There is nothing like being in the woods early in the morning as everything begins to wake up. The sound of birds and rustling leaves, the sun beginning to peak over the horizon and the sound of dew dropping from the leaves on the trees. It is one of the most peaceful experiences in the world.
The first gobble really gets your blood flowing and the hopes to entice a gobbler close enough to shoot gets more intense as the gobble gets closer. The goal is to prey on a the Turkey's greatest weakness in the spring. The desire to find a willing hen is overwhelming for a gobbler this time of year. Sometimes you use decoys to make the romantic moment seem more real to this dominant bird of the forest. You can even put a gobbler decoy out to make the aggression pour from the strutting bird. Then it gets within range and as the hunter you slowly pull the trigger and down the bird goes.
At least that is the way they show it on T.V. It doesn't always happen that way. But the hopes of having a hunt like that is why I get up at sometimes at 3:30 am to go into the woods.
I relate Spring Gobbler hunting to our spiritual lives. The hunter is the devil who uses our weaknesses in hopes to devour us. It reminds me of 1 Peter 5:8-9, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith . . ."
You know why turkey hunting is so hard? It is because of how self-controlled and alert a turkey lives life. Even though they are being preyed upon at a specific time by a specific weakness they approach the sound of a willing hen with caution. They approach decoys with alertness. The ones who become thanksgiving dinner are the ones who let their guard down and let their emotions get the best of them.
The enemy wants to prey on your weaknesses but we have to be alert and self-controlled everyday, standing firm on our faith in Jesus.
Here are a few highlights of my spring turkey season:
1. Hunting with a new partner- Cole (my middle son), He is going to be quite the hunter some day. I just wish he would have gotten a shot at a bird. He saw a lot, but none close enough.
2. I got a shot, but missed. I will never live that one down, Cole reminds me often.
3. We saw and heard the bear. At our family farm in West Virginia Cole heard the bear growl ending the turkeys journey to his blind. We then saw it in the field that evening as we were coming from the farm. Maybe our next hunt this fall or winter will be bear. A bear skin rug would look great in front of our fire place.
4. Just being in God's creation. I love seeing what he has given us to enjoy while we are here on this earth. I can't wait to see what he has in store for heaven.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Stirring Things Up
When someone is known to stir things up we usually jump to the conclusion that it is a bad thing. But that is not always true.
When I make chili I saute some peppers, onion and garlic. I dump them in the crock-pot. Then I brown some ground round and put it in the crock pot as well. I add a can of tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, two cans of kidney beans, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then I turn the crock-pot on low and leave it for the day.
How is that chili going to turn out? It is going to be awful because I did not "stir" it. Stirring things up can be a good thing. You can have all the ingredients in place but if it is not properly stirred it never becomes what it can be. I stir my chili through out the day so it gets properly mixed together so that it can be the best chili on the face of the earth (by the way it is).
In John 5:1-30 Jesus comes into Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles. There is a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years and Jesus heals him. He tells him to get up, pick up his mat and go home. The problem is this happened on the Sabbath. It was against the oral law to carry a mat on the Sabbath.
The religious leaders criticized the man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. Instead of noticing the man was walking after thirty-eight years they notice he is carrying his mat. Instead of rejoicing in what God had done they frown on what the man was doing.
Then when Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders about telling this man to carry his mat on the Sabbath, he tells them he does what his Father tells him to do. Now they are mad because he make himself equal with God by calling Him his Father. John says this mad them try all the harder to kill him.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our traditions and oral laws that we miss opportunities to live like Jesus. No wonder most churches are struggling to make an impact in the kingdom. They are afraid to stir things up and be more like Jesus. They hold on to things that do not matter and wonder why God is not blessing what they are doing week to week.
If you feel like your relationship with God is a little stale--Do something different! Stir things up a little bit. The ingredients are all in place all you need to do is "Stir!"
When I make chili I saute some peppers, onion and garlic. I dump them in the crock-pot. Then I brown some ground round and put it in the crock pot as well. I add a can of tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, two cans of kidney beans, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then I turn the crock-pot on low and leave it for the day.
How is that chili going to turn out? It is going to be awful because I did not "stir" it. Stirring things up can be a good thing. You can have all the ingredients in place but if it is not properly stirred it never becomes what it can be. I stir my chili through out the day so it gets properly mixed together so that it can be the best chili on the face of the earth (by the way it is).
In John 5:1-30 Jesus comes into Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles. There is a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years and Jesus heals him. He tells him to get up, pick up his mat and go home. The problem is this happened on the Sabbath. It was against the oral law to carry a mat on the Sabbath.
The religious leaders criticized the man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. Instead of noticing the man was walking after thirty-eight years they notice he is carrying his mat. Instead of rejoicing in what God had done they frown on what the man was doing.
Then when Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders about telling this man to carry his mat on the Sabbath, he tells them he does what his Father tells him to do. Now they are mad because he make himself equal with God by calling Him his Father. John says this mad them try all the harder to kill him.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our traditions and oral laws that we miss opportunities to live like Jesus. No wonder most churches are struggling to make an impact in the kingdom. They are afraid to stir things up and be more like Jesus. They hold on to things that do not matter and wonder why God is not blessing what they are doing week to week.
