Thoughts
There’s a video on the Internet that’s a favorite of mine. In it there’s a female mountain lion with a cub, and a grizzly bear out looking for a meal. You can guess what happens next. The bear tries to attack the lion cub, but momma is standing in the way. The bear is much bigger and stronger than the lion; but, pound for pound, there’s a lot of fight in that momma lion! It gets kind of crazy when the lion actually attacks the bear, drives it away and saves her baby. (It is really kind of comical because, as the bear came in with his head down, the lion got ahold of the bear, and was hanging from the bear’s ear.) Now by all rights, the grizzly should have been able to whip that lion. But, the lion resisted the bear, stood very firm and won the day. (CS)

Action Point
This passage emphasizes that the devil is very much a real being, that he is out looking for us and intends to destroy us. But, it also tells us how to win the battle: resist him, and stand firm in your faith. Remember that the devil is a master deceiver. The devil is not a lion; he just wants us to think that he is one. The simple fact is that he cannot devour us because of our faith in Jesus. But, he can make us think that we’re of no use to the Kingdom, and that is what he wants to do. As I said, he’s a liar. How do I know? The Bible tells me so in John 8:44! We are all of service and value to the cause of Christ! We all have unique gifts that the Lord has given us to use for Him. We must stand strong in our faith in the face of the deceiver, and use those gifts for the Kingdom. Let’s ask again: How do we resist the devil? By standing firm in our faith. How does our faith grow? By getting into God’s Word (Romans 10:17). Read it, study it, live it. Then, stand firm!

Thoughts
The two bucks started with a simple scuffle. It was nothing serious, kinda like two boys on the playground. The two young bucks continued and the fight intensified. Soon, what I was witnessing was an all-out brawl. One deer would push and shove the other backwards, and then the second deer would grab his footing and return the favor. They pushed, twisted and flailed until I thought they would break each other’s neck. The power displayed was enormous. Finally, the exhausted deer broke apart and one was left alone, victorious. (DW)

Action Point
Some people love the power in cars, others seek power from their jobs; still others take power in relationships. Power is one of the temptations that Satan used to attempt to overthrow Christ’s purpose. Satan promised Jesus, the Creator of the entire universe, all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him. Yet all the power we ever need for everything we face is found in the Holy Spirit. God Himself is living inside us, empowering us to live for Him. Those of us who are in Christ Jesus don’t need the power from an outside source.

Thoughts
The terminology in the Wycliffe translation of Hawaii Pigin may be a bit tough for some, but it is a good read on the verse. The New American Standard Bible translates the last line, “making the most of every opportunity.” If you are a “Christ Follower”, a Christian, no doubt you are around people each day who “no trus God still yet”. They don’t trust Him because they don’t know Him. They may believe He exists in some way: “Yes, I believe there is a God.”, but they don’t know Him. To know Him is to trust Him. And trusting Him is to know Him by experience. (RE)

Action Point
Do you know God on a personal level? Can those around you who don’t know Him see the reality of your knowing? “Try tink first, da ways you guys ack around dem.” Our acting as Christians is evidence of our knowing Him…or not! Do you know Him?

Thoughts
People are constantly looking for a new word from God, but God has already spoken His last Word. His last Word is Christ. Consider what it means if Christ were not the last Word: Our faith would be worthless, because it would be faith only in an interim savior. To look for a new word from God subjects us to being tossed to and fro by every idea that sounds new. If we hope for and expect a new word from God, it means we lack faith in what he has already done. He Himself has broken into history in the person of Christ; and Christ is not an interim Savior. He is God’s last Word, and that makes us better off than the prophets, better off even than contemporaries of Jesus. God’s last Word is Jesus Christ alone. To look for something or someone else is to fail to put our hope in Christ, who paid for our sins and is “the exact representation of His being.” To know what God is like, we must look at Christ. (Steve S.)

Action Point
Lots of people are willing to talk about God. They willingly declare their belief in God, usually in general terms. Next time you hear someone talk in general terms about God, turn the conversation to Christ, who repeatedly claimed to be God. “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Thoughts
As Thanksgiving Day approached, these verses in 1Thessalonians were on my mind. The word that kept jumping off the page and in my mind was ALL. What a challenge to give thanks in ALL circumstances–when we are with family we do not want to be around, or if we just left our Paw Paw’s funeral. It can be understandably tough this time of the year to have a thankful attitude, considering what many folks are going through with layoffs, cuts in pay, increasing costs of goods and services that tighten the monthly outflow. With these things in mind, this Thanksgiving season we ALL need to take some time out and consider how blessed we are and what a mighty God we serve!

Action Point
Let’s get paper and pencil out, take time to write ALL the things for which we are thankful this season, and then, share them around the meal we may have with family and friends in the coming days.

