Roots by the River

  There is no question whether we are at war. We are. There is limited thinking among evangelicals about spiritual war. They mostly picture it as fighting with demons, devils, and evil spirits, either in possessed people or in the heavenlies. These things are a concern, but they are not what the war is really about. This war is over the souls of men. That is what the Bible, the gospel, the Incarnation, and the cross are all about. Evangelism is a war against the enemy to set free those who are held captive by him. Ignorance of the enemy is one of the reasons why evangelism is not effective. The Bible gives some very clear information about the Enemy. Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). He is a murderer from the beginning. There is no

  “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34). We see it everywhere and all of the time: the influence of the world on the character of believers. Instead of becoming godlier and godlier, it seems to be the other way around. Paul in effect says “Stop it. Stop sinning and start informing people about God.” Written in 1982.

  I would like to share with you Colossians 4:6 and 1 Peter 3:14-16: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know ow you ought to answer everyone.” “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abased, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” Gracious answers, gentle answers, are God's effective means of reaching people. Written in 1982.

  The key communicator of the gospel is the saved man. He is alive with the Holy Spirit. He has access to unlimited amounts of Bibles, books, tracts, videos, podcasts, blogs, television, radio, smartphones, postal services, airplanes, ships, trains, buses, automobiles, and horses. He has the ability to go from his hometown to the uttermost parts of the earth, whether personally or electronically. He is not hampered. It no longer takes three months to get to India. Many saved people travel much and communicate much, but they do not preach the gospel everywhere they go, as they go. They have mobility, but they do not use it for the kingdom. Every Christian should have books, booklets, tracts, and New Testaments in English—or any other languages which people he is around speak—in his possession or within easy access at all times. Have them with you on the plane, in the hospital, in restaurants, etc. In the weeks just prior to writing this, I was away from home. On planes, in airports,

This is what the Lord says:   "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth for in these I delight" (Jeremiah 9:23-24). There is a parallel to this in 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:5: "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redempt

  “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone” (Titus 3:3-8). Verse eight says, “I want you to stress these things.” Join with me in stressing these things. Written in 1982.

  Do you want to please God in these very troubled days? Do you personally want to please Him? “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5). How crowded our lives get! How unnecessary do the things which clutter our lives finally appear to us when we think of the importance of faith as seen above. Salvation from sin is ours by faith. Day by day protection from sin is ours by faith. A future assured us in His eternal presence is ours by faith. Hebrews 11:6 also says God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Written in 1982.

  "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more" (Romans 5:20). My extra-biblical reading does not follow any pattern, but there is a lot of history in it. The history includes ancient and modern, Asian and European, African and South American. Whenever or wherever history occurs, it is a story of increasing sin. This would be depressing if it were not for our assurance that grace increases all the more. A history book can glorify the actions of men so the sin does not sound as bad. That, however, is only sugar-coating the story. The real blessing is that God assures us that grace is more abundant than sin. In addition to reading history, I find another reminder of the increase of sin. That is my daily contact with people who are in sin or affected by the sin of others. Again, I am grateful for the over-abundance of grace. It is this over-abundance of grace that gives us victory and triumph. "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, an

  Paul taught the efficacy of prayer especially for preaching the gospel and commanded the churches at Ephesus, Colossae, and Thessalonica to pray. Here are the commands: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Eph. 6:18–20). “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Col. 4:2–4). “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wick

  Concentration is outnumbering the opposition. The smallest ratio of effective concentration is two to one; but even being outnumbered five to two by the opposition is much better than being outnumbered five to one. Jesus practiced this in Scripture. He did not go alone until the cross. He picked twelve. Then He picked three at the transfiguration and in the garden. Jesus sent the seventy out in pairs : “After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go” (Lk. 10:1). Paul and Barnabas were sent out together. Barnabas and Mark went together. Paul and Silas went together. There were instances where Paul went alone but realized he needed help: “The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible” (Acts 17:14–15). “When Silas and Ti

  Paul's prayers, Ephesians 1:15-19, 3:14-18; Philippians 1:9-11 and Colossians 1:9-12 have made a great impression on me over the years. Notice some of the phrases: - "His incomparably great power to us who believe." -"that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." -''that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth and insight." -"may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." - "may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work. There are more such phrases in these prayers. If you wonder how to pray for anyone, read these prayers of Paul to the Lord on behalf of your family, your friends, your coworkers, and your neighbors.  Written in 1982.

  "Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome, or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. Behold, you are nothing, and your work is nought; an abomination is he who chooses you!" (Isaiah 41:21-24) This is one of the many comments on idolatry in the Old Testament. Psalm 115 is another. “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear,

  “And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered…. So I sent to you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord” (Acts 10: 27, 33). “So on the morrow Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then by command of Festus Paul was brought in” (Acts 25: 23). These are two different audiences gathering together to hear the gospel. There is a great difference in the makeup of the audiences. The first was a household, a family, servants, and soldiers; the second was a gathering of self-important people. The first gathering wanted to know God. The second gathering was curious. One hundred percent of the first group was converted as soon as they received the minimum of truth. To our knowledge, none of the second group responded to the gospel. It is wonderfu