Belonging; November 11, 2025

Posted on November 12, 2025 by jgarrott

Hebrews 13:13-14 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Verse 15 was referenced very often when I was first introduced to the Charismatic Movement, but I don’t remember any messages on these two verses! We all like to be part of the “in crowd,” accepted and affirmed by those around us. Within the Church body that should be happening, for the most part at least, but in society, not so much. This can be a real obstacle for some people, because the desire to be accepted is natural and strong. However, everyone in the New Testament, from Jesus on, tells us that’s not something we can count on at all. As Paul put it, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:29) That meshes perfectly with what is written here. We indeed need to belong, to be part of a larger group, but we need to be very careful what group to consider. A twisted example of this is gangs. Young people without strong families are tempted by gangs precisely because they aren’t anchored, with a father and mother who set appropriate boundaries for them. The same thing may be said of young people in affluent societies who go off to college and are seduced by teachers and ideas that violate Biblical principles. The family is our first group. No family is perfect, but some hardly qualify for the name of family. The salvation for that is the family of God. None of us comes from a perfect family, and certainly none of us live in a perfect society, but a healthy church is a marvelous remedy for all that. It is when we really discover God as Father that we discover our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the issue of belonging is solved. No local church is perfect either, for that matter, but it certainly can and should be far better than any of the alternatives!

Belonging has always been an issue for me, as I think it is for most people. Growing up as a Caucasian in Japan I was automatically excluded from many groups, and as a Missionary Kid in a U. S. Air Force dependents school, I didn’t exactly fit in there, either. My real healing in this area started with my wife really accepting me, and I have grown increasingly secure ever since. My experiences with local churches have been varied, but I am very grateful for the family I currently have in this church. At the same time, I indeed look forward to the City that is to come, as this passage says, where and when all these issues will be forgotten.

Father, thank You for accepting me and making me part of the Body of Christ. May I fulfill all of Your purposes for me in this role, so that others too may belong to You fully, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Goals; November 10, 2025

Posted on November 11, 2025 by jgarrott

Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

This particular verse is really being put to the test right now, with all the political divisions that are so evident. With all the violent rhetoric and actions coming from one side in particular, peace can seem like a distant goal! However, it remains a vital goal, no matter how distant it might seem. And on top of that, we have the goal of holiness. Peace, as expressed here, involves two parties, and so isn’t necessarily up to us, but holiness is between us and God, and He certainly isn’t going to let His end down. One problem with holiness is that we often have a distorted idea of what it is. It certainly isn’t walking around with a long face all the time! Holiness means accurately reflecting the character of God. That isn’t our natural state, so He has to “polish us up” to better reflect Him. That holiness doesn’t originate in us, but in Him; we can’t generate it on our own. Accordingly, seeking to be holy means seeking more of Him. Jesus was the only person to ever embody the Father fully (Colossians 2;9), but we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18) That’s what holiness is all about.

We had a bit of intensive training in that this morning, when our doorbell rang incessantly at 3 am. It was a lady to whom we have been ministering, bringing us a dish of pork stew she had made for us, along with a few cents of offering. My first reaction, on waking and seeing the time, was, “I’m NOT going to the door.” However, she kept ringing the bell, and I relented and went down to the door. We have known from our first interactions with her that she has some bad connections in her brain, particularly in relation to time and days of the week, (as well as some other things) but this was the most extreme example of that so far. I did tell her firmly that it was a major problem for her to come at that time of night, but the Lord kept me from completely exploding at her. This verse is very appropriate for us this morning! This is a reminder that these are goals, not achievements, just as Paul acknowledged. (Philippians 3:12-14) I am to keep pressing in for more of my Lord, so that I may represent Him more and more accurately.

Father, thank You for this lesson, even though I didn’t feel very grateful at 3 am! Thank You for the praying I was able to do after I went back to bed. I do continue to pray for the brother who is having surgery today, as well as for his wife, and I pray for the woman who came to the door this morning. We all need Your grace and mercy! May Your will indeed be done and the works of the devil be destroyed, (1 John 3:8) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Witnesses; November 9, 2025

Posted on November 10, 2025 by jgarrott

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

This is a very famous verse, but I have heard it preached on the basis of what I see as a misunderstanding. The “cloud of witnesses” is obviously the great list of people of faith from the previous chapter, but I’ve heard several people describe it like being in a stadium, and the “cloud” is all the people in the stands. Christian living isn’t a spectator sport! No, these “witnesses” aren’t watching us, they’re declaring the faithfulness of God. It’s like Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes on us, we will be His witnesses. (Acts 1:8) We aren’t just watching Him (though as the next verse says, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Him) we are proclaiming to all who will hear that He is faithful, the only Savior, who is worthy of all our love and devotion. That’s what all the people in chapter 11 are telling us, and we need to join their chorus, expressing that truth to all who are around us.

