September 29, 2013

Posted on October 2, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 122:1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

This short, simple verse is one that is often taught to small children, but it is equally applicable to adults. Far too often we look at gathering to worship as an obligation, or conversely, as though God owed us something because we went to church. The problem is certainly not new though, because even the writer of Hebrews mentioned it. (Hebrews 10:25) As he says, it’s easy to get into the habit of not going, perhaps easier than the habit of going. As the Psalmist knew, going to worship God should be a joy. We can and should worship God outside of special buildings, individually even, but there is a special flavor to corporate worship, and frankly, the devil wants to keep us from it. He supplies all sorts of excuses: the church is full of hypocrites, it’s going to be boring, you aren’t good enough, and on and on. None of those hold up under examination, though all of them have a kernel of truth. There are indeed hypocrites in church, but not going because of that is setting yourself up as better than they are, when you aren’t. Occasionally church may be boring, but the problem there is much more likely to be in the attitude of the one bored than in what is actually going on. (Actually, some churches try so hard not to be boring that they become entertainment centers rather than places to meet God, and that is totally self-defeating.) In all honesty, you aren’t “good enough” to go to church, but accepting that excuse is totally missing the point of worship, which is that God is totally worthy of all the worship we could possibly give Him, and more. All of these excuses and more share one common thread: they are centered on people rather than on God. Worshiping God is a privilege. We need to do it precisely because it allows us to take our focus off of ourselves and put it on God, where it belongs. That is enormously valuable, and refreshing in a way that nothing else can be.

Some might think I am being self-serving in writing this because I am a pastor, but I need to gather with others to worship as much as anyone. I certainly have my times of private, personal worship, but there is a special blessing in corporate worship that can be had no other way. This past Sunday I was at a conference that had nothing to do with organized religion, though I was asked to lead a time of prayer. Thankfully, I went from there to a place called Gospel Town, where I not only attended their Wednesday night service, I also took part in daily 5:30 am prayer meetings. Over my years of pastoral ministry I have encountered all sorts of excuses for not gathering to worship. I’ve learned that I need to confront those in love, not letting the devil get by with lying like that. He is out to steal, kill, and destroy, (John 10:10) and I am not to stand idly by and let him do it.

Father, You know who is struggling with this issue even today. I ask Your grace for them, and I pray that nothing would be able to hinder anyone You are calling to worship You today, either here or in any other part of the Body of Christ. I pray that people would gather with an expectation of encountering You, and not be disappointed. May we all worship in spirit and in truth, by Your Holy Spirit, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 28, 2013

Posted on October 2, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

It is interesting that this anonymous Psalm should be so intimately connected with Christ. He Himself quoted verses 22 and 23, (Mat­thew 21:42) and the crowd quoted verses 25 and 26 on Palm Sunday. (Matthew 21:9 “Hosanna” essentially means, “O Lord, save us.”) This verse was made into a peppy little chorus years ago, and has been sung in countless languages around the globe. It was evidently written in response to a particular victory of some sort, but it strikes me that every day is a day the Lord has made. It’s interesting that the Japanese expression used here in the translation I’m using doesn’t say “made,” as in making a cake, but rather “gained,” meaning “prepared for a specific purpose.” God doesn’t do anything accidentally. One thing He never says is “Oops!” That’s an important thing for us to remember. Every morning we need to ask the Lord, “For what have You prepared this day?” We should have a sense of anticipation, of excitement, looking forward to what the Lord is going to do, what He will reveal. If we choose to have that attitude, we can rejoice and be glad in whatever the day looks like, because we can trust that God is working in and through it.

I have certainly had days in which I wasn’t rejoicing, but rather focusing on things that were difficult or unpleasant for me. What a waste! I have known the truth of God’s sovereign grace for many years, but it’s taking a long time for that to work into the depths of my being. It’s easy to be objective in talking to others about this issue, but it’s not so easy to be consistent in subjective experience. For example, right now my body would love to go back to bed, even though I have had what should have been sufficient sleep. I don’t know why that is, but I’ve got to trust God with it and choose to rejoice in Him. As I tell others to do, I’ve got to choose and learn to rejoice in my spirit whatever my body feels like. That’s where faith really gets tested, but this kind of testing produces growth, and that’s a good thing.

