November 16, 2013

Posted on November 18, 2013 by jgarrott

Micah 5:4-5a He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
And he will be their peace.

This passage really makes me want to study Hebrew, because in English the first line of verse 5 is generally rendered as the very moving, “And He will be their peace,” while this Japanese translation, that is usually quite reliable, has the very pedestrian, “Peace will come in the following way.” It is interesting to run across familiar Scriptures that turn out to have been mistranslations. There aren’t so many, but they do crop up from time to time. That’s why it is important to approach the Bible with good scholarship, certainly, but especially with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. After all, He’s the Author! That said, this clearly Messianic passage has a lot to tell us. It is one of the most unquestionably Messianic passages in the whole Old Testament, since verse 2 was quoted by the scribes in Jerusalem when King Herod inquired where the Messiah was to be born. (Matthew 2:3-6) To me the most significant thing about this verse is that it says that Christ would operate, not in His own strength, but in the strength of the Lord, that is, Father God. We often lose sight of the fact that Jesus operated on this earth as a human being filled with the Holy Spirit. He indeed laid aside all of His own power and accepted our condition, utilizing only that which the Father makes available to us. That is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 2:6-11. Until we grasp that, we will limit by unbelief what we allow God to do through us. Many people have choked on what Jesus said in John 14:12: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” We can’t believe He really meant it! However, Jesus, though fully God, indeed became fully man, not only to take the penalty for all of man’s sins, but to demonstrate the relationship that God wants to have with every one of His children. When we really grasp that revelation we will stop holding back from what God wants to do in and through us.

This is something the Lord has been saying to me with increasing strength over the years, though I can’t say I have operated in it very fully at all. Right now I’m reading Hosting the Presence, by Bill Johnson, and it’s a strong and clear encouragement in this truth. I’ve got a lot of room to grow in my own compliance, but I don’t want to limit this to me; I want all the believers to live this way! This is a truth that if misunderstood can lead to major train wrecks, so I’ve got to rely on the Holy Spirit every step. This is NOT saying that we are to run around like Christian Harry Potters, working miracles right and left on our own whim. It IS saying that we are to come to such a level of intimacy with God that He is completely unhindered in operating through us. When that happens, His Name is indeed hallowed and His kingdom comes, because His will is done in and through us for His glory.

Father, You know how much I hunger for this, and You also know I don’t hunger enough. I ask You to rearrange my priorities so that I will get rid of everything that comes between me and full intimacy with You. Help me be the person, the child, that You want me to be, for Your purposes to be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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November 15, 2013

Posted on November 18, 2013 by jgarrott

Micah 4:5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.

On one level this is a beautiful declaration of commitment, and I would dare say virtually every American reads it that way, whether they have personal faith to agree with it or not. However, that’s because American culture is essentially monotheistic, however many non-Christians there are. Americans think in terms of different religions, rather than different gods. Japan, on the other hand, is traditionally polytheistic, calling itself “the land of 8 million gods.” Actually, it is debatable whether the Japanese word kami is properly translated “god” at all. A good case can be made for translating it “spirit,” leaving the language without any distinctive word for the Creator. That greatly complicates evangelism in Japan, because even though current usage of kami equates it with “God” (or god) that hasn’t really changed the thinking of the average Japanese. In any case, American evangelistic assumptions and techniques generally speaking don’t work in Japan. Actually, the situation in Japan isn’t so different from that in the world at the time of the Bible. From Genesis through Acts we see references to “foreign gods,” because each people group (which in English Bibles is generally rendered “nation”) had its own god or gods. To everyone but the Jews, Jesus was just another such “foreign god.” (Acts 17:18) In the record of Paul’s preaching in Acts, (since he was “the apostle to the Gentiles”) we see him making references to God as Creator, (Acts 17:24) and that specific phrase crops up in his letters, and in Peter’s as well. (1 Peter 4:19) Micah’s statement in this verse is not evangelistic, because it implies that different people groups have different gods, period. You have to go up to verse 2 to get the understanding that God is more than just the God of the Jews.

