Persecution; January 12, 2025

Posted on January 13, 2025 by jgarrott

Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Luke rather wisely did not try to record every sermon preached on this missionary journey, but as a representative sample, he recorded what was said in Antioch of Pisidia. He records the enthusiastic response they got at first, and then the jealous reaction of the Jewish leaders in the town. Those people couldn’t stand the fact that these itinerant preachers were getting a much better response than they ever had, and their jealousy drove them to persecution. People are funny that way! They managed to drive Paul and Barnabas out of the district, but the end result was hardly what they intended, and it is recorded here. I think the use of “disciples” in this verse is deliberate, because it includes both Paul and Barnabas as well as those in Antioch who had committed themselves to Jesus as Lord. Throughout the history of the Church, persecution has almost always had this result. Persecution sharpens our awareness of what is really important, and as a result, we turn our hearts more fully to the Lord. The natural result of that is what it says here: being filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. It has long been said that “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Areas of the world where persecution is active today have a very low percentage of lukewarm Christians! Just a few years ago an American was delivering relief supplies to persecuted people in South Sudan, and he told a pastor there that believers in America were praying for them. The pastor responded that his flock prayed for the believers in America, because they had no persecution to keep their faith sharp! I think that pastor had real insight from the Holy Spirit. As Jesus famously spoke to the believers in Laodicea, their physical comfort made their faith lukewarm, to the point that they made Jesus nauseous. (Revelation 3:15-17) That is a major danger in countries like the US and Japan, where “creature comforts” abound. Untested faith is generally weak, and that is dangerous. The thing is, even in the “lap of luxury” in physical terms, we are still totally dependent on God. Failure to recognize that can be deadly. God allows persecution, and trials of various sorts, to help us focus on Him and our dependence on Him. The better we recognize that, the more we too will be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

I am constantly reminded of my past stupidity and pride, which sadly doesn’t make me immune to it again! I have had trials of various sorts, but I don’t think any of them would qualify as persecution for my faith. That occasionally bothers me! However, I take it as a blessing and seek to move forward in faithfulness. I am definitely not a “type A personality,” driven to “succeed” in all I do, but at the same time, ministry in Omura has not exactly been overflowing in accolades and “successes.” My “trial” has been to keep doing what the Lord has shown me to do, until He shows me to do something different. So far, He’s kept me here for 43 years! Omura was at one time a spiritual hotspot, with Lord Sumitada Omura being the first Christian feudal lord in the country, and the Lord has given me the vision of Omura again being the foremost Christian city in the country. That is obviously humanly impossible, but nothing is impossible for God. When that will happen is the Lord’s business, but meanwhile, I’m to be faithfully obedient, praising the Lord for His plans, whether they line up with my wish list or not!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that You are doing. Physical activity is supposed to be picking up, with scaffolding going up this week, but spiritual activity is more important. Help me be sensitive and obedient at all times, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Political Correctness; January 11, 2025

Posted on January 12, 2025 by jgarrott

Acts 13:19 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?”

Wow! This is a pretty thorough verbal take-down, but it’s quite reminiscent of some things John and Baptist, and even Jesus, said. This sort of thing could get you charged for slander today! The thing is, truth is truth, and failing to speak truth is not loving. In this case, if Paul had failed to call the man down, the proconsul would probably not have committed himself to Christ, and Elymas himself would not have been confronted with the need and opportunity to repent. “Political correctness” is a plague from the father of lies! We are not to hurt needlessly, with words or actions, but masking the truth in euphemisms helps no one. People get upset when we call abortion murder, but that’s exactly what it is. They also get upset when we call gender dysphoria mental illness, but again, that’s what it is. Papering it all over with lies is an abomination in the sight of God. In the Church we focus on speaking the truth in love, but political correctness is not speaking the truth. Political correctness is part of the devil’s plan that includes the nonsense of “my truth” and “your truth.” The devil hates truth, and so distorts it every way he can. As Paul says here, he “makes crooked the straight paths of the Lord.” (ESV) We are not to fall for his deceptions but stand firm in Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)

