Aging; October 25, 2024

Posted on October 26, 2024 by jgarrott

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator
    in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
    and the years approach when you will say,
    “I find no pleasure in them”—

The first part of this is excellent advice, but everything that follows, all the way through verse 8, is a terribly depressing view of aging, old age, and death. This brings me back to my conviction that Solomon is one of the most pathetic figures in the whole Bible. He had absolutely every advantage, with intelligence and wealth and every opportunity, and yet along the line he took it all for granted and lost focus on his Creator (though he gives Him lip service here.) Our lives are indeed meaningless vanity (one of Solomon’s favorite words) without the awareness that we were created for a purpose, and our existence doesn’t end with our physical death. The Egyptians focused everything on the afterlife, but that too is a mistake. Our time on this earth is indeed brief, but we aren’t here by chance, and the better we grasp our purpose, the happier and more fulfilled we will be. Solomon’s biggest problem was that he let pride replace gratitude in his heart, and human pride is indeed empty vanity. We can gain wisdom from what Solomon wrote, but the best thing we can gain from him is not copying his negative example. That he would actively promote and participate in idolatry, after all God had done for him, is incredible to me. Like his father David before him, women were a snare to him, and the results were tragic.

I thankfully had the example of a father who was totally committed to his Creator, and totally faithful to his wife. At 76, the physical symptoms of aging mentioned here are easily recognized, but I don’t let them take control. I don’t expect to have years in which I have no pleasure! At the moment I’m in the final stages of recovery from what seems to have been the flu, which was of course no fun, but I am feeling much better than I was, and I anticipate months and years of productive life ahead. The important thing for me is to keep my focus on my Lord, not simply for the eternal reward that awaits me, but for what He wants me doing here and now. My greatest joy is in the awareness that I have been useful to my Lord in some way, sharing His truth with someone or otherwise blessing them. I look forward to going walking this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks, because of our trip and the illness that followed. I look forward to the exercise itself and to taking pictures of God’s beautiful world I’ll be walking in, but I eagerly anticipate running into a man I’ve gotten to know through these walks. I don’t know if we will synchronize this morning, but I hope we will, since his birthday is tomorrow. He doesn’t yet know Jesus as Lord, and the prospect of being useful to God in drawing him to salvation is exciting to me. Whenever God takes me home, I want to have as many people as possible “tagged” to join me when their time is up!

Father, thank You that my “final years” are far brighter, far more joyful and meaningful than Solomon’s were. May I not “kill time,” but rather delight to do Your will on Your schedule, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Humility; October 24, 2024

Posted on October 25, 2024 by jgarrott

Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
    or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
    the Maker of all things.

Solomon was noted for his wisdom, but I think this is one of the wisest things he wrote, and it’s a confession of ignorance. Just like yesterday, we run into the different meanings of ruach here. The ESV renders it as “spirit,” but both the NIV and the Japanese say “wind.” It’s interesting that the two mysteries Solomon gives as examples are things we claim to know a lot about today, but they are actually still mysterious. Fetal development is an area of intense research, and one of the points of hottest contention is when it becomes a human being. That would fit with the ESV rendering this as “the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb.” Going with “wind,” meteorology is so complex that it has sparked the creation of some of the biggest supercomputers in the world. With those and satellite observation weather forecasting has become much more accurate, but it is still far from exact, and weather certainly can’t be controlled. The point is, as Solomon states here, only God knows everything, because He actually does everything. Not grasping that is hubris, which even the ancient Greeks recognized as one of the most dangerous attitudes. Humility is an essential component of wisdom! By God’s grace He allows us to discover more and more about the physical universe, but having a grasp of just how much we don’t know is necessary for genuine wisdom.

This is something I’ve run into off and on all my life. I was given a high IQ and I have always liked to learn and know stuff, but that has led to times of intense pride, even to the point of hubris. That has never been pretty! It was a beautiful breakthrough when it really came on me that God’s smart and I’m not. Discovering things I don’t know has become a joy to me, whether or not I think I could ever learn whatever those things might be. Releasing things to God has become a joyful exercise, not to be irresponsible but to recognize that I don’t have to know everything because God does, and He loves me. I am at times saddened by the ignorance of some people, not because they are ignorant but because they seem to have no desire to be otherwise, but then I compare my ignorance to God’s omniscience, and I can love them as God loves me. I have always liked the Japanese expression, “acorns comparing height,” because it so beautifully encapsulates the reality that we are equally insignificant, compared to God. The marvelous thing is, God loves us anyway!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all the things You do to teach us and grow us and remind us of our humanity. Thank You that I seem to be mostly through this cold/flu/whatever, and that my wife is well along as well. Help us keep our focus on You, whatever is going on in our bodies or in the world around us, so that Your purposes for us may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Bible Translation; October 23, 2024

