Roots by the River

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:10-13). The first three chapters of Ephesians tell us the riches we have in Christ. It would be difficult to meditate too much on these riches. In the final chapter, Paul teaches on standing strong in the Lord. Notice that verses 10 and 13 both say to “put on the full armor of God” to take your stand against the devil. The emphasis is on the completeness of the armor. The devil is not stronger than God’s armor, but he is wily enough to hit us where we are not cove

"Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable , hospitable, able to teach" (1 Timothy 3:2). "Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect , sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain" (1 Timothy 3:8). "In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect , not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything" (1 Timothy 3:11). "Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). Children must respect their parents simply because they are their parents, not because they are respectable. It is the same with kings, governors, and masters. They are to be given respect regardless. This is not true in the church. Church leaders/servants must be wor

  Every Christian should be ruled by a clean conscience that is in line with Scriptural teaching. We began our life in Christ by having our conscience cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14, 10:22). This is how Scripture describes that kind of clean conscience:   The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5) …holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. (1 Timothy 1:19) They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. (1 Timothy 3:9) There is a close relationship between sincere faith and a good conscience. When faith is abandoned, the conscience gets seared. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid

"For this reason, I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church" (1 Corinthians 4:17). "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 2:19-21). Timothy was known for his godliness. Paul later wrote these instructions to him: "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save yourself and your hearers" (1 Timothy 4:16). Your holy life and your clear teaching of the gospel is the effective salvation message. What is the life? "Don’t let anyone l

  In Luke 15, Jesus describes three different parties. These parties were the results of finding a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. In each case, there was great rejoicing. Jesus taught these parables to help us understand how much rejoicing there is in Heaven over each sinner who repents. If there is any way to increase the joy in Heaven, this is it. It is why Jesus came to earth. It is why the Bible was written. In the parables, the rejoicing takes place before the party. The point of the party was to include others in the rejoicing. Like with all true, wonderful things, the world creates its own versions, copies that are distortions of the real thing. The world has parties, but instead of being a result of rejoicing, they try to be a cause for rejoicing, like the parties the prodigal son threw in the far country. The real rejoicing took place when he came home. The worldly man does not have joy in living, so he seeks a vicarious joy. Entertainment, music, sports, movies

  If I have confessed and forsaken sin and still do not have joy, what then? There are several possible explanations: 1)     You have confessed and forsaken your big sins, but not the little ones that set you up for them. "Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression" (Psalm 19:13). 2)     You do not believe that God has forgiven you. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). 3)     You are not obeying Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" That is a command. Disobeying it is sin. Confess and forsake the sin of not rejoicing. 4)     You do not think it is right to rejoice in forgiveness after sinning like you did. This is a lie from the devil. If you have confessed and forsaken the sin, God has forgiven you, and He wants you to rejoice in His

  A friend came to our home in Yokohama , Japan , some years ago. He had been my roommate aboard an aircraft carrier and had become a Christian during our time together. On this visit he said, “I have that deep inner peace that I belong to Christ, but I don’t have daily victory. I don’t have joy.” Of course something was wrong. Joy and peace are basic results of salvation. Jesus promised us in John 16:22: "I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." When the seventy returned from their evangelistic itinerary, rejoicing because of the power they had and miracles they had done, Jesus told them that their joy was misplaced: "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). My salvation is from God, and so is my joy. Salvation is the basis for joy. We tend to think that circumstances are the primary cause for joy, but this is not so: "Though the fig tr

  Romans 14 is about attitudes towards other believers. The basic premise is that each believer belongs to God, and God receives him without looking down on him or condemning him—therefore, we should receive him in the same way. "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him" (Romans 14:1-3). This means that there is something more important than being right. In verse 5 Paul says, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5).   God allows us to think differently, but He does not allow us to break fellowship because of it. Even if the positions we hold are right, we can be in sin because of how we hold them. Please read the rest of Ro

There are two sayings I know well because of hearing them many times. The first is said by children, in anger: “I’ll get even.” The second is said by adults, not in anger: “I don’t get mad; I get even.” If there is any relative merit in these sayings, the badge goes to the first. A child’s anger does not last long, so the plan for revenge is soon forgotten. For the adult who meditates on revenge, the sin is bad and long-lasting. There are two examples of the second case in fiction. The books are The Count of Monte Cristo and Ben Hur . In both, the “hero” seems to have an unlimited amount of time and an unlimited amount of money to exercise his revenge. There is another book which says something different about revenge: "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written:

  There are two great problems shaping the average spiritual and mental state of church members today. Quite simply, they are guilt and ignorance . These problems apply especially to church members who are not Christians, but they are also true in a different way for the Christians. This statement Paul made about the Jews applies well to unconverted church members: "Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Romans 10:1-4)  . People seek to establish their own righteousness because of guilt, and because of ignorance they do it their own way. Although guilt is the main problem for the non-Ch

“Since you died with Christ…” (Colossians 2:20). “Since then you have been raised with Christ…” (Colossians 3:1). “For you died…” (Colossians 3:3). Although these sentences were written to the new church at Colossae, we believe they apply to all Christians, if they are true. They are either true or false. If true, they are past-tense certainties. They are not future, or conditional, or “perhaps.” They describe something that has already happened in us. The commands that follow are predicated on those certainties. If Christians have trouble with the commands, it may be because they have trouble believing that they have died with Christ. Or it may be because they have not died with Christ. In other words, they are not Christians. All future obedience is based upon the completed work of Christ which has taken place in us. Read Romans 6 a few times. This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily readin

  “How can a loving God send anyone to hell?” This is usually asked as a rhetorical question. The questioner thinks that the answer is of two possibilities: 1. God is loving, so no one will go to hell. 2. People go to hell, so God is not loving. The assumption is that a loving God cannot send people to hell. However, there is a much more difficult question: How can a just God let anyone into heaven? God can bring us to heaven because He is both just and loving: "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done" (Romans 2:5-6). That is God’s justice. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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” (Philippians 4:5-7). At different times in my life, this paragraph has had both immediate and long-term results. As I look at it again today, every word seems to be charged. Here are a few words from the paragraph to focus on to aid your study and your meditation: gentleness; anxious; thanksgiving; transcends; guard. Consider these. I think you will find this method of study and meditation—concentrating on certain words—to be a major help in your Christian life. This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us. We would love to have you reading with us.

  " An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions" (Proverbs 18:1-2). When I am estranged from the Lord, the last thing I want to hear is sound judgment. I will barricade myself against it. But since I cannot protect myself from sound judgment with sound judgment, I must do it with pretexts—shallow, weak arguments which deceive only me. If the searchlight of sound judgment breaks into my hideout, I find myself confessing, forsaking, and being restored to the Lord. During my estrangement I take no pleasure in understanding, but I am very eager to express my opinion. After I am back in fellowship, I am amazed how stupid I was. How I regret my big mouth. Truly it is foolish. This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us. We would love to have you reading with us.

  "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts" (Proverbs 18:8). "He who answers before listening ¾ that is his folly and his shame" (Proverbs 18:13). "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him" (Proverbs 18:17). These verses on conversation touch on three great problems in the church today: gossip, not listening, and listening to only one side. All of these can be corrected by a simple choice. However, that means that there will be no more “choice morsels,” no “ego talking,” and no choosing up sides. Here are two passages from the New Testament to help you in your decision: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29). "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slo

“For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach his statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Notice three things: study, do, teach. In the Christian church, we have studiers and teachers. We can study and acquire information. We can teach and impart information. We can get A s on our knowledge. The strong point of the three is to do . Doing validates the studying and the teaching. Teaching, biblically, is not just imparting information. The neglected phrase in the Great Commission is the one on teaching: “teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus gave the commands. We are to teach obedience to His commands. We are not just to teach the commands. We are not to teach information without teaching obedience. If we are going to follow Ezra’s example, we need to study, obey, and teach to obey. This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in

"For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel" (Ezra 7:10). Ezra devoted himself to three things: studying the law, observing the law, and teaching the law. We can study to acquire information. We can teach to impart information. But the strongest of the three is doing . Doing validates the studying and the teaching. Biblical teaching is not just imparting information. The most-neglected phrase in the Great Commission is the one on teaching: "…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). We are to teach obedience to God’s commands. We are not to teach information only. If we follow Ezra’s example, we will study, obey, and teach obedience. I know several churches that seek to teach obedience to the saints. Amazingly, they have picked up a reputation for being legalistic, works-righteousness churches. But they are only fulfilling Christ’s command t