WORD From The Woods
2 Timothy 3
​    “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
     In the previous chapter, Paul instructed Timothy to be a good and faithful soldier of Jesus Christ. He continues on in chapter 3 to warn Timothy about of the difficulties he was sure to face as a faithful servant of Christ. Paul gave a long list of things that characterize deceivers and false teachers. And he assures Timothy that as a faithful Christian, he would face persecution by these kinds of evil people. But Timothy could rest in the reality that he could endure and even be victorious because of the power of Christ in him! These evil deceivers would be revealed in due time. They would not get very far because their folly would be made plain to all in light of the steadfast love and goodness of Christ revealed through the life of faithful saints like Timothy. All these things were true in the day and age that Paul and Timothy lived almost 2,000 years ago. And really, not much has changed. The same kinds of evil deceivers are still doing the same kinds of things today. Our technology might have changed, but the evil schemes of the enemy are still at play in the same old ways. The glorious reality for us is that the same Savior and King is still seated on His heavenly throne, ruling with all authority at the right hand of the Father. His steadfast love and goodness are still working and flowing out into the world through His redeemed people! At the end of this passage, Paul reminds Timothy that the greatest resource he had to arm himself to stand against evil was the sacred Scriptures. Scripture is in fact the very word of God, breathed out by the Creator through the pens of His holy prophets, and able to equip us for all things pertaining to life and godliness! I wonder if Timothy had any idea as he read this letter from Paul, that it was actually part of those sacred scriptures, being breathed out by God in real time?  And now, thousands of years later, we are still arming ourselves and profiting from these same sacred writings. Friends, don’t take for granted the written word of God that He has preserved for us throughout the ages. Listen to Paul’s instructions to Timothy and arm yourself with the very words of God, that you may be competent, and equipped for every good work.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
2 Timothy 2:14-26
“Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
    This is a really rich passage that we could spend a lot of time in! I hope you’ll take the time to really dig into it on your own. For this devotional, I just want to take a brief overview. Verse 15, is probably familiar to most of us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”  It’s a verse that gets quoted a lot, but I don’t think we often stop to really comprehend the reality that Paul was communicating to Timothy. There are two sides to this concept of “presenting ourselves as approved workman.” As Christians, we should work hard to pursue Godliness and resist evil, and there is a lot in this passage to teach us how to do that. But, we also need to remember that as sinners we can’t actually do anything to make ourselves good enough to please God. It’s only through the redeeming blood of Christ that we can be presented to God as people who are holy and righteous, with no need to be ashamed!  Verse 19 makes this clear, God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” The foundation that Paul is talking about is the firm foundation of our salvation built by the redeeming work of Christ! So, the reality is that our own work will never be enough, it’s the finished work that Christ already did for us on the cross and transferred to our account when we place our faith and trust in Him as Savior and Lord, that makes us approved workmen. And when we rest in that glorious reality, we are truly motivated to flee the kinds of youthful passions and sins that Paul motions at the end of this passage, by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Praise God for the redemption and sanctification that we have in our Savior Christ Jesus! To Him alone is all the glory and honor that we can then stand in Him as approved workmen who are not ashamed!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
Psalm 46
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”
     I thought I’d pause from our study in 2 Timothy this week, and look to the Psalms in light of the attempted assassination of former President Trump this weekend. Regardless of how any of us feel about Trump, Biden, or politics in general, this is a serious and historic moment in history. As Christians, it should make us hit our knees in prayer! The fact that the political world had become so corrupt and divisive to get to this point should drive us to God like never before. Besides that, we’re in an extremely bad time economically in our industry, with multiple mill closures, contractors being laid off daily, and log trucks parked everywhere. There is so much to discourage us and cause us to fear. In times like this, we must turn to the life-giving promises contained within the pages of God’s written word. Psalm 46 is one of the best passages I can think of for all of us right now! In the very real and present time of trouble we all feel at this time, we must remember that God alone is our refuge and strength. Though the things of this world are shaking, the nations rage and kingdoms totter, we need not fear because the Lord is with us! The goodness of God flows out and through the hearts of His people, and we can rejoice with gladness in the midst of troubled times because our hope is in God and the redemption we have in Christ, not in the things of this world. Be encouraged Christians! Rest in Christ, set your heart upon the word of God, and be constant in prayer!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
2 Timothy 2:1-13
    “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful--
for he cannot deny himself.”
    
