January 31, 2012

Posted on January 31, 2012 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 20:44 “‘You will know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ ”

My personal feeling is that this verse represents America’s biggest hope at the moment, that God would deal with her for the sake of His Name, rather than according to what she has done. The crescendo of actively anti-Christian things that has risen in recent years is positively deafening. A friend who had been out of the US for just three years went back last year and was appalled at what he found, and wrote to ask for prayer that he wouldn’t be sucked into it himself. Just the other day I was checking videos on YouTube of one of Cathy’s cousins who used to sing on the Lawrence Welk Show, and was honestly surprised to find several in which she was singing Christian songs. That was a supposedly secular show, but there was no outcry at songs like “It is No Secret (What God can do)” Today, the entire TV industry would be in an uproar! The country was certainly far from perfect back then, but we forget how far we have fallen. There were certainly hypocrites back then, just as there are today, but there was a cultural expectation of Christian values that has been lost, and it has happened so gradually that many haven’t even realized it. As a number of conservative voices have been proclaiming recently, America was indeed founded as a Christian nation, simply without the coercion of a State Religion. The world has recognized that, with all of her imperfections, and America has indeed sent more missionaries and done more benevolence abroad than any other nation in history. That is why the current state of America is an affront to the Name of Christ, and God is going to have to deal with the situation. It is past time for America to cry out for God’s mercy, repenting of the filth she has wallowed in and turning back to Him in truth. God brought what was later called the Great Awakening to prepare people for the Revolutionary War; just as great a move of the Holy Spirit is called for today, if America is to continue as a nation.

Well! I didn’t expect to write that! Modern technology has enabled me to keep up with what is going on in the US, bypassing the filtered bias of the media, but I am still at a remove, and that perhaps enables me to see more objectively than some. Frankly, my heart is broken, particularly since I have children and grandchildren, not to mention many other relatives and friends, in the US. Last night the TV news was saying that there is a 70% chance of a major earthquake in the Tokyo area within the next four years, but America is in even more danger. I need to be faithful in prayer for both nations, but at the same time refuse to be anxious. God is still God, and He is faithful regardless of man’s unfaithfulness. I need to keep my mind and heart centered on Him so that my actions line up with His Word, and trust Him totally with the outcome.

Father, thank You for a truly blessed day yesterday, ministering to some of Your children. Thank You for all You are doing in and around us. Help me recognize the task at hand and do it with my whole heart as unto You, whatever that task might be, refusing anxiety and giving You the praise and thanks You deserve, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 30, 2012

Posted on January 31, 2012 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 11:19-20 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

The expression, “hearts made of stone,” has been echoed in Country and Western songs and otherwise because it’s very graphic, even if biologically impossible. We can easily understand that it talks about hearts that are unresponsive, and that’s obviously something that needs to be corrected. God’s solution isn’t repair, it’s replacement! As this verse says, that is accomplished by pouring in the Holy Spirit, who dissolves the unresponsive heart and replaces it with one that is tender toward God. That process isn’t totally complete as long as we remain on this earth, but the change can certainly be dramatic. The difficulty lies in how much we tend to hang onto the old and fail to let go of it. That too is addressed in this passage, where the NIV says “an undivided heart” and the Japanese says “a single heart.” When God pours His Spirit into us, we must choose to welcome and obey Him. He does the “heavy lifting,” so to speak, but our wills are involved as well. A book came out several years ago titled, Flirting with the Devil. We do far too much of that, and the consequences are disastrous, with supposedly Christian homes and families all too often being indistinguishable from those that don’t pretend to be Christian. God’s Spirit is available to all who will welcome Him and commit to obedience instead of rebellion.

I know both sides of this picture quite well. I wish I didn’t know the rebellious side so well! As I minister to others I must not look down on them in any way, but neither am I to sugar coat the truth. I must always speak in love, but I am not to fail to speak from a fear of offending. I am to urge and to demonstrate full openness to the work of the Holy Spirit both in and through us. We don’t do well at all at cleaning ourselves up, but we do have to give Him the keys, and the permission to do whatever is necessary.

Father, thank You for the “house cleaning” You are doing in this church, opening people’s eyes to their own condition and making various adjustments. Those aren’t always comfortable at the time, but the results are always good. Help each of us trust You enough to let go of how things, and how we, have been, and accept Your better reality. I pray that You would continue to lead us from darkness to light so that we will not be deceived, but walk in the fullness of all that You have for us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 29, 2012

Posted on January 30, 2012 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 3:7 “But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.”

