Building 101

Here are a few truths to guide us as we build our lives:

1.    “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein – Psalm 24:1-2 

Everything is the Lord’s. We must consult with the Lord before building anything. He owns all the property and building resources. Having our way with His stuff is stealing. 

2.    “So this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.” -  Isaiah 28:16

Praise God for providing a sure foundation! There is a secure foundation that can be built upon with confidence. Rejecting this foundation leads to destruction.

3.    “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have, Jesus Christ” – 1 Cor 3:10

There is NO other foundation to build upon. Jesus is the precious cornerstone. All other ground is sinking sand.

4.    “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” – Psalm 127:1

The Lord is building a house on Jesus Christ, the foundation that He has laid. We are unable to build a lasting house, for God or for ourselves, in our own strength.

5.    “He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” – Hebrews 12:26-27

Our God is a consuming fire. Everything we have built will be tested by Him. 

Paul reminds us,

            “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.  If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” – 1 Cor 3:10-14

What are we building now that will remain?

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Don’t Know Everything…it’s OK

Since being reclaimed and redeemed by Jesus when I was 16 years old, I have struggled with insecurities surrounding my Biblical knowledge. After beholding God in the face of Jesus, I realized that the words of the Bible, those which were once dead to me, were my new Father’s words. As my hunger to know His word grew, so did the shame of my lack of knowledge.

As I tried to learn more, every sermon preached or Bible study attended would begin with a request by the teacher for me to turn to a book, chapter, and verse that would take me forever to find. As I started to attend church, little children next to me would raise their hands to answer questions about biblical characters I had never heard of. Every Bible story was new to me, and I often did not have much context to interpret the main points accurately. These experiences were constant reminders of my ignorance. I was literally a 16-year-old babe in need of milk, and this led to hidden shame. I cried out to my new Father for mercy, patience, protection, and assistance as I tried to make up for so many lost years. 

Here is a quick story of how God answered my prayers in a big way in a simple verse. A few years after being born again in Christ, I attended a Bible study led by a resident assistant in my college dormitory. At the end of the study, the leader pulled out a bunch of pictures from his bag. Each picture was of a Bible verse surrounded by a uniquely decorated frame. As a member of the soccer team, I immediately reached for the soccer ball frame. It was here that I first read James 1:5.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

As I read this verse, God spoke deep into my heart.  He would generously give me wisdom without finding fault if I asked Him.

If you are wrestling with shame today because you feel you should know more than you do, ask the Lord for wisdom. He is able to redeem the past and can make up for lost time. If we have questions without answers, it is never too late for Him to make us wise. Do we believe He can and will do this?

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Yoked with Christ for Joy in Heaven

In Luke 10, Jesus sends out His disciples to prepare the way before Him. He tells them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Today, may we be jointly yoked with Christ, laboring as sons and daughters in our Heavenly Fathers vineyard. Now, in mercy, Christ has redeemed us from the worthless way of life we had learned from our ancestors. He has atoned for our sin and purchased us with His own precious blood, employing us in a new ministry, the Ministry of Reconciliation. We have been made fishers of men, ambassadors of the Living God. God now makes His appeal for others to be reconciled to Him through Christ in us.

As we number our days, we remember Jesus’s words as recorded In Luke 15. Jesus tells us that there will be more rejoicing in heaven for one sinner that is lost that for ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance. Invest in the lives of the lost. Their reconciliation to God through Christ brings more rejoicing in heaven than any other worldly achievement we could take part in.

Commissioned in His name, our message is two-fold. First, we proclaim peace with God through Christ Jesus and His finished work on Calvary. Loving as He loves us, we bring good news of great joy to all peoples from every nation. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is hope in Christ for the sinner who repents. Second, still in love, we must warn of the horrible consequences and ultimate consequence of rejecting Jesus, the appointed Judge of the living and the dead.

As we go out, we do not go alone. We take on Jesus’s yoke, uniting us to His gospel and His Father’s will. We serve trusting in His faithfulness to keep all His promises, especially to save from sin and death. By taking on His yoke, we receive help from the Holy Spirit who helps us keep pressing onward with Him to the prize. 

With every breath may we joyfully serve the Lord of the Harvest. No eye has seen or ear has heard, nor mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Today, choose to serve Christ in building an eternal kingdom that will not pass away. Let’s be yoked with Christ for joy in heaven.

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

In or out of Touch?