God pointed out to me that He had indeed baptized me in His Spirit when I realized I was talking to a total stranger about Jesus. I had joined the cloud of witnesses! Interestingly, even with that experience I didn’t think I had the gift of evangelism, but I certainly enjoyed teaching people about Jesus and the Bible. It’s only been within this year that I have discovered the joy of sharing Christ in an evangelistic setting. I think that joy has been there before, but I just haven’t recognized it. In any case, however long the Lord keeps me here, I intend to be one of His witnesses, actively drawing people into His family in repentance and faith. I can’t argue someone into the kingdom, but I can love them in! The second half of this verse talks about “running with patience/perseverance.” I’ve never been much of a runner, but the Lord has certainly been working on my patience. Recently I have frankly been rather tired of it all, but I am to remember this exhortation, as well as Jesus’ example, and hang in there until I cross the goal line, by His strength and support.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You are doing in and through me. I ask Your anointing for the service today, as I am both worship leader and speaker, that I may operate in Your strength and not my own. I do ask Your clear presence for the brother who enters the hospital today for surgery on his esophagus tomorrow. May he and his wife rest in Your loving arms, in great peace and even joy, as clear witnesses to all the medical staff around them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Complacency; November 8, 2025

Posted on November 9, 2025 by jgarrott

Hebrews 10:32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.

Many things about this letter indicate that the people to whom this was written were experiencing a lull in the persecution they had encountered when they first proclaimed Jesus as Lord. That is something to be grateful for, but it can also be spiritually dangerous. I am reminded of the remarks to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22, where the believers had become self-satisfied and complacent. That is definitely dangerous territory! Sadly, much the same thing can be said about Christians in many “advanced” countries today. At the same time believers are being mowed down weekly in Nigeria, some Christians are worried about whether they can get a good parking spot so they won’t have to walk too far to enter their beautiful, air-conditioned church building. We are to be grateful for material blessings, but our focus must be on Christ and the eternal truths of the Gospel. Too many Christians have never experienced any hardship for their faith, and so take it lightly. At least the people to whom this was written had experienced persecution initially, so they could be told to remember it! I am reminded of the response of a pastor in South Sudan who, when told by an aid worker that Christians in America were praying for him and his flock, responded that his church was praying for believers in America, who were in the spiritually risky position of having it too easy!

From time to time I worry about whether I am sufficiently true to my Lord, since I don’t feel like I have suffered much for my faith. That too is self-centered! I need to focus on my Lord and seek to share the Gospel with as many as will receive it. I have a history of drawing back from sharing out of a fear of offending, but I need to fear that person’s eternal damnation more than I fear their rejection of me. I’m not to be needlessly offensive, and I frankly don’t have the wisdom to walk that line on my own, but I need to have my goals, my values, firmly fixed in the kingdom of God and His righteousness, rather than in how people make me feel. Some people think I’m holy for being a missionary, but this is where I was born and raised! Living in Japan is no sacrifice for me by any measure. The difficult thing for me is fearing people will consider me a “crazy foreigner,” when this is my home. I need to remember that heaven is my home, not Japan! I don’t know what my remaining years will hold, but I am to yield every detail to my Lord, because He is more than worthy of my total devotion.

Father, keep be from being a complacent Christian! Help me keep pressing in for more of Christ, to be more available and useful to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Angels; November 7, 2025

Posted on November 8, 2025 by jgarrott

Hebrews 1:7-8 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
    and his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.”

It’s evident from this first chapter of Hebrews that worship of angels had become a problem. There was a spate of that in the US just a few years back. Satan delights in that sort of thing because he is a fallen angel, and he desires to be worshiped more than anything else. We have a tendency to worship that which seems magnificent and beyond us, so it isn’t surprising that this would happen. For that matter, there are whole religions – Shinto is an example – that worship awesome things in nature, losing light of the One who created it all. Actually, the adulation of public figures, and particularly entertainers, is also an expression of this. It’s no accident that entertainers are often called “idols!” A big part of the problem is perspective. We are so small, in the over-all scheme of things, that it’s easy to be awed by things that are “higher on the ladder,” so to speak, than we are. It is only when we get even a little bit of a grasp of what omnipotence and omniscience really mean, and that our omnipotent and omniscient Creator actually loves us, that things fall into their proper place. As David said, He has made us “a little lower than the angels,” (Psalm 8:5) and He loves us so much that He gave His Son to die to redeem us from our sins. (John 3:16) With that perspective, verse 14 of this chapter makes perfect sense: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Even though angels are “above” us, we aren’t to worship anything less that the Triune God who created us.

