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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June 21, 2016

Posted on June 22, 2016 by jgarrott

OLordYouPsalm 33:22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.

This anonymous Psalm is a beautiful declaration of God’s acts, His character, why He is worthy of our praise, hope, and trust. This last verse then turns to God in a prayer that He would act according to His character toward His people. I think our requests to God would be much more accurate if we had the same sort of ratio: 21 verses of thanks and praise and adoration to one verse of request! Jesus did tell us to ask, seek, and knock, (Matthew 7:7) so it is certainly not wrong to make requests of God, but they need to be on the basis of who He is, rather than “gimme.” Just before giving us the general instructions to ask, seek, and knock, Jesus made it clear that our focus is to be on God’s kingdom and His righteousness, even more than on our genuine needs, much less wants. (Matthew 6:33) That has been one of the chief blessings of the Charismatic Renewal: reviving praise and worship as the focus of faith. Today churches of all stripes are likely to use at least some songs that focus on God rather than themselves, and that’s a very good thing. However, we are still all too likely to be focused on I-my-me-mine, and that is no way to experience the abundant life that God intends for us. (John 10:10)

This is something the Lord has been teaching me particularly for the past 40+ years. Starting out, I almost missed the baptism in the Holy Spirit because I was too focused on me! I have found, time and time again, that when things seem dark and difficult, the best thing without exception is to lift my heart, eyes, and voice to the Lord in praise and adoration. There are times when that’s not easy, but the results far exceed any other course of action. A particular song is often in my heart and mind. The author/composer is unknown, (just as with this Psalm) but I’ve translated it into Japanese, and it’s one I want sung at my funeral, for sure.

O Lord, You have been good;
You have been faithful to all generations.
O Lord, Your steadfast love
And tender mercy have been our salvation.
For by Your hand we have been fed,
And by Your Spirit we have been led.
O Lord, You have been good;
You have been faithful, You have been good.

When I remind myself of this, everything falls into perspective. I don’t have to be frantic or demanding or anxious, but just ask God to act according to His character and will, because I know that is the best thing that could possibly happen.

Father, You’ve been taking us through some tumultuous times recently. There are lots of things that I feel strongly about, and the devil is seeking to steal my peace and joy by making me anxious. Thank You for being absolutely trustworthy. May I be fully submitted and obedient to You so that I may be useful, rather than a hindrance, to You in bringing Your plans to fruition. May Your Name be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done perfectly, even on this earth, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 20, 2016

Posted on June 22, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 31:14-15 But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands.

This is the perfect pivot from the complaints of verses 9-13. Open confessions of faith are generally quite helpful, often surprisingly so. As Paul noted, faith comes by hearing, (Romans 10:17) so speaking God’s truth helps the speaker as well as whoever else might be hearing. It is a known psychological phenomenon that we tend to believe what we ourselves say. That can even lead to creating false memories, if a made-up story is repeated often enough. That’s the science behind the “positive confession, negative confession” business, but with that terminology it is often taken to the point that people can’t give an honest assessment of their own situation. A far more Biblical approach would be, “This is my current situation, but God is more than able to deal with it.” Lots of people indeed close the door to blessings God has for them by repeating negative things so often they can’t believe anything could change, but saying, “I have such-and-such a disease, but God is my Healer” isn’t being negative at all. That said, one particular line of this passage especially caught my eye: “My times are in your hands.” We tend to be very uptight about when things happen, so this isn’t always an easy confession to make. It seems probable that David is here referring to major life events, such as time of death. However, this applies to every detail of life. We aren’t to be lazy, but we do need to recognize that time is God’s invention, and trust Him with it. Much of our stress has to do with the timing of things over which we have no control. When we realize that’s happening in our hearts, we need to make this confession, and release control to God.