This is something I deal with all the time. Just the day before yesterday I was talking with a man I visit at the prefectural mental hospital. He has at times been very open to the Gospel, and has said that he wanted to follow Jesus, but in the month since my previous visit he decided he needed to “go back to his family’s religion.” In that conversation he said, “After all, there are 7 or 8 Gods, aren’t there?” I gently but firmly told him that wasn’t the case, trying to help him understand the difference between religions and gods, but he didn’t accept that. I am not to give up, with him or with anyone else, but I certainly understand Paul’s statement to the Corinthians that “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He had been reminded in Athens that logic and rhetoric do not really penetrate: it has to be the Holy Spirit. I am not to discard my mind or my knowledge, but I must remember at every turn that they won’t get the job done. My job is to be a carrier of the Holy Spirit.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You’d think I’d have learned this fully by now! Help me be more consistent in declaring “Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” so that I won’t get in the way of the work of Your Spirit. May I be increasingly effective by Your grace in drawing people into intimate fellowship with You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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November 14, 2013

Posted on November 15, 2013 by jgarrott

Amos 9:10 “All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
`Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'”

Saying you’re safe doesn’t make it so. Once again I get strong echoes of the current state of America. It is in a genuinely perilous situation, but the vast majority of people seem to be largely oblivious of the various dangers. Instead of repenting and seeking the Lord, they are caught up with their favorite sports teams and TV shows. The idea that their own moral laxity and spiritual indifference is contributing to the destruction of the nation doesn’t cross their minds. It is easy to get complacent when times are good, so God is allowing various things to try to get people to wake up, but it seems like a majority are refusing to do so. The possibility of the collapse of the whole American system is all too real, because the moral undergirding of society has been rotting out for a generation at least. It’s like a building riddled with termites, held together by the siding! Those who do care about what is right have got to get their heads out of the sand, stand up, and speak up, living out the Biblical principles that are ignored by so much of society. Even those who haven’t been actively participating in the decay still need to repent of their silence and inactivity. God is still God, and nothing is impossible for Him, but He calls for people who are fully committed to Him, who are willing to resist the devil until he flees. (James 4:7)

Whew! I didn’t expect to write that when I sat down to read the Word! This recent visit to the US impressed me both with the general degradation of society and the fact that it is possible to walk in the presence and power of God in the middle of such a society. Jesus said that we are not of the world any more than He is, (John 17:14) even though we are still in the world. (John 17:11) We need to stop acting like we are part of the world! Much is said these days about “alternative lifestyles,” generally referring to assorted forms of perversion, but Christians need to make it clear that there is a lifestyle that is alternative to all the filth that is headed for destruction. It takes moral and spiritual backbone, but God supplies that for those who seek it, and Him, in truth. I’ve got to walk in a Biblical, God-centered and God-pleasing lifestyle myself, letting those around me know that by God’s grace it is possible, and boldly speak God’s truth in love, so that as many as possible may be turned from the destruction that is looming.

Father, help me hear You clearly as to the part You want me to play in what You are doing. I have no delusions of grandeur, but I know that since You can use a donkey, You can use even me. (Numbers 22:28) I pray that I would be faithful in whatever You have for me, so that as many as possible may be turned from destruction and Your Name glorified. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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November 13, 2013

Posted on November 15, 2013 by jgarrott

Amos 5:4-6 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:
“Seek me and live;
do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
Seek the LORD and live.

Human beings are very prone to fixate on particular places or words or rituals, when the only thing that doesn’t change is the God who created it all. The statement, “You can’t go home again” is justly famous because it is true; things change and we change. However, God never changes, and when we return to Him, we have changed but He hasn’t. Actually, our concept, awareness, and understanding of Him changes, but when that is in the direction of truth, that’s a good thing indeed. What makes things risky is that there are many very wrong ideas about God circulating, so if we don’t have our roots firmly in God’s truth, we can be swept away. Paul called it “being blown about by every wind of doctrine.” (Ephesians 4:14) It is only when our focus is on seeking God Himself, as He tells us here, that we live indeed in the peace and safety He intends for us. This applies across the board. Jesus even told us to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness ahead of what we usually think of as the “bare necessities!” (Matthew 6:33) We live in the flow of time, and change is inevitable for us. Ultimate stability, which we instinctively seek, is found only in the One who is outside of time, and He calls us to seek Him and live.

I’ve probably had as many moments of wanting to freeze time as anyone, but I’ve had no more success at it than anyone else, either. Young people often want time to pass, to get on to something they look forward to, but now that I’m 65, older than my father was when he died, I am sharply aware that our physical time is limited, and it seems to pass too fast. I choose to receive and rejoice in each moment the Lord gives me here, desiring that it be used as He intends because I know that is the very best thing for me and for those around me. As a pastor, I deal with people who think that by doing nothing they can stop the flow of time, as well as people who fear that the current state of things will continue indefinitely. When such people are in the same family, the conflict is acute! I am to speak the truth in love, helping both people understand that God is the only thing that never changes, and He is to be trusted. I need to remember, and help them understand, that we have a part in the changes that occur in our lives, but we will get it right only to the degree that we are seeking God, just as He tells us in this passage.

