Roots by the River

Recently I was asked how to keep children from lying. There are several answers to that question. The first is: you can’t. They are born liars. My parents were successful in teaching me not to use profanity, slang, tobacco, alcohol, or girls. They were not successful in teaching me not to lie. I lied my way through high school. The second answer is to teach them the negative consequences of lying: if caught, an immediate, hard spanking. This will thin down the lying. However, it will also help them to figure out how to not to get caught. The third is to teach them the everlasting consequences of lying. Nothing impure will ever enter into it nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev. 21:27) Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Rev. 22:15) When we teach this judgment, we should also...

This article was written by my wife Bessie for The Hammer Magazine. We have all known the frustration of dealing with a stubborn child or an adult who will not respond to reason or argument. We know what stubbornness is even if we cannot define it. The dictionary lists many synonyms for this word such as obstinate, mulish, pig-headed, stiff-necked, arrogant or defiant. Like so many other English words, the definition of stubbornness has gone through a transition. The original meaning of the word included such good qualities as sturdy, fixed, resolute and unyielding. However, today the emphasis seems to be on the negative aspect of the word. So it is in the Bible. When speaking to King Saul, the prophet Samuel said, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance (stubbornness in KJV), like the evil of idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23, NIV). What was the sin of Saul in this case? He insisted on his own way while declaring that he had obeyed the Lord (1 Samuel 15:20). Perhap...

Jim Hardie was a very good friend of mine. He discipled several of my brothers while I was away in the Navy. by Jim Hardie Our Lord Jesus gave those of us who make up His church the most challenging responsibility and greatest adventure we humans can imagine he stated this responsibility to eleven men He had chosen to be His disciples and later appointed them to be Apostles. The charge He gave them was what we usually refer to as The Great Commission. These men were to be the instruments through whom His church would be established. This Great Commission to these eleven men must have caused complete bewilderment at first. Here were men with little financial resources, no transportation, no printing presses, no radio, television, telephones, cell phones or anything we feel today are a must-have to carry out this task. What the Lord Jesus was asking, how could it possibly be accomplished? This charge to these men is recorded in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 28:18-20: “All authority in ...

Back in my bookstore days, one of my co-workers told me of the effect of light on different kinds of insects. Moths fly to the light, and cockroaches run from it. He was simply saying that light attracts and light repels. It is the same light in both cases. “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7) The definition of light is found two verses earlier. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (1 John 1:5-6). God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. Some of us have been in places where there is no light at all. Even for those who are not afraid of the dark, after a short while they begin to get scared. However, none of us has ever been in a place where there is no darkness ...

This article was written by my daughter-in-law Nancy for The Hammer Magazine. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. (Matt. 24:17-20) Although I have always noticed this passage and Christ’s reference to pregnant women and nursing mothers, I never stopped to think much about it. Only recently did I see something of the gracious character of our Lord in this statement. How many of us, in the midst of a discourse such as this, would mention the difficulty of pregnant women and nursing mothers? Especially, how many men would refer to it while addressing a group of men (Jesus was addressing His disciples)? Jesus shows a great deal of empathy and compassion in this brief statement. A pregnant or nursing mother can relate to the difficulty and stress o...

by John R.W. Stott This article is reprinted by permission. When we meet some people we know immediately and instinctively that they are different. We are anxious to learn their secret. It is not the way they dress or talk or behave, although it influences these things. It is not that they have affixed a name tag to themselves and proclaimed themselves the adherent of a particular religion or ideology. It’s not even that they have a strict moral code which they faithfully follow. It is that they know Jesus Christ, and that He is a living reality to them. They dwell in Him, and He dwells in them. He is the source of their life, and it shows in everything they do. Not merely in the words you say; Not only in your deeds confessed, But in the most unconscious way Is Christ expressed. Is it a beatific smile? A holy light upon your brow? Oh no! I felt his presence When you laughed just now. To me, ‘twas not the truth you taught, To you so clear, to me still dim, But when yo...