Father, thank You for everything You allow me to experience, whether it feels good at the moment or not. Thank You for the assurance of Your love, grace, and sovereignty. Help me indeed look forward to what You are going to do, today and each day, so that I will not miss any of the blessings You intend for me, and so that those who see me may likewise be encouraged to turn their eyes and hearts to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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September 27, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 118:6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

This is a very important verse, actually, but it bears a lot of thought and calls for a lot of faith. The thing is, people can do a lot of unpleasant things to us, but if our focus is properly on God, those will fade to unimportance. Jesus spoke directly to this issue, rather bluntly in fact, when He said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.” (Luke 12:4) In other words, anything people can do to us, up to and including killing us, is of relatively minor importance on the eternal scale! We get tied in knots over all sorts of things, when in the long run none of it really matters. We can grasp that only when we understand just what God has done for us in Christ. Apart from Christ, we are headed for eternal destruction, period. Frankly, we hate to acknowledge and think about that, even after we are saved, because it means that all of our friends and relatives who are not in Christ are headed for that same destruction. We don’t acknowledge the Gospel for the Good News it really is until we acknowledge our state without it. It is the ultimate expression of God being with us, Emmanuel. (Matthew 1:23) The better we grasp this, the less fear we will have of anything, because we will be able to see everything from the eternal perspective.

This is of course what I try to communicate to people, but I do so with varying success. We all tend to have our “bogeymen,” our pet fears. They may be essentially immaterial, but they feel real to us! I am not to put people down for their fears, but rather keep pointing them to Jesus. For myself, perhaps my biggest fear is of my wife being called to heaven before I am, but unless the Lord returns first, it is close to a certainty that one of us will go first, and why should she be burdened with having to lose me? Still, her medical issues are a real test of my faith. I do have assurance that Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 are valid and dependable, but I deal constantly with people who don’t have that assurance. My life and my words are to draw them to focus on Christ, rather than on themselves and their circumstances. Only then can they be liberated from their fears.

Father, You know the specific individuals that came to mind as I wrote that. I do pray for them, that they would have the courage to lift their eyes to Jesus and receive the faith You have for them. Thank You that Emmanuel is really all we need to know, that Your grace is indeed sufficient for us. Praise God!

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September 26, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 116:12 How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?

The Japanese is slightly stronger than the English, saying, “The Lord has been good to me in every detail,” but the point of the verse is the same, and that is gratitude. Many people feel under obligation to God, and they resent it. What a waste! When we realize just how good God has been to us, far better than we could ever deserve, our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude, and we seek to know what we could do to repay Him even a little bit, though we know we could never repay it all. In American churches I’ve often heard the phrase, “surrender to full time service.” The equivalent Japanese expression is “give your body (self) as an offering.” In both cases, the general meaning is to go to seminary and become a pastor, or other church staff. The problem with that is, every Christian should give themselves to God in full time service! That’s not at all to say that everyone is to be a church staff member. Rather, it is to say that whatever our occupation, we are to be committed to God and available to Him for His use and glory. Again, the motive is not obligation, but gratitude. The natural tendency is to feel we deserve much better than we actually do, and that blunts our gratitude. However, when we grasp the overwhelming magnificence of God’s love for us, our love for Him will never stop growing.

This is something I have learned over the years, and I’m still learning it. I run into so many people who have an essentially works-based faith, that I sometimes have trouble even calling faith. It’s like the song from from The Sound of Music says, “Nothing comes from nothing; nothing ever could, so somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good.” That is completely removed from the Bible’s message of grace, because it says, “I must have earned this good thing somehow.” When we understand that what we have earned apart from Christ is eternal destruction, then we begin to understand God’s grace. I have seen people work themselves to exhaustion in the church, seeking to please God and be accepted by Him, not understanding that they are accepted in Christ already. If they were to do even the exact same jobs out of the overflow of gratitude in their hearts for God’s goodness to them, then the exhaustion would be lifted and replaced with peace and joy.

