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-
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-