Having been raised by a father who held absolute honesty as one of his foundational principles, I have always tended to be on the blunt side. Actually, I have hurt people needlessly by failing to be gentle with my words when there was no evil intent on their part. A couple such incidents still haunt me. I am not to let my distaste for political correctness cause me to squash people, but neither am I to fall into the trap of the “white lie.” Lies aren’t white! I am to speak God’s truth as Jesus did, with sacrificial love, regardless of the consequences. I am thankfully not in a situation where that will get me into legal trouble, as happens all too often in various places around the world, so I am to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ who are in such situations. James was very clear on the importance of my words, and many other Biblical writers touched on it as well. I am indeed to speak the truth in love, even when the truth is painful to my hearers, so that they may be set free. (John 8:32)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the gift for words You have given me. May it always be used as You intend, and in no other way, so that Your Word through me may accomplish everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:11) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Plans; January 10, 2025

Posted on January 11, 2025 by jgarrott

Acts 12:2-3 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Even dictators are swayed by the opinions of the populace. I’ve written before about how James gave his life for Christ all at once, as it says here, but John gave his life one day at a time, well into his 90s. Both brothers were 100% in their commitment, but they didn’t get to choose how it would be expressed. I’ve always maintained that James had the easier course! The point at the moment, however, is closely related to what came up two days ago about the Pharisees loving the praise of men more than the praise of God. When our primary focus is on the people around us rather than on God, all sorts of bad things happen, and King Herod was no exception. However, God had other ideas. He allowed Herod to send James home, but when he arrested Peter, God used it in a very dramatic way to demonstrate His power. We speak of things like earthquakes and lightning as “acts of God,” but God is certainly capable of much more subtle, but just as powerful, actions as well. This particular story sounds like something out of Science Fiction! I feel a little sorry for Rhoda, the servant girl named in verse 13, being the object of laughter today, but when you think about it, not that many people are actually named in the New Testament narrative, so it was really a high honor. To me the whole point of the story is that we can seldom predict the results of our prayers, except that the result will be good. Luke reports in verse five that the church was praying for Peter, and this story was the result. This tidbit is further confirmation that churches are not buildings, but rather people. That came up with yesterday’s reading! We need to remember that the eternal things we encounter most regularly are the souls of people. Material things are not unimportant, and we are accountable as stewards of what we have been given, but the material is all temporal, and will not last for eternity the way we will as children of God. What happens in this story is dramatic, and was a huge blessing to Peter and the Church as a whole, but it would have been easier on Peter if he had simply followed James to heaven. God had a lot more work for him to do, so this story happened, but we need to remember that God’s plans are always greater, and better, than ours whatever we might feel like in the moment.

I have certainly experienced this in my own life. I have had various plans and expectations over the years, and not very many of them have turned out as I expected! That has led to a tendency not to plan, which hasn’t been good. As the secular proverb says, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. That said, God’s plans have been good, and I continue to look forward to whatever He has next on the agenda. I am at the point of planning for my successor in this congregation, and that is a major point of accountability. I am not to be anxious about it, but I am to be earnest and active in seeking and following God’s plans. I am indeed to “prepare God’s people for the work of ministry,” (Ephesians 4:12) knowing that God’s plans will continue long after I am out of the picture, and trust Him to bring it about on His schedule for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all I see You doing around me, and for all the things I’m not aware of, as well! May I be fully yielded and available to You on every level, so that I may be useful to You in Your plans and not a hindrance, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Body of Christ; January 9, 2025

