January 15, 2014

Posted on January 17, 2014 by jgarrott

John 17:11 “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one.”

We tend to focus on verse 21 of this chapter as Jesus praying for unity among the believers who are His Body, but this verse sheds important light on how that comes about. We put so little emphasis on the Name of the Lord, really, when Jesus says here that it is what enables unity. In practical terms, when we focus on assorted doctrines we are very unlikely to have a high degree of unity. However, when we focus on the Name of the only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we can enjoy sweet unity that amazes even those involved, not to mention outside observers. Interestingly, that is often an unintended result of persecution. When proclaiming the Name of Jesus puts us in grave danger, anyone else who is willing to undergo that risk for the sake of that Name is our brother indeed, whatever else we might disagree on. Ever since I first read it I have liked C. S. Lewis’ statement that when we get to heaven, one thing we can be sure of is that we will all discover that we had been wrong somewhere. Unity in the Body of Christ doesn’t depend on doctrine, it depends on the Person and Name of our Lord, our Head. It’s not that doctrine isn’t important, but that we must not let doctrine come between us and someone that Jesus says is our brother.

I’ve just returned from a 3-day meeting that certainly ignored denominational lines. Many of the people there had deep scars that had been inflicted by those who should have been brothers, but they let the love and grace of God flow over and through them. It was a blessed time indeed. I am involved in the Ministers Fellowship in this city, and barriers are steadily getting lower, though the enemy isn’t giving up. I am to walk in grace and love myself, letting the Name and Spirit of the Lord bind me to the other parts of His Body, as many and as varied as they are. I am certainly not to ignore my own commission, but I am not to denigrate a brother or sister whose commission is a bit different. I am to be open as a channel of grace and blessing to all, but especially to those of God’s family. (Galatians 6:10)

Father, thank You for all the blessings of the past few days, and that I’m home again. Thank You for all that You did in strengthening ties between me and other members of the Body of Christ. I pray that the unity that You desire and that Jesus prayed for would be manifested more and more, demonstrating to the world that we are indeed Christ’s disciples, (John 13:35) drawing many to salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 14, 2014

Posted on January 17, 2014 by jgarrott

John 16:26-27 “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

To me, this shoots holes in praying to anyone but the Trinity. There’s no problem with praying to the Father, certainly, and not to Jesus either, since He says, “I will do whatever you ask in My Name.” (John 14:13) And as much interaction with the Holy Spirit as is mentioned from Acts 2 on, I see no problems there, either. However, nowhere in the Bible does it mention praying to deceased persons, Mary or any other saint. When the Creator of the Universe loves us, why go any lower? The two points Jesus mentions here are love for Him and faith in Him. Remembering that love includes obedience, (John 14:23) these are all we need to worry about. If we have those, we have a “hotline to heaven.”

My wife and I have a reputation with some people, particularly with our daughters, that, “If [we] pray for something, it happens.” I wish I had such assurance myself! In the meeting I’m attending there has been a lot of encouragement to pray, specifically for healing and for the salvation of the lost. That’s certainly good! I certainly could stand to spend more time in prayer. At the same time, I find I’m praying the first part of the Lord’s Prayer more and more often, that His name would be hallowed as His kingdom comes through His will being done. I really think that covers all the bases! That’s not in the least to say I don’t need to pray specific prayers, even detailed prayers, but it is to say that God’s will, His plan, is inclusive and perfect; I don’t have to worry about anything having escaped His attention! I do have a lot of specifics to pray about right now, but I am to do so in the full assurance that God desires what is absolutely best. What I am doing in prayer is bending, lending, my will to His, so that I may be His instrument in doing what He wants to do already, and that is what is absolutely best.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing, and for the incredible privilege of participating in it. Thank You for the gift of tongues, to enable me to “pray without ceasing” when my mind doesn’t know how to pray. Thank You for the blessed assurance that You love me, You desire what is best for me, and nothing can separate me from Your love. May I be fully obedient to You in every detail, so that Your will may indeed be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 13, 2014

Posted on January 17, 2014 by jgarrott

John 15:23 “He who hates me hates my Father as well.”

