Thoughts
Spring time and early summer are the best times to introduce a youngster to fishing. When the spawn is on, the bite is fast enough to hold their attention. Going after pan fish, such as crappie or bluegill, will provide many different angling opportunities for them to enjoy. Whether it's with live, prepared or artificial baits, most seasoned fishermen can figure out what best suits the abilities of the youth they are with. For the very young, I usually start them out using a cane or telescopic pole with a simple hook-sinker-adjustable float rig. For the middle school kids, we usually work up to spin-cast tackle and a combination of both live and artificial baits. Try to make it a little more challenging for the high schoolers. Judge each youth's experience and ability, and match it to their fishing experience with you. (CS)

Action Point
As Christian fishermen, we too can become fishers of men by inviting others to go fishing with us. Each community has those adults and youngsters that may shun church activities but would be willing to go fishing with you. Making that contact is the first step to introducing them to God.

Thoughts
When we're not off hunting or fishing, we all work for a living. I know, more time hunting, less time working! We trade our time, knowledge, skills, or expertise for money, our wages. We earn our wages; they're due us for what we do. In addition to our wages, many of us have taken on debt to have a house, a car, maybe to put the kids through college. We earn money to pay off these debts, but for some reason, we never seem to get debt free. Now, suppose that you are at work and an individual walks up to you and hands you an envelope. Inside the envelope is a check made out to you, for enough money to pay off all of your debts so that you'll never have to work another day in your life! But, here's the catch: you have to quit your job, and you have to give up your steady wages. What would you do? Would you accept the gift, and go home to your family rejoicing for your good fortune? Or would you tell the stranger to give the gift to someone else and keep right on working because you're a real man who is going to do this on your own? Well, God has given us a choice. We can work forever to try to pay the debt of our sins, and fail, and die in those sins. Or, we can accept His gift, the gift of salvation through Jesus' death on the cross, and have forgiveness for all of our sins and eternal fellowship with God. His gift or my wages? Real men choose Jesus. (CS)

Action Point
Jesus has paid all of our sin debt. We just need to accept the gift and cash the check. Accept Him and enter into the fellowship of the Father, debt free!

Thoughts
Long-range radar, internet, satellite phones, and global satellite positioning weather overlays: these are some of the amazing electronics available to mariners for monitoring the weather when working or playing at sea. We place great trust in these instruments; yet our understanding of the weather conditions remains only as good as the images these electronics provide. If they fail us offshore, we can only look to the sky for the information we need.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees placed their faith only in what they could see. Jesus knew their demands for a supernatural sign came out of closed hearts and unbelief; and so, He denied them the answer to their "test" question. Before becoming a Christian, I also searched for proof of God--seeking some sign in the physical realm. Because of my lack of faith, I did not find it. Time passed until one November morning I sought God with an open, believing heart. It was in that moment I found what I had been seeking. When I truly believed and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior by faith, He showed me, and continues to show me, many miracles. (WD)

Action Point
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
I pray that you place your hope and faith in the certainty of Jesus Christ. The things you see can fail you, but the Word of God and His saving grace never will.

Thoughts
While packing in the mountains, I noticed some significant differences between mules and horses. Yes, mules are judged to be more stubborn and a little more temperamental, but nevertheless, are more intelligent and sure-footed. Unlike some horses, mules seldom kick rocks or logs or stumble. They eat less than a horse, live longer, and can carry more weight.

Mountain trails contain obstacles or stumbling blocks. Whether packing in with horse or mule, it may be necessary to remove the obstacles from the path we've chosen for them. Let us not create stumbling blocks along our life's path or that of our brother--our friend. Anyone who influences another and causes them to sin is a stumbling block. (TL)

Action Point
Jesus was tender toward the spiritually weak. Be careful that we are not judgmental toward our brothers and instead, make sure we set good examples in everything we do.

Thoughts
I wrote a book in 2001 entitled, The Purpose Finder. In 2006, I revised it; and I am thinking about a third revision. Here's the revision in a nutshell:
What is our purpose? Answer: To bring pleasure to God.
You see, if I'm reading Revelation 4:11 right, He created all that we see and the things we can't see, as well. The whole idea is God's. The entire creation was designed to bring Him pleasure. Man is the crowning of His creative power, but do we always bring Him pleasure? I can only speak for myself. No. (TH)

Action Point
Make Revelation 4:11 your life verse. No matter if you are working hard or playing hard in the great creation which God has made for us to enjoy, have an attitude that is more God-centered and less self-centered. You will ultimately find much more fulfillment making Him your priority.