Once again we have something with a strong echo in the NT. Jesus told His disciples essentially the same thing in John 15:18-21. The point is, people respond to God’s messengers the same way they respond to God, whether they want to admit it or not. Someone whose heart is tender toward God is not going to reject His messengers, but that’s not the same as being gullible, because Jesus also said that many would claim His Name who had nothing to do with Him, (Matthew 7:21-23) and He told us to evaluate people by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-20) However, God’s statement here to Ezekiel is to encourage him in the face of the opposition he will encounter, and every true servant of God should take it to heart. We are all human, and we like other people to like us, so it hurts when they reject us or the words we speak to them. God is telling us here that, to the degree we are being faithful to communicate what He is saying, if people reject our words they aren’t rejecting us, but Him. That’s not to be a point of perverse pride, delighting in rejection, but it is to be a comfort to all who seek to serve God.

I’ve certainly experienced this, but there have also been times when I have let myself get in the way of what God was saying, and I’m not to put people down for negative reactions in such cases. I’ve recently been told that the majority of my interpersonal problems come from my being misunderstood. That actually was a comfort to me. My Japanese feels very natural to me, and my accent is largely indistinguishable, but there are nuances that I miss, because of having been brought up in an English-speaking home and attending only English-speaking schools. However, another part of the problem is that I say things that seem un-Japanese that are therefore rejected, even though they are Biblical. The biggest example of that is the whole matter of forgiveness. Because the word and Chinese character that indicate Biblical forgiveness sounds the same as the word, and different character, that indicates permission, Japanese have enormous difficulty wrapping their minds around the idea of forgiving something you can’t permit. Since repentance and forgiveness are at the very core of the Gospel, that is a huge barrier to the spread of authentic Christianity in this nation. I am not to be discouraged by that, and I am not to take rejection of my words personally, but be patiently persistent in speaking the truth in love, asking and trusting the Holy Spirit to work God’s truth into people’s hearts.

Father, thank You for the words You gave Cathy this past week to write as a “prayer of release of past hurts.” Thank You for Your guidance in the process of translating that into terms the Japanese can understand, even though the very idea of releasing past hurts seems strange in this culture. I pray that as I share that, in this morning’s service and in the days, weeks, and years to come, that it would be powerfully useful to Your Spirit in opening people’s eyes and hearts to Your grace and love, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 28, 2012

Posted on January 30, 2012 by jgarrott

Ezekiel 2:5-7 “And whether they listen or fail to listen–for they are a rebellious house–they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.”

I would dare say there are many pastors around the world in need of this Word! Even the most dedicated servant of God tends to fear people and their reactions, simply because they so desire for people to receive the Word of the Lord that they speak. To Ezekiel, God made it very clear that the responsibility of the messenger is to deliver the message; the response is the responsibility of those who receive it. In Chapter 3 and again in Chapter 33 God is even stronger on this point, which should really light a fire under anyone who is aware of their calling to communicate the Word of the Lord. The difficulty is that methods of delivery indeed affect the outcome, and we are not to ignore social and cultural contexts. Having said that, it is still true that most preachers fear rejection, and that all too often makes them draw back from expressing what God has laid on their hearts. In contrast, Jesus didn’t hesitate to deliver messages that drove people away from Him, and He even challenged His 12 closest disciples as to whether they would leave too. (John 6:61-69)

This is a very appropriate message for me as well, because I have had many people leave over the years of my ministry, and I don’t like it! Nevertheless, I must always speak the truth in love, however people respond or don’t respond, and release them and their responses into God’s hands. If they receive the Word well, I am to rejoice for them and with them, but not take any personal credit. If they reject the Word it is appropriate to mourn, but I am not to berate myself over it. In short, I am not to fear their words, just as this passage says. Sometimes the image of briars and thistles, and even scorpions, seems all too apt, but I am to keep my eyes on Christ and my trust in Him, and fear nothing else.

Father, thank You for Your plans for me and for this church, and that they will be fulfilled. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance, regardless of whatever might be happening at the moment. Thank You for the many ways You encourage me, and for the warm response of many. Help me not listen to the lies of the enemy, but be strong in You and Your presence in me, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 27, 2012

Posted on January 27, 2012 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 32:39 “I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.”

