July 18, 2016

Posted on July 19, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 108:6 Save us and help us with your right hand,
that those you love may be delivered.

This goes against my grain, but right now the turn of phrase in the NIV strikes me as a prayer to be enabled to help others. That is quite out of context and is almost certainly not what David wrote, but it is a valid prayer nonetheless. However much we love people, we must remember that God created them and He loves them more than we ever could. We also need to remember that however much we want to help people, true salvation comes only from the Lord. He often uses people, and He may even use us, but the salvation, the power, are His. I am reminded of the parable someone told of a person who had been trapped in their house by a flood, but each time someone came by to rescue them they declined, saying, “God will rescue me.” Finally, after they had been swept off of their roof and drowned, they accused God for not having rescued them. His response was, “What do you mean? I sent person A and person B and person C didn’t I?” It is a privilege to be an instrument of God’s right hand, but we must be available and not presumptive. Countless situations have been made worse by well-meaning people who have tried to do God’s job for Him. Actually, any time we pray for any sort of situation we need to offer ourselves as instruments for God to use in answering our prayers. The phrase, “You’re an answer to prayer,” is far more than a cliché. But again, we must remember that the power, the wisdom, the salvation itself, come from God alone, and so give Him all the glory.

I could literally sit here all day listing situations about which I am concerned. Ones far away are relatively easy to yield to God because that’s all I can do. However, ones close to home are more complicated. That’s when I have to keep reminding myself that God loves that person more than I do. In all probability, God is far more patient with that person than I am! Material concerns are one thing, because though they may be pressing, they are ultimately temporal and thus temporary. However, people are what Jesus came and died for, and there it gets more complicated. We are on this earth to have opportunity to know God, to choose to commit ourselves to Him in faith so that we may live with Him throughout eternity. Everything else is secondary: most specifically, creature comforts. Just as God delights to bless His children but knows better than to spoil them, we need to meet needs but also give God space and time to work in people’s hearts through their circumstances. I have demonstrated many times that I don’t have the wisdom to make that call accurately on my own, so I’ve got to stay on my face before the Lord, figuratively and at times literally, to hear and thus do what He would direct. Only then will His salvation be manifested as He intends.

Father, thank You for this clear, unexpected Word. You know who is on my heart particularly right now, but again, there are many. Help me be so in step with Your Spirit that I don’t get in Your way, but rather am useful to You in however You want to manifest Your salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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July 17, 2016

Posted on July 19, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 101:2-3 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?
I will walk in my house
with blameless heart.
I will set before my eyes
no vile thing.

This Psalm is a statement of intent, and as such is beautifully in line with the message I will be preaching this morning. None of us is perfect, but we must not be content with our imperfection. Rather, we are always to be pressing forward toward the goal God has set before us, just as Paul did. (Philippians 3:12-14) This Psalm claims to be by David, and would be in line with what we know of him. As is well known, David made some drastic mistakes, but his intent was to walk in purity and obedience at all times. The longer I live, the more I am convinced that all we really can offer God is our free will, our choices. I preached not long ago on Praise and Worship, and one of the points, based on Psalm 22:25, was that even our praise to God comes from Him; all we give Him, as such, is the choice to do so. In the same way, we don’t have the strength, wisdom, power, ability, what have you, to do anything apart from God. Jesus Himself was quite blunt about that. (John 15:5) However, that is not at all to say that we are to be passive. The Bible speaks many times of God desiring our hearts. That is nothing more than the fact that He wants us to choose Him. I am convinced that human free will is the most valuable thing in the universe, because if we were not free, we would not be responsible for our actions, which would mean sin would be meaningless. It is only because sin is real that God had to send His Son to die as an atonement for human sin. Thus we come to the conclusion that our free will is worth the life of the Son of God. That is mind boggling indeed, and shows why our choices, on a day-to-day basis, are the most important things we do.

Having said all that, I realize that there are people who are paralyzed by an inability to make choices. There have been times when I have agonized over choices myself. However, such indecision is actually secondary. Our primary choice is extremely simple: God or other. It is when we understand that is our choice that everything falls into place. I’ve got to remember, and teach others to remember, that whatever it might look like, our choices all boil down to whether we will seek God and place Him first in our hearts and lives. There are indeed relatively inconsequential choices, such as what shirt to wear on a given day, but even those are relatively inconsequential. As a case in point, what we eat, when we eat, and how much we eat don’t seem terribly spiritual to most of us, but they are directly related to our stewardship of our bodies. If our focus is truly on God, then our intent will be to treat our bodies as His temple, (1 Corinthians 6:19) and so we will maintain them properly. I am painfully aware of my own imperfection in every area, but by God’s grace I choose Him, to allow Him to work in and through me what He desires, and nothing else.