We must beware of becoming out of touch in our attempt to be holy. If becoming holy is becoming more like Christ, a godly person should be defined by being in touch with those around them. Let’s look to Jesus and be reminded that being “not of this world” is precisely the way of remaining IN-timately present to those within it.

As days get darker, we must beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. There is a false righteousness that exalts men and separates people not unto God, but from each other.  As men are lifted up, boundaries are drawn between the “us” and “them” groups. The pride of the Pharisees “shut the door of the kingdom in people’s faces” (Matthew 23:13.) Alternatively, as Christ is exalted, all men are humbled and are drawn unto Him. This is because in the face of Christ we see Emmanuel, God WITH US.

Brothers and Sisters, people listened to what Jesus had to say because He dwelled among them. He was WITH them. Are we with the Samaritan woman, the one with five husbands, enough to drink from the same watering hole? Are we close enough with the tax collector to be invited over to his home to break bread? If the Spirit of God dwells in us, we will desire intimacy with those around us. His Spirit makes us “not of the world” and in turn, makes our love toward those walking in darkness “not of this world”. His love draws Him near, even to the sinner. Jesus did not pray for His followers to be removed from the world, He sends us INTO it!

Jesus speaks,

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,[a] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:43-47

As we seek to be set apart unto our Lord, do we understand that true holiness leads to a love that will compel us to dwell in dark places? His sheep will follow their shepherd, even unto Samaria and the ends of the earth, as they are filled with the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. May those walking in darkness see a great light in us as we share the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. May His Spirit lead us to be so present in our relationships that we can touch and be touched by those who did not expect it. We must get this close to people for them to see Christ in us. Let’s stay in touch.

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Light in Darkness

Seasons are changing. Days are getting shorter. The darkness is closing in. The reality that we are made of dirt is apparent. Dust to dust. 

Fellow Christians, why fear the dark? Do not lose heart. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

He was afflicted in every way, but not crushed. He was perplexed, but not driven to despair. He was persecuted but not forsaken; He was struck down but not destroyed. Through the darkening political, social, and economic climate, His light grew. He remained filled with love for His Father and His neighbor. He produced fruit in season and out of season. The darkness of the cross and grave could not overcome His light. Even death could not hold Him.

By the power of Christ in us, we can do the same. We can remain aglow in the darkness. Jesus said,

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

We are given over to death so that the life of Jesus can also be manifested in our mortal bodies. We have this treasure in jars of clay so that the glory of God, who shines light in the darkness, can be made known to all. By the mercy of God, He has given us this incredible ministry. 

Paul reminds us to not lose heart,

“Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

When the lesser lights go out, Christ shines the brightest. May we seek to grow in our knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. As we do, the darkness will more deeply reveal the Light.

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Use the Weeds

Do you have weeds in your garden? Most define weeds as the unwanted plants that take up valuable space, water, and nutrients without providing us any benefit. Most gardeners hate weeds and do all they can to remove them as soon as possible. For a long time I shared this sentiment. I worried that Pop Pop Rudy or Pop Pop Bill would show up to my house and find the unwanted plants in my vegetable beds, signifying a lack of commitment to the responsibility of being a gardener. I have used tremendous energy during binge weeding sessions, pulling them until my fingers cramped and hiding them in the woods. Now, I am starting to see weeds a little differently.

Recently I read an article in which the author encouraged his readers to never weed again. Instead, he implored us to harvest nutrients. This is far more than a mere change in perspective. With great wit, he went on to remind us that weeds, if kept from maturing to reproduction stages, are best used to fertilize the very area in which they grew. After all, they are composed of the very nutrients they stole from the exact soil from which they arose. This understanding makes weeds more than an enemy to bid riddance, it makes them fertilizer to be used for a more bountiful harvest! This garden lesson can teach us how to look at some other unwanted things in a different light.

Sin is like a weed that often takes up valuable space in our lives. It grows in our gardens and limits our production of good fruit. As Christians, we often deal with the sin in our garden like me, and Adam and Eve.  We try to hide it. In fear of judgment, we do all we can to present weedless lives. In the process, we miss a wonderful opportunity to use it for a more bountiful harvest.

The secret to using sin for gain is confession. God is able to use what the enemy meant for harm for good.  Confession takes something deadly and uses it to bring life. If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Satan wants sin to reproduce and lead to death. Forgiven sin in God’s hands, like an uprooted weed, can be used to grow faith and glorify Jesus, displaying His power to save from the penalty, power, and presence of sin.