This truth is expressed many times in the Bible, particularly in the OT, that our attitude toward God affects not just us but our descendants as well. People who fear God and walk in reverent obedience experience His blessings, but their children are likewise blessed after them. In the same way, rebellion against God also echoes down through the generations. This doesn’t mean much to young, single people, but it particularly has an impact by the time you have grandchildren. Unfortunately, that’s rather late! However, it’s not too late, because the spiritual impact is still there. Cathy has a good friend who has said she won’t become a Christian because Christians go to heaven after death, and since her ancestors weren’t Christians, she is supposed to go where they are. That shows she doesn’t understand hell! However, now that she has a grandchild, she is ripe for the message of generational blessing. Both sides of the generational influence picture are very evident in the US today, with the nation reaping the bitter fruit of my generation (baby boomers) turning to hedonism, but with pockets of people committed to the Lord. The events of the next few months may well plot the nation’s course for years to come. One of the things about homosexuality is that it specifically denies the existence of succeeding generations, so they try to steal children from others, and abortion kills the next generation before it is even born. America needs the mercy and grace of God!

Again I am brought back to my incredibly blessed state of being the product of several generations who were committed to the Lord. I am aware of many benefits of that, but I’m sure I only see the tip of the iceberg. Most of the people to whom I minister are the first Christians in their families, with the exception of some locally who might have Christian ancestors from 400 years ago. Sadly, Japanese Christians seem hesitant to try to pass their faith down to their children, perhaps because that wasn’t how they received it. I need to help them understand what a privilege it is to participate in generational blessing, breaking generational curses that might have affected them.

Father, once again You have me involved in good work that is far beyond my wisdom or ability. Keep me from focusing on myself, but rather on You, so that I won’t be discouraged but rather have joyful anticipation of what You are going to do through me. Thank You for the encouraging phone call from the man in the mental hospital last night. I don’t know what his diagnosis is, but You have touched him through me, and last night You spoke through him to me. May I be faithful at all times, for the sake of all succeeding spiritual generations, for a great harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 26, 2012

Posted on January 27, 2012 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 31:9 “They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble.”

There is a very interesting difference between the Japanese and the English here. The NIV says, “they will pray as I bring them back,” but the Japanese says, “I will comfort them as I bring them back.” The Japanese seems to fit the context better, but I certainly like the image of God’s people praying! That aside, there is plenty of meaning in the rest of the verse that both languages agree on. The first point is that there will be weeping. Whether these are tears of repentance, tears of joy, or tears from some other impulse is not specified. The path God leads us on is not always jolly! However, tears are not something to be afraid of. They are not “unmanly.” Another thing that strikes me is that, even with tears, God can be trusted with the path. “Beside streams of water” indicates that our needs will be met. In a dry climate, running out of water isn’t just an inconvenience, it can be fatal. This isn’t talking about an occasional oasis, it’s talking about continuous supply. The third point that comes across to me is that God will keep us from stumbling. When you’re tired enough, you can stumble over your own feet! God will smooth the path as much as necessary, and we have His promise that we will not stumble.

There have been times when fear of stumbling has kept me from moving forward, and I think that’s what God’s addressing to me right now. I am painfully aware that my own wisdom and insight are insufficient in themselves, but I have God’s promise that I won’t stumble. Life is certainly a series of challenges, and I handle some of them better than others. The issue is not how well I did on the last one, but that God will be with me for the next one, and He’s not abandoned me in the one I am dealing with right now. I am reminded yet again of Andrae Crouch’s song, Through It All: “And if I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them; I wouldn’t know what faith in God can do.” The Bible is filled with assurances that God will never leave us or forsake us, so just as I encourage others to do, I need to look at God more than I look at the challenges.