The whole matter of time has been an issue for me most of my life. I hate to be late, for example, and it is a real irritation when others aren’t so punctual. It’s not so hard to recognize that God is in control of the big things, but somehow it’s much harder to trust Him with the little things that we think we should be able to control, but can’t. I am to strive to be a faithful steward of the time I have been given, and to teach others to do likewise, but I must not try to take control in the larger sense, especially in relation to others. I am to build up people’s faith, including my own, by speaking the truth of God consistently, not ignoring circumstances but always proclaiming that God is greater than the circumstances, and that He is good and loving.

Father, thank You for the training You have given me in this over the years, and that You are continuing that training even now. Help me not “flunk the practicum,” but apply the truth You have spoken to my heart so that Your will may be done, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 19, 2016

Posted on June 21, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 31:5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.

Along with Psalm 22, this verse is also one that Jesus perhaps quoted from the cross. (He at least said the same thing, whether or not it was a quote.) (Luke 23:46) That’s all the more reason to pay close attention to it. Not speaking Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, I don’t know the possible nuances of how David wrote it or Jesus spoke it, but comparing various English and Japanese translations helps in understanding. What is talked about here isn’t resignation or despair; it isn’t passive, it isn’t giving up. Rather, it is an active choice. Too often we “give things to God” only when our best efforts are fruitless. Jesus was powerless on the cross only because that was His choice, to take on our human condition fully so as to pay the price for our redemption. We need to commit our spirits, and everything else about us, to God not because we are hopeless, but because He has the very best solution to whatever we face. When we live in that assurance, the devil can’t shake us.

This is certainly timely! Yesterday we had a huge emotional blow when the owner of the land next door told us that he is in talks with two other potential purchasers, when he had led us to think that we were his first choice, and he also went up slightly on the price. That isn’t the way we deal with people, so we hadn’t seen it coming. We need to focus on the fact that we have been praying for that land for 18 years, and have been given assurances from multiple sources that the Lord intends it for us. No one who was in this congregation 18 years ago is currently here, so Cathy and I are the only ones who would have that long-term expectation. I am not to be shaken by what anyone, in the church or outside of it, might say, but commit everything to my Lord as an active choice. One difference between the English and the Japanese for this verse is that the English says, “redeem me,” as a request, while the Japanese says, “You have redeemed me,” as accomplished fact. I need to rest in God’s accomplished work and not anxiously beg Him to do what He has already done.

Father, just yesterday in my prayer I was thanking You for what You allow us to go through so that we may learn Your unchanging faithfulness. I needed to remember that throughout the day! Help me refuse all the lies of the enemy and rest, relax, and rejoice in You and Your perfect plans for me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 18, 2016

Posted on June 20, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 30:4-5 Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

The last two lines of this passage are very famous, with the last line becoming the title of a book. It is a psychological reality that situations tend to look better after a good night’s sleep, but it’s important to recognize context any time we read the Bible. This Psalm claims to be one of David’s, and it says it’s “for the dedication of the temple.” Since David was dead when his son Solomon built the temple, that means this Psalm was one of the many things David prepared ahead of time, along with huge quantities of gold, silver, and other precious things. In that context, telling the “saints,” that is, God’s people, to sing praise to God and give Him thanks makes very good sense. The “weeping for a night” could refer to the various struggles that had to be endured to build the temple, or it could even refer to David’s own funeral, which he clearly anticipated before the temple would be completed. In any case, this Psalm was written on the basis of David’s years of experience in walking with the Lord, stumbling badly at times but recognizing the depth of God’s grace and mercy. We need to accept his instructions to praise God and we need to share his assurance that no matter how dark the night, morning is coming.

I have always enjoyed singing praises to God, and like David, I have learned that God does correct and discipline us, but repentance brings forgiveness and cleansing, and that is joy indeed. I am constantly dealing with people who need to believe that something better is coming, who need to lift their eyes off of themselves and choose to sing praise to God. That is hard sometimes, and I have gotten real push-back from some people who thought I was making light of their immediate suffering. The thing is, no problem, no suffering, is greater than God. When we put our situation into that context, everything gets so much easier. We do need to remember that physical death isn’t the end of the story. Those without Christ don’t have that assurance, so my first task is to lead them to repentance and faith. However, even Christians are very prone to focus on their difficulties instead of on their Lord, and correcting that is a major responsibility for me as a pastor. I can’t force them to do anything, but I can speak the truth in love, come alongside them and lift them up, to “strengthen feeble arms and weak knees,” (Hebrews 12:12) so that we may praise God together.

