Roots by the River

This post is an excerpt from The Loveliness of Christ by Samuel Rutherford. If your Lord call you to suffering, be not dismayed; there shall be a new allowance of the King for you when ye come to it. One of the softest pillows Christ hath is laid under His witnesses’ head, though often they must set down their bare feet among thorns. God hath called you to Christ’s side, and the wind is now in Christ’s face in this land; and seeing ye are with Him, ye cannot expect the lee-side or the sunny side of the brae. He delighteth to take up fallen bairns and to mend broken brows: binding up of wounds is His office. Wants are my best riches, for I have these supplied by Christ. I think the sense of our wants, when withal we have a restlessness and a sort of spiritual impatience under them, and can make a din, because we want Him whom our soul loveth, is that which maketh an open door to Christ: and when we think we are going backward, because we feel deadness, we are going forward; for...

Recently, I have been meditating on Colossians 2:20-3:3.                  “Therefore if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world do you subject yourselves to regulations—‘do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religions, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against indulgence of the flesh. If then you were raised with Christ , seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” If you are dead with Christ and dead to the world, act like it. Do not conform to the world. If you are risen with Christ, act like it. Let your hearts and minds be...

This post is an excerpt from Living at the Mercy Seat  by R.C. Chapman. It is Christ’s hold upon us that enables us, by faith, to lay hold on and to keep hold of Him. “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12). They who seem the most tried are not always those that have the sharpest warfare. Sometimes things appear to us so difficult that we are daunted; at other times so easy that we think we are equal to them; and thus in either case we fail. He that is running a race looks not at witnesses admiring, but only at the mark. We need to “discern the Lord’s body,” i.e., Christ having been crucified (1 Cor. 11:29) for steadfastness of communion with God, no less than to trust in His blood to obtain salvation from wrath to come (John 6:54, 56). The fulfilling of God’s promises depends not upon the creature’s strength, and cannot be prevented b...

Many years ago, I received the following question: “Lately, I haven’t had trouble staying away from sin, and I want it to stay that way. Usually when I hit a high point like this, I get lazy and screw up again. It often seems that sin will creep up behind me, and then there I am having to deal with it and try to get back to where I left off. Could you give me advice to avoid falling into that pattern again?” Regarding prospective sin, keep your mind and heart on Christ , not on the temptation or weakness. “ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:14). For more advice on this topic, read my How to Be a Strong Christian: Walking in the Light blog post series.

Dear Friends, I have been carrying your letter around for a few weeks anticipating answering it concerning your friend. Whether it is demon possession or whether it is mental illness of some sort of physical variety, I think praying is more important than horizontal communication unless the horizontal communication is much love given to him. If he is a Christian, I don’t think it is possible for him to be demon-possessed. The Scripture is very clear that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world . We have no examples in Scripture of demon possession in believers. On the other hand, if he never came to Christ, it could well be that he is demon-possessed. In any case, the power of God, the power of the name of Jesus, the power of the cross, is what will set him free. In His Love, Jim

Dear Susie, In your letter, you say you do not have peace because you want to get into a certain summer program for next year, and you need to have good grades, but you cannot get them good enough fast enough because of the way you acted in study in the early part of the semester. Now, sometimes God is gracious and allows you to have what you want anyhow; however, along with forgiveness, there are permanent consequences of sin that we have to live with. So you can have peace whether you get good grades or not. You should study hard in accordance with Colossians 3:23 and Colossians 3:17. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Col. 3:23). “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). God will give you peace whether you get what you wish or do not get what you wish. Consider Philippians 4:4-7. “Rejoice in the Lord al...

The last aspect of walking in the light that I will mention here is being thankful . This will help with many areas of your life. Start by recognizing that God is the creator of all things. Look at all the trees, all the flowers, all the clouds, stars, sun, and moon. Thank God. Then thank God for all of your family. Thank Him for all wildlife: fish, animals, and birds. “ Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18).   “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). Giving thanks is God’s will for you. It results in peace that passes all comprehension. “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:16).   “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for al...

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14). Many people, even Christians, don’t particularly care what they say in public or to whom they say it. Some of us care very much. We think that if we pass the public approval on what we say, we’re ok. David wasn’t satisfied with that. He said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O God.” When we ask the Lord to make what we think about in our hearts and say with our mouths acceptable in His sight, not just in other people’s sight, we don’t have to worry about any great transgression. We can pass this to our children as well. We are used to laying out rules for them to make their actions acceptable in our sight. Suppose we could teach our children so that the meditation of their hearts would be acceptable in the sight of God? If our children were like that, how many rules would we have to lay down? Not many...