My 2015 Bible Theme Verse

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Todd Wood

Hi friends,

I am back online.  Let me share with you all my theme passage for the new year.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2

Posted in 2015 Bible theme verse | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Best Western Driftwood

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Todd Wood

Our family spent a night in Suite #93 at the Best Western Driftwood.

DSC02032

It’s a great price – the best bang for the buck that I have seen on the Idaho Falls greenbelt.  Soup, cookies, and complimentary newspapers were in the front foyer.  A gas fireplace provided a cozy, warm atmosphere.

Our suite sat on the second floor above the Jacuzzi and exercise rooms.  Windows opened up to small balcony spaces overlooking the West bank of the Snake River.

Evening light . . .

DSC02034

Morning frost . . .

DSC02040

This is a closer look at the falls across the street.

DSC02043

After a jog on the treadmill and a soak in the hot tub, we enjoyed a stellar breakfast.  Guests can custom order their own omelettes.

DSC02037

Thank you to the Best Western staff for an enjoyable overnight get-away.

DSC02042

Posted in reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The God-Man (12/22/05)

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Todd Wood

I had fun teasing my wife a couple of nights ago during a bed time discussion, probing her position on Christ.  Does Jesus have a single nature that is a mix of divine and human qualities?  In Jesus, is there a divine personality coexisting with a human personality?  Does Jesus have a human body, human soul, and a divine spirit?  Did a divine Christ descend upon a human Jesus?  Is it possible for a human Jesus to morph into a divine Jesus?

Christmas is a perfect time to examine Eutychian, Nestorian, Apollinarian, Arian, Ebion, and Gnostic heresies.  I told my wife “one may describe the person of Christ incarnate as being full of Deity and perfect humanity united without mixture, change, division, or separation in one Person forever.”  We can’t divide His Person or “confound” His two natures.

I asked my wife to try to explain this to me:

  1. Jesus has a full, divine nature . . . truly God.
  2. Jesus has a full, sinless human nature . . . truly man.
  3. Jesus is only one Person.

Our bedroom became very quiet.

Some would say, “Todd, this is only the teaching of ancient church councils and creeds.”  Incidentally, the Council of Chalcedon did declare Christ as “Son, Lord, Only-Begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form One Person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two Persons, but one and the same Son and Only-Begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ” (modern translation).  Yet the men of the council were not creating new revelation, but only acknowledging, submitting their hearts to the inspired, written revelation of Christ.

I carefully try to explain to my friends in Idaho Falls who think I have jumped into ancient mythology and have hit my head against something “internally self-contradictory” that Church creeds are not on the same par with Scripture.  Philip Schaff wrote, “The person of Jesus Christ in the fullness of its theanthropic life cannot be exhaustively set forth by any formulas of human logic . . . The formulas of orthodoxy can neither beget true faith, nor nourish it; they are not the bread and water of life, but a standard for theological investigation and a rule for public teaching.”  Yet nonetheless, I tell my friends, the Bible teaches all three points, numbered earlier, about Christ.  And “the birth of Jesus” is not a human coming  from God to mankind.  It is God bridging the great chasm caused by men’s sin and becoming a man.  God and man are united in One Person, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip Schaff wrote, “This incarnation is neither a conversion of God into a man, nor a conversion of a man into God; neither a humanizing of the divine, nor a deification or apotheosis of the human; nor on the other hand is it a mere outward, transitory connection of the two factors; but an actual and abiding union of the two in one personal life. . . The result of the incarnation, that infinite act of divine love, is the God-Man.  Not a (Nestorian) double being, with two persons; nor a compound (Apollinarian or Monophysite) middle being, a tertium quid, neither divine nor human; but one person, who is both dvine and human.”

Men are sometimes in a quandary, trying to understand their wives’ personalities.  But that Baby in the manger is the most marvelous, complex Person every introduced to me.  Descriptions of Him in Scripture are proof enough against all man’s foolish, irrational ideas.  And any contradictions in our minds are reconciled in Him.  My wife does not need to explain Christ to me.  For I cannot explain fully His composition to her.  We need not analogies; we just worship in awe.

Hallelujah!

Hosanna!

Glory be to God!

Posted in Christmas meditation, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Todd Wood

President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed the feelings of many on Christmas Eve, 1944:

Here, at home, we will celebrate this Christmas Day in our traditional American way because the deep spiritual meaning to us; because the teachings of Christ are fundamental in our lives; and because we want our youngest generation to grow up knowing the significance of this tradition and the story of the coming of the immortal Prince of Peace and Good Will.

