February 26, 2016

Posted on February 28, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalm 77:11-12 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.

The Psalmist here was doing what Paul recommended many years later: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) There is nothing that meets Paul’s criteria better than the works of God! This also fits Hebrews 12:2, which speaks of our fixing our eyes on Jesus. Any time we feel overwhelmed by circumstances, there is nothing better than to pull back, calm down, and direct our attention to almighty God, who loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us so that we might live eternally with Him. The Psalmist didn’t have that particular, greatest work of God to look back on, but he still had plenty to think about to remind him that God is bigger than any problem we could have. The Bible is actually filled with this sort of advice, to direct our attention to God rather than to all the things that seem to be in our way. In our weakness, we need every bit of that advice!

As I have written many times, I often get push-back when I try to give people this advice, because they take it as belittling their problems. The thing is, every human problem is little, compared to God! I’ve been having a refresher course in this truth myself recently, with my wife having back surgery in October and November and then brain surgery this month. I’ll confess to having been shaky a few times (so far) in that, but my job has been to come alongside my wife and help her fix her eyes on Jesus. We haven’t come to the place Peter and his wife were, when tradition tells us he cried out to her, “Remember Jesus” as she was being crucified, but that doesn’t mean it’s always been easy for us. I’m not to focus on difficulties of any sort, but stay focused on God and His love for us in Christ. That doesn’t mean I’m to ignore the difficulties or pretend they don’t exist, but it does mean I’m to keep them in perspective, knowing that “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Father, this is something of a repeat of what You said yesterday. Help me receive it fully! Help me communicate this truth effectively to all, both to those who know it but are having trouble walking in it and to those who don’t yet know it. May we defeat the lying, stealing, killing tricks of the devil by our obedience to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 25, 2016

Posted on February 26, 2016 by jgarrott

Psalms 38:9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord:
my sighing is not hidden from you.

This verse brings to mind Jesus’ statement just before He taught His disciples what we call the Lord’s Prayer. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) We should never hesitate to be honest before God, because He knows the truth anyway! The more honest we are with Him and with ourselves, the better we can hear the Holy Spirit sort through our desires and tell us which are of Him and which are not. We tend to think either that God is some sort of Santa, showering gifts on us with no regard to how they will be used, or else that He is some sort of stingy miser, not wanting to risk our getting too happy. Both are gross distortions – and I mean that “gross” in just about every way it is used! Jesus assured us that the Father delights to give us what is best, (Luke 11:13; 12:32) but His gifts are always not just to make us happy, though they will do that, but to bless others through us and give Him glory. It is in that context that we need to be honest with ourselves and with Him about what we want. Sometimes our desire is to be relieved of some suffering, which is the context of David’s prayer in this Psalm. However, sometimes God’s response is what He said to Paul under similar circumstances: “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) When that happens, we need to receive God’s higher gift of grace, drawing closer to Him so that we may draw others with us.

I think this Psalm may be pretty close to my wife’s feelings in recent days, with all that she has gone through from her brain surgery. However, I’ve had similar moments. I have learned from experience that trying to hide anything at all from God is never a good idea. I have also learned that it is a very good thing indeed that He knows everything about us, because we don’t know everything about us! I have also learned the glorious truth that Paul expressed in 2 Corinthians 4:17. “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” As a pastor I deal constantly with people who are going through all sorts of stuff. The answer to their problems is always the same: yield it all honestly to God, let Him sort it out, and be faithful to do what He tells you. The problem is, often when I tell people that, encouraging them to take their eyes off of themselves and their problems and fix them on Jesus, (Hebrews 12:2) they think I am making light of them and their difficulties. Nothing could be further from the truth! There is no better or more complete solution to any problem at all than Jesus Christ. When we are fully submitted and secure in Him, nothing can harm us. (Psalm 91) I need to communicate that truth in all humility and assurance, from my own experience, so that others too may experience it and receive all that God has for them.

Father, I don’t have the wisdom to communicate this without coming across as preaching and/or being holier-than-thou. I ask You not only to place Your words in my mouth, but also to keep me from speaking just out of my own mind. May the words I speak consistently accomplish that which You intend, so that the lies of the enemy may be defeated and people set free, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 24, 2016

Posted on February 26, 2016 by jgarrott

1 Sam 15:22-23 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

This is a well-known passage, and justly so, because it is enormously important. It totally destroys the hypocrisy of doing religious things and then living the rest of the time however you like. We tend to do that all the time, looking all pious in church but then being indistinguishable from non-believers the rest of the week. That is no way to enjoy the blessings and receive the promises of God! When we can’t make time to meet with God regularly morning by morning, why do we expect Him to meet us in our moments of panic and need? He is very gracious, and indeed gives us far better than we deserve, but when it comes down to the wire, this passage is operative. To me, it is clear evidence that many Christians in America are running afoul of this passage that so many “evangelical” voters are supporting a presidential candidate who has lived a reprobate lifestyle and openly says he hasn’t repented before God, when there are two other candidates who are clearly trying to live out their faith in Jesus Christ. As this passage says, rejecting the Word of the Lord brings rejection in turn. America as a nation is at a place of extreme danger, and only a genuine return to the Lord, far beyond the political scene, can pull it back from the brink.

