March 5, 2014

Posted on March 8, 2014 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

It strikes me strongly that it didn’t take the Israelites long to violate what Moses says here, because they added a great deal to what he said to them from the Lord. It was all couched as “interpretation,” but it effectively amounted to a mountain of regulations that, as Peter said much later, “neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear.” (Acts 15:10) The purpose of God’s rules and regulations is always our good, to keep us from harm and guide us into the abundant blessings He intends for us. However, we have a strong tendency to think more is better, even when it comes to rules, so we embroider what God has actually said and codify it to the point that it becomes something else entirely. The same thing is certainly seen in human government. Laws simply increase, and outmoded laws are for the most part not removed. As has been amply evident in the US just recently, laws grow to the point that even the supposed “lawmakers” can hardly read them, much less understand all their ramifications, so they don’t even try. Most churches aren’t to that point yet, but some of them certainly seem headed that direction. The opposite of that is called antinomianism, which is a rejection of all laws. In the case of God’s laws, that is also a rejection of the blessing those laws were given to ensure. All of this brings us to the necessity of what God promised through Jeremiah and later realized by pouring out the Holy Spirit: “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33) As long as God’s laws are external to us they are no better than human laws.

This has been a factor for all of mankind ever since the Garden of Eden, and I have run afoul of it more times that I could possibly count. As a pastor, it is a constant issue in relating to those around me. I’ve got to be constantly and increasingly tuned to the Holy Spirit for the wisdom and insight needed, because there’s no other way to get it! I cannot be legalistic, but I must not overlook the valuable place rules have in God’s plan. I am to encourage God’s “hedge of protection” without letting it turn into prison walls. That’s a line I can only walk by the grace of God!

Father, thank You that it was just as I was writing this that a call came in from a parent tied in knots over their adult child. Thank You for Your anointing as I talked and prayed over the phone. I pray that Your plans for both parent and child would be fulfilled in every detail, for them both to grow in faith, trust, and maturity in every area, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 4, 2014

Posted on March 8, 2014 by jgarrott

Exodus 23:9 “Do no oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”

This is a fairly remarkable, and to me rather moving, command. The Japanese expresses it, “You yourselves know well the heart of the alien.” The Israelites had certainly been oppressed in Egypt, so they knew well what it felt like. The Lord through Moses was telling them not to forget that, but apply it in treating aliens among them as they would have liked to have been treated. This ties in well with the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) and with what Paul said about extending to others the comfort we have received. (2 Corinthians 1:4) A major reason God allows even those who are committed to Him to experience difficulties is so that we can in turn be His agents in rescuing those in similar circumstances. It has been said that a doctor who has never been a patient isn’t a very good doctor, and I can believe it (though it certainly isn’t a one-to-one equivalence). On the specific matter of aliens today, there are lots of issues. One factor is the simple matter of legality. There is a world of difference between someone who has gone through the steps and someone who has “jumped the fence” (sometimes literally). However, this verse makes it clear that oppression is not an option in any case. Paying someone next to nothing to work for you because they are “undocumented” and can’t complain is a direct violation of this verse. Another issue is the matter of whether the alien has any intention of assimilating into their host culture. This is a very major problem in Europe today, because of large groups of Muslim immigrants who by their own admission are trying to hijack the culture of their host nation. Oppression isn’t the answer, but neither is blind stupidity!

I have a unique perspective on this issue, having been born in Japan of American parents. Japan has historically been one of the most ethnically closed societies on earth, and living here as an alien has certainly had its challenges. Demographic pressures are forcing Japan to accept more immigrants than in the past, but acceptance has been glacial at times. I am not to focus on rejection or injustice, however much I might be the brunt of it, but rather be as consistent as possible in expressing the love and character of Christ. It is a huge stretch for a Japanese to accept as Japanese someone who doesn’t look oriental, at least, so I need to focus on grace rather than on hurts so as to draw as many as possible into God’s family.