Posted on October 24, 2024 by jgarrott

Proverbs 20:27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord
    that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

This verse exposes a characteristic of both major Biblical languages that can be very frustrating for speakers of other languages. Both Hebrew and Greek use the same word for spirit, breath, and wind, ruach in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. In Hebrew it goes so far as to be a letter of their alphabet! At times that can be very meaningful, as in the renaming of Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah, because in both cases the spelling change was the addition of ruach, in this particular instance clearly meaning the Spirit of the Lord. In this verse in Proverbs it doesn’t seem nearly as clear. English translations generally go with “spirit,” but the Japanese translation I use says “breath,” somewhat to my shock. The grammar doesn’t seem to be that easy to sort out either, with both the Japanese and the ESV saying “the spirit/breath of man is the lamp of the Lord,” but the 1984 version of the NIV going with, “The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man.” Translation is not an exact science! That’s why we need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit every time we read the Bible. The Bible is clear that there are plenty of lying spirits in the world, so we need to choose to place our spirit in submission to the Holy Spirit so that we won’t be led astray. There are plenty of “spiritual” people who aren’t controlled by the Holy Spirit! This whole issue makes me very grateful to be able to do my devotions in two languages, because I regularly get insight or clarity by comparing the two. That would probably be true for any two languages you could choose. Those who are limited to English still have a wide variety of translations they can read to accomplish much the same purpose. That’s one of the huge blessings of the Internet websites that let you read the Bible in multiple translations. That said, we’re back to the necessity of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. After all, He’s the Author of the whole book in the first place!

I was blessed to be raised with an awareness of this issue from before I started reading, actually. My father had gotten his ThM degree in Hebrew and his PhD degree in Greek, and he taught both languages to Japanese, in Japanese. It was not unusual for him to listen to a Japanese sermon, follow the Scripture in either Hebrew or Greek, and make notes in English. When I was baptized at age 7 the full Bible my parents got for me was RSV, because my father judged that it was the best balance of accuracy and readability at the time. I have used various translations since then, only recently going to the ESV in English, because it is what is paired with the Japanese in my current bilingual Bible. (My first bilingual full bible used the 1984 NIV, but I wore that out to the point that Ephesians falls out if I’m not careful!) Preaching bilingually keeps me focused on the meaning of what I’m reading and saying, and I’m grateful. However, the most important thing is again, listening to and depending on the Holy Spirit, and not any human translator or commentator, however helpful those might be at times. And of course, I’ve got to apply what He tells me, and not just give it intellectual assent.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I certainly didn’t expect to write on this when I started reading! Help me indeed hear what You are saying to me and what You want to say through me, so that Your Word may indeed accomplish everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:10-11) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Speaking; October 22, 2024

Posted on October 23, 2024 by jgarrott

Proverbs 13:3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,
    but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

To a man of words like me, this verse seems rather ominous! Wise men, even apart from the Bible, have noted from thousands of years ago that we are given one mouth and two ears, and so should listen twice as much as we talk. Some people seem gifted in that area, and some rather the opposite. I take some comfort in the specific turn of phrase in the second half, speaking of lips (as the ESV and the Japanese express it). That to me implies a braggart, someone trying to draw attention to himself. The NIV interprets that as “speak rashly,” which to me bolsters my impression. It is also interesting to note that where English translations say, “preserves his life,” the Japanese says, “preserves his soul.” A person can be physically alive and yet their soul be as empty as a discarded drink can. As Jesus said, our lives are far more than material possessions. (Matthew 6:25-34) Running off at the mouth can get us into trouble on many different levels. In the New Testament, James is famous for putting a lot of stress on this area, particularly in chapter 3 of his letter, so this is far from “an Old Testament issue.” We all need to keep watch over our mouths, what comes out of them as well as what goes into them.

I couldn’t begin to count how many times I’ve gotten into trouble because of things I’ve said, but I could give you several examples! Most of the time it’s been because I was showing off in some way, and that’s exactly what this verse is talking about. More regrettably, to me, have been the many times I have hurt people needlessly with my words. I am to speak the truth always, but not everything has to be said, and love must guide how and why I speak. I am all too prone to speak to defend myself or my position, and that motive isn’t agape love. (On a completely side note, I noticed years ago that the computer doesn’t flag that Greek word, because the spelling is the same as an English word that means, “standing open,” as in, “They stood there, mouths agape, in astonishment.”) I must always speak to build people up, expressing God’s grace and truth to them as one who is completely dependent on that grace and truth.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It is an area where I have grown, but I certainly need to continue to grow! As David said, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14) May I speak always and only as You desire and intend, for the blessing of my hearers and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sex; October 21, 2024

Posted on October 22, 2024 by jgarrott

Proverbs 6:23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life.