Posted on January 10, 2025 by jgarrott

Acts 9:4-5 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

This is one of the most dramatic, and rightly famous, stories in the whole Bible (though there are a lot of them). The expression, “scales from the eyes” (verse 18) is even used by Japanese, though most of them don’t know where it comes from. In Western countries, at least, the transformation of Saul from a persecutor to an evangelist is widely known, and “Damascus Road experience” is part of the vernacular. All of that said, this little exchange is one of the most meaningful in the whole story. Saul has been actively persecuting the Church, that is, the body of believers, and here Jesus informs him that he had been persecuting Christ Himself. When Saul, renamed Paul, later wrote repeatedly about the Church being the Body of Christ, he was doing so on perfect authority! We really don’t have a very good grasp of that, even though we use the expression freely enough. Part of that comes from our conflating “church” with “building,” and Christ is certainly not a physical structure. Doing maintenance on a church building is not necessarily building up the Body of Christ! Some preachers are careful to use the Greek ecclesia, to make it clear that the Biblical Church is the people, the gathering. That’s why we speak, rightly enough, of “the church gathered,” and “the church scattered.” This is something that calls for a great deal of thought and meditation, because it deals with dimensions that are outside our normal experience. It’s very related to what Jesus said repeatedly in the Upper Room Discourse about being in us and us being in Him and the Father being in us and all that. In physical terms it is an impossibility, but spiritually it is glorious reality! Because of our very limited understanding, we need to let the Holy Spirit work it into our hearts and minds so that we will indeed operate as the Body of Christ, doing His will in His strength for His glory.

This is something the Lord has been working in me for many years, but I won’t grasp it in totality until I stand before His throne. It is a very timely consideration, because this church is entering into a fairly major building maintenance project. The very first step of that happened yesterday, with a pomegranate tree that was up against the building being transplanted to a corner of the parking lot. Scaffolding is supposed to go up next week, and then the whole building will be power-washed and painted. Either right after that or concurrently, we will be replacing the flooring in the sanctuary, since the 26-year-old cushion flooring is getting pretty torn up. That will focus a lot of attention on the physical building, and I need to use the occasion to help the believers understand that they are the church, so that they will act like it. Like the majority of churches, people tend to think that ministry is something the “professionals” do, when Paul expressed clearly that God’s plan is for the “professionals” to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12) I haven’t been as effective as I should have been to this point, so I need to do better from now. The fact that I’m 76 makes it a bit easier! I need to seek God for His wisdom, His plan for each detail, so that we will grow as He desires, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s really exciting to see the tree beautifully pruned and transplanted. I pray that it, and we, would be fruitful as You desire and intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Perfection; January 8, 2025

Posted on January 9, 2025 by jgarrott

John 12:43 For they loved human praise more than praise from God.

What a sad but common commentary! So much of the time we live our lives for our human audience, performing in ways that we think will get us applause, when we should be living our lives for our Creator, the One who loved us so much as to send His Son to die for us. The ultimate reward for any true child of God is to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21, 23) Working for anything less is ultimately empty. From the human perspective, you could say that the ultimate reward is knowing that you have exercised your gifts and abilities well, for the benefit of all involved. That might bring earthly recognition, or it might not. We aren’t even the best judge of whether we have done that, because we don’t see the ripple effects that go out from our impact. Paul got it right when he said, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (2 Corinthians 4:2-4) If our focus is on the Lord, rather than on the opinions of those around us or even our own emotions, then we will have far more peace, and ultimately, far more success. Social media today has brought an epidemic of people completely caught up in the opinions of others. A sad number of people will do anything to get likes or even clicks, and they destroy themselves in the process. Psychologists are agreed that is a major factor in the steep rise in youth suicides. Such people are an extreme, pathetic example of what John says here.

I am certainly not immune to the opinions of others, but I have experienced such a gamut of them that I think I realize they don’t mean much. It’s been many years since I consciously shifted toward the goal of hearing the commendation Jesus mentioned in His parable in Matthew 25. Just recently I’ve interacted with a young woman who is very sincere, but she is something of an absolutist, holding to an ideal that she doesn’t realize even she doesn’t meet. I’m back to remembering, and agreeing with, something C. S. Lewis said, that when we get to heaven we will all discover we were wrong somewhere. God indeed tells us to be perfect, as He is perfect, (Matthew 5:48) but we don’t arrive at that until we are before His throne. I am to strive for perfection, and at the same time both receive God’s grace for my imperfection and extend that grace to those around me for their imperfection. That doesn’t mean excusing sin, but it does completely eliminate pride. I find myself praying with the hymnist, “God of grace and God of glory, on Thy people pour Thy power.” God’s glory is perfect, but we are absolutely in need of His grace.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. Thank You for that young woman, and for the book she brought me yesterday. Thank You for the truth she does know, and for Your Spirit in her. I pray that she would allow Your Spirit to open her heart more to Your grace, for her own sake and for the sake of those around her, so that Your will may be done in and through her for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Gospel; January 7, 2025