I certainly didn’t expect this to turn political when I started! Politics is just a very small fraction of our lives, but God wants all of us. It is telling to me that where the English traditionally says “witchcraft” here, the Japanese says “fortune telling.” How many “Christians” read their horoscope every day? So-called “cultural Christianity” just doesn’t cut it. Since I minister in Japan that isn’t much of an issue here, but I still deal constantly with people who can’t seem to grasp that God wants their whole lives, not just a few hours on Sunday. It bothers me a great deal that people seem to dismiss my lifestyle because I’m a “professional Christian,” as though their lack of an organizational title excuses them from full commitment to Christ. I am not to look down on them, but neither am I to leave them where they are. I’ve got to keep speaking the truth in love, praying that the Holy Spirit would reveal the Word to their hearts so that they may be set free from the traps they have become so comfortable in. A comfortable trap is still a trap! I need to watch my own heart and life and be quick to repent when I slip up, and I need to remember that God is still God, despite all our human failings. I need to both proclaim and live out the kingdom of God, so that the kingdom of darkness may be shaken and the captives set free, for their salvation and God’s glory.

Father, I have written of great things which I obviously can’t do in my own strength. I ask You to work Your perfect will in and through me, so that Your Name may be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 23, 2016

Posted on February 24, 2016 by jgarrott

1 Samuel 1:7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

One of the distinctive features of the Bible is that it doesn’t cover anything up; people are presented in all their foolishness, weakness and sin. It is in that sense perhaps the most realistic book in existence, despite the accusations of mythology that are leveled against it. One thing that stands out to me in the Old Testament is all the evidence against polygamy. Even ignoring the hundreds of women corralled by kings, the record shows how unhealthy polygamy really is. This little vignette shows that rivalry within a home, a family, is never a good thing, and doubly so when it is spouses. Each individual is worthy of being valued for who they are, and not in comparison to someone else. Jesus’ words in Matthew 19 are a powerful statement for monogamy, and Paul’s remarks in Ephesians 5 reinforce that. The devil hates faithful, monogamous marriage because it is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church, as Paul brings out in Ephesians 5, so he does all he can to tear it down. The recent push to get away from even the biological foundation for marriage is just the latest of his schemes. When we read the Bible we need to remember that people aren’t presented necessarily as paragons to be emulated, they are presented as they were, faults and all. One of the most glorious things about the Gospel is that God loves us as we are. We don’t have to clean ourselves up before we come to Him, but we have to be willing for Him to clean us up after we come to Him. That should be a lesson everyone gets from reading the Bible, but most people seem to miss it, probably because they don’t really read the Bible!

I have been intensely aware of God’s love and mercy in spite of our weaknesses, and I am deeply grateful. I haven’t done things that would interest the police, but I have certainly violated God’s laws more times than I even realize. That awareness makes it imperative that I forgive others, because Jesus made it very clear that we must forgive if we want to be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14-15) I am exposed to others’ failings constantly, and unfortunately, they are exposed to mine. I am not to demand perfection, but at the same time I am to strive toward it, just as Paul did, (Philippians 3:13-14) and encourage others to do likewise.

Father, thank You for Your truly amazing grace. Help me be an open conduit of that grace, drawing others to live in You by letting that grace flow through me unhindered. May I never use grace as an excuse for sin, in myself or in others, but may I never forget that Your grace is always greater than all sin, in myself or others. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 22, 2016

Posted on February 24, 2016 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 28:15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

