WORD From The Woods 

Romans 8:18-39
    “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”


     Last week, we looked at the first part of chapter 8 and how Paul contrasted living in the flesh with living in the Spirit. This week we read about the awesome hope that we really have in Christ! I’ve always loved the way Paul talks about the bondage that our bodies, and also the universe itself are in now because of sin and the hope of resurrection that we look forward to. Not only will our messed up, sin-stained bodies be resurrected to newness of life, but so will the created world around us! God never plans to scrap us or the world we’re living in at the resurrection, He plans to redeem them! As loggers, we get to taste the creation every day in a way very few people get to in this day and age, so we understand the handiwork of God a little better than most I think.  Just imagine the awesomeness that we experience now, restored to its intended glory before Adam rebelled and brought the curse of sin upon the whole universe! Not only do we have the hope of resurrection, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us and interceding for us to the Father, as Paul says, in ways we can’t even put into words. In those times when we don’t even know how or what to pray, our Creator does, and He is working for us when we don’t even understand. It also says that He had a plan for us before we were even created. And those He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus! And He works all things together for His good purposes, all to His Glory! If we truly understand these truths, if we truly are in Christ Jesus, shouldn’t that reality change the way we live our lives?  Think about that for a minute……There is nothing in this world we will face that we can’t overcome, nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ! Brothers and Sisters in Christ, read Romans 8 again and again, dwell and pray on its words. Ask God to reveal the truth of these words in and through your life!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-   

WORD From The Woods 


Romans 8:1-17


     “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”  


Last week, We talked about how the Old-Testament law convicts and condemns us. The law gave humanity a standard that God requires to be perfectly righteous before Him. The law revealed the sinfulness of mankind and the fact that there is nothing we can do on our own to measure up to God’s righteous standard. Chapter 8 is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture! When I was in high school, my pastor in Montana met with me two or three times a week to lift weights and disciple me. I didn’t realize at the time how impactful those meetings would be in my spiritual journey.  One of the passages we studied in depth was Romans 8 and since then it’s always had a special place in my heart. I love how Paul compares the law apart from Christ as the law of sin and flesh, and the freedom found in Christ as the law of the Spirit of life. And, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Christ didn’t do away with the righteous requirement of the law, He gave us, as weak and sinful failures, a way to meet that righteous requirement when we turn our heart to Him and are covered by His righteousness. That in itself is just awesome, but God doesn’t stop there! He doesn’t just offer us a way to escape the eternal condemnation of hell. He offers us abundant life now and for all eternity! When we put our faith and trust in Christ, God gives us His Spirit, the Spirit of life, to dwell in us. To guide and direct us as we live the Christian life. Pauls also refers to it as the Spirit of adoption as children of God, to whom we cry Abba, Father! This term Abba is like when a child first says the word daddy. It reveals the intimate, personal relationship that God desires to have with each one of us. The creator of the universe came down from his place in heaven, to live and breathe and suffer and die among humanity, to be tormented and rejected, to offer salvation to the same people who mocked and killed Him. This same God wants to have a reconciled, personal relationship with each one of us! This is what Paul means when he says we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. When we come to Christ we are adopted into the family of God and receive all the spiritual inheritance that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is so much more we could talk about in this passage. I hope you take time to study it more in depth on your own, and really grasp the reality of how glorious the Christian life is supposed to be! 


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-  

WORD From The Woods


Romans 7


“Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”


    One of the things I love about Paul’s writings, is his basic honestly about where his heart is at. In this passage you see him pouring his heart out about his struggle with sin. He talks about wanting to live a holy life but falling into sin. The end of this passage reads almost like a riddle where he says “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” The Apostle Paul is one of the greatest pillars of the Christian faith, and he’s someone we should all try to emulate. But, he struggled with sin just as the rest of us do. Paul, talked a lot about a thorn in his flesh is some of his letters. A lot of bible scholars have come up with different ideas about what kind of physical ailment that might have been. I really think is was some sort of sin that Paul struggled with his whole life. We can all relate to that for sure. This passage was really directed at those who grew up under the Jewish religious system, where they were taught that you had to keep all sorts of rules and regulations to try and been holy enough to please God, and then you would make sacrifices to try and cover where you messed up. Paul makes clear that the whole point of the Old Testament law was to reveal the sinfulness of the human heart. The law removes all doubt that we are in desperate need of a savior! The law convicts and condemns us, and hopefully drives us to the foot of the cross. The law shows us that without Christ, we are slaves to sin and death. And as Paul says in the passage, we can’t serve two masters. We can’t belong to the law and to Christ. We can’t be bound in the futile pursuit of trying to follow enough rules to keep God happy with us and belong to Christ.  When we come to Christ we are set free from the law of sin and death. We’ll talk more about that next week in chapter 8.


