September 7, 2014

Posted on September 8, 2014 by jgarrott

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

This verse is one of the most familiar in the whole Bible. I have reason to quote it at least every week, and sometimes it seems like every day. However, familiarity must not be allowed to breed contempt, as it is so prone to do. Different people are prone to anxiety to different degrees, but it does seem to be one of the most common character traits. To be honest, there’s plenty in the world to make us anxious! We aren’t to be careless in the sense of failing to pay attention, but we are to be carefree, in the sense of rejecting anxiety and choosing to trust God. The devil is very much out to steal, kill, and destroy any good in our lives, (John 10:10) but God wants not only to give us abundant life, He wants to grow our character. You could say that faith is necessary for salvation, (Ephesians 2:8-10) but trust is necessary to enjoy it. It is at times amazing how little we trust God. You would think it would go without saying that the Creator of the Universe, who is love personified, would take good care of His children, but we look around us and get scared, because we realize we aren’t in control. That’s probably the real issue. We do have free will and therefore personal responsibility, but at the same time we aren’t in control. We want it to be the other way around, with no responsibility but full control! That impulse is the origin of our fascination with magic, because magic is all about bending the world to your will. That is the path of rebellion against God, and the end of that path is inexpressible destruction and horror. God doesn’t desire that for anyone, so He calls us to repent of our unbelief and rebellion and trust Him enough to obey Him.

This is of course my message, even as I am growing in walking it out more thoroughly myself. I wish I could say that I was never anxious, or that I never tried to be in control! I am continually reminded of what the Lord told me personally: to rest, relax, and rejoice. That is easy to say, but humanly speaking not easy to do. I have to choose trust rather than anxiety, obedience rather than control, and it’s not always easy. You would think I’d have it down pat by now! As a pastor this is one of the fundamental issues I deal with in others all the time. Recognizing my own weakness should help me be gentle with them, but I slip up there sometimes, too. I need to remember that God is more interested in my doing well than I am, and rejoice to let Him be Lord.

Father, thank You for Your overwhelming grace. Help me both trust it myself and extend it to others. Help me keep my repentance up to date, not letting anything come between us, so that I may keep walking closer and closer to You, as long as You have me walking this earth. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 6, 2014

Posted on September 8, 2014 by jgarrott

Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

In reading this just now the thing that immediately came to mind was the recent statement by a prominent Christian figure that we worship to make us happy, and God just wants us to be happy. She has been roundly and broadly condemned for that statement, but the idea is all too typical of far too many Christians. God does desire to bless us, and there are countless blessings in everything He tells us to do, but when our focus is on what we will get out of something, we immediately lose the real blessings. Here, Jesus is saying we aren’t to do good deeds for the purpose of having people think well of us, but we also have to be careful we aren’t thinking that good deeds will cause God to owe us something. We don’t deserve any of God’s blessings, but as the Bible says repeatedly, God pours good things out on both good and bad people. (Matthew 5:45) We are to do good things out of gratitude, yes, but most of all because God says to do them. Obedience to God brings abundant blessings, but as I’ve already said, a “gimmie” attitude robs us of the very blessings we seek. The other side of this is that I have seen people who were so afraid of being seen doing something good that they tied themselves in knots. That too is a focus on self, rather than on God. The whole point is to be focused on God and what He wants us to do, and get ourselves out of the equation as much as possible. The better we do that, the more the blessings pile up, both for us and for those to whom we minister.

This is, naturally, especially applicable to me, because I am a “professional Christian.” It gets awkward at times because I want to be an active example to others, and for that, they need to know what I am doing, so I have to be all the more careful about my attitude, and how I go about letting them watch me. The simple answer is to stay focused on God and obedience to Him, whether people happen to notice or not. I am not to keep from doing good just because somebody might see me! God is to be the motive and the goal for all I do in every part of my life.