This verse is certainly true, but what is striking is that what follows is a very clear warning not to be seduced by a married woman. The reason it is so striking is that Proverbs is supposedly largely the work of Solomon, with wise sayings of a few other people added, and Solomon’s own mother was married to Uriah at the point that she was first bedded by David. Of course, as the king in an absolute monarchy, David could take what he wanted, but there is the very real question of entrapment, when Bathsheba was bathing on her roof in view of the king’s promenade on the roof of the palace next door. I know of Christian women who are terribly offended by even the suggestion of the possibility of such a thing, but the fact remains that, with the exception of outright rape, there is always some degree of mutuality in such relationships. Society is so twisted today that there are otherwise respectable women who proudly parade their “body count,” and proclaim their “liberation.” That is actually very sad, but such people don’t recognize what and how much the devil has stolen from them with his lies. When God made mankind, and indeed the whole animal world, he had to make procreation enjoyable, or everything would have died out. He created hormones and sex drive and said, “Go forth and multiply.” However, with mankind he set various boundaries, and we cross those to our loss. God specified monogamous marriage for mankind because, as Paul famously explains in Ephesians 5, the marital relationship is in a number of ways a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church, God and His people. That’s precisely why the devil works so hard to dirty things up, and he has succeeded to a tragic degree. Today, America has a whole political party that makes abortion the major plank of their platform, so that people can have “consequence free” sex. There is no such thing. Regardless of procreation, the act of coitus always has consequences, either cementing and deepening the relationship between a husband and wife, or cheapening and degrading both participants.

I’m very grateful not to have been trapped by this sort of thing, but I’ve had some close calls. I also have friends who have been tripped up, with sad consequences. Men are generally seen as the sexual aggressor, but just as Solomon wrote, the reverse can equally be true. This is in no way a new problem, as is clear from Solomon having written about it 3000 years ago! However, the solution, for me and for everyone else, is to listen to what God has said about it and follow that, knowing that God always has our best interest at heart. And He is certainly not a “spoil-sport,” not wanting us to have any fun. After 55 years of marriage, I can definitely testify to that!

Father, thank You for the gift of sex. Help all of Your children discern the lies and walk in Your truth, in holiness and joy, so that those who are deceived may have their eyes opened to escape the devil’s traps, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Spiritual Growth; October 20, 2024

Posted on October 21, 2024 by jgarrott

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

This verse, in a very slightly different translation, is actually a better fit to the music in Japanese than the original English, to a chorus that in English is called “The Path of the Just.” It’s always fascinating to me when that happens (and this isn’t the only example) because I’ve done so much song translation. Regardless of that, the content is worthy of meditation. These days not many people are out walking at dawn, and if they are in a vehicle, headlights make it harder to understand as a principle. The thing is, pre-dawn light is definitely dim, and it would be very easy to stumble. As the sun starts to come up, the way gets clearer and clearer, and if you’re walking due East, the light is quickly blinding if you don’t shade your eyes. (Walking other directions, of course, is a different matter on the blinding part.) The point of this verse, however, is that when we first choose to walk in obedience to God, the way might not seem very clear, and stumbling can certainly occur. However – and here’s the important part – it gets better. The way is clearer, and we can walk with more assurance and accuracy, and stumbling becomes less and less frequent. Sanctification is an important Biblical principle, but despite the teaching of some groups, it’s rarely instantaneous. When we repent and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are in that moment counted as righteous, but that is worked into and through our lives on a growing basis. Often a new believer will seem so different from the way they were before commitment that we think the job is done, but that’s a very dangerous mistake. Everyone needs to grow, and that includes the most white-haired saint you can think of! Spiritual growth is an essential, and beautiful, part of spiritual life. We need both to aim for it and be grateful for it, even when we have “growing pains.”

