Roots by the River

Here are verses on three storehouses: earth, heaven, and heart: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break, in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21). “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matt. 12:34-35). The first has to do with where your treasure is—on earth or in heaven. Where that treasure is, that is where your heart is. The second passage is talking about the storehouse of your heart and what you put in it. What is stored up in your heart determines what comes out of your mouth. “Since, then, you have been raised with...

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’” (Matt. 9:37). “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying, ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor” (John 4:35-38). I believe these statements of Jesus are still true today: ·        The harvest is great. ·        There are few reapers. ·        The harvest is ripe. ·        We are to pray that God would send forth reapers to the harvest. Unless we pray, as God commanded, we are facing a great tragedy, an...

“And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isa. 35:8-10). I am not sure how literal this is, but it sure sounds wonderful! If it is spiritual, then the Redeemed should be experiencing this joy. It is part of Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This post coordinates with Saturday's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com . We would love to have you reading with us.

“Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar” (Isaiah 33:17). “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us” (Isaiah 33:22). Here are five wonderful attributes of God: King, beautiful, judge, lawgiver, and savior. Here are a few more qualities of His in relationship to believers: “The LORD your God is with you , he is mighty to save . He will take great delight in you , he will quiet you with his love , he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). This post coordinates with Saturday's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-5, 9-14). This is the Christmas sto...

“ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14-15). “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Gal. 4:4-5). This is what Christmas is all about. Jesus was uniquely born to uniquely die. That unique death was: ·        To redeem us ·        To give us full rights as sons ·        To destroy the devil ·        To set us free from the fear of death

God has given us different means for us to know the difference between right and wrong. They include the ten commands in Exodus 20, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, and many other commands. There is no excuse for saying, “I didn’t know it was wrong.” He has also given us civil and criminal laws in Romans 13 and other people we should obey: our slave masters (1 Peter 2), our fathers (Ephesians 6), and our husbands (Ephesians 5), and, finally, He has given us a cleansed conscience (1 Corinthians 6:11). The difficulty with our conscience is that it cannot be trusted. Paul says it this way: “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Corinthians 4:4). There are several reasons for the conscience not working properly. • It has adjusted to the culture. “Everyone does it” or these are the “laws of the land.” • It has deliberately, willfully, not conformed to the Scripture. • It has been “seared as by a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4...

Yea thro' life, death, thro' sorrow and thro' sinning He shall suffice me, for He hath sufficed: Christ is the end, for Christ was the beginning, Christ the beginning, for the end is Christ. - Excerpt from St. Paul by FWH Myers

by Bessie Wilson "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people." Luke 2:29-31 When Simeon held the tiny Babe in his arms that day in the Temple and said these words, he said all that we need to know for our eternal salvation. How this salvation was wrought out in the days of his flesh, culminating in His sacrifice on Calvary, is the full story of the Gospel. But at the Christmas season the Babe captures our imaginations. The manger scene becomes a decoration, and the danger is that the wonder of the Incarnation may be lost under all the Christmas pageantry. What is the wonder of the Incarnation? The Eternal Christ "in the bosom of the Father" (John 1.18) entered the human race, born of the Virgin Mary. Who, being in the form of God…made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of me...

This post is an excerpt from The Loveliness of Christ by Samuel Rutherford. If your Lord call you to suffering, be not dismayed; there shall be a new allowance of the King for you when ye come to it. One of the softest pillows Christ hath is laid under His witnesses’ head, though often they must set down their bare feet among thorns. God hath called you to Christ’s side, and the wind is now in Christ’s face in this land; and seeing ye are with Him, ye cannot expect the lee-side or the sunny side of the brae. He delighteth to take up fallen bairns and to mend broken brows: binding up of wounds is His office. Wants are my best riches, for I have these supplied by Christ. I think the sense of our wants, when withal we have a restlessness and a sort of spiritual impatience under them, and can make a din, because we want Him whom our soul loveth, is that which maketh an open door to Christ: and when we think we are going backward, because we feel deadness, we are going forward; for...

Recently, I have been meditating on Colossians 2:20-3:3.                  “Therefore if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world do you subject yourselves to regulations—‘do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religions, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against indulgence of the flesh. If then you were raised with Christ , seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” If you are dead with Christ and dead to the world, act like it. Do not conform to the world. If you are risen with Christ, act like it. Let your hearts and minds be...