Father, thank You for this Word. It’s really a reminder, because I’ve known these things from Your Word for a long time. Help me be bold in my obedience to You, accepting Your “course corrections” but not hanging back for fear of the road ahead. May I as an individual and this church as a body move forward at Your speed on the course You have planned for us, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled in and through us on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 25, 2012

Posted on January 27, 2012 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

This is an enormously comforting verse, but it carries a condition that is often overlooked. A lot of “God seekers” are either casual or merely curious in their search. That won’t get you to the Creator! The truth behind this verse is perhaps the major reason God allows trials in our lives. If we never feel we are in trouble, why would we seek a Savior? The fact of the matter is, we are all sinners in need of salvation whether we realize it or not. The devil does all he can to blind people to that reality, but God in His mercy allows things in our lives to wake us up to reality so that we will seek Him. It doesn’t have to be a crisis; some people seem to be blessed with a desire to seek God. However, all too many people just can’t be bothered with “religion business,” and they shut it out as quickly and thoroughly as they can. They have no idea that they’re sealing their own doom! However, anyone reading this would not fit into that category. God indeed responds to those who cry out to Him, who are willing to let go of whatever else they have been clinging to in order to find Him. It’s like Jesus’ parable of the Pearl of Great Price; finding God and being in right relationship with Him is worth more than everything else put together. (Matthew 13:44-46)

I was raised with this as a core value in our family, but I can’t say I’ve always lived by it. Far too often I have taken God for granted, tacking him onto “my” life rather than recognizing that Christ is my life. (John 1:4, etc.) That’s certainly no way to grow in relationship with Him! Because I had academic knowledge of the Bible, I thought I knew God, but as came out just yesterday, knowing about someone is not the same as knowing them. God in His mercy has allowed various things into my life that have nudged me to seek Him, to cry out to Him. Thankfully it hasn’t taken anything as severe as the loss of a child, though I know of several people who have become very close to God through precisely that circumstance. I need to remember my own weakness even as I urge others to turn to the only one who is strong, to seek Him with their whole hearts, because He will definitely allow Himself to be found by them.

Father, thank You for the privilege of recommending You to others. Thank you for that man at the mental hospital yesterday who wanted to know why I was pushing a foreign God on the Japanese, who already have gods. Thank You for the clear witness You allowed me to give in response, and for how it seemed to impact him and others who were listening. I pray that not only those men in the mental hospital but everyone to whom I minister would indeed seek You with their whole hearts, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 24, 2012

Posted on January 25, 2012 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 24:7 “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

We have direct evidence of the accuracy of this chapter, talking about the two different groups of exiles to Babylon, because Daniel was in the first group, as were his friends who survived the furnace ordeal. (Daniel 3) That’s all the more reason for believers today to be encouraged by this verse, because it was fulfilled back then, and God can fulfill it again today. God does enable us to know Him from our hearts, and not just as intellectual knowledge. There is a world of difference between knowing about God and knowing God. I’ve overheard people telling other people about me, when I had no idea who the speaker was! They evidently knew about me, but they didn’t know me, because I didn’t know them. God, being omniscient, knows everything about us, but Jesus said that if we fail to relate to Him in trusting obedience, He will say He “never knew us.” (Matthew 7:23) It is only when we have a reciprocal relationship with God that we truly become His people. The more you come to know God, the more intimately you want to know Him. The Bible repeatedly uses the image of husband and wife to describe the relationship of God to His people, and we tend to get uncomfortable with that, but from the perspective of over 42 years of very happy marriage, I find it a very comforting picture indeed, because marriage is all about relationship. Many marriages break up because the relationship never goes beyond the physical, and therefore cannot withstand the pressures of life. Our relationship with God is not physical, (or at least not sexual) but it should reach to the very core of our being and extend from there to every part of our lives. To the degree that is true, we will enjoy the peace, joy, and everything else God has prepared for us that can be had no other way.

Well! I didn’t expect to write on that! Once again I have been blessed by my upbringing. I saw my parents’ relationship (though I was certainly not privy to their bedroom) and I realized what a blessed thing it was. I’m sure that’s a major reason I got married at 20, because I couldn’t wait to have such a relationship myself. By God’s grace I have indeed received overflowing blessings through my marriage, and it is heartbreaking to see how many couples settle for so much less. As a pastor, I seek not only to help couples understand the marital relationship, I seek to help believers understand the relationship with God that is available to them. Perhaps one reason they have trouble grasping the concept is that they have hardly ever seen a Biblical marriage! I must be careful not to come across as boasting, but allow the Holy Spirit to use me to generate a hunger for more of God in each person to whom I minister, so that we may all turn to Him with our whole hearts, as this verse says.

Father, thank You for pointing this out this morning. It certainly fits with what You were saying about fatherhood yesterday. I can’t get this through to people just by telling them, but You can use me to open people’s eyes and hearts, and that’s what I’m asking You to do. May we as a church be totally in love with You, holding nothing back from You, so that You may do in and through us all that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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January 23, 2012

Posted on January 25, 2012 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 11:3 “Tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant.'”

