WORD From The Woods
Mark 14:53-72
    “And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.”
    This passage is about when Jesus went to trial before the high priests when they were trying to find evidence that he had committed a religious crime deserving of death. I think this is very similar to the trial that our world today puts the Lord through. We live in a country that was founded by Christians who framed this nation with biblical principles. Today, this same nation puts God to the test in nearly every decision. Whether people want to admit it or not, the things that are going on in this country from massive amounts of debt to rampant promiscuity and abortion, are all ways of saying, "is God really who He says He is, and is what He says really true?" We're in a scary place in this country when every step we take as a nation, is taken while shaking our fist at the Creator and Lord of all.  When the high priests asked Jesus if He was the son of God, He said, "I am, and you will see the son of man, seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." The reason that this infuriated the religious leaders so much is that they knew Jesus was using judgment language from the Old Testament, not only was He claiming to be God but He was telling them that He was coming in judgment against them. And if you study first-century history, you'll see how that judgment unfolded. As Christians, we can see the world around us challenging our Lord in everything, and I'm sure that judgment looms on the horizon. The question I have is, when we are asked the same question that Peter was asked, what will our response be? Remember, Peter assured Jesus that he would never deny his Lord and that he would go to the grave before doing such a thing. Peter lived with Jesus and knew him face to face and he still fell into fear and denied Jesus three times that night when Jesus was on trial. If the apostle Peter could fall into fear of persecution, then it would be very possible for any one of us to do the same.  The challenge I take away from this passage is to stand up in our culture and be a confident witness for Christ when the world around us is putting Him on trial.  When we see the world persecuting our Lord what will our response be? Our Lord is most definitely on trial in this culture and if we choose to boldly follow Him, we will face persecution, but it's only temporary and the spiritual blessing we receive from Him will strengthen us to endure to the end!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
Mark 14:32-50
     “And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”  And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled”    
    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 minds 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 are 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, like I said last week, 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 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 you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to God 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 because of the riches of His great mercy. 
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-


   

WORD from the woods
Mark 1:14-20
   "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him."
  This is a short passage, but I think its message is huge. Before Jesus began His earthly ministry, John the Baptist was preparing the way by telling them it was time, the long-awaited Messiah was here so repent and believe the gospel. John wasn’t telling them that the Messiah was coming just to love them and be their buddy. He called them to repentance, which means to stop in your tracks and change directions, turn from the path you’re on, and start down a completely different one. He was calling people to wake up and turn from their sin because the Kingdom of God was at hand. The  Messiah, the King was coming! Yesterday, we celebrated the glorious resurrection of that very King, Jesus Christ. And not only did that King rise from the dead, He also ascended to His throne in heaven where He sits as the resurrected, glorified Messiah, our Savior, and King! That’s why His call for these men to follow Him was so important. And over 2,000 years later, He is still calling people to repent, believe the gospel, and follow Him. The Kingdom of God was and still is at hand, the day of salvation is now. With everything going on in the world today, we don't know what the future holds, and that makes turning to Christ today so much more important. As Christ-followers, we need to communicate the same message that Christ did in this passage, instead of the popular "Jesus just wants to love on you and give you your best life now message." Jesus does want to love us, but millions of people around the world are facing the reality of trials and tribulations like never before. Christ doesn’t promise deliverance from trials if we follow him, he promises something far greater, He promises deliverance from the curse of sin!  Look at Christ's call and the Disciples’ response. Jesus doesn't just want us to trust Him with our death so we can have eternal life in heaven. He wants our life, He wants it now and for eternity! When Jesus Christ called these men, they responded by literally dropping their nets leaving all they knew, and following Him with their whole hearts. Now, I'm not saying that we should all leave our jobs to follow Christ. Many people are called out of their jobs to follow Christ. Many are called to follow Him faithfully right where they’re at. What Christ wants is our heart, all of it.  I truly believe that God has called me to be a logger, but not just a logger, a logger that proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wherever you’re at in life, Christ’s call is to turn and follow Him today!  Our King has called us to be the light of the world as we go on day to day in this life. What is your response to the call of Christ to repent and believe the gospel, and follow Him? I hope and pray that it would be to follow Him as these fishermen did, with your whole heart!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods

Mark 10:46 - 11:11
    “And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.  Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”
  
    Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the day that we remember the triumphal entry of the Messiah, the Savior, and Shepherd-King of His lost sheep. His sheep were lost because they were spiritually blind and unable to see in a dark and sinful world. I think this is why we find the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus, and the Triumphal Entry of Jesus together in the same context. Jesus had great compassion for those he healed of their various physical problems, and that was part of why he healed them, but the real reason he healed so many people was to demonstrate the fact that he came to heal people's souls! He came to bring us out of spiritual death and darkness, into new life with Him! I love they way Bartimaeus calls to Jesus, "Jesus, have mercy on me," he knew that he didn't deserve healing, both physically or spiritually, but he called on the abundant mercy of the Savior.  When Bartimaeus was told to stop, he persisted even louder! Jesus told him that his faith had made him well, this wasn't some healing power that Bartimaeus discovered within the depths of his own faith, but because he placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save him spiritually. I also love his response when Jesus tells him to go his way, he immediately follows Jesus on HIS way! Jesus' way was now Bartimaeus' way! The cry of Bartimaeus was the same cry of the people of Jerusalem when Jesus entered, the people were crying out "Hosanna," which simply means, "please save us." The people of Jerusalem were so hungry for their long-awaited messiah that they called out to him with praise honor and worship, begging for him to save them! They spread out their coats and branches just so Jesus wouldn't have to ride in on the dirty streets, this was a way of honoring Him as King.  I pray that we can learn to have a heart like this toward our Messiah, that we would praise, honor, and worship Jesus as our Savior and our Lord, willing to make his way our way! That we would lay everything down at His feet, longing for Him to save us from spiritual blindness! Are we willing to jump up and follow Jesus on his way as Bartimaeus did? Let this awesome account of the Savior-King coming to His people, stay on your heart and mind this week as we prepare to celebrate His death and resurrection this coming weekend.

God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Romans 16
   “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”


    I’m always amazed at the passion Paul shows for the people he wrote to as he closed his letters!  You can tell by his words how committed to Christ he was, but also how much he cared for the people he was called to minister to. These weren’t just acquaintances he saw at church and then forgot about until the next time. These were deep relationships with people that he had been involved with, in real discipleship where they were ministering to one another and growing together in the Lord. These people did life together! We desperately need more of these kind of relationships with other Christians! We’ve become so superficial in American Christian culture, we just don’t build deep relationships and engage in real discipleship with other believers. If we want to be really effective at sharing the gospel with the world around us, we have to be effective at living the Christian life, not only in our relationship with Christ but also in our relationships with other believers. We’re all part of the body of Christ, and our relationship to one another is a direct testimony about Christ, to the world around us. The Christian life is not just about Jesus and me. It’s a community of faith in which, we are all vital members of the body of Christ! This is a big part of what Fellowship of Christian Loggers is about. Connecting Christians in the timber industry to be able to encourage and strengthen each other, and be a more effective witness where they’re working day after day. Please reach out to us if we can help to encourage and equip you, to build relationships and disciple folks in your part of the world, and if you aren’t already, we can help get you involved in a solid local church. It’s never been so easy in the history of the world to stay connected with one another as it is today with our awesome technology, but we have to be careful not to hide behind it. We can never replace face to face conversation, and just doing life together. I can reach around the world to you guys in a matter of seconds through the gift of internet technology, but it’s up to each one of us to put our boots on the ground where we live and work for Christ and to His glory each day!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
Ephesians 2:1-10 
    “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
    One of the things I love about the Apostle Paul's writings is that once in a while he just breaks into a Salvation message to remind his readers of the foundation of their faith. That's what we see here in this passage, and it really is one of my favorite gospel passages in the Bible! Paul reminds us that before Christ, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. He reminds us that we were following the ways of this world and that we were actually following the prince of the power of the air, who is satan. Now we might not want to think that we could ever follow satan, but if we aren't following Christ then we are following satan. There are only two ways to go and Paul reminds us of this reality, as he says in verse 3, we were once living in the passions of our flesh and were by nature, children of wrath. What he means is that in our sinful rebellion against God, we were going to be the recipients of God’s wrath rather than His children who would be the recipients of His love. But God was so merciful, as John wrote in his gospel, that He loved the world so much, He sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior that we might have eternal life!  Even though we were once dead in our sins, God chose to set His love upon us, and make us alive in Christ, to glorify Him, and grow in our relationship with Him for all eternity! Paul makes clear in verses 8 & 9 that we are saved only by God's grace, not by any good works that we can do, but by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  As believers in Christ, we are created as a new creation and called to do good works in the name of Christ, our Savior, and Lord! This is all part of the "inheritance" that Paul has been speaking about. I thank God for our Salvation in Christ! I hope and pray that this passage is a reminder to you as it is to me, of who we are in Christ and what we are called to do, that is to serve and glorify Him! And, if you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, I pray that God uses this to draw your heart to repentance, and belief in Him today!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods
    Sorry I’m a day late getting this out this week. I’ve been down and out for a few days. Here is a devotional on one of my favorite passages about our Lord and Savior from our past study through Colossians.


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 an 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


    Hey Brothers and Sisters, I just wanted to take a moment this morning to thank you all for your prayer and support for us last week as we were at the Oregon Logging Conference and our annual breakfast on Saturday. It was another awesome time with many great opportunities to share the Gospel and encourage other believers in our industry to stand up and be bold! Our brother Bill, a timber cutter from my home church in Oregon, shared his story of God’s miraculous, transforming work of redemptions in his life. Bill’s testimony is so encouraging to me, and such a great reminder of how powerful the gospel of Jesus Christ really is, and that we are called to be witnesses for Christ every day to those around us. I want to share this devotional from a past study we did through Ephesians. It was Paul’s call to the Ephesian Christians to be bold and prepared to stand for Jesus Christ! 


