Roots by the River

By Bessie Wilson "Let us draw near to God with a sincere [true in KJV] heart…having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience." (Hebrews 10:22 NIV) Hebrews is a reasoned treatise explaining how Christ fulfilled all the Levitical Law in offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin. On the basis of all that Christ did for us in opening a new and living way (10:20), the exhortation follows: let us draw near to God. I have been impressed so often with this thought and have mentioned it enough that our daughter Heather made a cross-stitched sampler of this verse which now hangs on my bedroom wall. I am still hoping and waiting for someone to put it to music because it sings in my heart, and I think it needs expression. I have been so taken, however, with the thought of drawing near that I have neglected the part of the verse that gives our responsibility in the drawing near. We are to draw near with a sincere heart. How are we to have a sincere heart?...H...

To all of the Saints on the West side, The Lord willing I will be in Mountlake Terrace from March 3rd through March 10th teaching in different places. We will start off with a UI/WSU Christian alumni reception at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 3rd, at Calvary Fellowship, 23302 56th Ave., Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043. Here is a website to track my schedule: http:///www.gordyandjana.com_jims_schedule.html I may not know some of you or remember those I should know. I am 84, shorter and fatter, so you should be able to find me. Pass the word on to friends. Please pray for me. Jim Wilson

Here is a political statement made by Charles Dickens in 1859 about per-revolutionary France in 1775. It was made in The Tale of Two Cities: "France, less favored on the matters spiritual than her sister of the trident and shield, rolled with exceeding smoothness downhill, making paper money and spending it.” From Dickens' perspective, the United States is also less favored spiritually. We have the symptoms of per-revolutionary France. We are rolling with exceeding smoothness down hill, making paper money and spending it.

By Bessie Wilson The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. (2 Chronicles 16:9, KJV) For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (NIV) Asa, king of Judah, had been a reformer. According to 2 Chronicles 14 he was actively engaged in removing idolatrous practices from Judah with a call to his people to “seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands” (14:4). Asa’s army was victorious over the Cushites, and his prayer before the battle explains why in verse 11 of chapter 14: Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are God; do not let man prevail against you. In the fifteenth year of his reign, his reforms continued even to the extent of ...

By Bessie Wilson This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:19-20) What is it that helps us set our hearts at rest in His presence? The preceding verse (verse 18) establishes the context: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” The immediate context is that if we see a brother in need and we have no pity, the question is, “How can the love of God be in us?” Years ago, just after Mother’s Day, a friend (the wife of a pastor) told me that her young daughter had defied her and gone to a public park. She was wondering how to handle this when the child returned. My friend had been folding clean laundry and was about to take it to her daughter’s room when she remembered the loving card received on Mother’s Day. She put it on top of the laundry, took it to the room an...

These next two posts are from a column entitled "The Heart" which was published in The Hammer (a CCM magazine) years ago. The Heart by Bessie Wilson “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 Whether we know it or not, all of us have had or have at present heart trouble. Whatever part of the spiritual anatomy the heart represents, the Scripture is clear that it is the seat of the emotions, one’s very being from which thoughts, words, and actions proceed. Jesus said, What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean. (Mark 7:20-23) The prophet Jeremiah gave God’s diagnosis: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind...

By Bessie Wilson The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:14-15) God knows our hearts! This can be either a comforting or a terrifying thought. Jesus first analyzed the Pharisees’ attitude (“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men”) before He told them that God knew their hearts. Then He clarified it even more by saying that this attitude before men was a very poor standard because what men put a high value on was detestable in God’s sight. What is highly valued among men? Perhaps by itemizing some of the things men value we will see that we have, in some cases, allowed the world to press us into its mold. However, we can, by His grace, stop this and instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Then we will be able to test and approve what Go...

Something new – Community Christian Ministries has updated their website with downloadable literature and audio files. Check them out at www.ccmbooks.org!

I wish to draw your attention to different expressions about entering the Kingdom of God. “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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 5:19-20) Those who break commands and teach breaking them are called least in the Kingdom. Those who practice obedience and teach obedience will be called great in the Kingdom. The righteousness of the Pharisees is even less than those who break the commandments and teach breaking them. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11) Therefore, the di...

With my age of 84 and Bessie’s death on September 18, 2010 at 91, I have spent more time thinking about death. This is not really new because on 26 September, 1950 I lost five of the men in my battle station on the USS Brush. That evening I conducted the funeral for the man who died in place of me. We buried him at sea. I was 22 years old. I was able to speak at Bessie’s memorial service on Oct 14, 2010. She had asked me to preach the gospel. It was a great joy. I also preached the gospel at that first funeral 60 years earlier. There was a big difference. I am almost certain that fourteen of the sixteen men who died that day were not saved. Little had received Christ a few days before we hit the mine, and Fisher, when he was dying, asked me to pray for the other wounded men. I want you to think about those people who die without Christ. In warfare we think of the people we are shooting at as the bad guys. They may be bad guys. In wars with communists, Muslims, and nations made up mostl...

