WORD From The Woods


James 2:14-26
    What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.


     This is a pretty familiar passage to a lot of professing Christians, but many times it isn’t looked at in it’s complete context. Most likely, you've heard the phrase "faith without works is dead" or "even the demons believe and shudder.” Faith by itself is really just empty faith, and simply believing in your mind that God exists doesn't save anyone. The demons know for a fact that God exists, they once dwelt in His presence before they were cast down with Satan in rebellion. Christians like to quote these phrases but seldom like to apply this passage to their own life. Some people take this passage completely out of context and teach that we are saved by doing good works.  When James is speaking of being "justified by works," he is talking about our faith being proven by works. Our salvation is accomplished by Christ’s work of redemption on the cross alone, "not by works, lest any man should boast." James is telling us that if there is no evidence of good works in our life, then our faith is dead. He's pretty blunt about it, but this is something that we all need to take seriously. We do a lot of commercial thinning.  My main objective in a thinning is selecting the healthiest trees as leave trees and removing the suppressed and dead trees. When I see a dead tree in a stand, it's clearly dead. A dead tree can have all the faith in the world but it's still dead. I know that a tree is alive when I see green limbs and active growth. In the same way,  a genuine, actively growing faith is proven by good works. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage from James will challenge you to take a real honest look at your heart. Ask God to reveal the areas where your faith may be suppressed or even dead. Unlike a dead tree that can only stay dead, God can bring even the most dead hearts back to life! We have to decide if we're going to just say we're Christians or if we're really going to follow Christ!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

​WORD From The Woods
1 Timothy 3:14-16
“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”


    In this short passage, Paul seems to take a brief pause from his letter to Timothy to give another introduction, and remind the young pastor Timothy what the purpose of this letter was all about. The wording used here to refer to the household, or church of the living God, really has the idea of family behind it. This letter is all about how we are to behave within the church family of the living God. If we are true followers of Christ, then we are members of His family and Paul calls us a pillar and buttress of truth! This passage is right in the middle of some very clear and bold instructions for Christian living, The thing I love about this letter is that it’s clear and concise! As loggers, we can appreciate that! Most of us tend to like things that way and that’s one of the reasons we’re in the line of work we are. This little passage sums up the entire letter, and the last 6 lines are written in the form of a hymn that briefly explains the whole ministry of Jesus Christ.
“He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”
That pretty much says it all! Jesus came to live among us, gave us an example to follow, died in our place, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven where He is reigning now as the sovereign King and Lord of the universe. If we place our faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins and trust Him with our heart we are brought into this family of the living God where we find redemption and everlasting life! If this is all we knew about Jesus and the Bible, it would be enough. As you go out this week remember the truth of the gospel and  share it with the world around you! We are a pillar and buttress of truth, the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Romans 12
    “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”


This passage is very straight forward and to the point. There really isn’t much to say about it, we just need to read it and do what Paul, the inspired apostle says to do! This particular chapter has been used in so many different sermons, teachings and devotionals over the last 2000 years. We should know every word by memory, it’s a great prescription for how a Christ-follower should live the Christian life. As Christians, the way we live our life is a representation of Christ to the rest of the world, and our life reads like a book. And  people will read it, they’re watching every thing you do. When people read it, what will the testimony of your life say to them? The whole point of this ministry and these weekly devotionals is to encourage and equip you to be a living witness to the men and women around you in the timber industry. Paul’s words in this passage couldn’t be more critically important to this mission. We are called to be living sacrifices and living testimonies for the creator and His plan to redeem sinful humanity! Our industry tends to be a bit rough in the way loggers conduct themselves. We can easily fall into those things. Rather than becoming conformed to the way those around are acting and speaking, let’s purpose to be change agents who are know by the principals that Paul lays out in Romans 12! Read this passage until it’s written in the pages of your heart. Three words that help me to remember it are Grace, Honor and Love. When you face a situation where your sinful pride is about to well up, remember those three words!


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


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


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


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


     ​

WORD from the woods


Matthew 26:36-50
     “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.”




     This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all powerful, all knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know, or think we know the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly? How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our mind drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we're normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do.  Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted by the other disciples since he was entrusted with the group’s finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer as well. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to the Lord in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way, hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that he would be glorified in the process.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


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


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


God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD From The Woods


Ephesians 4:17-32 
   "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."


