Thoughts
Tools and gadgets are part of outdoor fun. We all have a bag, a vest, a tackle box, or maybe even a garage full of them! They make outdoor times more productive and enjoyable. Going through catalogs helps get us through times of “cabin fever” between seasons. We all know that there are specialty tools with a specific purpose and function. If we need a certain job done, we must have that particular tool to do it. Outdoor shows feature myriad varieties of such tools; and part of the enjoyment in attending these shows is to learn about the new ones, and to purchase what we need. (JM)

Action Point
Our bodies are tools. We choose if they are tools for good or tools for sinning. Certainly these influences–good or bad–may be upon ourselves or others. God has specific functions for each of us. We are intentionally constructed for His purposes. He invites us to join Him in His work here in this world to accomplish unique things for His glory. He rewards and disciplines us for what we do, whether we choose to do good or to use our bodies for evil. (2 Cor 5:10) But His intent is for us to use our bodies as tools to accomplish good as He defines it. I choose to use my body for good and for His glory. Which purpose will you choose? Will you choose to use your body as a tool for good or for sinning?

Thoughts
Each morning at sunup, during my daily quiet time, I have a treat–watching 50 to 60 cow elk with yearlings walk across the meadow in front of my house. They gather this time of year in anticipation of calving, which usually occurs sometime in April. Banding together in such a large group provides protection while calving, as the coyotes and Mexican gray wolves in the area tend to know when the cows are dropping their newborn. I will know when this happens, as they tend not to cross the pasture in the open right after they calve. (BFS)

Action Point
You and I also need protection from the predator, Satan, as he continually stalks us (1 Peter 5:8). The scriptures warn us again and again about immorality. We often fail to recognize the spiritual war that attacks us through the media on a daily basis.

Pay attention to the Holy Spirit if He repeatedly warns you about a temptation or dangerous situation.
Keep yourself chaste.
Don’t depend on your own strength and wisdom in times of weakness.
Call upon Jesus and lean on His strength in fighting these battles.
You will gain strength if you take time out daily to read your Bible.

Thoughts
I’m sure you’ve heard practice makes perfect, but that isn’t always the case. If I practice using wrong form or bad follow- through when I am shooting, it won’t matter if I shoot ten or a hundred shots, I won’t get any better.

In archery, there is a term called “punching the trigger”, which describes what many archers do that is a shot-killing No-No. “Punching the trigger” is similar to how you shoot a shotgun. With a rifle, you squeeze the trigger; but if you use a bow with a mechanical release, you should pull through the trigger. I may shoot repeatedly, until I am so tired I can’t even hold the bow; but if I have been “punching the trigger”, I will have been inconsistent with my shots. My cure for my archery shot is to set close to the target, then close my eyes and practice the perfect shot. At this point, my shooting is not about aiming, but getting a sense that my form is right. (DW)

Action Point
I struggle in my life, trying to get everything right–juggling work, family, bills, to-do lists–and I am not being consistent in my life with God. So, In my spiritual life, when I just can’t get everything right, I must stop, close my eyes and make sure my form is right. God has the standard to which we must align ourselves, and everything else will fall into place.

Thoughts
My father-in-law and I once drug a mule deer out of a canyon in Southwest New Mexico. I remember how tough that experience was and the hardship we went through to get the animal to its final resting place.

It is never promised that the Christian life is going to be easy. Jesus says that we will have trouble in this world . Praise God for the hardships, and join soldiers of Jesus Christ all over the world who want to please the Commanding Officer. (GD)

Action Point
What can you do to please the Commanding Officer and reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Next time you experience the outdoors, take someone with you; plan an outing to introduce someone new to the outdoors, or seek God’s wisdom in sharing about Christ around the campfire. Think about your next fishing trip and how it will not just be another fishing trip.

Thoughts
Someday I would like to fish a main river, like the Colorado, at or near its very source. My perception is that it would be pure and clean with beautiful, crystal-clear water flowing over wonderful waterfalls.

As the source of the Colorado provides life giving water for a good number of cities in the Southwest, God’s divine power is the source for life eternally to all who will receive it by His grace. (TH)

Action Point
Source Jesus as your life. He truly is the source for everything that pertains to life and godliness.