The list of curses that follows this verse, all the way through to verse 69, is truly horrendous. This is in contrast to the list of the blessings of obedience that we see from verses 1~14. You could say Moses was using the “carrot and stick approach,” but the stick seems much bigger than the carrot! The problem is, we don’t respond to the prospect of future blessings very well. As any psychologist will tell you, “Tolerance for delayed gratification is a prime indicator of maturity.” In other words, we’re generally a bunch of immature brats! Moses was doing his best to instill an understanding, and consequent fear, of the consequences of disobedience toward God, but history tells us it didn’t work very well. Like us today, the children of Israel were all too quickly distracted and tempted by all sorts of things, and they went for the immediate gratification of sin rather than holding out for the blessings God had in store. One thing this list did was provide something Ezra, Nehemiah, and various prophets could point back to and say, “See, God told you so.” Even so, only some people repented, and the same thing is true today. Warning is a major part of presenting the Gospel, because until people realize they are headed for a cliff they aren’t going to turn around. It is of course good to tell people of the incredible, unspeakable blessings God has for all who will repent and believe, but that seems all too abstract, too “pie in the sky by and by” to many. Fear may not be the best motivator, but at times it is an essential one. Society today seems bent on removing all fear of consequences for sin, saying that “protection” makes immorality “risk free,” when even secular statistics say the opposite. They search for medical solutions to diseases that would be stopped dead in their tracks if people would abide by Biblical guidelines. I could go on and on, but the fact remains that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) Without any fear of God, people are incredibly stupid!

I certainly include myself in “people.” I have demonstrated remarkable stupidity on many, many occasions, so I have no “high horse” from which to look down on anyone. Rather, since I have experienced God’s mercy and grace, I need to extend those to as many as will receive them. The small number of those who do can be heartbreaking! I have no love of “hellfire and brimstone” preaching, but I need to remember that Jesus talked about hell more than He talked about heaven, and His harsh words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 were motivated by His love for them. I must not hold back from preaching the whole truth out of a fear of rejection, because that would be valuing my emotional comfort over the eternal salvation of others.

Father, I struggle with this. This is far from the first time You have pointed this truth out to me, yet my follow-through is not very good. Keep me from offending needlessly, but certainly keep me from valuing my own feelings over the salvation of others. That is definitely not “loving my neighbor as myself!” May I be Your agent without reservation or hesitation, so that as many as possible may be brought into Your kingdom, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 21, 2016

Posted on February 21, 2016 by jgarrott

Revelation 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

I quote the first part of this verse as part of my regular faith declarations: “By the grace of God, each day I am more accurately hearing and obeying the Holy Spirit, for it is written, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (I realize I blend slightly with Matthew 11:15, but this is how I feel the Lord gave it to me.) The point is, the Holy Spirit is talking, and we had better listen! If we look at the whole Biblical record, it is clear the Holy Spirit sometimes says “Go” and sometimes He says “Stay.” We aren’t to be afraid of either, but focus on hearing accurately and with obedience. The world is quite a mine field, and frankly, we don’t read the map very well. The only way we can avoid the devil’s IEDs is to listen to the Holy Spirit, because He can spot every one. We tend to get anxious about temporal consequences: financial loss, physical injury, what have you. This verse reminds us there are far more serious consequences we need to be concerned about, and faithful obedience to the Holy Spirit is the only sure ticket to success.

I say this as a faith declaration, but that doesn’t mean I can follow through in my own strength. I have demonstrated countless times that I am all too adept at deceiving myself, (James 1:22) thinking I’m being obedient to the Word just because I can quote it. My obedience cannot be static; it must be active. I need to keep seeking to hear, not to verify my own agenda but to receive and follow God’s agenda. It is too easy to come up with a desired plan and then ask God to rubber stamp it. As He has made it clear to me, God’s smart and I’m not. Any plan I come up with on my own is doomed to failure at best, but His plans will succeed in the end, whatever the road might look like along the way.

Father, thank You for this Word of comfort and encouragement. You have not taken me on a road of material rewards or of human acclaim, but Your way is good. Help me indeed be faithful, hearing and obeying Your Spirit in every detail, so that all of Your plans for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 20, 2016

Posted on February 21, 2016 by jgarrott

Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

It has always struck me that John, of all people, collapsed from the shock of seeing Christ glorified, when he had been the one who had laid his head on Jesus’ chest (John 21:20) and who had seen Him after the resurrection, too. Our systems really can’t take the full glory of God. That’s one reason we have to be transformed when we go to heaven! The words that Christ spoke to John here are of course enormously important. First of all, it was, “Don’t be afraid.” If John had not been a faithful believer there would have been no reason to say that, because he would have had every reason to be terrified of the judgment that was coming. Next, Christ stressed the fact that He is eternal. As finite beings in mortal bodies ourselves, we have very little grasp of the eternal, and really don’t even have words to talk about it rationally. It is because He is eternal that our spirits are eternal, so it is important to get some sort of a handle on that. Then, He pointed out that He had died but was alive. That is amazing on two fronts. First, it is amazing that eternal God could die, but this is an affirmation that the Incarnation was real; Jesus really was born, lived, and died as a human being, with the same sort of body we have. Second, it is amazing that this One who really died is now alive eternally. That’s why He could say that He has the keys of death and Hades. It’s certainly not Monopoly, but He’s our “Get out of death free card!” When our Lord has the key, death can no longer hold us, even as He said to Martha in Bethany. (John 11:25-26)

