Physical Issues; June 23, 2024

Posted on June 24, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 6:2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

I think the older a person gets, the closer to home this verse be­comes! Different translations render this as “My bones are troubled” or, “My bones are fearful,” but advancing age certainly seems to bring structural issues to a majority of people. As someone has said, you get pains in places you didn’t know you had places! That actually is a blessing, because it frees you from the youthful illusion of invincibility. Even the healthiest, strongest person is actually totally dependent on their Creator, but they aren’t likely to realize it until they encounter health issues of one sort or another. Paul referred to our physical bodies as tents, and said that “While we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened.” (2 Corinthians 5:4) Most people over 50 can identify with that! However, the more we focus on our Lord, who is the true Source of everything we need, the more peace and joy we have regardless of our circumstances. That’s why Jesus famously told us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33) The quicker we learn that we ourselves aren’t the be-all and end-all of everything, the better off we are.

I have been blessed with good health for most of my life, but my wife has had enough medical issues that I’ve seen medical professionals be taken aback by the list. Back surgeries and Parkinson’s Disease, a number of relatively minor issues, and to top it off (pun intended) brain surgery. At this point, I thought of her immediately when I read this verse, because she can have pain in areas that make her hesitant to do things necessary for her daily life. I used to have sympathy but not empathy, but recently I’ve been having issues with my right hip and the like. Doing some electrical work for a friend recently, I was reminded that the last time I did that I was in my 50s! However, I am grateful for the mobility I have, and seek to be faithful in maintaining the physical equipment with which I have been supplied. It is a comfort to know that we won’t be stuck in these bodies forever!

Father, thank You for Your grace, and for Your perfect plan. Thank You for the pains that remind us to be intentional in our dependence on You. Help us make the use that You intend of all that You supply, physically and financially and otherwise, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Righteousness; June 22, 2024

Posted on June 23, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 5:8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies—
    make your way straight before me.

I have written repeatedly on verse 3, in reference to morning devotions, but this verse is even more famous, having been beautifully set to music. The Japanese is slightly more graphic than the English, expanding “enemies” to “people who lie in wait for me.” This is certainly a verse Donald Trump should quote at this point! The thing is, we all have enemies, those who lie in wait to trip us up, but they aren’t necessarily visible. The devil and his demons desire nothing but evil for us, and there are plenty of them. C. S. Lewis’ famous book, The Screwtape Letters, though fictional, is very instructional at this point. We aren’t to take the interaction between Screwtape, a demon slightly up in the bureaucracy, and his underling Wormwood literally, but Lewis had real insight into some of the tricks that are used to make even believers ineffective. We need to be on our guard, as Peter said, (1 Peter 5:8) but not in fear, remembering that the Holy Spirit in us is greater than the devil and his forces. (1 John 4:4) We do, however, need to remember that the moment we depend on ourselves and our own abilities we lay ourselves open to all sorts of attacks. As Isaiah noted, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) We are “right” only to the degree we agree with and conform to God and His standards. That’s why we need to pray this verse!

I have done more than my share of thinking I was right, simply because I was me. God’s the only one who is that way! Like everyone, I think, I like to justify myself, my decisions and my actions, but as I just said, God is the standard, not me. I am to be discerning, toward myself and toward others, but not judgmental. I am to repent and call others to repentance, but not condemn, because Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6) I am to seek God’s guidance at every turn, just as in this verse, so that I may progress as He intends. I feel sure that when I look back on my life from heaven, it will look much straighter than it felt at the time!

Father, thank You for Your guidance, and for Your righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21) My I indeed walk in all You have made me to be in Christ Jesus my Lord, so that I may be fully available and useful to You for however You desire to use me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Knowing God; June 21, 2024

Posted on June 22, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety.

