Roots by the River

There is a frightening prophecy in the book of Amos: “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). I have no idea whether this prophecy was ever fulfilled in the past. If not, it is, of necessity, still future. It certainly is not in the present. In this world we have places where the Word of God is very accessible. The supply is greater than the demand. There is a famine in the midst of plenty because people are not reading the Word. There are places where the Word of God is not available at all. People do not know it is not available. They are in a famine and do not know that they are in a famine. There are still other places where there is a famine and people know it. They are eager for Bibles. T...

“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. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:1-5). “That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, f...

One of the great God’s great self-declarations was given by Him to Moses on his second trip up the mountain in Exodus 34:6-8: “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’” We see here the truth that upset Jonah: “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:1-3). God was not angry. Jonah, however,...

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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. You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ …Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:19-21, 23-24). “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. C...

In recent days,* I have been struck again by the partial repentance of the kings of Israel and the partial repentance of the kings of Judah. Here are two examples from many. Israel: “Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit” (2 Kings 10:31). The last sentence was said of every king of Israel. Judah: “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there” (2 Kings 14:3-4). This last sentence was said of Amaziah and his son, his grandson, and his great-grandson. Amaziah was one of the good kings of Judah. Hezekiah, his great-great-grandson, turned things around: “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He r...

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:1-2). “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:1-2). “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6). “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun...

I have been overwhelmed this last year* with God’s expressions of His view of idolatry: Disobedient: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” (Deut. 5:7-9). Stupid: “But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Psalm 115:4-8). Demonic: “Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but...

  This post was written by Matt Meyer, CCM board member and director emeritus. “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law plead against them” (Proverbs 28:4). After a number of weeks of coming for counseling, a young Chinese woman recently* called on God to forgive her sins. For several weeks before that, she was sure that God was real and good and that she was a sinner, but she was having a hard time connecting her sin with the death of Christ on the cross. When she was asked to describe what she meant by “being a sinner,” it was clear that her focus was horizontal instead of vertical. She thought she was sinning against her husband, her family, and herself. When she finally understood that our sin (or lawlessness as John describes it) is first against God, the lights came on. “I’ve broken God’s laws,” she repeated numerous times as the realization finally hit home. Do we have the same sense that we are breaking God’s laws when we avoid Bible passag...

“‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate’” (Matthew 19:4-6). The marriage service says that marriage is a “holy estate.” Christian marriage is more than physical, economic cohabitating and child-bearing and rearing. It is a spiritual fellowship; it is an earthly picture of Christ and His body, the Church.   “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with wa...

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). You would think this should not be a difficult piece of advice to follow. The voice of God thundered from Sinai in the second command: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6). Within the month, the people of Israel were busily building an idol, a golden calf. It did not last long. Rachel, Jacob’s wife, stole her father’s household gods. All of the sons of Jacob had idols. “So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.’ … So...

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). God commands us to obey Him. If we do not keep His commands, He has the ability to forgive us. It is either obey or confess, and He has made provision for both. Christmas is coming up soon. We can think of it as a time of giving or as a time of getting. The basic expression of love is giving . The basic expression of selfishness is getting . If you think of everyone according to God’s commands, we are to love the Father, we are to love our neighbors, we are to love the brothers, we are to love our enemies—and the conclusion is that we are to give to these people we love. We are to give for whatever is the highest good of the person we are giving to. We are not to give in order to get; we give because t...

I would like to draw attention to a few scriptures about our enemy and our relationship to him. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21). “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ...

“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 ...