Posted on January 8, 2025 by jgarrott

John 12:31-32 “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

There are two very amazing things here. The first is that the devil thought he was triumphing over the Son of God, but Jesus said it was the exact reverse: His crucifixion was judgment on the world, because it wasn’t penalty for His sin, but for ours. The devil thought it was his moment of triumph, but Jesus said it was the moment of the devil being cast out. Time being what it is, we don’t yet see the full results of that, but the victory was finally and decisively won at that point. Bill Whittle has wisely noted that wars are generally won and lost long before they end. The battle of Midway effectively decided the outcome of WWII in the Pacific, but the majority of the casualties happened after that. Likewise, D-day cemented the fall of the Third Reich, but the Battle of the Bulge and other bloody conflicts happened after that. The battle for the world, and for the souls of men, is already decided, but the fighting is still intense. We can, however, rest assured in the final outcome! The other thing that is remarkable here is that Jesus said that He would draw all people to Himself when He was lifted up. The very next verse explicitly says that referred to His being on the cross. Nicky Gumbel, the British pastor who created the Alpha Course for evangelism and believer training, rightly points out that wearing crosses for decoration, a common thing today even for people with no faith at all, is equivalent to wearing nooses, or even a gallows. The cross was in no way seen as something attractive. The majority of people in the Roman empire had seen people executed that way, and it was in no way a pretty sight. However, for everyone who has the revelation, “He died for me,” the cross is a thing of incredible beauty. We must never play down the cross, in all its ugliness and cruelty, because the cross is what our sins deserve, and Jesus took it for us. That is attractive indeed!

This is something I’ve known as abstract truth most of my life, but my appreciation of it has only grown. When there is no awareness of sin, there is no appreciation for redemption. The second verse of Amazing Grace rightly says, “T’was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” Until I knew, by God’s grace, that I really deserved hell, I had a very shallow understanding of salvation. Now, I share the Gospel as one who has earned hell but has been given eternal life by faith instead. I must never forget that reality, because only then will people really cross over from death to life.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. Help me share it effectively, both with those who are already believers and those who will become believers because of this message, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Eternal Life; January 6, 2025

Posted on January 7, 2025 by jgarrott

John 11:25-27 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

I don’t think I could count how many times I’ve preached on, or at least quoted, these verses, generally in relation to someone’s physical death. It is significant that this confession of Jesus as the Christ, right up there with Peter’s in Matthew 16:16, was uttered by a woman, when in that society a woman’s testimony was counted as only half as valuable as that of a man. Claiming the New Testament is misogynistic is way off the mark! The rest of the content is so monumental that who said it is practically irrelevant. You could not ask for a clearer promise of eternal life than what Jesus says here. This should make everyone in the world want to be a Christian! On the strictly material level, Jesus’ statement is absurd, but at this point there have been thousands of Near Death Experiences recorded that show that it is literally true. Whatever your opinion of NDEs might be, you can’t shake the conviction of someone who has had one! We spend the vast majority of our lives fixated on the here-and-now, not thinking about eternity. That can easily lead to hopelessness and even suicide, seeking to escape the here-and-now. That is the sad case of many with PTSD, including the recent case in the news of the man who shot himself as he was blowing up the truck he was in. When we have a correct grasp of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, then such actions become out of the question. It’s no longer about us, it’s about Him, and that is ultimately glorious, regardless of what we go through in the here-and-now. It is very significant that when Jesus said this about eternal life, Martha responded with her magnificent confession of faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. She knew it wasn’t about her or her brother who had died, but all about Him. When we too come to that conviction, then nothing can shake us.

