WORD From The Woods
Ephesians 2:1-10 
    “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
    One of the things I love about the Apostle Paul's writings is that once in a while he just breaks into a Salvation message to remind his readers of the foundation of their faith. That's what we see here in this passage, and it really is one of my favorite gospel passages in the Bible! Paul reminds us that before Christ, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. He reminds us that we were following the ways of this world and that we were actually following the prince of the power of the air, who is satan. Now we might not want to think that we could ever follow satan, but if we aren't following Christ then we are following satan. There are only two ways to go and Paul reminds us of this reality, as he says in verse 3, we were once living in the passions of our flesh and were by nature, children of wrath. What he means is that in our sinful rebellion against God, we were going to be the recipients of God’s wrath rather than His children who would be the recipients of His love. But God was so merciful, as John wrote in his gospel, that He loved the world so much, He sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior that we might have eternal life!  Even though we were once dead in our sins, God chose to set His love upon us, and make us alive in Christ, to glorify Him, and grow in our relationship with Him for all eternity! Paul makes clear in verses 8 & 9 that we are saved only by God's grace, not by any good works that we can do, but by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  As believers in Christ, we are created as a new creation and called to do good works in the name of Christ, our Savior, and Lord! This is all part of the "inheritance" that Paul has been speaking about. I thank God for our Salvation in Christ! I hope and pray that this passage is a reminder to you as it is to me, of who we are in Christ and what we are called to do, that is to serve and glorify Him! And, if you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, I pray that God uses this to draw your heart to repentance, and belief in Him today!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods
    Sorry I’m a day late getting this out this week. I’ve been down and out for a few days. Here is a devotional on one of my favorite passages about our Lord and Savior from our past study through Colossians.


Colossians 3:1-17
     “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."


    There really isn't much more to say about Paul's words in this passage, he really lays it out clearly. This is what living the Christian life is all about, and it's exactly what Fellowship of Christian Loggers is all about. My core desire for this ministry is that the folks in the timber industry would see Jesus Christ in my life and in the lives of those who are involved in FCL. I want people to see Christ in me every day and in every area of my life, not just for an hour or two on Sunday morning. I am so weak and continue to struggle with sin every day of my life, but as I grow and mature in Christ I hope that the world will see less of me and more of Him! If we are truly saved, if Christ has indeed died for us, if we have really been raised as a new creation in Him, then we must seek the things of The Lord. We must, by His strength, put to death our old ways and put on a new self. And whatever we do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus! Even as we go out into the woods, we can do what we do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we can be a living testimony as we go about our daily lives. This is my passion for FCL, that our industry will see Christ so clearly in our lives that they will hunger and thirst for what Christ has done in us!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


    Hey Brothers and Sisters, I just wanted to take a moment this morning to thank you all for your prayer and support for us last week as we were at the Oregon Logging Conference and our annual breakfast on Saturday. It was another awesome time with many great opportunities to share the Gospel and encourage other believers in our industry to stand up and be bold! Our brother Bill, a timber cutter from my home church in Oregon, shared his story of God’s miraculous, transforming work of redemptions in his life. Bill’s testimony is so encouraging to me, and such a great reminder of how powerful the gospel of Jesus Christ really is, and that we are called to be witnesses for Christ every day to those around us. I want to share this devotional from a past study we did through Ephesians. It was Paul’s call to the Ephesian Christians to be bold and prepared to stand for Jesus Christ! 


Ephesians 6:10-20 
    "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.”


     This is the last and probably most important passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesian believers. After Paul has spoken about how we as 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 to be 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 without it, the whole armor would come apart, without truth our lives would 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 surely 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 he who is in us is greater than 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 soldier's 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 from 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 in the whole armor of God. 