Father, thank You for this strong Word. Since it relates to what You have given me for this morning I am tempted to try to incorporate it, but that would certainly produce overload in most if not all of my hearers. Guide in when and how I am to share this truth so that it will penetrate and be applied. May we all choose to be Yours, even though we don’t yet know all that means, so that Your Name may be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done in and through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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July 16, 2016

Posted on July 18, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 97:11-12 Light is shed upon the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.

I have the feeling I’ve written on this before, because the Japanese for verse 11 is so striking. Rather than just saying “shed,” like the NIV, the Japanese says “sown like seed.” Seeds are not static; they are alive and grow. Light and joy grow for those who are right with God. As Jesus made very clear in His parable, (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23) the soil has a huge influence on the success of seeds. Just as with the Word of God, which Jesus was talking about, how we receive God’s light and joy greatly affects their influence on us. If we are constantly comparing the light/revelation we have received with that of others, that light isn’t going to penetrate very far into our hearts and lives. No one person, or even part of the Body of Christ, has the whole revelation of God, and feeling that our revelation is “better” than that of someone else is a sure way to walk in darkness rather than light. (1 John 2:9-11) The same sort of thing can be said about God’s joy. If we let jealousy or feelings of entitlement spring up, they will quickly choke out the joy of the Lord, and we and all around us will be much the poorer for it. When we realize how God’s grace operates toward us, the appropriate response is gratitude and praise, as it says in verse 12. That’s the way to keep the soil of our hearts plowed and moist, ready to receive God’s seeds.

I don’t recall connecting this passage to Jesus’ parable before. That is traditionally called “The Parable of the Sower,” but it would seem to be more accurately called, “The Parable of the Soils.” After all, there is no difference in the quality of the seed sown. As a pastor, I am in many ways a gardener. I don’t create the seed by any means, but I can plow and plant and water, and God will give the increase. Since my primary gifting is Teacher, I am very focused on planting the Word of God, but if I ignore the crust that has formed on the surface of the soil, that Word isn’t going to penetrate. Such crusts can form from pressure, such as being stepped on or driven over. The people to whom I minister suffer from all sorts of pressures in their lives. If I ignore those, I won’t be very effective in planting the seed. Such crusts can also form from minerals within the soil coming to the surface and hardening. I’ve got to let the Holy Spirit peel back and remove such layers. Sometimes it takes a major impact to break through such a layer. I must never try to apply such treatment myself, but I must be watchful to go in and minister God’s grace and love when it happens. I may be a gardener, but God is the Source of Life, and I must never forget that. My role is one of great privilege and high honor, but pride will totally destroy my effectiveness.

Father, thank You for this clear Word, expressed in ways I hadn’t thought of before. Thank You that You indeed keep growing Your light and joy in me. Help me never hold back, but always be eagerly receptive of all that You pour out, allowing it to flow through me to others, unhindered and uncontaminated, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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July 15, 2016

Posted on July 17, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 94:8-9 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?

Logic works only when you accept the basic premise, or more fundamentally, when the basic premise is correct. The biggest reason people stubbornly maintain atheism is that the moment they accept that they are created beings, they are faced with the logic of this passage. They don’t like to accept that God hears and sees everything about them, and that they are accountable to Him. Actually, the average person doesn’t think so deeply about it, but simply ignores God. That is foolish too! If we are created beings, then it follows that we were created with purpose and intent, and the wisest course is to try to find out what that purpose is. Paul put it very succinctly in Ephesians 2:10. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” In other words, we are created as God’s agents to accomplish His purposes. Since He is a good God, love to His very essence, (1 John 4:8) then it follows that the purposes He wants to accomplish through us are good and loving. The problem, from our standpoint, in saying that is that we often don’t understand love. Hebrews 12 goes on at some length about how discipline is love. In other words, love is not all candy and flowers. With our finite understanding we fail to see what God is doing, so this is where faith and trust come in. We need to be convinced that God indeed knows what is going on, that He is not passive, and that He is going to work everything out in the end. If we have that conviction, then we will keep ourselves available to God for whenever and however He wants to use us, and we will have joyful anticipation of His plans being fulfilled.