I have never seen Christ glorified, but I have been given faith that He is my Lord. I have preached many funerals, and the difference between that of a genuine believer and someone who was not is enormous. The first funeral I ever did was for a man who attended church but to my knowledge had never confessed Jesus as Lord, even though his wife was a pillar of the ladies group. That was a hard one! I cannot say categorically that he wasn’t saved, because it is possible that he had confessed Christ to his wife, or even to an EMT who was caring for him at the last, but I certainly couldn’t say, “He’s in heaven now.” On the other hand, I have done funerals for believers that were true celebrations. Such funerals are powerful evangelism! I have already written something I want read at my funeral, whenever that is, because I want it to be a net to catch a lot more fish! I need to help people understand that Jesus isn’t just the baby in the manger, or the teacher in Galilee, or even the Lamb on the cross; He is our glorious Lord, and those who are in Him have absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

Father, thank You for this Word. A week ago today I thought I might be losing my wife in front of my eyes, and now she’s scheduled to get out of the hospital on Monday. Thank You for the peace I really did have even before that happened, and for the experience of going through it all. Thank You for the healing that she is experiencing. I do pray that all her mental functions would be restored fully, for her to get back to the life of service that she desires. May we rejoice in our Lord right now, whatever we might be walking through at the moment, so that we won’t yield anything at all to the devil, but delight in all that You intend for us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 19, 2016

Posted on February 19, 2016 by jgarrott

1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

This and several other passages in the New testament should make it abundantly clear that agape love is qualitatively different from what we usually call love. It’s not that romantic love is bad, it’s that it is inextricably entangled with our emotions and our physical bodies. If that were all we knew, then saying that God is love would be saying that God is beautiful and powerful but He’s completely unreliable! I really think one reason the devil puts so much effort into degrading sex is that in so doing he degrades romantic love, which in turn further clouds our grasp of God’s love. The challenge for people today is getting our minds out of the gutter long enough to receive a revelation of just what God’s love is. We probably all know of marriages that have been wrecked by confusion on this point, and we may have been victims ourselves. It can be very hard to believe that God loves you when “love” has become a dirty word to you. As I have written recently, it is no accident that God chose Greek as the language of the New Testament, not only for the grammatical nuances but especially for the multiple words for love. Even those involved in orgies knew that what they were doing had nothing to do with the love of God! In our human weakness we are unable to generate agape on our own, which is why John could say with confidence that “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” In English, or Japanese for that matter, that statement is absolutely absurd. The way we experience agape is by faith, opening our hearts to trust the One who loves us that way. Once we do that, we are enabled then in turn to let that love flow through us to others. However, we need to remember that it is a choice. If we let our emotions be in charge, there will be times when we will not feel loved by God and there will certainly be times when we will not feel like loving others. Don Francisco hit the nail on the head when he sang, “Love is not a feeling, it’s an act of your will.”

As I am frequently reminded, I am incredibly blessed to have been raised in a home that was awash in agape. I can certainly not claim to have maintained a consistent hold on it all my life, but I started life with a magnificent foundation. Challenges to my understanding and application of God’s love have been countless over the years, but God has been more faithful than I have been. It is indeed a challenge when people reject the love I express to them, but I am learning not to let that turn off the flow. People ask me questions that show they have a complete lack of understanding of agape, and that is itself a challenge. I need God’s wisdom and anointing to communicate clearly with them, so that the Holy Spirit may open the eyes of their hearts to see God’s love and choose to receive it.

Father, thank You for this Word to complete the message on love that You have me preparing for Sunday! I pray that Your truth would flow through me in the power of Your Spirit, shattering and washing away the lies of the devil so that people will be set free to receive Your love indeed, and then let it flow in turn through them to others, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 18, 2016

