July 1, 2016

Posted on July 2, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 70:5 Yet I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.

I would call this Psalm a short, honest prayer. It is essentially the same as the last part of Psalm 40, and quite possibly was either written first and then incorporated in the longer Psalm, or extracted from the longer Psalm to be used independently. Regardless, it is clear evidence that, like us, David sometimes got into a panic over God’s timing. Timing is a big issue for us because we are material (or at least our bodies are) and so are in the flow of time. Physics tells us that time cannot exist without matter, which has a huge impact on the question of Creation vs. anything else. Our human, finite minds really can’t conceive of a state without time or matter, whatever we might say, so those who refuse to acknowledge God try to claim that the universe has always existed. However, there is a mounting volume of evidence that indicates a point of origin, commonly called the Big Bang. The irony of an atheist talking about the moment of Creation is extreme! All of that aside, it is clear that God is outside of time, as He is not made up of atoms, so it goes without saying that “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8) It is absolutely astounding that an uneducated fisherman like Peter would have such insight, which proves that he understood this issue by Divine revelation. People in his day struggled with this issue like David did, and we still do so today. God is never late, but He is seldom early. From our perspective we accuse Him often of being late, but there is always a purpose to His timing, just as Peter discussed. The point for us is to trust Him, specifically on this issue of timing, without being passive. We are always to be active in pressing in closer to Him, to hear Him more clearly and obey Him more accurately, but that must include leaving control in His hands, and that includes timing.

Timing is a very personal issue for me, since I hate to be late for anything, so this whole matter of trusting God’s timing has been a struggle, and I’m not over it yet. I find that when I am when I am up­tight about when one particular thing is going to happen, I generally am letting other things that I should be doing slide, sometimes to very bad effect. There are various things in the works right now that I would dearly love to see resolved, but I have to trust God with His timing. That’s especially difficult when my activity is directly involved. At the same time I want God to hurry up and act, I procrastinate! There are all sorts of distractions, but none of them are any sort of legitimate excuse. I need to be humbly, actively obedient, not worried about my comfort zone but seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. If I do that, I will always be operating on God’s schedule, for the blessing of many and for His glory.

Father, You know the things that face me far better than I do. Help me deal with each thing as You want me to, neither being anxious nor making excuses. Help me indeed do what You desire, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 30, 2016

Posted on July 1, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 59:16-17 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble
O my Strength, I sing praise to you;
you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

Reading through the Psalms, I think it’s pretty clear why the Lord allowed Saul to pursue David for several years. Time and again David was put into situations where he could easily be killed, and God was his only recourse. David’s response was indeed to turn to God, and he often did it poetically. I’m not sure he was very creative as a musician, because several of his Psalms indicate they are to be sung to certain standard tunes. This one, for example, goes to a tune called “Do Not Destroy.” Even so, David obviously loved to sing to God, and that had a profound impact on his life. Considering the musical instruments of the day, with their limited tonal range, his singing would probably sound pretty monotonous to us today, but that’s not the point. The whole point is that David committed himself to God in song, and God responded. Many studies have shown the profound influence music can have on us, especially emotionally. We speak of “singing the blues,” and indeed, some songs can make us sad just by listening to them. David chose to sing thanks and praise to God, and that echoed through his life. I can’t help but think that it had been a while since he had sung to God when he got into the mess with Bathsheba, because if he had been practicing what he says here, I don’t think he would have been very easily deceived by the devil’s trap.

This has certainly been my experience. When I encounter temptations, either to do things not pleasing to God or to despair and lose hope, if I will choose to sing to God, He straightens me out. I was blessed by being raised in a musical family by parents who loved God. Some of my sweetest memories are of being gathered around the piano singing hymns together. I’m sure that’s why I could read music before I could read the words. Relatively few people are so blessed, so I must not presume on people’s background, but I am to teach them how to sing to God. So many churches today have been caught in a performance mentality, with the “worship team” up on the stage performing and the congregation as no more than the audience. That is a terrible trap of the devil! It has been shown that very few people are actually tone deaf, unable to hear differences in pitch, but very many people are so lacking in training and opportunity that they “can’t carry a tune in a bucket.” I’m not to put them down for that, but rather give them as much support and training as possible so that they can make the best use of what they have. The biggest thing is in removing the embarrassment of not singing as well as someone else. That will come when they learn to focus on the One to whom they are singing rather than on people who might overhear them. I need God’s wisdom, because to this point people have tended to be intimidated by my singing and so be as quiet as possible. That’s no way to raise up a praising congregation!