Thankfully, I have had this assurance since before my parents died, which made mourning their passing so much easier. I was indeed regretting that I would have no more conversations with them in this life, but I had, and have, total assurance that I will one day join them before the throne of our Lord. My father died at 64, and my honest, first reaction was that he wouldn’t have to retire. When my mother died at 72 with metastatic cancer, I rejoiced that she was set free from that disease. I have conducted a lot of funerals, and some of them have been joyous occasions indeed. That very idea is totally shocking to people who don’t know Jesus as Lord, so I do all I can to introduce them to Him. After all, as Jake Hess sang, for someone who knows Jesus as Lord, “Death ain’t no big deal.”

Father, thank You for the assurance I have in Christ. Help me be more and more effective in sharing that assurance with others, so that they too may let go of themselves and cling to Jesus, who in turn will hold onto them for eternity (Philippians 3:12), for their salvation and His glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Procrastination; January 5, 2025

Posted on January 6, 2025 by jgarrott

John 9:4 “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

This story of Jesus healing the man born blind is one of my favorites in the whole Bible. I particularly love how the completely uneducated man demolished the arguments of the Pharisees against Jesus, using impeccable logic to do so. My love for that narrative has been such that I don’t think I’ve ever written or preached on this verse, even though Jesus is saying something very important here. The point is that there is a time for everything, as Solomon said so famously in Ecclesiastes 3. This is a powerful statement against procrastination! Sometimes God tells us to do something, but by the time we finally get around to doing it, the time as past, and nothing comes of it. What a waste! I think the vast majority of people struggle with procrastination to some degree, because there are so many distractions. The devil doesn’t have to make us do something bad, if he can only keep us from doing the good that God intends. This isn’t to say that we are to be in a constant frenzy of “working for God.” That sort of attitude puts the focus on us instead of on Him, and it too is not pleasing to Him. Rather, we are to be actively seeking His appointments, sensitive and obedient to His Spirit at all times. Philip comes to mind, who left an active scene of ministry to go to a desert road, simply because God said to do so. As a result, the Church in Ethiopia was born, and continues to this day! (Acts 8) We aren’t to try to define what our work is supposed to be, but rather be fully committed and obedient whenever and however our Lord speaks to us.

I have certainly had my struggles with procrastination, but I was actually surprised when I learned that my father likewise struggled with it. It was surprising, because I always saw him as very accomplishful, which I thought of as the opposite of procrastination. I think it comes down to obedient listening to God. Schedules can be very useful, keeping us from letting things slide, but now I’m retired from school teaching, and my schedule is largely of my own making! Thankfully, I do get nudges from the Holy Spirit about this that and the other, but some things just seem to slide, and I accuse myself about that. I have tasted the joy of meeting God’s appointments enough times that I always want to be sensitive to meet them when He sets them up, but trying to set them up myself never works out very well! I could easily have as much as 20 more years on this planet, so I’m not to be anxious about any of it, but listen and obey faithfully, as He directs, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. May I be active in my obedience to you, today and every day, so that Your purposes for me may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Focus; January 4, 2025

Posted on January 5, 2025 by jgarrott

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Everyone goes through times of darkness. However, Jesus is here letting us in on a little secret: the light didn’t go away from us, we turned our back on the light. We may not think we have done that, but as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We do well to examine our lives and see how much light we have. If things are looking dark, then our first thought should be to seek the light, that is, Jesus. There are countless things that distract us from Him. Many of them are not bad in themselves. Indeed, the only bad thing about them might be that we let them come between us and the light, that is, Jesus. Family and country and education and many other things are wonderful and even highly desirable, but if we let them come ahead of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are headed into darkness. Someone who is following Christ is going to be a good father or mother, for example, but even there, children can become idols to us, and everything falls apart when that happens. There is no end to the tragic stories of poor parenting, and some even come from parents who think they are following Christ, such as missionaries. There are Missionary Kids with deep wounds because their parents took what seemed to be “the only way” of sending them off to boarding school far too young, instead of perhaps making a way to teach them at home, for example. God knows our weaknesses, and repentance is always available. No one does everything perfectly, so we need to keep watch over our “light level” to see how we are doing. That’s not to be neurotic about it, however; God does enable us to create good habits so that we don’t have to stay on edge. That said, any time we find ourselves in the dark, we need to first ask God why He allowed it to happen. The answer will always be, “For your good.” The second thing we need to ask God is what He wants to teach us from the experience, and there are as many answers to that as there are experiences. We all have blind spots, and sometimes God allows us to walk squarely into them so that we will recognize they exist. That can be painful, and often is, but it is extremely helpful in the long run. We all need to keep growing, and to do that we need to recognize the dark spots we’ve been hiding, sometimes even from ourselves. Jesus’ statement here is very broad, but it’s true. If things look dark, seek Him!