Thoughts
Deer hunting is a passion that has been passed on to the next generation of my family. One cold, Alabama December morning, while teaching my oldest son to hunt, a life lesson took place. A small spike buck came walking down the trail in an oak bottom we were hunting. We both sat absolutely still, yet the buck locked up at about 25 yards and looked right at us in our tree stand. He then slowly turned around without presenting my son (11 years old at the time) a clear shot. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and mouthed the words, “What happened? I didn’t do anything wrong!”
(Guest Writer, BC)

Action Point
We climbed down the tree, sat there in the woods together and talked about life for several hours. I shared with my son that sometimes we do everything “right” but life still gives us hardships. In this scripture, Jesus spoke to Christians in order to share that we are not responsible for the challenges the world brings our way. However, we are responsible for how we handle them. If we do that in the way that God leads us, we can relate to Jesus when he says, “I have overcome the world.” Since that December day, my son has taken several nice deer. The valuable lessons we both learned about life that day have made us better men for God.

Thoughts
Several years ago, I took a trip to Colorado. We had gone there to capture some bighorn sheep that we planned to bring home for release in new sheep habitat. I remember going through downtown Denver and being amazed at the height of the buildings. Having grown up in a small rural area, the city was pretty impressive to me. As we headed west out of town and into the Rocky Mountains, I recall looking back toward Denver. All of those giant buildings appeared tiny from my new vantage point in the mountains (RT)

Action Point
The day-to-day problems we face can seem so huge and impossible to overcome when we try to solve them on our own. Isn’t it great that we don’t have to do that alone? Just as the buildings in Denver looked so small from the mighty Rockies, our troubles, from God’s view, can be a lot smaller than we perceive them to be. If we stay in God’s Word and ask him for wisdom and help, ALL things are possible.

Thoughts
The first year that I hunted elk, I had a lot to learn. I’m glad my friend, Larry, had the patience to teach me a few things. On my first day hunting with Larry, he asked me where I was going in such a hurry. He said, “You’re not on your way to your deer stand, we’re hunting. Slow down, stop occasionally, and LOOK around. Elk can show up at any time in any place. They can cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. He was right! Eight bulls showed up out of nowhere about 200 yards in front of us. Unfortunately, I only had a cow tag. After that encounter, I understood what Larry meant about hunting elk.

God also want us to be looking–that is, looking for the lost. He doesn’t want us in a hurry, focused on the ground (world) in front of us. He tells us to “open our eyes” and look because the harvest is ripe. (TL)

Action Point
My pastor’s question hit me between the eyes: “Will anyone be in heaven because of you?” I think we miss too many opportunities that are right in front of us. Pray daily for the Holy Spirit’s leading. Let us not wait four months for the harvest. The harvest is ripe right now!

Thoughts
Like many outdoorsmen, I find myself longing for opportunities to spend time in God’s great outdoors. At this point, I probably have too many outdoor hobbies for my own good:
a fishing trip to Canada sounds great; bow hunting for white tail, an adventure; a backpacking trip, refreshing; turkey hunting in the Spring is a ball…Each of these gives me a sense of freedom. When participating in any one of these passions, my heart comes alive.

I’ve often viewed these “creation escapes” as my way of getting back to the way things were intended to be–as they were in the Garden of Eden–pure perfection. However, God recently revealed this scripture passage to me. Now, I realize that leaving my imperfect daily world to escape to the perfect outdoors is actually a fallacy. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, not only was sin brought into the world, affecting mankind; but a curse was also placed upon the land, actually preventing it from being fully pure and perfect. I don’t know how you look at it, but if God’s amazing creation, as it stands, is not perfection, I stand in awe just trying to imagine how great God and His pure creation must be in heaven!

Action Point
We need to make sure we are careful to worship the Creator of the creation rather than the “creation escapes”, themselves.

Thoughts
I live on the Gulf Coast of Texas where shrimping is a major source of employment. Shrimp are caught by dragging or trawling a large net along the bottom behind a boat. Once the net is hauled aboard the boat, the shrimpers have the task of going through the catch, picking out the by-catch–whatever else they may have collected besides the shrimp–which is thrown back into the gulf.

Fishing around a working shrimp boat can be quite good because the fish follow the shrimp boats. Fish, through their God-given instincts, know there will be lots of good things to eat as the deck hands discard the by-catch. Kingfish and shark especially follow the boats looking for an easy meal to feast on.

Action Point
Cleansing the nets of the by-catch is like entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Will you be the shrimp that are kept–people who have professed Jesus Christ as their Savior–or will you be the by-catch, tossed back into the sea of eternal damnation “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).