June 21, 2014

Posted on June 22, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 18:14 A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? It is very interesting that this many centuries before anyone thought of “psychology,” this insight was recorded in the Bible. Today doctors will tell you that the patient’s attitude is a prime predictor of their recovery, either positively or negatively. We have discovered psychosomatic disease, in which the symptoms are real enough, and can even be fatal, but the source is in the person’s soul rather than their body. We have also found that, just as the Bible says in several places, a positive attitude is a prime component of good health. That’s not to say that every cheerful, optimistic person is going to live to at least 100, or even that every negative person is going to die before their time, but it is to say that we are far more than organic machines. Today an increasing number of doctors (though not yet enough) are genuinely treating patients, rather than just treating diseases. Some of the most promising treatments for cancer are focusing on helping the immune system identify and destroy the cancer cells, without damaging healthy tissue. However, that’s just reinforcing something God built into our bodies in the first place. We have a lot more we need to understand about how we are put together, but that needs to start with listening to the One who created us in the first place. After all, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) I’ve done a lot of hospital visitation over the years, and the truth of this verse has certainly been impressed on me. My aim in visiting the sick is always to give them hope in Christ. That’s difficult if they aren’t believers, but sometimes their illness is exactly what they need to open their hearts to the Lord. The other side of that is people who aren’t physically ill or injured, yet who have a damaged spirit. That’s really harder to deal with, as this verse says. I can speak the truth in love to them and I can pray for them, but their recovery depends on their own choices. Often the best thing I can do is help them understand that those choices exist, and that by God’s grace they can choose life and health. My enemy is the liar who clouds their minds; it is never the person himself, however frustrated I might get at times. I am never to think that I must, or even can, “fix” the person, but I must always remember that nothing is impossible for God.

Father, You know the various people who came to mind as I wrote that. Thank You for allowing me to participate in the healing of so many. I do pray for those who are struggling right now, that they would be able to lift their eyes off of whatever the devil is showing them, whether it is real or not, and fix them on Jesus, so that they may receive hope first of all, and with it faith leading to victory, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

June 20, 2014

Posted on June 22, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 16:21, 24 The wise in heart are called discerning,
and pleasant words promote instruction.[
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

The NIV says “pleasant words” in both these verses, but the Japanese says “kind words” in verse 24. The point is, how we speak is important, and it greatly impacts how our words are received. The Japanese links the two lines of verse 21, saying that a person who is genuinely wise is going to use pleasant words. We don’t necessarily think of honey (or honeycomb) as medicine, but kind words are certainly healing. As in all things, Jesus is our example here. He spoke very sharply to the Pharisees and others who were keeping people from God, but even there His words were not infected with jealousy or pride or ill will. He wanted those people to repent! His words always promoted understanding when they were received. As He told Pilate at His trial, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37) Some obviously were not on the side of truth, but Jesus always gave them the opportunity to come over, even Pilate. When we use words to wound and not heal, to strike out and not welcome, we are not being like Jesus, to say the least. A right relationship with God is the foundation and very definition of wisdom, and such a relationship will cause us to speak as He speaks, working His will in people’s hearts and lives for His glory.

I have had a gift for words since childhood, but I have not always used it well. Far too many times I have used words as a weapon, not in the sense of the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) but as a way to attack those of whom I was jealous. I had been wounded by words, and I was going to dish it out! Such an attitude benefits no one, least of all the one speaking. My words need to be gracious and tasty, (Colossians 4:6) bringing healing and understanding, as this passage says.

Father, thank You for the gift for words You have given me. Thank You also for my father, who both recognized my gift and warned me that even when my words needed to be a scalpel, they must not be infected with jealousy or malice or pride. May I indeed speak and write Your words in Your love, so that those words may produce Your results in the hearts and lives of those who receive them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New Translated Music Blog

Posted on June 20, 2014 by jgarrott

I’ve just started a new blog of Christian music I’ve translated from Japanese to English. Pastoring a bilingual church here in Japan, I’ve translated a few hundred in one direction or the other. I’ll be starting another one in Japanese for songs I’ve done from English to Japanese, but the copyright situation will be a little trickier for the more modern of those. I plan to post a new song every day or two, and my prayer is that these songs will bless the Body of Christ around the world. The URL is japanesechristianmusic.wordpress.com

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

June 19, 2014

Posted on June 20, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.