We are generally much more familiar with positive expressions of this truth, but this negative statement is equally important. It is very interesting to see how some people are willing to allow public prayer, just so long as it isn’t “In Jesus’ Name.” Various other ways of referring to Deity could mean any god at all, but there’s no mistaking the Name of Jesus! This verse is all the more reason why Christians shouldn’t back down from using the Name of Jesus Christ appropriately. After all, Jesus also said that if we’re ashamed of Him, He’ll be ashamed of us. (Mark 8:38) We need to remember that it’s impossible to obey God without obeying Jesus, and our obedience is a clear indicator of our love for both Father and Son. (John 14:23, 31)

It’s recorded that as a small child I said, “I really love you, Mommy, but I don’t love you nearly as much as I love Jesus.” That’s impressive and touching from a small child, but love is indeed much more than words. I shudder to think of all the disobedience I have shown toward the Lord over the years. As the chorus says, “I love Thee, I love Thee, and that Thou dost know, but how much I love Thee my actions will show.” I certainly don’t want to be found to have hated Jesus because of my disobedience.

Father, thank You for the opportunity to attend this conference, and for the chance I’ll have to give a testimony in tonight’s session. I pray that my every interaction, my every word and gesture, would point people to You. Thank You for my largely sleepless night, and the headache that triggered it, as an opportunity to trust You more. Thank You that I was able to participate in the outdoor sunrise prayer meeting, and that my head actually hurt less during it. Thank You that Your grace is all ways sufficient, whether the difficulty is physical, emotional, or spiritual. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in that grace throughout today, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 12, 2014

Posted on January 17, 2014 by jgarrott

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

There are mysteries we will never know this side of heaven, and the full basis for God’s choosing is one of them. From His choosing Abram to His choosing us, we really don’t know why. However, we can be grateful! Being chosen is not a basis for pride or presumption, but for humble submission and obedience. It is interesting how some people seem to hate that word, submission. Just yesterday I read a news article about a happy, successful woman who has recently published a book in which she mentions being in submission to her husband. You would think she had talked about cannibalism or something, from the reactions from some quarters! That makes it clear who is a child of whom, because it was Lucifer’s lack of submission, his desire to have God’s glory for himself, that got him thrown out of heaven, transformed from heaven’s choir director to the devil. (Isaiah 14:12-15) It’s important here to realize the purpose for our being chosen and commissioned, and that is to bear fruit. We can’t do it without being firmly connected to Christ, as He makes clear in the first part of this chapter, but our commission is to bear fruit. Once we are so connected to Him that we bear lasting fruit, then we have carte blanch with the Father, and are able to ask Him for anything at all. The trick to that is, if we go asking for purely selfish things, that’s proof we aren’t properly connected to Christ! However, for those who are genuinely committed to Him, this verse is comforting assurance that the fruit we bear will indeed last. Sometimes we can’t properly evaluate someone until after they are gone. With some people, the seemingly towering edifice they erected in their life essentially evaporates, but with others, those in whom they have invested continue to bear fruit in expanding circles. We aren’t to run around comparing ourselves to others, but we are to seek to be firmly, totally, grounded in Christ, so that our fruit will be lasting indeed.

I am the fruit of past generations who loved and served God, so that gives me hope for my fruit as well. I read recently that the biggest impact we have on the world is our children, but in the Family of God, that applies to spiritual children as well. Billy Graham’s legacy, even more than the millions who responded in his crusades, is his spiritual children, some of whom happen to be his physical children as well. There are many who serve God with their whole hearts because of Billy, and they are raising up more to do likewise. That is indeed fruit that will last. I am certainly not Billy Graham, but there are those who love and serve God because of what they have seen in me, and I am deeply grateful. I am to keep investing in my spiritual children, even while acquiring more, so that they in turn may do the same with others. At this point my desires are mostly for spiritual breakthrough, for a tsunami of God’s love and grace to hit this nation, this world. My fruit is in God’s hands, for His glory.

Father, thank You for choosing me in Christ. May I indeed fulfill every purpose for which You chose me, though I know only a fraction of those purposes. May I be an accurate representation of Christ to all I encounter, turning their eyes and hearts to Him, for their salvation and His glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 11, 2014

