Roots by the River

Next, spend time in the Word . “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” [1] “ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.   “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.   “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord , my...

Another aspect of walking in the light is spending time with the Lord every single day, in the Word and in prayer . We will look at prayer first. Get into the habit of praying. I am not a very good prayer when it comes to setting aside time and praying for an hour straight. I am much better at praying all the time. If I’m walking, running, or sitting, if I’m driving, if I’m thinking, I talk to God. Mostly I talk about people. I don’t talk to God about myself much, unless I’m in trouble. Years ago, InterVarsity staff member Bill Steeper said, “It was a wonderful thing when I got myself off my own hands.” He turned himself over to God. Corrie ten Boom said the same thing to me. She was riding in the back of a car one night on a dangerous road. The driver was going way too fast, and she was terrified. She decided to spend the time interceding for other people. When she prayed for others, her fear disappeared. “ And so it was , after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lo...

“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Even in a well-lit room, there are shadows. Outside it is brighter, but there is darkness out there, too. As I look out the window from my desk, I see an apple tree with six inches of snow on each branch. That tree is “white as snow,” but even it is in darkness because the sky is overcast. David prayed in Psalm 51:7, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;   wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all . “ 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 word purifies means “keeps on cleansing.” It is a continuous washing. Walking in the light means that as soon as you sin, you are aware of it, you confess it, and it gets cleansed. The result? We have fellowship with one another. ...

By Bessie Wilson “We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:7. Looking at the passage before this, we see he has likened the light of the gospel coming into the heart to the light of creation. “For it is the God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”  It is light with a purpose. The face of Christ is illumined to us, not in visions necessarily, but in our coming to recognize that the Christ of the Gospels is indeed the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour. This then is our treasure, the personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as He comes to make His home in our hearts.  Paul says “earthen vessels,” and this represents our bodies, or more specifically our whole lives. When I was in Japan, I was amazed at the talent of the Japanese with their flower arrangements or ikebana as it is called. What I noticed was that the perfection of the flowe...

“The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him” (2 Corinthians 2:6-8). This may be the man spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5. If not, he is still a man who has been under church discipline. This discipline has worked, and the man is repentant. What is the instruction to the church? ·        Forgive him. ·        Comfort him. ·        Reaffirm your love for him. Why? So that he will not be “overwhelmed with excessive sorrow.” We do not see much church discipline today. When we do, we do not see the restoration of the repentant man as described above. Not to do this is sin on the church’s part. The church is made up of individual Christians who do the forgiving, comforting, and loving. This post coordinates with...

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought…. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10, 12-13). This appeal is followed by information on the divisions in the church. These divisions were not on theology or ecclesiology. The quarrels simply were about loyalties to teachers. To our knowledge, the teachers were even in fellowship with each other. These loyalties were sins and were to be repented of and forsaken. They were the cause of the divisions, the disunity, in the church. Today, they are still one of the major causes of divisions. However, today loyalty is a good word; it is considered a virtue. When it comes to following teachers, however, ...

Dear Friends, That’s good news about your toddler learning to run. Give her lots of love. It’s impossible to love a child too much. It is possible to let her do whatever she wishes, but it is not possible to give too much love. The more love, the more response there will be to instruction. In His Love, Jim Wilson Want to know how to give lots of love to your children? Read Saturation Love by Jim Wilson here .

You may have experienced or witnessed Christians or pseudo-Christians who have divided the body of Christ. The Bible speaks to us about them in several places. “They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.’ These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit” (Jude 18-19). “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11). “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Romans 16:17-18). “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one a...

A few years ago, I was talking with a young Christian woman. We were talking on the subject of sin and confession, and I mentioned that Christians do not have to sin. “ Be ye therefore perfect , even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect ” (Matthew 5:48). She brought to my attention that 1 John says that everyone sins. Yes, it does. It also says, “Do not sin.” God commands us to not sin—in other words, He has made it possible to not sin, because God does not command us to do impossible things. God will also forgive us if we sin and confess, but He has made it possible for us to obey His command: “ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin” (1 John 2:1). How is this possible? It is very simple. Avoid temptation. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Positively obey God (by keeping His positive commands, e.g. to rejoice always, in everything give thanks, etc.). Keep your sins confessed up-to-date so that when the tempter comes, you do not have unc...