Many times we make plans and then ask the Lord for His stamp of approval, but I don’t think that’s what this verse is talking about. Committing/submitting what you intend to do includes asking Him whether it’s a good idea in the first place. Sadly, God has no place in the thoughts of the majority of people most of the time. A lot of people consider “hearing from God” the stuff of fairy tales, and dismiss even the possibility that He might speak to them, telling them what they should do. Not long ago I heard a newscaster grilling someone because that person had said something about God’s guidance, and the newscaster wasn’t even an atheist! When we include God in our thinking from the start, then what we know of Him will impact our plans, whether or not we are aware of specific guidance. James talked about the issue of including God in our plans in the last part of James 4, and he concludes with a zinger: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:13-14) Leaving God out of our plans is the sin of presumption, of thinking somehow we don’t need Him. It is when we acknowledge our dependence on God, in our thinking and actions, that our plans stand firm, as this verse says.

I have a spotty track record in this area. It’s been many years since I’ve failed to consider God in major decisions, but I’ve made plenty of what I thought were lesser decisions without including Him in my thinking. I don’t think we should be agonizing over everything, but even such decisions as what clothes to put on should be made with a desire to please Him. There is a lady in this church of limited means, but she is always attractively and modestly dressed, and I think it’s because she asks God about it. I’ve experienced God making major changes in my plans, sometimes to my delight and sometimes to my distress, but I have far less distress when I recognize that He has the authority in the first place, and I hold my plans loosely. I still have a real tendency to get uptight about schedules, because I hate to be late. I am to be faithful and not lazy, but I am not to fear the opinion of others more than I fear God. I don’t want to be the priest or the Levite in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, (Luke 10:25-37) more concerned with my agenda than with helping people when God gives me the opportunity to do so.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the bit of a practicum You gave us in it yesterday. I never did get that nap! Help me seek, recognize, and rejoice in Your plans for me, whether they please my flesh or not, so that I may do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

June 18, 2014

Posted on June 20, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.

The Bible has many verses that connect wisdom with fearing the Lord, but this one implies a process. The Japanese renders the first half as, “The fear of the Lord is training in wisdom.” There is no such thing as a “wisdom pill,” or a “training pill” in anything, for that matter. We live in an “instant” age, where patient endurance seems to be a lost art, and we are much the poorer for it. We don’t want to put in the hours or the effort, and wind up with about as much wisdom as a goldfish. When we fear God properly we aren’t demanding, but rather trust Him to bring about His perfect plan on His schedule. At the same time, if we fear Him properly, when He says move, we move! In our human weakness we hardly ever get it right the first time, but if our focus is on Him, we’ll keep trying, and that is training. This is very closely tied with the second half of the verse. Here too we live in a time of instant celebrities, with the Internet vastly accelerating a trend that has been going on for quite a while, of “overnight hits” and people becoming famous for being famous. Such “honor,” if you could really call it that, is illusory at best. True honor comes from being honorable in the first place, and that requires a humble spirit. The best way to have a humble spirit is to fear God! When we know to the depth of our being that without Christ we can do nothing, (John 15:5) we are in the right position for God to lift us up. (1 Peter 5:6) That seems pretty wise to me!

I’ve certainly had my struggles with waiting on God and trusting Him, so I shouldn’t look down on others who are in that situation. I must remember that, as Jesus reminded the rich young ruler, God alone is good. (Matthew 19:17) I must never trust in my own righteousness, but only in the One who makes it possible for me to be righteous by faith in Him. (Ezekiel 33:13, Romans 4:13) When I am given honor and praise by people I am not to be ungracious, but I am never to think I “earned” it somehow. God alone is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.

Father, I’ve been asked to speak briefly at a regional morning prayer time/prayer breakfast this morning. When asked, I accepted almost casually, yet I am increasingly aware that it will be an assembly of saints, several of them leaders of far larger congregations than my own. Help me not fear them in any way but rather fear You, allowing You to speak Your heart through me. May the words You speak through me draw them into more intimate fellowship with You, giving them a hunger for more, for their blessing and the blessing of many through them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

June 17, 2014

Posted on June 20, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 15:8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

This is essentially a statement about hypocrisy. An evil person can go through all the right external motions and still not be acceptable to the Lord, but a person whose heart is right is welcomed by Him. At first glance it might look to us like the evil person is doing more here than the righteous person, offering a sacrifice rather than just praying, but I don’t think that difference is so huge, because various other passages essentially equate prayers and sacrifices, under the system of the Old Covenant. That said, the evil person here is doing at least as much as the righteous person, so it’s clearly a matter of the heart. This theme comes up again and again throughout the Bible, and many people have rightly grasped it. However, others have twisted it, to the point that James had to spend a good bit of his letter pointing out that a heart that is right before God is going to be doing right stuff, and even John had to touch on it in his first letter. (1 John 3:18) God wants our hearts first, but He wants all of us, and we should not try to justify our actions with “But I meant well!”