Posted on January 12, 2014 by jgarrott

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) is so incredibly rich that it deserves a lifetime of meditation. I could preach on any verse in it (and probably have)! This particular verse is one we need to let the Holy Spirit remind us of often (as it talks about in verse 26). The world is constantly trying to steal our peace, or rather, the devil uses the world to do so. The world’s peace is based on things and circumstances, but the peace of Christ is based on who He is and who we are in Him. That can seem pretty distant and theoretical in the middle of things, but once we get it worked into our spirits, it’s unshakable. The thing to remember is that God wants and intends for us to have peace in our hearts. Japanese uses different terms for inner and outer peace, and here it is specifically inner peace. We can’t control our circumstances, but we can certainly influence our response to them, and that is clearly what Jesus is talking about here. Too often we allow our hearts to be troubled! When such temptation comes, the thing to do is remind ourselves of the character of God, Who loves us so much that He sent His Son for us. By the time John wrote the letters we have as part of the New Testament he had been through a lot, so he was speaking from experience when he said, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) He was the one who recorded Jesus’ words from the Upper Room, and he learned to live them out. We need to follow his example, and let the love of God in Christ fill us to the point that there is no room for fear, but only peace and joy.

I am in the middle of a practicum on this very issue, with my wife in the hospital waiting to have a heart attack. She needs to have a coronary ablation to correct the nerve misfiring that causes ventricular tachycardia, because the medicine she has been taking for the past 20 years for it worsens the symptoms of the Parkinson’s Disease with which she was diagnosed last year. However, she needs to have an incident recorded on an ECG or they can’t tell exactly which nerves to treat, so she’s off her medication and in the hospital. Since VT causes her to pass out, driving without the medication is a very risky thing, to say the least. Just describing the situation to someone yesterday made them say, “That’s scary!” Humanly speaking, it certainly could be. However, God is using it to remind us that His love hasn’t changed in any of this, and that His grace is sufficient for us. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I am to thank God for Who He is and who I am in Him, and trust Him with everything.

Father, thank You that You aren’t weak like we are, and that nothing ever fazes You. Help me keep my eyes on Jesus, and help Cathy to do likewise, so that together we may “not let [our] hearts be troubled, neither be afraid.” Thank You. Praise God!

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January 10, 2014

Posted on January 12, 2014 by jgarrott

John 10:26-27 “But you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Ah, the little matter, the huge issue, of who we belong to. This is not a comfortable thing to talk about, because when someone who does belong to Jesus starts talking about it, he is immediately accused of being proud, exclusive, and hateful. Actually, nothing could be further from the case. Jesus said His sheep follow Him, as in, follow in His footsteps. How did Jesus live? He welcomed the outcasts, and a major complaint against Him was that He was “a friend to sinners.” It was the self-righteous who declined to be part of His flock. We are not to exclude people from our side, but we have to recognize that some will not choose to be part of our flock. It’s important to note that where the NIV says, “you are not my sheep,” the Japanese says, “you do not belong to my sheep,” as in belonging to an organization. Since God created us, we all belong to Him; the question is whether we are part of His flock. I recently saw a video of a man who has a herd of deer, literally. As the video starts, one buck is up close to his porch, as if seeking him out. He speaks to the buck, saying something about “breakfast time,” and then lifts his voice and calls. Immediately over 20 deer materialize out of the snowy woods and come onto his porch, eager to be fed. They know his voice. If I had been the one calling, I doubt they would have come! These are wild deer; they are no more his legal possession than all the other deer in the woods. However, they have come to trust him, and have learned his voice. We are all God’s legal possession from the standpoint of creation. What distinguishes one from another is learning to trust Him, to listen to His voice. What He offers is far more valuable than whatever that man feeds those deer, but we have to trust to receive. In our world there are many voices, so it is of the greatest importance to become as familiar as possible with His voice, to distinguish it from all the others. That’s a major reason why reading the Bible is so important: He is not going to contradict what He has already said. If we are to enjoy the overflowing blessings that He has prepared for us, we need to listen in trusting obedience.

This is as true for me as it is for anyone. I’ve had a lot of practice in listening, but I wish I could say I’ve always been obedient! Part of my task is to invite other sheep to join the flock, as well as relay what I hear the Shepherd saying, when they miss it. My voice is not what’s important, His is, and I must be faithful to relay things undistorted. My goal must always be for each sheep to hear the Shepherd directly, to avoid miscommunication. I’m all too prone to say it wrong! However, the rewards are certainly worth it, for everyone involved.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making me Your sheep/under shepherd. Help me remember at all times that I am a sheep too, and rejoice to follow You. May Your flock multiply indeed, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 9, 2014