    Last week, we read about how Paul reminded Timothy of the importance of the gospel, how it must be central to Timothy’s life and ministry, and that he had entrusted Timothy with this mission. In this passage, Paul charges Timothy to entrust that same gospel ministry to other faithful men. This is the heart of the Christian life, the transfer of the gospel from one faithful Christian to another, and from generation to generation. It’s important to notice that Paul said to entrust the gospel mission to “faithful” men. We should be ready to share the hope of the gospel with anyone and everyone, but it’s important that we recognize other Christians who are remarkably faithful in Christ. These are the people that we should build deep relationships with and stand shoulder to shoulder in life and ministry. Paul goes on to put this in a military context when he tells Timothy to be a good soldier of Christ. The most important part of this that Paul points out, is to trust in the one who enlisted us and aim to please Him, who is Christ. But the next most important thing is that we can trust our fellow soldiers. That’s why it’s so crucial that we build a life in and around a body of faithful Christians that we can trust with our life, the kind of people that we would go to the ends of the earth with as fellow soldiers of Christ. We can stand with other faithful Christians in this way because of our common aim in Christ. When people get too caught up in worldly “civilian” pursuits as Paul put it our aim becomes selfish and we end up hurting the greater gospel mission. So much more could be said on this subject, but the point is to keep our aim fixed on Christ and seek unity with others who are doing the same. And dwell on the trustworthy saying that Paul used at the end of this passage!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods

2 Timothy 1:8-18
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.”
    This week, we’ll pick up where we left off in this powerful letter from the Apostle Paul to his disciple, the younger Pastor Timothy. Paul gives Timothy a charge, and he puts in a military context as a good soldier in Christ Jesus, we’ll look more into being a good soldier next week in Chapter 2. Paul tells Timothy to guard the good deposit that was entrusted to him.  This good deposit is the good news of the gospel itself! He reminds Timothy, not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord or be afraid of the persecution they would face for boldly proclaiming this Gospel truth. We don’t need to be ashamed or afraid because this good deposit that was entrusted to Paul and Timothy, and to each one of us as Christians today, has been given to us not because of our own good works, but because of God’s own good purpose of grace which He gave us in Christ before the world was even created. Think about that reality for a moment! When we consider the fact that God had a plan to save us, and entrust us with the gospel of Jesus Christ before time even began, it’s a lot harder to be afraid of the temporary fear that might hold us back from sharing this good news with the world around us. No matter what we face, even death, Christ stands in victory! We are assured of this because He abolished the power of death when He arose from the grave, bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel! If the Apostle Paul saw it necessary to remind Timothy of this glorious reality, how much more do we need to be reminded of it ourselves? Praise God that He gave us these inspired letters to bless the Church and learn from 2,000 years later! Friends, be encouraged by this truth as you go about your life this week. And if you haven’t placed your trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, please do so today and be redeemed by the shed blood of the Savior!
(Romans 10:8-13 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”)


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
2 Timothy 1:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
    We went through Paul’s first letter to Timothy a while back, so I’ve been wanting to go through 2 Timothy as well. 1 Timothy was about Paul addressing young pastor Timothy regarding issues concerning conduct and order in the local church. The letter of 2nd Timothy was more personal as Paul spoke to Timothy about his own life and conduct as a faithful man of God. It’s a really special letter as it’s probably the last writing we have from the Apostle before his death. He wrote this letter while in prison under the tyranny of the evil Emperor Nero. John Calvin wrote in his commentary; “All that we read here, therefore, concerning the kingdom of Christ, the hope of eternal life, the Christian warfare, confidence in confessing Christ, and the certainty of doctrine, ought to be viewed by us as written not with ink but with Paul's own blood.”  You can really feel the passion and emotion from Paul as he wrote this letter to Timothy, his adopted son in the faith, who Paul had poured into and discipled. Paul knew his own death and departure from this life was very near. Later in ch. 4:6 he said, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” There are a couple things I want to draw out of the first few verses here. First, we can really see the importance of building deep, authentic relationships with other Christians, you can see it clearly in the way Paul communicates with Timothy. You can also see the value of generational faith in building Christian families as Paul mentions the faithful legacy of Timothy’s mother and grandmother. We don’t know anything about Timothy’s father, but we might assume that his father was absent or not a Christian. Whatever the case was, Paul stepped in as his father in the faith. This all highlights the reality that God doesn’t intend for us to attempt the Christian life alone. We desperately need a local church community and to build a legacy of faithful Christian life in our family wherever we are in life. Another thing I want to point out is the importance Paul put on prayer as he remembered Timothy constantly in his prayers day and night.  In Ephesians 6, Paul teaches how to put on the whole armor of God. In the last part of that passage, Paul says we should yield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times. It’s critically important to see that Paul ties scripture to constant prayer as the weapon of choice for the believer in spiritual battles. We can have great Biblical knowledge and deep theological understanding, but if we aren’t in constant prayer we’ll miss the most important part of our relationship with our Lord. When we stop and pray, we’re reminded that we aren’t in control and that it’s only by the mighty and gracious hand of God that we share in His wonderful work in this life.  We’ll dig into this more next week!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
Acts 9:1-20
​    “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”




