Roots by the River

This post is taken from the booklet An Invitation, Not a Challenge , by Everett Wilson, brother of Jim Wilson. A Gift from God One reason why people have such a hard time accepting salvation as a gift is that they have been trained to think of work as the way to reward. Then, when we become rich or are otherwise rewarded, we comfort ourselves that "we worked hard for it." Who wants the teacher to give the class goof-off an A, when the class grind had to work so hard to earn it? Who wants to see thieves and cheats rewarded with the spoils of their crimes? The goof-off doesn't deserve an A, so he should not get one. The thief has no right to another person's property, so should not be allowed to keep it. The trouble with these comparisons is that they have nothing to do with the gift of eternal life. Law is useful when it measures distinctions between right and wrong, good and bad. The justice system may straighten out a car theft by returning the car to its owner

This post is taken from the booklet An Invitation, Not a Challenge , by Everett Wilson, brother of Jim Wilson. An Invitation, Not a Challenge The gospel comes as a gift, not as a bill for payment. C. H. Spurgeon told a parable about that: A minister called on a poor woman in order to bring her a gift of money. He knocked and knocked, decided no one was home, and went on his way. Later he saw the woman at church and told her how he had called and not found her at home. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "When was that?" When he told her, she said, "Was that you? I was in the house but I didn't come to the door because I thought it was the man coming for the rent, and I didn't have it to give him!" Ministers, youth leaders, and Sunday School teachers all know what that is like. Week by week we come offering the gift of the gospel, the gift of eternal life, but many do not listen because they’re afraid we have come to take rather than to give. In the

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7). Years ago, a friend of mine told me that he was not into evangelism because the more converts he had, the more backsliders he had. Of course, that is not a reason to hold back on evangelism, but it makes us wonder why it sometimes seems to be so. Here is a major reason. The new Christian often is not taught to live the Christian life the same as he was taught to receive Christ . He is taught a different way of living than he was taught of receiving. That is why he falls. The new Christian received Christ by grace through faith. He did not receive Christ by trying or by effort. He is not to live by trying or by effort. He is to live by grace through faith. In other words, the Christian life should be like being born again every day. Written February 1985. This post coord

There are many things in the life of the Apostle and his associates I can identify with. However, there is one aspect I wish I could identify with even more. It is their life of prayer. “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you , that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis” (Col. 4:12-13). “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to

Have you ever thought about who does not enter the kingdom and why? Here are a few explicit examples. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). “And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 18:3). “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again’” (John 3:3). It is easy not to enter. The first example is things to do. The next three examples a

This is what the apostle Paul prayed for new believers: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:9-12). We believe this was a prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore answered by God. Let’s enumerate the requests. 1. To fill you with the knowledge of His will 2. Through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, in order that… 3. You may live a life worthy of the Lord 4. And may please Him in ev

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). The first verse tells us that out of reverence for God we will not touch the unclean, we will cleanse our bodies and our spirits, we will perfect holiness. The second verse tells us that God's goodness toward us disciplines us toward sharing in his holiness. His goodness and our reverence result in our perfect holiness.   Written November 1994.

“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16). The Apostle was not in awe with the beauty of the Parthenon; he was distressed. Some of us have been to parts of the world where there are beautiful minarets, Shinto gates and shrines, and beautifully carved statues housed in ornate temples. Do we think like the Apostle? If not, is it because he saw things as God sees them, and we see them like the rest of mankind? May God help us to be distressed with false gods.           “In vain with lavish kindness the gifts of God are strown;           The heathen in his blindness bows down to wood and stone.”           (Reginald Heber 1783-1826) 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.com. We would love to have you reading with us. Written February 1984.

“So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). “And turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20). “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing God's kindness leads you toward repentance” (Romans 2:1). “When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Act 3:26). “Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26). The above verses have been going through my head in

The time and place of public prayer does not seem to be commanded in Scripture, but times and places do occur in Scripture. “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, at three in the afternoon” (Acts 3:1). "One day" makes it look like there was daily prayer at three in the afternoon. There is no indication that it was limited to the Sabbath. Here is another occurrence in Acts 16: "On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer… Once when we were going to the place of prayer…” (vv. 13, 16). These statements sound like they went to the place of prayer daily, including the Sabbath. In the first Scripture, the place was the temple in Jerusalem. The second was a riverside in Macedonia. In these two recorded instances something wonderful happened. In the first, a crippled man was healed and two thousand people were converted. In the second, Lydia and her household believed and were ba

“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 4-5). “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). These two texts bring us back to first priorities: preaching the cross and praying for kings. Both of these texts have to do with the salvation of men. God in his wisdom decided that proclaiming and pr