WORD From The Woods


1 Timothy 6:3-10
     “Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”


   As Paul gets toward the end of this letter to Timothy, he gives some final warnings for him to give to the people at Ephesus. These warnings are still very relevant to us today. Ephesus was a lot like the world we live in, prosperous, advanced and well educated. The people there were very wrapped up in the pursuit of knowledge, wealth and prominence in society. Many of them likely would have seen Christianity as a means to achieve those things. We hear that message from a lot of popular teachers today who claim that if you follow Christ you’ll be blessed and have a great life, you know, just “living your best life.” This is really just a self-based religious idea! Christ calls us to deny our selfish desires and pursue Him above all else! This trap is so easy to fall into in the logging business. It takes a tremendous amount of money to keep a logging company going, millions of dollars fly though just a single side each year! Its so easy to get distracted by the material possessions we’re surrounded by and try to just use godliness as a means for gain, thinking that God will simply bless us if we keep Him happy. The problem with that thinking is that our heart is focused on things rather than the one who created all things! Paul says in this passage that the love of money is the root of all evil, not that money itself is evil. Money can be a great thing, and used for many wonderful things. But, when it gets ahold of our heart and becomes more important than God, it leads to all kinds of evil desires. As followers of Christ, we won’t find what we’re looking for in things and success, we’ll find true contentment in Christ Himself and a life that seeks to glorify Him above all else. Our Father in heaven does like to bless us, many times that blessing comes in the form of success in business, and financial prosperity. And there are many ways we can use those things for the glory of God and to spread of the Gospel of Christ! The question is, what has ahold of our heart? If the answer isn’t Jesus Christ, then this warning is for you.


God bless and have great week! -Terry-   ​

WORD From The Woods


1 Timothy 6:1-2
“Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.”


     This is a short passage, but one that I think has a very important message for us. Depending on the translation of the bible you read, this passage will use the word slave or bondservant. The word bondservant is more accurate. This really had nothing to do with the concept of slavery we think of in the early history of America. A bondservant was someone who had a debt that they couldn’t pay, so they were legally required to work it off in service to the person they were indebted to. And at some point they would be free of that debt. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul even talks about becoming a bondservant to Jesus!  This type of servant/master relationship was much more like an employer/employee relationship that we know today. This is why I say it’s an important message for us today. Most of us reading this are involved in the timber industry in some way and we have a boss that we answer to. The clear message of this passage is that we are called to be a Christ-like example wherever we’re at, especially in the workplace. Most of us will spend the majority of our life working, especially loggers since we put in a lot more hours than most people. We build relationships with our co-workers and our bosses, and as Christians we’re called to represent Christ to the people we work with. Wether you’re a rigging slinger and work under a difficult hook tender, or a gypo log hauler who deals with a difficult dispatcher or truck boss somewhere, we all have bosses to answer to. And often, those bosses can be hard to deal with at times.  But whatever that dynamic looks like, we’re all called to be a humble, respectful, hard working, Christ-like example! The way we act in front of the people we work with, especially when they’re difficult to deal with, is one of the most powerful witnesses about Christ we have. This passage speaks to both sides of these relationships as well, maybe you are the truck boss or the hooktender or the owner of the company, then you have a huge opportunity to represent Christ well in front of the guys you’re leading. Wherever you’re at in these types of relationships, this message is for you. This is really what this ministry is all about, to help you become more like Christ and represent Him to other folks in our industry!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Luke 5:1-11
     “On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus 'knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”


Matthew 4:19-22
   “And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”