Father, You started talking to me about this yesterday, and now You’re making it very clear. However, at this point I have the “what” but not the “how.” Help me listed to You carefully and accurately, being neither presumptive nor hesitant, so that the Body of Christ may be built up as You intend, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 29, 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 57:2-3 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;
God sends his love and his faithfulness.

The last three verses of this Psalm have been set to music very beautifully, but the Psalm as a whole is another marvelous example of David’s combination of sincere devotion and gifted craftsmanship. This little section speaks of David’s heart attitude and God’s response to it. His prayer is to God, but in that polytheistic society it is significant that he specifies “God Most High.” He wasn’t praying to the storm god (Baal) or to the moon god or any other god claimed by the nations around him, he was praying to the Creator of the universe, above and before whom there is and can be no other. In the next descriptive line the NIV supplies “his purpose,” to try to flesh it out in terms of contemporary English, but the Japanese says “everything.” You name it, God gets it done. In the next section, where the NIV says “those who hotly pursue me,” the Japanese says, “those who step on me.” In both translations, however, it is clear that God sends love and faithfulness from heaven to work salvation. David the poet was a master of personification, and here he speaks of Love and Faithfulness as though they were two warring angels on a rescue mission. I would think that word picture would be very comforting to any believer! David knew to whom he prayed, so he never lost hope regardless of his circumstances. No wonder he could say in verse 7 that his heart was steadfast, unshakable!

My years of walking with the Lord have made me less and less shaky, spiritually speaking, though I still have plenty of room to grow. Like David, my response to almost any situation is to sing! (verse 7) I have found there is nothing that redirects my spirit to God better than singing praise to Him. The nice thing is that there is so much material to choose from, and David was a great contributor to that body of work. Having studied poetry in college, writing a bit of it myself, and doing a good bit of song translation work, I am very aware of the craftsmanship involved, but if I look at it just that way, the end result of my singing is just noise. My singing to God must be from my heart, as David’s was, or I am no more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1) I need always to remember to whom I sing and why, giving Him my heart along with my words and my voice. As a pastor, I need to lead and teach all the believers to do likewise. Some are intimidated, not having had the musical training I have enjoyed, but as much as I might cringe at someone who is off pitch, that isn’t the issue. I need to help them understand that if their heart is in it, God is pleased, whatever it sounds like to the spiritually insensitive.

Father, thank You for this. The idea of doing a session of vocal training from the pulpit hadn’t occurred to me, but I’ll do whatever You say. Help me indeed teach and train the believers to turn their hearts to You in every situation, whether they sing or not, so that together we may be fully submitted to You, firmly resisting the devil, (James 4:7) so that Your kingdom may come for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 28, 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?

One of the most important things David got right was the matter of exercising his will in obedience to God. He understood that life is a matter of choices, and though he made some pretty bad ones, he still made the fundamental choice to trust and rely on God. When we waver on that point we invite mountains of misery that God neither intends nor desires for us. Fear is the devil’s favorite tool, and the only sure defense is trusting God. Two people can go through essentially the same circumstances and one have an absolutely miserable time and the other simply grow, emotionally and spiritually. The difference is in the choice to trust God and let Him be Lord. As long as we think we are supposed to be in control, frustration and fear are the order of the day. When we acknowledge both how weak we are and how loving and powerful God is, both frustration and fear are dealt with. Fear is easily understood, since it is a primary emotion, but frustration, though familiar, is a little less easy to pin down. It comes essentially from things not being the way we feel they ought to be, and the antidote is letting God be God and not trying to do His job for Him. It’s amazing how often we try to do that! However, our failure there is a foregone conclusion, and all we get out of it is frustration. Choosing to trust God is the answer, whatever the question.