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods 

Romans 5
     “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”   


     In Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, he talks a lot about the law, judgment, righteousness, and faith. In this passage, we see how all of that is brought together in Christ. Paul makes it clear that we aren’t justified by doing good works or keeping the law, we’re justified by God’s amazing grace through faith in Jesus Christ! I love the way that Paul emphasizes the awesome power and grace of what Christ did through His sacrifice on the cross. Most of us would lay down our life for a close family member, maybe for a good friend, most likely not for a convicted felon though. But, Christ laid down His life for humanity while many were still living for sinful pursuits before we were even born and committed our first sin! Paul goes through a series of comparisons between Adam and Christ. He explains that just as sin entered the world through one man, Adam, salvation came into the world through one man, Jesus Christ. I love how he lays this out! If sin came into all of humanity through one common man, how much more can God’s grace abound through one man like Jesus Christ, who is actually the creator of the universe! I love verses 16-17, “And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” And, in verse 20, it says that the law came not so that man could follow enough rules to please God, but that their sin would be made so apparent that their need for Grace would be undeniable! Adam’s rebellion brought sin and death into the whole world, past present, and future. God’s plan of redemption through Jesus Christ brought life and grace beyond measure into the world. God is so good and so powerful, that His plan of redemption is retroactive back to Adam and reaches into the future thousands of years until the end of time! That is the kind of God we serve, and we can rejoice in that!

     Please keep us in prayer this week as we go to the Oregon Logging Conference. We will be there at the show with our booth sharing the gospel and will be hosting the Christian logger's breakfast on Saturday.  Pray that God will prepare us for service and that He will prepare hearts and give us opportunities to point people to Christ, all to His glory! Stop by and say hello if you’re around the show this week!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-   

WORD From The Woods


Ephesians 3:1-13
     "For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory."


   In this passage, the apostle Paul talks wrote about how the Jews and Gentiles are brought into the same body of believers in Christ. Paul says that this is the mystery of the gospel, revealed in Christ Jesus. In  Christ there is one body, true Israel, fellow heirs, and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel. Paul also makes clear in this passage that he was called to bring this promised gospel to the Gentile world. I love how he puts it in verse 2, Paul says that he was called to be a steward of God's grace. To be a steward of God's grace implies a couple of things, one, that God's grace is worth stewarding, and second, that to do so requires responsibility hard work, and dedication. If we are to be stewards of anything in life there will be responsibility, hard work, and dedication involved, as loggers we understand the concept of stewardship very well as it's applied to responsible forestry.  If we as loggers know how to be good stewards of God's creation, then how much more should we as Christians know how to be stewards of God's grace since we have been redeemed because of this amazing grace? If Christ has saved us by God's grace then we must be stewards of that Grace by being responsible servants who work hard to proclaim the gospel with dedication and devotion to our Lord and Savior!! Paul tells us in verse 12, as believers we have boldness and access to the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus, and we must share this as Paul did with the lost and hurting world!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods 


1 Timothy 1:12-20
    “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”


    In this passage, Paul is encouraging Timothy to stand firm in his faith and serve Christ with boldness. I really love what you see in Paul’s heart here. He doesn’t elevate himself at all, he only points to the power of God working in and through his life. So many people today who claim to be Christians are so self-focused in their faith. You see this in so much of popular Christian teaching and music, self is the primary subject of the message. Paul never does that! He only points to the power and grace of Christ in his life. He says here that he was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, and the foremost of sinners. But, so that God could demonstrate the incredible depths of His mercy and grace, Christ saved this wretched man Paul, and transformed him into one of the greatest Christian men who ever lived! Now we sit here 2000 years later still learning from the life and ministry of Paul. He mentions the prophecies made about Timothy, we see it mentioned again in chapter 4. We don’t have much information about the specifics of these prophecies, but apparently, the elders had laid their hands on Timothy and prayed and given a prophecy about God’s calling on Timothy’s life. This isn’t some kind of hocus pocus hyper spiritual craziness. These were mature Christian leaders who knew Timothy, probably discipled him, and saw God working in his young life. They must have spent much time in prayer and were led by the Holy Spirit to call Timothy into a life of service to Christ. This is one of the most important aspects of discipleship. As we teach and disciple younger brothers and sisters in Christ, we should always be lifting them up in prayer and seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading in how we should guide them as Paul was guiding Timothy. I experienced this in my life as a young man. I was probably 16 or 17, and my pastor had started discipling me, though I didn’t realize it at the time. He invited me to start meeting with him 2-3 times a week to lift weights and study scripture. I’m still learning today how much of an impact those times would have in my life. I believe that he spoke into my life in a prophetic way that was directed by the Holy Spirit, much like what Paul mentions about Timothy. It wasn’t something crazy, he simply said that he believed God was calling me into service and that he wanted me to start preaching. I had never spoken in front of people before, let alone prepared a sermon. In fact, I had told God that I would never do anything like that! But he said, in a couple weeks he had to be gone and he needed someone to preach at our local church and I was going to do it. He didn’t ask me, he just told me! I had no idea at the time what God was preparing me for, but as I look back I realize that was no accident, It was God speaking in and through Pastor Del, to call a young man to step outside of his comfort zone to serve Christ. As you seek to be faithful to Christ in discipleship, whether you are being discipled, or as you disciple others in Christ, I hope this is an encouragement to stand firm in the faith and trust the Holy Spirit that dwells within each of us as true followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 


God bless and have a great week! -Terry- 
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WORD From The Woods


Psalm 3
“O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God. Selah
But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah”


     The older I get, the more I love the Psalms. The deep wisdom and truth found in them, are like comfort food for the soul in the midst of the broken and chaotic world we live in. King David wrote this Psalm when he was in hiding from his own son Absalom, who was seeking to kill David. Most of us will never face a situation quite as distressing as David’s, but there is so much we can learn from David’s response to these trials as he poured out his heart to God. As followers of Christ, we have many foes in the world around us. Even if we aren’t facing direct persecution, there are many people, movements and institutions that rise up against Christ and his people. Just look around at all the voices and influences that say there is no God, no such thing as Salvation in Christ. They mock the Lord and deny His existence, and many times they ridicule us for professing faith in Him. David’s words here in Psalm 3 are all we need at times like that. The Lord is our shield, He is our glory! We don’t need glory from men, even when we are ridiculed for our faith, Christ is still King! And, as believers in Him, we have redemption and all the glory we will ever need is in Him!  We can stand confidently in the salvation of the Lord and lift up our head, regardless of anything going on in the world around us, unashamed in the light of His Glory. Just ponder on that for a minute….. We can cry out to the Lord, and He will answer us. In the midst of trials and tribulation, we can lay down at night and sleep in peace and comfort, knowing with all confidence, that the Lord will sustain us tomorrow. No matter who and how many may set themselves against us, Christ is King, and if we trust in Him for salvation, we are safe in Him (see Psalm 2).  Salvation belongs to the Lord, His blessings are on His people, while He strikes down the wicked enemies. We might not always feel like the Lord is victorious in the midst of the battle, but we can rest in the truth of scripture, lift our head and press forward, confident in our glorious King!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods


Philippians 2:12-18 
   "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me."


     In this passage, Paul is calling the Philippian church to become more obedient to Christ. This is really the central theme of most of Paul's letters. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, doesn't want us to just play around with the Christian life. Paul says in this passage that we should work out our own salvation with "fear and trembling." This doesn't mean that we are supposed to be terrified of God or of the Christian life, but Paul is making an essential point, that we must take the Christian life seriously! After all, didn't the Creator of the universe come in human form and live among this sinful, broken, and rebellious world to bring us salvation, because he loved us so much? When I sit and ponder the incredible grace of God, it really causes me to take my faith seriously, just as Paul is calling his readers to do here.  He goes on to say that it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. God is working in us and changing us through the process of sanctification, to become the men and women that He has called us to be.  The Holy Spirit dwelling within us guides our will and our actions more and more as we become more like Christ. God takes great pleasure in this because it glorifies Him! This is all so that we are able to stand strong for Christ in this crooked and twisted world, as "lights in the world" shining brightly for all to see! Paul tells us to hold fast to the word of God until Christ returns, even if we are "poured out as a drink offering" our labor is not in vain if we are working to share the gospel with the world around us. Even when we face the hard trials of life, we should be glad and rejoice in what Christ has done and is continuing to do in us and in the world! 