I leave you with this personal testimony. About 20 years ago, in college, I had a roommate who I desperately wanted to know the love of his creator and savior. I tried everything to get him to receive Christ, even purchasing evangelism books to help gain insight on how I could share the Gospel in a way that he would receive it. This dear friend was always interested, but never believed my Jesus could actually be for him.  Finally, over a midnight Papa John’s pizza, I used something I had normally hidden. I used my sin. I confessed to him that in my struggle with lust I had sinned against God, and shared how Jesus remained with me in the battle. Suddenly his face lit up like the sun. He credits my confession as the moment he first believed that Jesus could save a wretch like him. James tells us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we may be healed. Don’t simply remove the weeds, use the dead and alive to help others grow their faith in what God has done, is doing, and will do. Use the weeds!

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Manna. Can You See Him?

Aware of the great multitude drawing near, Jesus askes Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 

Philip immediately assesses the need.  He scans the crowd and does some quick math. He estimates that there must be nearly 5,000 people. To feed them all, He needs at least 2,400 loaves of bread at a cost of over $4,000.

Philip shares his number with Jesus. He says, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”.

Like Philip, we can get overwhelmed by the needs. His need was too big, the resources too few. Just like in Salem City today…and in our schools…and in my home. There is not enough time. There is not enough money. There is not enough support. There is not enough in the world. 

Why did Jesus ask Philip to seek an answer to a hopeless problem? Thankfully, the scriptures tell us. 

He said this to him to test him, for Jesus already knew what He would do. 

On this day, He would provide the bread. Two kinds of manna would be laid before them: One temporary, one eternal. Which one would they partake of?

In the words of John Piper, “Where Christ isn’t being treasured, He’s being used.” After Jesus feeds the 5,000, many follow Him expecting to use Him for more bread, just as their forefathers did in the desert. They seek the provision not the provider. Because of this, their stomachs were filled daily for 40 years, however they were left unsatisfied. This is because men do not live by bread alone.

Jesus is the answer to His question to Philip. Is there a way for the needs to be met? Yes. Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the answer to our needs. He tells us today; I am the bread of life. He is the manna. May our eyes be opened to our daily bread and may our response be faith in Him, the true bread from heaven.

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Consider Your Ways

Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord God almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, and the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.”

These words were shared through the prophet Haggai to a people who thought it was time to build their own paneled houses while the house of the Lord was in ruin.

After considering the empty results of building their own houses, they returned to the Lord and put first the building of the house of the Lord. When they turn and serve the Lord, He gives them this message:

“I am with you.”

He then pours our His Spirit on the whole remnant of the people.

Jesus reminds us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in to steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” – Matthew 6:19-21

If you find yourself clothed but not warm, there is hope. Stop building your house and begin to build the Lord’s. Start the building with Christ as the foundation.

In Christ,

—Roger  Garrison

The Spirit of the Law

In Revelation 2 we read Jesus’s warning to the church at Ephesus.

‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

As we read His words, may we be reminded of what is also written:

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” – Proverbs 21:2

The church at Ephesus has abandoned their first love and Jesus knew it. May we take heed. Whether we are exposing false apostles, preaching a sermon, rebuking false doctrine, feeding the poor, studying our Bible, speaking in tongues, or prophesying in His name, Jesus weighs the heart. He knows the motives and spirit behind our acts. 

Since we, as the seed of Adam, seek self-exaltation, without His Spirit, we focus on compliance with the letter of the law as a means to justify ourselves.  We will attempt to use the law to ascend His holy mountain. This is a violation of the intent of the law, which has been and will always be, to glorify God through the exaltation of the Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, the propitiation for our sin. 

Jesus came to reclaim the hearts of men. Above all, He wants our love. He reminds us that we should “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Without this, obedience to the rest of His word is but a resounding gong in his ear.

Do we wield the words of God out of a love for self or a love for Him? Do we search the scriptures looking for promises and power that will lift us up or lift Him up? Are we using God’s strength for our glory or His? 