I have to be as careful of this as anyone. That’s why I need to keep my repentance up to date! My priority is first to love God with all I am and then to love my neighbor as myself, just as Jesus said, (Matthew 22:37-39) but I also have to be careful to express my love consistently through my actions. I am quite capable of deceiving myself, (James 1:22) so I’ve got to let the Holy Spirit show me when my actions and my words are incongruent. If I am to have the fellowship with God for which I was created, and for which I hunger, then all of me has to be involved.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that You are growing me, in this and every area. May I be what You want me to be so that my prayers may be pleasing to You indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

June 16, 2014

Posted on June 17, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a disgrace to any people.

This verse has been true from time immemorial, and certainly for the 3000 years since it was written. However, through the ages people have tried to get around it by redefining sin. It is very interesting to see how many times down through history Biblical morality has been described as “old fashioned” or “regressive.” Recently I’ve lost track of who and how many people have used the phrase, “on the wrong side of history,” toward those who hold out for Biblical morality. It would all be amusing if it weren’t so tragic! However, it should be a comfort and encouragement to believers to realize that the devil has tried this scheme many times before, and there’s always been a backlash. America is in a genuinely bad place on several fronts. Trying to deny that is failing to read “the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2) However, that in no way changes the fact that God is God, and those who are in Christ Jesus are more than conquerors. (Romans 8:37) The point is not to conform to the world, however pervasive sin might be, but be transformed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. (Romans 12:2) When sin is celebrated it is a disgrace indeed, and for that, faithful believers mourn for America. However, we must remain personally righteous as an example to all who see us, not in pride but in love, so that as many as will may turn from darkness to light.

This of course applies to me, even though I don’t live in the US. In recent years I have been very stirred by the flood of filth coming out of the US, and I can’t say it hasn’t splashed on me. However, I’m learning to lift my eyes to Jesus and not be dragged down emotionally, though the temptation is always there. This is training in faith that God is still God and His plans are good, whatever it looks like in the short term. At this point America looks very much like Babylon in the Revelation to John, and that’s painful. However, I’ve got to remember that “Babylon” is much more a spiritual description than a physical location, and also that nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:37) I am to pray God’s mercy for America, that He would pour out a Spirit of repentance and holiness to wash the filth from people’s hearts and lives. At the same time I am to use every means at my disposal to speak the truth in love, so that I may be a channel of the move of God that I pray for, for His glory.

Father, I indeed pray that Your Name would be hallowed and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, in America and in Japan and around the world. Thank You that honest statistics show that “Pentecostalism,” that is, Christianity that expects You to be fully active in our lives, is the fastest growing religion in the world, even though most “news” outlets won’t report it that way. Help me see things as You do, rather than as the media present it, so that my faith may be strong and my joy contagious, drawing people to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

June 15, 2014

Posted on June 17, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.

This is a well-known verse, but I don’t recall noticing before that the Japanese says “straight” where the English says “right.” Just as there are optical illusions, so there are ethical and moral illusions. That’s why it’s so important that we have the Bible. Both our eyes and our ears can be fooled, as everyone has experienced, but God’s Word stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8) At times we miss-hear the Holy Spirit, and the devil actively tries to make us think that his suggestions are from the Holy Spirit. That’s why gaining familiarity with the Word is so valuable: we learn what God’s voice really sounds like. That’s precisely why the devil works so hard to discredit the Bible, and the very idea that absolute truth could exist. It is tragic how many people have swallowed that last lie and been cut off from all moral and ethical mooring. It has been pointed out that a moral and ethical atheist is a contradiction in terms, because without a Creator there is no foundation for “right” and “wrong” in anything. If we throw out the Bible, we’ve not just taken the rug from under our feet, we’ve taken the whole floor, dirt, and everything else!

I remember one time in my youth when my father made an emergency trip to confront a seminary student, I think it was, who had decided to live with a prostitute “to win her to Christ.” He probably tried to use Hosea for justification, but he hadn’t gone through the “niceties” of marriage. For that matter, I’ve justified behavior in myself that I can now look back and see was clearly deviating from God. Our emotions are unreliable, and coupled with “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” (1 John 2:16) they can totally cloud our judgment. I’ve got to build up a “bank balance” of the Word of God, to serve as a cushion, anchor and shield against all the devil and the world throw at me. (Psalm 119:11) It is the only reliable “plumb line” (Amos 7) to let me know whether my way really is straight.

