June 30, 2013

Posted on July 2, 2013 by jgarrott

Zechariah 9:12 Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

Hope makes all the difference in a person’s life. With hope, all sorts of things can be endured. Without hope, even lesser difficulties can be unbearable. That’s why medical personnel must be very careful how they talk around patients and their families. They should be truthful, but speak truth in such a way as not to destroy hope. As a pastor I’ve done a lot of hospital visitation over the past 40 years, and I have gotten angry many times at how some medical personnel have trampled on the very hope that would cause a patient to hang in there. It has been demonstrated time and time again that patient attitude is key in recovery from a very wide range of problems, because that attitude has a massive effect on the immune system, among other things. That said, it is worth noting that the NIV says here, “prisoners of hope,” while the Japanese says, “prisoners who have hope.” The NIV is more striking, but I find the Japanese rings truer, because hope does not bind, it liberates. That is never truer than when it is hope in Christ, because such hope transcends the entire physical world. In Psalm 42-43 (originally one Psalm in Hebrew) the Psalmist tells his soul to “put your hope in God.” That’s always good advice! When we hold firm to such hope, our lives will be shining witnesses of God’s grace and people will want to know how we do it, allowing us to share the Gospel with them. (1 Peter 3:15)

In my hospital visitation I try to practice what I’ve just written, without giving false hope. I’m pretty familiar with the current state of medicine, but I know that God is not limited to or by that. I am often able to explain to a patient what course of treatment they can expect, but I always point out that God is able to transcend that. It has been my experience that even without miracles of healing, people recover much faster when their attention, and their hope, is fixed on God. In evangelism, my job is to let people know the hope that is available to them in Christ. Sometimes to do that I have to help them understand just how hopeless they are without Him, but I never tell someone they are headed for hell without making it very clear there is a much better way. As a pastor, I need to help the believers understand that they are to be carriers, providers of hope. You could go so far as to say that nothing is more attractive than hope, and we need to let the world know just how attractive Jesus is.

Father, thank You for this clear reminder. This would certainly preach! Help me be faithful as a messenger of hope, both to believers and unbelievers, so that everyone may be drawn closer and closer to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 29, 2013

Posted on June 30, 2013 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 13:17 “Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them.”

As I read this passage, the image that came to mind was what I would call “Christian fortunetellers.” They certainly aren’t limited to women, though I have seen several that were women. The point is, these are people who use others’ sincere desire to hear from and follow God as a tool for their own gratification, in one way or another. They use very pious-sounding language, but it boils down to hocus pocus and, as this passage talks about, ensnares rather than liberates. God will not be gentle with such people in the Judgment! It is interesting to me that in this verse, God speaks to Ezekiel about “the daughters of your people,” and then in verse 23 He says, “I will save my people.” The people of God and any other defined people group are never more than overlapping sets; they are not identical. This is very much something for American Christians to consider as they think about the current situation, and find their identity in Christ first and foremost, rather than any other way. To get back to the central point of this verse, prophecy is in a sense risky business. As New Testament believers we are urged to prophesy, (1 Corinthians 14:1) but as this verse makes clear, we must not dress up our own imagination and call it prophecy. God does speak to us, and He does speak through us to others. Our task is both to be available to Him and to stay out of the way ourselves. That’s why familiarity with Scripture is vitally important: the better we know the Word, the better we know when words are from God. In other words, we learn to recognize His voice.

This is of course extremely pertinent to me as a pastor/teacher. I have been used in direct prophecy, but not so much in this congregation. However, my prayer is that every message, and actually every conversation, be prophetic. I know from extensive experience that simply because I say something doesn’t mean God is saying it, and I must never fall into the trap of thinking that. I am never to seek to manipulate people with religious words, which is what this verse is talking about. Rather, I am to desire God’s best for each individual (which is a working definition of love) and be available for God to speak through me to them as He so pleases.

Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of speaking Your words after You, even occasionally. As Paul urged, I desire to do it more and more. Help me be honest and humble before You so that I won’t get in the way. May Your Spirit flow through me unhindered, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 28, 2013

Posted on June 30, 2013 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 34:17 “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD – ‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.”

This is an extremely pointed example of “You reap what you sow.” (Galatians 6:7-8) It is simply impossible to “put something over” on God. God is merciful and gracious, and He gives us far better than we deserve, but we cannot ignore Him, much less spit in His face, and not face the consequences. That is why I am very concerned for America right now, because those in authority are concertedly denying God and His Word, seemingly taking the first couple of chapters of Romans as a guidebook in a negative way, not merely doing evil but approving of those who do so. (Romans 1:32) If I were an enemy of the US I would rejoice, and it would seem that there are those who are doing just that. America is in need of a massive wave of repentance, not just in externals but down to the core. It would be easier to be dispassionate about it all if I didn’t have so many family members and friends there! In some ways the earthquake and tsunami in Northeastern Japan was easier to deal with, because there, everyone recognized the problems. In America today, many are oblivious, and some are even rejoicing.

I am back to what I have had to realize so often recently, and that is that God is still God, and I am to pray and be personally faithful. If everyone who claims the title of “Christian” in the US were to live that way, we wouldn’t have had this situation in the first place! There are beautiful examples of saintly living all over the place, but they are all too easy to overlook because of all the filth. I am to focus on the good, just as it says in Philippians 4:8, and rejoice to trust God regardless of how dark things might look from my perspective. The unfaithfulness of man cannot negate the faithfulness of God. (2 Timothy 2:13)

Father, I do pray Your mercy on America. I pray that Your children, scattered among the children of the enemy, would wake up and stand up, true to You and not swayed by the filth around them. You have given the nation the government they asked for, and it is horrible to see. I hardly know how to pray, except as You taught us. May Your Name be hallowed and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, as perfectly on earth as it is in heaven, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 27, 2013

Posted on June 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61 is unquestionably Messianic, since Jesus Himself quoted the first verse and said He fulfilled it. (Luke 4:18) However, If we think that because it applied to Jesus it doesn’t apply to us, then we miss out on a great deal. We must never forget that after His resurrection Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them as He had been sent, (John 20:21) and that we are told that “In this world we are like Him (Jesus).” (1 John 4:17) The promises that applied to Jesus apply to us! Coming back to this verse, many Christians fail to really enjoy God. (That’s what “delight in” means, after all.) We have a severe image of God that is quite at odds with this whole chapter. God is loving, He has a sense of humor, He is vitally and intimately interested in us. In a word, He’s delightful! We are not to forget that He is holy, that He is our Creator, but as even this Old Testament verse says, He provides us with the righteousness we need, and He wants to enjoy our enjoying Him. As a father myself, I know the very deep joy of having my children enjoy, delight in, me. What father isn’t melted by their child running to greet them with joy? Just as I delight to bless my children, so God delights to bless us, to cause us to rejoice. If we fail to rejoice in God, then we are essentially robbing Him of what He desires of us.

Thinking back, I know that my father felt this way about me as his son. In the brief time that we had after I brought my wife and children to Japan for the first time before he left for the furlough during which he died, my father stopped everything and gave me his full attention any time I chose to be with him, even though he was a very busy university chancellor. That tells me that Father God is just as focused on us when we choose fellowship with Him. That’s an awesome thought! I have experienced such intimacy with God, just as I did with my physical father, and I need to keep that in the forefront of my awareness and my priorities. As a pastor, I also need to be teaching others that such intimacy is possible, so that they too may learn to delight in the Lord. I think every believer has experienced at least a taste of this, but too many think of it as a strictly exceptional treat, not to be expected on a frequent, much less regular, basis. I need to help them understand that’s a lie of the devil; God wants joy to be a major characteristic of our lives.

