WORD From The Woods


Galatians 5:16-26
" But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."


     I don't know about you, but I struggle every day with not "gratifying the desires of the flesh."  This is something that we all struggle with in many different ways. Paul lists some of the big ones in verse 19. The struggle with sin is a constant battle in the life of a believer, as true Christians we don't want to sin but our flesh battles against the Holy Spirit living in us!  This passage makes it clear that if we walk by the spirit we won't fall to temptation and gratify the desires of the flesh. Paul states this very clearly in Romans 8:5 "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." If we want to overcome the temptation to sin we must set our minds on the things of the spirit! This might sound simple but that's because it really is, it might be hard to do sometimes but it really is that simple. The Holy Spirit is powerful enough to help us overcome temptation if we would just be willing to submit ourselves to God every day! As verse 24 says we need to crucify the flesh along with its passions and desires. We must put to death our fleshly desires and be made alive in the spirit! We can't do this on our own strength, but if we have truly trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then the Holy Spirit is living in us. As we grow in our relationship with Christ the flesh becomes weaker and the Holy Spirit becomes more evident in our lives. This is called "sanctification" and it's a process that we will be going through as believers until the day we go to be with The Lord! As you go out into the world this week, remember to set your mind on the things of God!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Ephesians 4:17-32 
   "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."


    In this passage, Paul teaches us how our lives should look if we are truly saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord. He says that we should no longer walk as Gentiles do, but what does he mean by this? After all, aren't most of us in the world today Gentiles and not Hebrews? Paul makes clear in most of his writings that to be a part of God's covenant people, it's not about Hebrew or Gentile heritage, it's about placing our trust in Christ for salvation. Paul uses the picture of Jews and Gentiles as a living metaphor for the contrast between believers and unbelievers, those who follow God and those who don't.  In this passage, Paul gives a list of things that we as followers of Christ should and should not do. He makes clear that if we are in Christ then we must put off our old way of living and put on a new self in Christ, being renewed in the spirit of our minds, being created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness! We must always remember that this righteousness and holiness doesn’t come from some "inner strength" that we draw from, it comes from The Holy Spirit living in us and the light of Christ shining through us.  As Paul says in verse 30, if Christ is our savior then we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God for the day of redemption! We will still struggle with sin and temptation as Christians in this life until the day of redemption. Even though we are seen as holy and righteous positionally before God, we are still sinners practically in this life. This is not an excuse to be cavalier about sin, but our lives should show a pattern of this new life that Paul talks about and not a pattern of the old life. If we are in Christ and have the Holy Spirit, then our lives will indeed show it! 


God bless, and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods


Matthew 26:36-50
     “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.”




     This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all powerful, all knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know, or think we know the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say "how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly?" How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our mind drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we're normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do.  Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted by the other disciples since he was entrusted with the group’s finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer as well. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to the Lord in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way, hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that he would be glorified in the process.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods


Colossians 1:15-23
     "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."


    This is without question, one of the most incredible passages in all of scripture! These verses emphasize the most important and central point of Christianity, the glory and preeminence of Christ. The first verse, says that Christ is the firstborn of all creation, this doesn't mean that He was created first, the very next verse says that He created everything! The term firstborn is a way of telling us that Christ is above all things, He has always existed as the second person of the triune God. Just as in many cultures, the firstborn son becomes the head of the family, so Christ is the head of the family of God, the head of the church. And not merely the head of the church, since He created all dominions and authorities, He is over and above all rule and authority. Christ is King over everything in heaven and on earth, and nothing happens that He is not sovereign over! When Paul says, that Christ is the firstborn from the dead, he is telling us that Christ was and is the first to be resurrected, and one day we will follow Him in resurrection!  We are told here, that all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Christ, this tells us that while He walked the earth, he was still 100% the almighty creator of everything. Our savior Jesus Christ, lived and breathed and walked this world to set a perfect example for us to follow, and in the process He became the perfect, unblemished, Lamb of God who was sacrificed in our place on the cross. Through this, God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, that even sinners like us can be presented as holy and blameless before the Father. Paul charges us to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of this gospel, which has been proclaimed in all creation! Praise God that he has sent His Son for us! When I think about who Christ is, and who I am as a broken sinner, it's almost unbelievable that He would let me come to the table of grace and have the kind of forgiveness that only He can offer and then serve Him as King and Lord of all!