May all lampstands burning strange fire be removed until only Jesus, the true Light of the Word, remains. May He give us one heart, and a new spirit, one that loves God. The Spirit of God loves God. May His law, starting with the first commandment, be written on our hearts. When this happens, we will be a letter from Christ to the world, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

To God be the glory,

— Roger Garrison

The Light is the King

Light can be directed or followed. The light that has dawned over the people dwelling in darkness in the region of the shadow of death is one to be followed. It must be followed because it emanates from a King.  After Matthew mentions the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in 4:16, we find that the “light” that has dawned is a person named Jesus. A few verses later we find this “light” walking and talking to people who walked in darkness. He appears to a few fishermen on the Sea of Galilee and beckons them to “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The light was to be followed, not wielded.

This truth made it impossible for some to receive the light. Many wanted to use “The light” to satisfy their own desires. After seeing that the light was not able to be directed, they turned away back into the darkness. Many, like King Herod, who liked to be called “The Great,” went so far as to attempt to put out “The light.” 

This Christmas, may we be reminded that the baby in the manger is the “Light of the World”. The baby in the manger is also the King of Kings. There is no light outside His Kingdom. If you have seen Him but still walk in great darkness, maybe it is time to receive Him as King. To experience light in this dark land, one must follow Christ as King. We desperately need this light. On our knees, may we ask God to give us new hearts to exalt His King and Kingdom and not our own. As we struggle with our own sin, may we remember the King comes bearing a cross, with forgiveness of sins and new life for those who lay down their lives and follow Him. Hallelujah. The Light will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. In the process, He will make us lights in the world, magnifying Jesus, The LIGHT!

Merry Christmas,

—Roger Garrison

I AM

Please consider Abraham, Job, and Martha…

When facing the imminent death of his son Isaac, Abraham reasoned that, because of God’s promises, God must be able to resurrect the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

When facing his own imminent death, Job stated,

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:25-27)

When facing the death of her brother Lazarus, Martha said to Jesus,

 “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (John 11:21-22)

Each of these three found themselves facing the greatest enemy, death. In the flesh, all hope was lost. Still, they had hope. Each of them had asked the questions we will ask today:

Is God good? Is He present? Is He able? Does He care for me? Will He act on time? Will He make something beautiful from these ashes? Can He defeat sin without and within? Is He enough?

And, from His mouth they had received an answer.

“I AM”

More powerful than “I have” or “I will”, Jesus tells us,

“I AM” 

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25).

“Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5).

Do you believe this?

Yes brothers and sisters, even now, He is.

On our knees may we pray, “We believe; help our unbelief.”

To God be the Glory,

—Roger Garrison

Dependence: A Measure for Maturity

A few days ago I came across one of my lost journals in my basement by accident. I wasn’t too excited since I knew, based on my journaling habits, it probably contained a bunch of blank pages. I opened it to find only two entries. The second one read:

12/16/15

Purpose of parenthood: Connect child to source of life. Root child in living waters. Jesus is the root. He is the way to the Father. He gives us water that keeps us from thirsting again.  Once a child can draw water from the Father, through Jesus, they are ready to live on their own.

 Is it possible that we too often prioritize independence as the main objective of parenthood? Convicted, I asked myself these questions: Is the independence I encourage in my children rooted in an increasing dependence on God? Am I teaching my children how do things on their own or how to do things with Him?  Am I promoting self or God-dependence?

I shared my conviction with my wife who pointed me to Ezekiel 29 to find an example of the terrible consequences of the independence that comes from self-dependence.  Here the Lord says to Pharoah: 

“I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

you great monster lying among your streams.

You say, “The Nile belongs to me;

                        I made it for myself.”

But I will put hooks in your jaws
                                   and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
                                    with all the fish sticking to your scales.
 I will leave you in the desert,
                                   you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
                                   and not be gathered or picked up.
I will give you as food
                                     to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.”

 In Pharaoh’s case, his independence would lead to dependencies and bondage. This is also the case with our children. The one who believes he owns the Nile will be hooked like a fish. The one who seeks control will be controlled. The one who seeks ownership will be owned. May we not encourage an independence in our children that will lead to this destruction. Independence is not a guaranteed sign of growth in the right direction.

In contrast, the bible tells us of another king who had an independence that came from His dependence on His Father. In fact, He was so dependent that He did nothing apart from His Father. (John 5:19:20). With His Father He was able to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. He was truly free. Like Jesus, may our children’s independence in the world be the byproduct of their dependence on God.

 Our kids are watching more than they are listening. Do they see us as self-made? Have we taken ownership for the Nile in our back yard? Do our words and actions model a personal dependence on God? 

May God help up us to be living testimonies of His provision, and may dependence on God, not independence, be the measure by which we gauge maturity in both the young and old.