Father, thank You for Your grace toward me, and for my unique circumstances. Help me apply the lessons You’ve taught me through my experiences so that others may be helped and You may be glorified. May I remember the depths from which You have lifted me, so that I may be Your instrument in lifting others from their own pit, however different that might be from the one from which I came. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 3, 2014

Posted on March 4, 2014 by jgarrott

Genesis 18:25 “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

This whole story of Abraham bargaining with God, so to speak, is one of the most remarkable in the whole Bible. In the first place, there is a level of anthropomorphism of God that flies in the face of all we believe of His divine attributes. Omniscient God certainly didn’t need to go physically to Sodom to check it out! It’s not at all that He didn’t know how many righteous people were in Sodom, it’s that He wanted Abraham to have this interchange and so understand how bad the situation in Sodom really was. David later had a revelation of this side of the character of God, when he wrote in Psalm 18:35, “You stoop down to make me great.” (That is one of the jewels of the NIV translation, in the middle of its various shortcomings.) Of course the ultimate example of this was Jesus being born as a helpless human baby in a barn in Bethlehem. God’s love for mankind is absolutely shocking, because it seems to defy all logic. After all, I don’t even love myself that much! Precisely because it is so extreme, we have to grow in our appreciation of it, having it revealed to our hearts because our minds overload trying to take it all in. This is what Paul was talking about in His pastoral prayers, such as in Ephesians 2:14-21, where he prays we will “know this love that surpasses knowledge.” (Ephesians 2:19) There’s no other explanation for why God would do things as He did with Abraham, because Abraham didn’t have the foundation to understand God any other way.

This is extremely pertinent to me because of the need to tailor my presentation of the Gospel to those who are receiving it. It’s not in the least that the Gospel changes, but I have to express it in ways that can be grasped. As great a blessing as it was to be raised in a home with an extremely high level of Bible knowledge, that makes it difficult even today at times for me to break the Gospel down simply enough for it to be grasped by those who hear it for the first time. I certainly identify with Paul saying, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) I don’t have the wisdom or skill in myself to do that effectively, so I am totally dependent on God by His Spirit. If I will be yielded and obedient, then He will indeed save others through me.

Father, thank You for the opportunities for ministry yesterday, morning and night. They were very different, but You were faithful. Thank You for the opportunity I have this morning. Humanly speaking it’s very challenging, but nothing is too difficult for You. When You appeared as a human figure to Abraham and allowed Him to bargain with You, You will do whatever it takes to get through to the man I’ll be seeing this morning. Help me be fully available but also stay out of the way, so that Your Spirit may take Your Word through me and accomplish Your will, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 2, 2014

Posted on March 4, 2014 by jgarrott

Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

This is one of the foundational verses of the whole Bible. Noah’s righteousness was one of obedience, which is certainly important, but Abraham’s was one of faith, which goes even deeper. Faith could be said to be “out of fashion,” or “out of favor” in the world today. The devil has mounted a sustained assault on faith under various names, such as “science,” “rationalism,” “humanism,” and most recently, “tolerance.” I put all of those in quotes, not only because they are specific terms used in the battle, but because the devil has distorted the actual meanings of those words to make them say things that are untrue. True science is “following the footsteps of God,” as one man put it, and not trying to “make God unnecessary,” as so many try to use it today. Likewise, human intellect is a gift from God; honest rationalism understands that the universe demands a Creator, and that His existence means we are accountable to Him. Human beings are certainly unique in God’s creation, but in general today, humanism tries to replace God with man as the highest good, and that brings chaos. And of course, those who preach tolerance today generally mean acceptance of anything and everything except obedience to God. People of faith certainly aren’t perfect, as Abram/Abraham demonstrated amply, but they have a foundation for life and living that can be had no other way. Genuine faith will be active, as James and John both say clearly in their letters. Genuine faith takes our eyes off of ourselves and fixes them on the only One who is worthy of our reliance, and that is a good thing indeed.

Like everyone else I am only saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Since God offers faith as a gift, I am to receive it gratefully and exercise it so that it may grow. I constantly recognize things in my own life and in the lives of others that indicate a lack of faith, or immature faith, so this is never something to be taken for granted. I am not to discard the intellect I have been given, nor teach others to do so, but I must always recognize its limits, and walk in trusting obedience. That does not mean setting up false tests of God, like the snake-handling preacher who recently died after refusing treatment for snakebite because of “faith.” He had faith in faith, rather than faith in God, and it let him down. That can be a tricky area. I’ve heard quite a few messages that could be said to promote faith in faith, and as pious as they sound, they are deceptive. Jesus indeed said several times things like “Your faith has made you well,” but the operative factor there was the object of their faith, Jesus, and I must never forget that.