My advice to Christians of all ages: I find that most Christians do not read their Bibles, except perhaps a chapter or two once or twice a week. My advice is to read your Bible daily, and read at least four chapters a day. When you get done, reread it. If you do not have a reading plan, you can join one here .

This article was written by my daughter-in-law Nancy for The Hammer Magazine. “Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) We all know what it is to have bills. Bills, bills, bills coming persistently in the mail is part of life. Scripture tells us to take care of these debts promptly. When one comes due it should be paid in full. But there is one debt that we can never properly pay off; one debt that is incessantly overdue and underpaid. We cannot “save up” for it. We must pay more than our tight budget allows each month, each week, each day. That debt is the continuing love due our fellow creatures. It is the debt that remains outstanding day after day, month after month, year after year. In and of ourselves we lack the resources to pay this continuous debt. But if we have died and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:8), we have access to all the riches of God...

Dear Jim, A couple weekends ago I picked up a talk by [another Christian speaker who] quotes Genesis 2:18. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’” He related this verse to possible psychological implications that can affect those who live alone… I have lived alone for over one year, and I believe I have become more self-centered than I was [before. He] stated “it is important for people who live alone to have someone to talk to, like a dog or a cat.” That is true, and I would like to buy a dog as a companion. My first question is this… Do you believe Genesis 2:18 refers to that man should have a companion to communicate with, whether animal or dog, or that man should have a woman (wife)? Secondly, does this verse apply to all men? Are all men required to have a companion? Sincerely, R. Dear R., In Genesis 2:18, what it says is that it is not good for man to be alone, so “I will make a helper suitable for him.” It t...

What does the Lord Jesus mean when He commands you to turn away from your sins? To turn away from your sins means to turn from one way to an entirely different way. To repent does not only mean to feel sorry because God found you doing bad things. God’s Word says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor. 2:10). Sorrow and repentance are not the same thing. God’s kind of sorrow causes repentance which leads to salvation. When that happens, sorrow disappears, ends. If I am still sorry, then it proves that my sorrow is worldly sorrow which brings death. To repent means you think differently about the way you live. You have lived only to do what you want to do. Therefore, you have done evil things and disobeyed God’s law (His commandments) continually. This is wrong. Because you have done evil things, God is angry with you and will punish you unless you leave your bad ways. To repent means to turn around from...

This article was written by my daughter-in-law Nancy for The Hammer Magazine. Christianity is intensely practical. We must live it out in our relationships with people and our response to God. We must not be merely hearers and talkers but doers (James 1:22). Often it seems that the eager new Christian is anxious to make his Christianity practical by allowing God to revamp the old attitudes and behaviors, but later he begins to get complacent and looks for something “more.” It is as though the old, simple truths that changed his life aren’t good enough anymore. We look for something more complicated, something “deeper.” We fail to apply what we knew at the beginning. A child learns to walk by putting one foot in front of the other. As adults, we are still applying the same principle. We still put one foot in front of the other. We didn’t have to learn more complicated methods of getting where we wanted to go. It is the same with Christianity. As we mature, we must continue to ...

This is an article written by my wife Bessie for The Hammer Magazine. When God rejected Saul as king over Israel, He said He would choose a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), and that man was David. This has puzzled me, and perhaps it has puzzled you. Not only did David commit adultery with Bathsheba, but he attempted to cover it up by having Uriah the Hittite placed in battle where he could be killed. He compounded his sin of adultery by that of murder. We find ourselves saying, “Do you mean this is a man after God’s own heart?” We must look at David at the time when God chose him to replace Saul. As a shepherd boy on leave from the sheep to carry provisions to his brothers in battle, David heard the challenge of Goliath. We read in 1 Samuel 17:26 that David’s response was, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? He later repeated this question to Saul along with his record of killing a lion and a bear while protecting...