Posted on January 11, 2014 by jgarrott

John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

This fundamental truth explains a lot of human behavior. It is also a demonstration of that little thing called a conscience. No one tries to hide behavior they think is honorable and good. Sometimes they might try to do good things as quietly as possible to avoid people making a big deal of them, but there is certainly no shame in their motivation. On the other hand, when people start parading behavior that is reprehensible for one reason or another, their “consciences have been seared as with a hot iron,” to use Paul’s phrase. (1 Timothy 4:2) Recent studies have shown that even small children have a sense of right and wrong, and even altruism, wanting to help others to no particular benefit to themselves. That’s how we were created, but the sin factor gets in very quickly, and we suppress the good impulses for the sake of momentary or perceived gain. That’s the human dilemma, brought on not by our Creator but by our choices. God has provided a magnificent solution to that dilemma, expressed famously in verse 16, but it must be received by faith. We have to believe that God is love, and let that love drive out our fear of being found out as evil. (1 John 4:18) When we really grasp the love of God, as well as the fact that all have sinned, so we are not unique in that area, (Romans 3:23) then we will rejoice to come to the light to be cleansed of our sins and walk in the righteousness for which we were created.

As a pastor I see the whole gamut of human behavior, but then I’m just as human as the next guy. Any time I sense a reluctance to step into the light in myself, I need to examine why that is, and probably repent. I’ve got to remember that repentance isn’t just being sorry, it’s turning from something bad to something good. As a pastor, I need to help people see and understand what the bad and good things/factors are in their individual situations, so that they will better be able to make the choice to turn from the bad to the good. Modern psychology has done us a great disservice by trying to remove personal responsibility, explaining all behavior by past events and influences. That comes from a desire to deny God and our accountability to Him by denying absolute values. I am not to attack people who have been polluted by such thinking, but I am to let the Lord use me to open their eyes so that they may see themselves and see the love of God, and repent indeed.

Father, this is absolutely huge, and it’s something I’ll have to deal with for as long as I’m on this earth. That certainly makes heaven attractive! I need humility, wisdom, and simple guidance to deal with it all, both in myself and in those to whom I minister. Help me walk in the light myself and encourage others to do so as well, so that together we may enjoy all that You intend for us, (1 John 1:7) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 8, 2014

Posted on January 11, 2014 by jgarrott

John 2:24-25 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

Here, by contrast with Jesus, we can understand the limits of human psychology/psychiatry, not to mention interactions in general. We do not really know what is going on inside ourselves, much less in other people, but God does. On top of that, there’s the simple truth that a Christian clinical psychologist friend of mine once told me: “Psychology can diagnose but it can’t heal. Only God can heal.” We get tied in knots trying to “fix” people, when they really need to be referred to the Manufacturer! If you read the Gospels carefully, you realize that Jesus often spoke what seemed to be non sequiturs, that is, His words didn’t seem to follow what was being said around Him. A good case in point is in John 12, where Andrew and Philip tell Jesus that some Greeks want to see Him. His reply I’m sure left them puzzled: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23) That’s because Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, saw what was really going on, and He spoke to that rather than to surface events. This is the sort of thing Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12 when he mentions “word of knowledge” and “word of wisdom,” as well as “discerning of spirits,” as gifts of the Holy Spirit. We aren’t going to be as perfectly in tune with the Holy Spirit as Jesus was, but the closer we get, the more we can walk in this sort of thing. We couldn’t handle knowing everything about everybody, but God can and does reveal what we need to know about those we deal with, if we are open and available to Him.

I’ve got a lot of room to grow in this area, but I’ve experienced the Lord telling me things about people that I had no human reason to know. Likewise my wife has perceived motives and situations that left some people thinking she was “paranormal.” Actually, she was operating in what should be fully normal in the Body of Christ! I am regularly faced with situations that are beyond my human understanding, much less ability. I am not to seek to know for the sake of knowing, but rather to be available to God as His instrument of blessing. Not only do I need to perceive underlying motives for words and actions, I need God’s wisdom and direction for how I am to respond to the individuals involved. The more I look to myself in such situations, the more I will panic, and understandably so, because they are beyond my ability. However, the more I look to Christ and allow Him to operate through me by His Spirit, the more peace I will have and the more He will be glorified as His will is done.