Father, thank You for the privilege of acting as Your agent in so many different ways. The blessings are indeed abundant. Help me not focus on the blessings but rather on what You are doing, with full gratitude for being able to participate, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 5, 2014

Posted on September 6, 2014 by jgarrott

Matthew 5:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

You could make a case that this is the most absurd thing Jesus ever said. God’s level of perfection is by definition an impossibility for fallible human beings. However, Jesus’ point is, naturally, an important and valid one. He has just been talking about various areas in which we comfort ourselves by comparisons with others, saying to ourselves, “At least I’m better than that other person.” This one statement blows all that out of the water. Our standard isn’t other people, it’s the God who created us. By that standard, we are all forced to humility and repentance, and that’s a good thing. We aren’t to be constantly picking at ourselves, but neither are we ever to think we’ve arrived and have nowhere else we need to improve. Paul is of course the great example of this, with his great declaration in Philippians 3:12-14. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” When the man who penned half the New Testament said that, we should be able to understand what Jesus said, and allow the Holy Spirit to show us our imperfections so that we may keep growing.

I have struggled with comparing myself to other people, either positively or negatively, much of my life. Pride and even conceit have been major pitfalls for me, but often they have been subconscious coping mechanisms for inferiority I have felt in other areas. It has taken a long time for me to really grasp that, though I am far from perfect and have no grounds for personal pride, I am fully accepted in Christ by the grace of God. (Ephesians 1:6) At this point I find that lots of people compare themselves to me, and some of them want to give up because of it. I don’t need to parade my sordid history, but I need God’s wisdom and anointing to help people understand that His grace is just as available to them as to me. If He can work with me, then He can certainly work with them!

Father, thank You that You always challenge us to go deeper and higher. Help me keep growing, and use me to help others grow as well. May we all indeed fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) as our goal and our example, receiving Your love through Him but never thinking we’ve arrived, so that Your will may increasingly be done in and through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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September 4, 2014

Posted on September 5, 2014 by jgarrott

Matthew 5:20 “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The passage from verse 17 is a difficult one for many people because of differing definitions of “law.” God Himself seemed to remove dietary restrictions when He spoke to Peter to prepare him to welcome Gentiles into the Kingdom, (Acts 10) and Paul affirmed that in Romans 14:14 and elsewhere. However, there are differences between dietary restrictions and moral principles. In Jesus’ day the scribes and Pharisees tended to put as much weight on the minutiae as on the fundamental principles. That’s one reason they collided with Jesus so often. Attitude toward the Sabbath was a major sticking point for them. When this whole issue came up in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, after Paul and Barnabas’ dramatic successes in evangelizing Gentiles, the conclusion they came to, in agreement with the Holy Spirit, was “to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, (avoiding temptations to idolatry) from blood, (particularly offensive to Jews) from the meat of strangled animals (likewise very offensive) and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 15:29) Coming back to what Jesus said, we will never make it into the Kingdom of Heaven by focusing on rules, but only by grace through faith, receiving Jesus’ perfect righteousness. However, when we make “grace” an excuse for yielding to our flesh we are essentially denying Christ, and there is no salvation in that.

This has been a real issue for me. I was raised with a strong moral framework, but I departed from it. My repentance was real, and I have sweet assurance of salvation. At the same time, I have a strong distaste for legalism, which is why I struggle with this passage. I come back to a verse I quoted in the message this past Sunday: “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:10) It’s a matter of “Loving God, Loving Each Other,” as the Gaithers summarized the 1st and 2nd Commandments. (Matthew 22:38-40) I am never to think I’m good enough on my own, but know that Christ paid the price for me, and love Him for it.

Father, may I walk in the righteousness of Christ, and may I lead others to do the same. May I proclaim grace but never cheapen it, so that we may walk free of the traps of the devil in the purity that You desire and intend for us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 3, 2014

Posted on September 4, 2014 by jgarrott

Matthew 5:1-2 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

We generally think of someone standing to teach or preach, but in that culture it was the other way around. Jesus’ disciples evidently sensed that He was getting ready to teach, because it says they gathered to Him. What follows is one of the most famous passages in all human literature, quoted by countless people of all persuasions in efforts to say all sorts of things. If we are to receive and grasp the Sermon on the Mount correctly, we too have to gather at the feet of Jesus and let Him speak to us, rather than trying to manipulate His words to mean whatever we want them to. Jesus’ words are often so outrageous by human standards that we refuse to accept them on first, or even second or third, hearing. That’s why He said so many times, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15 and many more) If the ears of our hearts aren’t open to Him, we won’t receive what He is saying no matter how He says it. This is a problem in normal human interaction as well. I regularly caution couples in marriage counseling to confirm whether their partner has ears to hear what needs to be said before they really start talking. Failure in that area tends to generate an “off switch” that kicks in whenever the other person starts talking. However, responsibility lies with both sides. There needs to be the desire to hear what the other has to say. That is, of course, the major factor when it comes to hearing God. All too often we don’t really want to hear what He has to say because we’re afraid it will interfere with our plans. As the saying goes, “My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts.” That’s not way to be toward God!