Father, thank You for all that You allow each of us to go through so that we may learn Your unchanging faithfulness. Help me stay focused on You, and enable me to help others to do so as well, so that together we may be submitted to You and resist the devil to the point that he flees, (James 4:7) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 17, 2016

Posted on June 20, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

Often where English Bibles say “trusts in,” the Japanese translates it as “depends on.” Those two things are actually inseparable, but you wouldn’t know it from how we talk and act sometimes. We say we trust God, but then get all anxious. We say we depend on Him, but then we make “plan B” and even “plan C.” That’s not how to experience the abundance God has for us! God is not calling us to be passive by any means, but we are to submit our plans to Him in truth and not just in show, letting Him show us His plans and then applying ourselves fully to be obedient to those plans. Life is going to throw us all sorts of curves, just as Jesus said, (John 16:33) but if we trust God enough to genuinely depend on Him, then the victory that Jesus has already won for us will be manifested in our situation. That doesn’t always take the form that we would prefer, but it will always be the best option in the long run.

Right now we are having some intensive training in this area in ways that we aren’t so used to. Someone has come forward saying they want to give money for the church to buy the large plot of land next door that we have been praying for from the time we first started using the land our building sits on. At the very same time, the owner of that land finally moved to have the house that was on the land demolished. (It was already falling down.) When I contacted him about the price of the land, it was quite reasonable. All of that is of course very exciting. Right now the demolition is almost complete, but the next step is dealing with what is growing on the land. There are trees that we would indeed prefer to be removed, but there are also trees we want to keep, because we have the vision of building a group home for seniors on the land, and we want to preserve a park-like atmosphere. The owner of the land is in town right now. He seems to have in mind removing all the vegetation, and it is very hard to let go of the situation and trust God to preserve what we should have and eliminate what should be gone. And that’s just in the preparation of the land! The design, construction, organization, and operation of the group home are all in the future. There too we need to trust God enough to hear what His plans are, neither running ahead or dragging behind, and certainly not going off on a tangent. As all of this is going on, practically every person in the church is under some form of physical and/or emotional attack. The devil doesn’t like what God has planned for us! As the pastor/shepherd, I’ve got to be diligent in spiritual warfare, submitting fully to God so that we may stand firmly against the devil. (James 4:7) I’ve got to choose trusting obedience at every step, every turn, so that God’s plans may indeed be fulfilled, on His schedule for His glory.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing. It’s hard to take my hands off and let You be God! Forgive my foolishness. Help me be active in my obedience, not interjecting my plans and so failing to follow Yours. May I not draw back from anything You show me to do, but may I not do anything that is not of You, so that Your good plans may be fulfilled indeed, for the salvation of many. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 16, 2016

Posted on June 17, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

This is a dearly loved Psalm indeed, with several parts of it set to music, and verse 8 being a particular favorite of mine. However, all the rest of the Psalm is an illustration and amplification of the truth in this first verse. It is precisely because this was an honest declaration that David was “a man after God’s own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) It is when we recognize that God is our light, our salvation, the fortress of our life, that we value Him properly and cling to Him in loving obedience. For too many people God is entirely peripheral, unconsidered and unvalued except in emergencies. That’s certainly no way to please Him! The world is currently full of things to make us afraid. A list would be very easy to make, but it wouldn’t benefit at all, because it would put the focus in the wrong direction. The whole point is that when we are established in God, none of that matters a hill of beans. Anxiety and paranoia are increasingly common as diagnosed illnesses, and that’s only those who are seen by doctors! The antidote to all of that is the one David found: an intimate relationship with our Creator. Logic alone will tell you that there has to be a guiding Intellect behind the existence of the universe, as numbers of theoretical physicists, mathematicians and others testify, but it takes a leap of faith to discover that He not only exists, He cares, and He loves us. David didn’t have mathematics or physics to teach him the incredible, beautiful order of the universe, but he had encountered God his Savior, and that made all the difference.