To God be the Glory,

—Roger Garrison

To God be the Glory

In Luke 18, we learn that a ruler once asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

Jesus answered,

“Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”

Considering his response, how do we respond to exaltation? Do we embrace or despise the making of our name great? Ultimately, whose glory are we seeking? It seems the ruler in the story approaches Jesus seeking His own glory. I think I am often guilty of the same. Jesus’s response shows us the difference between making our name great and making God’s name great. 

In Psalm 16:2, the psalmist writes, “You are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing.” Moving forward, may we take every opportunity to glorify God and make His name great. May we become less and He become more. May every praise of us provide an opportunity to glorify God. May God help us.

In Christ,

Roger Garrison

Christ-Centered Living

Romans 8:29
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

In the gospels we gaze at Jesus through different lenses to get to know Him better. Each different writer provides us with a unique picture of Jesus’s doctrine, His actions, and His heart. When lined up with the others, the image of Jesus develops and solidifies as the Messiah, our Immanuel, the fulfillment of both the law and the prophets. He is the express image of God in whom all the fulness of His glory dwells bodily. He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. In Christ, the image of God comes into focus. Amazingly, this means that in Christ we find the image of God we were created in, the image we have lost, and the image God is restoring in us. 

Perfect in holiness, Jesus’s doctrine, actions, and affections were perfectly aligned by His love for His father.  He exhibited right doctrine – orthodoxy. He exhibited right practice – orthopraxy. He was fueled by the right affections – orthopathy. His orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy were one without discrepancy. He defines integrity. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, we must seek the same integrity.

We are unbalanced. We value the “ortho” we are the best at. This unbalance can be seen in each individual member and throughout the Church at large. Brothers and sisters, to be conformed into the image of Christ, we must not exalt or put down the pursuit of right doctrine, right practice, or right affections. He is coming for a pure bride. We must humbly recognize strengths and weaknesses. Keeping Christ at the center, He will pull our doctrine, practice, and affections together until the image He has reclaimed and redeemed is renewed and perfectly restored. To God be the Glory.

For the love of Christ,

—Roger Garrison

How He Loves Us...

How does God love us? One of my favorite places to find this answer is in the book of Hosea. Here, God uses Hosea’s relationship with his wife to show us how He has loved us. I pray we are convicted and encouraged as we look at God’s love for us in action.

Before we can understand the depth of God’s love for us, we must first understand the depth of our sin against Him. The book of Hosea gives us a picture of our sin. Here we are likened to Hosea’s wife Gomer, who betrayed her husband to make a name for herself through a life of prostitution. Like Gomer, we are all guilty of similar adultery for seeking life outside of Him. We are promise breakers. We have rejected God to seek satisfaction elsewhere. While walking in sin, God has loved us. In Hosea’s response to Gomer we find how God demonstrates His love to us.

First, God tells Hosea to reclaim his bride. I can imagine Hosea considering the most likely places to find a prostitute and then heading out to search the dark alleys and abandoned buildings for her. After seeking her, I picture him finding his wife in a room with paying customers. In this moment I can image the surprise as he claims her as his beloved while she is filled with shame. God wants to be associated with us. He reclaims us as His own even in our most broken form. God reclaims the sinner. This is love.

Second, God tells Hosea to redeem his bride. Picture Hosea demonstrating his love for Gomer by outbidding her other clients. Redemption takes sacrifice. There is a payment made to buy something back. Hosea pays to be with his wife. God redeems the sinner. This is love. 

Third, God tells Hosea to renew his beloved. He tells Hosea not to share the marriage bed with her for a long time. After many long, lonely nights of not being considered, Hosea is asked to consider the broken state of His wife and understand that healing will take time. Hosea must not immediately demand what is rightfully his. Instead, he must be willing to build intimacy over time. God renews us. This is love.

Fourth, God tells Hosea to restore his bride. Hosea hopes that all that has been lost with Gomer will be regained. He demonstrates trust that the broken things will be made whole again. God restores us. This is love.

We can see this reclaiming, redeeming, renewing, and restoring love of God on display in the life of Jesus. He claimed those others were ashamed to associate with. He gave it all to redeem the lost. He had mercy on those damaged by their sin and was patient with the process of renewal. He was confident that dead things would be restored to life. This is love.

As we consider how God loves us, may we love others the same. How will God use you to show His reclaiming, redeeming, renewing, and restoring love?

