Roots by the River

"But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13). Sitting over a cup of coffee at one time or another, almost every woman has been called upon to listen to someone else tell their troubles. As Christians, what does God expect of us in these times? Certainly, we ought to be good listeners and be able to keep a secret where warranted. Both of these are good qualities—but are we not required to do more ? Even in a Bible study, it is not uncommon to find people sharing their difficulties and feeling refreshed for having done so. However, talking about our problems brings only temporary relief. In order for us to take an effective step forward, the Word of God must be brought to bear on the particular problem or temptation and prayer made for God’s help in meeting the problem in His way. But who is to exhort in this fashion? Exhortation seems to be a rare art among Christians. B...

RIGHT JUDGMENT "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Matt. 7:1–5).   You are not a help to anyone, including yourself, if you are filled with a critical spirit. However, Jesus did not tell us to forget criticism. He said to get rid of your own plank, and then you will be able to see clearly to help someone else. There are two dangers in the misuse of Jesus’ state­ment in Matthew 7. First, we can fail to read to the end of verse five and not realize that we need to see clearly be­fore we try to...

"In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matt. 7:2). The ability to be critical is a valuable skill, but it can be either good or bad. Like all tools, what matters is how you use it . The first meaning of critic in the dictionary is “a person who forms or expresses judgments of people or things according to certain standards or values.” [1] There is nothing wrong with the abili­ty to critique in this way. We do it all the time, and we need to. There are critics in art, music, education, and government. Civilization requires critical people to keep us in line; otherwise, we would slump to an awful place. Another meaning of critic is “someone who cen­sures or finds fault.” When that is done well, it is alright. You can legitimately find fault with something that is bad. The process of criticism itself is not a problem. A critical mind is necessary. But having a critical spirit is another thing entir...

by Larry Lucas (continued from 9/2) When you begin to look for the truth about Jesus, there’s an unsettling sound that starts to develop in the background. It’s as though we have spent our lives walking along a railroad track, day after day, mile after mile; it’s all we’ve ever known. And now the track has led us beyond the noise of the city. Our hearing has become more sensitive. We could always hear the wind; now we hear the breeze. We sense light movements. And now, in the farthest reaches of our hearing, we become aware of a train. It’s Jesus talking about what comes next, after this life ceases: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are bles...

  by Larry Lucas (continued from 8/31) The four accounts mentioned above are named for their authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Mark’s profession is never mentioned, but Matthew was a tax collector, Luke was a physician, and John was a fisherman. Jesus called John to come and follow him at the very beginning of his ministry. He told John he’d make him a fisher of men. So John, along with his brother James, left his father Zebedee in the boat and took out after Jesus. They never turned back. The most explicit statements Jesus made about himself are concentrated in the Gospel of John. It’s there that you’ll most often find Jesus using the defining phrase “I am.” If you want to know what Jesus said about himself, it doesn’t get any more basic and to-the-point than this. Here, from the Gospel of John, is Jesus talking about who he is: “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35...