This is something I’ve experienced time and time again. My biggest problem has been pride, thinking “Surely I don’t have that problem,” when to an outside observer it was obvious. My wife has been extremely helpful in this area! Even this morning I was having trouble getting going with my devotions, because so many other things were crowding into my mind. They weren’t bad things, and actually are things I need to deal with today, but when I let them get ahead of listening to God, I’ve got some repenting to do. My problem is in feeling I’ve got to figure everything out on my own, and for that matter, thinking I can! I’m not to abandon the mind God has given me, but I’ve always got to remember that it’s totally insignificant compared to God, and so rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, whatever is going on around me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s one I need quite frequently! Help me keep my focus on Jesus so that I will walk in the light consistently, instead of just occasionally. I do desire that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Believing Moses; January 3, 2025

Posted on January 4, 2025 by jgarrott

John 5:46-47 “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

This hit me like a load of bricks, because of one individual in particular. Dennis Prager is a devout Jew whom I respect very highly. He has done a great deal of good with his emphasis on a rational approach to the world and to God, basically espousing common sense. He has written a 5-volume commentary on the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses at the beginning of the Bible, which he titled, The Rational Bible. He has a very good relationship with Christians, but has not been able to come to the point of acknowledging that Jesus is the One of whom all the Old Testament writers wrote, from Moses to Malachi. He has said that he has trouble with the idea of loving God, but says that obedience to Him is the only logical course. At this moment he is in the hospital, having been badly injured in an accident of which I know no details. His mind is clear, but he is able to do very little. His organization, Prager U, is still functioning at a very high level, but his personal involvement seems to be minimal at this point because of his injury. I have been praying for him from the point I first learned what sort of a person he is, that he would have a revelation of God’s love for him, that is so great that Jesus would have died even if he were the only person who needed it, and so open his heart in repentance and faith. He is an expert on the Law of Moses, yet Jesus says here that he doesn’t really believe it, because he doesn’t believe Jesus. He has read the New Testament, and quotes it fairly frequently, but obviously not from the standpoint of it being the Word of God to him. My urgent, earnest prayer for him is that this injury and hospitalization would be the shock that he has needed to understand his personal need for a Savior, that he cannot be good enough on his own to rate eternity with his Creator, but that God indeed loves him enough to make salvation available to him.

I think one reason I care so deeply about Dennis Prager is that I can identify very easily with him. He was raised in a religious home, as I was. He was raised with great familiarity with Scripture, as I was. He was given intellectual gifts, as I was, but to this point seems to have made better use of them than I have! His opinions have been valued and trusted, with his being an active public speaker since he was in his 20s, and I think that generated a level of intellectual pride that is very familiar to me indeed. He is a genuinely good person, which makes it all the harder for him to realize the huge danger of his pride. I pray for him the sort of experience I had, of God showing me, just for an instant, the state of my own soul. It would be totally devastating for him, probably even more so than it was for me, because it will be much later in his life than mine was, but if he has such an experience it would bring multitudes into the Kingdom, because his influence is very great. He doesn’t know me personally at all, but I pray for him like he was a close relative, because that is how the Lord has placed him in my heart.

Father, this was completely unexpected. Thank You for showing me what the numbers were supposed to be for today’s reading. I pray that everyone using this Scripture list would be guided by Your Spirit to know what the reading was actually supposed to be! I pray that we would all be humble before You to hear what You are saying to us, to respond as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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