In Christ,

—Roger Garrison

Whatcha looking at?

It was a cloudy morning. The glimpse of sun had turned the sky red, warning of the storm on the horizon. The weather outside resembled my inside. Like the clouds, fears were moving in as I focused on my past, present, and predicted failures. My mind was filling with burdens, each one expanding with greater consideration. The atmosphere was unstable. I called upon my Lord, the Light of the world, the one who sits enthroned over the flood. “Father, help me.”

I loaded my daughter in the car to take the 15-minute drive to her school, still preoccupied with the clouds without and within. Then, I remembered a simple song. I queued it up on my radio and told my daughter to get ready to sing. Together, we would lift our eyes unto the Maker of Heaven and earth. By the second pass of the chorus, we both sang out, “Your love is, your love is, YOUR LOVE IS STRONG”. I lowered the windows at the busy intersection in case someone else was having a cloudy day. We sang joyfully unto to Lord as we praised His love with all we had. I watched her in the rear-view mirror, sitting in her car seat, with a face brighter than the sun. She looked like Moses coming down from the mountain. 

 As we arrived at her school, I noticed the sign board out front.

“The whole earth is filled with the goodness of the Lord” – Psalm 33:5

I read the verse to my daughter and reminded her that no matter where we are and no matter how dark things may be outside or within, we always have something beautiful to look at. I told her, “Claraboo, the whole earth is filled with the goodness of the Lord.” I reminded her that the angels, the ones with more eyes than us, fix all their gaze on Him and can’t help but sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,’. Who was, and is, and is to come.” Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. May we consider the one who conquered sin and death that we could be set free. 

Because He is present, we can seek and find Him. When we find Him, we will taste and see that He is good and His love is strong. Brothers and sisters, again, remember the whole earth is filled with His goodness. Yes, this even includes the dark and scary places that we hide in or try to avoid. Praise God for He shows His lovingkindness in every corner of this sin cursed land and heart. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Right now, whatcha looking at? On cloudy days, may we change our gaze. Pray instead of curse.

In Christ,

Roger Garrison

Thy Will Be Done…

In Deuteronomy 8:15-16, Moses reminds the Israelites about the works of God.  It is written:

“He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.”

God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. As we read Deuteronomy, and the rest of God’s Word, we learn that sometimes, He will lead us into a wilderness to humble and test us so that it might go well with us in the end. Sometimes broken things must be taken apart to be put back together. This difficult truth makes it imperative that we heed Jesus’s example and pray not my will, but Thy will be done.    

 If you are anything like me, I often think God’s will does not involve wilderness experiences for myself or others. My definition of goodness and mercy often does not include a time of suffering, especially not long-suffering. Usually, I seek paradise more than manna in a desert. I want the finished product without the work. This desire to fix things quickly is dangerous in a world of quick fixes. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he informs him that there will be some, especially in the last days, that will not want to hear the entire truth about God. He says that, having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.  

One myth we must avoid is believing that our will and God’s will are currently perfectly aligned.

Since our will is not perfect like His, our authority in Jesus’s name must always be balanced with humility. This is important in a world filled with mascots and hype men, who know how to get our passion and pride elevated. Paul reminds Timothy to stay sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, and to fulfill his ministry. 

I can imagine the Spirit speaking similar words to Caleb and Joshua for the forty years in the desert. There were probably days that it was difficult to stay-sober minded, endure suffering, testify to the goodness of God, and stay with others in their suffering. I believe their trust in God’s faithfulness helped them to seek His will and not their own. They were convinced that God would keep His word and bring them into the promised land. However, in humility, they found rest in God’s process. God provides a way IN the desert, not just a way out. He can help us step into and stay in a trial of our own or that of another.

On more than one occasion in the scriptures, Jesus asked His Father to be delivered from suffering. In these moments, I believe the depth of His suffering was greater than any suffering any human has ever experienced. Remarkably, in these moments Jesus was able to focus on something bigger than His suffering. He remained focused on the will of His Father being done. From Jesus we learn that we can approach the Father boldly, with confidence in His love and faithfulness; AND BECAUSE of this, we come humbly, submitting to His will, even if He doesn’t remove our “cup” from us. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

 May we not seek deliverance from our trials without the humility to declare “not my will, but thy will be done.” God is the refiner. As we bring Him our requests, may we not take the flame from His hands.

