Men of the Outdoors

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 19:7,11 “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward...” - (NIV)  Thoughts: Fishing Cabo San Lucas after a hurricane is a lesson in reading, not reacting. The storm churns the shoreline, stirring sand and debris into the water. The bait disappears. The fish don’t vanish—but they do move. When feeding grounds near shore are disrupted, game fish slide into deeper, cleaner water where they can see, hunt, and survive. The mistake inexperienced anglers make is staying where the water used to be good. Veteran captains read the signs. They watch seabirds diving farther offshore. They notice where other charter boats are working—and where they aren’t. They troll multiple lines at staggered depths, probing the water column instead of guessing. They don’t panic when the first pass comes up empty. They adjust, read ...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 63:1 "O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land without water." Thoughts: As outdoorsmen, we tend to accumulate a lot of gear. From season-to-season different gear is needed, and it always seems to be the gear you can't find. Turkey calls, rangefinders, gloves, or some other random piece of gear always seem to be the one thing I can't find when I need it. Of course, the blame is always placed on my wife for moving my stuff; then I find it right where I left it, so I wouldn't lose it. The older I get, the more time it seems that I spend backtracking and wandering all over, attempting to find something that I have lost. And, if you're like me, the more time I spend looking, the more frustrated and determined I become to find it!  Action Point: There are too many times I find mysel...

  This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Deuteronomy 8:6-7 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land -a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills. (NIV)  Thoughts: The land is flat and the woods are thick in northeast Maine. I was hunting with Tim, a buddy of mine. We stayed near a railroad bed and saw plenty of deer tracks. One day I decided to get off the tracks and go into the woods to see if I could push anything across to Tim. I was about 200 yd into the woods when I lost my sense of the direction I needed to return. I wandered around shouting, but the thick brush absorbed my voice. Finally, I heard a faint voice shouting back, and I headed toward that voice. Whether living in dense woods, a desert wilderness or by mountain streams, we all live in a moral wilderness. The Bi...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Deuteronomy 8:6-7    Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land -a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills. (NIV)  Thoughts: The land is flat and the woods are thick in northeast Maine. I was hunting with Tim, a buddy of mine. We stayed near a railroad bed and saw plenty of deer tracks. One day I decided to get off the tracks and go into the woods to see if I could push anything across to Tim. I was about 200 yd into the woods when I lost my sense of the direction I needed to return. I wandered around shouting, but the thick brush absorbed my voice. Finally, I heard a faint voice shouting back, and I headed toward that voice. Whether living in dense woods, a desert wilderness or by mountain streams, we all live in a moral wilderness. Th...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. NIV Thoughts; Go ahead and do it—no one will ever know; have you ever whispered this to yourself? Let’s face it; sportsmen face temptations: slip to the pond that no one fishes, cross the property line and go to a gobbling tom, take a shot at a buck just after legal shooting time, or ride an ATV across posted land. The temptations are numerous, and you have probably faced many in the outdoors. How have you handled these temptations? When I have met the lure of similar things, I’ve often wondered if anyone else knows what it’s like or fa...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Colossians 3:2  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. NIV. Thoughts: Turkey hunters spend a lot of time chasing spring gobblers, myself included. We think about it long before the season opens. We get up early mornings for pre-season scouting and listening to locate gobblers to hunt. And when the season arrives, we’re obsessed. We scout, put out trail cameras, burn vacation days at work, drive many miles, and do whatever it takes to try to fill our tags for the monarch of the spring—we put in the effort, and it’s our primary focus during the season. If you’re not a turkey hunter, you can swap turkey hunting for whatever your passion might be: deer, elk, duck, or pheasant hunting; maybe it’s fly fishing, camping, hiking, or any outdoor passion you enjoy. The point is, we focus on what we love to do. Action Point: I often ask myself whether I am hunting for Jesus with more...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Romans 6:23 (NASB) “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Thoughts: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological disease affecting deer, elk, moose, and other cervids. It is a prion disease, caused not by bacteria or viruses but by misfolded proteins the body cannot destroy. As prions build up, they damage brain tissue, leaving microscopic holes that give the brain a sponge-like appearance. This damage disrupts coordination, behavior, and the ability to eat and drink. The disease progresses slowly, during which infected animals may appear healthy while damage continues unseen. CWD is always fatal. There is no cure, vaccine, or natural immunity. Once symptoms such as extreme weight loss, loss of coordination, drooling, and abnormal behavior appear, death is inevitable. Prions persist in soil for years, allowing the disease...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Mark 7:5-13 – 5  So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain, their teachings are merely human rules.’[a] 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[b] your own traditions! (NIV©) Thoughts: Traditions. There are many in hunting and fishing. Get on a deep-sea fishing boat and break out a bunch of bananas to eat on your way to the fishing spot and old school Captains just might throw you overboard! At the least, the bananas are going away...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Ephesians 4:17-24 S o I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. NIV) Thoughts: As I read this Scr...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 24:1-2 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. (NIV) Thoughts: While fishing off an arm of the Pigeon River in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, I came upon a massive beaver dam. I had to wonder - what purpose do all those logs and sticks serve besides a house for that beaver? I came to realize that, as always, God has a plan for everything, even sticks. The dam serves not only as shelter for the beaver; but because it retains the water on one side, water lilies and plants grow on the other. Moose come to dams to feed off those plants. Bears know to check the dams in the Spring for beavers that did not make it through the harsh winters. Life goes on, just as God established it. Action Point: When encountering something in nature that makes no sense to you, stop and try to see it from...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Matthew 11:28  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (NIV)  Thoughts: It was mid-September, and a buddy and I were floating skein (salmon eggs that are still attached to the membrane) under bobbers for king salmon at a river mouth outlet on Lake Michigan. We had landed a few smaller ones, but were trying for something bigger. My buddy’s float suddenly shot under the water and he set the hook - it was a good fish! It started ripping out line, the drag screaming! He was trying everything he could to turn that fish, but it was heading back to Lake Michigan! With the line on his spool rapidly decreasing, he took off down the river bank, essentially chasing after the fish. He did end up landing that fish, a really nice king salmon. But not without almost getting spooled! Have you ever felt like your life was almost spooled? Things constantly coming at ...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: 2 Timothy 1:6-7   6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (NIV©) Thoughts: I am at a stage in my outdoors and shooting “career” that would best be described as being a mentor. Much of my time is spent instructing individuals on the safe and proper use of a firearm. I especially like to work with youngsters or new shooters. It’s always fun to watch someone that is a little timid or hesitant to fire the first round from a .22 rifle or pistol and to see both a smile and a look of amazement in their eyes that they did it! A few of times I’ve had youngsters or newbies freeze up and refuse to shoot a .22 rifle because they are afraid, primarily of recoil (I wonder where they got that idea…). In every case I was able...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Deuteronomy 30:19-20   “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witness against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (NIV) Thoughts: I remember thinking the good life was being a great hunter with trophies to show or having the latest rifle chambered in the best cartridge. After achieving these things, I see they don’t make my life any better. Are you wondering what the good life is? Do you feel that the promises of this world don’t last? Has anyone shared what the real good life is? Action Point: In John 1:4 we read “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind....