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

aWORD 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 begins giving Timothy some instructions about what life as a follower of Christ should look like and how things should be done when Christians gather together as “the church.” 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 spiritual level. This is a huge part of discipleship! As we are engaged in shepherding and discipling others we should always be in prayer about 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. The core of the Christian life is all about our relationship with the Lord God, and our relationship with our fellow believers. Paul 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 get pretty wrapped 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 God 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 subject. I hope that this is a great reminder to spend more time in prayer!”


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

WORD From The Woods


James 1:19-27
     "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."


    You know, I think James could have been a logger if he was around today! He really doesn't sugar coat anything, he just says it how it is. The folks in our industry tend to be pretty direct, sometimes that's the reason they're in the woods! I like how  James begins this passage by basically telling his readers to shut up and listen. Now, he does this in love, but he says to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. We need to quiet our heart and shut our mouth, and just listen to the word of God. James says we need to receive the implanted word, God wants to implant His word in our soul! We can't do the will of God until we first hear what He has to say, and let Him implant it in our soul. James goes on to say that it's not enough to just hear what God has to say, we must also be willing and ready to act on it. James says that a man who hears the word of God and just talks about it but never does it, is just practicing worthless religion. That man is a phony, just using God to look good before others. The main theme of the book of James is that fact that faith in God with no works, no action, is a dead faith. I think that loggers especially, can appreciate James' direct "tells is like it is" style. As you go out this week, ask God to speak to you through His word and prepare your heart to not only hear what He has to say, but also to be ready to do what he calls you to do!


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

WORD From The Woods


Ephesians 6:10-24
    "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. So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible."


     This might be the most important passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesian church. After Paul has spoken about how 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 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 with out it the whole armor would come apart, without truth our lives will 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 surly 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 the he who is in us is greater that 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 soldiers 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 form 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 on the whole armor of God.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


1 John 5:13-21
     “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”


     This passage is the close of the letter of 1 John. The letter was written to correct false doctrine and affirm the message of gospel and the foundations of the Christian faith. In this closing statement, John reminds the reader that we have assurance of our salvation based on all the things he was writing to them about. And, confidence in Christ that He hears our prayers. John says that if we ask anything according to His will, it will be done. Remember, when Jesus prayed to the Father, “your Kingdom come, your will be done.”  John isn’t telling us that Jesus is a magic genie that will grant our every wish. He’s teaching us to seek the will of God in everything we ask in prayer. John mentions different kinds of sin, some leading even to death, the point there, is that sin has consequences, some are even immediately deadly! We should pray that God leads us and those around us out of sin and into a closer walk with Christ. He’s not saying that the Christian is completely without sin, but that one who is a Christian, who has been born of God, does not continue in a lifestyle of sin and rebellion against God. The ways of the evil one are lies, sin and rebellion, the ways of God are things like truth, righteousness, love, and justice. The fruit of a persons life will be evidence of which way they are going.  There is no in between, no middle ground, you are going one way or the other! God is the one true God, Christ is King of Kings, in Him is eternal life!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-    ​

