Men of the Outdoors

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Mark 4: 26-28 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain-first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. (NIV)  Thoughts: I have never been much of a farmer, but nevertheless, I really relate to this scripture. When I stock fingerling fish, such as trout or bass, in a small stock dam or mountain pond, and return to that water sometime later, I am always amazed when I cast in a spinner and pull out a 12-to-14in fish. I know it's supposed to work that way, but I'm amazed every time just the same.  Action Point: Whether you're scattering seeds or scattering fish, when the conditions are right, they are going to grow. It is the same for God's Word. I think of the seeds of ...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Luke 8:22-25   22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” (NIV©) Thoughts: A few weeks back my son, his wife, and I were fishing with a friend in Wyoming. On two separate days we fished on lakes that were stunningly beautiful along with the mountains that surrounded us. On both days, when we first arrived, the surface of the wate...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 119:103-106   How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. 105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. (NIV©) Thoughts: Last year while on an elk scouting trip with a hunting buddy, my labrador retriever was leading the way back to camp in the dark. My friend and I both had headlamps on and he suddenly yelled, skunk! I called my dog back just before he discovered the smelly critter. We were both thankful for the lights that illuminated our path. Action Point: M y friend and founder of the Sportsmen’s Devotional website often uses four letters to close his communications to his friends. The letters are WIHP and stand for the words, Walk In His Paths. Good advice from my friend and...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Luke 12:24   Think about the ravens. They don't plant or gather crops. They don't have any barns at all. But God feeds them. You are worth much more than birds! (NIV) Thoughts: God's existence, goodness, and provision for all creation is evident in His care of animals and birds. Instinctual actions and reactions protect wild creatures from danger.  I witnessed a hen pheasant fake an injury from a cycle bar mower to protect her young. I thought she was hurt. She crawled away from me, dragging a wing, walking lopsidedly, and pretending to be severely hurt. She would attempt to fly as I got closer, seemingly able to fly only a few feet. After I was about 50 yards from where my efforts had begun, she sprang into the sky, flying away completely uninjured. She had pretended to be injured in order to lead me away from her young.  God instilled that ability into her genetic code t...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Matthew 24:4-5   “...Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.” Thoughts: One of my favorite species to hunt is turkey, and an aspect that I always get a kick out of is calling in the birds to my decoys with my box call. I can’t claim to be an expert caller by any stretch of the imagination, but the sounds I produce are good enough to trick those birds over and over and over again. Action Point: Calling turkey and tricking them is a hoot, but people being deceived by false spiritual calls is not! It’s important as followers of Jesus that we know our Bibles. We need to know what the truth is to navigate this topsy turvy world. If you don’t have a set-aside specific time to get into God’s word, it’s time to make it a priority. Otherwise, you risk being deceived by the calls of the world. Sportsman’s Tip of t...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Jeremiah 11:4  The terms I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.' I said, 'Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. (NIV) Thoughts: The trails that I am currently hunting are all well known to me right now. I'm hunting private land that I've been on for years. When I arrive in the morning to go back to any of my tree stands, I simply start hiking the trails without any worries, because I have the trails memorized. It can be pitch black, but no flashlight is needed. However, a few years ago, I was leasing some property with a couple of friends. This property was unfamiliar and was an incredibly thick cedar swamp. The trails that led us to our blinds were mucky, brushy, and zigzagged all over. The only way I could find my way back to the stands was if I placed glow-in-the...