Father, thank You for the situation that confronts me right now, and for the insight You have given me. Thank You for reminding me of Matthew 12:20, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” The people involved are very bruised by many things. Keep me from breaking them, but rather pour Your cleansing and healing into them through me, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 7, 2014

Posted on January 11, 2014 by jgarrott

Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

This is intimately connected with John 14:12, the verse that the Lord has given this church for this year. It is physically and spiritually impossible for ordinary human beings to “do [Jesus’] works, and even greater works” in their own strength; it’s got to be by God’s power. The Bible is clear throughout, though it doesn’t use these words, that God never requires anything of us that He doesn’t enable us to do. That’s why even faith is a gift, available to all who will receive it. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The one thing God asks of us is the exercise of our free will, choosing to obey Him and receive what He offers. That’s what makes the Gospel all the more radical and shocking: we are involved, but we can’t earn it. In this particular instance, what was required of the disciples was humble patience. They had no idea how long “until” meant. It turned out to be 10 days, and then the glorious events of Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2, unfolded. It’s interesting to think about the fact that there were 120 people gathered in the upper room at Pentecost. (Acts 1:15) Luke tells us in Acts 1:4 that the instructions given in this verse we’re considering were given “while He was eating with them,” so it was probably a much smaller group. However, those present talked with others, and that generated the 120-person prayer meeting. One of the unique factors of the Gospel is that any individual can be used to multiply the Church: we’ve just got to share what we’ve already received. What the believers before Pentecost had was faith, based on their experience of Jesus to whatever degree. Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) If the Holy Spirit had been poured out at Pentecost only on the remaining 11 of the original apostles, the Church would never have taken off the way it did. However, He was poured out on all who had gathered in faith, and continues to be available to all believers. He is indeed “the promise of the Father,” and Father God always keeps His promises!

I’ve got to make this clear to the believers, so that they won’t try to “do Jesus’ works” in their own strength and be totally discouraged, but will open up to allow the Holy Spirit to fill and use them. Some have tasted the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but all of us need to be far more available for Him to flow through us in our daily lives. We are not called to be witnesses (Acts 1:8) only on Sundays! We all have a stubborn tendency to limit God by our fearful unbelief. I can’t correct that even in myself, much less in anyone else, but I can choose to allow God to do it through me. If I will do that, then I will indeed be “clothed with power from on high” to do Jesus’ works in every area of life, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this very clear Word! Help me live it out myself as well as express it clearly to the believers, so that together we may choose to believe and receive, doing Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 6, 2014

Posted on January 11, 2014 by jgarrott

Luke 10:1920 “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

This passage is closely connected with John 14:12, our church verse for the year. However, it needs to be understood in the context of Jesus’ life. I don’t think He had to worry about snake bites or scorpion stings while He was on this earth, but that certainly didn’t mean He didn’t suffer. We are back to an insight the Lord gave me years ago when I was reading Psalm 91:10, which reads in the NIV as, “then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.” I wrote in the margin of my Bible at the time, “Whatever it looks like, it isn’t disaster.” We’ve got to remember that God is far more interested in our character than our comfort. God gives incredible authority to those who are in Christ Jesus, but that doesn’t equal what the world would call “easy street.” I think that truth is part of what Jesus was trying to get across here. The disciples had just returned from the heady experience of exercising Jesus’ authority, but Jesus didn’t want their joy to be dependent on visible results. It struck me as I was reading just now that Jesus didn’t tell them He had given them power to overcome the power of the enemy, He said he had given them authority to do so. As Paul famously discovered, sometimes God’s power is best expressed through our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) When our joy is based on our position in heaven because of Christ, then nothing can shake it.

This is of vital importance to me, as it really is for every believer. Part of my commission is helping other believers understand it! I believe this year is going to see a lot of action, spiritually and visibly, but my focus is to be on Christ more than on what is going on at the moment. When my attention is grabbed by the events of the moment, I am all too prone to take my eyes off of Christ, even when He is the one who enabled what I just experienced. I am forever exhorting others to take their eyes off of themselves and fix them on Christ, but I’ve got to do that myself! If I am to do His works, as this year’s verse says, I will never do it in my own strength, but only by His authority.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing. Thank You for the good service yesterday, for Your presence in the counseling I did, and everything else that went on. Thank You that Cathy will be able to enter the hospital today to determine which nerves have been causing her arrhythmia for the past 20 years, so that they can be treated for her to stop taking the medicine. I ask Your peace for her, and for good, early results for the tests. I pray that my use of time during this week would be exactly as You desire, so that each of us would be operating in Your power and authority, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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