     These guys were fishermen, they worked long hard hours probably for very little reward. It was family business, Peter and Andrew were brothers, as well as James and John. This wasn’t just something these guys did for fun. It was a way of life for them, something that probably ran in their blood just like their dads and grandfathers. The passage says they we’re toiling all night and hadn’t caught a thing. If you’ve been in the woods for very long at all you can definitely relate to these guys! After working all night Jesus comes along and tells them go out and cast their nets again. Reluctantly, they did what Jesus asked and they filled their nets to the point that the boats were at risk of sinking! I’m sure that this was an incredible feeling for these guys. I would have been thinking about all the bills that could get paid and what a great boost this payday would be. I think it would be like toiling away at a job with junk timber and tough ground all winter, and finally hitting some good weather and having that perfect stand of timber. Knowing that production was going to be high. You know, one of those jobs that you’ll never forget! And then, Jesus says to them leave all this and I will make you fishers of men! Put yourself in their shoes, imagine Jesus standing on the landing of that perfect, once in a lifetime job and asking you to leave it and Follow Him, and He will make you a logger of men. Instead of harvesting timber, you’ll be harvesting people for Christ. This isn’t to say that there is anything wrong with fishing or logging, or that we need to leave our job to follow Jesus. The point is that Jesus is calling us to follow Him with our whole heart, serving Him as our King and Master! We pour our lives into this profession we call logging. We need to be willing to pour ourself into God’s calling on our life! For most of us, this won’t be to leave our job and go into full time ministry in a church somewhere. It will be to follow Jesus with zeal and purpose right where we’re at every day and serve Him first. The people around us need to know who Jesus Christ is, and the best way for them learn about Him is though the testimony of our words and actions, by us actually living like true Christ followers, by us living and working to the glory of God and proclaiming the gospel to those around us! As one of my favorite pastors, Doug Wilson says, “if Christ isn’t Lord of all, He isn’t Lord at all.”


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Jeremiah 18:1-11
    “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds”




    Today, July 4th,  is Independence Day here in the United States of America, a time where we stop to celebrate the day that our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence from England, July 4th, 1776, 246 years ago. Today, most people don’t even bother to say “Independence Day,” it’s just the 4th….. happy fourth they say. It’s become just another excuse to have a day off work, get drunk and have a party. Now there nothing wrong with having a party, Independence Day is certainly worth a celebration, and nothing wrong with enjoying a few cold beers as long as we don’t fall into drunkenness, the bible is clear on this. The thing that saddens me so much is that Independence Day has become a day to celebrate immorality, when the whole reason it began was because the men that founded this country wanted to live in a place where they could worship and follow the Lord God in freedom! Our culture today has brainwashed us into believing that this country is all about “separation of church and state” and the there is no place for even the slightest mention or thought of God in civil government. People that believe this have either never studied the history of this nation or they have been spoon fed the “revisionist history” that the liberal anti-God academic establishment has forced down our throats for generations now. John Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence said “The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity."  Adams also said, "This day will be the most memorable epic in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival." He felt the celebration should be in a manner that would commemorate the day as a "day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." The men that signed the Declaration knew that signing it could be a death sentence, but they believed so strongly in their convictions that the were willing to die for them! The closing paragraph states, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance of the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." In America’s war for Independence there was a battle cry that modern history books don’t tell us about. The battle cry was, “no king, but King Jesus!” This motto was directed at King George III, an evil tyrant who lived in opposition to God and those that followed Him. Donald Trump’s campaign slogan was “Make America great again,” it’s a catchy slogan and one that most Americans including myself could get behind. The question is, how do we make America great again? The answer is simply, we can’t, Donald Trump can’t, Joe Biden obvously can’t, Barak Obama can’t. Even if we could go back to the “legendary days of Ronald Regan,” or if we could bring back John Adams and George Washington we couldn’t make America great again, not on our own, not by our own strength and not with a country filled with people who would rather celebrate immorality than honor the Creator of the Universe. We just got done with “Pride month,” a month where people around the world shake their fist at God and flaunt their wicked, sexual perversions in arrogant pride and rebellion against Him. We need to institute “humility month,” where we spend a month with our face to the ground in humble repentance before God.  It was God and His divine providence that made America Great once before, and it is God alone who can make America great again! I don’t believe that America is doomed to utter destruction, but we’re very close. As the passage from Jeremiah says, if a nation turns its heart to God He will sustain that nation, but if not, it won’t end well for that nation. America can return to greatness, but it’s not up to a few corrupt leaders. My friends, it is up to us, right where we’re at! We need to live for Christ and share the gospel of the Kingdom with the world around us. We need to be actively engaged in becoming disciples and making disciples of Jesus Christ. Spiritual revival is the only hope for this nation and it starts right here! We have an especially great reason to celebrate this year, because of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade. They did the right thing by recognizing that the Constitution of these United States, does not give women the right to murder their children in the womb. But, they stopped short of recognizing that it actually outright prohibits it, according to the 5th and 14th amendments, as well as the opening statement of the Declaration of Independence. If life truly begins at conception, and we know it does, then life must be equally protected under the law from the moment it begins. Today, let’s celebrate the step the Supreme court did take in the right direction, but don’t become complacent. There is so much more work to do. I think God is showing us that He isn’t finished with America yet, and that we still have hope for revival across this great land. But, it must start in our own hearts first, in our families, churches and then it must continue into the world around us.    