Posted in Christmas meditation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Temperance (12/26/03)

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Todd Wood

Temperance.  Is this word even possible during the Christmas season of eating?  Ever since our neighborhood caroling this past Sunday evening, our family has been receiving plate after plate of goodies.  I can’t begin to describe to you all these fat calories I have seen loaded on plates.  They come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors.  Tuesday night, just when I thought I had sampled enough from one plate and firmly resolved to eat no more, another plate arrives.  The doorbell kept ringing till almost 10:00 that night.  I can see where only the Holy Spirit can enable one with a sweet tooth to have any sense of self-control during Christmas.  When Peter says, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith . . . temperance”, I find the Christmas season to be an excellent testing ground for this Christian character trait.  Don’t you think?

I have so enjoyed all the rich feasting that I have had trouble holding my appetite in check.  In our abundance of goodies, how easy it is for our bellies to become as fluffy as the snow outside.

Posted in Christmas meditation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Christ triumphs over paganism (12/19/03)

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Todd Wood

Early in the year at a teen Bible study, I remember the comments of a Christian girl.  “We didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up.”  Her family is not alone.  Many of the conservative Puritans in between the years, 1659-1681, didn’t celebrate Christmas either.  Christmas time in England was a royal mess, a combination of Mardi Grass and Halloween carnival.  The Puritans couldn’t stand the pagan festivals and Catholic associations.  I am well acquainted with the history of Saturnus and Mithras, St. Nicholas, Pope Julius I and December 25, and St. Francis of Assisi and nativity scenes.  Actually, in what I have read about the historical monk, Hagios Nikolaus (A.D. 270-310), the Bishop of Myra, I tend to like.  He seems to have been spared much of the increasing Catholic corruption in the upcoming years.

I like the Christmas season.  I don’t practice “separation because of association.”  I agree with Martin Luther.  Let Christianity stamp its place right on top of pagan and Catholic overtones of the date, December 25.  Christ conquers all.  “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest . . . and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”  I enjoy holly and evergreens.  I love the smell of Christmas fir trees; and I appreciate manger scenes in front of churches, in restaurants, and on fireplace mantels.  It all means much, reminding me again and again of my Savior.

And what about all the gift-giving?  Author Ace Collins writes, “Today, shoppers spend more than $4 billion per Christmas shopping day, or about $2.8 million each minute, during the holiday season in the United States alone.  The average person in the U.S. spent more than $1,000 on Christmas gifts in 2002.”  Yes, I am sure the Puritans would be shocked.

But friends, it is ok to shop, to buy, and to give when done in love.  It is not even Christmas yet, and I have been given so much.  (1) The other day, an Idaho hunter wouldn’t even let me get out of my car to pump air in my deflated tire.  He didn’t want the rain to spoil my Sunday clothes. (2) Neighbors have given me plenty.  One neighbor has lent me all his company’s sheetrock tools for my addition.  (3) Just yesterday, a policeman clocked me over the speed limit on the freeway.  With my mom in the passenger seat, I was racing to a Bible study in Ucon.  The officer let me off the hook.  With a smile, he said, “A Christmas gift.”  (4) And of course, my family and church family have showered me in gifts of kindness.

All of your giving reflects the Giver.  The Giver cannot be thwarted or stopped.  Christ triumphs over paganism.

Posted in Christmas meditation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The King (12/17/03)

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Todd Wood

Kings are in much conversation, both in Hollywood and the news.  I have heard the stories of many kings.  Their power.  Their splendor.  I have seen pictures of palaces and beautiful estates where many of them have lived.  But unfortunately, all earthly kings fail.  And it is no different among the modern ones, today.  In fact, CNN brings to us daily news of a good-for-nothing, evil king that terrorized his people.  The wretched bag of bones gluttonized on the torture and destruction of those under him.  I’m very thankful that Iraqi saints no longer have to be under the Bible injunction, “Honor the king”, in reference to Saddam Hussein.   Only the Holy Spirit could have enabled one to fulfill such a command, as He did with NT believers.

Deep within, our hearts yearn for a perfect king.  We want a king who reigns in strength, truth, and love.  Is there a king who is as fierce as a lion and as gentle as a lamb?