    The conversion of Saul is one of the most familiar stories in the bible, but as with many familiar passages, we tend to miss what God still has to teach us through them. Saul was one of the most zealous Pharisees in Israel and he had made it his mission in life to round up the rebels who were following the Nazarene, Jesus, the fraudulent messiah (or so he thought at the time).  Saul was so caught up in his religiosity and trying to work his way into God's favor, that he'd been horribly misled by the devil to the point where he was arresting and executing followers of this Jesus. Saul oversaw the execution of great disciples of Jesus such as Steven. Saul had heard of a large uprising of Jesus' followers in the city of Damascus, 140 miles away from Jerusalem. So, he got letters of authority from the Jewish leaders to go to Damascus and bind all the Christians he found and haul them back to prison. We might look at Saul's life before his encounter with the Lord and think there was no way he could be used by God, but God had other plans. The passion and zeal that Saul had in trying to root out Christianity were actually spiritual gifts that God had created in him for a special purpose, he had just been using them in a very wrong way, being led by the enemy.  When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery he thought his life was over, but in Genesis 50:20 he says this:
   "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."
    Romans 8:28, written by Saul, who became known as Paul after his conversion says:
    "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
    Nobody understood this concept more than Paul, that God could take such an evil person and use their life before Christ to shape them into the servant that He wants them to be. I hear people all the time say that they have done things in their past that make them unable to serve God or somehow disqualify them for service. Paul and many other examples in the bible have shown us that's just not true! Our Lord, the sovereign God, creator of the universe, and lover of our soul, can and will use our whole story, past present, and future for His glory if we love and trust in Him. God will completely forgive all the wrongs that we will ever do if we simply put our faith and trust in Jesus as Saul did. God had a clear plan for Saul, it's amazing to see in just a few days, how God took a great enemy of Jesus' followers and brought him to Ananias, a man who he would have arrested or killed three days before. Saul was discipled by Ananias and the other Christians in Damascus, and before long he was in the synagogues proclaiming the gospel of Jesus! I don't know if you were like Saul and had to be knocked down by some life-changing event, or if you were more like Ananias, who was ready and willing to listen to the voice of God. Whatever your story is, God can and will use it to shape you into the person He wants you to be, and He desires to use you as His chosen instrument, wherever you are in life.


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

WORD From The Woods
Psalm 2
   “Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
      We looked at this passage last year, but I think it’s important to be reminded again about the reality of who is really in control. Lately, I’ve been talking to a lot of folks who are very distraught over the political situation in the US right now. There’s no question that our country is in a real mess. Corruption is deep and rampant, and the most abominable kinds of sins are celebrated as virtues. I think this Psalm is a great reminder for us in times like these.  Verse 1 asks a question that most of us have been asking for a while now, “why do the nations rage and plot in vain?” If you haven’t noticed, there has been a lot of raging in the world over the last few years. And, it seems that there are some pretty evil things being plotted out by world leaders. It’s almost as if they read Psalm 2:2 as a directive on what to do! It really looks like the kings of the earth are setting themselves purposefully against The Lord and His people! It looks like that because that’s exactly what is happening. But, we read on in verse 4, He who sits in the heavens laughs and makes a mockery of those evil leaders! You know why God laughs at the vain and evil plots of these earthly leaders? Because verse 6! God says “as for Me, I have set My King on My holy hill.” Remember this was written 1,000 years before Christ came as a baby in a manger, and 3,000 years before our day now. Verse 7 speaks of  God’s begotten son, which points us to Christ in John 3:16 “for God so loved the world, that he sent His only begotten Son.” This King that the Lord would set upon His holy hill, Mount Zion, would be the promised messiah, the coming King of the world! At Christmas time, we like to say that “Jesus is the reason for the season,”  but we really just tend to think of Him as the baby in a manger that came to be our invisible sidekick that we call on when things get tough. We need to be reminded that Jesus didn’t just come as a baby for our nativity display, and He is no “sidekick!” He is our Savior and the reigning King of the world! The Jews knew that the Messiah was coming as the King, they just thought it was to rule from an earthly throne in Jerusalem. But the holy hill, Mount Zion, was something far greater! Verse 9 tells us that this King would break the kings of the earth with a rod of iron like clay pottery. That should point us to Daniel chapter 2, where Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel saw 4 successive world kingdoms, ending with the Romans and the apostate Jewish nation mixed in with the Roman kingdom, represented by the feet of clay. There’s a lot more to say on that, but you can go read Daniel 2 yourself. The important part is the Stone cut by no human hand that comes crashing in, destroys the statue, grows into a great mountain, and establishes a Kingdom that will never end. That Stone would be the same King that David wrote about in Psalm 2 and that great mountain would be the Lord’s holy hill, Mount Zion. What’s really incredible about all of this, is that now under the new covenant in Christ, we know that we as followers of Christ are that holy mountain of God, Mount Zion. We are as Christians, each a part of the mountain of God! We are the Kingdom, and we know that Christ’s Kingdom will never end. It will never fail, and King Jesus will accomplish everything He intends to, on time and in His order, according to His plan!  So, even with everything going on with evil tyrants acting like they rule the world, there is one who sits enthroned in Heaven, who rules with a rod of iron, whose Kingdom cannot be shaken, Christ Jesus, the King of kings! Blessed are those who take refuge in Him!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods
Romans 1:18-2:11
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. “


