WORD From The Woods 
Acts 1:12-26
    “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”


    After Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, the disciples return to Jerusalem, obedient to His command to wait for the Spirit. They’re in a holding pattern, eleven men, plus others, praying and waiting in the upper room. Judas’ betrayal left a gap, and they needed to fill it. Guided by Scripture (Psalm 69:25, 109:8), they trust God to choose Matthias as the new apostle through casting lots. This passage shows us how to wait on God with purpose, trusting His sovereign hand even when the path isn’t clear.
    As loggers, we know waiting. Sometimes, we wait because of bad weather to fall timber or get out on the ground to start logging, for equipment to be ready, for the crew to show up, for contracts to get signed, or any number of things. Waiting isn’t idle, it’s preparation. In Acts 1, the disciples aren’t just sitting around; they’re praying, studying Scripture, and acting in faith. They don’t know exactly what’s coming. Pentecost is still days away, but they trust God’s got it under control.
As Christians, we hold tight to God’s sovereignty. Every tree you cut, every load you haul, every early morning we rise, it’s all under His rule and dominion. The disciples didn’t pick Matthias on a whim; they leaned on God’s Word and His providence. Casting lots wasn’t a coin flip; it was their way of saying, “Lord, You decide.” Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD.” God is in the details.
    You might be waiting too, waiting for a job to stabilize, for a family situation to resolve, or for strength to carry on. Like the disciples, don’t waste the waiting. Pray hard. Dig into Scripture. Trust that God’s plan is unfolding, even when the forest feels too thick to see through. Matthias was God’s sovereign choice, not man’s, and God is still choosing the right path for you and me.
    We are not out here just aimlessly doing life, the real work is trusting God’s plan. This week, when you’re waiting…. at the mill, on the job, or in life, remember the disciples in that upper room. They waited, prayed, and trusted. God filled the gap with Matthias, and He’ll fill yours too. Go work hard, love well, lead your families and rest in His sovereign grace.


    This is my prayer for you this morning: “Father, thank You for Your perfect plan. Give these hard working folks strength to do what they do, patience to wait, grace to love those around them, and faith to trust in You. Let them see Your sovereign hand in every tree they fell, skid, load, and haul, and every step they take. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


God bless and have a great week -Terry Mann-

WORD From The Woods
Act 1:1-11
    In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
    
  The scene is powerful. Jesus, risen from the grave, gathers His disciples one last time. He tells them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. Then, after speaking about the Kingdom of God for forty days, He is lifted up before their very eyes.
But before we move on, we need to stop and really think about where Jesus went and why it matters.
Christ did not simply ascend to some faraway place. He ascended to His throne. Hebrews tells us, "After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3). He didn't drift off into the clouds to some unknown fairy land awaiting his destiny; He was enthroned as King. When He said in Matthew 28, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," He meant it. Right now, this very minute, Jesus Christ reigns over all.
I think sometimes we miss this in our daily lives. It's easy to feel like the world is spinning out of control. We see sin celebrated, truth mocked, and evil paraded as good. But the reality is that Christ is on the throne, ruling and reigning. Psalm 110:1, a very important prophecy, says, "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'”. And we see it again in Hebrews 10:12–13 "But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet." What we see here is that Christ, who was has made the single sacrifice for all time, ascended to heaven, sat on his throne at the right hand of the father, and will stay there until the enemies of God are made His foot stool. And this changes everything for us.
Because Christ reigns, the Great Commission He gave us carries weight and authority. It's not a polite suggestion; it’s the command of the King. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations," He says. "Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." We must understand what Christ has done, in order for us to understand what he is calling us to do. The calling Christ has given to all humanity is massive, and if we're honest, it’s intimidating. How are we supposed to fulfill this mission when I can barely muster the courage to share my faith with my neighbor? Let alone with my buddies at work, at the landing, or over the CB radio, places where we are far more likely to be mocked and met with a flood of foul language than welcomed with open arms. But Jesus said, "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." There’s no pretending otherwise: obedience to Christ will often feel like losing our life, our reputation, our comfort, and we might look foolish, sound crazy, and yes, in some circumstances (though I pray it never comes to this), we might even be threatened. But we must cling to this unshakable truth: Christ has not abandoned us. He is with us — even to the very end of the age and Christ will come again, just as He went, bodily, visibly, and triumphantly. So, just as the angels asked the disciples, the same question is posed to us: “Why do you stand here looking into heaven?” Let us stand firm in our faith, with courage, because our King reigns, and victory is certain. Let us move forward, reading our Bibles, praying, worshiping, speaking truth in love, raising families in the fear of the Lord, and discipling nations. Do not trust in our strength, but in His promise.
Christ is on the throne.
Christ is with us.
And Christ is coming again.


Have a blessed week -Ethan-

​WORD From The Woods 

     As we begin our journey through the book of Acts in our devotions, it's worth noting that this is one of the longer books in the New Testament. It will likely take some time to work through. As we dive into specific passages, we’ll need to keep the larger narrative in view, remembering the forest as we examine the trees. While we’ll be zooming in on individual texts, we don’t want to lose sight of the big picture. So, let’s set the pace by identifying the overarching message of Acts, something we can keep returning to throughout this series.
So, what is Acts really about? What is its core message?
    At its most basic level, Acts is the story of how the Church was born. It picks up where the Gospels leave off, with the ascension of Christ to His throne, and tells the story of how the gospel spreads from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Acts is a record of how Christianity moved from a small group of Jewish believers in Jerusalem to a global faith. More than just a history, Acts shows that the Church’s mission is rooted in God’s sovereign plan and carried forward by ordinary men and women empowered by the Holy Spirit. It’s a book that not only tells what happened, it calls every generation to take up the same mission: to be Christ’s witnesses in their time and place. In another sense, Acts is a continuation of the dominion mandate from Genesis. It shows how the early Church began to reclaim the world for Christ, offering us a model to follow.
 Genesis 1:28 – “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…’”
Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Kingdom of God expands—not by swords or empires—but through Spirit-empowered witness, worship, and obedience.
    Now, it’s important to address a common view about Acts. Many say it is purely “descriptive, not prescriptive”, meaning that it tells us what happened, but not necessarily what we should do. There’s some truth in that distinction. Acts describes the formation of the early Church and how the gospel advanced across the Roman world, but that doesn’t mean the book has no doctrinal value or practical application. On the contrary, there’s a wealth of theology in these pages. Some passages carry direct doctrinal weight; others offer examples we can learn from, even if they aren’t commands to follow. We must remember that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”.
If we stay anchored to the big idea, we’ll find tremendous value here. Acts shows us the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who now dwells in us. It shows how the Gentiles (that’s us!) are being grafted into God’s covenant people. It calls us to boldness, a boldness that doesn’t come from within, but from Christ Himself.
    We were once like those frightened fishermen who fled at Christ’s crucifixion. But in Acts, we see those same men transformed—made new and bold through the power of the risen Christ. And through that same power, we too are being made new. We are being sent out to reclaim a world ravaged by sin and to raise Christ’s standard in its place. We are setting up bulwarks against the enemy, not in our own strength, but in the strength of the King who reigns on high. This should stir confidence in our hearts. That’s one of the central messages of Acts. God takes weak, fearful men—fishermen, tentmakers, even loggers—and turns them into bold witnesses who reclaim lost ground for the Kingdom. By His Spirit, we are being built into strongholds of truth, standing firm in a hostile world.
So my encouragement to you this week and into perpetuity is to be strong in the Lord, remember who Christ is, remember who lives within us, and remember that our goal as men, even in the workplace and on the landing, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We are men transformed, by God's graciousness and goodness, from feeble, fearful men into men of power and confidence who share the gospel with all the earth through the power of the Spirit that resides in our hearts.
The book of Acts calls us to live a life confident in Christ, and I call you to the same.


God bless and have a great week! -Ethan-

WORD From The Woods
Ephesians 4:1-16
   "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."