Father, thank You that my parents taught me by example to seek You. Thank You that they lived well indeed, by Your standards, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Help me do the same, drawing others to seek and find You by my example, so that Your Name may be hallowed as Your kingdom comes through Your will being done on this earth, in and through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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November 12, 2013

Posted on November 15, 2013 by jgarrott

Amos 4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11 “… yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the LORD.

I don’t know that there’s anywhere in the Bible that more explicitly links disasters to God’s desire that His people return to Him. There are countless expressions that reference this, from “There are no atheists in foxholes” to “Impending execution marvelously focuses the mind.” We are very prone to forget God when things are going well, which is terribly ironic when we realize that it is only by God’s grace that things can go well. Again and again and again the Bible makes it clear that God is not mean, that He delights to give good gifts to His children, but turning our backs on Him has disastrous consequences. In His mercy He holds those back much of the time, but when He lets us taste what our actions and attitudes deserve, it is always with the desire and intent that we come to our senses and turn to Him. The world today is certainly a case study in exactly this point. Everywhere we turn there is something, but it seems the majority of people, rather than turning to God, turn to government and to finger pointing. We want everything to be somebody else’ fault, just so we can avoid any hint of responsibility. I’m reminded of something I was taught in a counseling class in seminary: If one spouse comes to you for help with the marriage, ask them if even 10% of the problem might be with them. If they refuse to concede even that much responsibility, it’s no use trying to work with them. There are many factors to every problem, many of them out of our control. Our response to every problem should be, what part is my fault, my responsibility, and how can I change to make the situation better? That’s called repentance, and it is the foundation of salvation by faith through grace.

When I get fed up with blame-shifting in others, I need to remember how much of it I’ve done myself! I have seen marriages break up over this and people make wrecks of their lives in various ways from the same attitude. When I try to help them see that God is trying to tell them something, often they turn on me! I am not to condemn anyone, but I am to speak the truth in love, whether it is received or not. I have found from my own experience that if I am humble before God, He will turn even my “mistakes” around to produce better results than if I had done things “right.” That’s Romans 8:28 in action! However, I’ve got to be open to whatever He wants to teach me through the experience. I need to pray for those to whom I minister and remember that I myself could never “fix” their problems, like they often ask me to, but God can use even me in His solution, so that their hears may be turned to Him.

Father, thank You for using me beautifully yesterday in a situation where one family member had practically despaired in relation to another. Thank You for causing me to make it very clear ahead of time that I had no wisdom or power myself, but You were still God. I continue to pray for that family, that every member would recognize both their need and their responsibility before You, not trying to “fix” each other, focusing on themselves, but focusing on You to let You work Your perfection in and through them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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November 11, 2013

Posted on November 15, 2013 by jgarrott

Joel 2:23-24 Be glad, O people of Zion,
rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given you
the autumn rains in righteousness.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

This prophecy was obviously spoken in a time of physical drought, but in the centuries since it was recorded, people experiencing spiritual drought have taken it as their own. That’s not a bad thing! We can’t know all the reasons God allows hard times, both physical and spiritual, but we can know that God can turn those hard times around into times of great blessing, if we will trust Him and release them, and ourselves, to Him. In general, hard times are the result of sin, either ours or someone else’s, so the first response needs to be asking the Holy Spirit to point out areas where we need to repent. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, and He will be specific, never issuing blanket condemnations. If we ever get, “You’re just no good,” we can be sure that it is Satan pretending to be the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 11:14) If the Holy Spirit doesn’t show us a need for repentance, the next step is to ask Him what the Father wants us to learn from what we’re experiencing. Sometimes that lesson is as simple, and as basic, as trust. Then, and only then, we are to ask Him what part, if any, we are to have in remedying the situation. Most of the time we get that backwards and start out with trying to correct things. That seldom if ever works out! Often, we only succeed in making things worse. That’s not at all to say that we are to be passive, but rather that we are to let God be God, and offer ourselves as His instruments. God has great abundance in store for us, as this passage says, but we must never forget that He is the One who provides, and not us.