I wish I could say I had a heart that was always receptive toward God, but honesty keeps me from it. Most often the Lord has to repeat Himself quite a few times before I really grasp what He is saying. A major factor in that is obedience: if I really understand, I will do what He says. If I fail to act promptly on what He tells me, it fades, I lose the blessing, and He has to tell me again later. I’ve lost an awful lot of blessings that way! Thankfully I have gotten better with practice, but I certainly wish I had done better about it many years ago. I am in the place of a teacher myself, both in the church and in secular schools, and I certainly wish I could give my students hearing ears! As it is, I must exercise toward them the same patience that has been poured out on me, which actually is an opportunity for me to get to know my Lord all the better, so I should be grateful.

Father, thank You for the many ways You do speak to Your children. Help me hear You more and better, not simply to amass information but to act on Your Word, (James 1:22) so that Your will may be done in and through me for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 2, 2014

Posted on September 3, 2014 by jgarrott

Matthew 3:14-15 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

This is of course a very famous scene, and it’s significant for a number of reasons. First of all, it marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. It’s important to specify public, because every moment of Jesus’ life was ministry, as it should be for every believer. Catholic mythology notwithstanding, there is no reason to think Jesus worked miracles as a child, and real reason not to, (John 2:11) but that doesn’t mean He didn’t minister to His family and friends. However, the time was ripe for Him to be clear about who He was to the general public, and this was the first step. John already knew Jesus, since they were relatives, and he had every reason to demur at Jesus’ request, because his was a baptism of repentance, and he knew Jesus had nothing of which He needed to repent. That’s where the second point of major significance comes out. Jesus’ response was that they needed to “fulfill all righteousness,” that is, do everything that was right. That should be sufficient reason in itself for every believer in Jesus to be baptized! Jesus wasn’t going to skip any steps, because He knew how important it would be for those who believed in Him to make a public commitment through baptism. We don’t know how much John grasped at this time, but it is interesting that the mention of fulfilling righteousness was sufficient to get him to agree to baptize Jesus. I personally think that it was precisely because Jesus exercised the humility of going through baptism that the Father was so pleased with Him. Obedience, doing what is right, is always the best course, even when we don’t see why it’s necessary.

I was baptized at age 7 by a very clear choice of my own which I remember very well, even though my memory of the baptism itself is very hazy. My spiritual growth from that point was spotty at best, to the point that when I had a rather dramatic encounter with the Lord at age 24, when I was already married and a father, in my repentance for my pride and presumption I requested, and received, baptism a second time. From my current perspective I’m not at all certain it was necessary, but it was a lesson in humility, and that was very good. As a pastor I have baptized quite a few people. For some it has been as life-changing as hoped, and it would seem that some just got wet. I am to be as careful as I can be to confirm repentance and faith before baptism, but I don’t see inside people’s hearts the way God does. I am to do all I can to nurture and teach those baptized so that they may grow spiritually better than I did after my first baptism, but ultimately it must be a work of the Holy Spirit, with me as His tool. I am to apply myself faithfully, but know that the wisdom and power are His.

Father, thank You for the picture and act of baptism, and for the privilege of baptizing people into Your family. I pray that everyone who is baptized in this church would be born again indeed, to grow strong as Your child, Your representative, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 1, 2014

Posted on September 3, 2014 by jgarrott

Malachi 4:2 “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.”

