Roots by the River

Dear John, I have thought of you fairly frequently in the last few months. I have thought mostly of our telephone conversation. The conversation bothered me, and I have wanted to write to you for some time, but I also wanted my letter to be received by you—so I probably put it off for that reason—afraid that it wouldn’t be received. I am thinking of the second letter of Peter where he writes, “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have” (2 Pet. 1:12). Certainly I believe that you have since long ago been established in the truth, and the things I share will be a reminder, not new thinking. What concerned me in the telephone conversation was that you said that you had never needed anybody, and your wife needed to be needed. That’s probably pretty close to true. What isn’t true is that you don't need anybody. We all need each other. We are part of the Body of Christ, and the family is a...

“I’m having trouble finding joy, mainly because I just feel like my prayers haven’t been answered. I pray to be a better Christian, but my introspection is getting worse. I start to be afraid that maybe there is not a God answering my prayers, and all my joy disappears. I’ve read How to Maintain Joy and the article on introspection in How to Be Free from Bitterness , but I still feel empty. I am praying for help, but I still feel like I am going downhill. I just want my joy to return.” Dear Friend, Reading something is not the same as applying it. If you have read the article on introspection, you know from experience and from the article that introspection is accusatory and a downer. The devil is the accuser. The Holy Spirit is the convicter. You are asking for what you are getting when you introspect. It is not a godly practice. When you are tempted to introspect, turn from it like any other temptation. Come into God’s presence as Isaiah did in chapter 6. “In the year that Kin...

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). “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 3:9). The Lord showed His unlimited patience for one person, the apostle Paul, in order to bring him to Himself. His patience continues, not for one person, but now for everyone in order to bring them to Himself. 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.

  This post is an excerpt from How to Be Free from Bitterness .  “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). A woman was made by God to be loved, protected, provided for, and made secure. However, there are reasons a woman may not feel loved, protected, or secure. Security is often a combination of objective truth and subjective feeling. What I mean by that is that some women have lost their parents, their husbands, their children, their food, and their clothing. Objectively they have a reason to be insecure, but subjectively they might not feel insecure. At the same time, it is possible to feel insecure and imagine what is objectively necessary to fill this need. Here is an example: Suppose a woman feels insecure. The feeling is so strong that she is convinced that it is also objective truth. A woman’s great need is to fill up that emptiness. She thinks that a man will fill it. That is partly true. However, the need...

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, 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 Tim. 2:24-26). Look back at verse 22: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Verse 23: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” I used to love to argue. That didn’t last long. I found from this verse that I wasn’t supposed to. Another reason it ended was I discovered that I could win an argument, but I would not win the person I was arguing with. The servant of the Lord must not quarrel (v. 24, NKJV). This post coordinates with today's reading in the Same Page ...

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). God has promised. The promises are fulfilled in Christ. We say Amen to the promise and the fulfillment in Christ. This is all to the glory of God. What about the promises we make? Let’s look at the next verse: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21). That is how we keep our promises. He does it. He makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us. He set his seal of ownership on us. He put His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. The Holy Spirit anoints, seals, and guarantees (see Ephesians 1:14). 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...

“Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:15-17). Wisdom! Two kinds from two places with two very different characteristics. One kind of wisdom: of men, wisdom of the world, wisdom of this age. The place: earthly, of the devil. The character: bitter envy, jealous, unspiritual, selfish ambition, boastful, denies the truth, disorder, every evil practice, eloquence, “wise” and persuasive words. The second kind of wisdom: God’s secret wisdom, the wisdom of God. The place: heaven. The character: pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, good fruit, impartial, sincere, simple, powerful, not sophisticated, expressed in preaching the cross, humility, spiritual...

Dear Joe, In my years of personal evangelism mostly with university students and faculty, I realize that there are two major problems: one is intellectual, the other is moral, and they go together. The major problem is a moral problem, but it certainly is influenced by the intellectual. And you know from Romans 1 that the gross immorality it describes seems to be the result of a wrong theology. There are certainly a lot of “conservative evangelicals” who are not living godly lives. However, the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, meekness—are certainly more in evidence in those who hold an authoritative view of Scripture and have a close, personal relationship with God. The needs that people have are intellectual and moral, and they go together. People are willing to admit that they have intellectual problems, but they are unwilling to admit that they have moral problems. But Jesus Christ primarily died for immoral people, not for intellectual doubters. The gr...

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10). Jesus and Paul both taught on attachment to money. The passages above are two examples of their teaching. In our wealthy evangelical society, where wealth seems to b...