Prayer; February 15, 2024

Posted on February 16, 2024 by jgarrott

Revelation 2:26 “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.”

This verse is underlined in my Bible, but I’m fairly sure I’ve never written on it before. It’s a little bit mind boggling. The end of the next verse specifies that it’s the same level of authority Christ received from His Father! I think every earnest believer gets frustrated at times because of world politics, and in this Internet age we know more about what’s going on than we ever did before. The average individual has zero impact on it all apart from prayer, (which is a reminder of the importance of prayer) but here Christ is saying that we will be able to speak and have things happen. And it just hit me that is remarkably like prayer! Right now our prayers are incomplete and at times inaccurate, apart from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, (Romans 8:26-27) but when we have come through to the end, there will be no such hesitation. It is important to release situations, from the very local all the way to the international, to God and not to carry them emotionally ourselves, because they will crush us. Rather, when we switch our focus to the Lord of Creation, we can express our concerns to Him with the full assurance that He is more than able to deal with any situation whatsoever, and bring it to a resolution that will bless many and give Him glory. That’s how we are to pray, in joyful anticipation of the day we will be so in line with Christ that we will be more direct instruments of His will.

I have certainly struggled with conceit, but I have never wanted to be a politician. I have learned over the years that when it’s so much trouble running my own life, I don’t want to run the lives of others! At the same time, over the past 20 years I have become far more politically involved, much more aware of what is going on around the world. Of course the Internet has greatly contributed to the flow of information, but I’ve had more appetite for it as well. I need to let this verse comfort me and help me leave things in God’s hands. My job at this point is faithful obedience, recognizing the task at hand and doing it with all the resources He supplies, (1 Peter 4:11) so that I may indeed overcome and do His will to the end, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this Word. Thank You for the experience we’re having with colds/flue/whatever. Thank You for teaching us that Your grace is indeed sufficient for us. I do pray for my close brother who was taken to the hospital by ambulance yesterday with COVID. I pray Your very best for him, and Your support and comfort for his wife. May we all recognize Your schedules for us, to flow with Your Spirit not only to receive the healing and health You have for us, but to bless others in the process as well, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Listening to God; February 14, 2024

Posted on February 15, 2024 by jgarrott

Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

I have long loved the phrase, “He who has an ear…,” and include it in my faith declarations that I make periodically. It appears in each of the messages to the seven churches, which should drive home the importance of listening to God, however He speaks to us. This particular instance, in the very first of the seven messages, strikes me particularly because the benefit given for listening is a renewal of the offer given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which they didn’t take up because they were deceived by Satan into the first active sin. God is many things, but He is very much a God of second chances. If we examine the “heroes of faith” in the Bible we find mistakes, at least, recorded for just about every one of them, and some of those were pretty horrific. Even Moses was a murderer! (There’s a meme circulating on the Internet that points this out, and it’s a good one.) Here, we find an offer to essentially erase original sin. How good is that? Should it not make us absolutely eager to listen to the Spirit of God? That’s why the devil tries so desperately to distract us, to make us listen to anything except Holy Spirit. Music can be fine, though some of it is total trash, but even good songs can be a distraction from listening to the One who loves us enough to send His Son to die for us. I feel sorry for those who spend their lives with earbuds in! God doesn’t need electronics to speak to us, if we are listening.

As someone who speaks for a living, so to speak, I am very aware of listening. I have had people thank me for a sermon when I can tell that probably not even the title remains in their brain! As a school teacher as well as a pastor, I know without question that attitude makes all the difference in the world as to how we hear things, or even whether we hear them. I have had students who were so convinced they were “bad at English” that they literally could not hear what I was saying to them. I don’t want to be that way toward God! I am to choose my words carefully and always speak the truth in love, but what happens after that is between the hearer and God. I am to pray for them that they might indeed have ears to hear, but I can’t force it on them. I am not to offend needlessly, but “political correctness” has nothing positive to do with either truth or love. Rather, it is a negation or at least obfuscation of both of those. If I am to do that accurately, I’ve got to be listening to Holy Spirit myself, because I don’t have the wisdom to do it right on my own.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for giving me the message for Sunday! I speak on this theme multiple times a year, but it’s certainly that important. Help me indeed be Your agent in all I say and do, so that Your will may be done through me for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Spiritual Gifts; February 13, 2024