    In this passage, Paul teaches us how our lives should look if we are truly saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord. He says that we should no longer walk as Gentiles do, but what does he mean by this? After all, aren't most of us in the world today Gentiles and not Hebrews? Paul makes clear in most of his writings that to be a part of God's covenant people, it's not about Hebrew or Gentile heritage, it's about placing our trust in Christ for salvation. Paul uses the picture of Jews and Gentiles as a living metaphor for the contrast between believers and unbelievers, those who follow God and those who don't.  In this passage, Paul gives a list of things that we as followers of Christ should and should not do. He makes clear that if we are in Christ then we must put off our old way of living and put on a new self in Christ, being renewed in the spirit of our minds, being created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness! We must always remember that this righteousness and holiness doesn’t come from some "inner strength" that we draw from, it comes from The Holy Spirit living in us and the light of Christ shining through us.  As Paul says in verse 30, if Christ is our savior then we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God for the day of redemption! We will still struggle with sin and temptation as Christians in this life until the day of redemption. Even though we are seen as holy and righteous positionally before God, we are still sinners practically in this life. This is not an excuse to be cavalier about sin, but our lives should show a pattern of this new life that Paul talks about and not a pattern of the old life. If we are in Christ and have the Holy Spirit, then our lives will indeed show it! 


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

WORD from the woods


Matthew 26:36-50
     “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.”




     This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all powerful, all knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know, or think we know the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say "how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly?" How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our mind drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we're normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do.  Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted by the other disciples since he was entrusted with the group’s finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer as well. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to the Lord in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way, hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that he would be glorified in the process.


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-

WORD from the woods


Colossians 1:15-23
     "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."


    This is without question, one of the most incredible passages in all of scripture! These verses emphasize the most important and central point of Christianity, the glory and preeminence of Christ. The first verse, says that Christ is the firstborn of all creation, this doesn't mean that He was created first, the very next verse says that He created everything! The term firstborn is a way of telling us that Christ is above all things, He has always existed as the second person of the triune God. Just as in many cultures, the firstborn son becomes the head of the family, so Christ is the head of the family of God, the head of the church. And not merely the head of the church, since He created all dominions and authorities, He is over and above all rule and authority. Christ is King over everything in heaven and on earth, and nothing happens that He is not sovereign over! When Paul says, that Christ is the firstborn from the dead, he is telling us that Christ was and is the first to be resurrected, and one day we will follow Him in resurrection!  We are told here, that all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Christ, this tells us that while He walked the earth, he was still 100% the almighty creator of everything. Our savior Jesus Christ, lived and breathed and walked this world to set a perfect example for us to follow, and in the process He became the perfect, unblemished, Lamb of God who was sacrificed in our place on the cross. Through this, God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, that even sinners like us can be presented as holy and blameless before the Father. Paul charges us to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of this gospel, which has been proclaimed in all creation! Praise God that he has sent His Son for us! When I think about who Christ is, and who I am as a broken sinner, it's almost unbelievable that He would let me come to the table of grace and have the kind of forgiveness that only He can offer and then serve Him as King and Lord of all!


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

WORD From The Woods


Psalm 1
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”




    I love this Psalm, It’s simple but it really outlines the christian life. I always like a good tree metaphor, Christ did as well, he taught a lot about trees producing good fruit and likened that to the life of a true Christ-follower. We get to see the reality of healthy trees every day in the timber industry. Over the last few years we’ve seen the effects that a drought has on trees, they get very weak and can die. All over this area we’ve seen young healthy stands just turn red and die from lack of water. This psalm talks about a man who walks not in the way of the wicked but delights in the word of the Lord and focuses his mind on it. That man is like a tree planted by streams of water and produces good fruit. I’ll add to this picture and say that Christ is that stream of water! He is the living water, the water of life! If our roots are drawing water from Him and nourishment from his word, we will produce good fruit! When I look around the “christian world” in America, I see a lot of trees that are turning red and dying from lack of water and nourishment. My friends, we are called to Christ, not only to have a “get out of hell free card,” but to have eternal life, and that life starts in this world. We are called to have a living, healthy, growing, fruit-bearing life rooted in Christ! If we have truly placed our faith and trust In Christ then we are rooted in Him. If someone is turning red and withering away, It’s likely they never were rooted in Christ to begin with. The end of this psalm talks about the reality that there is a time of judgement coming. The wicked will not stand in the judgment, but the righteous will live with Christ forever. We know that this isn’t a righteousness that we have by our own strength, it’s only by the righteousness of Christ that covers us when we’re rooted in Him. This judgment that’s spoken of here is real and it’s coming, Jesus talks about it in John 5: 27-29
“And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
   We need to make sure we’re rooted in Christ before we die or He returns. And we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world around us. Because there are no second chances once we face the judgment seat at the end of this life!


God bless and have a great week! -Terry-