Father, I tend to think that other people might be deceived, but not me. Help me walk in the humility that is only logical, when I consider myself in the light of Your infinite attributes. May I recognize Your way and follow it, not trying to decide anything apart from You, so that Your will may be done in every detail in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

June 14, 2014

Posted on June 15, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the Lord,
but he whose ways are devious despises him.

“Upright” and “devious” are accurate enough translations, but the contrast is a little clearer in the more literal Japanese translation: “He who walks straight” and “he who walks crooked.” That said, the principle expressed in this verse is certainly true. It’s not just that fearing the Lord will make you walk straight, it’s that walking straight gives you an appreciation for the Lord. Likewise, those who wander all over the place, morally and ethically speaking, can’t really appreciate what the Lord does, and so they despise Him. We see this all the time in public figures, but less famous people show the same traits. The thing is, a devious lifestyle is incompatible with a right relationship to our Creator. We were made for fellowship with Him, but when He walks straight and we walk crooked, that fellowship never develops. That’s true even between people, but the consequences aren’t nearly as serious. The thing is, we will spend eternity with whomever we choose to walk with in this life. If we choose to walk straight with God, then “heaven” is the word applied to our eternity. If we choose to be crooked, that is the way of the devil, and his eternity is called “hell.” Our values, what we consider important, speak volumes about the state of our soul. They are the “turn signals,” so to speak, of our life. If we’re always wanting to turn this way and that, then we will despise the One who calls us to walk straight.

As a pastor I am constantly dealing with people who can’t seem to get their priorities straight. For that matter, I’ve struggled with the issue myself. It comes back to a principle stated in Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Jesus said the same thing slightly differently in Matthew 6:33. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I’ve found by experience that the more I make the Lord my priority, the better I am able to recognize and appropriate His provision on every level, emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. However, when I try to share that truth, people are very prone to say, “But…!” It does take faith, but to get the faith we need we have to exercise the faith we’ve already been given. Translations differ, but Romans 12:3 seems to say that everyone has been given some level of faith, and I’d have to say that’s the case. I need to encourage people to take in the Word of God and exercise the faith they have so that it will grow, just like muscle that is fed and exercised.

Father, thank You for all the times You have been gracious to me when my priorities have been wrong and my faith weak. Help me be an open channel of Your grace to those around me, so that together we may walk straight with You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

June 13, 2014

Posted on June 15, 2014 by jgarrott

Proverbs 13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

Talk about something that has been discarded from society! This verse has been paraphrased as, “He who spares the rod spoils the child.” (I had thought that phraseology was in Proverbs, but it appears I have no room to look down on people who think things are in the Bible that aren’t!) However, the original is actually more hard-hitting, no pun intended, because it so clearly links discipline with love. This is expressed from a slightly different angle in Proverbs 3:11-12, which is in turn quoted in Hebrews 12. That passage is focused on our response to receiving discipline, but this verse is from the perspective of the parent. I was raised in the days of Dr. Spock, but thankfully his books didn’t become popular until I was slightly past them. He himself later regretted the train wreck that he had unleashed on society, and what a train wreck it has been! I touch on parenting in my premarital counseling, and young couples are often amazed at first, but then accepting and understanding of the reality that without boundaries, children are unsettled and insecure, of their parents’ love or much of anything else. Parental discipline is a sign of love, of caring, and the Japanese translation of this verse says we have to work at it. It can be easier at the moment to ignore the bad thing your child is doing, but ignoring it will reap an unpleasant harvest later on, for you and for the child. Parenting is hard work! However, for those who put the right effort into it, it is richly rewarding.

My younger daughter waited 10 years after marriage to have children, in part because she said she didn’t want to go through what she felt she and her sister had put her parents through. However, once she had a child, she said, “If I had known children were this much fun I would have had them much sooner!” Today she is doing a very good job with two sons, and it makes a daddy proud. That family will be coming for an extended visit in a couple of weeks, so the benefits of loving discipline will be put to a 3-week test! However, as a grandparent I am to support and supplement parental discipline and not supplant it. I’m not to break the boundaries set by the parents. I will have plenty of opportunity to express love within those boundaries, and my desire and aim is that the boys understand that love comes from their Heavenly Father, who loves them more than their parents and grandparents combined.

Father, thank You for Your gracious blessings in every area, including discipline. You know as well as I do how I’ve resisted Your discipline at times. Thank You for Your patience with me. Help me be an undistorted channel of that love to those around me, both my physical family and others, so that all may be drawn close to You to love You in return, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment