Roots by the River

In the last few days my time with the Lord has been in the Psalms. Psalm 145 made me pay attention this morning. Here is a part of it. Verses 3-7: "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness." Verses 11-13: "They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the through glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Notice that no one can fathom God’s

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:45- 47). This is concise and comprehensive. First, it tells us about the person and work of Jesus. He is the Christ, and would suffer and rise from the dead. Second, it tells us what we should do because of who He is and what He has done. Our work is to preach repentance in Jesus’ name to all the nations. Jesus’ work is complete; our work is still incomplete. Join the #keepthefeast Bible Reading Challenge here. This post coordinates with today's reading. Written January 1992.

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). The way up is down. The way down is up. Contradiction, paradox, or simple truth? In Luke 14, at the conclusion of a parable about taking the place of honor, Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus came to the same conclusion in Luke 18 after telling the story of two men who prayed in the temple. “I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). In the second parable, the first man thanked God that he was not an extortioner, unjust, or an adulterer, that he tithed, and that he fasted twice a week. Jesus did not say that it was not true! What was wrong? He also thanked God that “he was not like other men, or even like this tax collector.” He exalted himself.

Recently I finished reading a novel by a friend of mine who is with the Lord now. It is The Magnificent Adventure by Jim Hardie. In this novel, a biology professor at the University of Colorado decides to present the gospel to his unbelieving peers. He divided up the Gospel of John and assigned three chapters each to be read by seven men. Their assignment was to find the answer to one question: Who did Jesus say He was? Each one was able to find the answer in his own three-chapter section. This is the real issue of the New Testament: Who is Jesus, and what did He do?

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied of Jesus. "Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed His people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through His holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” (Luke 1:68-75) Notice He came to rescue us and enable us . This enabling was so that we could serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. Isn’t it wonderful that He empowers us to be holy all our days? Join the #keepthefeast Bible Reading Challenge here. This post coordinates with today's reading. Written October 1983.

There is a hymn written by Charles Wesley that you may not know. It is one of my favorite hymns. Jesus the Name High over All Jesus, the name high over all, In hell, or earth, or sky: Angels and men before it fall, And devils fear and fly. Jesus, the name to sinners dear, The name to sinners giv’n; It scatters all their guilty fear, And turns their hell to heav’n. Jesus the prisoner’s fetters breaks, And bruises Satan’s head; Pow’r into strengthless souls He speaks, And life into the dead. Here are my two favorite stanzas: His only righteousness I know, His saving grace proclaim. ’Tis all my business here below, To cry, Behold the Lamb! Happy, if with my latest breath I might but gasp His name: Preach Him to all, and cry in death, “Behold, behold the Lamb!”

I am now 92. It has been many years since my conversion, and I have been telling the story to people ever since. To be set free, a person has to know several things: 1) he is a sinner; 2) he can’t save himself by being good or not being bad; and 3) salvation is a free gift, bought and paid for by Jesus Christ, free for the taking. This is the good news: Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you, and He rose again from the dead. As man as call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This is the message that is to go to the whole world. When I was a young man, there were only about 2 billion people in the world. Now there are over 7 billion. The physical population has grown much faster than the spiritual population. We are losing ground as far as the Great Commission is concerned. Every Christian (that is, everyone who has passed from death to life by the new birth) has a responsibility to tell this message of Good News to people who haven’t received the new birth. Jesus tells

Three months before Jesus was born, Zacharias, filled with Holy Spirit, said about Jesus: “He has raised up a horn of salvation for us...to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” Isn’t that wonderful?

Dear Friends, Christmas is a time of year when we are reminded of how God miraculously intervened in history on our behalf. He accomplished this through the birth of His son, Jesus Christ, and His subsequent life, death, and resurrection. This is what the prophet Isaiah says about this child: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7) What an encouragement this passage is! If we are in need of guidance, we can call upon our wonderful Counselor . If we cannot overcome a temptation or sin, we are servants of the mighty God who will overcome. If we gr