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Ephesians 6:1-4 -- Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a] 4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV©)   Thoughts: I have this dog, a really big labrador retriever. He’s going on five years old this fall and lately I’ve noticed him going through what I call his teenage years. He’s a prankster and will often retrieve his ball only to throw it on the ground right in front of me rather than put it in my hand. Sometimes he’ll do these two or three times before handing me the ball (it’s actually kind of funny to see). But he also knows I won’t throw the ball again until he brings it to me and literally places it in my hand. My respo...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Proverbs 4:7,23  “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding… Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (NIV) Thoughts: Anyone who spends time on the water knows how small things can steal a great day of fishing. A frayed knot. A dull hook point. A cracked rod guide. A weak swivel. Or the one we’ve all regretted—telling yourself, “It’ll probably hold,” right before losing the best fish of the season. One overlooked detail becomes the reason the story ends in frustration instead of a full cooler. And compromise works the same way. It rarely comes crashing in like a thunderstorm. It slips in quietly—half-truths, shortcuts, little moral “wiggles” we convince ourselves are harmless. But over time they wear us down just like a bad knot under too much pressure.  Action Point: Solomon is blunt: Get wisdom—Gua...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Deuteronomy 12:15-16  Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. (NIV) Thoughts: I s it okay to be a hunter? Is it okay to kill an animal? Is it okay to eat the meat of animals? Does God approve or condemn these practices? These verses clearly sanction the slaughter and the consumption of animals for meat. Jesus ate fish while on the earth, and chose commercial fishermen to be among his apostles.  The animals are a part of the stewardship of the earth that God has given to humans. Specifically named in these verses are domestic and wild game animals. He approves the use of animals for meat, leather, and for labo...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (NIV) Thoughts:  Years ago, I was venturing out on a fishing trip into Canada onto a lake where some of my family had already fished in previous years. In discussing with them what my options were going to be on this remote fishing trip, my brother-in-law offered me a map of the main lake where I was going to be fishing.  On this map, he had marked out what fish were located where. As I looked at the map, I recognized I was inheriting knowledge from him of years of fishing on this lake. I was going to benefit from years of his trials and errors.  I wasn't going to walk in blind to this lake and have to fend for myself in trying to figure things out. I knew where the small mouth bass were, the pike, and the walleye. It was all laid out for me in the map color coded with notes and lure suggestions to boot. I...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: 1 John 4:19  We love because he first loved us. NIV) Thoughts: Some seasons the harvest is plentiful; other years, it is a grind. Last year, I filled two draw tags and a general season tag with mature bucks, plus a doe. This year, I only harvested one doe toward the end of the season. You have to love the pursuit, or your passion for hunting may fade during a difficult season. Action Point: I love the hunt, not just the harvest. We love because He first loved us. When our relationships struggle, it can be easy to walk away or respond negatively if our love is not rooted in the Father. I don’t give up on hunting when it gets difficult because I loved the hunt before the harvest. Jesus does not give up on us during hard seasons, and we should extend that same commitment to others. Sportsman’s Tip of the Day: Keep game bags in your backpack. They will help preserve your meat and keep it cle...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Hebrews 10:24-25   24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. NIV. Thoughts: I’ve worked to improve my turkey calling over the years. I’ve practiced with mouth yelpers and various friction calls, trying to imitate a hen turkey and perfect the sounds I can produce. Most of the time, my calls sound good to me. I’ve often asked others to listen and critique my calling. When my wife or grandsons listened, they always told me how good my clucks, yelps, cuts, and purrs sounded, and that it sounded just like a wild hen turkey. When I asked a few friends who are better hunters and callers than I am, I received honest feedback. It wasn’t always what I wanted to hear and might have hurt my turkey-calling pride...

  This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: I Timothy 4:8  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (NIV) Thoughts: This summer and early fall, my son and I have worked diligently together to get our new hunting property up and ready to go. We have cut trails, put up portable tree stands, built permanent ground blinds, put in food plots, developed a spot for us to camp at, and have been scouting together recently. We have prepared well for this upcoming season. We have rolled up our sleeves side-by-side to accomplish our goal of giving ourselves the opportunity to be successful white-tail hunting. My son is learning the value of hard work . . . he is not getting this hunting opportunity without sweat on his brow! Action Point:  Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. This is what we have spent a good portion of our la...