Roots by the River

  "This world is a slippery place, and the Scriptures are a rock on which to stand. This world is a dark place, and the Scriptures are the light with which we may make our way. This world is a corrupt place, and the Scriptures outline the true way of purity for us. The world is a false place, and the Scriptures tell us the truth—about God, about man, about sin, about salvation, and about revelation. The world is a seductive place, and the Scriptures speak to us in a way that reveals the vanity of it. The world is a blurry place, and the Scriptures bring everything into singular focus. The world is a distracting place, and the Scriptures bring all the right priorities together. The world is an evil place, and the Scriptures testify to us of all that is holy, righteous, and good. The world is a lost place, and the Scriptures show us how we might be used to lead the world home." - Doug Wilson,  Mere Fundamentalism The 2023 To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge begins Monday...

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Rev. 21:23-27). It’s very simple. Nothing unclean will be in heaven, and no one who practices abominations or lying, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. A person gets written in the Lamb’s book of life when he recognizes that he is a sinner by birth and a sinner by practice, and he receives the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for his sins, as his Savior and Lord. That is the means of gaining access to heaven. At tha...

There are three types of people in the world that Christians do not love with the Gospel . The first type are the people we witness to but do not love. The second type are the unbelievers that we do not witness to. The third are people we love but do not witness to. That sounds like doubletalk. Let’s change it. 1) We witness to people we love. 2) We love everybody and witness to them with love. As Christians, we have the fruit of the Spirit—love. We are commanded to love our neighbors and our enemies. The first thing is to have the love. The second is to choose to love our neighbors and enemies. Sometimes we can’t make the choice because we have lost the fruit of the Spirit, love. We lack the fruit of the Spirit of love because we are under the chastening of the Lord because of unconfessed sin. In order to get the love back, we must confess sin. Once we get the love back, we can choose to love our neighbors and enemies and preach the gospel to them.   Written December...

The second and third chapters of the book of Revelation bear reading and rereading. There is one sentence that occurs seven times: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This is written to people in the singular. These people are to listen to what the Spirit says to the plural churches. In other words, I, as an individual, am to pay attention to what God has written to all seven churches. Notice that there are two groups of people in Sardis who will be dressed in white: those who did not soil their garments and those who overcame.   Written June 1990. This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the Same Page Summer 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.

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14). Among Christians there seem to be many differences on how they view good and evil, including: 1) legalistic rules taught by men and 2) licentious violation of God's rules. Both of these are wrong. There is another difference: that is the difference between infancy and maturity. There are many Christians who need to be taught elementary truths all over again. Much of my time is spent in this occupation. However, it is not the amount or depth of teaching that makes a Christian mature. It is he w...

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 3:16-4:5). This is an instance where there should be no chapter division. Notice that the Scripture is inspi...

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25). Do what it says.   Written May 1990. This post coordinates with today's reading in the Same Page Summer 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.

Isaiah saw the Glory (Isaiah 6:1-4). Ezekiel saw the Glory (Ezekiel 1:26-28). Moses saw the Glory (Exodus 33:18-21). John, James, and Peter saw the Glory (John 1:14; Mark 9:2-3; 2 Peter 1:17). “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit…. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:4-6). When we received the Gospel, we received the light of the glory of Christ. This glory ever increases until that great day. If the glory has gotten dim, then th...

"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). This quotation may raise questions, but they are likely good questions. Recently* I was talking with a young woman who had gone through a Christian high school and who had graduated from a well-known Christian college. Her parents were in Christian work. When asked when was the last time she had completed reading the New Testament, she replied that she had never read it all. And of course the Old Testament had been read less. This is now a standard question I ask, and it is almost a standard answer. Christians are not watching their life and doctrine closely.   *Written June 1986. This post coordinates with today's reading in the Same Page Summer 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.