Ministering in Japan is certainly training in this principle! Recently in talking with someone in the US about ministry here I said it was like plowing rock. That’s a pretty accurate description! However, there has been some fruit over the years, and some of it of superb quality. The promise in this passage is particularly meaningful for me because 450 years ago, God indeed poured Himself out on this area, and there were over 80,000 Christians in Omura Fief. Some Protestants today dismiss that figure because they were Catholic, and many indeed did apostatize when persecution came. However, that opinion ignores the many who went into exile or to martyrdom rather than discard their faith. The Lord has given me a vision that Omura would once again be the foremost Christian city in the nation. I cannot make that happen by my own strength any more than I could turn myself into a petunia, but I can believe and trust that God will do it in His way and His time, and maybe even use me in the process.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for the man who has returned to this church after many years away. I receive that as a sign from You that You are moving us into a time of restoration and harvest, and I praise You. Help us know how to participate in what You are doing and not get in the way, so that all of Your plans may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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November 10, 2013

Posted on November 14, 2013 by jgarrott

Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.

Again and again throughout the Bible God promises blessings of all sorts, and then makes it clear that those are contingent on people being obedient to Him. We, however, love to “cherry pick” the promises and ignore the conditions – and then complain that God’s promises aren’t reliable when things don’t work out! This verse should be proclaimed in every corner of America today, because people have wandered far from God and faithfulness (the NIV says “love”) and justice are increasingly rare. The problem really is found in the last line of this verse, because people have lost sight of who God is and instead “wait expectantly” on the government, the lottery, or whatever. That’s a prescription for disappointment and disaster. America needs preachers who will proclaim the Word of the Lord fearlessly, rather than trying to scratch itching ears, (2 Timothy 4:3) and it needs individual believers who will live out that Word regardless of the social – and yes, financial – consequences. We do hear encouraging news occasionally about businesses that are willing to go out of business rather than compromise against what God says, but they are few. Many more are going to be given the opportunity to make that choice! If we want the nation to turn back to God, then it’s got to start on the level of individual believers choosing to feed on the Word and live by it, and stop swallowing the swill the world and the devil are shoveling on them.

Having returned to Japan, my memories of the past three weeks are coalescing in my mind. I experienced some encouraging things, but I was struck by the blindness of the majority to what is going on. I need to pray for the shepherds first of all, that they would not be deceived or seduced by the world’s system. The devil has all sorts of bait, and pastors are human too. I do need to pray for the politicians. It seems like there are precious few who seek to follow God and serve the people, but they do exist. I need to pray for strength and protection for them, that their number may increase, and that those who do not fit that description may either repent or be removed from office. Last, but certainly not least, I need to pray for individual believers, that they may wake up to their vital role in the process, to live in personal purity and seek the Lord in every decision, whether it be whom to vote for or simply what and how much to eat.

Father, I too need to wait expectantly for You. Help me keep remembering that nothing is impossible for You, so that I will not lose hope or energy, but push forward as You lead in every area, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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November 9, 2013

Posted on November 14, 2013 by jgarrott

Daniel 9:18-19 “Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

Daniel is one of the finest examples of an intercessor recorded in the Bible, perhaps second only to Jesus. He was personally righteous, so much so that the Lord used him as an example when He spoke through Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 14:14, 20) However, Daniel didn’t for a moment think that exempted him from needing to be humble and repent. He repented of the sins of Israel even though he hadn’t personally committed them! As we have recorded here, he didn’t pray on the basis of being worthy to be answered, but on the basis of the character of God. So often we get that backward, thinking we don’t have the right to pray or ask God for something because we know we have messed up. That’s a trick from the devil! We do need to acknowledge our sins and repent of them, but we could never be righteous enough ourselves to cause God to do anything. God answers prayer because that’s who He is! That level of humble understanding didn’t keep Daniel from praying earnestly, though. You can almost hear the anguish in his voice as he prays about and for his nation and his people. America needs intercessors like that! It strikes me that some people pray about America; that is, they catalog its sins before the Lord, basically asking God to zap the baddies. That’s not true intercession! Like Daniel, we need to pray for America, repenting of the ways we have been complicit in her decline, either by action or inaction. God has not changed, and we must not act like He has.

This hits close to home. My visit to the US, just concluded, let me know that the situation is at least as bad as I had been thinking. The results of recent elections were not as I wanted them to be, and I saw many examples of people who do not take being a Christian seriously at all. However, I also I ran into people who are grieved for the state of the Church and the nation and are pressing in to God personally. I must not limit my prayers to praying about America, but like Daniel I must pray humbly for her, because He hasn’t changed, and nothing is impossible for Him.