God Bless you my friends, Happy Independence Day, and may God redeem and bless America! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Mark 15:1-41
     “And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God! There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.”


    The entire bible is ultimately focused around one central theme, that is the problem of mankind's sinfulness and God's plan of redemption for mankind. Most people, whether they have in trusted Jesus for salvation or not, have heard about Him and that He was crucified. We've all heard people say that something was a "game changer," well, the crucifixion of Jesus was the "game changer" of all time! This event even split time in two, we have B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini) which means "the year of The Lord." The crucifixion of our Savior was not just a big deal, it was the biggest deal of all time! I don't really need to make this point to true followers of Christ, we should already understand how important this was. I could spend several weeks on this passage, talking about the many different details surrounding the crucifixion that fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, these are important things to study and are great apologetic tools to have, but I want to get back to the basics today. I don't know about you, but I've been saved for a long time, I tend to forget how incredible the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us on the cross really was! I think it's important for us to step back once in awhile and think about what really happened here! God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the three persons of the Godhead were all present a the creation of the universe. God simply spoke and the entire universe leapt into existence from nothing! This same God, carefully, thoughtfully and purposefully knit us together in our mother's womb. We were created by God to love and serve Him, and to enjoy a relationship with Him for all eternity. We have each made the conscious choice countless times, to sin against our Creator. Because of our rebellion against Him in sin, we deserve to be put to death and spend eternity separated from God. God sent His Son, to be the perfect, sinless sacrifice to take our punishment for sin, and offer us a restored relationship with Him for all eternity! It's vitality important for us to remind ourselves of the awesome reality of God's plan of redemption. It's also important for us to remember that every time we sin, our sin is what nailed our Savior to the cross. Because of the unfathomable grace that has been showered upon us through Christ's redemptive work, it's easy for us to become jaded and cavalier about our own sin. It's why we see hundreds of married pastors and church leaders that have been caught on "secret" adultery dating websites. If you think that you and I are immune to such a fall, your wrong. Like the Casting Crowns song "slow fade" says, it's a series of very small compromises that led men like King David, to fall into sin. As you go about your week, be reminded of the awesomeness of what Christ did for us on the cross, and let that inspire and encourage you to live a Christ-like example before the world around you!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Psalm 2
   “Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”