Thoughts
These days, there are so many things that can cause us to shorten our time with our kids. I won’t even begin to list them. You know what they are in your life. Yet, I hear parents complain about their kid’s behavior or their trouble with school work. Then later in life, they end up involved in drugs or even jail for criminal activities. Jesus made it simple for us. He said if you spend time with your kids you will be blessed. The best part is, so will your kids. (JS)

Action Point
Involve your kids in your daily activities. Better yet, involve yourself in their daily activities. All they really want is your presence. Nothing more complicated than you being there with them. That’s it!

Thoughts
When my son graduated from high school several years ago, my wife and I wanted to take him on a fishing trip in Canada. We set up the trip for a remote lake with walleye, pike and lake trout. The trip to our island cabin was in a leaky boat, but the cabin was comfortable and the area looked pristine and beautiful. On the second day out fishing, we stopped on a small island shore for lunch. While the guide cooked trout over an open fire, I wandered around the island. Much to my amazement and disappointment, I found that the pristine island was covered with left-behind trash, hidden beneath the moss. (BFS)

Action Point
I was angry when I saw the garbage, and I still get angry when I come upon littered camps. I get angry when I climb to the top of a mountain peak and find aluminum cans and foil candy wrappers. I think David was angry here at “worthlessness” also, yet goes on to tell us not to hold onto our anger; but rather, continue walking in the shadow of His righteousness. Let Him take care of the offenders. In the meantime, put your anger to work–carry out the “left-behinds” and make the area look better than when you arrived.

Thoughts
Every year, we offer several trophy bison bull hunts in South Dakota. Hunters come from all over the country to harvest a 2,000lb bull. One of the reasons they come to the Black Hills and take a bison bull, is to get their name written in the “book”. The book is the Boone and Crockett trophy book, which keeps a record of hunters and their trophy game. The Boone and Crockett club was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and a small group of his friends. Conservation groups like B&C and others do a great job promoting fair chase and protecting our resource for future generations. (RT)

Action Point
Did you know God has a “trophy book” of His own? It’s called the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 21:27). This is the greatest book of all in which to have your name recorded. The names written in this book will have eternal life in heaven. If you have not done so, this would be the perfect time to get into God’s record book. Check this out:

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you WILL be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
(Romans 10:9-10–also known as TNT– dynamite).

Thoughts
Before our children were born, my wife and I had two best friends–our dogs. On one occasion, I wanted to go on a short camping trip, but my wife’s work schedule would not permit her to go; so I packed up the truck with the necessary supplies–sleeping bag, tent, plus our two dogs–and left for the mountains. When I arrived, I quickly set up camp and decided to go for a hike with my dogs. We were about two miles from camp when we rounded a creek bed that fed a clearing in the forest. Standing in the middle of the clearing was a herd of twenty or so grazing elk. My dogs immediately began barking and running straight at the elk. The elk, startled and amazed, began to flee, pursued by my two dogs giving chase as I followed well behind trying to coax them back. It did not take long and the elk were out of site. So were my dogs. My stomach sank. The forest was deadly silent–no hooves hitting the ground, no more barking, just me and my pounding heart, alone. We were a hundred miles from home and my two best friends were lost. (BM)

Action Point
Jesus tells the parable in Luke of the prodigal son. Rather than wait until his father’s death, he asked for his share of his father’s wealth early. Then he proceeded to go and waste all his inheritance on wild living, only to return to his father, broken and desolate. His father welcomed him home with open arms and offered him the best of all that he had.

There have been times in my life when I have chosen to live outside of God’s will, and He knew I would become lost. He watched me run away from Him, chasing something that I was not going to catch. I think about those times and wonder, “Did God feel the way I did in that forest when my dogs were lost and wandering? Did He feel His stomach sink? Did He feel His heartbeat?” I do know that He is always faithful–that each time I come back feeling broken and desolate, He has always been there with open arms, offering the best that He has and welcoming me home.

Thoughts
One night high in the mountains, my husband and I were camped out in our cozy two-man tent. It was the night before his bull elk hunt, and there was a great sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. There was also a powerful storm moving in, and it was quite apparent that we needed to seek shelter in our little tent and wait out the impending downpour. The storm came quickly and the rain was so loud that we shouted to get our voices to carry over its roar. More impressive than the power of the rain was the lightning–cracking and popping with no distinction between lightning strike and thunder. Searching for some courage, I yelled to my husband right next to me, “Honey, are you scared?” Athough honest, his reply did not provide the inspiration for which I’d hoped. “Well, I’m getting there!” he shouted. I laughed nervously and began to pray, pray, pray. (SDS)

Action Point
When the storms rage, there is only One who can comfort, only One who can provide the courage needed to withstand; and only One who can say with authority, “Peace, be still.” This One is Jesus. We need not yell, we need not panic; we need only to bow in humility and acknowledge the awesome power of our King. He alone is able to bring us through the storm to safety.