Even in this short Psalm there were several verses that spoke to me, but I’ll limit myself to this one for the moment. The benefits of knowing, of having a personal relationship with, your Creator are past counting. David had that, and the world is far richer for his having expressed it in poetic form. Not everyone is gifted as a poet, but we all have the potential of knowing God as David did, and even better, because we know about His Son Jesus, and can be filled with His Spirit. That doesn’t mean that everything is instantly easy; Jesus was very clear on that point. (John 16:33) However, it does mean that we have access to the things the human soul longs for, but often misunderstands. We try to satisfy ourselves with wealth and pleasure and personal power, but as the verse ahead of this says, what God offers is even better! As Jesus said, it is when we get our priorities straight that we are lined up to receive the abundance God desires to pour out on us. (Matthew 6:33) Getting back to this verse, I have read countless articles on the dangers of sleep deprivation, and how modern society fights to keep us from getting the sleep we need. When our hearts are tuned to God, we turn away from our electronic devices and allow Him to give us the rest we need. Throughout human history God has spoken to people through dreams, and we are far more likely to hear from Him that way if our thoughts are on Him even before we go to bed. Anxiety is a major enemy of good sleep, and the ultimate answer to that is trusting God. Whatever we think we want, the source of every good thing is God, (James 1:17) so the smartest thing is to seek Him first. As a pop song of many years ago said, “To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him, and I do.” As a song about romance that is merely cute, but when the Him in question is God, it is true indeed.

Despite my protestations of love for Jesus when I was five, I have come to know and love Him, His Father and His Spirit, far more and far better in the 70 years since. That’s not to say I get everything right even now. I am in total agreement with what Paul said about perfection! (Philippians 3:12-14) However, when I get into a fix, I at least know where the problem lies! As C. S. Lewis wrote in The Last Battle, I need to keep going “further in, further up.” There’s always more, and it’s very good indeed! As a pastor, I seek to help others understand that this is how things are, so that they too may seek God and find Him, when they seek Him with all their heart. (Jeremiah 29:13) It is such a joy, for me and for them, when someone does that! My life is to be a demonstration of the joys of walking with God, and that is a high privilege indeed.

Father, thank You for Your incredible grace, that You have made it possible for us to know You personally, cleansed by faith in Your Son and filled with Your Spirit. May I continue to grow as Your child, drawing more and more people with me, so that Your house may be full, (Luke 14:23) for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Remembering God’s Mercy; June 20, 2024

Posted on June 21, 2024 by jgarrott

Nehemiah 9:31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Nehemiah has given quite a litany of the sins of Israel, without going into very many details. In context, the people who had returned to the land from Babylon were in a tight situation, oppressed by gov­ernment regulations and lower-level flunkies. (Now that sounds fami­liar!) He isn’t claiming total innocence on the part of the returnees, but he is in essence reminding God of how merciful He had been in the past, and is asking for more mercy in the moment. It’s not like God would forget! However, the people with whom Nehemiah was working needed to remember the character of God in order to have their faith strengthened. Nehemiah himself was obviously very familiar with the Torah, and he wanted the people to remember it as well. We get into all sorts of messes, but if we realign our hearts and repent, God is always here. It was that assurance that gave Nehemiah the strength he needed, and it will do the same for us.

I can certainly relate! I’m in the process of writing my autobiography, for the express purpose of recounting God’s grace toward me so that others may be encouraged and He be glorified. I’m at the point that, whereas I do get stressed by situations and demands on me, anxiety about the future is pretty well gone. I have experienced God’s faithfulness, His gracious mercy, to a point that it is increasingly easy to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, as He explicitly told me to do several years ago. My desire at this point is that those around me may have that same assurance, so that in gratitude we may be fully obedient to Him, for His will to be done in and through us for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how You’ve been drawing me back into the writing project, and for the people who have approached me for mentoring. May I indeed be faithful and obedient to You, in Your strength because I have demonstrated countless times I can’t do it on my own. May all of Your plans and purposes for me be fulfilled, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Houses of Worship; June 19, 2024

Posted on June 20, 2024 by jgarrott

1 Kings 8:41-42 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name—for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple,”

