Thoughts
Thinking about basic provisions: If you go for a long journey into the Grand Canyon mid-summer without an adequate water supply, you are going to wish you had brought some. God knows that every beast of the field needs water, and He provides accordingly. God also knows that every human needs Living Water and He supplies that in ready supply as well. The trick is to drink plenty of water before you become dehydrated. (TH)

Action Point
Drink plenty of Living Water so that you don't become dehydrated spiritually. Drink of God's Word just as you drink water each day.

Thoughts
When I think of running, I think about pronghorn antelope. Now, they can run. As the second-fastest land mammal in the world, they can hit speeds of more than 60mph, only bested by the African cheetah. I have known a few unethical hunters that thought a Chevy 350 could outrun them. One in particular was gaining on a herd of antelope just before he hit the prairie dog mound that put an end to the chase. After several hundred dollars of repairs and a fine for harassing wildlife, he learned that stalking was a much better method for hunting antelope. (RT)

Action Point
God gave the antelope great speed and eyesight to avoid predators. God has given us the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual gifts, and He does not want us to be ignorant of those gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1). By keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and staying in God's Word, we can avoid those things that entangle us and prevent us from crossing the finish line of the race He has marked out for us.

Thoughts
After going to work for a Wyoming outfitter, I purchased a seven-year-old horse. The former owner said that Dakota had some mountain experience. After taking a six-mile ride, I found out that Dakota needed some training: When he came to a creek, he jumped across; if he saw a log across the trail, he jumped over it; when faced with a high obstacle, he walked in circles. He had to be directed around the obstacles. To insure a safety for the rider, Dakota had to be disciplined. So, whenever he approached an obstacle, I pulled back on the reins; and, if he tried to jump, I pulled back harder.
(How often has God had to pull back on our reins and point us in the right direction?) Gradually, discipline and trust paid off--Dakota made the right decisions. When he saw and approached obstacles, he walked around, through, or stepped over them. As he acquired more training and experience, his nervousness decreased. During the hunting season, Dakota turned out to be a good lead horse for the pack train. (TL)

Action Point
Hebrews 12:10 states: Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we share in his holiness.

Just as Dakota had to be disciplined and eventually learned to make right decisions, God wants us to be righteous by following His Word. As we become more like Christ, God promises us peace in our heart.

Thoughts
Several years ago my husband and I were camped out for his archery bull elk hunt. He left early and I relished in a few more hours of quite sleep in the pines. I was awakened by his truck returning to camp and my husband jumping out yelling, "Get up honey. I killed my elk and I need your help! Hurry! It's going to be a warm day."
I quickly put my boots on as my husband drove us to his bull. When we got there, I was relieved to see he killed fairly close to the road so we were able to back the truck right up to it. My sweetie quickly connected a cable to the back legs and gave me orders to begin cranking on the "come along" just as fast and hard as I could while he lifted and pushed the elk into the back of the truck. I did this with all my might. When we hit the end of the cable, I turned around to see that only the hind end of the elk had made it into the bed of the truck; and the shoulders and head remained on the ground. My husband caught my defeated expression and pleaded, saying, "Babe, please, I need your help."
I stared at him and asked, "How can I help?" He said that I must get down on the ground, wrap my arms around its chest and lift with all my strength while he lifted from the antlers. "Okay," I said. "May I point something out to you?" He sighed deeply as I continued: "A... the front half of this elk outweighs me by about 200 pounds. B... It is smelly; and C... The chest of this creature is not only bloody and frothy from your well placed broad head, but also wet with who knows what else! You cannot be serious!" Well, he was quite serious; and after another long-locked stare, I understood that this was incredibly important to him (not to mention, he was desperate). After a monumental effort and one episode of near panic as the elk's front legs wrapped around my neck and my face smashed against its chest, we got that elk in the back of the truck. A hug and a high five ended our victory, and we drove back to camp with a memory to last a lifetime. (SDS)

Action Point
Genesis 2:18 tells us that God did not like Adam to be alone and so he made him a helper, a wife. Helping our spouses is taken to a deeper level when we consider that God asks that our hearts be a safe place of trust. This is a place where bountiful goodness and blessing can be found for a lifetime. It takes an act of God to make the necessary changes in our hearts and homes; but I know from experience He is willing.

Thoughts
I had driven this particular back road before that day. I knew that it crossed a "wash" that rarely had little if any water running in it. This time, however, there was water flowing from bank to bank. I exited my truck and pondered the obstacle before me. Not to be defeated in my journey, I quickly decided to forge ahead; after all, this was only a wash with a little water. Soon I found myself thigh deep in the middle of a roaring river, attempting to find traction for my truck that was now mid-door deep in water. Here in southwestern United States we can pass months without any rain fall; then abruptly have a torrential downpour--flooding the once-arid creeks and washes, and transforming a dusty creek bottom into an impenetrable river. (BM)

Action Point
Our Christian lives are a lot like the river described in Ezekiel. At first it starts out small and immature; but the further it travels, the more it grows. When we become saved, we are just getting our feet wet. As we grow in Christ, we wade deeper and deeper into the river of his knowledge and grace. Our spiritual life, like that river, will be ever growing and ever deepening.