     The month of June, in our culture, is dedicated to all sorts of sexual perversion and wickedness.  In this passage, Paul addressed the very same kinds of evil that people in the first-century roman culture faced, and their desperate need for salvation. Paul doesn’t sugarcoat the truth at all! God’s wrath against sin is real and those who choose to live according to the sinful desires of the flesh rather than turning their hearts to God will face His wrath. It’s crazy how similar the Roman culture in Paul’s day was to the culture we're living in right now! We have states like New York celebrating the murder of pre-born children at any point in the womb. We have TV shows, government-funded school systems, and celebrities celebrating the mutilation of people's bodies to take on the false identity of the opposite gender. And, all sorts of twisted sexual perversions written into our arts and entertainment. The words that Paul wrote 2000 years ago about the anti-God, debased, evil ways of his culture are exactly in line with the wickedness we see all around us today. We need to decide if we seriously want to follow Christ or not. If we really believe the words Paul wrote about God’s truth of salvation, wrath, and judgment. The “christian church” in America is becoming very soft on these issues. We’re bombarded every day, from every angle with deceptive lies that tell us that evil is normal. These lies tell us that things like transgenderism, abortion, and all kinds of sexual immorality are just normal things that should be celebrated. We say we know it’s wrong, but we laugh about these things when we see them in our favorite tv shows. We’re afraid to stand for truth when we see these things all around us. If Paul’s words are true, then the truth of God is plain to the world. His invisible attributes can be clearly seen in the world around us, namely His eternal power and divine nature! Every man is born with the knowledge that we’re accountable to the creator, and with a knowledge of right and wrong. These evil things that we see all around us are really, at the core, people rebelling against the Creator God. They don’t want to be accountable to God and choose to do things their own way according to the desires of their flesh.  As Christ-followers, we’re called to be change agents in the culture, but many who take the name of Christ, are themselves, being changed by the culture. It’s never been more important than it is right now to stand firm in the faith and boldly proclaim the truth of God about salvation, and we desperately need to be actively involved in making disciples of the world around us!


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

WORD From The Woods
Jude: 24-25
   “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
    This week, we’re at the end of the short letter of Jude. These last two verses are one of the greatest doxologies in the entire Bible. Last week, we talked about the judgment that awaits false teachers and enemies of Christ, if they continue in their rebellion against Him. This passage, points us to the glory that awaits us if we are indeed in Christ! I love how Jude puts it “to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and present us blameless.” That really sums up the gospel! It’s Christ alone who is able to keep us from stumbling in this life. I think it was R.C. Sproul who said, “if we could loose our salvation, we would.” If it was up to us to keep ourselves from stumbling, we would stumble, and fall from grace every single day. We should read this passage and hit our knees in worship and praise to Him who keeps us from stumbling. It’s Christ who saves us and He who keeps us saved through this life, and then at the end of it all on the day of judgment He will present us to the Father, blameless, redeemed, resurrected, and restored! And as this passage says, He will do it with great Joy! The last verse give us all the assurance we need to look to for all of it. Jesus Christ is our God, the only true and living God, the Lord of all, the King of Kings! In Him is all Glory, He has all authority and dominion over everything in the universe before time even began, and right now, and forever! If you’ve read some of our past devotionals around Christmas time, you know I talked a lot about the dominion of King Jesus. I think that in the crazy and confused world we’re living in right now, one of the most important things that we need to rest in, is the dominion of Christ, the sovereign authority and reign that He has over His creation. Though we don’t know exactly what His plans are, and we may face more and more trials and tribulations in this life, we can rest in the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and that He has all authority in heaven and earth, and that nothing is out of His control (Psalm 2, 110, Isaiah 9, 1 Cor. 15). The world tells us that everything is just a process of random natural process, just molecules in motion bumping into each other. We know that there are no rouge molecules, nothing happens that the Creator doesn’t know about, or that He didn’t design and call into being with purpose and authority. That God, is the same God that still holds all things together at this very moment. So, when you read the words of Jude in this wonderful little passage of praise and worship, keep all of this in view and rest in the goodness, glory and dominion of the King! Walk out into the world, and live like the Savior who saved you and keeps you saved is the same saving King who still lives and reigns supreme as the ultimate authority over everything you face!


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