Welcome to Rooted in Christ Journal

The Gift Came First

Rooted in Christ began with a request from my wife. While studying grief and suffering at Luther Rice in a course taught by Dr. Ann Kerlin, I read letters people had written to a husband or wife who had died. They wrote about the sadness and anger of losing the person they loved. They also wrote about the things they had expected to do together during what should have been the golden years of their marriage. I decided to approach the assignment a little differently. I asked my wife to write a letter to me as though I had already died and gone to be with the Lord. I wanted to know what she would grieve. What had she hoped we would still do together? What dreams would feel unfinished? I wanted to know those things while I was still here, so I could try to honor them while we still had time. One of her requests was that I record my thoughts about my Christian walk. She wanted to be able to hear my voice again after I was gone. Someday, she hoped to share those reflections with grandchildren we do not yet have, and perhaps with their children. These videos and articles are that gift. They are a record of where I am in my walk with Christ right now, what I believe the Lord has taught me, what I am still learning, and what I most want my wife and our future family to remember. The public ministry came later. The gift came first.

Why Share These Reflections Publicly?

As I began recording, I realized that other believers might be asking some of the same questions I was asking. Why can fear return when I know God is with me? When does temptation become sin? What does it mean to rest in Christ without becoming passive? Why do I keep responding in familiar ways? What actually changed when I was united with Christ? How do we speak truth without using it to wound someone who is already suffering? These are not theoretical questions for me. They arise in ordinary life, where faith meets anxiety, temptation, control, grief, relationships, disappointment, weakness, and the daily need for Christ. I began sharing these reflections publicly in case another fellow traveler might find help here. I am not writing because I believe I have arrived or possess the final word on every question. I may understand some things more clearly later than I do today. When correction is needed, I want to receive it. When Scripture exposes something I have misunderstood, Scripture must have the final word. I am simply one beggar telling another where I have found bread.

The Center of Rooted in Christ

The center of this journal is not self-improvement. It is not the promise that Christians can eliminate every weakness, master every emotion, or construct a better version of themselves through greater effort. The center is Jesus Christ. Christ is not only the One who saved us. Christ is our life. If you are in Christ, you have been joined to Him in His death and resurrection. Your old self was crucified with Him. Sin’s dominion was broken. You were raised to walk in newness of life. You are accepted in the Beloved, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and held securely in the love of God. That does not mean temptation disappears, suffering becomes easy, or obedience becomes unnecessary. It means the Source has changed. The Christian life is not an independent self trying to earn God’s acceptance or produce holiness from its own resources. God has already received us in His Son. From that secure place, we learn to present ourselves to Him, walk by the Spirit, and live from what He has made true of us in Christ. We do not rest from obedience. We rest from trying to be its source. Union with Christ is the reality God has accomplished. Abiding is learning to live in daily dependence upon the Christ to whom we already belong. The branch does not manufacture life. It receives life from the Vine and bears fruit.

Rooted and Built Up in Him

The name Rooted in Christ comes from Colossians 2:6–7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” Paul does not tell believers to move beyond Christ into something more advanced. He tells them to continue in the same Christ they received. We begin with Christ. We continue with Christ. We mature in Christ. We face fear, temptation, suffering, relationships, and obedience in Christ. The Source is Christ. The supply is the Spirit. The light is the Word. The posture is faith.

What You Will Find Here

Rooted in Christ Journal contains Bible teaching, devotional reflection, personal testimony, and written companions to the videos on the Rooted in Christ YouTube channel. Some articles carefully work through a particular passage of Scripture. Others begin with a question from ordinary Christian life. Some preserve something I am presently learning in my own walk with the Lord. The subjects include union with Christ, the abiding life, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, temptation and sin, fear and anxiety, control, suffering, grief, spiritual growth, renewal of the mind, and the ways believers learn to live from Christ in everyday circumstances. The articles are intended to be read slowly, with an open Bible nearby. My aim is not to replace the local church, faithful pastors, wise counselors, Christian fellowship, or appropriate medical care. Nor is it to make anyone dependent upon me as a teacher. The aim is Christ.

Why “Believing Thomas”?

I publish under the name Believing Thomas. Thomas knew what it was to struggle with doubt. But doubt was not the end of his story. The risen Christ met him, and Thomas answered:“My Lord and my God!” The name does not deny the questions, fears, or struggles that have been part of my walk. It remembers the faithfulness of Christ in meeting me there and drawing my attention back to Himself. Faith is not pretending that questions do not exist. It is bringing those questions under the truth of the risen Christ and learning to trust Him. I remain a believing Thomas, not because my faith is always strong, but because the One in whom I believe is faithful.

About the Writer

My background includes an MA in Biblical Counseling from Luther Rice Seminary, exchanged-life ministry through Grace Fellowship International, and chaplaincy through the International Fellowship of Chaplains. Those things provide some context for the teaching here, but they are not the center of it. I am a fellow traveler trying to remain under the Word, speak honestly, and point people toward Christ. Please test what you read by Scripture. Keep what is faithful to the Word. Do not build your dependence upon a writer, counselor, or teacher. Christ is enough to be the center.

For My Family, and for You

These reflections are first for my wife and our future family. They are a way of preserving my voice, my present walk with Christ, the questions I have wrestled with, and the truths I most want them to remember when I am no longer here to say them myself. But if you have found your way here, you are welcome too. In a sense, you are sitting with my family and me as I record the things I believe matter most. My prayer is not that you leave impressed with a writer. My prayer is that you see Christ more clearly, trust the Father more freely, recognize the Spirit’s present work, and learn to walk from what God has already made true of you in His Son. These videos and articles are for my wife, our future family, and anyone else who may find bread here. Grace and peace to you in Christ.

The flesh copes.

The branch abides.

In His grace,
Believing Thomas

Contact:believingthomastoo@gmail.com