Make sure that life never allows us to get bogged down. Daily stresses or unforeseen circumstances can stall our spiritual growth. Develop a daily habit of spending time with God. Read Sportsmen's Devotional every day and use that time to grow spiritually. Then, when unexpected obstacles arise in our lives, we will have a stable practice of devotion that will keep us from getting stuck.

Thoughts
Because we are made from the material of this earth, it should be no surprise that we have a natural affinity for this earth. We are connected to it by gravity. We are connected to it by the things we eat, which come out of this earth.

Have you ever noticed how often you look at the ground? We learn to do that from a very early age. We fall down frequently; this conditions us to look down at the ground (or the floor) so that if we fall, we can anticipate it and know to brace ourselves for the impact.

Looking at this world quickly becomes second nature; and the habit of looking at it so often prevails. We all do it-- we look at our immediate circumstances, and we fail to connect with the Creator God who breathed His breath into us. We fail to contemplate that, even though we have earthly bodies, we are made for heaven. As Christians, we need to train our eyes to look at Whom we're seeking a connection with. We should be reinforcing that heavenly nature by gazing at spiritual things. (SS)

Action Point
Every creature that is connected to this earth has a physical survival instinct. Christians must cultivate their spiritual survival instinct. Assess those things that may be a threat to your spiritual survival and avoid them, just as you would avoid anything that threatens your physical survival.

Thoughts
The biggest whitetail buck I have ever seen was up in Canada on a camping trip. We were coming into our campground one evening while we were on vacation, and we glanced off to the side of the road. There stood an enormous majestic 12 + point buck just coming out of a thicket! He stood still with his chest puffed out in front - only 15 yards away. We had stopped our van, lowered the windows, and gawked. My family and I were just stunned and amazed! A few minutes went by before the big bruiser turned and jumped back into the woods. My entire family spent the next several minutes talking about how amazing and beautiful that buck was. We were trying to figure out how a deer could grow up and not get shot in an area where so many people traveled through. It wasn't until a couple of days later that we found the explanation. As we were driving out of the provincial park, I noticed a sign that said that the entire peninsula (about 30 miles) where our campground was located was actually a game preserve. No hunting or trapping of any kind was permissible there. This buck had grown up in an environment that was completely safe, and because of this, he was healthy and majestic! God desires our children to be healthy and whole, so that they can serve Him well! But in order for that to happen, they have to grow up in an environment that is safe. It's up to us to create a "safety zone" for our children in our homes. This means that we consciously have to choose to be encouragers. We cannot be the danger to our kids through the words we use around them. (DM)

Action Point
Children need our affirmation, our love, and our blessing. We need to be wise in how we use our language. We have the ability to impact our children in a way that can help them be healthy and whole, or we can tear them down and create fear and insecurity. It's pretty clear what God desires of us. We just need to do it God's way!

Thoughts
A few years ago a group of men from our church decided to go on a fly-in fishing trip to a remote Canadian lake.I had made several trips to this lake, so I was familiar with the lake and the fishing camp. I organized the trip, planned the menu, and made the necessary reservations with the camp and float base. The lake was thirty-five miles long and 6 miles wide with a lot of rock reefs that came up close to the surface. To avoid any collisions with the reefs, I led the way to the fishing spots. We caught fish every day and had and occasional shore lunch. We had great fellowship, ate well, and told a lot of fishing stories. Trips like these offer quality time with each other. As Christians we need each other to grow. Christlike character is built through relationships. Just like we need mentors to teach us about hunting and fishing, we also need other Christians to mentor and model us about life experiences and our relationship with God and our brothers and sisters.(TL)

Action Point
Start a fishing club or a small group in your church or community. It's a great way to build relationships and be an example and a help to others.

Thoughts
One of the most important things that we learn as sportsmen is safety. No matter what type of sport we are participating in, there is usually an element of safety involved. Some of it is common-sense stuff, but most of the time there are safety components that should be learned. Someone taught you about safety in your particular sport. As a child, my dad taught me about gun safety:
Always treat a gun as if it were loaded;
Never point a gun at somebody;
Always be aware of what is beyond your intended target;
Never climb a stand with a loaded gun.
The list goes on and on.

My education from my Dad went beyond sporting safety. He also took time to teach me spiritually. One of the things that he and my mother taught me was to never take the Lord's name in vain. It seems that we live in an age of ignorance when it comes to this principle. We, of course, have the normal secular culprits of television, radio, movies and other media that freely take the Lord's name in vain. But it seems we have a lot of "Christians" who freely throw God's name around without respect to its holiness. (JC)

Action Point
It should bother us when we hear God's Holy Name used in vain. Take time to educate your children about the holiness of God's name, and be bothered when you hear someone belittle it. There are a lot of other words that can go in place of His name as a common exclamation. Find one you like and use it instead.