Father, as we move forward in this year of “doing the works that Jesus did,” (John 14:12) help us keep our focus on You, and not on the things You enable us to do, or even on our faith. Help us indeed trust You fully, believing that You can do anything at all through any vessel of Your choosing, and offer ourselves as Your instruments, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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March 1, 2014

Posted on March 4, 2014 by jgarrott

Genesis 7:1, 5 “I have found you righteous in this generation.”
And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.

Here, in the first use of the word “righteousness” (in the English Bible, at least) we obviously have what could be called a “works-based” righteousness. Noah was righteous because he was obedient. In our modern focus on salvation by grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8-9) we sometimes gloss over the need to be obedient. As the saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” John the Baptist, James the brother of Jesus, and John the Apostle were all very clear that the condition of the heart is expressed by how we live; if there is no change in the outer, there’s been no meaningful change in the inner. Trying to work entirely the other direction, changing the inner man through changing behavior, works to some degree, but it has real limits. In psychology it’s called Behavior Modification, and there are some reports of “success,” but they are questionable at best. We are fundamentally spiritual beings, with a soul inhabiting a body. Much human “science” has tried to treat those as separate things, but ultimately frustration is guaranteed by that approach. That’s why Jesus said that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor, because genuine love is going to express itself in action.

This is an understanding I am more and more confirmed in the longer I live. Actions by themselves are largely meaningless. Jesus was hardest on the hypocritical Pharisees, who did mostly the right things but for all the wrong reasons. However He was explicitly clear that “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) That’s why I so appreciate the SOAP system of personal devotions. Articulated by Wayne Cordeiro, it is the system I have followed for quite a few years now, and is an acronym for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. It is the Application section that has made the biggest impact for me, because it forces me to think how any passage I read is supposed to affect the way I live. As someone with Teacher gifting (Romans 12) it’s easy for me to make an intellectual exercise of anything, divorcing it from the way I live. That’s no way to read the Bible! I’ve got to be active in my obedience, no less than Noah was, because God is totally worthy of my obedient love.

Father, thank You for the righteousness You have imparted to me in Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:30) Help me live that out in obedient love all the time, in every area of my life, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 28, 2014

Posted on March 1, 2014 by jgarrott

Revelation 22:4 They will see is face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

It is interesting that some oriental stories/legends have the idea of a name or mark of power being on someone’s forehead. I think the Japanese Dragon Ball animation series includes this. The idea first appears in the Bible in Ezekiel 9:4, where those who grieve over idolatry are given a mark on their forehead to protect them from judgment, much as the blood on the doorposts did at the original Passover in Exodus 12. Today the more famous mark is the 666 mentioned in Revelation 13:16-18, but here we have the ultimate mark, because nothing is superior to the Creator God. It is significant that it is on the forehead for two reasons. First, it is immediately visible to everyone else, but not to the one so marked. I am reminded of how Moses’ face glowed after being with God, striking fear in those who saw him, but he himself wasn’t aware of it. (Exodus 34:29-30) When we are on intimate terms with God, all who know us will recognize the difference, but it seems perfectly normal to us! The location of the mark is also significant because the head is where the battles are. We do not sin in action until we have first sinned in thought. This is why the helmet of salvation is an essential part of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13-18: if our minds, our thoughts, aren’t submitted to and protected by God, we’re in deep trouble! However, God’s Name being on our foreheads can’t be separated from seeing the face of God. Just as with Moses on Sinai, it is intimate fellowship with God that makes the difference. The glorious thing is, such fellowship doesn’t have to wait for heaven, because God doesn’t want it to! He desires fellowship with each of His children even right now, but we have to be open and available, fully submitted to Him, for it to happen. We do have various limitations to such fellowship in this life, but God can and does transcend those in amazing ways when we are fully committed to Him.

The Lord has given me a hunger for fellowship with Him that has only grown, the more I have tasted it. It’s the most wonderfully addictive thing ever! I desire to be use by Him in destroying the works of the devil, (1 John 3:8) healing the sick and setting the captives free, (Luke 4:18-19) but that will happen only in the context of my abiding in Him (John 15:4-7) in ever-increasing intimacy. I know that I am already sealed with the Holy Spirit, so my goal is to let that be increasingly obvious and operative in my life, not to be “weird” but to be increasingly transparent as a carrier of the presence of God. I want to keep shedding everything that interferes with that, so that I may be His agent on every level, for His pleasure and glory.