Once again we have a verse that Noriko Sasaki has set nicely to music. (Available at japanesechristianmusic.wordpress.com as YouWhoFearMyName.pdf.) Scriptures are so easy to remember when set to music! The risk to my translation is that I had to add words to fit the meter, since Japanese takes more syllables to say the same thing, but I don’t think I did violence to the original text. At any rate, this is a very interesting verse. The verse before this speaks of the wicked being burned up in intense heat, but that very heat, the “sun of righteousness,” will bring healing to those who fear the Lord. To me this brings to mind 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, which speaks of the Day of the Lord being “revealed with fire.” Paul mentions straw as something that will be burned up, and verse 1 here mentions stubble, so the images are very similar. The point is, nothing that is in defiance of Christ will be able to endure His appearing, but all that is submitted and committed to Him will rejoice at that appearing. It’s like the very best radiation therapy, that burns up the cancer cells but liberates the normal cells from the influence of the cancer. Right now human medicine doesn’t do that perfectly, but we can trust God to do the job right! We all have things in our lives that aren’t pleasing to God, so they will be removed when the time comes. (C. S. Lewis wrote memorably of this in The Great Divorce.) When everything that has bound us is turned to ash, we will be free indeed to rejoice in and fellowship with our Lord.

I find this a very attractive scenario. I became quite a science fiction fan in middle school, and though I don’t read it often now, I have consumed huge quantities over the years. I can think of more than one such story that would have various parallels to this in Malachi. Maybe that helped expand my imagination to be able to believe more of what the Bible says! At any rate, I am to look forward to the Day, whether it is Christ’s return and the consummation of history, or whether it is simply my personal appearance before the throne of God. In either case, I know that everything that separates me from my Lord will be removed, and I will indeed dance like a calf released from its stall. Maranatha!

Father, You know that the one thing that makes me want You to delay Christ’s return is the huge number of people I care about who are not yet in Christ. Peter said that’s what holds You back, and I’m grateful. (2 Peter 3:9) I pray that You would pour a spirit of repentance out on this city, this nation, so that people may turn from the lies that have bound them for so long and rejoice to join Your family as Your children, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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August 31, 2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by jgarrott

Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

The whole question of tithing is a matter of trust. Do we really trust that God is our supply? If we do, then tithing is no big deal, because we know He has plenty to meet our needs, however much we give back to Him. However, if we think, or rather, feel emotionally, that we’ve got to supply for ourselves, then tithing will be a struggle. It is never a matter of God needing what we give; that is a logical absurdity. Rather, it is the privilege of being used by Him to supply various needs around us, in the Church first of all but also through the church to many. Many people balk at tithing, claiming it is Old Covenant and inappropriate for Christians, since we are under the New Covenant. If such people are actually giving away over 10% of their income to those in need, I don’t care what they call it, and I’m not sure God does either. However, such objections are most often motivated by greed, or at least by a failure to trust, as I’ve just said. The whole Bible commends and encourages generosity, and Paul wrote one of the strongest encouragements to giving in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15. There may be others, but this verse in Malachi is the only one that comes to mind where God tells us to test Him. That’s a pretty bold challenge. God is certainly able to meet it, if we will accept it.

I was raised to tithe, back from when I first received an allowance. However, I got away from it when I got away from home, thinking of everything in my wallet or my bank account as “mine,” and not really considering the issue. It was not until I was married and our second daughter had been born that I was spiritually to the point that God chose to convict me on the issue. Money was really tight, and we always seemed to have more month left at the end of the money. Eventually we wanted to tithe, but didn’t see how it was possible, because like most people, we were thinking about it backward, as something to be given in gratitude after it was left over. After several months of not having a tithe left – or sometimes, any money at all – at the end of the month, we decided to bite the bullet and give a tithe as soon as I was paid. That month, we actually had a small surplus! That’s been over 40 years ago now, and I can state definitely that God has been faithful. We certainly aren’t rich by American standards, but some people think we are because of all that God has supplied for us in various ways. We don’t stop with the tithe, but seek to remember that we are simply stewards of all that is in our hands – and our bank accounts – and use it in obedience to God. As a pastor, I desire that everyone in this church tithe, and more, not for the sake of the church but for their own blessing. Back when I was attending a Baptist seminary I saw statistics of how much money would be involved if every member of a Southern Baptist church were to tithe, and it was staggering. It was obvious then, as it is today, that only a small percentage tithe. It challenges me as to what God wants to do in and through His Church, if we will only trust Him.