This is not the image we like to have of God! I keep coming back to the breakdown in the family, and especially the denigration of fathers and fatherhood, because it’s no accident that the Bible consistently speaks of God as our Father, in the OT as well as the New. When the devil succeeds in downgrading our image of what a father is, corrupting it in many ways, he has driven a huge wedge between us and God. That is why the last verse of the OT, prophesying the ministry of John the Baptist, says, “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (Malachi 4:6) It is very difficult to have a right relationship with our heavenly Father when we don’t know what a father is really supposed to be. A true father is both loving and firm, establishing rules and enforcing them. He isn’t a tyrant, but he insists on what is right. He delights when his children do what is right, and he punishes them appropriately when they do what is wrong. Anyone who has been raised by such a father is well prepared to hear and receive the Gospel, that says our heavenly Father loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to take the punishment for our sin. This is why society as a whole glorifies motherhood over fatherhood, and television generally portrays fathers as bumbling idiots. Any male can ejaculate, but it takes a real man to be a father!

I was enormously blessed to have such a father, imperfect though he was (as we all are), and I have reaped the benefits. How good a father I have been is up to God and my children to decide. However, I deal all the time with people who have been deeply wounded by the fathers, or lack of fathers, in their lives. Absent fathers, indifferent fathers, and abusive fathers abound. Simply being heartbroken at the wreckage it produces in their children’s lives doesn’t correct anything; I’ve got to introduce those children to their heavenly Father, while modeling what a human father should be like. At this point I am a father figure to some degree to a great many people. I must be consistent in my obedience to God so that the image they receive of Him through me will be undistorted.

Father, thank You for Your grace in bringing that girl here yesterday. Thank You for giving her the courage to open up and share what she has been through, and for those You arranged to have here at the point she was sharing. She is desperately hungry for Your love, in all its purity and power. I pray that You would pour that love out on her, through us as a church and directly into her heart. I pray that this would open the eyes and hearts of the church members to understand the need that surrounds them, so that they may offer themselves as Your instruments for meeting that need, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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January 22, 2012

Posted on January 22, 2012 by jgarrott

Jeremiah 5:25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.

Once again we are back to the principle of acts and consequences, also called the law of sowing and reaping. (Galatians 6:7-8) We have an amazing capacity for denying this is true, but that’s like trying to deny the law of gravity! God is a God of grace and mercy, yes, but walking off a 60 meter cliff is almost certainly going to get you killed, and pretending otherwise doesn’t change anything. God’s laws as expressed in the Bible aren’t to bind us and keep us from having any fun, (which is how the devil paints them) they are to let us know how to live for maximum enjoyment, satisfaction, safety, and every­thing else that’s good. After all, parents try to keep their little children from running out into busy streets. That’s not “restricting their freedom of choice,” it’s saving their lives! God is the perfect parent, and He wants to pour good things out on us His children, but as this verse says, our sins get in the way. Trusting God and walking in obedience is the path to blessings, without exception. Part of the problem is that we want to define what is a blessing and what is not, and like little children, we don’t have the best perspective on that. That’s where trust comes in. Life on this planet is colored not only by our own sin but also by the sins of others. Also, everything on this planet is temporal, that is, within the limits of time. God’s plans for us are eternal! As the hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus.”

This is of course a lesson I’m still learning myself, even as I try to help others understand it. Stress comes from tension, by definition, whether we’re talking mechanics or psychology. Psychological stress comes from the tension between my desires and expectations and reality as I perceive it. Sometimes my desires and expectations are wrong, and often my perceptions are wrong. Stresses are also cumulative, as in the proverb about the straw that broke the camel’s back. Lately I have been very aware of how narrow my emotional margins have become, and that’s not at all good. It’s further evidence of how much room I have to grow in trusting obedience. While teaching others, I must not fail to follow through myself! As this verse points out, the way to the peace, joy, and everything else I desire is obedience to God, because He desires to pour those things out on me even more than I want them.

Father, thank You for this reminder. As much as I’ve read Your Word, none of Your life principles are news to me, but I certainly have room to grow in living them out! Thank You for Your patience with me. Help me have patience with myself, because such impatience is a further source of stress. Help me likewise have patience with those around me, because they are as much in need of Your grace and mercy as I am. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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