This is just a sentence fragment, but it contains two elements that strike me. The first is favorable, the second, not. I like it that Solomon opens the door to Gentiles here. After all, the design of the temple specifically included “the Court of the Gentiles,” which was the area overrun by merchants in the 2nd temple of Jesus’ day. What doesn’t turn me on is the focus on physical location. For Solomon that was an advantage, because it helped consolidate his political power. However, that was wiped out in the early Church after Pentecost, because believers gathered, but they didn’t have dedicated buildings for their gatherings. After Constantine Christianity became the state religion, and focus again came on dedicated houses of worship. It’s not that such houses are bad as such, but rather that when we place our focus on the physical location and structure, we tend to forget that God is everywhere, and we are to walk humbly before Him whatever our environment. We forget that in both Hebrew and Greek, the word translated “church” actually means “gathering,” or “congregation” (which also means gathering, but we don’t think about that). Special places can be very nice, certainly convenient, and even deeply meaningful, but if we let them take priority over the One whom we say we worship, then they become idols in themselves. Solomon had no idol to draw people to, so he used the temple instead!

This is an issue I have been aware of for much of my life. In the 40-year history of this church we have met in various locations, but for the past 25 years we have had a dedicated church building, that also includes our residence. I try to be specific when I am talking about the church building, but even I get lazy and just say “church” far too much of the time. I desire that every believer realize that they are “God’s temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16), acting as good stewards of the building but not fixating on it. I also want each one to realize that their own body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, (1 Corinthians 6:19) and rejoice to carry His presence with them everywhere they go. I want us all to expand our awareness of God and realize that He “fills everything in every way,” (Ephesians 1:23) and so live lives of worship in every circumstance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me not be legalistic about it, but rather share Your truth in grace and love, so that many will be set free from the deceptions of the enemy, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Presumption; June 18, 2024

Posted on June 19, 2024 by jgarrott

1 Kings 8:25 “Now Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.'”

The irony in this line of Solomon’s prayer is extreme, because he himself failed to stick to the path his father David had walked before the Lord. He wanted the promised blessings without fulfilling the specified conditions. We tend to be exactly the same way. There are several “Scripture promise books” circulating, and many people have been greatly encouraged by them, but if we lift promises out of context, then they give us false hope. It’s the little matter of accountability. To be honest, it can get tricky here, because God is incredibly gracious and merciful, and sometimes it seems downright unfair that someone who had been very far from God is restored to Him in a moment. That’s what the whole parable of The Prodigal Son is about. (Luke 15:11-32) However, the genuine key, the ultimate requirement, is repentance, and God alone is the judge of that. Are we sorry for our sin? Are we really discarding it to turn to God? Sometimes we ourselves aren’t sure. Sometimes we have to come to God and say, “Lord, I did it again!” In such cases, John’s words are a great comfort. “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:20) But again, the attitude that “God will excuse this” is deadly. We certainly don’t want to hear Him say, “I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:23) Solomon’s biggest problem was presumption, based on pride in the gifts God had graciously given him. The moment we forget that all the good stuff is by the grace of God alone, we are in deep trouble.

This is exceedingly close to home for me. I have been blessed beyond measure, much as Solomon was, and I too have forgotten at times that I didn’t earn any of it. IQ doesn’t equal genuine wisdom! Though I had some genuine encounters with God in my childhood, I was already a married father when the Lord, again very graciously, showed me the state of my heart, and the absolutely stupid pride I was wallowing in. That repentance was bitter! In the years since then I have been to seminary, become a pastor, and have now been a missionary for over 42 years, but I am still tempted to feel that since I can say all the right things, that means I’m doing them. God alone knows my heart attitude. I must never be presumptive, but always be humble before my Lord, allowing Him to show me when and how I need to repent, so that I may walk fully in step with His Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your incredible patience with me! Thank You for the plans You laid out for me before I was ever born. May I walk in them faithfully, fulfilling Your purposes for me on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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David’s Example; June 17, 2024