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-


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WORD From The Woods


Ephesians 1:15-23
    "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."


     The first thing that I want to point out in this passage is the way Paul prays, you see this example in all of Paul's writings. Paul always speaks of praying without ceasing, paying for others, giving thanks for them, lifting them up to the Lord and asking that He would bless them spiritually, with wisdom and knowledge of God.  Paul is constantly lifting others up to God, not that God would "fix" their problems, but that The Lord would bless them in the things of the Spirit. Paul's first thoughts when he goes to prayer is first to glorify the Lord God, Creator of all things and then to pray on behalf of his brothers and sisters in Christ. Rarely do we see Paul asking God to do something for himself, even though we know Paul had some very real struggles of his own, he still thinks of God and then others before himself in prayer. If we could learn just one thing from this passage, it would be to reevaluate the things we go to God with in prayer. God truly cares about the most minute detail of our daily lives, but I think we have become an extremely selfish culture in the way we pray to the God who spoke the limitless galaxies of this universe into existence. Paul then goes on to reiterate what he spoke of earlier in chapter 1. He wants the readers to really grasp what this "inheritance" really is. He is telling us that to be a Christian is not just to know that when we die we will go to be with The Lord, but that while we live in this life we have obtained an inheritance of spiritual blessing and growth in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit living in us as believers.  If we have truly been redeemed by the blood of Christ, then we have the Holy Spirit living in us and we are called to grow in the Spirit by seeking God in prayer and reading of His word. As we pray and read His word and allow the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and minds we will grow in wisdom and knowledge of the things of God and our desire for such things will continue to increase. As we are told in God's word, "seek first the kingdom of God” and everything else will fall into place.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
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WORD from the woods


Mark 4:1-20  
     “Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that
“they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”


     This is one of those passages that many of us are very familiar with, if you were raised in church like I was then you likely remember this parable as a Sunday school flannel graph. In the second half of this passage, Jesus clearly explains to the disciples that the seed is like the word of God and the ground is like the condition of a person's heart. When we look at this parable, we tend to think about the gospel being shared with unbelievers as the "word being sown" and I think that's part of what this parable is about, but I think it also refers to the word of God being sown among the hearts of believers as well. As followers of Christ, the word of God must constantly be sown in the ground of our hearts through reading and studying the scriptures, through teaching, prayer, and through fellowship with other believers. Just because we are followers of Christ doesn't mean that our hearts can't become like the hard ground, where the teaching of God's word isn't well rooted and persecution or tribulation arises on account of the word and the person falls away. I'm not saying that the person loses their salvation, but that they can become hard hearted and drift away from the vibrant, growing relationship that God desires to have with them. Sometimes a believer might hear the word of God and the desires and riches of this world are like thorns that choke out the word and it proves to be unfruitful. We must prepare our hearts like a farmer prepares the ground, we must constantly be in prayer, studying the word, confessing our sin to God, and working the ground of our hearts so that it doesn't become hard. When God sows His word on good soil, it will be abundantly fruitful. I'd like to say that as a follower of Christ, my heart is always prepared to hear from the Lord, but that would be a lie. I constantly struggle with temptation and the distractions of this world that satan uses to get ahold of my heart. I need to work the ground of my heart daily so that it doesn't become hard. One of the reasons that Jesus gave so many of His teachings in parables was to give us an easy way to remember them. I hope that this passage will stay on your mind this week and encourage you to cultivate a heart that will be fruitful. 


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-