WORD From The Woods
Psalm 1
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”
I love this Psalm because it’s simple yet so profound. It gives us a great picture of how the Christina life should be bearing good fruit. We get to see the reality of healthy trees every day in the timber industry. Over the last decade here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve seen the effects that drought has on trees, they get very weak and can die. All over this area we’ve seen young healthy stands just turn red and die from lack of water. This psalm talks about a man who walks not in the way of the wicked but delights in the word of the Lord and focuses his mind on it. That man is like a tree planted by streams of water and produces good fruit. For the Christian, Christ is that stream of water! He is the living water, the water of life! If our roots are drawing water from Him and nourishment from his word, we will produce good fruit! When I look around the “christian world” in America, I see a lot of trees that are turning red and dying from lack of water and nourishment. My friends, we are called to Christ, not only to have a “get out of hell free card,” but to have eternal life, and that life starts here in this world. We are called to have a living, healthy, growing, fruit-bearing life rooted and growing in Christ! If we have truly placed our faith and trust In Christ then we are rooted in Him. If someone is turning red and withering away, It’s likely they never were rooted in Christ to begin with. The end of this psalm talks about the reality that there is a time of judgement coming. The wicked will not stand in the judgment, but the righteous will live with Christ forever. We know that this isn’t a righteousness that we have by our own strength, it’s only by the righteousness of Christ that covers us when we’re rooted in Him. This judgment that’s spoken of here is real and it’s coming, Jesus talks about it in John 5: 27-29
“And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
We need to make sure we’re rooted in Christ before we die or He returns. And we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world around us. Because there are no second chances once we face the judgment seat at the end of this life!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Psalm 1
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”
I love this Psalm because it’s simple yet so profound. It gives us a great picture of how the Christina life should be bearing good fruit. We get to see the reality of healthy trees every day in the timber industry. Over the last decade here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve seen the effects that drought has on trees, they get very weak and can die. All over this area we’ve seen young healthy stands just turn red and die from lack of water. This psalm talks about a man who walks not in the way of the wicked but delights in the word of the Lord and focuses his mind on it. That man is like a tree planted by streams of water and produces good fruit. For the Christian, Christ is that stream of water! He is the living water, the water of life! If our roots are drawing water from Him and nourishment from his word, we will produce good fruit! When I look around the “christian world” in America, I see a lot of trees that are turning red and dying from lack of water and nourishment. My friends, we are called to Christ, not only to have a “get out of hell free card,” but to have eternal life, and that life starts here in this world. We are called to have a living, healthy, growing, fruit-bearing life rooted and growing in Christ! If we have truly placed our faith and trust In Christ then we are rooted in Him. If someone is turning red and withering away, It’s likely they never were rooted in Christ to begin with. The end of this psalm talks about the reality that there is a time of judgement coming. The wicked will not stand in the judgment, but the righteous will live with Christ forever. We know that this isn’t a righteousness that we have by our own strength, it’s only by the righteousness of Christ that covers us when we’re rooted in Him. This judgment that’s spoken of here is real and it’s coming, Jesus talks about it in John 5: 27-29
“And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
We need to make sure we’re rooted in Christ before we die or He returns. And we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world around us. Because there are no second chances once we face the judgment seat at the end of this life!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-