Posted on June 18, 2024 by jgarrott

2 Samuel 24:14 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

David had learned the character of God. Having known God from when he was a young boy tending sheep, he was convinced of God’s faithfulness and mercy. He had experienced moments of outstanding faith, such as when he challenged Goliath, and he had also experienced being hunted by Saul in the desert. That track record made him prefer God over any other option. It also generated in him the attitude  that he wasn’t going to offer to God something that cost him nothing, as is famously proclaimed in verse 24. He knew from experience that you can’t outgive God, as has been said a great deal by more modern evangelists. David is such a good example for us because he loved God enough to be greatly used by Him, in spite of David’s own character flaws. He is an example both of what can happen when we are fully submitted to God, and what can happen when we take our relationship with God for granted. We need to be fully aware of our own weaknesses, and even more aware of God’s omnipotence. We need to know that, as Jesus said, apart from Him we can do nothing, (John 15:5) and also that we can do everything that He asks of us, by His strength. (Philippians 4:13) As Jesus said, and as saints down through the centuries have learned by experience, in this world we will have trouble, (John 16:33) but the final outcome will be blessing for those who are committed and submitted to God, as the whole Bible proclaims.

I grew up reading and hearing of David’s example, and I also had examples much closer to home. My parents were totally committed to Christ, having been missionaries even before they married and staying faithful to the Lord and to each other in the decades following. My father was taken home at 64 and my mother at 72, but their reward was abundant indeed. I have also known many other faithful saints over the years, and nothing contradicts the conviction that David had about the character of God. I am to live my own life with the same dedication my parents had, knowing that God will use me to build up the Body of Christ for His glory.

Father, thank You for Your grace and mercy toward me. May I respond as You deserve, in full gratitude and obedience, so that I may be fully available to You for whatever You want to do with me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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With All Our Heart; June 16, 2024

Posted on June 17, 2024 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

I’m so familiar with Jeremiah 29:12-13 that I hadn’t realized that God had said exactly the same thing hundreds of years earlier through Moses. One of the many wonderful things about the Bible is how it is so self-confirming. Some people would say that invalidates it, but that’s hardly the case when so many different people were involved in writing it over such a long period of time. It also shows that God doesn’t change. (Malachi 3:6) That said, the point of what God is saying, both through Moses and Jeremiah, is that He knows we will mess up, and do so badly, but if we acknowledge that, grace and mercy are available. The thing is, the only people who are hopeless are those who maintain they need no grace and mercy. The degree of hubris and self-deception in that is staggering to me, but I have encountered such people. One thing that is stressed both here and in Jeremiah is the factor of “all your heart.” God isn’t impressed by hypocrisy. It is when we acknowledge that He is all our hope and our only hope that we really encounter Him. That He will indeed meet with us under such conditions is some of the best news in the world!

Just yesterday I had another response from someone who has taken exception to my blog, saying that my focus on God’s grace removes accountability. All I can say to him is that if he really wants to receive the just results of all that he has done, that’s his problem. I don’t take my sins lightly, but I realize that Jesus has already accepted and paid the penalty for them, which liberates me. That’s what the Gospel is all about. I am very aware that my father’s words, “Give all you know of yourself to all you know of Christ,” apply not just when initially committing to Jesus as Lord, but daily, as I learn more of myself and more of Christ. I know too well that my heart is prone to wander, and I need to be active and intentional in keeping it committed and submitted to my Lord.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for the news that You took my wife’s younger brother home yesterday. He was very much ready to go, on several levels, but I pray particularly for his wife and children, and all the many people who loved him and will miss him. We have the assurance of reunion, but the temporal separation can be lonely. I pray that Your Spirit would indeed be poured out on all in these days, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Experiencing God; June 15, 2024