This verse really clicks for me because I am often out walking at dawn, particularly in the winter months when the sun comes up later. I have taken many spectacular pictures that people think are sunsets, but they are dawn shots. I wear a baseball cap and dip my head to shield my eyes from the direct sunlight when I’m headed East, but sunglasses aren’t appropriate because the ground around me isn’t so illuminated. On the return trip, headed West, sunglasses are often appropriate. In the area of spiritual growth, I can look back and see that I have grown indeed in various areas, but I am often painfully aware that I have plenty more room to grow. At this point, delegation is one of those areas. I don’t have to be the center of what’s going on! I need to remember that my job is to equip the saints to do works of ministry, not to do it all myself. (Ephesians 4:11-14) In any case, I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in my Lord, knowing that His “lesson plans” are good, and that He will enable me to pass the test, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me keep it in my awareness, seeking to grow and encouraging others to do so as well, in all gentleness and love, so that we may be the children, the disciples, that You desire and deserve. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Omniscience; October 19, 2024

Posted on October 20, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

I really thought I would be writing on other than this most famous part of this Psalm, but here I am! (Actually, I’m writing on the whole Psalm.) For the first half of the Psalm it sounds like David is trying to escape from God, that he wants Him to leave him alone. He may well have started with a bit of that feeling, but then as the Holy Spirit expanded this Psalm in his heart, he realized what a blessed thing it is to be so intimately known by our Creator. In climax, we have these two verses, which are a prayer for God to do precisely the things David was complaining about in the first half of the Psalm! I think every believer can identify with this prayer, and actually, should pray it regularly. We all have thoughts that we realize aren’t “worthy of a disciple of Jesus Christ,” and we’re embarrassed to share them with anyone. The thing is, God knows them anyway, and confessing them to Him opens our heart to receive His healing and guidance. And the glorious thing is, we can rest assured that God delights to do the last thing mentioned in this prayer: lead us in His everlasting way.

I have been aware of God’s omniscience for as long as I can remember, but that awareness hasn’t kept me from doing things that I knew at the time weren’t pleasing to Him. However, it has been a major comfort when I was suffering, for one reason or another. There is nothing I can experience that God doesn’t know about or care about. That is absolutely incredible on the face of it, because God is the Creator of the universe. Why would He care about such an insignificant speck as me? However, the assurance that He does know and care is the joy and bedrock of my existence. Modern technology has enabled the “surveillance state,” but that doesn’t begin to approach God’s knowledge of us. That’s why I can thank God for my current cold, that I’m glad to say I’m recovering from. He doesn’t allow anything in my life that He can’t use for good, so my part is to cooperate with Him for that to happen.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and thank You for the awareness that my cold is on its last legs. Help me recognize what You want me to do each moment of today, whether that is getting something done or just resting, so that all of Your purposes for me may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Reading the Bible; October 18, 2024

Posted on October 19, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
    it gives understanding to the simple.

Both the NIV and the ESV use “unfolding” here, but the Japanese says, “when the door to your Word opens.” Both of those translations have things to be said for them. “Unfolding” applies because, as many times as we might have read a passage, there are always more layers of meaning to bless us. That said, the image of a door opening is very easy to understand. Back when most documents were written on scrolls, that might not have “clicked,” but with bound books, it’s the most natural simile ever. (How will that change with the proliferation of electronic Bibles?) In any case, we have to “enter into” the Bible for it to have its full impact on our lives. Recently “meditation” has become a popular method of emotional control, but I’d be willing to bet that very few of those “meditating” are doing so on the Word of God! Jesus used the terminology of “abiding,” when He was teaching his disciples in the Upper Room just before His arrest and crucifixion. (John 15:1-8) We can’t just flip the Bible open for our morning devotions and forget what we’ve just read as soon as we close it. As James said very clearly, that’s just deceiving ourselves. (James 1:22) If we want the wisdom promised in this verse, we’ve got to take the Word in, mull it over, and then put it into practice. If we will do that, then we will surprise ourselves, not to mention the people around us, with God’s wisdom that manifests through us.

I certainly know this from experience! God gave me a high IQ, but that does NOT equal wisdom. Very early in my life I absorbed a lot of knowledge about the Bible, but didn’t let it work its way into my heart. I was the perfect example of a sophomore, a “wise fool,” as that word actually means. Now, I seek to lead and encourage others to take God’s word in, in truth and not just as a “religious exercise.” I rejoice to share God’s truth from the pulpit, but I don’t want anyone to think or feel that’s the only way they can receive it. I want a church that is so centered on Christ and filled with His Spirit that they would hardly notice if I disappeared!

Father, thank You for this past weekend when Cathy and I were out of town, and for how smoothly things went. That’s very encouraging! Help me continue to mentor the believers so that they may mentor each other, and all of them learn that You will talk to them every time they open their Bibles, and so press in enthusiastically to be the disciples You desire, building up Your Church for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Heritage; October 17, 2024

Posted on October 18, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 119:111 Your statutes are my heritage forever;
    they are the joy of my heart.

