What's up today (bullchiting) thread.

Caffeine! Dogs needed out at 4:50. I told my wife, who started to get out of bed, to stay and get some more sleep. I’m going down. I knew I would not go back to sleep anyway. Well, the warmer and nicer weather is over for now. Snow predicted for today is 2-3”, Friday is 2-4”, Saturday is 5-6”. Oh well. The other day someone on the electronic chowder head box said that Spring is only 23 days away.

 

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. 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! 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-