Dear Jim Wilson, in order to live in peace and harmony, it is essential for all religions to respect one another and seek common ground while reserving differences. Unfortunately, some religions claim that only their beliefs are true and others are false. As a result, there are endless and unnecessary disputes and wars. As I have been taught, there is only one God in this world, who has representatives in the diverse religions: Jesus in Christianity, Muhammad in Islam, Buddha in Buddhism… Their mission is the same: to help people improve themselves. If everyone accepted this point of view, these diverse religions would be tolerant towards one another, and the whole world would be really blessed.  I always enjoy your preaching, and I often find surprising similarities between Christianity and Buddhism in it. For example, similar to what the Bible says (everyone is a sinner), Buddhism teaches that everyone was born selfish and nobody is perfect. Therefore, everyone must look after hi...

“In the aftermath of the murderous assassination of Charlie Kirk…there are a number of things that still need to be said. “This is a sea change moment. People had already noticed a vibe shift recoil that was starting to develop, resulting in lesser things like Brexit or the reelection of Donald Trump. But all of that was chump change compared to what is quite possibly going to be happening now. We have before us the prospect of making the vibe shift permanent. I believe that history will show that Tyler Robinson, if he is convicted of firing the shot that killed Charlie Kirk, will also be revealed as the man who put a bullet in the neck of progressive leftism. “But only if . . . “One of the most important principles of war is pursuit . General Meade was the capable Union general at Gettysburg, whose leadership there secured a victory over the Confederate forces. But because he failed to pursue, the war went on for two more years. He won the battle when he could have won the war…”  ...

“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 t...

One of the great self-declarations by God concerning Himself was the one given 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 angr...

If Charlie Kirk’s death and his memorial service have you thinking about Christianity, church, or the Bible, then this post is for you. Here is what Christians believe: “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved… For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also…” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). The good news, the gospel, is defined here in terms of who Jesus is and what He did. 1. He is the Christ. 2. He died for our sins accordi...

Dear Friend, When I was with you recently, I heard several references to the phrase “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” We didn’t talk about it at the time, but I thought it merited a few special comments. That is reason for this letter. The first time the sentence occurs is in Exodus 21:23-25: “If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” The actual context is in reference to men who are fighting and, in the process, a pregnant woman is hurt, and she has a miscarriage. This is in the law that God gave to the people of Israel the same time He gave the Ten Commandments. This is not teaching vengeance; it is a law given for judges. It is putting upper limits on what a judge can do in sentencing. It seems very harsh, but in reality it was humane. If a man lost an eye in a fight, vengeance would say, “I will kill him.” Even an unjust judge might allow f...

“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). “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children” (Psalm 103:17). God’s everlastingness has been extended to us who believe. It includes everlasting joy and everlasting kindness. “His love endures forever.” Thank God! This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the Word! 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.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Cor. 9:12). “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15). These three verses have something in common. It is prayer . James 5:16 tells us of the quality of prayer or, rather, the quality of the man who prays for healing. The next two verses tell of the quantity of men who thank God. 2 Corinthians 9:12 speaks of God’s people who are grateful, having had their physical needs met by those who had given. This results in “overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15 is speaking of the salvation of more and more people. This causes “thanksgiv...

If you are not a Christian, you have a nature that is prone to sin. In order to get rid of it, you need a new nature. You cannot get one by yourself. It can be done only by God. If you want to be a Christian, here is your part: 1. You need to want to be set free from the guilt and judgement for your sins and from the pow­er of sin. 2. You need to know that you are helpless in this want. You can’t set yourself free. 3. Know that being good and not be­ing bad will not set you free, nor will any other means of self-effort. 4. Know that God has already accom­plished this deliverance by sending the Lord Jesus to earth to die for you. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still pow­erless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Three days after this death for our sins, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead in order to make us righteous. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justi­fication” (Rom. 4:25). “Now, brothers, I want to remin...

Today, I want to bring to your attention several related passages that are clearly directed to individuals or households , not to the whole church. “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:11). “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:13-14). “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16). We have managed to evade these clear teac...