Father, You know the struggle I’ve had with living this out on a practical level, trying to deal with my own laziness and sense of entitlement without becoming legalistic. Thank You for how far You’ve brought me, and that I can rest assured that You will continue to grow and guide me. Help me be fully useful to You in mentoring the spiritually younger Christians around me, never being puffed up but speaking Your truth in love, so that the Body of Christ may be built up for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 25, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 113:2-3 Let the name of the LORD be praised,
both now and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.

The Psalmist here removes all restrictions of time and place from the worship of Yahweh, the Creator who alone is God. The Psalmist goes on in this Psalm to talk about the intensely personal interest God takes in us His creation, which again is very different from most religions. This should be a strong encouragement to anyone who knows God to tell others about Him, whoever and wherever they are, in whatever time. When we are focused on praising God for who and what He is, then others will at least be curious as to what it is all about, and it becomes easy to share the Gospel with them. When our focus is on “I’ve got to evangelize,” then it is a burden that can quickly become unbearable. When our focus is on how wonderful God is, then evangelism flows as a natural result. Obedience to God is a privilege much more than it is a duty, even though it logically is a duty, but we will never see it that way unless our focus is on praising and worshiping Him because He is so entirely worthy of it all.

Evangelism doesn’t come that “naturally” to me, but I’ve discovered a joy in it that is almost surprising. I have found praise and worship to be the most deeply satisfying activities I can engage in, and that has spilled over into inviting others to join me. I will never forget the Lord reminding me of Acts 1:8 at the point I abruptly realized I was sharing the Gospel with a total stranger, two days after He had baptized me in the Holy Spirit. I hadn’t experienced any manifestations that I could recognize, but He pointed out to me that “the proof of the pudding was in the eating,” so to speak. Trusting Him to be true to His Word opened me up to the flow of His Spirit through me, and that naturally resulted in evangelism. If I am focused on the mechanics of being a Christian, be it evangelism or anything else, I will be robbed of the joy that God has for me. If I am focused on God and His love for me, loving Him in return, then everything else will flow from that.

Father, it’s taken me a long time to really grasp this. Help me get this truth across to others so that they won’t struggle with it as long as I did. May I not get trapped by legalism, either for myself or for others, but rather rejoice in the privilege of expressing love to You by my obedience, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 24, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 106:12-13 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.
But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.

Here we have what is essentially the story of mankind. When God does something dramatic for us we believe and praise Him, but we soon let that slide, and again descend into self-centered thinking and behavior. God is enormously patient, but generally speaking we bear the consequences of our actions, in missed blessings even if in nothing else. What a waste! I am reminded of the famous fable of the hare and the tortoise: slow and steady wins the race. God calls for faithfulness more than anything else, I think. We can’t have that faithfulness without loving Him, which is why we are commanded to love Him, but we make the mistake of confusing feelings with love, and that can be fatal, because no one’s feelings are constant. I do a good bit of marriage counseling, and I always explain that the base foundation of a marriage is commitment, pure and simple. The same is true of our relationship with God. If we are in it for the good stuff He gives us, there will be times when our desires far outstrip what we see as our reality, and that will pull us away from God. If we are committed to God because He alone is worthy of such commitment, then we will receive with gratitude what He gives us, but not let our faith and obedience be dependent on the next “care package.”

I have certainly had my own struggles with faithfulness, but I had the wonderful example of my parents to keep my thinking straight. They went through a lot, but didn’t back down from their commitment, either to God or to each other. I think my mother in particular was tested in this area. She struggled with the fact that she had been a missionary on her own, applying for appointment before my father did, though he arrived in Japan before she did. However, after they were married (in Japan) she was soon swept up in the pressures of being a wife and a mother. Then came WWII, and she and my oldest sister Elizabeth were sent back to the US because of rising tensions, leaving my father as the only Southern Baptist missionary in Japan at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that by the time I was born, as the fourth child, my mother was wondering about being a missionary in the first place. During my childhood she went through a period of virtual dependence on phenobarbital, which was one of the best tranquilizers available at the time. However, she never gave up, and neither did my father, on her or on God. There are many who are in God’s family because of her, and I have no doubt that her rewards in heaven are great. With an example like that, how can I waver?