Posted on February 14, 2024 by jgarrott

Jude 1:20-21 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Every time I read Jude I am struck by two things. The first is that even though he was Jesus’ half-brother biologically, he doesn’t claim that, but just mentions that he was a brother of James. (v. 1) The second is the glorious doxology with which he ends his letter. Don Fran­cisco has put that beautifully to music, and I can’t read it without the music running through my head and heart. That said, I heard verse 20 here quoted very often when I was first learning about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and particularly tongues. Many of those quoting it were playing with the grammar a bit and saying that praying in the Spirit is to build us up in faith. It does that, certainly, and Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 14:4, but if we focus on what it does for us, we miss out on a great deal. The reason I desired the gift in the first place was to be able to pray for situations where my knowledge and wisdom were lacking – which is virtually all the time! If we don’t have faith we aren’t going to pray in the Spirit, and besides, we can pray in the Spirit in our native language too! This passage is talking about what we can and should do to live the lives of blessing that God intends. This is yet another of the almost countless passages where the Japanese says, “wait expectantly.” We aren’t to be just hanging around waiting for the Rapture, we are to be active in living the lives God has laid out for us until He says, “That’s enough,” whether that is by physical death or by meeting Him in the air.

I know I have shared in the past about how I delayed my own baptism in the Holy Spirit by insisting that the gift of tongues be part of it, but a couple of months after I was baptized in the Spirit, a friend told me to pray asking God for a “prayer language,” if it would make me more useful to Him. I did, I received, and that’s been 50 years ago now. I have gone through periods in which I used the gift very little (such as when I was attending a Baptist seminary), but at this point I think it’s fair to say I use the gift daily. I am grateful for it, as for each of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, but I know that my salvation doesn’t depend on it, or any gift.

Father, thank You for all Your spiritual gifts. Thank You for how satisfying, and at times, fun, it is to exercise them. That said, help me never use any gift of Yours strictly for myself, but rather apply it as You intend, building up the Body of Christ, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Faith; February 12, 2024

Posted on February 13, 2024 by jgarrott

1 John 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

We tend to take faith very lightly. We say we believe things, but then we don’t follow through on the implications of what we claim to believe. In the 1st Century, believing that Jesus was the Son of God and claiming Him as your Lord could get you imprisoned or killed for treason against the Emperor, because the required confession was, “Caesar is Lord.” That is in no way the “easy believism” that has dominated Evangelical Christianity at least since the 20th Century. We tend to treat faith like a good-luck charm, often quoting the verse just ahead of this to justify that position. However, the victory that John speaks of here could well include martyrdom! It is when our faith causes us to put everything on the line that we experience the victory of Christ. Anything less is just playing games. When Jesus told His disciples to “be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33) he was headed for the cross! I’m reminded of the story of the missionary family in China that was captured by a robber gang over a hundred years ago. The gang was threatening to kill them if they didn’t come up with some way to get money to them, but the family’s 12-year-old daughter stood up boldly and proclaimed the Gospel to them, as well as chewing them out for doing such an ultimately cowardly thing. As it turned out, the family was indeed killed, including the daughter, but the reason we know about this incident is that at least one of the gang members was unable to forget what he had seen and heard, and later came to Christ in full repentance. That is victory!

As I am reminded frequently, I don’t feel like I have suffered much for my faith. However, there is no less of a call to faithfulness on my life. As Paul said, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2) I have been supplied with incredible grace and blessings, and how I respond to that reality will define my life. I’m reminded of James and John. James was the first of the apostles to be martyred, having his head cut off with a sword (which is a rather easy way to die). (Acts 12:2) However, John gave his life for Christ no less than his brother, just one day at a time. I really think James got the easy end of that, but God wanted John to write his Gospel and letters, and untold millions of people have been blessed as a result. My faith should cause me to seek God each day for what He wants me to do and say, and then be fully obedient. If it doesn’t do that, it can hardly be called faith.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the faith You have implanted in me through my parents and generations before them, and through personal encounters with You. May I indeed live that faith out in fulness, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Practical Love; February 11, 2024