Father, thank You for the hunger for this that You have given me. It’s a blessed obsession! It’s not nearly as operative in my daily life as it could be or should be. Help me live out the truth I know, in ever-increasing fellowship with You indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 27, 2014

Posted on March 1, 2014 by jgarrott

Revelation 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

In these six verses there are four different names mentioned for the triumphant Messiah, and two of them are compound, which makes at least six. (Verse 12 mentions a name that only He knows, so that might be compound or singular.) The point is that in many societies names are seen as indicative of the nature and character of the one named. That has been lost to a great extent in most modern industrialized societies, but we need to keep it in mind when reading the Bible. For the past several months the readings have all been based on “The Name of the Lord,” and here, almost at the end of the Bible, we have a cluster of His Names. This one, climactic in this series, is of special significance. To me, “King of kings” indicates supreme political authority, that is, over the organizations and structures of mankind. However, “Lord of lords” is more personal, showing that His authority is over each individual. In Japan even today, the term for a husband in relation to his wife is “lord.” (There is a separate term that means simply “husband.”) In English we relegate it to “nobility,” apart from religious usage, and I think we fail to have a full grasp of what it means Biblically. That makes it hard to understand why saying, “Jesus is Lord,” would be integral to salvation itself. (Romans 10:9) Back then, slavery was a fact of society, and at the same time, the Roman emperor required that his subjects confess, Caesar is Lord. That made this Name for the Messiah, King of kings and Lord of lords, absolutely treasonous from the emperor’s viewpoint. We don’t have such a fixation on titles today, but we must not forget that Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” (Matthew 28:18) That was no idle boast, and we forget it to our peril.

I have given lip service to the absolute authority of Christ for most of my life, but how much I have lived in genuine submission to that authority is a different matter! These days I pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” frequently and from my heart, but that hasn’t always been the case. I deal constantly with people who have essentially no grasp at all of the Lordship of Christ, and the challenge is to help them see it and choose to submit to it. Both parts of that are essential, because they won’t choose to submit to Christ if they don’t know He is Lord, but just knowing He is Lord without choosing to submit doesn’t do them much good either. After all, as James points out (James 2:19) even demons believe Jesus is Lord! I am to be an example and a guide, because acknowledging Jesus as your Lord is the first step in discipleship, and I am commanded to make disciples for Christ. (Matthew 29:19)

Father, thank You for this clear Word, and for clarifying what I am supposed to say Sunday. Help me be a disciple indeed, fully submitted to the Lordship of Christ, so that I may lead as many as possible into that same blessed relationship with You, with Him, with the Holy Spirit, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 26, 2014

Posted on March 1, 2014 by jgarrott

Revelation 15:4 “Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

All who refuse to acknowledge God now are also refusing to accept the plain and simple reality that the time will come when they will have no choice. However, sonship comes only to those who choose to acknowledge God in their life on earth. I honestly can’t imagine what it will be like for those who have stubbornly rejected God, but I do know it will be horrible beyond words. That’s why I try to persuade as many as possible to open their hearts to Him while they have the opportunity. The longer I walk with God, the more illogical it seems to me that anyone would do otherwise. The benefits are limitless! However, there’s that stubborn matter of pride, of wanting to go our own way. I recently saw a cartoon of God looking down on the earth and talking with an angel, saying, “Did I really give them that much free will?” Someone commented on that, “That’s like being ‘a little bit’ pregnant!” The commenter was wiser than the cartoonist, though I certainly understand the cartoonist’s feelings. I keep coming back to the reality that God wants children, not robots. The risks are indeed extreme, and they cost Jesus His life, to buy back those who sold themselves to sin: the human race. God is love, and love is vulnerable to being hurt. God doesn’t want anyone to go to destruction, (1 Timothy 2:3-4) but He will not stop those who insist on it, though it breaks His heart.

This is the great paradox of existence, and I have struggled with it for as long as I’ve been aware of it. It’s certainly a reminder that I’m not smart, God is! It is beyond my intellectual capacity to grasp all the implications of this, so like a little child, I just need to trust my Daddy. At times I want so much to just wave a wand, so to speak, and have a person or group of people open their hearts to God, but it simply doesn’t work that way. What I can do, though, is be a disciple by making disciples for Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20) It’s certainly not instant, like I would often like it to be, but it is very real, and the rewards, for me and for them, are incalculable.

