am to pray and teach so that each believer will do likewise, for their immediate as well as eternal blessing.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know what I need and when I need it! Help me welcome Your Holy Spirit fully in all He wants to do in and through me, never quenching or grieving Him, so that I may be fully effective in all that You desire to do through me, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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August 8, 2016

Posted on August 9, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O Lord, endures for ever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.

The NIV supplies “his purpose” in this verse, but the Japanese simply says, “The Lord will fulfill everything concerning me.” It might be splitting hairs, but I like that better. We tend to think of “purpose” in terms of goals and objectives, but the phrase in the Japanese includes even the mundane details that we are tempted to think God isn’t involved with. Jesus made it clear there’s nothing God isn’t involved with, when He talked about the hairs on our head being numbered. (Matthew 10:30) With that awareness, David asks God not to abandon what He has done, but he does so in the context of God’s eternal grace and love. Much of our praying ignores the fact that God never changes, and that He is love itself. (1 John 4:8) It is only when we get that firmly rooted in our hearts and minds that we can genuinely relax in the assurance that God will fulfill everything concerning us. There is a lot in the world currently that doesn’t please God, as He has assured me personally, but when we proactively submit ourselves to Him in trust, all the evil plans of our enemy are foiled, turned around to bring blessing instead. (Genesis 50:20) If we trust God enough to thank Him for His solutions before we see what those solutions are, we avoid the majority of the emotional suffering involved in any problem we face.

This is certainly close to home for me. Like anyone else, I tend to get resentful when things don’t go as I desire. That wastes so much emotional energy and is negative all the way around. I need to remember that God’s love and grace are eternally unchanging, and trust Him indeed to fulfill everything concerning me. It’s for sure I can’t do it right on my own! Today we’ll be setting up a photo show that will run for the next week. I’m not to be uptight about any of it, and particularly about what I won’t be able to do because I’ll be at the gallery all day every day, but rather rest, relax, and rejoice in the assurance that God will indeed fulfill everything concerning me, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that in several ways we’re better prepared for this show than most we’ve done. Thank You for reminding us of a few other details this morning. Help us be obedient to You in taking care of what is our responsibility, without being uptight about things we can’t control. Thank You for Your plans for this week. May they all be fulfilled on Your schedule, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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August 7, 2016

Posted on August 9, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 132:9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness;
may your saints sing for joy.

This is a very interesting prayer. It seems entirely reasonable that the Psalmist would ask that God’s people sing for joy, since he himself would logically be included in that number. However, the request that the priests be clothed in righteousness should make us think. Throughout Israel’s history there were good, faithful priests and there were those who were not so. It would seem that too often, priests treated their office as just another job, or perhaps as a sinecure, a cushy job/title that didn’t require much. Such priests were certainly not pleasing to God, and weren’t much use to the people, either. This Psalm is right in line with various New Testament exhortations to pray for leadership. If you want good leaders, pray for them! That includes praying that good people will become leaders, just as in the upcoming US election, but it also includes praying for those who currently are leaders, whether they seem good at the moment or not. This Psalm doesn’t insist that the priests be righteous to begin with, however desirable that might be, but rather that they “wrap righteousness around them as a garment” (which is how the Japanese puts it.). When God gave a vision to the prophet Zechariah of the High Priest Joshua, He spoke of removing Joshua’s filthy, sinful clothes and replacing them with garments of purity. (Zechariah 3:3-5) We should pray for our leaders that this would happen to them, whatever they might have done in the past. After all, no one is righteous before God; we all need the cleansing blood of Jesus. We need to pray that leaders in general, and especially church leaders, would replace their humanistic, sinful attitudes and behaviors with the righteousness of God. That, after all, is God’s promise in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

As a pastor, I certainly need to be clothed in righteousness! I am as human as anyone, however much some people seem to forget that and expect that I never make any mistakes. I certainly need people praying for me! That is particularly true since I minister in Japan, because for whatever reasons, the devil seems particularly dug in here, releasing people into God’s kingdom only with the greatest reluctance. When we first came to Omura in 1981 there was a church that prayed regularly for us, but after a few years that church disbanded because the pastor failed to clothe himself in righteousness. We didn’t think about the impact on us at the time, though we grieved for the church, but over the next several years my sense of purpose essentially went out the window. I was still going through the motions with the church, but it was more like it was a hobby, something on the side, rather than the reason I was here. (It wasn’t, and still isn’t, my livelihood, but that’s beside the point.) It wasn’t until we got adopted by one of the home fellowships of a church in the Seattle area that things turned around, because we had people praying for us again. Since then that church too has disbanded (and most of the people on that home fellowship have died of old age) but thanks to the Internet we now have people praying for us in various places around the world. I am deeply grateful! I too am to pray for others in ministry, that together we may indeed be a righteous cohort, serving the Body of Christ without shame, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your righteousness that is mine in Christ. Help me indeed wear it all the time, and wear it well, so that those who see me may be drawn to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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August 6, 2016

Posted on August 8, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 131:2 But I have stilled and quietened my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

This is the 2nd shortest chapter in the Bible (Psalm 117 has only 2 verses) but it is an excellent prelude to prayer. Often we come to God not in quiet trust but frantically, demanding to know why He hasn’t already done something. That’s not the way to grow our faith! As expressed here, what we need is the choice to be quiet before the Lord. The human will is a marvelous thing. As I keep being reminded, it is perhaps the most valuable thing in the universe, because in giving it to us God set up the necessity of His Son dying for our sins, since if we were not free to choose, “sin” would be meaningless. Used correctly, human will can lead us to repentance and faith, bringing us to eternal life in Christ. Used incorrectly, it can work unspeakable horrors. It is no accident that Leni Riefenstahl’s magnificent movie commemorating the Nazi Nuremburg rally of 1935 is called The Triumph of the Will. Today we see horrible acts of terrorism with distressing frequency, and that too is a misuse of free will. To guard against such horrors in our own lives, we need to do as the Psalmist did, choosing to quiet our souls before God so as to listen obediently to Him. If we will do that, we will find that our prayers are answered in the affirmative far more than they would be otherwise, and we will enjoy fellowship with our Creator to a degree we might not have thought possible.