Posted on February 12, 2024 by jgarrott

1 John 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Theology can seem abstract and theoretical, but the Bible is intensely practical. John, known as “the apostle of love,” really lays it out in his letters. Having walked with Jesus for over three years in the flesh and then living with His Spirit for the rest of his life, he knew what he was talking about. One of the few things we know about his background is that he had at least one brother, James, and that Jesus gave them the nickname, “sons of thunder.” (Mark 3:17) That seems to indicate they weren’t so loving when Jesus got to them! However, even though Jesus had to call them down for wanting to call divine retribution on a town that had rejected them, (Luke 9:54-55) John, probably the youngest of the disciples, became Jesus’ pet, so to speak, to the point that he felt free to lean back against Jesus to ask him a question. (John 13:23-25) John had indeed seen Jesus with his physical eyes, but comparatively very few people had had that privilege, so this verse is very pointed. John was familiar with the teaching of the Gnostics, a heretical group that taught that the spiritual was everything and that the physical didn’t matter, and he countered their teaching explicitly in the first chapter of his Gospel. John was very aware of the importance of the spiritual, but he also knew that the physical was where we live, and its connection with the spiritual was inescapable. We too need to be practical in our faith, saying the right things but consistently going beyond words to apply God’s truth in our lives. We too need to love our brother so that we may experience the love of God.

This is particularly pointed for me, because I have had a lot of Bible knowledge from a young age, but am still learning how to apply it in daily situations. John is the person in the New Testament, apart from Jesus, that I would most like to be like. That’s a little ironic, because several people have said I’m very like Paul! However, I grew up surrounded by love, expressed to me by my parents and siblings but understood to come from God. At the tender age of five I went to my mother one time and said, “Mommy, I really, really love you, but I don’t love you nearly as much as I love Jesus.” What a privilege to be raised in a home that made me feel that way at such an age! That said, I have certainly experienced that some people aren’t easy to love. That reminds me that sometimes God has to exercise His divine omnipotence in order to love me! At this point I indeed love God more than I love my own physical life, so I need to be careful to let His love flow through me to those around me, particularly to those who seem less than lovable.

Father, thank You for loving me in spite of my many faults and lapses. Help me indeed love those around me regardless of their faults and lapses, knowing that we are all totally dependent on Your grace. Thank You. Praise God!

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Opposition; February 10, 2024

Posted on February 12, 2024 by jgarrott

1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

This one little verse jumped out at me as I read just now. It seems to me that many American Christians are shocked at the opposition they are encountering. Those who hold to Biblical principles and lifestyle are called every name in the book, and often encounter legal opposi­tion as well. Those who are shocked are forgetting that Jesus Himself said, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” (John 15:20) In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul refers to the devil as “the god of this world.” It is the least surprising thing of all that the world system hates everything about the kingdom of God! Recently that has come more out into the open than it has ever been before, in my awareness. Just listening to the pronouncements of the World Economic Forum will turn your stomach! We aren’t to be surprised and we really aren’t to be upset, because opposition from such quarters means that we are on the side of Christ! It can certainly be unpleasant, but as James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2) It seems to me that American Christians in particular act spoiled and entitled, not reacting well either to opposition or to correction. That’s no way to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ! As Paul admonished Timothy, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3) There is a video on the Internet of an Admiral giving a commencement address, probably at Annapolis, in which he describes the Seal Team training he himself went through. There are Christian believers in various places around the world who go through no less for their faith, and it gives them a deep appreciation for what their faith means. We should do no less ourselves, because as Paul said, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

As I have commented before, I feel like I have suffered very little for my faith, which occasionally gives me pause! The worst I have encountered has been verbal, and I recognize that just reflects the moral and spiritual poverty of the speaker. I am not to accept as enemies those who consider me an enemy, but rather pray for them as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. I have long loved John 16:33. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” As a pastor I am to encourage and comfort believers with those words, so that we won’t be worn down by opposition but rather rejoice to be in Christ.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the magnificent conference from which we just returned. You are doing wonderful things, but the devil isn’t going to just roll over. May we be emotionally and spiritually prepared, so that opposition will just increase our joy, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Pride; February 9, 2024

Posted on February 11, 2024 by jgarrott

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.