I will never forget the time I was lying in bed, not consciously praying but thinking, “There are so many things I wish were different.” God totally surprised me by speaking directly to my spirit, so clearly that it might as well have been out loud: “How do you think I feel?” Such a revelation might seem extra-Biblical to some, but it is right in line with Hebrews 2:8. “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” This is the age of human free will, and in some ways the results are horrific. What I think God was telling me was never to think that God is satisfied with the current state of things; He is continuing to work toward the perfection that He planned from the beginning. My job is to rest, relax, and rejoice, listening obediently to Him and allowing His power to operate through me, for the blessing of many and for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Courtesy of modern media, we are constantly bombarded with information exposing how less-than-ideal the world is at the moment. Help me indeed be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present my requests to You, so that Your peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) Thank You. Praise God!

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July 14, 2016

Posted on July 17, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 93:5 Your statutes stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days, O Lord.

There is real blessing to reading the Bible in two languages, even if neither one is the original, because there will always be differences in nuance. Here, where the NIV says, “holiness adorns Your house,” the Japanese says, “holy things are appropriate for Your house.” Lots of Scriptures talk about being close to God or living in His house. This one gives a strong clue as to how to do that. God Himself has told us, “Be holy, because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44 and several more) Peter quoted that in 1 Peter 1:16, so it is by no means “a legalistic requirement that we can ignore because of the cross.” It is very true that we can’t be holy by our own strength, but what God is asking of us is the will, the choice, to be holy. If we give Him that, He will come through and enable us to live holy lives. Many people shy away from the term, saint, because it presents an image to which they know they don’t measure up. (Calling specific people in Church history, “Saint So-and-so,” certainly doesn’t help.) Reading the New Testament, it is clear that the term, saint, refers to all believers. The thing is, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Because of what God did through Jesus on the cross, all who believe are holy, so we just need to live like what we are! We are back to the question of will. Too often, for one reason or another, we choose unholiness. Sex is an excellent example. In the marital context it is marvelously holy, drawing the husband and wife together as God intended, but outside of that context it is unholy, drawing us away from God. The problem is, our flesh doesn’t know the difference! That’s why Paul talked so much about the flesh in Romans and elsewhere. (The NIV says “sinful nature,” to keep us from hating our bodies, but that misses part of the point.) If our hearts, our wills, are committed to Christ in faith, then our bodies will follow suit, and we will indeed be holy, appropriate for God’s house and fellowship with Him.

This is a major issue for me, as it is for every believer. The world, with the strong encouragement of the devil, does all it can to make us unholy, and all of us have episodes of that in our past. If we dwell on what we have done, we will lose sight of what God has made us to be in Christ. It was a major release from a besetting sin when I really grasped what Peter was talking about. “But if anyone does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” (2 Peter 1:9) We need to grasp that God’s forgiveness really does cleanse us, as though we had never sinned in the first place. That’s what 1 John 1:9 is talking about. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I knew that verse as words, but until it sank into my soul and spirit I was far more vulnerable than I had any need to be. Having experienced this myself, it is my joy and privilege to teach it to others, but I certainly can’t do that in my own wisdom and strength. However, the Holy Spirit can use me to that end, so that must be my focus, to draw as many as possible into the life that God intends for us, for our blessing and His glory.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. I had wondered what I was to speak on Sunday! Help me put this into Your outline, using the Scriptures You know will penetrate, so that Your Word will accomplish all for which You send it, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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July 13, 2015

Posted on July 15, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 92:14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green.

This is certainly an encouraging Scripture for any senior citizen! However, the previous two verses set the conditions for this condition: being righteous, planted in the house of the Lord. There are many who grow old and bitter. Any fruit they bear isn’t worth having! There are also those who grow increasingly self-centered with age. They don’t bear much good fruit either. It is indeed when we seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) that we enjoy all the benefits of being God’s children. Someone who is righteous by God’s definition will indeed be “planted” in His presence. Active participation in a local congregation is extremely likely, but this certainly isn’t limited to that. This is talking about abiding in Him continuously, drawing nourishment from His Word, that Living Water that provides the very best nutrients (as in hydroponic farming). Such a person will indeed bear the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in abundance, along with the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15) and other fruit as well. Our bodies age, yes, but our spirits can and should continue to grow.

Currently in a battle with my kidneys, I am very aware of physical age and limitations. That said, my focus is not only on my body but on my Lord. My body can yell pretty loudly at times, but it’s not my first priority, nor my master. I am to focus on staying planted in my Lord, in His Word, so that His righteousness may be manifested in and through me. I can’t do that in my own strength, but He has demonstrated time and time again that His grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9) It is interesting that God pointed that out to Paul in the context of a physical problem. Few things cause us to focus inward more than pain, but God says, quite rightly, that even in such situations we need to abide in Him. I am in such a training time, and I need to give Him thanks and praise for this opportunity to draw closer to Him, rearranging my priorities in line with His, so that His will may be done in and through me on His schedule for His glory.