Father, it’s interesting to realize that when I have been ambivalent about my nationality most of my life, having been born and raised in Japan, on this issue I identify with America. Japan has never claimed Your Name as a nation, but America has from its inception. I love both, and both are expressed in who I am, but right now I grieve much more for America than I do for Japan. I desperately want Your Spirit to be poured out on Japan for the salvation of millions, but I equally want Your Spirit to be poured out on America to wake up sleeping and/or deceived Christians and bring the nation to repentance. Help me be faithful as a Daniel, praying on the basis of Your character for both nations, so that Your Name may be hallowed and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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November 8, 2013

Posted on November 14, 2013 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 39:29 “I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

God indeed did not hide His face from Israel after the return from Babylon; He actually sent His Son. And on the Day of Pentecost He indeed poured out His Spirit on the house of Israel. However, even today there are tragically many who do not accept what God has provided. That’s the thing about any gift: it must be received to be operative. The majority of the physical descendants of Abraham today do not acknowledge Jesus as the promised Messiah, and many even in the Gentile Church are not open to the operation of the Holy Spirit today. As a parent, I know how it pains me when one of my children declines something I want to give them, particularly if it is something that cost me a good bit of effort, at least. I’m sure God is the same way. He desires intimacy (His “face”) with each of His children, but few take the time to meet with Him daily and receive spiritual nourishment from the Bible. He desires that each of His children be empowered as witnesses of Christ, (Acts 1:8) but again, far too few accept that gift. Oddly enough, many even of those who do receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit look at them as “merit badges,” (which they aren’t) instead of tools (which they are).

It’s been almost 40 years since I opened up to the flow of the Holy Spirit through me, and my intimacy with the Lord has grown right along with that. It’s hard even to imagine life without starting each day in prayer and the Word, and it’s a joy to recognize God speaking and acting through me by His Spirit. As a pastor, I seek to help others understand that the same or greater grace is available to them, but it has been a continuing frustration how few people really reach out to take hold of it. I am not to accuse or browbeat, but rather speak the truth in love, modeling an active devotional life and active witnessing, and pray that the eyes of their hearts be opened.

Father, thank You for all You have done in Shinsei no Sato over the years, and for what You are doing even now. I look forward to finding out what You have done during our 19-day absence. I pray that each of the believers would continue to grow in active hunger and thirst for you, starting and ending each day with You so that You will be free to do in and through them all that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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November 7, 2013

Posted on November 14, 2013 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 39:7 “`I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.'”

We often forget, in practical terms, that God isn’t going to put up with the mess we currently see around us forever. Those who do remember tend to wish that He would go ahead and straighten things out, but still fail to recognize how their own lives are dishonoring His holy Name. Just yesterday I was talking with an American pastor whom I respect highly, and he was speaking of how the Church in America knows practically nothing of Biblical discipleship. He’s doing what he can in his church, but it’s an uphill battle against the culture. God calls all of His children to dedication and purity, but sometimes it seems that few respond gladly. It’s now been close to 20 years since the Lord told me personally that He wants many things on earth to be different, but that’s hardly the blink of an eye in cosmic terms. We need to remember Peter’s observation that “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8) That’s pretty high-level understanding, when you consider Peter’s educational level. I would say that’s clear evidence that this was something God had shown him, and he was wanting to pass it on. The next thing he said is also important: the only reason for God to delay His judgment is so that more people can turn to Him willingly in repentance and faith. (2 Peter 3:9) Often terrible external circumstances are ripe ground for people to cry out to God in repentance and faith. We need to watch our own hearts to be careful to honor God as holy, so that in unholy times others may look at us and turn to God.

This certainly applies to me, as a believer and as a pastor. I am to be aware of what is going on around me, but I’m not to be obsessed with it or let it draw my attention away from God and what He is doing. I was pretty upset with the results of a recent election, but sometimes things have to get dark for people to understand how bright the light is. I am to seek to let my life be a fulfillment of the first part of the Lord’s Prayer: that God’s Name would be acknowledged as holy (as this verse talks about) and that His kingdom would come as His will is done in and through me.

Father, thank You for the time of sweet fellowship with that pastor and his wife yesterday. Thank You for the reminder that You still have children who are on fire for You with a steady flame, even in cold and dark circumstances. I do ask Your blessing on him, that he would receive every tool You want to give him for ministry, with humility, joy, and obedience. I pray that in these days of political corruption and societal filth that Your children would lift their eyes to You and walk free of the pollution, showing You to be holy indeed. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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