I don’t think I’ve ever written on this verse before, which indicates that the Lord is giving me fresh revelation! Peter is one apostle who deeply understood grace. He knew that the righteousness he had was not his own doing, but was from Jesus Christ his Lord. In a way this verse is saying the same thing Paul famously said in Ephesians 2:8-9, because he is saying that our faith is not from our own effort, but from the righteousness of Christ. We so want to take credit for things in some way, but Peter is saying that our saving faith itself is because of Jesus, and not anything we have cooked up. That’s really taking it “down to the bare metal,” as is said in automotive restoration work. Peter’s famous sin was denying he knew Jesus three times during Jesus’ trial, but we know from Galatians 2 that he slipped up at other times too, and those after he had been used and recognized as a major apostle. Peter knew that his righteousness was not his own, but that of Christ our Lord. Pride can be incredibly destructive, but God has a way of dealing with it in each of us, seldom the same in any two individuals but generally very effective. Proud Christians haven’t been paying attention!

As I have written many times, God dealt massively with my pride in 1972, but it has reared up many times since. I’m a total basket case without Christ! The devil is so devious, he works to make me proud of being humble! I laugh to think about it, but it’s no joke. That’s not to say I’m worthless, because Jesus died for me, and that makes me incredibly valuable. Neither am I to deny the gifting that God has placed in me, because I’m to be a steward of those gifts to fulfill the purposes God had in mind when He gave them to me. However, I’ve got to remember, on every level, that it’s all because of God and not because of me. That should crank my gratitude up to 10! This conference has been magnificent, and indications are that we could well see explosive growth in the church from this point. That is all the more reason to be on my guard against pride, because I didn’t engineer any of this. I’ll be the speaker at another conference in less than two weeks. Particularly if God shows up in power, I’ve got to remember that it’s all Him and not me. The better I remember that, the more likely it is to happen! I am to focus on being faithful, listening intently and obeying immediately, so that I may be out of the way for God to do everything, and exactly, that He wants to do for His glory and for the Body of Christ.

Father, thank You indeed for this conference and for all You have done in it, not just in and for me but in and for every participant. I pray that this would mark a genuine inflection point in the life of the Body of Christ in this nation, resulting in strongholds being torn down and multitudes being set free to repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Pastors; February 8, 2024

Posted on February 11, 2024 by jgarrott

1 Peter 5:2-3 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

It has struck me in these first two days of the conference that, where­as various denominational groups across Japan are bemoaning the lack of pastors in their churches, this group has been talking about starting hundreds and thousands of new congregations. The difference is in the definition of what a pastor is. The vast majority of Christian organizations define the office of pastor largely in terms of formal education, forgetting that there were no Christian seminaries for at least the first two centuries of the Church. When we focus on the human organization, we lose sight of the Body of Christ, the con­gregation of God. The terms translated as “church” in both Hebrew and Greek simply mean assembly, congregation. They indicate the people, not the organization, much less the building. The theme of this conference is “Return to our Roots.” Getting back to God’s definition of His Church is an important part of that. As was pointed out yesterday, we need to remember the purpose of everything we do, and that is the salvation of souls. Planting congregations is admirable, but that isn’t the end goal. Lots of things can be good, but they are no more than tools toward the ultimate purpose. Peter is here addressing the sort of people Paul went around appointing in the groups of people who believed as he traveled from place to place. Some of them were probably not happy with the appointment, as Peter refers to here. Ultimately, every pastor must be chosen and appointed by God, but even those in that situation don’t always enjoy it. It is certainly not something to get puffed up over. Some people indeed twist it into a way to get money or a path to personal power. When that happens, it’s tragic. (Actually, such pastors are probably not chosen by God, but the temptation can be there even for those who are.) Every person in church leadership, on whatever level, must remember that it is God’s church, and they are His servants and the servants of their flock, even as Peter says here.

This discussion gives me a bit of a twinge, because I didn’t really want to be a pastor when I came to Omura. I enjoyed teaching the Bible, and I still do, but the mess of interpersonal relationships didn’t appeal to me. I had experienced that in the US, and I wanted to focus on what I enjoyed! I don’t think I’ve ever viewed ministry as a “money pit,” and I’m not much tempted by personal power, but the whole question of willingness has been an issue at times. At this point in my life I’m faced with the question of succession, since I am 75. The more I look at the growth of the believers in the church, the less I’m worried about that! That drives some people with a more denominational background up the wall, but I know God is in charge, and all I have to do is listen obediently to Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for this conference. Thank You that Marc Estes, the main speaker, was a high school dropout when You got to Him, and now he’s not only the pastor of a large church, he’s the president of a Bible College, with no academic degrees whatsoever to his name! Help me see people, myself included, as You do, and value them and treat them accordingly, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Evangelism; February 7, 2024