Father, I didn’t expect to write on that, but then I didn’t expect the dream I had this morning of counseling a missionary couple because the wife was in danger of a real breakdown. I pray for missionary wives, not just in Japan but around the world. I ask You to pour Your Spirit into them, in grace, love, and assurance. Help them lift their eyes to You whatever their circumstances, so that they may walk in peace and joy, drawing all they encounter to You for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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September 23, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 105:1-2 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.

Reading this passage in English and Japanese, it strikes me that the Japanese specifies “the peoples of the nations.” That’s because Japanese lacks the idea of “nation” apart from “territory,” whereas in Hebrew those are two separate ideas, with the nation being the people who inhabit the territory. In English, “nation” carries both meanings, primarily because of the influence of Hebrew, I would think. That can be an important thing to keep in mind. We speak today of “people groups,” but that seems a little awkward if you try to plug it into Old Testament passages about nations! However, we must never think that because the Gospel has been proclaimed within a particular geopolitical entity that Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:15 have been fulfilled. “A testimony to all nations” means, “to all people groups.” That is of course essentially what this passage is saying. If we are indeed giving God thanks and calling on Him, we will be doing so in a way that lets the people around us know what we are doing. However, this isn’t just a matter of words, despite the NIV rendering of “tell of all his wonderful acts.” The Japanese gives that as “steep your thoughts in His wonderful acts.” The image is of dying cloth, letting it soak in the coloring liquid so that it acquires that color. This fits with what Paul told the Philippians in Philippians 4:8, that we are to think about good stuff. What fits that prescription better than the wonderful works of God?

As a pastor, I try to communicate these two truths to others, and particularly to those in my church. I desire that they let those around them know how wonderful God is, and I desire that they let the truth of who and what God is sink deeply into their minds and hearts, to color every thought. Actually, those two things are personal goals as well, because as long as I am on this earth I won’t run out of opportunities to tell people about God, and I’m certainly not completely “God colored” yet. The more I steep myself in thinking about God, the more open I will be for His Spirit to use me in word and action, and in consequence, the more people will see that He is real and personal right here right now. That’s what I desire for myself, and it is what I desire, really, for everyone.

Father, thank You for putting things into such sharp focus. Thank You for the people who have seen me as I have been writing this. Their greetings were irritating distractions to me, until I realized that my being here with an open Bible was a testimony to them. May I not be so self-centered that I resent being a testimony to others! I pray that every impact You have had through me on each person in this conference would be sealed by Your Holy Spirit, drawing them to seek You for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 22, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

When I get to this Psalm I’m in real trouble when it comes to choosing a particular verse, because every line in it speaks to me so strongly. Faced with that choice, however, I’ll let this verse stand in for all the rest. God’s love, grace, and mercy toward mankind are indeed past knowing, they are so great. That’s why we have to receive revelation of them by the Holy Spirit, to go along with our daily experience of them. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we overlook so much of what God does for us, and even when we do recognize it, all too often we turn around and forget about it, as this verse speaks of. That hurts us far more that it hurts God. When our hearts are focused on recognizing God’s hand in our lives and thanking and praising Him for it, we are filled with faith, hope, joy, and love. That’s certainly a good way to live! David often addresses himself, as he does here, reminding himself of what he already knows, but tends to forget. That’s not a bad idea. If we all lived up to the best that we know, then the world would be a delightful place indeed!

In my own experience, Christian songs of all sorts are a great help in this area – hymns, choruses, anthems, and all of it. I was blessed to grow up in a very musical family, so I have a huge stock of good music to draw on, and I keep adding to it all the time. There’s a reason the Bible speaks so many times of “Sing a new song to the Lord!” The old songs are good and valuable, but songs that are new to us provide a fresh look at eternal truths that bear repeating. I have experienced so much of God’s goodness that I ought to be totally at peace in Him all the time, but I still have moments – like yesterday – in which I let go of the peace that is available. That is so foolish! Just as David says here, I need to praise the Lord from the depths of my being and not forget any of what He has done for me, or what He has promised to me for eternity. If I will focus on that, then minor irritations will seem trivial indeed, and I will be a fountain of peace and joy for all around me, for their blessing and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for getting me through the day yesterday, in spite of myself. Thank You for this conference, and the opportunity to minister here. Most of these people don’t know You personally, and I am being given the privilege of pointing their hearts to You. That is a high honor indeed! I ask for Your anointing, not just in the formal meetings but in every interaction, so that every word that comes from my mouth may be Yours, filled with Your truth and love, breaking down the lies of the enemy and setting the captives free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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September 21, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 102:18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.

