Roots by the River

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:10-12). Stealing is a common characteristic of the natural man. It is sin (Exodus 20:15), and in most states and nations it is also a crime. When we think of it as crime, then we are grateful that we have not been caught. When we think of it as sin, we know that we are always caught. Most stealing is not through burglary or hold-ups or shoplifting. It is being dishonest in very little and being dishonest in much. Crime is measured in petty larceny and grand larceny. Petty larceny is a misdemeanor, and grand larceny is a felony. The penalties are proportionate to the crimes. Sin is also measured in size; however, the size...

Merry Christmas! When Jesus came to this earth, He did not come alone. He was attended by a multitude of the heavenly host. How many this is we do not know. It was a lot. “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying [not singing], ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased’” (Luke 2:13-14). There was a similar event recorded in Revelation, also about the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God. “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb b...

St. Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:21-24). “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). I am not anticipating going to be with the Lord imminently, but it will not be in the distant future.* I am ready to go. This readiness has nothing to do with merits; I had none and have none. “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 thr...

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5). “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). These two verses give us the reason for Christmas: ·        to rescue us from this present evil age ·        to redeem those under the law so that we might receive the full rights of sons Rescue, redeem, receive, from “the present evil age” to “full rights as sons.”

Here are a few of my favorite verses in Scripture: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6). “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). “But who can discern their own errors? For...

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:27-29). Let me break this down in short phrases so we can savor them separately and then again as a whole. ·        Glorious riches ·        Christ in you ·        The hope of glory (the certainty of glory) ·        Proclaim Him ·        Admonishing and teaching ·        Everyone with all wisdom ·        Everyone perfect in Christ ·        With all His energy ·    ...

Here are two verses that have a close relationship with each other:                    “Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Romans 15:2). “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). Do you see the common thread? Building others up! What we do and what we say is to benefit other Christians. Here are similar thoughts on evangelism: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those...

“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16). “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6). “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! …. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ…. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:15, 17, 20). “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 Corinthians 9:8). “And in their prayers for ...

There are rewards in heaven. Should they be a motivation to obey God? If they were the lone motivation, the obedience might not be real. And of course that would be known by God. If these rewards are connected with our love for God and love for others, they are   a promise given by God and should be rejoiced in. Here are a few of the promised rewards: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40-42). “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

In October of my sophomore year at the Naval Academy, I passed from death to life. I had just turned twenty years old. Eighteen months later, my life began to have an effect on my classmates and those both junior and senior to me. This continued for the next seven years while I was on active duty in the Navy and ever since in civilian life. During my seventy-three years as a Christian, I have seen men turn to Christ and experience the joy of having their sins forgiven. I have also seen the harassment they get because of Jesus Christ. Some of them came through the persecution, and some of them caved. What happened in the cities in the Book of Acts happens to every new Christian. It is “revival and riot” on an individual level all over the world. Jesus prepared us for this beforehand. “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They w...

“What advice can you give for Christian military couples preparing for deployment? What are the most needed things for them to focus on while the husband is deployed?” Here are five things to focus on, in order of priority. 1.      The husband and wife should be in the Word daily , perhaps on the same texts. Write down your blessings from the texts. 2.      The husband and wife must keep short accounts with the Lord and with each other (confession of sin). 3.      Even if mail or email is not able to go out daily, the husband must write to his wife daily —even if it is just two sentences. Send the messages when you can. (If you are in a position to call her, do that when you can.) Do not write about the danger. The wife should write all kinds of news about herself and the kids. Do not write about problems, except to ask for decisions, wisdom, and prayer. 4.      Husbands should regularly write sepa...

Here are a few observations from my time doing personal evangelism. Mormons are not Mormons; they are just natural men. Muslims are not Muslims; they are just natural men. Atheists are not atheists; they are just natural men. And many “Christians” are not Christians; they are natural men. There are only two types of people in the world: 1. Forgiven people. 2. Unforgiven people. 1. People who are going to heaven. 2. People who are going to hell. 1. People who are saints. 2. People who are sinners. 1. People who are spiritual. 2. People who are natural. 1. People who are dead to sin. 2. People who are dead in sin. 1. People who are slaves of God. 2. People who are slaves of sin. Here are a few characteristics of the natural man: “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). ...

There is a name for God in the Bible that is used some surprising times. It is apparently used in the heavenly places before God revealed His name Yahweh to Moses. The name is the Most High God. Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, said to Mary, “ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33). John the Baptist was called “a prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76).   In Mark 5, the demon-possessed man called Jesus the Son of the Most High God. “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!’” (Mark 5:6-7). The Gerasenes demanded to know who He was. Gabriel knew He was th...

by Doug Wilson From Hammer Magazine Vol. III No. I, Winter 1984 Webster’s defines the verb astonish as to fill with sudden wonder or surprise . Its roots in the Latin are very close to our expression thunderstruck . Astonishment, of course, is that state of being amazed or thoroughly surprised. In Luke chapter 5, an incident occurred which filled certain fishermen with astonishment. They were astonished because of a powerful miracle, and yet there is more significance to the miracle than a mere display of power. In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus was preaching to crowds beside the Lake of Gennesaret . Jesus apparently found it difficult to preach with the crowd pressing Him, so He climbed into a boat belonging to Simon, sat down, and taught from there. When the lesson was ended, He told Simon to put into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Simon responded that they had already worked all night with no result. Daylight was a poor time for fishing, and, apparently, the nets were al...