Father, thank You for all You’ve brought me through to teach me to rejoice in You. Help me teach others to avoid the “joy stealers” that are all around us, so that together we may walk in all that You intend for us, delighting in You so that You may delight in us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 26, 2013

Posted on June 28, 2013 by jgarrott

Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

This whole passage is a prime example of conditional promises. The Bible is loaded with such “if…then” statements, but we are prone to claim the “then” statements and ignore the “if” conditions. The Bible is indeed a guidebook for life, telling us how to navigate its complexities, but ignoring it is like trying to put gasoline in the crankshaft and lubricating oil in the fuel tank of a car: it just doesn’t work. God delights to bless his children, as any good father does, but we have to understand and comply with the conditions for receiving those blessings. It’s not at all that God is stingy, it’s that He knows what is good for us and what is not. Going through the Bible reading the promises is not a bad thing, but rather than “name it and claim it,” we need to apply ourselves to get lined up with God to be able to receive the fulfillment of those promises.

I have been on the receiving end of more of God’s promises than I could count, but I have also missed out on some by failing to meet the conditions. Any time things don’t seem to be going as I think they should, I need humbly to ask the Holy Spirit where I am falling short, first of all, and then I need to trust God to know what is best, in timing as well as in every other detail. Often, seeming “failures of promises” are simply a matter of God’s timing being different from ours, and our not being at peace with that. Peter’s insight about God’s timing is as relevant today as it has ever been. (2 Peter 3:8-9) I am to focus on faithfulness, knowing that God will always be faithful and seeking to let His faithfulness be reflected in me, especially toward Him but also toward those around me, so that His promises may truly be fulfilled in, around, and through me, for His glory.

Father, thank You indeed for Your faithfulness. It’s so much better than I deserve! Help me be obedient to Your Word, in Scripture and as You guide me day by day, so that I may be fully effective in drawing others into the fellowship with You that You desire, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 25, 2013

Posted on June 26, 2013 by jgarrott

Isaiah 52:5 “And now what do I have here?” declares the LORD.
“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
and those who rule them mock,”
declares the LORD.
“And all day long
my name is constantly blasphemed.”

Am I reading a Bible passage written over 2500 years ago, or am I reading God’s commentary on today? This certainly seems to capture the attitude toward Christianity of the current government in the US, and probably several other countries as well. It is particularly striking in the US because only decades ago such attitudes, policies and actions would have been unthinkable. No human being, and thus no human institution, is perfect, but from its founding America declared its dependence on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and dated everything by how many years it had been since the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. I won’t go into the countless current examples of the opposite attitude that shout at us today. The important thing for us to notice here is that this verse appears in the middle of a passage of hope, talking about God’s deliverance from such conditions. It is vital for Christians in every nation to remember that God is still God, and in the end, He and those who are in Christ win. However painful the immediate circumstances, physically, emotionally, spiritually, or some combination of those, such suffering is limited in time. Our victory in Christ is eternal! That doesn’t mean at all that we are to “roll over and play dead,” especially in a democracy, but it does mean we are never to lose hope.

I keep running into passages like this! I’ve certainly done plenty of “moaning and groaning” over current events in recent years, but the Lord has gently been scolding me for that attitude. I am to keep my eyes on Him and teach others to do likewise, not ignoring current events but not being dragged down by them either. When we have that attitude, we can actually be amused at those who think they are “getting away with” spitting in the face of God. This has been an issue since the Garden of Eden, so rather than feeling like God can’t defend Himself, I need to abide in Christ and in the peace that only He can give. (John 14:27) I need to be one of those with “beautiful feet” it talks about in verse 7, proclaiming that God is God, and nothing can change that.

Father, thank You for yet another reminder. You’ve given me quite a few of these recently. Help me be an effective communicator of the good news of Your kingdom, Your rule and reign, so that more and more people may submit with joy to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 24, 2013

Posted on June 26, 2013 by jgarrott

Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
`What are you making?’
Does your work say,
`He has no hands’?