We know there is such a King.  The God-man.  It is Jesus, “who is the blessed and only Pontentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.”

We bow before “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.”

Let “thine eyes behold the beauty of the King.”

He is returning.  And He will “put all enemies under his feet”.  Now that is a King to talk about.

Posted in Christmas meditation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Son of Bethlehem, we need You (12/15/03)

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Todd Wood

No bus in Jerusalem would take us.  Some of the locals advised us not to go.  All of the tourist information boxed in with warning signs the West Bank sections of their books.  But my buddy and I wanted to go.  Finally, at the Jaffa gate, we hooked up with a Palestinian Muslim taxi driver.  I had to see the birthplace of Jesus.

We coaxed the driver into one stop before Bethlehem . . . the cave of Machpelah.  Sitting in the back, I held back the urge to slink down in my seat.  Hebron lay in decay and rubbish.  I saw deeply troubled people.  Hardened stares returned my nervous glances.  No one smiled.  Over the ancient burial place of Abraham, we looked up at a large Muslim building.  Israeli soldiers frisked us, businesslike, at two different checkpoints.  They missed nothing.  Inside, our shoes went off immediately.  And I didn’t understand one word of the attendant, fiercely jabbering in Arabic.  It was nice to get back outside and breathe some fresh air.

Bethlehem was no better.  The huge, ancient fortress had withstood the ravages of time and war, standing intact since the early sixth century.  But the darkness of the monstrous Basilica of the Nativity swallowed us up in its gloom.  Suffocating smoke from incense.  Paintings, candles, statues.  All kinds of visible expressions of church wealth accosted the tourist.  But where was the holy Child of Bethlehem in all of this?  Bethlehem had traded Roman oppression for the oppression of church commercialism.  No one wanted to see a simple cave or a stone trough.

I had to get out of Bethlehem, tired of peddlers in the square and cheap, olive wood trinkets jammed up in my face.  The taxi driver quickly drove us up to a shepherd’s hillside.  “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!  Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.”  I disagree with this statement by Phillips Brooks.  That’s not what I discovered when I went to Bethlehem.  I found a city wracked with pain and turmoil.  “O holy Child of Bethlehem”, the people need You.

People all around us in Idaho Falls need You.  I need You.

“Descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in–be born in us today.”

Posted in Christmas meditation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Peace for the world (12/11/03)

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Todd Wood

Recently, I took my family to a local Christmas concert.  Coming in to the newly-renovated theater, I admired the building’s interior:  beautiful plaster design, intricate octagonal tile work, and sky lights in the lobby.  We made our way up into the circular balcony.  Relaxing in the padded seats, we listened to a wide assortment of Christmas music sung by the adult and children’s choirs.  The last song, “Hope of Consolation”, brought the climax.  The song shared everyone’s longing for worldwide peace.  The one introducing the song could hardly articulate the words.  She choked back tears.

Hey, let’s pull of the sentimental glow of Christmas for a minute.  People are struggling.  Really struggling.  Some are starving.  Some are being tortured.  Some are dying of AIDS.  Bitterness, anger, and hate beats wildly in hearts — tearing, dividing, and destroying.  Man’s sinful emotions reveal the desperate insanity.  Currently, many of our American soldiers are embroiled in complex terrorism.  People in our nation are receiving and flinging criticism at each other like shrapnel.  From time to time, it seems like hell itself splashes right up on the shores of our world.

Some don’t like Christmas.  It is the time when a brother and sister’s parents got divorced.  It is that season three years ago, when a discouraged mother allowed the murder of her unborn child.  It is the holiday last year when that young wife got hit by a drunk driver.

We need more than eggnog, mistletoe, and Santa Claus to warm our fearful hearts.  Christmas parties can only do so much in numbing the pain.  We need the continuing, conquering, all-victorious power of the Christ child–yes, that little humble babe in that smelly, ugly barn.  He is not afraid to mingle with those who are vulnerable and dirty.  He has seen it all–the wretched misery of mankind, and what lurks in our own hearts.  He bore it.  He became it.

So is there peace?  Is there such a thing for the heart to possess?  Yes, it is all in Him.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:  and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Posted in Christmas meditation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Orange Leaf

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Todd Wood

DSC02006

In my opinion, Orange Leaf is the best creamy taste in town.  And the toppings are an added bonus.  Go ahead.  Try it.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Posted in food reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment