Roots by the River

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Triumph in Christ

And when the strife is fierce, The warfare long Steals on the ear The distant triumph song And hearts are brave again And arms are strong. Alleluia, alleluia. - William W. How, 19 th Century “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17). The song in my head caused me to think of the Scripture. Triumph is more than just victory. It is the celebration of victory. Paul says that it is in the present, and the song says that it is in the future. In any case, it is a sure thing. This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at totheword.co...

Able to Do

It is relatively easy to believe great things of God as in Psalm 33:6, 9: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth…. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” It seems more difficult to believe great things of God when it has to do with us: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25). “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4). “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, be...

Willful Sins, Great Transgressions

Recently,* a friend asked a question about Christians of today, which got a ready answer from me. There is a prayer in Psalm 19 that does not seem to me to be applied by many of us. “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:12-13). We do not confess known sins (1 John 1:7-9) nor request cleansing from secret sins. We do not request help for obedience in small things nor for deliverance from addiction to them. If we did, then there would be no danger of us committing any great sin. Great sins are caused by a multitude of unconfessed, willful sins that are now ruling over us. A great transgression is the next event. In many evangelical churches, there is a great transgression happening somewhere right now. We do not understand how it could have happened. The answer is easy. The guilty person did not pray verses 12 and 13 of this Ps...

Keep Increasing

I received the following comment from a friend on 2 Peter chapter 1: "Dear Jim, I’ve read and reread the passage in 2 Peter, but I find myself being overwhelmed because the goal is so high—I’ll never reach it. - Your Friend." Dear Friend, You commented about the impossibility of the passage in 2 Peter: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:5-8). Really it is not impossible. It just says add to your faith these things, and if you have them, add in increasing majority. In other words, it doesn’t say that if you have them in some absolute form—just if they are always increasing , yo...

The Lost Art of Exhortation

"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...

Dealing with a Critical Spirit: Right Judgment

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...