Father, thank You for what You are allowing me to go through. Thank You that what the devil intends for evil, You will use for great good. I have a lot on my schedule the next three days. Help me recognize what is of You and what is not, and rest, relax, and rejoice in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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July 12, 2016

Posted on July 14, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

At first glance this Psalm seems out of place in a series on the theme of prayer, but the last part of it, from verse 38 on, is something of an accusation of desertion and a request that God come through on His promises. That said, the praise and worship of the first part of the Psalm are justly well known and loved. This first verse has been set to music a number of times and is a very admirable faith declaration, especially for times when circumstances seem less than ideal. It is when things don’t look good around us that our words and our music become a “sacrifice” of praise. (Hebrews 13:15) It’s easy to sing praise songs and get happy when things are going the way we would like, but not nearly so easy when they aren’t! That’s why it’s significant that this verse speaks of God’s love and faithfulness. (The Japanese says “grace/blessings and faithfulness.) Those are God’s unchanging qualities, and we must never forget that, especially when things around us seem to be in a whirlwind of change. It is interestingly true that when our faith wavers, declaring our faith out loud is one of the most effective ways of strengthening it. Paul said that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) That is true even we are the ones speaking out what we are hearing! That’s why it’s so important to acknowledge circumstances but still declare that God is greater than those circumstances.

I just had a somewhat intense practicum in this very point. After taking my wife to see her cardiologist for a regular appointment, I started feeling stranger and stranger in my abdomen and decided I needed to go see my urologist. On the way there I had a sudden taste of salty saliva, which is often a precursor to nausea, and I was thankful his office wasn’t far. As he was doing a sonogram of my bladder, etc., I suddenly had to call for a basin, and over the course of the visit it became very clear exactly what I had eaten for breakfast. The trigger was the intensity of my pain, because the tests confirmed that I had a uretral calculus (kidney stone). After an injection and with other medications in hand I drove home, (which wasn’t the wisest course, but the Lord got me home safely) canceled all my appointments for the day, and went to bed. I won’t go into further details, but I am extremely relieved that I don’t have symptoms this morning! The thing is, while I was lying in bed hoping for the pain meds to kick in, I was letting praise songs run through my mind. “O Lord, You have been good; You have been faithful to all generations.” The pain I was experiencing didn’t cancel God’s faithfulness. This is something I have been learning to do more and more over the years, and it is certainly the best way I know to get through anything. All we experience on this earth is essentially momentary, however long and drawn out it might feel to us in the middle of it. God’s love and faithfulness are absolute and eternal, and we need to remember that.

Father thank You for the past 24 hours, though they weren’t fun at the time. Help me not take others’ difficulties lightly, but still point them to You and remind them of Who and what You are, so that they may not wallow in their pain but receive the blessings You intend for them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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July 11, 2016

Posted on July 14, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 85:13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

The first seven verses of this Psalm are a prayer for restoration, and the last six seem to be a record of what the Psalmist heard the Lord say to him in response. In any case, this last verse is a word of Divine wisdom that we would all do well to take to heart. That is, if we want the Lord to show up in a good way in our lives, living right is the way to invite Him. Grace is still grace; we can never be good enough on our own. However, rebellion against God, refusing to live as He has said so clearly in His Word, is no way to walk with Him. This is totally simple and logical, and yet countless people live however they want and then complain that God doesn’t bless them! This is not a matter of earning God’s favor, it’s a matter of not quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 4:30) Looking at the world around us, it’s no wonder so few people have clear assurance of God’s presence and love; it’s because they are totally compromised with the world and live no differently than those who don’t pretend to know God. If your day centers on a pornographic “fix,” for example, you can’t expect the joy of the Lord. We make all sorts of excuses and say things like, “Whatever works for you,” but the Bible is quite clear as to the sort of lifestyle that pleases God. If we want God’s best, then our focus needs to be on His kingdom and His righteousness, just as Jesus said. (Matthew 6:33)

This is something I have learned more and more deeply over the years. I spent entirely too long in pride and presumption, assuming for any number of reasons that God would bless me, all the while my heart was completely self-centered. That didn’t work very well! He was still incredibly gracious, but I didn’t enjoy His best, even though it was available to me. I certainly can’t claim perfect righteousness now (except positionally in Christ) but my hunger is indeed for God and His kingdom, and that is a powerful check on my attitudes and actions. I know without question that I can do nothing good apart from Christ, (John 15:5) so my focus is first to abide in Him, and only then to do anything else. As a pastor I try to communicate this lifestyle to others, but some of them seem as blind and stubborn as I once was! I am to pray for them and speak the truth in love as the Lord gives opportunity, and trust the Holy Spirit to change their hearts as He did mine.