    We looked at this passage a few months ago, but I think it’s important to be reminded again, about the reality of who is really in control. Lately, I’ve been talking to a lot of folks who are very distraught aver everything that’s going on in the world. Verse 1 asks a question that most of us have been asking for awhile now, “why do the nations rage and plot in vain?” If you haven’t noticed, there has been a lot of raging in the the world over the last few years. And, it seems that there are some pretty evil things being plotted out by world leaders. It’s almost as if they read Psalm 2:2 as a directive on what to do! It really looks like the kings of the earth are setting themselves purposefully against The Lord and His people! It looks like that, because that’s exactly what is happening. But, we read on in verse 4, He who sits in the heavens laughs and makes a mockery of those evil leaders! You know why God laughs at the vain and evil plots of theses earthly kings? Because, verse 6! God says “as for Me, I have set My King on My holy hill.” Remember this was written 1,000 years before Christ came as a baby in a manger, and 3,000 years before us today. Verse 7 speaks of  God’s begotten son, that points us to Christ in John 3:16 “for Gos so loved the world, that he sent His only begotten Son.” This King that the Lord would set upon His holy hill, mount Zion, would be the promised messiah, the coming King of the world! At Christmas time, we like to say that “Jesus is the reason for the season,”  but we really just tend to think of Him as the baby in a manger that came to be our invisible sidekick that we call on when things get tough. We need to be reminded that Jesus didn’t just come as a baby for our nativity display, and He is no “sidekick!” He is our Savior and a King! The Jews knew that the Messiah was coming as the King, they just thought is was to rule from and earthly throne in Jerusalem. But the holy hill, mount Zion, was something far greater! Verse 9 tells us that this King would break the kings of earth with a rod of iron like clay pottery. That should point us to Daniel chapter 2, where Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel saw 4 successive world kingdoms, ending with the Romans and the apostate Jewish nation mixed in with the Roman kingdom, represented by the feet of clay. There’s a lot more to say on that, but you can go read Daniel 2 yourself. The important part is the Stone cut by no human hand that comes crashing in and destroys the statue and grows into great mountain, and establishes a Kingdom that will never end. That stone would be the same King that David wrote about in Psalm 2, and that great mountain would be the Lord’s holy hill, mount Zion. What’s really incredible about all of this, is that now under the new covenant in Christ, we know that we as followers of Christ are that holy mountain of God, mount Zion. We are as Christians, each a part of the mountain of God! We are the Kingdom, and we know that Christ’s Kingdom will never end. It will never fail, and King Jesus will accomplish everything He intends to, on time and in His order according to His plan!  So, even with everything going on with evil tyrants acting like they rule the world, there is one Who sits enthroned in Heaven, Who rules with a rod of iron, Who’s Kingdom cannot be shaken, Christ Jesus, the King of kings! Blessed are those who take refuge in Him!


God bless and have great week!

WORD From The Woods
1 Timothy 3:14-16
“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”


    In this short passage, Paul takes a brief pause from his message to give another introduction and remind the readers what the purpose of this letter was all about. The wording used here to refer to the household, or church of the living God, really has the ides of family behind it. This letter is all about how we are to behave within the family of the living God. If we are true followers of Christ, then we are members of His family and Paul calls us a pillar and buttress of truth! This passage is right in the middle of some very clear and bold instructions for Christian living, as we move along through the rest of the letter we’ll also see some seemingly harsh warnings about false teaching. The thing I love about this letter to Timothy, is that it’s clear and concise! As loggers, we can appreciate that! Most of us tend to like things that way and that’s one of the reasons we’re in the line of work we are. This little passage sums up the entire letter, and the last 6 lines are written in the form of a hymn that briefly, but clearly explains the whole ministry of Jesus Christ.
“He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”
That pretty much says it all! Jesus came to live among us, gave us an example to follow, died in our place, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven where He is reigning now as the King and Lord of the world. If we place our faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins and trust Him with our heart we are brought into this family of the living God where we find redemption and everlasting life! If this is all we knew about Jesus and the Bible it would be enough. As you go out this week share this simple but most important truth with the world around you! We are a pillar and buttress of truth, the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods


Colossians 3:1-17
     “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is 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 what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."


    There really isn't much more to say about Paul's words in this passage, he really lays it out clearly. This is what living the Christian life is all about, and it's exactly what Fellowship of Christian Loggers is all about. My core desire for this ministry is that the folks in the timber industry would see Jesus Christ in my life and in the lives of those who are involved in FCL. I want people to see Christ in me every day and in every area of my life, not just for and hour or two on Sunday morning. I am so weak and continue to struggle with sin every day of my life, but as I grow and mature in Christ I hope that the world will see less of me and more of Him! If we are truly saved, if Christ has indeed died for us, if we have really been raised as a new creation in Him, then we must seek the things of The Lord. We must, by His strength, put to death our old ways and put on a new self. And whatever we do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus! Even as we go out into the woods, we can do what we do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we can be a living testimony as we go about our daily lives. This is my passion for FCL, that our industry will see Christ so clearly in our lives that they will hunger and thirst for what Christ has done in us!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Genesis 22:1-18
​    “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”




