Men of the Outdoors

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Matt 26:41 & 1 Pet 5:8 "Watch and pray so that you may not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Be alert and sober-minded. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (NIV) Thoughts: On my very first hunt, my dad and brother fell asleep in our Suburban before sunrise because they had already been hunting for a while...but I was WIDE awake, though, and ready to deal the death to a unsuspecting deer! While they were sawing wood, I was peering into the morning shadows looking for my prey. All of a sudden I saw two ears pop up above the rear window. A yearling buck had stepped up on the rear bumper and was looking into our SUV! I slid down in the front seat and whispered, "Dad...Daaaad! There's a deer looking into our car." My dad just mumbled, "Sure, sure, ok, buddy. Sounds great. We can ...

Click Here for the Biblical Manhood Bible Study, Fall 2025—Week 1 Study Guide

  This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 14:1   The fool[a] says in his heart, “There is no God.” (NIV©) Thoughts: Years back my Dad and I had been on a hunting trip to Colorado. On our way home I mentioned the antelope I had been seeing from the highway north of Phoenix (Interstate 17). Dad immediately informed me that there hadn’t been any antelope in the area for many years. At that exact moment, and with God as my witness, I looked out the window to the side of the highway on his side of the truck, pointed, and said, “You mean like those?” Action Point:  To his credit, Dad had not seen antelope in this particular area for a long time. And, he wanted to be sure that I knew that he was correct and that I was wrong (Anyone else have a Dad like that? Bigger question, are you that Dad?). However, the antelope standing by the road proved him wrong. So, my point today is this: Go back to any of the ancient ...

  This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: John 5:16 (ESV]  And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. Thoughts: One person said, “We are all victims and beneficiaries of tradition.” Some great traditions have been passed down from one hunter to the next, and some traditions are ridiculous.  I’m an eastern Whitetail hunter, so when I am scouting a farm, if I see an extremely old tree stand, I know that it’s there for a reason. The stand was erected back when hunters relied on woodsmanship and time spent afield. I would be wise to scout that position and follow their tradition.  An example of a terrible tradition is when a grandfather secured permission to hunt a piece of property for many years. Then the father also secured permission, but over time, just took for granted permission was a given. The son follows along and grows up believing that he has eter...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 46:10a     Be still, and know that I am God; (NKJV) Thoughts: I was sitting quietly in my tree stand as the light rain began to fall. The gentle tapping on the leaves was relaxing. The fact that I had already taken a nice 10 point the previous day added to the relaxation that I was enjoying. I sat there just talking to God quietly, watching deer, and listening to the gentle rain for the entire afternoon. As dark began to fall I mumbled softly to myself, "Why can't this relaxed feeling continue on and on? Why do I feel so much closer to God out here in the woods?" Action Point: The answer to my question is this: I feel closer to God out in the woods because I'm being still and quiet. That's it! When I'm at home or at work, I have the television blaring or the radio on or people chatting nearby. The fact is that we have made our world very complicated and noisy...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (NIV©) Thoughts: Some years back I was camped up in Northern Arizona and came across an elk that was behaving strangely. The elk would walk in circles, stumble over logs, and lean with its head up against trees. Being concerned about the possibility of Chronic Wasting Disease (which, thankfully, we don’t have in Arizona), I called the Arizona Game & Fish Department and they sent a Wildlife Manager (Game Warden) out to where I was. We found the elk and the Warden confirmed that the animal had a parasite that is found in stock water tanks and migrates to the brain of the animal. The parasite is fatal to the animal so the Warden, mercifully, put the animal down. The irony is that the parasite affects deer and elk but not cattle. Action...