This post is an excerpt from Living at the Mercy Seat  by R.C. Chapman. It is Christ’s hold upon us that enables us, by faith, to lay hold on and to keep hold of Him. “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12). They who seem the most tried are not always those that have the sharpest warfare. Sometimes things appear to us so difficult that we are daunted; at other times so easy that we think we are equal to them; and thus in either case we fail. He that is running a race looks not at witnesses admiring, but only at the mark. We need to “discern the Lord’s body,” i.e., Christ having been crucified (1 Cor. 11:29) for steadfastness of communion with God, no less than to trust in His blood to obtain salvation from wrath to come (John 6:54, 56). The fulfilling of God’s promises depends not upon the creature’s strength, and cannot be prevented b...

Many years ago, I received the following question: “Lately, I haven’t had trouble staying away from sin, and I want it to stay that way. Usually when I hit a high point like this, I get lazy and screw up again. It often seems that sin will creep up behind me, and then there I am having to deal with it and try to get back to where I left off. Could you give me advice to avoid falling into that pattern again?” Regarding prospective sin, keep your mind and heart on Christ , not on the temptation or weakness. “ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:14). For more advice on this topic, read my How to Be a Strong Christian: Walking in the Light blog post series.

Dear Friends, I have been carrying your letter around for a few weeks anticipating answering it concerning your friend. Whether it is demon possession or whether it is mental illness of some sort of physical variety, I think praying is more important than horizontal communication unless the horizontal communication is much love given to him. If he is a Christian, I don’t think it is possible for him to be demon-possessed. The Scripture is very clear that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world . We have no examples in Scripture of demon possession in believers. On the other hand, if he never came to Christ, it could well be that he is demon-possessed. In any case, the power of God, the power of the name of Jesus, the power of the cross, is what will set him free. In His Love, Jim

Dear Susie, In your letter, you say you do not have peace because you want to get into a certain summer program for next year, and you need to have good grades, but you cannot get them good enough fast enough because of the way you acted in study in the early part of the semester. Now, sometimes God is gracious and allows you to have what you want anyhow; however, along with forgiveness, there are permanent consequences of sin that we have to live with. So you can have peace whether you get good grades or not. You should study hard in accordance with Colossians 3:23 and Colossians 3:17. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Col. 3:23). “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). God will give you peace whether you get what you wish or do not get what you wish. Consider Philippians 4:4-7. “Rejoice in the Lord al...

The last aspect of walking in the light that I will mention here is being thankful . This will help with many areas of your life. Start by recognizing that God is the creator of all things. Look at all the trees, all the flowers, all the clouds, stars, sun, and moon. Thank God. Then thank God for all of your family. Thank Him for all wildlife: fish, animals, and birds. “ Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18).   “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). Giving thanks is God’s will for you. It results in peace that passes all comprehension. “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:16).   “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for al...

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14). Many people, even Christians, don’t particularly care what they say in public or to whom they say it. Some of us care very much. We think that if we pass the public approval on what we say, we’re ok. David wasn’t satisfied with that. He said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O God.” When we ask the Lord to make what we think about in our hearts and say with our mouths acceptable in His sight, not just in other people’s sight, we don’t have to worry about any great transgression. We can pass this to our children as well. We are used to laying out rules for them to make their actions acceptable in our sight. Suppose we could teach our children so that the meditation of their hearts would be acceptable in the sight of God? If our children were like that, how many rules would we have to lay down? Not many...

Next, spend time in the Word . “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” [1] “ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.   “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.   “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord , my...

Another aspect of walking in the light is spending time with the Lord every single day, in the Word and in prayer . We will look at prayer first. Get into the habit of praying. I am not a very good prayer when it comes to setting aside time and praying for an hour straight. I am much better at praying all the time. If I’m walking, running, or sitting, if I’m driving, if I’m thinking, I talk to God. Mostly I talk about people. I don’t talk to God about myself much, unless I’m in trouble. Years ago, InterVarsity staff member Bill Steeper said, “It was a wonderful thing when I got myself off my own hands.” He turned himself over to God. Corrie ten Boom said the same thing to me. She was riding in the back of a car one night on a dangerous road. The driver was going way too fast, and she was terrified. She decided to spend the time interceding for other people. When she prayed for others, her fear disappeared. “ And so it was , after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lo...