    This well know Old Testament passage is one of the clearest and most awesome foreshadows of God's plan of redemption through what Christ would accomplish on the cross. This story beautifully points to Christ, the ultimate sacrificial lamb, who Paul makes clear in Galatians 3:16, is the offspring of Abraham that would bring blessing to all the nations of the world. I want to focus in on the obedience of Abraham and his son Isaac, who was probably around 15 years old at the time. It's apparent by Abraham's response to God's calling in verse 1, that Abraham had a deep, worshipful relationship with the Lord. God called him by name and with eagerness he answers "here I am." If we could just learn how to hear God's calling and answer in that way when He calls us into service, the world around us would be transformed by the power of the gospel!  Now, I don't think that God has ever called another person to offer their own son as a sacrifice as He asked of Abraham, this was a unique event that would be used throughout history to point people to Christ, but God does call us to do things that go far beyond our understanding and our comfort zone. This passage demonstrates an incredible lesson in trusting God. Abraham and Isaac knew that God had promised to bless the entire world through their descendants, so if God was calling Isaac to lay his life down at the hand of his father, then God would raise him from the dead if necessary. They knew that their Lord God was a good and loving God, who had a great and awesome plan that they could trust and rest in! Abraham and Isaac had the kind of relationship with God that builds this kind of trust, they had truly trusted God with their life!  God will certainly call us into things that we don't understand and at times will terrify us, but as we seek God and go through the sanctification process, we will develop the same kind of trust in Him that Abraham and Isaac had, after all, we serve the same God today that they did, the same God who spoke the limitless galaxies into existence and gave all living things the breath of life! He certainly is a God who can be trusted!  The reason, so many times, that we fail to trust God in situations is simply that we don't fully trust and believe that He has our situation under control.  As followers of Christ, we still struggle with doubt, fear and unbelief. This is all part of a growing faith, we need to be able to admit our fear and doubts to God and ask him to help us with our unbelief just as the boy's father did in Mark 9.
    As you go out this week, get real with God, be honest with Him and ask him to develop in you the kind of trust and faith that Abraham and Isaac had, ask Him to teach you to clearly hear His calling and respond with “heart I am Lord.”


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

WORD From The Woods


James 4
   “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin”.


     James, in his matter of fact way, gave us a bold warning against worldliness in this chapter. We've talked about this before, but it’s something that we need to be constantly reminded of. The pursuit of worldly passions is all around us, especially in our industry. For many loggers, it's all about how many sides they have running, how many trucks are in their fleet or how many board feet they can move in a month. It becomes a viscous cutthroat business when we start seeking greatness though the world. Even many popular television preachers today preach a "give to get theology" or if you just have enough faith, you'll have health and wealth. Worldliness is simply when life is all about me instead of the Lord God, Creator of the universe! It's called idolatry, and it comes in many different forms. James says here that, "God yearns jealously over our spirit." We can become caught up in the passions and desires of this world so easily, trying to find joy in it. God tells us through James to mourn and weep over our sinfulness, and humble ourselves before Him, and He will exalt us. He doesn't tell us this so that we won't have joy, but that we will take our idolatrous ways seriously and turn our hearts to Him, and in Him we will find true joy, all to His glory! God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James warns us not to arrogantly say that tomorrow we'll go to a certain place and trade and make a profit, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. All such boasting is sin. Instead we should say, "if the Lord wills I will do this or that." There's nothing wrong with preparing for the future, in fact it's part of being a good steward of the resources God has entrusted us with. We should build our companies so that we can be good, solid, Christ centered employers and leave a good inheritance to the next generation. But, we should never trust in our own resources, rather we should trust only in the one who gives and takes away! James reminds us that this temporary life is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. So, our focus should be on building things that will have an impact on eternity and glorify God, not just the pursuit of temporary success and pleasure! There’s so much more that could be said about this passage, but we’ll leave that for another time.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-