Posted on February 10, 2024 by jgarrott

1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

This is a verse I have loved for a long time and have written on many times, but it still echoes in my heart. This is not about evangelistic programs or grand schemes, it’s about living as a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ and all that means. If we are living in love with Jesus, our lives will be different enough that people will notice, and they are likely to ask us about it. The world has much to destroy hope, which makes genuine hope all the more attractive. We aren’t to try to pretend that we have no problems. That is as false as a 3 dollar bill, and that hypocrisy quickly becomes evident to all who know us in the least. It’s also denying Jesus’ statement that in this world we do have problems, period. (John 16:33) However, regardless of our problems, we have hope, and that is what makes us different from those who don’t know Christ. Reading the New Testament I see no sign of “special meetings” and the like to “grow the Church.” The Church indeed grew, but it wasn’t by human design. God’s plan for church growth is for His children to live and act as His children. That will be irresistible to those whose hearts are hungry for life.

This verse struck me this morning because we are at a church conference. The main speaker is a man with a moving testimony who depends on God and not on himself, which is excellent. At the same time, he is the pastor of a large church in America, and that greatly impacts what he says and how he says it. Last night we were challenged to examine how we see God and how we see ourselves, and to dream and pray big. That’s very good, but specific examples he gave of “dreaming and praying big” rang hollow to me, because they tended toward external things, like finances and numbers. I do need to lift my eyes to my omnipotent Creator and understand how much He loves me and that He’s included me in His plans, but at the same time I want to ask Him for His dreams for me, and not cook them up on my own. We have been given a massive vision and I pray for the salvation of the whole nation, but I want it to happen God’s way, and not limit Him by my imagination.

Father, thank You for getting us here safely yesterday, and for all the things that have happened since our arrival. I pray that I would be open and available to You on every level, to hear what You are saying to me here, through sessions or through private conversations, and to be Your instrument in blessing others as well. Thank You. Praise God”

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Freedom; February 6, 2024

Posted on February 10, 2024 by jgarrott

1 Peter 2:16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

We forget, when reading the Bible, that slavery was an unquestioned part of society in those days. We also forget that slavery had nothing to do with race. As has been pointed out by several people I’ve read recently, the very word, slave, comes from Slav, the people of eastern Europe. Various kinds of slavery existed back then, and indeed, do today, even though today it is illegal. The “free men” in this verse means very simply, not slaves. Thus, the only external human authority would be the government. However, where the NIV says “servants of God” here, the Japanese sticks with the Greek and says “slaves of God.” From verse 18 Peter specifically addresses those who had human masters, but the point is that God is our Master, so we are to live to please Him. Actually, Paul touched on this subject quite a few times. One of the clearest is, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13) Again he said, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) The freedom we have in Christ is above and beyond anything this world can control, but we must always exercise it in obedience to the law of love. (Romans 13) Jamie Buckingham was persuaded at one point that he had the freedom to indulge in alcohol, and he did for a while. However, before long he realized that not only did he not need it, other people watching him might well be influenced to drink as well, and they might not have the emotional or even biological ability to limit their drinking to appropriate levels, so he quit. That attitude is being obedient to this verse.

I came to the same conclusion as Jamie pretty early on in my life in regards to alcohol. I seem to be well supplied with the enzyme to break down ethanol, but that’s not the point; my drinking wouldn’t be loving to those around me, so I abstain. However, this principle goes far beyond alcohol. I know someone who at one point in their rebellion against their Christian upbringing threw out everything in the Bible except one verse: “‘Everything is permissible’ – but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’ – but not everything is constructive.” (1 Corinthians 10:23) They have since returned to a fully dedicated Christian life, but they learned the hard way that indulging the flesh is indeed negative. I don’t need to go through the same things to learn that lesson! I have learned that John was spot on: “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) Every one of God’s commands are for our benefit, so being His slave is a joyful thing indeed!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me indeed live in the freedom of Your Spirit, while fully submitted to You. Human words don’t handle that very well, but I ask You to do it in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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