This was written by my daughter-in-law Nancy for The Hammer Magazine. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (Heb. 13:5) We know from 1 Timothy that “godliness with contentment is great gain,” and we know from Philippians that Paul “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.” But what was this secret of Paul’s, and what is the reason for our contentment? Contentment, though not a fruit of the Spirit itself, seems closely linked to peace or even patience. We know if we have it when we are in adverse circumstances, because it is relatively easy to be content when everything is going well in our life. Webster’s defines contentment as being “happy enough with what one has or is.” Discontent, on the other hand, is usually accompanied with anxiety, covetousness, and greed. Obviously,...

This article was written by Doug Busby for The Hammer Magazine. Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Heb. 12:1-3) The hardest element in the Christian life, as I see it, is endurance. By that I don’t mean trying to keep myself sure to the end. If that were the case, I would have given up long ago. But there is a psychology to the Christian life that is important. There is a perspective, an outlook, that is essential for winning the one contest that we as Christians must win. In certain ways, this race is like an athletic contest, but in one important way it is totally different. The real c...

From the editor of The Hammer magazine. "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side" (Psalm 3:5-6). Today we can buy sleeping pills to help us get “rest” at night and caffeine pills to get us going during the day. But drug-induced sleep can never be a substitute for the peaceful sleep of a soul resting in God. Just as a child can cast off his cares in his parents’ arms and sleep, so we see David sleeping amidst “tens of thousands” against him. What was his secret? It was a knowledge of the character of God and a responsive trust in Him. C.H. Spurgeon describes David in this Psalm as reclining “his head on the bosom of his God.” As Christians, we should recognize that restless sleep is a symptom of a soul burdened with cares that belong on the shoulders of the One who alone can carry them. David had many life-threatening concerns, yet he says, “The Lord sustains me.” Throug...

This is a question I have dealt with many times in talking to many people. There is an illustration I often use which I first heard from my friend Corrie ten Boom. Here it is in her words: “Does going to church regularly make one a Christian?” No, you find there the nourishment you need and the fellowship with other Christians, but it is not where you are that is important but what happens in your heart. A mouse born in a biscuit tin is not a biscuit, and a dog who lives in a garage is no automobile. “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 RSV). Lord, thank You that I am a Christian because You died on the cross almost two thousand years ago and You could say, “It is finished.” All that needed to be done was done by You. Thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus.

by Festo Kivengere That afternoon when I encountered Jesus Christ, I was completely surprised by what I now know was the in-rushing of the Holy Spirit. He came and put the risen King on His throne in my heart. He flooded me with the love of God and with irrepressible joy. I began jumping and shouting there in my little room. There was no one about and I needed to tell someone, so I rushed out onto the road and hailed the first person I met, shouting, “Jesus has come my way! I’m forgiven!” The person was a Christian woman, a church member, but perhaps she thought I was mocking, as usual, for she went off wagging her head. I had to find someone else, so I ran to the church. God’s people were still there and had been there ever since the morning service, because one after another had been finding Jesus that day. This was a common occurrence in Uganda in those days. When I burst in, I excitedly told them my news and they took me into their arms, singing and rejoicing. Some laughe...

by Festo Kivengere What a shock I had when I reached home! My eagerness to arrive had made the dust and bumps of the long journey seem nothing. So I was definitely unprepared for the situation I found as the old lorry I was riding in pulled into Rukungiri, my home town in Western Uganda. It was 1939. I was nineteen and coming home with the ink barely dry on my teacher’s certificate. I had been given my first teaching position in the very boys’ school I had attended. That pleased me. At least it would be a start, and I would have money in my pocket. The first ugly surprise came when the truck rounded the marketplace. A crowd had gathered around some people who were singing church songs right out in public! Imagine hearing this floating over the fruit and vegetables: “Down at the cross where my Saviour died...” To me that was sheer fanaticism. The headmaster was waiting for me in town, which was gratifying. Some of my relatives were there also. My favorite niece threw her arms ar...

This article was written by Doug Busby for The Hammer Magazine. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 11:39-12:2) In the eleventh chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, we are given a catalogue of people who overcame their environments by faith. They were not great people exercising their faith; rather, they became great by faithing it. They were witnesses to God’s power in their lives, in their days. They had less on which to bas...