God bless and have have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Psalm 1
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”




    I love this Psalm, It’s simple but it really outlines the christian life. I always like a good tree metaphor, Christ did as well, he taught a lot about trees producing good fruit and likened that to the life of a true Christ-follower. We get to see the reality of healthy trees every day in the timber industry. Over the last few years we’ve seen the effects that a drought has on trees, they get very weak and can die. All over this area we’ve seen young healthy stands just turn red and die from lack of water. This psalm talks about a man who walks not in the way of the wicked but delights in the word of the Lord and focuses his mind on it. That man is like a tree planted by streams of water and produces good fruit. I’ll add to this picture and say that Christ is that stream of water! He is the living water, the water of life! If our roots are drawing water from Him and nourishment from his word, we will produce good fruit! When I look around the “christian world” in America, I see a lot of trees that are turning red and dying from lack of water and nourishment. My friends, we are called to Christ, not only to have a “get out of hell free card,” but to have eternal life, and that life starts in this world. We are called to have a living, healthy, growing, fruit-bearing life rooted in Christ! If we have truly placed our faith and trust In Christ then we are rooted in Him. If someone is turning red and withering away, It’s likely they never were rooted in Christ to begin with. The end of this psalm talks about the reality that there is a time of judgement coming. The wicked will not stand in the judgment, but the righteous will live with Christ forever. We know that this isn’t a righteousness that we have by our own strength, it’s only by the righteousness of Christ that covers us when we’re rooted in Him. This judgment that’s spoken of here is real and it’s coming, Jesus talks about it in John 5: 27-29
“And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
   We need to make sure we’re rooted in Christ before we die or He returns. And we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world around us. Because there are no second chances once we face the judgment seat at the end of this life!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-   

WORD From The Woods 

Romans 8:18-39
    “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”


     Last week, we looked at the first part of chapter 8 and how Paul contrasted living in the flesh with living in the Spirit. This week we read about the awesome hope that we really have in Christ! I’ve always loved the way Paul talks about the bondage that our bodies, and also the universe itself are in now because of sin and the hope of resurrection that we look forward to. Not only will our messed up, sin-stained bodies be resurrected to newness of life, but so will the created world around us! God never plans to scrap us or the world we’re living in at the resurrection, He plans to redeem them! As loggers, we get to taste the creation every day in a way very few people get to in this day and age, so we understand the handiwork of God a little better than most I think.  Just imagine the awesomeness that we experience now, restored to its intended glory before Adam rebelled and brought the curse of sin upon the whole universe! Not only do we have the hope of resurrection, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us and interceding for us to the Father, as Paul says, in ways we can’t even put into words. In those times when we don’t even know how or what to pray, our Creator does, and He is working for us when we don’t even understand. It also says that He had a plan for us before we were even created. And those He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus! And He works all things together for His good purposes, all to His Glory! If we truly understand these truths, if we truly are in Christ Jesus, shouldn’t that reality change the way we live our lives?  Think about that for a minute……There is nothing in this world we will face that we can’t overcome, nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ! Brothers and Sisters in Christ, read Romans 8 again and again, dwell and pray on its words. Ask God to reveal the truth of these words in and through your life!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-   

WORD From The Woods 


Romans 8:1-17


     “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”  


Last week, We talked about how the Old-Testament law convicts and condemns us. The law gave humanity a standard that God requires to be perfectly righteous before Him. The law revealed the sinfulness of mankind and the fact that there is nothing we can do on our own to measure up to God’s righteous standard. Chapter 8 is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture! When I was in high school, my pastor in Montana met with me two or three times a week to lift weights and disciple me. I didn’t realize at the time how impactful those meetings would be in my spiritual journey.  One of the passages we studied in depth was Romans 8 and since then it’s always had a special place in my heart. I love how Paul compares the law apart from Christ as the law of sin and flesh, and the freedom found in Christ as the law of the Spirit of life. And, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Christ didn’t do away with the righteous requirement of the law, He gave us, as weak and sinful failures, a way to meet that righteous requirement when we turn our heart to Him and are covered by His righteousness. That in itself is just awesome, but God doesn’t stop there! He doesn’t just offer us a way to escape the eternal condemnation of hell. He offers us abundant life now and for all eternity! When we put our faith and trust in Christ, God gives us His Spirit, the Spirit of life, to dwell in us. To guide and direct us as we live the Christian life. Pauls also refers to it as the Spirit of adoption as children of God, to whom we cry Abba, Father! This term Abba is like when a child first says the word daddy. It reveals the intimate, personal relationship that God desires to have with each one of us. The creator of the universe came down from his place in heaven, to live and breathe and suffer and die among humanity, to be tormented and rejected, to offer salvation to the same people who mocked and killed Him. This same God wants to have a reconciled, personal relationship with each one of us! This is what Paul means when he says we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. When we come to Christ we are adopted into the family of God and receive all the spiritual inheritance that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is so much more we could talk about in this passage. I hope you take time to study it more in depth on your own, and really grasp the reality of how glorious the Christian life is supposed to be! 