Jeremiah was famously sent by God to watch a potter at work so that he could have a similar revelation. (Jeremiah 18:1-10) Irrational though it is, most people grumble at times about who, what, and how they are. The biggest irony in that is that most of the negatives come from our own action or inaction. We complain about our weight, when we eat too much and fail to exercise. We complain about lacking talents, when we have failed to develop the ones we have. We complain about our opportunities, when we haven’t been good stewards of what we have been given. The famous quote about genius being 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration applies. God makes good stuff, which means that every human being is valuable and has great potential for good. Rather than complaining about who, how, and what we are, we need to ask God what He wants us to do with what He has supplied, including our bodies, our abilities, our opportunities, our resources, and our time. If we will listen and follow through, we will be pleased, and probably surprised, at the result.

I’m something of a poster child here, because I’ve been given a healthy body and a wide variety of abilities, yet I have complained about this, that, or the other ability I didn’t think I had. I put it that way because I have damaged my ministry by complaining about my lack of administrative gifting, when I should have been growing in the gifts I do have and rejoicing in my total dependence on God for guidance in the area of administration. After all, Moses was in the same boat when it came to administration, and he got through OK! Rather than whining about “Why didn’t You make me be more so-and-so,” I need to be praying, “Lord, show me how to be more so-and-so.” We don’t like having to work at being what we need to be! We don’t like to have to strive. (The NIV says, “make every effort,” in 2 Peter 1:5 and elsewhere.) However, God knows that I or anyone else won’t grow emotionally or spiritually if everything is always handed to me, so He calls me to be faithful with what He has already given, and not complain.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I can trust You to use me for Your glory if I will be obedient. Thank You for the beautiful baptism we had here, and for all You did in each person present. I pray that the man who was baptized would soon have the joy of his daughters joining him in faith, and then they, their husbands and children, so that the whole family may be established in Christ, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 23, 2013

Posted on June 26, 2013 by jgarrott

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.”

God is not some petulant, childish being who doesn’t want to share, He is the only Creator, the only Savior, and if we lose sight of that we are in deep trouble. He is not saying this because He wants all the glory the way a selfish child wants all the cookies, but because we need to understand who He is for our own good. In Western countries we aren’t emotionally connected to the idea of people worshiping “carved statues,” which is the literal expression here. However, we are very prone to give Man credit that belongs only to God. That is the major push of atheism, and what it leads to is very literally a dead end, because the end result of rejecting God is eternal death and destruction. Conversely, the better we understand that we are totally dependent on God’s gracious provision, the more open we are to the flow of that provision to us and through us. Giving God the glory that is His is the best of good ideas! Jesus was very clear when He told His disciples in the Upper Room, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) The devil wants glory for himself, but failing that, he wants to deny glory to God. That’s why prominent figures such as athletes are attacked when they actively give glory to God for their accomplishments. Actually, prominent figures are worth emulating precisely to the degree that they do give glory to God.

I was raised by a father who was greatly gifted and accomplished, but I can’t remember his ever “hogging the glory.” I don’t remember specific words to the effect from him, but I think I’ve always been aware that he recognized his dependence on God and sought to give God the glory that was His. I’m very grateful for that example. I have not always been consistent in following it! Intellectual pride has been a snare for me most of my life, the temptation to take credit for what has been given to me. I’ve never thought that carved statues were worthy of worship, but I’ve not always given God the praise and worship that only He is due. He continues to do good things around, for, and through me, and I must be active in giving Him all the glory. It is when I keep the focus on Him that I get out of the way so that He is free to do the very things that I so desire to happen.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the good things You’ve been doing even the past few days, and for the baptism we have this morning. I pray that the focus would be on You indeed, drawing especially the daughters of the man being baptized to recognize their own need for salvation and that Jesus is the only Savior. I pray that this would establish generations of disciples in that family, for the blessing of all involved and as always, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 22, 2013

Posted on June 23, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 146:7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free.