Posted on June 16, 2024 by jgarrott

Exodus 33:20 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

God deals with us where and as we are. He knew that Moses couldn’t imagine Him in other than human terms, and so He very gently interacted with him on that basis. God is infinite Spirit, existing before creation, so the idea of Him having a back and a face is anthopomorphization of the highest order. Actually, that’s one of the major reasons for Christ coming to earth, born of a woman and having the same sort of body that we do. God knew we needed something on our scale to relate to. Here, He knows that Moses’ background is the pagan idols of Egypt, so He gives Moses an experience he will remember the rest of his life, without showing him something he would be tempted to replicate as an idol. We do relate to God on the basis of our experiences, and God knows this even better than we do. After all, He knows everything! One of the great things of the Gospel is that when we believe, God is no longer exterior to us, He takes up His residence in us. (John 14:16-17) That is far more personal and intense than merely “seeing His face.” That said, in our human weakness we do need something we can relate to. There is a story of a little girl who was afraid to sleep by herself, and her mother assured her that “Jesus is with you.” She replied, “Yes, but I want somebody with skin on.” Believers are often called to be “Jesus with skin on” to the people around them, because it takes major spiritual growth to really grasp that our Creator is both infinite and personal. That defies human logic, so God meets us where we are.

God blessed me with a fairly high level of “mental horsepower,” so I have an easier time of this than many. Part of that is being smart enough to know that I can never understand God fully! At the same time, I have experienced His personal touch so many times and in so many ways that I can’t deny that He is indeed both infinite and personal, that He created every atom in the universe and yet He still cares about me, who and where I am and what I am doing. I can’t explain it, really, but I can experience it, and I am deeply grateful. To me, this is the greatest proof that God is indeed Love, as John said. (1 John 4:8) I serve in a nation that is not culturally Christian, so much of what I say to people seems very foreign to them. I’ve got to back it up with a demonstration of the character of God, loving them with His love, all the while proclaiming the need for repentance and faith. That’s certainly not something I can do on my own! However, nothing is impossible for my infinite, omnipotent Lord, so I am to trust Him and yield myself to Him, for Him to use me however He pleases to draw people to Himself, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the countless ways that You have allowed me to experience You, and for how You will keep growing me. Thank You for the assurance that in heaven I will know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) In the meantime, help me keep growing, to be increasingly useful to You, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Mercy; June 14, 2024

Posted on June 15, 2024 by jgarrott

Genesis 19:16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.

Sometimes God’s mercy might not seem very gentle. Lot obviously didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation, but the angels certainly did. They remind me of military commandos rescuing hostages, which is a scenario we have seen very recently. The thing is, hostages sometimes develop “Stockholm Syndrome,” empathizing with their captors and cooperating with them rather than with their rescuers. We see that in a spiritual context all too frequently. People can be in horrible bondage to sin, and to those actively submitted to the devil, and when they are presented with a clear path of escape, that is, the Gospel, they choose to reject it. Sometimes in His mercy God “forces their hand,” so to speak, much as He did with Lot and his family, but we can’t count on that. The point is to pray for, recognize, and thank God for His mercy. I know of cases where that mercy involved being caught by police, and even jail time. In that moment the individual was very upset, but later they were grateful, and recognized that God had indeed been very merciful to them. We can’t specify to God what His mercy will look like, but we can trust that it is part of His character, and so pray that His will be done.

I have commented many times that if God were not merciful, I would have been squashed like a bug a long time ago. However, like Paul, I can say that His grace and mercy have not been without effect. (1 Corinthians 15:10) That’s not anything to get puffed up over, however, because I have I have also shown myself to be more than capable of fruitless inactivity. The point is for me to remember God’s grace and mercy toward me and thus extend that toward those around me. Sometimes that might involve firm action, as it did with Lot, and I am not to shy away from that. I am to seek to accurately express God to people, whether it makes them like me or not. As much as possible, I am to take myself out of the equation and allow God to use me for His glory alone.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You indeed for Your grace and mercy toward me. May I not distort that in my interactions with others, but rather effectively draw them to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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