Father, I am surrounded by people who don’t acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and I so want them in Your family with me! Help me be increasingly effective in making strong disciples, to save as many as possible. Thank You for the opportunities I have at two different graduation parties to “say a few words.” I pray that Your Spirit through me would speak Your words so that they may be embedded in the heart of each hearer, drawing them inexorably to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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February 25, 2014

Posted on February 26, 2014 by jgarrott

Revelation 11:18 “The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great –
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

I get two major things from this verse. One is a common understanding, and the other might be surprising to some. The first is that we will indeed all be rewarded according to the level of our faithfulness. This is a common theme throughout the Bible, actually. Hebrews 6:10 is a good example: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” The second point, that some might find surprising, is the logical conclusion to what God did in the Garden of Eden, entrusting the earth to mankind. In Genesis 2:15 it says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” We certainly have a very spotty track record on that score! That’s not at all to say that we aren’t to develop the land or that industrialization is bad, but it does mean we are caretakers, and should act accordingly. It is certainly idolatry to worship “Mother Earth,” and sadly, much of the conservation movement seems to lean that direction. However, that aberration does not negate the statement in this verse that God will destroy those who destroy the earth. Currently, “climate change” is used as a tool to force political control over people’s lives, but that doesn’t change our individual responsibility to be respectful stewards of the planet we live on.

I have been aware of, and disturbed by, pollution for most of my life. Because Japan developed an efficient system for collecting human waste many centuries ago, they didn’t have the pressure to develop a sewer system like Europe and America did, and even today there are areas where sink and laundry runoff simply goes into the nearest stream. Naturally, that creates major problems. However, Japan also has a track record of tackling pollution issues once they are widely recognized, and of doing a good job with them. Back in the ’60s, for example, the air in Yahata City (now Yahata Ward of Kitakyushu City) was literally orange, because of the massive iron and steel making industry centered there. Today, the air is clear, with no strange smells, and it’s not because the blast furnaces have gone away; they have learned to control the pollution. I am no believer in “man-made global warming,” but I believe that those who love the Lord should respect His creation. That said, anything material is certainly secondary to the salvation of souls. Here too, as in every other area, I need God’s wisdom and guidance!

Father, life is indeed complicated. Help me be faithfully obedient to all You show me, and lead others to have the same attitude, so that together we may be pleasing to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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February 24, 2014

Posted on February 26, 2014 by jgarrott

Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

It struck me as I read this that the content of the letters to the seven churches can be applied to individuals as well as to churches. This enormously encouraging verse should be taken to heart by every genuinely faithful believer who feels overwhelmed by circumstances, weak indeed. The reference to “only a little strength” certainly rings a bell! The point is, God desires love and faithfulness more than what we would call “accomplishments.” He desires to use some individuals and some churches in what we would call “great” things, but He desires to use others in much quieter roles. The point is, we aren’t to complain at what the Lord has laid out for us, but seek to press into Him in faithful obedience whatever it means. We aren’t to back off from anything, big or small, but know that God will provide whatever it will take to accomplish – or simply get through – whatever it is. If we will do that because of our love for Him, then we will indeed find that we face an open door that no one can shut, just as He promises here.

Yesterday was an interesting experience. I felt bad physically from a cold, yet I don’t know that I’ve ever preached with more power. I had had some difficulty singing during the praise and worship time because of the cold, yet when I started preaching, even I was surprised at the strength of my voice. I guess that was an object lesson in what the Lord told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, that His power is made perfect in weakness. I will happily be weak, for God’s power to be manifested through me! The challenge then becomes realizing how little power I have even when I don’t feel weak. The Lord made it clear to me a while back that mentally I am no better than a newborn infant compared to Him, regardless of what anyone thinks of my intellect. The same thing applies to strength. The moment I think I can do something on my own, I cut Him out of the loop, and I’m done for. I need to rejoice in being nothing so that He can be everything, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this insight. I get the strong feeling it’s going to be really important. I have had the clear impression that You have big plans for us this year. Keep me from thinking even for a moment that I can do any of it without You. I know some things that are on the calendar, but I can’t begin to know all that You have planned. Help me walk in loving faithfulness through every moment, whether those moments seem big or small, so that Your plans may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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