There are many favorite verses of mine in the Scriptures. Here are a few of them: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “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 4:4-6). “In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge y...

There are a great number of parallel events in the two testaments. As I was reading my Bible one morning, I noticed the events in Exodus 1 and Acts 2-6.   “But the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous so that the land was filled with them” (v. 7). “Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous ” (v. 10). “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread ” (v. 12). “God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous ” (v. 20). “About three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (v. 47). “But many who heard the message believed, and the number grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:3). “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (Acts 5:14). “So the word of God spread. The number of disciple...

One of my favorite paragraphs in the New Testament is: “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human 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. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 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 human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Notice the word resolved . The KJV says determined . The definition is “to fix conclusively, decidedly, and authoritatively.” What was this resolve? “To know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Apparently, Paul was not into small talk and inane conversations. This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading ...

“Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth” (3 John 5-8). We do not see this passage quoted often. I want to bring it to your attention because of all of the hospitality I have received, even though I was a stranger to some of those who showed me hospitality. We have taken in strangers, too. Those who went out for the sake of the Name have always been a great blessing to us. Others we have taken in for the sake of the Name . Some of them have stolen from us, some keep coming back for more monetary help, some have just disappeared, and some have been a great blessing. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper ti...

“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:11-12). “They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation’…. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:4, 9). The first passage has to do with God’s promise to Abraham when he was 100 years old, because Abraham knew that God was faithful and would keep His promise. God kept His promise! The second verse has to do with Jesus’ promise to return to Earth. He gives us the reason for the seeming delay. He kept this promise to Abraham, and H...

Some Christians believe that they are enslaved to particular sins. The truth is that they are not slaves. If you are a Christian, you are already free. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14–15).  “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:32, 36).  “We are free indeed. ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery’” (Gal. 5:1). What are we to do with this freedom? “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect ” (Matt. 5:48). How can we do that? This verse tells us how—imitate God. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without e...

This post is an excerpt from Climbing by Rosalind Goforth. Christ in you, the hope of glory.   – Col. 1:27 We had been but a short time at the Rest Home when a friend carried me off, insisting that I needed a rest. She took me to Niagara-on-the-Lake, where a Bible conference was being held. There I found myself in a beautiful hotel room with my friends nearby. The following morning, we gathered under some trees by the auditorium, before the meeting. The scenery was wonderful to me after poor, dried-up China. Through the trees could be glimpsed the beautiful Niagara River flowing down till it entered the lake. Begging my friends to leave me there, I gave myself to the exquisite enjoyment of my surroundings.      A short time passed. Suddenly there came an impelling to enter the auditorium. I obeyed, but the place being full, I walked forward and finally found a seat immediately in front of the pulpit. The speaker was just beginning his address. He was a stranger,...

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did…. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Bad examples are warnings. Good examples are to be followed and imitated.

Early in my Christian life, I had several periods of deep and sometimes prolonged anxiety. In each case, someone else pointed me to God and His faithfulness and how to trust Him. In every case, my anxiety ended, and God answered my need. God cares for us. The more we think about God the way God thinks about Himself, the happier our lives will be. As long as we think of Him according to our accusative thoughts which are not true, we will adjust our lives based upon those lies. We think that God has characteristics that He does not have. We think He is unkind, intolerant, impatient, waiting for us to step out of line so He can swat us. That is not true. He is the opposite: He is kind, faithful, and caring. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly F...

Many of you have heard me teach about confession of sin and how to be free from bitterness, or you have read booklets on the same subjects. You may have figured out that these two subjects seem to be endemic sins. It was brought to my attention that I have not taught on how not to sin . I have taught on it, but not as much, for the simple reason that when I show up to teach the people are bitter or living in unconfessed sin. There are several talks on how not to sin on our SoundCloud page (CCM Media at SoundCloud.com). A few of these are:             Obedience is Normal             Obedience is Easy             Obedience and Faith In addition to these teachings, I have written a book titled Dead and Alive on God’s requirement of obedience and His provision for our obedience. If you are living in the joy of the L...

Here are two passages on forgiveness from the New Testament: “And said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:46-47). “…delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:17-18). Jesus said the first to the apostles and the second to Saul of Tarsus when he received Christ. Both commands include repentance, and both include forgiveness. The first is a command to preach repentance to unbelievers, and the second is a command to the apostles to turn the unbelievers from the power of Satan unto God. Two more passages on repentance are Acts 17:30 and 2 Timothy 2...

Here are two very basic truths from the Gospel of John: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). The first passage is what Jesus did and why He did it: “That you may believe.” The second is what we are to do and why: “All men will know that you are my disciples.” 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 at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

“‘You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well’” (John 14:4-6). Jesus said they knew the where and the way . Thomas said they did not know where, and therefore they could not know the way. Jesus said the where is the Father and Jesus Himself was the way . If you know Jesus, you know the Father. People today do not know where, and they do not know the way. The where is the Father. The way is Jesus. Are we willing to tell people the where and the way? 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 at TotheWord.com . We would love to have you reading with us.