There is a reason to record what God does, and that is so that later generations will know about it to give Him praise. We actually are aware of only a tiny fraction of all that God does for us, so when we do recognize things God does, it is helpful to record them to help others recognize them as well. That is the original motivation behind the writing of a major portion of the Bible, as a matter of fact. A few generations back, Fox’s Book of Martyrs was common reading in devout Christian households, but I’ll confess that I’ve never read it myself. However, I have read books like Through Gates of Splendor that were along that line, and they have been inspiring indeed. Secular media provide an endless flood of bad news, and we need something to counterbalance that. It’s not that we are to ignore the world around us, but our focus needs to be on God above all. This problem certainly didn’t originate with modern media; Paul dealt with it explicitly. Right after his famous instructions in Philippians 4:6-7 on how to avoid anxiety, he says this: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) This is why we need to read, and as God directs, write, records of what He has done.

I have worked through a book my older daughter, Ruth, gave me called A Father’s Legacy. She picked it up in a Christian bookstore several years ago and sent it to me for Fathers Day, but it took me a long time to get around to finishing it. Rather than a book to read, it is a book to write, with question after question, broken down by subjects and intended to be paced out over the course of a year. I was able to take a retreat early this year and took the opportunity to finish it, and that got me inspired to start on a memoir, but I’ll confess to not having gotten very far with that. This verse is a good push to do so! I have indeed seen God work in countless ways, sometimes amazingly, and recording that for others to know can help them trust God better themselves. Writing can be hard work, and it certainly requires persistence, but I am not to draw back from anything that gives God glory.

Father, You have given me a gift for words, as various people have recognized since my childhood. Help me use my words to draw more and more people to You, that they may taste and see that You are good indeed, (Psalm 34:8) and commit themselves to You for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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September 20, 2013

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

To the atheist, this is one of the most offensive verses in the whole Bible. The foundational motive of virtually all atheism is rejection of the truth stated in this verse. They don’t like “Creationism” because it says what this verse does, that we are created, not evolved, beings, and that automatically makes us accountable to our Creator. A recent public statement by a fairly visible “science” person, that religion violates science, shows this clearly. The problems with that view are so many it would take a book to consider them, and several have been written. It wouldn’t be such an issue if atheists were honest in their stated beliefs, because in that case they wouldn’t care if “poor benighted fools” chose to believe in “fables.” They make such a ruckus, demanding that everyone adhere to their position, because in their hearts they know they are wrong, and the more noise they make the more reassured they feel. It’s rather like the Japanese proverb that translates loosely to, “It’s not scary to cross against the light if you do it in a group.” The Bible is very clear that accountability is an individual thing, (Hebrews 9:27 and many more) and they can’t abide that thought.

In my home environment as a child, this was never an issue. We were very big on education and learning, with graduate degrees in various fields, including the “hard” sciences, common among our relatives. I completely devoured National Geographic Magazine, and to this day credit it with a major part of my education, since we had back issues from the 1930s. However, though we were aware of the theory of evolution, there was never any doubt that we were created beings, not only accountable to our Creator but with the glorious privilege of serving Him. I believe it was Linaeus, the founder of the whole field of genetics, who said that science is uncovering God’s footprints. I have no problem whatsoever with honest scientific inquiry; the problem is that so much that goes on today is not honest, but just an attempt to get “off the hook” of accountability to God.

Father, thank You for Your grace toward me, because You know how easily I could have gone the other direction. I ask Your wisdom, anointing, and above all love for dealing with the many around me who profess atheism, or at least agnosticism. I pray that Your Spirit would speak through me words that would strip away the paper walls they put up, so that they may be brought to repentance and faith, for their salvation. Thank You for the reputation You have given me over the years I’ve lived here, that people do see me as a man of God. Help me help them understand that You love them as much as You do me, so that they may let go of the lies they have embraced and receive, and cling to, Your truth. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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