Thoughts
Like many of you, I've had some humorous things happen to me outdoors. I remember growing up in Ohio and fishing the Great Lake Erie. On one particular night, I made a cast that seemed to go out forever. Finally, my friend and I heard a faint splat. He turned to me and exclaimed, "I think you just hit Canada!" We joked about me having to get a Canadian fishing license and other nonsense. It was indeed a long cast but in reality the line was only out a little ways. Night fishing, however, provides an open season to the imagination. (DAH)

Action Point
It's no joke what God will do with our sin. When we confess it, He is faithful and just to forgive it and to clean us up. (I John 1:9). He takes away our sin for good and forever. God helps us understand this in ways we can relate to: He casts our sins into the depths of the sea. Or, as the psalmist sings, He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). When Jesus was nailed to the Cross, He canceled the debt of sin we owe (Colossians 2:14). Jesus paid it all! If you have not done so already, confess to Him that you are a sinner and confess that Jesus is Lord. There's beauty in the Blood regardless of the curse of the Cross. That, my friend, is a wonderful view of salvation from this side of the depths of the sea.

Thoughts
Hunters and fishermen enjoy the sunrise and the wildflowers. We hear turkeys gobble and peep frogs chirp. We feel the sting of snow against our faces and the swirl of water against our waders. The miracles that God has built into the fabric of the natural world too easily become routine for us; and so, the wonders that we see make it easy for us to forget that our world is broken. (SS)

Action Point
As people who enjoy the outdoors and know its beauty, we must not lose sight of the fact that something is wrong with it. Just as we love to see the heavens declare the glory of God, we also need to remember that we are part of a broken and hurting world for which Christ is the answer. And we should ask God to communicate that answer through us.

Thoughts
They were a small group of campers enjoying a vacation away from home. They left their campground and their campfire unattended. Maybe they were going for more supplies, or perhaps they were going to explore God's majesty. Regardless, when they returned, their campfire had sparked a 2000-acre wildfire just a few miles from the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

I was in the area just after the fire's final containment. Logs and stumps still smoldered and smoke lay low early in the morning. Although my purpose was to scout the area, I was intrigued by the devastation. In addition to being a firefighter, I am also a fire investigator. Limited to urban fires where a large fire is tens-of-thousand square feet, a fire of thousands of acres peaked my interest. I located the point of origin--a campfire that looked like any other, but the difference was that 50ft from the campfire was a small patch of burned grass, then another, and another; then a blackened oak thicket, and additional black pockets, until you could see where the fire climbed into the crowns of the towering ponderosa pines. By the time I reached the far end of the head of the fire some two miles away, where the forest service firefighters had bravely managed to stop the advancing inferno, it looked like a moonscape, black and desolate, void of color or life. (BM)

Action Point
It surprised me that the fire started as just a pocket of grass on fire some 50ft from the campfire. Then it grew into additional spot fires, and ultimately a 2000-acre forest fire.

James describes our tongue (our words) as having the same effect as that wild fire. Sometimes spoken in haste, sometimes as gossip, or often just as thoughtless, careless banter, the words that start out small and appear innocent enough can explode into destruction--destruction of lives and of relationships. Once those words are spoken, it is impossible to reverse or control them.

Thoughts
This last weekend, I was out on a turkey hunt with my kids. We were up at 4:30am every day, driving to our property by 5:00, and in our blinds by 6:00. As we were on the trail walking out to our blinds, I looked over at my kids; both of them were anxiously anticipating successful hunts. Though it was completely black, my kids had absolutely no concerns or reservations about getting out for the morning hunt. And then it hit me. If I weren't on this trail with them, would they be willing to hike out to the blinds in the dark by themselves? The answer: "NO!" My kids would think twice about walking through darkness into the woods alone; but with their aunt and me by their side, the fear was completely gone.

Our lives can be dark and scary at points. God knew that we would need companionship to make it through those times because that's the way He wired us. Companionship helps alleviate fear. As this verse points out: "A cord of three is not quickly broken." (DM)

Action Point
If you have brothers or sisters in Christ who have walked with you through some really dark times, take time to thank God for their friendship. And take time to thank them personally for their encouragement. If you don't have a brother or sister in Christ to walk with you through life, pray that God would bring that true friend to you.