When I got to this reading my eyes went immediately to verse 105, because it is so familiar and so important for daily living, daily walking with God. However, reading on down, I really resonated with this verse. We don’t choose what our parents amass to pass on to us, and I feel incredibly privileged and blessed that my parents passed on to me a love for God and His Word that will stand me well for all eternity. I did have to be intentional in personal repentance and obedience, but I think few people have as clear a path to discipleship as I was given, even from birth. My parents recorded that at age 5, I came to my mother and said, “Mommy, I really, really love you, but I don’t love you nearly as much as I love Jesus.” Without question, that was because of the spiritual heritage my parents passed on to me. I wish I could say that I’ve always been a good steward of that heritage, but that would hardly be honest. Even so, I can’t really imagine what it would be like not to walk with the awareness of my Creator and hear Him speak to me daily as I read His Word. That gives me all the less excuses for my lapses! The two unique things about such a heritage are, first of all, that it is eternal, just as this verse says. “You can’t take it with you” doesn’t apply here! The second thing is that the more I share it with others, the richer my own store grows! I love to share God’s truth with people, telling them of His grace and love, as well as His holiness and righteousness. I wish that more people would accept it for themselves more readily, but I have to leave that in God’s hands. After all, I can’t save anyone!

I just realized that I have been writing from a very personal perspective, when the “Observation” portion of this devotional scheme is usually much more general. I guess that’s not surprising, since the author of this Psalm was intensely personal throughout. It does no good to treat the Bible as imply objective truth, without applying it personally. Like James said, that’s just deceiving ourselves. (James 1:22) My various lapses, as I’ve mentioned, have all come from the failure to apply the truth I’ve known to the situation I was in. I must not do that! God’s truth is true all the time, and if I act like it’s not, I’m walking in darkness (to go back to verse 105).

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that we’re safely home from our trip to Osaka and Yokohama. Thank You for the various things You enabled us to get done yesterday, catching up after having been away. Thank You for the cold I seem to have brought home, and that it didn’t manifest before yesterday. I ask for wisdom in cooperating with Your healing, and also in not passing this around needlessly. I’ll need to drive Cathy to the dentist this morning and to her PD doctor this afternoon. If I’m simply to stay in the car at both places, give us both peace about that. I do ask for clear guidance in my message preparation for Sunday, that the sheep may feed on what You know they need, to build them up as Your disciples for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Music; October 16, 2024

Posted on October 17, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 118:14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.

There were so many familiar verses that spoke to me in this passage that I didn’t know what I should write on, and then I realized that the reason all those verses were so familiar was because they have been set to music! There are many passages throughout the Bible that speak, directly or indirectly, of singing to God, and particularly so in Psalms, since it was the equivalent of a hymnbook today. The thing is, when we become aware of God’s goodness to us, in whatever form that might come, it is the most natural thing in the world to sing about it. Some people grow up in an environment that is non-musical to a degree that is hard for me to wrap my mind around, but even they quickly learn the joys of music addressed to God, even if they can’t participate directly. Many years ago we had a new believer who asked, in all honesty, “How do you do that? Make your voice go up and down, I mean.” There are also people who are medically tone deaf, though that is extremely rare, and there are plenty of people who “can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” as the saying goes. None of that negates the reality that God gave us music to gladden our hearts and give thanks and praise to Him. There are many styles and modes of music, but it’s a clear fact that Western music – and yes, even rock and heavy metal – has its roots in Church music. The point is to take our music back to its original purpose, and praise God with it. When we do that, we discover strength that can be had no other way, just as this verse says. Everything God gives us has a purpose, and the sooner we recognize that purpose and fulfill it, the more blessings we receive from whatever it is – and that certainly includes music.

I grew up in an extremely musical family, to the point that my brother-in-law once said, “I always wondered what it would be like to live in The Sound of Music, and now I know!” I was a vocal music minor in college, and my job in the Army was playing clarinet in the 25th Infantry Division band. Throughout my life music has been integral to who I have been, and I’m sure it will continue to be so into eternity. In recent years I have been privileged to translate many songs between English and Japanese, in both directions. It’s always interesting to see how some songs seem to come out better in other than the original language! That’s particularly striking between my two languages, because they’re so dissimilar in so many ways. Sometimes they are equally moving in both languages, but just different. All of that, to me, shows that the Holy Spirit is behind it all. I certainly know that singing His songs opens us up more to Him! I don’t think it’s an accident that there’s a whole genre of music called, Gospel, but the Gospel can be expressed in just about every genre, if we will yield that music to God.

Father, thank You for my musical heritage, and for the great joy of making music to You. May my life indeed be “a sweet, sweet sound in Your ears,” as the chorus expresses it, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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