Posted on February 19, 2016 by jgarrott

1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

This speaks to a deeply entrenched human trait. In Japanese culture, revenge is even celebrated as a noble thing! However, when we take it on ourselves to right wrongs done to us, not only do we do damage to our own souls by nursing the hurt, we commit blasphemy, because we are appropriating something that God says is His to do. (Romans 12:19 and several more) This is all tied into the matter of forgiveness, and that is really deep water for most people. We don’t like to forgive! However, failing to forgive damages you more than it does the one you are not forgiving, and seeking revenge results in a literal death spiral, spiritually if not physically. Peter is here being very practical, speaking not only of “evil” but of insults. We’ve all seen people who can’t handle what they see as insults – even or especially if they have truth behind them! To be honest, we’ve all reacted that way ourselves. Sometimes our enemies will say things to us that we need to hear, that our friends won’t. That’s not to say that we are to accept every insult as truth, but rather that we should be humble enough to ask God what truth there might be in the insult, so that we may repent and grow. Some insults, on the other hand, are actually backhanded compliments, pointing out traits that the speaker really is jealous of. And then there’s the whole matter of the devil being a liar. When he says things to us, either through someone or directly to our minds, we should say, “Thank you. Since you said it, I know it’s not true!” However, that requires being familiar enough with what God says about us and to us to recognize the devil when he speaks. As Peter says, we were called to live this way, to receive the full blessing that God has prepared for us.

Ministering in Japan as I do, I am dealing with this issue constantly. As I have explained before, most Japanese don’t even know the word for Biblical forgiveness. It is a homophone (sounds the same) as a word that means permission, and that clouds their understanding to a high degree. Just last night I actually hung up on someone over this very issue, saying very strongly, “I am not talking about giving permission.” I’m certainly not proud of doing so, but it was someone with whom I had discussed this issue repeatedly, in considerable detail, and they were still insisting that there were things they should not forgive. They’ve made a mess of their family over this, even though they are a baptized Christian. There are indeed many things in the world that we should never permit; that is what legal justice is for. However, failure to forgive, even apart from all the damage it does to everyone involved, says clearly that we don’t understand how much God has forgiven us in Christ, and the nature of that forgiveness.

Father, frankly I get very tired of constantly battling with this issue. I have neither the patience nor the wisdom to do it properly. That’s why I ask You to pour Your grace into and through me, so that I may not hinder its flow to those around me. Help me speak the truth in love, always, as strongly as necessary but only as You direct, so that people may receive Your truth and be set free, (John 8:32) for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 17, 2016

Posted on February 18, 2016 by jgarrott

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

The marital relationship is taken for granted in so many cultures around the world, but only in submission to the Holy Spirit does it reach the level that God intended for it. As I tell couples all the time, nothing about marriage is automatic, and expecting it to go well without putting in the effort is a recipe for failure. This verse, though addressed to husbands, contains a key that is essential to both partners: respect. Respect is sadly lacking in far too many marriages, and that is corrosive. There are actually religions and cultures that actively teach against such respect, particularly in the direction this verse is talking about. When the man looks at the woman as being there simply for his convenience and pleasure he loses incalculably. God indeed designated the husband as the head of the organism that is a family, (Ephesians 5:23) but that is a matter of function and not value. As this verse points out, women are physically weaker than men, other things being equal. That has contributed greatly to the physical domination that has been all too prevalent throughout history. However, without his wife, a husband is akin to a two-legged tripod (which is of course an impossibility). Without her, he will fall flat. It is no accident that Genesis uses such a strong term (in Hebrew) when it says God created woman to be “a helper suitable for him.” That word “helper” is used otherwise in terms of military action or even God’s direct intervention. Any man who doesn’t see that his wife is a gift from God to save his bacon needs to have his eyes opened. Respect is integral to that, and is essential from both directions.

Once again I am deeply grateful for the home in which I was raised. There was never any question that my parents deeply respected each other, which was foundational to the love that was so evident. As a result, when it came to marriage I wasn’t just looking for a bed partner, I was looking for a life partner. God fulfilled my search magnificently, and I have been blessed beyond measure. Right now, as she recovers from brain surgery, I am painfully aware of my inadequacy without her, and I rejoice to see her progress as her brain adjusts to the new reality of having a cavity where the tumor used to be. On one level, I am quite capable of doing the housekeeping that she usually takes care of, but that is just a fraction of our life together. She is anxious to recover as quickly as possible to be able to get out of the hospital and return to normal life. I need to help her be patient with herself and her circumstances, looking forward with gratitude to life without the tumor hanging over her, so to speak. I am to support her in every way I can, speaking the truth to her in love on the basis of the respect this verse talks about, so that both of us may continue to grow in Christ as God intends.

Father, thank You for Cathy’s progress. It’s not as fast as either of us would like, but such things never are, and it’s not slow, either. Thank You that our daughters got off safely last night. I do ask Your protection for them and their luggage as they return to their respective families. May all of Your purposes for this hospitalization be fulfilled, for us as a family and for the many who are connected to us in so many ways, for great blessing and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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