Roots by the River

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Cor. 9:12). “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15). These three verses have something in common. It is prayer . James 5:16 tells us of the quality of prayer or, rather, the quality of the man who prays for healing. The next two verses tell of the quantity of men who thank God. 2 Corinthians 9:12 speaks of God’s people who are grateful, having had their physical needs met by those who had given. This results in “overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15 is speaking of the salvation of more and more people. This causes “thanksg

The Scripture that has been in my mind a good part of the day is Haggai 2:11-13: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says: If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ The priests answered, ‘No.’ Then Haggai said, ‘If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?’ ‘Yes,’ the priests replied, ‘it becomes defiled.’” Notice this! Defilement, uncleanness, and dirt can be transferred. Cleanliness cannot be transferred. If I pour clean water into dirty water, does that make the dirty water clean? No! If I pour dirty water into clean water, does that make the clean water dirty? Yes! If I have dirty hands and shake your clean hand, do I transfer dirt to you, or do you transfer clean to me? Dirt is transferred! “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character'” (1 Cor

There are only two things you can do at any given time: obey God or disobey Him. Obeying God and confessing your sin when you disobey is called walking in the light: as soon as you get in the darkness, you confess your sin and get back in the light. My book How to Be Free: More Essays on Christian Living is about how to be free from besetting sins and obey God. It covers different topics like depression, worry, anger, low self-esteem, guilt, gossip, lying, a critical spirit, complaining, etc. It also talks about how to walk in the light. The book is available at ccmbooks.org/bookstore and Amazon. Sins do not travel in singles. If you have unconfessed sin, it sets you up for more sin. If you get into the habit of confessing sin, you will not have to go through the ins and outs of obedience and confession so much. Take care of sin when it occurs. Do not wait. It is possible to walk in the light, which makes it easy to obey God. When you are walking in the light, you can rejoice al

In recent days,* I have been struck again by the partial repentance of the kings of Israel and the partial repentance of the kings of Judah. Here are two examples from many. Israel: “Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit” (2 Kings 10:31). The last sentence was said of every king of Israel. Judah: “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there” (2 Kings 14:3-4). This last sentence was said of Amaziah and his son, his grandson, and his great-grandson. Amaziah was one of the good kings of Judah. Hezekiah, his great-great-grandson, turned things around: “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He r

Here are four passages of Scripture which have meant very much to me. There are many others, but these stand out. Each has a promise attached. The promises are in bold. “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth ” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21). “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice

There are portions in Paul’s writings that talk about being more like the Lord Jesus. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). “I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves a

The Scripture says there are certain gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. I am a teacher and an evangelist—but I am an evangelist by obedience. I may have the gift also, but it is certainly obedience. The Great Commission says, “ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). Just by being a Christian, I am an evangelist. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me,” and He said, “Make disciples of all nations.” That means all Christians who obey Jesus Christ are evangelists . They are to make disciples of all nations. They are also to teach these disciples to obey everything that Jesus commanded. Just by obeying that, I am an evangelist and a teacher. If you are an obedient Christian, you ar

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Isaiah 58. The first five verses are God telling the religious people why their prayers are not answered. “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.        Raise your voice like a trumpet.        Declare to my people their rebellion        and to the house of Jacob their sins.   For day after day they seek me out;        they seem eager to know my ways,        as if they were a nation that does what is right        and has not forsaken the commands of its God.        They ask me for just decisions        and seem eager for God to come near them.   'Why have we fasted,’ they say,        'and you have not seen it?        Why have we humbled ourselves,        and you have not noticed?’        Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please        and exploit all your workers.   Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,        and in striking each other with wicked fists.        You cannot fast as yo

“Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14). We believe that this is a picture of Jesus on the cross. If so, “His face was disfigured beyond that of any man,” meaning that no one has been disfigured that much ever; and “beyond human likeness,” meaning that His crucified body did not look human. “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6). This text tells us the why of the disfigurement. Every lie, every murder, every rape, every idolatrous act was nailed to the cross in Jesus.