This is a lesson I have been amazingly slow to learn. I’ve never been a particularly fearful person, but frustration has been all too familiar. God has been remarkably patient and faithful in giving me lesson after lesson to teach me to trust Him and and let Him be Lord, but my GPA isn’t very good! It was a major breakthrough when I finally realized that it isn’t a matter of God being smarter than I am, it’s that He’s smart and I’m not. That helped a whole lot! He has blessed me with a high IQ, but that’s only a measure of comparison with other human beings. Compared to God, the relevant Japanese expression is, “Acorns comparing height.” It takes fairly sensitive equipment to detect much difference between acorns! Whether I happen to know the right answer to a situation or not is irrelevant. The problem is in insisting that things be my way instead of seeking God’s way. I have always thought the song, My Way, that was written for Frank Sinatra and so accurately described his life, was one of the most pathetic songs I had ever heard. However, it has a very nice tune, and is popular around the world. I still want to write a Christian variation on it, saying, “I’ll do it Thy way.” However many times he missed it, that was David’s desire, and it is mine.

Father, thank You again for Your patience and faithfulness toward me. Thank You for being God. Thank You for telling me to rest, relax, and rejoice. Help me be obedient in that, so that all of the devil’s schemes may fall flat and all of Your plans be fulfilled on Your schedule, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 27, 2016

Posted on June 28, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

This Psalm is one of the most famous prayers recorded in the whole Bible. The circumstances are of course when David was confronted with his horrible sin of using murder to try to cover up adultery. What makes David different from so many people was that he didn’t try to run from God, but rather threw himself on God’s mercy in honest acknowledgment of what he had done. He knew that his heart was not pure, so he asked God to make him a new one. He knew that his spirit had wavered horribly, so he asked God to renew it. Rather than running from God, he wanted to be close to Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Incidentally, “Holy Spirit” is the most common New Testament name for the Third Person in the Trinity, but it is not so common in the Old Testament. Its use here is very significant because of David’s awareness of his own unholiness.) That he would want the joy of salvation restored goes without saying, but the next line is very telling. When we are grudging in our obedience to God, such obedience is hard work. When we are fully willing and committed to serving God, such service is a joy rather than a burden. Every part of this Psalm teaches us a great deal about a right relationship with God. It is a beautiful example of how God takes something horrible and turns it around for good. (Romans 8:28)

God has used some of my sins in similar ways, as I have known how to teach and guide others because of what I have gotten myself into. I am never to excuse sin, but I am to remind those who are repentant of what God did in, for, and through David, so that they too will draw close to God to be cleansed and used by Him. The devil tries to tell us that God wants nothing to do with us after we have sinned, so I am to counter that lie with the truth of His grace and forgiveness, using David as an example. We tend to categorize and grade sins in terms of severity, but ignoring God and defying Him is sin whatever form it takes, and so cuts us off from Him. I need to proclaim the Good News that God is always ready to forgive, cleanse and receive, if we will only repent and believe.

Father, it is a heartbreaking mystery why so few people accept Your free offer of salvation in Christ. Help me never give up, but keep proclaiming Your truth so that people may be set free, (John 8:32) for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 26, 2016

Posted on June 28, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 44:6-7 I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.

This Psalm was written during some time of national calamity by a member of the Korahite clan of the tribe of Levi. From verse 9 on it is a complaint about the terrible situation they find themselves in, and a plea for Divine action, but it bases all that on these first eight verses that proclaim God’s faithfulness. That said, there is important truth here. These two verses in particular are important for everyone to take to heart and remember. The writer is not unequipped; he has a bow and a sword. However, he does not rely on his equipment but on the Lord. We tend to get that backwards, focusing on material resources and the like and tacking God on as an afterthought, if at all. Amazingly, that is true even in churches, where you would expect God to be the first thought. The Bible does not teach us to be passive or lazy, but again and again it tells us to put God first in our thinking, planning, and actions, (Matthew 6:33 and many more) because we can do nothing without Him. (John 15:5) We are called to be good stewards of all that God makes available to us, (1 Corinthians 4:2) but we must not let what has been provided – or what seems to be insufficient – distract us from the One who provides everything. We need to be focused on God, first and foremost, and follow Him in obedient, faithful trust.