Father, thank You for Your perfect faithfulness. You know the hesitation I have at preaching about money, yet I am reminded that I am short-changing the believers by failing to do so. I ask for guidance and anointing as to when and how to do it, so that together we may move in all that You desire and intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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August 30, 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014 by jgarrott

Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.

Even though this passage is part of the libretto for The Messiah, the majority of Christians, even, forget that it’s in the Bible. We see paintings of Jesus as the gentle Shepherd carrying a lamb, as it talks about in Isaiah 40:11, but we forget or ignore the aspect of judgment that is also throughout the Bible. Those who do not submit themselves to Him, who decline to acknowledge that they are no better than sheep, will see Him from a very different angle. 1 Peter 4:17 is a passage few people like: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” The Gospel is without question a message of grace, but we will indeed have to be cleansed of impurities, just as Malachi says. Fire and lye (which the NIV renders as “soap”) aren’t the most gentle of agents! That’s why it’s important to have all our sins covered by the blood of the Lamb. We are so prone to make excuses for ourselves, and say, “God wouldn’t condemn me for that, because that’s just the way I am.” That’s not submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The devil is a consummate liar, and he offers us all sorts of excuses for our sins because he knows that when they are not repented of, we lose a great deal, and he is out to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) Accepting Jesus as Lord means accepting His judgment in our lives, repenting indeed of everything that is not pleasing to Him, while we have the opportunity.

I am reminded of some of the glasses and cups from which I drink tea. (I drink a LOT of iced tea.) Though I wash them regularly, over time they acquire a brown stain, so periodically they have to be bleached. The buildup of stain is very gradual, but once the bleach has been used, the difference is striking. I need to remember that the “little” sins I tend to ignore build up, and I need the regular application of the blood of Christ, received only through repentance and faith. As a pastor, I must remember that I am not the judge, Christ is. That should govern how I warn people of sin. Too many preachers act as though they were the judge! I must not preach grace without making it clear why grace is necessary. A gospel without repentance isn’t the Gospel at all. However, the focus should be on the fact that cleansing and forgiveness are indeed available to all who will repent in truth, just as it says in 1 John 1:9.

Father, help me keep my own repentance up to date. Help me express Your love and grace accurately to all, which includes making it clear that we need them and why we need them. I have no wisdom or strength to do that effectively myself, so I ask You to do it through me. I pray that this church would be a growing body of true disciples, actively serving You for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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August 29, 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014 by jgarrott

Zechariah 8:4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age.”

Senior adults need to pay attention to the fact that this was spoken as a huge blessing to Jerusalem. We make a cult of youth, when the Bible sees blessings in each age bracket. We forget that even a hundred years ago the average life expectancy was drastically less than it is today. Our bodies do wear out over time, but over all we are far healthier far longer than any preceding generation. Rather than mourning lost abilities/mobility, there needs to be gratitude for all that is left, and the assistance that is available to make the most of it. Every age bracket tends to take what they have for granted, forgetting to be grateful. That’s tragic! Without gratitude there is no real appreciation, and thus reduced enjoyment. Failing to be grateful for all of God’s blessings robs us of them, even though they might still be physically present.

This is very close to home in a number of ways. For myself, I have already passed my father’s record by almost two years, and I look set for quite a few more. I also have a friend who will be 93 in a couple of months. He has to use oxygen, but he is grateful it is readily available, and says he is aiming for 100. At the same time, I know people who bemoan every ache and pain and the fact that their bodies aren’t as they once were, and they are fairly miserable. I don’t know when, or if, I will need to use a cane as this verse speaks of, but I plan to get a good looking one when the time comes! I am learning to accept, and even ask for, the assistance of younger people for things that used to be done without thinking, and that has not been easy. I am to keep my focus on my God and know that He is faithful, even when it is time to pack this tent up and dispose of it. (2 Corinthians 5:1, 4)

Father, thank You for Your amazing faithfulness. Thank You for the blessings You pour out, one upon another. Help me recognize, appreciate, and give thanks for each one, never focusing on negatives but always on Christ my Lord, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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