I will never forget the first time I heard God speak to me in what might as well have been an audible voice (though I don’t think anyone else present would have heard it). I was praying as I drove my car (a good practice, but don’t close your eyes!) asking God to speak to me. At this point I don’t remember what point of guidance seemed so urgent to me at that moment, but I’ll never forget how God responded. I was driving alone, praying out loud nonstop, saying, “Speak to me, Lord,” when I took a breath, and in that moment the Lord said, “Well then, shut up!” Believe me, He got my attention! I received the clear revelation that frantic prayer is not believing prayer. That is in no way putting down earnest prayer. Jesus prayed so earnestly in the Garden of Gethsemane that capillaries ruptured and blood mixed with His sweat. (Luke 22:44) However, frantic prayer is questioning God’s timing, or even His ability to do what we think needs to be done. Jesus never doubted that His Father could save Him from the cross, but He chose to submit His human will to the Father to go through with what the Father knew was best. We need to follow His example, choosing to submit ourselves to God and so stand firm against the devil, (James 4:7) doing God’s will for His glory.

Father, this is a vital message. I’ve tried to communicate it to the flock here before. Some have seemed to grasp it and some haven’t, but we all need a refresher course from time to time. I am very prone to get tied in knots over scheduling! Help me indeed quiet my soul within me so that I will be able to hear You clearly, to obey You fully and with joy, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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August 5, 2016

Posted on August 8, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 130:3-4 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

This is a fascinating, and very true, passage that gives a lot of insight as to exactly what the Bible means by “fearing the Lord.” If that were just terror of retribution, this passage would make no sense at all. The thing is, God is big enough and powerful enough to forgive. If God were in any way threatened by our sin then He wouldn’t, couldn’t, forgive. As long as we think of God in limited terms we can’t grasp the magnificence of His grace and love. God can’t, and certainly doesn’t, excuse sin, just “sweep it under the rug.” That’s why He went to the absolutely incredible step of sending His own Son to be the atonement for our sin. It takes an infinite God to love that much! Most of the time we act like we’re hoping God won’t notice our sins. A God who wouldn’t notice wouldn’t be big enough, powerful enough, to forgive. Probably many people have preached on “Your God is Too Small,” because most of the time that’s very true! We do well to constantly seek a bigger, greater revelation of God, because the better our grasp of Him, the deeper our love and the greater our obedience will be.

Having been raised in a home of faith I have a step up on most people in this area, but that’s far from saying I have a full grasp of it all. My obedience level has improved over the years but it’s still spotty at times. Any time I fail to be fully obedient to God, that just goes to show I don’t have a sufficient grasp of who He is and how great He is. Many places the Bible talks about God being “worthy,” of praise, honor, glory and the like. That’s closely tied in with what this passage is talking about. I need to grasp that God is more than worthy of my total adoration and obedience, because only then will I be sufficiently submitted to Him for the devil to flee at my rebuke. (James 4:7) As a pastor I desire that those in my care likewise have a sufficient grasp of God, so that together we may be His instruments to cause people to recognize Him as holy, so that His kingdom may come as His will is done on earth, even as it is in heaven.

Father, You’ve given me another message, even though I just completed sermon notes yesterday for this coming Sunday. Help me know when, how, and to whom I am to share all that You pour into me, so that Your Word may indeed accomplish every purpose for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:11) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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August 4, 2016

Posted on August 7, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

From our standpoint the number of people who have been encouraged and comforted by this passage is literally countless, but God knows not only the number, but also their names and all the details. The thing is, we are often caught up in circumstances that look absolutely bleak to us, but God sees the harvest that is yet to come, perhaps even after we are gone from the scene. This is especially important to remember here in Japan, where many have labored for the Kingdom for over a hundred years now, with remarkably little visible results. As with the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11, to date we haven’t seen the things for which we have believed, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t coming. Conversely, this passage also applies to the America of today, which is in a horrible mess. It is not wrong to weep over the state of the nation, but we must remember that the final outcome is in God’s hands, and our labor will be rewarded. (1 Corinthians 3:8, 2 Chronicles 15:7, Hebrews 10:35) The important thing is never to give up, but walk in consistent faithfulness, leaving the results in God’s hands.

This is, of course, intensely personal for me, since my father arrived in Japan in 1934 and my mother in 1935 and I am carrying on even today. My father received accolades, and one of the highest awards available to a foreigner in Japan was given at the time of his death, but he never saw the kind of results he desired. My mother told me that at one point my father lay on the floor before the Lord and cried out, “If I am what is keeping Japan from revival, then take me out of the way!” I certainly identify with that! It seems that no victory comes easily, and some seeming victories are illusory. Right now we are presented with the potential of land next to the church building on which to build a senior care facility, but obstacles keep coming up. Such a facility would have meaning only to the degree that it accurately demonstrated the love and grace of God so as to lead people to repentance and faith. I am not to be distracted by the physical details, either of acquiring the land or of building and running the facility, but rather on the purpose of leading people into eternal life while there is still time. I must remember that I have the highest quality seed, and plant, water, and harvest as the Lord directs.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the things that have happened even in the past couple of days to remind me that You are still in control, whatever things might look like at the moment. I do pray that every lying stronghold of the enemy in this nation be torn down, by Your children wielding Your Word of Truth in grace, love, and power, so that all the people may be set free to repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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