This is very timely, because we as a church are faced with an opportunity that seems too big for us, and at the same time the devil seems to be trying to take it away from us. We are not to be cocky, but neither are we to be discouraged. The very ferocity of the opposition should give us assurance that we are impinging on enemy territory, and give us joyful anticipation of what God is going to do through us. We are not to be careless and we are never to be puffed up, as though it were all about us, but we are to be joyful in the assurance that God is more than able to meet every challenge. We must stay submitted to Him, acting when and how He directs and not otherwise, but not holding back from anything, no matter how difficult it might seem from our perspective. Our focus is to be on God’s kingdom and His glory, not ours. In ourselves we are certainly not up to the task, but nothing is difficult for Him. (Jeremiah 32:27)

Father, thank You for this Word. It is easy to get distracted by all the opposition, with attacks on health and confidence on so many in the church. Help us all learn from these things what You want to teach us, so that we will be increasingly equipped and prepared for what You want to do through us, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 25, 2016

Posted on June 26, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 41:4 I said, “O Lord, have mercy on me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

It could well be simply a quirk of the Hebrew language, but it strikes me that the Japanese sticks with the original text here and says, “heal my soul,” rather than just “heal me.” Physical illness is certainly real, obviously enough, but research continues to show more and more connection between the physical and the intangible. Saying something is “psychosomatic” seems to carry the inference that it’s not a real disease, but the results can be no less fatal! We are triune beings, with spirits, souls, and bodies. Materialists focus just on the body, while psychologists and psychiatrists are showing more and more about the soul, but the Bible speaks of the spirit as well. We aren’t going to enjoy genuine health without all three being in good shape. The problem is, while more and more physicians are considering the soul in their treatments, hardly any deal with the spirit. Without any of the benefits of modern medicine, David still got it right, turning to God, who is Spirit, to heal his soul and body. God does use medicine and medical techniques, but we must never forget that He is the source of all true healing, even as the Bible says. (Exodus 15:26, Psalm 107:20)

I have had a great deal of interaction with the medical profession over the years. I have great respect for it, but at the same time I am very aware of the truth of what I have just written. Encounters with MD’s and PhD’s who have refused to acknowledge anything but the physical have been frustrating to say the least. I am not to look down on them, because “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18) but neither am I to be intimidated by them. I am not to refuse medical treatment, for myself or for others, but I am to seek God first, whoever is involved, and see what He has to say. A gifted physician who is committed to the Lord and humble before Him is a treasure indeed. I am to pray for the many physicians I know, that they would come to know Christ and be committed to Him. Then, and only then, will they be able to treat body, soul, and spirit.

Father, thank You for Your grace to me. Thank You for using me from time to time in treating people’s souls and spirits. It seems like everyone I encounter – including me – needs healing to some degree in some area. Thank You for Your promise that none of that will be an issue when You make all things new. May I walk in all that You intend for me right now, rejoicing in Christ my Savior, (John 16:33) so that the works of the devil may be destroyed indeed, (1 John 3:8) for the liberation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 24, 2016

Posted on June 26, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.

This is certainly an accurate testimony on the part of David, because many indeed have heard/read his songs and learned to fear and trust the Lord. I am impressed frequently that even though the Lord deals with us individually, what He does is never just for the individual; there are always broader ramifications. One of the many negative things about being self-centered is that it blinds us to that reality. When we get a taste of God’s heart for mankind, suffering becomes much easier to bear when we realize that God will use it to bless others. There is real truth to the famous line from Star Trek: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few – or the one.” However in God’s economy, “the few – or the one” are more than compensated in the long run, that is, in eternity. The point here, however, is that God’s plans for any individual fit in perfectly with His plans for every other individual; they are never in isolation. We are neither to exult over “good” things as if they were just for us, nor bemoan “bad” things as though we were being picked on. If we respond to the things in our lives as God intends, ripples of blessing will go out to far more people than we can imagine, and God will be glorified.

This is personal to me, because my father included this thought in his final letter to our family before he had the heart surgery from which he went directly from anesthesia to heaven. He said that his desire was that each of us would discover God’s will for us, which would “fit in perfectly with His will for everyone else.” That was in 1974, and I’m continuing to learn how extremely true it is. I am not to be quiet about what I have experienced and heard of God, because God isn’t through using those acts, those words, to impact people. His words to Isaiah are true as well as famous: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) I am to be fully yielded to my Lord so that what He says and does to me may be fully effective in every way that He intends, with the ripples going as far as He intends, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the thousands of people You have allowed me to touch over the years, in daily living, in school classes, from the pulpit, and over the Internet. I pray that I would be increasingly effective as an agent of Your will being done in every one of those lives, drawing them into right fellowship with You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 23, 2016

Posted on June 24, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 38:21-22 O Lord, do not forsake me;
be not far from me, O my God.
Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my Savior.