​WORD From The Woods


1 John 5:6-12 
    “This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”


    In this letter, John has talked a lot about proof that Christ is who he says He is and that the claims He made were in fact true. As John brings this letter to a close, he offers up some testimony concerning Christ, almost like he’s in a court of law. In the Old Testament, if a crime was committed and a suspect was to be convicted based on an eye witness account, there had to be at least two witnesses who’s testimonies agreed. John is using the same kind of proof here for “convicting” Jesus Christ as messiah and savior of the world. He begins by offering the minimum requirement of two witnesses, water and blood. I think that Christ coming by water likely points to His water baptism, which was well know by many in the first century. Many eye witnesses saw John the Baptist baptize Jesus and saw the Holy Spirit descend of Him like a dove.  Christ coming by the blood refers to His sacrificial work of redemption on the Cross, which was also know by pretty much everyone in the known world at the time. Even to this day, the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most well documented historical events of all time. John didn’t rest his case with just those two witnesses even though it was powerful testimony to the people who first read this letter. John offers up the third and most convincing witness is his case, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, living in the hearts of true believers, is the most powerful witness about Christ even today. When true believers in Christ, follow Him through faith, the power of the Holy Spirit within them is boldly displayed in their lives. The life of a committed, Spirit filled CHRISTian is contagious! People see a difference and if their hearts are open they’ll want what believers have. The problem is that we fill our lives with all sorts of things instead of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8, Paul tell us that a a person who seeks the things of the Spirit will live according to the Spirit, but one who seeks the things of the flesh will live according to the flesh. As you go out this week, seek to follow Christ by faith, seek the Holy Spirit and let Him fill your heart so that those around you will see His witness on your life!


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

WORD From The Woods


1 John 5:1-5
    “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”


    This is a short passage full of deep truth. John tell us plainly and boldly here that if someone claims to love God and follow Jesus, then it is evidenced by their obedience to His commandments. If we Love God then we will keep His commandments. If we say we follow Christ but don’t do what he calls us to do, then we aren’t really following Him. If we say we love God and don’t love others then we don’t have the love of God within us. When we talk about commandments most of us instantly think of it in a negative way, that somehow obedience to someone else’s commandments or demands is somehow degrading or beneath us. Or we think that keeping God’s commandments will be burdensome when in fact, doing what He calls us to do is where we’ll find true freedom! We have a great sense of self-pride and we want to do things our own way, because after all, we know what’s best for us better than anyone else right….. A lot of people really only claim to follow Jesus because of what He offers, eternal life, love, peace, grace, mercy and so on. Those are good things, things that we all want, and we should want those things. But, if we come to God for what we can get from Him then we haven’t come for the right reasons. There are some people that come to the masters table simply because they love the master, and there are others that come to the masters table because they want what’s on His table. It’s really about whether we want to do things God’s way or our own. C.S. Lewis said “There are only two types of people in the end: those who in the end say to God “thy will be done,” and those to whom God says in the end “thy will be done.” When we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and everything around us is crashing down, we should run to Jesus and seek the will of God. As John says, it’s through Christ that we find victory and overcome the world!


God bless and have great week! -Terry-


   

WORD From The Woods


1 John 4:7-21
     “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”


     I talked about love a few weeks ago. As I’ve said before it’s not something that we talk about a lot as loggers, especially with the guys we work with. But, love is something that John talks about a lot in this book. He says over and over that if we don’t love our brother then we don’t know God. That’s a pretty clear statement! I don’t always see a lot of love displayed between guys in the woods. Even among Christians there seems to be a real lack of brotherly love. I’m guilty of it myself a lot of the time. It’s so easy to fall into things like gossip and tearing people down behind their backs or handling conflict with anger instead of love and kindness. When John says that a man who doesn’t love his brother doesn’t know God, I think we should take it very seriously and examine our heart carefully. If God is love and we have the Spirit of God dwelling within us, then we should treat others with love no matter what. We should be displaying the light of Christ in our everyday life in front of the people we interact with each day. When we have a conflict with someone, it’s really easy to want vindication. We want everyone involved to know that we’re right, because that’s only fair right? Let me tell you what is not fair but it’s the greatest example of love the world has ever known. It wasn’t fair when the Creator of the universe condescended into sinful humanity to live among us only to be beaten and despised, all the time knowing that it was for those very people (and you and I) that He came to save. When John tells us that God is love, he’s talking about the same God that offered His only Son as a sacrifice in our place so that we could be reconciled to Him. When we put things in that perspective it should change not only the way we think about God, but also the way we look at the people around us. As you go out this week, remember what Christ did for us on the cross and remember that as followers of Christ we are called to display His love and character in our own life.


God bless and have great week! -Terry-