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-  

WORD From The Woods


Romans 7


“Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”


    One of the things I love about Paul’s writings, is his basic honestly about where his heart is at. In this passage you see him pouring his heart out about his struggle with sin. He talks about wanting to live a holy life but falling into sin. The end of this passage reads almost like a riddle where he says “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” The Apostle Paul is one of the greatest pillars of the Christian faith, and he’s someone we should all try to emulate. But, he struggled with sin just as the rest of us do. Paul, talked a lot about a thorn in his flesh is some of his letters. A lot of bible scholars have come up with different ideas about what kind of physical ailment that might have been. I really think is was some sort of sin that Paul struggled with his whole life. We can all relate to that for sure. This passage was really directed at those who grew up under the Jewish religious system, where they were taught that you had to keep all sorts of rules and regulations to try and been holy enough to please God, and then you would make sacrifices to try and cover where you messed up. Paul makes clear that the whole point of the Old Testament law was to reveal the sinfulness of the human heart. The law removes all doubt that we are in desperate need of a savior! The law convicts and condemns us, and hopefully drives us to the foot of the cross. The law shows us that without Christ, we are slaves to sin and death. And as Paul says in the passage, we can’t serve two masters. We can’t belong to the law and to Christ. We can’t be bound in the futile pursuit of trying to follow enough rules to keep God happy with us and belong to Christ.  When we come to Christ we are set free from the law of sin and death. We’ll talk more about that next week in chapter 8.


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

aWORD From The Woods


1 Timothy 2:1-7
     “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”


     In this passage, Paul begins giving Timothy some instructions about what life as a follower of Christ should look like and how things should be done when Christians gather together as “the church.” I think it’s very important to see here that the first thing he talks about is prayer! He urges that prayers, supplications, intersessions and thanksgivings be made for all people. Intersessions and thanksgiving are things that we really tend to neglect when we come to God in prayer. Intersessions are when we go to God on behalf of someone else. Now it may be about a trial or physical need that someone has, but I think what he has in mind here is on a spiritual level. This is a huge part of discipleship! As we are engaged in shepherding and discipling others we should always be in prayer about them, asking God to guide and direct their hearts into a deeper relationship with Him. We should also have a heart of thanksgiving, not only for the many blessings that God has given us, but for the people He has used to pour into us and that He has called us to pour into as well. The core of the Christian life is all about our relationship with the Lord God, and our relationship with our fellow believers. Paul says in the first part of the passage that we should pray for kings and all those in high positions. It’s easy to pray for our leaders that we agree with, but we get pretty wrapped up in tearing apart those that we don’t agree with. There are plenty of evil leaders who we should disagree with, but when you study the history of the world Paul was living in when he wrote this letter, it makes our political leaders seem pretty good! But, Paul still says to pray for them. He also tells us here that Christ is the mediator between God and man. Not only did Christ lay down His life as a ransom for all, but He is going to the Father on our behalf. Christ knows our heart better than we can know it ourselves and He is going to God for us about every spiritual need we have, with the desire to have a deeper, growing relationship with us! So much more can be said on this subject. I hope that this is a great reminder to spend more time in prayer!”


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-    ​

WORD From The Woods


James 1:19-27
     "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."


    You know, I think James could have been a logger if he was around today! He really doesn't sugar coat anything, he just says it how it is. The folks in our industry tend to be pretty direct, sometimes that's the reason they're in the woods! I like how  James begins this passage by basically telling his readers to shut up and listen. Now, he does this in love, but he says to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. We need to quiet our heart and shut our mouth, and just listen to the word of God. James says we need to receive the implanted word, God wants to implant His word in our soul! We can't do the will of God until we first hear what He has to say, and let Him implant it in our soul. James goes on to say that it's not enough to just hear what God has to say, we must also be willing and ready to act on it. James says that a man who hears the word of God and just talks about it but never does it, is just practicing worthless religion. That man is a phony, just using God to look good before others. The main theme of the book of James is that fact that faith in God with no works, no action, is a dead faith. I think that loggers especially, can appreciate James' direct "tells is like it is" style. As you go out this week, ask God to speak to you through His word and prepare your heart to not only hear what He has to say, but also to be ready to do what he calls you to do!


God bless, and have a great week! -Terry-