 In Christ,

 —Roger Garrison

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

Suffering: A Meeting Place

Big John’s Pizza Queen owner Rob Johnson spreads the important message that “Everyone has a story to tell.” With over 7 billion people on earth, this means that there are currently billions of unique stories to be told. Incredibly, in every unique story from every nation, tribe, and tongue, one can find a strikingly common thread that ties each of our individual stories together. Suffering. Whether a pauper or a king, suffering is familiar. Misery loves company because misery HAS lots of company.   

Though we do our best to avoid it, we are all familiar with suffering. When we pulled away from the loving hold of our all-knowing, ever-present, all powerful Creator (Genesis 3:6), we started a crack that has spread through the layers of blessed support He had graciously provided us with.  The spreading of this crack has caused a deep and wide valley of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional decay. What once was beautifully integrated has become a pit of death. Marred by sin, the abundant examples of His goodness have become disfigured. Intimate, shame-free relationships with others have become ridden with backbiting discord. Enjoyable, satisfying work has become sweaty, pointless drudgery. Sweet harmony with the animals, plants, and the rest of creation has become a dreadful siren reminding us of looming disaster. The deeper we fall in this pit, the more our perspective on God’s beauty is limited. Before long, we stop mourning the distance between us and God and start mourning our very existence. The house of misery becomes the most popular meeting place since ALL who enter can relate. Thankfully, here, in this house of misery, we can find the One with the power to mend what has been broken. 

In How Jesus meets us in Pain, Danielle Cummins writes: 

In all the training on how to grow closer to Jesus, suffering was never a chapter heading. We were big on Easter, light on Good Friday, and, as it turns out, life is often the opposite. Especially for most of humankind.

We cannot know our God who sits on the highest throne without knowing his journey into the deepest pit of despair. We must know His suffering to know Him. The Apostle Paul knew this.  He understood that knowing Christ meant knowing the power of His resurrection AND the fellowship of His suffering (Phil 3:10).  If we think we are being conformed into His image without becoming more acquainted with sorrows, we have set our sights on an idol.

Danielle Cummins states:

While human nature, privilege, and the American Dream may justify profound distaste for suffering, Calvary beckons us differently. Reconciliation with God implies further intolerance of this world and its atrocities and injustices, not a shielding from their effects.

The culmination of Christ’s suffering like us “in every way” on the cross should pierce through the thin facades we erect to help ignore our own suffering and the suffering of others. As He has borne our infirmities, by His Spirit we will find the power to connect with others in their suffering.

C.S. Spurgeon’ writes:

The afflicted do not so much look for comfort to Christ as he will come a second time… as to Christ as he came the first time, a weary man and full of woes.

In our suffering, we cannot understand how to get to God from our misery. We are often unaware that He is in our midst. As His children, we can find him and share Him in the midst of suffering.

Suffering binds us with God, as Jürgen Moltmann writes,

…when we feel pain we participate in his pain, and when we grieve we share his grief… People who believe in the God who suffers with us, recognize their suffering in God, and God in their suffering.

Speaking of those suffering with depression, Spurgeon drives this point home further:

When a person “has been through a similar experience” of depression, “he uses another tone of voice altogether. He knows that, even if it is nonsense to the strong, it is not so to the weak, and he so adapts his remarks so that he cheers” the sufferer “where the other only inflicts additional pain. Broken hearted one, Jesus Christ knows all your troubles, for similar troubles were his portion” too.

 To my fellow sojourners in this broken world, let us not forget that His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and that his form was marred beyond human likeness. Though the degrees of our human suffering differ, there is one who has experienced all of it to make all things new.  When we suffer, may His Word remind us that we are not alone in our pain and suffering.

In his book Spurgeons Sorrows, Zack Eswine writes of one way the great preacher stayed mindful that Christ was with Him on dark days:

Charles cherished a certain picture. The engraver portrayed the moment in Pilgrim’s Progress in which Christian panics, swallowed up by the deeps of a river and going under. The portrait shows Christian’s companion, named Hopeful, pushing up with his arm around Christian and lifting up his hands shouting, “Fear not! Brother, I feel the bottom.

With this picture on his mind, the preacher so familiar with sorrows then rejoices with those listening to him. “This is just what Jesus does in our trials. “Charles proclaims. “He puts his arm around us, points up and says, “Fear not! The water may be deep, but the bottom is good.”