This Psalm is a beautiful litany of who the Lord is and especially what He does, but as I read this verse, it struck me that in many places today, government is insisting that they are who does these things. It’s not at all that governments aren’t supposed to be benevolent, but human government can never take the place of God. The problem is, those who reject God still desire and need someone to do these things, so they insist that government do them. However, any activity that rejects God is corrupted from the outset, and that corruption quickly becomes evident. The Lord does use human agencies, but when we look to the agents rather than to God, we quickly get into deep trouble. Governments tend toward oppression, even when they claim to be on the side of the oppressed. Giving food to the hungry, they create dependency and a sense of entitlement. And claiming to set people free, they end up creating far more bondage.

I have never been a political person before just a few years ago, but I have felt increasingly forced into political opinions and even political activism by world events. It is a mercy that I live in Japan, rather than America! The Lord has had to point out to me repeatedly that He’s still God, and He’s still to be trusted completely. I am to be available to Him for whatever He indicates I am to do, whether it is sign petitions or share information or whatever, but the chief thing I am to do is pray in faith. My chief temptation in relation to this is to get stirred up by events to the point that it distracts me from what God does want me doing. I am not personally called to the “political stage,” so I’m not to think and act as though I were. I’m to be faithful at each task the Lord sets for me, while praying that His Name be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done perfectly right where I am, as well as throughout the whole earth.

Father, thank You for yet another reminder of how I am to look at current events. Thank You for the magnificent things You did here at the concert last night. Thank You for all that this day holds, and the next, and each day following. Help me walk in trusting obedience each day, fulfilling each task but letting You be God, not thinking or feeling that I can or should be in control, so that Your will may indeed be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 21, 2013

Posted on June 23, 2013 by jgarrott

Psalm 142:7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.

The preface to this Psalm indicates David wrote it “When he was in the cave,” so the NIV translation seems reasonable, but the Japanese is generally closer to the original, and it says “Set my soul free from prison.” That opens this Psalm up to much broader application, because more people are in emotional prisons than physical ones. David has the right idea of the purpose of deliverance, “so that I may praise Your Name,” but it would have been even more effective had he offered that praise in faith before he was set free. I once heard a man talking about smuggling Bibles through the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Soviet Union. He was very nervous as he entered the room where customs agents had tables set up to check luggage for contraband, because his suitcase was full of Bibles. It came his turn, the agent had him open his bag, then had him close it and sent him on without saying anything. Past the inspection table, his heart was overflowing with thanks and praise, and then the Lord spoke to him: “This is the wrong side of the table.” Suddenly he realized that he should have been praising God in faith before the customs agent passed him through, and he was humbled. When we trust God enough to praise Him regardless of our circumstances, then our spirits will always be free. A song from early in the Charismatic Movement said, “Set my spirit free that I might worship Thee.” the lyrics are good, but we need to remember that focusing on God in thanks, praise, and worship is what really sets us free, emotionally and spiritually.

This is a lesson I’m still learning myself, and I need to teach it to those in my care. I certainly need God’s wisdom and anointing in that process, because I’ve gotten strong push-back at times when I have tried it. Some people don’t want to be told to praise God! It’s not the whole of our Christian walk, but Prison to Praise and subsequent books are very helpful in this area. However, praising God isn’t a free ticket to do whatever else you want! That said, so many people I work with are in emotional prisons, sometime deep dungeons, and trusting, thanking, and praising God is certainly the way out for them, if they will take it. I must not fail to speak the truth in love out of fear that it won’t be accepted, whatever some people have done in the past.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know the people who came to mind as I wrote. Thank You that You have full deliverance and healing prepared for them already. Help me be Your agent in ministering it to them, so that the works of the enemy may be torn down, (1 John 3:8) for the deliverance of many, for Your glory Thank You. Hallelujah!

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