I’ve never seen an angel, but my wife has on multiple occasions, and from her description, it’s no wonder they get worshiped! It defies logic, but it seems like God created the universe with us in mind. I have had so much trouble with pride that it troubles me to say how important we seem to be to God. I am totally insignificant, but at the same time, Christ died for me! As the saying goes, “That does not compute.” I am to keep my focus on Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and commit myself to total obedience to Him, delighting to be used by Him even when my human mind can’t grasp how it’s all happening. Angels are great, but they’re small potatoes compared to my Savior!

Father, I keep being reminded that there are things beyond my understanding. Thank You. I’ve had far too much intellectual pride. Thank You for communicating with me in ways I can understand, particularly through the Bible. I ask You to continue to grow me so that I will be able to grasp more of You, being increasingly available and useful to You in the process, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Fellow-workers; November 6, 2025

Posted on November 7, 2025 by jgarrott

Philemon 1:7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

We tend to think of Paul as some sort of “Christian Superman,” given all that he did for the Gospel and the kingdom of God. However, he couldn’t do it alone, and he was very aware of that. In all of his letters he mentions various fellow-workers, and his appreciation for them is evident. Philemon certainly wasn’t a major figure in the early Church, but here Paul expresses the joy and comfort he receives from knowing that Philemon was good to other believers. No single individual can do it all! Even Jesus, who was perfect in every way, raised up apostles to do things He wouldn’t be physically present to do, and that is how the Church has grown down through the centuries. He was spot-on accurate when He said that it was good for His disciples that He would be leaving them. (John 16:7) The Holy Spirit is available to every believer, making every believer an extension of God in ways that we can’t fully grasp. We need each other, because individually we are easily overwhelmed, but together, the gates of hell can’t stand against us. (Matthew 16:18)

This is a lesson I have had to learn, because it wasn’t instinctual for me. I have been blessed with a wide variety of abilities, and that has pushed me toward pride. Lots of things seem easier to do myself, rather than getting someone else to do them. I’m still learning! One of the blessings of getting older is being forced to recognize my physical limitations, forcing me to ask for and receive help. An immediate example is the spotlights illuminating the cross on top of the building here. I installed them, and I have changed the bulbs more than once, but they are burnt out again, and it would be the height of folly, literally, for me to try to replace them at this point. This gives me the opportunity to ask one of our young neighbors to do the job, giving us another contact to share the Gospel with them. For that matter, I can’t be in more than one place at a time, so I certainly need and appreciate the millions of believers around the world who are sharing Christ in ways and in places that I absolutely never could. I need fellow-workers, and I need to be a good fellow-worker for them.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how You have grown me, and for how You continue to grow me. May I fit into the Body of Christ, into Your plan, in the way that You desire, so that You may receive all the glory as Your will is accomplished. Thank You. Praise God!

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Spiritual Gifts; November 5, 2025

Posted on November 6, 2025 by jgarrott

2 Timothy 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Paul’s relationship with Timothy was tender and sweet, and an inspiration to many. Church history tells us that Timothy indeed went on to become everything Paul desired for him, as an extremely respected teacher, though he didn’t leave many writings. We don’t know what spiritual gift Paul is referring to here, but my guess is that it was prophecy, since it does take boldness to speak out what God is saying. However, this could apply to any of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, or in Romans 12, for that matter. The point is that spiritual gifts are to be exercised and used in obedience to God, and not just left on the shelf, so to speak. Jesus’ famous parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) speaks directly to this. God gives us gifts, but it is up to us to choose to use them. Paul said that explicitly in 1 Corinthians 14:32: “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.” That needs to be remembered particularly in the area of the gift of tongues. Some call it “ecstatic speech,” implying that it is just an emotional outburst. Sometimes the person speaking is emotional, but just as often they are not. I have a friend who declined to receive that gift because he wanted God to move his mouth, not understanding that God gives the words, but we have to choose to speak. Precisely the same thing may be said of prophecy. The connection might not be as obvious with some of the other gifts, but human will is still involved. And, like almost any activity, the more we use a gift, the better we are at it. It might seem strange to speak of “being skillful” at prophecy or speaking in tongues, since the source must be the Holy Spirit, or they are counterfeit, but we become relaxed in them, freely trusting God to work His will through us and so being more available to Him.