 Jesus is the good shepherd, He remains present in all ways when things get difficult.  We know He is above.  May we also remember His love for us that has caused Him to go below. We can find Emmanuel in our suffering.

—Roger Garrison

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

Blessing-filled Boundaries

My family includes a one year old Goldendoodle named Luna.  As I write this morning, she lays sprawled out on the cot purchased for her by her grandparents. Yes, my parents bought her a cot like her human brother and sister.  

Luna is loved by many, but possibly none more than her nine year old brother Asher. Though they sometimes get into disagreements about what should be chewed, the two are the best of friends.  Weighing in at 50 pounds each, they are pretty evenly matched in tug-of-war matches. They both love the outdoors and playing tennis. One could also say that they have the same taste in shoes…well, sort of.  They look out for each other and want to go everywhere together. This desire to be together recently taught our family a great lesson about boundaries and blessings.

Luna has spent most of her time inside our house on one side of the first floor. With three baby gates and a length of fence, I feel we have provided boundaries that bless her with a great living environment. Her buddy Asher does not agree. He thinks his pup is ready for more freedom. When it comes to Luna, Asher keeps no record of wrongs and feels passionately that her life would be improved if she had greater access to all areas of the house, especially downstairs.  

Recently, I made the mistake of telling him, “If you and your sister can make sure to keep small toys out of the living room, Luna can come out here too.”  Without a word, Asher began scurrying around the living room picking up the red hungry hippo marble, lego wheel, and other oddities that he couldn’t seem to muster the energy to pick up all morning. As I rinsed dishes in the kitchen, I could hear the clickety-clack of baby gates being rearranged. I made it to the living room just in time to find the two little angels, boundary-less, watching TV together on the living room floor. I knew this fun would not last. Asher’s heart would break the next morning when he came downstairs and noticed that I had reassembled the gate and put her back in the “confinement area.”

As Asher sometimes disagrees with the boundaries I set for him and Luna, I have sometimes disagreed with the boundaries set for me by God. Adam and Eve had the same problem in the garden. With His word, God limited their access to the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God’s limit was to keep man within His presence and within the boundaries of all that was good. Satan used this limit to slander the heart of God. He encouraged Adam and Eve to step out of God’s boundaries, promising greater blessing. He was successful at getting both to believe the lie that God’s limits are sometimes unloving and unwise. He hid the truth that God is good; therefore, so are His boundaries for us.

I am sure Luna questions her boundaries. It must be confusing to be encouraged to chew a smelly furry groundhog toy but not an equally smelly cleaning rag. She must sometimes feel unloved when she is not allowed to drink out of the bowl in our bathroom. Perspective on boundaries comes from knowing the heart of the one by whom they were established. Trusting the heart of God leads to rejoicing within His boundaries.  In Psalm 16 David writes,

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

    even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Where do we get our boundaries?  Are they from our parents? Government? Friends? What feels right? Satan?  

Today, may we rejoice with David in the Lord’s boundaries. May we be thankful that He has communicated boundaries in His Word. His boundary lines are good for us, even when they seem to limit us.

When we step out of His boundaries and find ourselves lost and unsatisfied, may we remember He has provided us a way to get back into His presence and within the blessing-filled boundary. Bound to Christ alone, we will find the greatest blessing.

May we choose this day who we will serve. Jesus tells us,

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” - John 12:26

—Roger Garrison

Work Done in Secret

In Matthew 6, Jesus encourages us to give, pray, and fast in secret. Jesus’s words provoke our pride, expose our desires, and test our faith. Consideration of these directions reveal our pride to receive the praises of men. They expose our desire to receive rewards on earth. They test our faith in whether God truly exists and whether He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Jesus follows these directions with a warning that earthly and heavenly rewards are different and both cannot be received. There is much to learn from these simple but difficult words. Much is revealed about us, but much is also revealed about God. Please consider this and find great hope: the One encouraging us to do good in secret, is doing wonderful things in secret.  

We can not overestimate the incredible work that God is doing across the world, across the street, or across the table. Do not be dismayed. He often shines His light in the darkest places. Though we may not see all of His works, do not be fooled to believe that everything is falling apart or that injustice is going unpunished. God is in control. David writes in Psalm 29:10:

The Lord sits enthroned over the Flood;

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

The one seated on the throne tells us, “I am making all things new.”  Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” As we mature in our knowledge of Christ and His love, we will grow in our certainty of what He is doing in secret. May we be conformed into His image.

—Roger Garrison