Ephesians 6:10-20 
    "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”


     This is the last and probably most important passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesian believers. After Paul has spoken about how we as believers should conduct ourselves in all the different relationships in life, he tells us how to put on the "whole armor of God" so that we can stand against the trials of this life. There are really only two forces at work in the world, the forces of good which is almighty God the creator of the universe, and the forces of evil which is Satan and his fallen angels. As human beings we are either following one or the other whether we realize it or not, ultimately it all comes down to good or evil. As believers we will encounter resistance from the evil one in the form of many different kinds of trials, I'm sure that no one needs to be convinced of this! Paul says to put on the whole armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil, not part of the armor, but the whole armor of God.  First, is the belt of truth, the belt was a key part of a soldier's armor in Paul's day and without it, the whole armor would come apart, without truth our lives would fall apart from lies and deception. Second, is the breastplate of righteousness, the breastplate would cover a soldier's vital organs and protect them from injury and certain death. The righteousness of Christ is just like a breastplate that covers us as believers, we are still sinners but we are covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, without it we are exposed to the enemy and will surely fall on the battlefield of this life. Third, are the shoes of readiness of the gospel. A soldier would always be ready to go into battle, in the same way, we are always to be ready to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost and hurting world.  Fourth, is the shield of faith. A well-equipped soldier would always carry a shield to protect himself from arrows, and many times even flaming arrows. When we encounter the flaming arrows of satan, we must always rely on the shield of faith, we know that as true believers we are protected and covered by God, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we know he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world! We must have faith in that fact when we are being attacked by the enemy. Fifth, is the helmet of salvation. A helmet is designed to protect a soldier's head, which houses the brain, and the brain is the central control system for the entire body and if it gets injured the whole body is shut down. In the same way, Salvation is the central part of our entire being, without salvation, we are already condemned to hell and nothing else matters! Lastly, is the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. Remember when Christ himself faced temptation from satan He quoted scripture! We need to understand the power and importance of God's written word! The Bible has everything we need to face the various trials of life and the more of it we study and memorize, the more armed we will be when we face the enemy in battle. Paul says at the end of the passage that we should pray at all times. A good soldier is in constant communication with his commander so that he knows what's going on over the whole battlefield. We must be in constant communication with our commander who is The Lord God almighty! We all need to learn how to be better prepared for battle by learning how to put in the whole armor of God. 


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods 

Romans 5
     “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”   


     In Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, he talks a lot about the law, judgment, righteousness, and faith. In this passage, we see how all of that is brought together in Christ. Paul makes it clear that we aren’t justified by doing good works or keeping the law, we’re justified by God’s amazing grace through faith in Jesus Christ! I love the way that Paul emphasizes the awesome power and grace of what Christ did through His sacrifice on the cross. Most of us would lay down our life for a close family member, maybe for a good friend, most likely not for a convicted felon though. But, Christ laid down His life for humanity while many were still living for sinful pursuits before we were even born and committed our first sin! Paul goes through a series of comparisons between Adam and Christ. He explains that just as sin entered the world through one man, Adam, salvation came into the world through one man, Jesus Christ. I love how he lays this out! If sin came into all of humanity through one common man, how much more can God’s grace abound through one man like Jesus Christ, who is actually the creator of the universe! I love verses 16-17, “And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” And, in verse 20, it says that the law came not so that man could follow enough rules to please God, but that their sin would be made so apparent that their need for Grace would be undeniable! Adam’s rebellion brought sin and death into the whole world, past present, and future. God’s plan of redemption through Jesus Christ brought life and grace beyond measure into the world. God is so good and so powerful, that His plan of redemption is retroactive back to Adam and reaches into the future thousands of years until the end of time! That is the kind of God we serve, and we can rejoice in that!

     Please keep us in prayer this week as we go to the Oregon Logging Conference. We will be there at the show with our booth sharing the gospel and will be hosting the Christian logger's breakfast on Saturday.  Pray that God will prepare us for service and that He will prepare hearts and give us opportunities to point people to Christ, all to His glory! Stop by and say hello if you’re around the show this week!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-   

WORD From The Woods


Ephesians 3:1-13
     "For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory."


   In this passage, the apostle Paul talks wrote about how the Jews and Gentiles are brought into the same body of believers in Christ. Paul says that this is the mystery of the gospel, revealed in Christ Jesus. In  Christ there is one body, true Israel, fellow heirs, and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel. Paul also makes clear in this passage that he was called to bring this promised gospel to the Gentile world. I love how he puts it in verse 2, Paul says that he was called to be a steward of God's grace. To be a steward of God's grace implies a couple of things, one, that God's grace is worth stewarding, and second, that to do so requires responsibility hard work, and dedication. If we are to be stewards of anything in life there will be responsibility, hard work, and dedication involved, as loggers we understand the concept of stewardship very well as it's applied to responsible forestry.  If we as loggers know how to be good stewards of God's creation, then how much more should we as Christians know how to be stewards of God's grace since we have been redeemed because of this amazing grace? If Christ has saved us by God's grace then we must be stewards of that Grace by being responsible servants who work hard to proclaim the gospel with dedication and devotion to our Lord and Savior!! Paul tells us in verse 12, as believers we have boldness and access to the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus, and we must share this as Paul did with the lost and hurting world!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-