I well remember the first time I exercised the gift of tongues, and how hours before that I had experienced unknown words running through my mind, but I didn’t choose to speak. Months later I entered a Southern Baptist seminary, and I gradually stopped using the gift for a few years. Now, I think I pray in tongues just about every day, and sometimes many times in a day, but I don’t do it for others to hear, but rather to deepen my communication with my Lord. Prophecy is an area where I have been used before, but haven’t been much recently. I think God may be wanting to change that. A recent surprising discovery is my joy in being used in evangelism. God arranged an appointment yesterday with an older woman and her son, and I delighted to share the Gospel with them, explaining the triune nature of man, body, soul, and spirit, as well as the Trinity of God, and I was also able to express my anticipation of heaven. I felt that God directed every moment of that conversation, but I had to be willing to initiate it and let Him use me. Evangelism is a gift I have said God didn’t give me! As a pastor, I want every believer in this church to recognize and exercise the gifts God has given them, for their great blessing and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Thank You for that delightful experience yesterday. It was worth the dizziness and nausea that had taken me to that doctor’s office in the first place! Help me exercise the gifts You have placed in me, and encourage the believers to do likewise, so that all of Your purposes for us may be accomplished, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Assurance of Salvation; November 4, 2025

Posted on November 5, 2025 by jgarrott

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

A slightly different Japanese translation of these two verses was set to music several years ago, and I can’t read them without that song running through my mind. That’s not a bad thing! We aren’t to be lax in our obedience to God, practicing “sloppy agape,” as I’ve heard it said, but neither are we to be anxious about whether we’ll “make it into heaven,” as it’s often enough said. As Paul assured the Philippians, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) We are indeed to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12) but not with anxiety as to the final outcome. As Paul wrote in Romans 6, we aren’t to use God’s grace as an excuse for sin, but when we slip up inadvertently we aren’t to be in terror of hell. It can be a difficult line to walk! Paul himself had trouble with it, as he wrote in Romans 7, so we need to be active in our openness and submission to the Holy Spirit. When that is our choice and attitude, then this passage that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians can be our assurance.

I think the Lord settled the matter of assurance of salvation for me at a pretty young age, which is a good thing, because after that I really got off track! I have had assurance of God’s love, but I haven’t always understood sufficiently that it is pure grace; I don’t deserve it. That awareness, interestingly enough, has grown while I have been living what some people would think was a “saintly” life. It is my experience that the closer I walk to God, the more I’m aware that it’s all Him and not me. I am totally convinced of the truth of John 15:5. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” It’s been many years now since the Lord told me to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him. I’m still learning to do that, but it’s a blessed journey. Since Sunday I’ve been having issues with my right ear, with it feeling stuffed and hardly hearing. I took some herbal medicine and it cleared up by nightfall, and yesterday everything seemed fine. Then this morning I got up to extreme dizziness. I took some medicine I had been prescribed for that a while back and tried to do my devotions, but had to stop after the “Observation” section to go lie down again, only to have to get up promptly to vomit, because of a spate of nausea. All I had to get rid of was a mouthful of iced tea, which I had drunk as part of the Communion I celebrate at the beginning of my devotions every morning. I lay down again, getting up at 8 to hang the laundry, since my wife can’t reach up to do it because of her health issues. After that I felt good enough to share a little breakfast with my wife, and now I’m back to devotions. That was a little more reminder of just how helpless I am on my own! That’s good to remember, because the One in whom I trust has already prepared a residence for me in heaven, and I am really looking forward to it. (John 14:3-4)

Father, thank You for all the things that remind us to trust in You, and not in anything else. May I recognize and follow Your plans for today, as a good steward of this body You’ve given me, and as a good servant in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Rejoicing in Fruit; November 2, 2025

Posted on November 3, 2025 by jgarrott

1 Thessalonians 2:20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

I wonder how many ministers really feel this way? There are certainly quite a few, but it’s a percentage, not the whole group. All sorts of things conspire to make us self-centered, when God wants us to focus first on Him and then on our neighbors. (Matthew 22:36-40) Some years ago someone came up with the acronym, JOY, for Jesus, Others, Yourself. That works pretty well, I think, in most situations. Obedience to and fellowship with God has got to be our first priority, and after that come the people with whom we interact. We aren’t to neglect ourselves, because that would be poor stewardship, but society teaches us to put ourselves first, and that is never the way to true happiness, peace, and joy. A major problem with society today is the victim mentality, which is guaranteed to make us unhappy! When we recognize God’s grace toward us we will be filled with gratitude, and psychologists pretty universally agree that’s the key to happiness. Paul’s attitude here is exemplary, because he is rejoicing in the people whom God enabled him to lead to faith. That is real joy!

This is something I’ve learned more and more over the years. I am a happy person, because I recognize how good God has been to me. However, my flashes of pure joy come when my spiritual children demonstrate their commitment and spiritual growth in the Lord. At this point, one of my delights is a man who is drawing ever closer to full repentance and faith, and my anticipation knows no bounds! I don’t have anywhere near the numbers of spiritual children that many others have, but I indeed delight to hear of their faith and growth. One of my many anticipations of heaven is to see not only those to whom I’ve ministered, but also those whom they have led to repentance and faith, to understand the extended fruit of God working through me. That will be glory indeed!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for those to whom You have allowed me to minister. May we all grow in faith and obedience, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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