If you feel like your relationship with God is a little stale--Do something different! Stir things up a little bit. The ingredients are all in place all you need to do is "Stir!"
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Taking Jesus at His Word (John 4:43-54)
A royal official traveled 15-20 miles to ask Jesus to heal his son who was about to die. Jesus looks at the man and says, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe."
The man does not flinch. He looks at Jesus and says, "Sir, come down before my son dies."
Jesus must have seen something different about this man. He was not just wanting to see a miraculous sign, he was desperately seeking a way for his son to live. He must have heard about Jesus. He had a sure confidence that Jesus could heal his son. Jesus must of seen the faith this Gentile had in the Jewish carpenter from Galilee because Jesus said, "You may go, your son will live."
John recorded this reaction by the man: "He took Jesus at his word and departed." He did not say, "Are you sure?" He could have stayed and insisted that Jesus would come back to Capernaum with him to make sure his son would be alright, but he didn't. He took Jesus at his word and left for the long journey back home.
If only we could have the same faith as the royal official. How many times do we try to live on our own independent from Jesus? How many times do we look at how Jesus teaches us to live only to think we have a better idea?
Here is the question we all need to ask ourselves, "Do we take Jesus at his word?"
The royal official is on his way home when a servant comes running up to him. As the servant approaches he knows there is some kind of news he is about to receive. In anticipation he waits for the news. He heard that his son is better and that he will live. I think he already knew what the news was going to be because he took Jesus at his word.
Taking Jesus at his word can be the difference between life and death.
The man does not flinch. He looks at Jesus and says, "Sir, come down before my son dies."
Jesus must have seen something different about this man. He was not just wanting to see a miraculous sign, he was desperately seeking a way for his son to live. He must have heard about Jesus. He had a sure confidence that Jesus could heal his son. Jesus must of seen the faith this Gentile had in the Jewish carpenter from Galilee because Jesus said, "You may go, your son will live."
John recorded this reaction by the man: "He took Jesus at his word and departed." He did not say, "Are you sure?" He could have stayed and insisted that Jesus would come back to Capernaum with him to make sure his son would be alright, but he didn't. He took Jesus at his word and left for the long journey back home.
If only we could have the same faith as the royal official. How many times do we try to live on our own independent from Jesus? How many times do we look at how Jesus teaches us to live only to think we have a better idea?
Here is the question we all need to ask ourselves, "Do we take Jesus at his word?"
The royal official is on his way home when a servant comes running up to him. As the servant approaches he knows there is some kind of news he is about to receive. In anticipation he waits for the news. He heard that his son is better and that he will live. I think he already knew what the news was going to be because he took Jesus at his word.
Taking Jesus at his word can be the difference between life and death.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Well (John 4:1-38)
People don't die of thirst, they die of dehydration. Dehydration means your body does not have as much water and fluids that it needs. The symptoms are: dry mouth, sweating stops, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting and light headedness. Your body begins to shut down and eventually you can die. So we have to drink water.
What about spiritual dehydration? What does this mean? It means we need more Jesus! In John 4 Jesus goes to a well and a woman approaches at the sixth hour. She does not come at the first hour because she is an outcast and really doesn't want to take the ridicule. On top of that, she is a Samaritan and Jews did not associate with their kind.
Jesus looks beyond all of this and asks her for a drink of water. It leads into a discussion where Jesus tells the woman that he can give her a water where she will thirst no more. He wasn't talking physically he was talking spiritually. He is the living water which leads to eternal life.
He then says that there is a time when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. True worshipers are those who go to the well and drink the living water (Jesus). True worshipers live like Jesus because he was the one who showed us how to worship the Father in Spirit and truth.
After that he let's her know he is the Messiah. She believed and it changed her life. She left her jar and told everyone about Jesus. Finally the people she told said they did not need her to tell them about Jesus because they had met him themselves.
Look. Jesus changes everything. He can give life to that which is dead or about to die.
Our problem is that we can become spiritually dehydrated when we do not give Jesus room to live in us.
Here is the challenge for today. Try to add Jesus to everything you do and see if it does not make a difference. He is "The Well" from which we need to draw living water.
What about spiritual dehydration? What does this mean? It means we need more Jesus! In John 4 Jesus goes to a well and a woman approaches at the sixth hour. She does not come at the first hour because she is an outcast and really doesn't want to take the ridicule. On top of that, she is a Samaritan and Jews did not associate with their kind.
Jesus looks beyond all of this and asks her for a drink of water. It leads into a discussion where Jesus tells the woman that he can give her a water where she will thirst no more. He wasn't talking physically he was talking spiritually. He is the living water which leads to eternal life.
He then says that there is a time when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. True worshipers are those who go to the well and drink the living water (Jesus). True worshipers live like Jesus because he was the one who showed us how to worship the Father in Spirit and truth.
After that he let's her know he is the Messiah. She believed and it changed her life. She left her jar and told everyone about Jesus. Finally the people she told said they did not need her to tell them about Jesus because they had met him themselves.
Look. Jesus changes everything. He can give life to that which is dead or about to die.
Our problem is that we can become spiritually dehydrated when we do not give Jesus room to live in us.
Here is the challenge for today. Try to add Jesus to everything you do and see if it does not make a difference. He is "The Well" from which we need to draw living water.
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