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience , kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22). Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is something that comes with our forgiveness, our salvation. God is patient. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance...And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him” (2 Peter 3:9,15). “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience , not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). When He saved us, He gave us this likeness of Himself. However it is a virtue that is existent without the use of the word. When we use the word “patient” we are probably impatient. “I have waited for you, patiently,...

Emotions and Expressions of Them God has given us, spontaneous expressions of internal emotions. Two of them are tears and laughter. These emotions and expressions can be evoked. A funny story can cause laughter. “Once there was a dear widow woman who lived alone. One day she was working on a jig-saw puzzle of a rooster. She was getting nowhere. In frustration she called a widower who lived near by. She explained her difficulty and asked him if he would come over and help her. He came over; he looked at the picture on the box and at the pieces and said, 'We will never get a picture of this rooster. Let's sit down and have a cup of tea. After that we will put the cornflakes back in the box!'” I could also tell a story which would cause sadness and tears. Real events can also cause laughter and tears. Laughter and tears are God's means of relieving pressure, like a valve on a pressure cooker. Shouting and cheering can be expressions of man-made joy like home runs, touchdo...

Sometimes we express ourselves in understatements because we cannot express the truth adequately any other way. Sometimes we try and that trying makes it an even greater understatement. Here is an example. It is probably the greatest understated phrase of the last two thousand years: “The Great Commission.” “Then Jesus came to them and said, ' All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age'” (Matthey 28:18-20). The phrase is microscopic when placed next to the truth. Here is the first part of the truth: “all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.” Please endeavor to get your mind around how much authority that is. It cannot be encompassed with the word “great”. The next word is connected to that truth....

In the life of Jesus here on earth, 33 years, we have only about 45 recorded days in all four of the Gospels. In the four gospels of 89 chapters, 30 of them are on the last week of His life story. The account of his birth and when he was 12-years-old take 4 more chapters. 30 years of his life are not recorded. The last 3 years are given 55 chapters for 37 days. Many of theses chapters give accounts of the same teachings, parables, miracles, and narratives. There is very much teaching available in these 55 chapters. They are very important. However, the last week or the last three days and the days that follow are what the whole Bible is about. They are what was prefigured, prophesied, preached, and proclaimed. Here is the essence of these few days: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain....

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3). There are two key words, in verse 2 “delight” and “meditates”. His delight is in the Law of the Lord. His meditation is day and night, all the time. The result is wonderful, fruitful, doesn't fade, and does prosper. Meditation is not reading, studying, memorizing listening, or reciting. It is soaking in this wonderful truth by thanking God all of the time for this truth. Let's do it together every day and every night. “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1-2). The blessed man is a forgiven man,...

I would like to draw your attention to several verses of scripture. I want you to notice the prepositions. “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (I Corinthians 8:6). “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all...

Here is how to understand the Old Testament according to Jesus. “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). Simple, isn't it. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the ...

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” Matthew 23:13-15 Hypocrites have been around a long time. According to many people, “the church is full of hypocrites.” That might be true. Certainly some hypocrites are there. Where else would they be? Today, people talk about hypocrites in the third person and in a general way. They do not name the hypocrites. That would not be polite or politically correct. It would also take courage. Jesus was specific in the second person; “you hypocrite” and He gave the reasons. People do not pretend to be bad. They are bad. People are hypocritical in the direction that they think is good. They d...

We got a few interested requests for biographies. I am sending out a selected list to all of you. I will start with the biographies which had an early influence on my life during the years 1950 to 1957. “A Prisoner and Yet” by Corrie ten Boom (Holland and the Jews in Nazi camps) David Brainerds Diary (American Indians pre American Revolution) CT Studd by Norman Grubb (China, India and Africa) Martin Luther by J. H. Merle D’Aubigne’ Amy Carmichael of Dohnarour by Frank Houghton “Behind the Ranges” by Geraldine Taylor (James Fraser with the Lisu people of SW China) George Mueller of Bristol by A.T. Pierson (Orphans) John Sung (Evangelical in China) Pastor HSI (Opium addict and Chinese scholar) Biographies after 1957: “To the Golden Shore” (Adoniram Judson, Baptist missionary in Burma) “Delighted in God” (George Müller) “Mountain Rain” (James Fraser) George Mueller’s Autobiography Recent Biographies (four about Africans) Festo Kivengere (Uganda) “Out of the Black Shadows” (Stephen L...

I came across an expression in the novel "A Portrait of Jennie" describing a landlady: "Her eyes were steeped in bitterness."