I’m back to being grateful for the intellectually rigorous family of faith in which I was raised. I have discovered that the foundation of wisdom, as apposed to simple knowledge, is indeed knowing, fearing and loving our Creator, just as the Bible says repeatedly. (Job 28:28, Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10 etc.) Simply knowing that God exists, without acting on that knowledge, does you very little good. Thinking that such such knowledge is sufficient in itself is simply deceiving yourself. (James 1:22) I have found that presenting the facts of the Gospel to someone does very little good unless they understand their own need for a Savior. That is the one reason the increase in things to be afraid of can be beneficial: it can cause people to seek God. However, when people’s concept of salvation is limited to the physical, events can cause them to abandon faith and think it was all a sham. It is when we seek God for who He is, rather than just for what He can do for us, that we discover the stability, peace and joy that David and others enjoyed. I am not to put people down for shaky faith, but I am to encourage them always to lift their eyes to the One who loved them enough to send His Son to die for them.

Father, I obviously could go on at length about what it means to know You. Help me be more and more effective in introducing others to You, so that they too may discover the joys of fellowship with You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 15, 2016

Posted on June 16, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 26:8 I love the house where you live, O Lord,
the place where your glory dwells.

I first became particularly aware of this verse when a friend of mine, missionary Nils Olson, put it on a t-shirt he made for his church. I got one, and I think about the verse every time I wear it. David was talking about the Tabernacle, because it was his son Solomon who built the temple, or perhaps he was thinking about the tent he himself put up for the Ark of the Covenant. In any case he was definitely talking about a physical location, but not a building as we think of one. Today we generally associate churches with buildings, calling the buildings themselves churches, when actually that is pretty shaky from a Biblical standpoint. The term “church” in either Hebrew or Greek refers to an assembly, gathered people, rather than to a structure. As I point out from time to time, Christians didn’t have dedicated buildings for worship until at least the 3rd or 4th Century. However, as the Bible makes abundantly clear, God chooses to dwell with His people, and under the New Covenant, He dwells even in individual hearts by His Spirit. Lest we get all individualistic and think we don’t need anyone else to be God’s house, we need to remember that Jesus said “Where two or three come together in my Name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) Loving “God’s house, the place where His glory dwells” means loving to gather with His children to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Too often we are so distracted by other things when we gather that we don’t recognize God’s presence, much less experience His glory. What a waste! We need to eagerly anticipate God’s attendance at every service, because only then will we experience all He wants for us.

I will never forget my most intense experience of worship to this point. It was extremely personal, but I was not alone. There were three other men who likewise loved the Lord, one American, one Japanese, and one German, representing both Catholic and Protestant traditions, and we were having a prayer meeting. The presence of the Lord was so strong to me that I literally told the Lord that if He wanted to keep using me on this earth He had better back off a little, because one more drop of anointing and my physical body would give up. That experience has given me an anticipation of heaven that won’t quit, because in heaven I won’t have to worry about a physical body. I desire for the people in my care that they too experience God’s presence and glory even on this earth, because it is certainly life-changing. I cannot force anyone into that, just as the proverb says about leading a horse to water. However, I can seek to make my own worship as real as possible, because that will certainly help. We have experienced the Lord “showing up” various times and in various ways in our services, so I need to be anticipating that myself, to encourage others to anticipate it also.

Father, thank You for keeping me from creating message notes before I had the full Word! Thank You for making it clear that I am indeed to speak on Worship this Sunday, but approach it somewhat differently than I thought yesterday. May I indeed be faithful in worship and in speaking Your words, so that the Body of Christ may be built up indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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