   In verse 1, Paul talks about walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.  We haven't just been called to get saved and avoid the torment of an eternity spent in hell, we have been called to also serve Christ and if we are to serve Christ then we must do it in a way that is worthy of this calling. We can't just strive to live in a worthy way for the sake of living a "good" life, that would just be empty moralism. If we are going to live in a manner worthy of God's calling, then our life must first be built upon the foundation of Christ through the gospel of salvation! In the first part of this passage, Paul lists some characteristics that we as believers should exemplify as we mature in our spiritual lives, such as humility, gentleness, patience and so on. Paul puts a huge emphasis on unity among the believers within the body. We weren't called to be Lone Ranger Christians, but we were called into a community of believers to grow and fellowship and serve together, with our eyes fixed in the one who unites us, Christ  Jesus! In verse 9, Paul tells us that we not only have a savior in Christ, but that we also have an example. Christ descended from His place of glory to this earth, He lived and walked among the people of this earth and experienced all the trials and temptations that we do. He lived a perfect example for us to follow and while doing this, He set up the church through the apostles and teachers and evangelists and many others. After Christ established his earthly ministry, He solved the problem of sin on the cross and broke the power of death by leaving the grave on the third day! We as believers today are still called to be a part of the ministry that Christ himself established during His time on earth. We are called to be unified in Christ with the rest of the church, the body of Christ. We are called to grow together and serve together until the time of Christ's return when all things will be made new and all things will be set right!


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


     

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


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


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
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-   

WORD From The Woods

Psalm 139:1-17
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
 If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
 Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!”


    We can get so distracted by chaos of life, especially in the timber industry. We all work to hard and try to do more in a day than we have time to do. It’s so easy to forget that God is in control and start to think that maybe we are the ones who are in charge. It’s easy to do. Ambition and drive are not bad things. God doesn’t want us to be a bunch of slackers. He wants us to be the kind of people who will get up in the morning, and show some initiative to go out and get something done. This isn’t usually a problem for loggers! Our problem is that we think we are the ones in charge and we tend to leave God in the dust of our foolishness, pride and selfish ambition.  I love the words of King David in Psalm 139. He makes it so clear to us that God knows our every thought and every move. Even before a word is on our lips, He knows it. That should be a sobering thought when we say some of the things we do at times! David tells us that we can’t go anywhere apart from God, He is always there. This is the God that knit us together in our mother’s womb. This is the God who knew every day of our life, thousands, even millions of years before the earth was even formed by His hand! And we think that we are the ones in control….. How foolish could we be? How arrogant could we be? God has a plan for each one of us. He has a specific calling on our life, and it’s a good plan, an awesome plan! Far greater than anything we can come up with. I’m not saying that God wants all of us to drop what we’re doing and go into “full time” ministry. Most of the time God calls us to serve Him right where we’re at, and for most of us reading this, that’s in the woods. I hope and pray that the words of King David will remind you how great our God really is and that He is intimately familiar with every thought and step you take. In the middle of all the chaos, remember that God is right there with you. Let Him lead and guide your way. 


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-  

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


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


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-    

WORD From The Woods
Ephesians 1:1-14
    " Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."


    In the first part of this passage, Paul talks about spiritual blessing in Christ. I love how he always begins by blessing the name of The Father, if we could only learn to love God and honor Him as Paul did! Paul says that as Christians, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In fact he says here that God has a predestined plan for each and every one of us as believers, a plan that He made for us before the earth was even created! This plan was that when we are saved though Christ's work of redemption on the cross, God will adopt us into His family. And as sons and daughters of God, we are called to become like Christ. As verse 4 says, we are to be holy and blameless. But as sinners we can't do this on our own, this is what God is doing in us through the process of sanctification, and it's a process that won't be completed until, as verse 10 says, "the fullness of time" or in other words, when Christ returns. Indeed we have been called as Christians to a higher calling, a calling to grow in the the spiritual gifts that have been lavished upon us, and we aren't left to do this alone. As verse 14 says we were given a guarantee of this inheritance of spiritual gifting and growth by the Holy Spirit living in us! Stop for a moment and think about the awesome reality of that! As you go out this week be reminded that as a believer in Christ, you are actually indwelt by the Holy Spirt. God is working in and through us by spiritual gifts that He has lavished on us to accomplish His purposes in the world around us every day.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-