Father, You know who came to mind as I wrote that. I do pray that Your Spirit would work powerfully in each of us, and all of us collectively, so that we may be transformed into the healthy part of the Body of Christ that You intend us to be, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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July 10, 2016

Posted on July 11, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 83:18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord—
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

This Psalmist was focused on human enemies, but the prayer in this verse, at least, is valid in every application. From the beginning of mankind the devil has been out to convince people that there are other gods than Yahweh, because his hunger is for the worship that belongs to God alone. He is behind every push in that direction, every false religion, including faux atheism that substitutes man for God. This Psalm seems a bit violent, but it is essentially saying, “Show who You are, Lord, because they seem to have no idea.” Today that would apply even to many nominal Christians! The majority of Americans polled have lost the concept of absolute truth, and that is part of this whole picture. The phrase, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it,” has very sincere roots, but too many people take it to mean that if they don’t believe it, it’s not settled. It would be more accurately expressed as, “God said it, that settles it, so I’d better believe it.” “Tolerance” has been elevated to some sort of “highest good” status, to the point of complete idiocy. Those who demand it most vehemently are in fact completely intolerant of anyone who doesn’t toe their particular line. It is not unreasonable to ask God to knock some sense into people’s heads, even with the awareness that some of those heads might crack! A genuinely New Testament faith doesn’t force itself on anyone, but it is absolutely uncompromising about truth. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for some disagreement, but we must not let anything but God have that highest place in our hearts and lives.

Looking at what I have just written, I realize that I will immediately be branded a bigot by a lot of people, even some I am close to, either by blood or association. I am also aware that, as C. S. Lewis pointed out, it is certain that when we get before God’s throne we will each of us discover that we were wrong somewhere. I am not to be holier-than-thou; I am not to look down my nose at anyone. That said, I am never to compromise the truth of God, but insist on it in love. Those who, either by choice or simply by being deceived, serve the devil will accuse me of everything in the book, but I must not be moved. I am to pray with the Psalmist that God would demonstrate that He alone is God over all creation.

Father, I know that it breaks Your heart much more than it breaks mine that so many people are wallowing in rebellion and deception. However, I also know that none of this surprises You. Help me walk in simple, faithful obedience at all times, whatever is going on around me, so that I may not get in Your way but rather be fully useful to You, so that Your plans may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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July 9, 2016

Posted on July 11, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 79:9-10 Help us, O God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”

This is another Psalm from after the destruction of the temple, but it is a step up from Psalm 74, because along with being horrified at the destruction, it asks for forgiveness. Also, it bases that request not on any personal merit, but on God Himself and the honor of His Name. I am reminded of what James had to say. “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:2-3) Both why and how we ask are important. God desires to give us good things, but if we are totally self-centered about it all, we block a great deal of the good He has for us. If we are asking to make us feel good, or important, or better than someone else, the chances that he will grant our request are pretty slim. If we are genuinely asking for the sake of His kingdom and His righteousness, (Matthew 6:33) He is more than delighted to supply more than we could imagine, though He will do it in His way on His schedule. The Psalmist here is both humble and focused on God, but it would be 70 years before the return from captivity, and more years still before the temple was rebuilt. We need to pray with faith, but then leave the schedule in God’s hands. He understands timing better than we do, because He created time and He sees the end from the beginning.

This is certainly spot-on for me right now. Last night’s concert had seven present – and three of those were the performers! However, there was sweet fellowship, and we will see what God accomplished in that time. It is frustrating, humanly speaking, that so many people had specifically told us they were coming, and yet didn’t show up. So far three of those have expressed legitimate reasons, along with apologies, but that doesn’t account for the rest. Similarly, the land next door, for which we have been praying for 18 years, has had the house demolished and bids are going in for dealing with the trees that need to be removed, but we do not have human assurance that the owner will wait for us to come up with the funds to purchase the land, because as it stands right now, those funds won’t be available until September of 2017. This is certainly a test of faith! We need to be careful that our prayers are on the basis of who God is and for the sake of His kingdom and His righteousness, and not simply to make things easier for us or otherwise make us feel good.

Father, thank You for the lessons You teach us, and for Your plans that are far better than anything we could come up with. Help us indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, being faithful to do what You desire of us, when and how You direct us, leaving the results in Your hands so that You may receive all the glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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