The most striking thing about David to me is that God was everything to him. Even when he felt that his troubles were God’s punishment for his sin he didn’t try to run away from God, but rather asked God to be close to him. To me he exemplifies a good son, which is probably one factor in God having His Son be called, among other things, Son of David. We are very prone to ignore God, or even try to avoid Him, when that is absurd on the face of it. After all, since He is infinite, there is literally nowhere we could get away from Him, as it says in Psalm 139 – which is also by David! David had the good sense to turn to God instead of away from Him no matter what was going on. That is something we all should learn from and emulate.

This has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I was raised in a home where God was a given, by parents who had committed their lives to Him. That’s not something I chose, certainly, but I can think of no better environment for any child. We know very little about David’s father Jesse, and off hand I have no idea whether we know his mother’s name at all, (my wife researched it and says the Talmud says her name was Nitzevet (Nzb’th)) but they must have loved God for David to have turned out as he did. However, David himself was largely a failure at parenting, so his parents must not have been too perfect an example. Looking at my children, both physical and spiritual, I see that my track record is spotty to say the least. There are those who are totally committed to the Lord, those for whom He is nice to have around, and those who seem to see Him as an inconvenience. There is certainly personal responsibility in their individual attitudes, but I obviously could do better as a parent. It was a great blessing when one of our daughters, now a parent herself, called us to say, “Thank you for doing your best.” That was a pretty tearful phone call, on both sides of the Pacific! I am still very active in parenting/mentoring spiritual children right here, and I am at times painfully aware that I cannot control how they will respond to what I say or do. I need to love them enough to speak God’s truth to them, as much as possible in ways that they can receive it. Sometimes that truth is that they need to repent, and that isn’t easy to communicate. I am to recognize, and rejoice in the fact, that I am a recipient of God’s overwhelming grace, and so in turn be a channel of that grace to those around me, for their blessing and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I had no idea this was where we were going when you indicated I was to write on these verses. May I be an obedient and useful son/servant to You at all times, whether I know where I’m headed or not! As I relate to my children, both physical and spiritual, help me remember that they are first Your children, and so relate to them as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 22, 2016

Posted on June 23, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 36:1-2 An oracle is within my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before his eyes.
For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.

Reading this passage instantly brings to mind quite a number of public figures of various occupations. However, that’s simply because they are indeed public figures; their activities are well known. This passage is descriptive of a lot of anonymous people as well. The Japanese has a very interesting take on the very first part. Rather than talking about “an oracle within my heart,” it says, “Sin speaks in the heart of the evil person.” That would be in line with Paul personifying sin various places in Romans. “For sin shall not be your master,” (Romans 6:14) comes to mind. Sin does talk to us, and if we listen, we get into deep trouble. The devil lies to us (of course) and says that listening to sin is “doing what comes naturally,” deflecting our attention from the truth that God’s rules are for our good, always. Chemical addictions are a good case in point, but they are actually no more damaging than many other kinds of sin. We indeed tend to flatter ourselves too much to recognize our sin for what it is. It is only when we are humbly honest before God that we can discern our sin rightly and repent of it, for God to forgive us and set us free. 1 John 1:9 is of utmost importance , because it talks about not only confessing our sins to God, but also of God cleansing us from all unrighteousness. In Biblical times cleansing was closely related to healing, as the stories of Jesus healing lepers demonstrate. As songs like Go Tell It on the Mountain say, sin makes our souls sick. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse and heal us.

My first response to this passage as I read it was to think of all the prominent people today who are so accurately described here, but as I wrote I was reminded that I too am vulnerable to being deceived by sin. (Romans 7:11) Focusing on others’ sin is a trap to keep me from recognizing my own. I am not to fail to call sin what it is, but I am never to think I myself am immune to it. The only way to wear the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) is to walk in personal humility, knowing that I can do nothing good apart from Jesus Christ. (John 15:5) The world is full of horrible examples of what it is like to fail to do that, and I must not be one of them.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that the evil acts of many are being exposed. I pray that exposure would bring them to repentance. May I always speak Your truth in love, and not just speak it but walk it out consistently, so that as many as possible may be drawn to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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