Posts with the category “daily-devotions”

Other than a few grayling, this hunting trip had been a bust. It was my dad's one and only hunting trip to Alaska, and I was trying to get him a caribou. On day four, we finally spotted a few cows on the very top of a distant mountain. 30 years ago my dad was used to hunting hard all day, but he wasn't used to climbing in tundra. I was very surprised when he said, "Let's go try to get one."It was ...  Read More

How many times can you get back up? Life will trip you up. Sometimes it will knock you down. Sometimes the burden weighs you down. At other times you fall because of your own sin. Come to Jesus. Confess your sin, pour out your troubles. Lift up your hands and worship. HE will lift you up. Proverbs 24:16 "A righteous man may fall seven times, yet he will rise again." James 4:10 says, "Humble yourse...  Read More

For me, one of the best parts of a successful hunt was still in front of me. My sheep and my camp were loaded on my 4 wheeler, but I was still miles deep into the mountains. One of my favorite parts is coming home, because Laura has always been my biggest fan.. She cheers when I get something, helps me process the meat, and cooks delicious meals with whatever I bring home. Ladies, are you your hus...  Read More

I spent a long time skinning the sheep. I took the entire hide and hooves and made sure that my job was taxidermy quality. I knew a guy who bought my sheep hides for $1,500. Along the way, I carefully boned out the meat, laying it on a tarp to keep it clean. By the time I added the hide, meat, and skull with horns to a pack that already had a rifle, ammo, spotting scope, rain gear, warm gear, wate...  Read More

An exhale... holding steady... a moment of intense focus... and my ram was down. After a flash of exultation and giving thanks to God, this is where the real work began. Climbing is hard work. Packing a Dall sheep off of mountain by yourself is harder. Perhaps you've heard the old saying, "Anything worth having is worth working for." The Bible talks about the positive payoff of diligence and hard ...  Read More

It was one of those days. Not 1 in a million, but maybe 1 in 100. As I lay on my belly peaking over the top of a mountain, there was a legal ram right beneath me. It was a beautiful, clear morning an hour after daylight, and only an hour from my camp. Win- win- win. Sometimes everything goes our way, doesn't it? Some days are just that good. When everything is going right- when you are in the midd...  Read More

It was a sunny morning- one of those that sheep hunters dream about. Though I could see my breath, the temperature was above freezing. Even though I had no idea if there were any sheep in this country, I put on my pack, grabbed my rifle and began to climb. For me, there is nothing like being on foot in the 'high country.' Getting there is costly. That's why so few people do it. It's a tremendous a...  Read More

A number of years ago I set up camp by myself on a high ridge. The goal was dall sheep, but I hadn't seen anything. The country was barren. Even so, the next morning I started to climb higher still. Why? Because even though I felt that my chances of getting a sheep were utterly remote, I also knew that my chance of getting a sheep if I DIDN'T CLIMB was '0'- zip- nada. some of you feel that your ch...  Read More

I don't like to be cold. I don't mean the kind of cold that says, "I better put on a sweater." I mean REAL cold- the kind of cold that hurts you. In that kind of cold, only two things can keep you from serious harm- protective clothing and activity. If I venture out on my trapline missing even a single essential piece of clothing, I am vulnerable. If things go badly, I could be in deep trouble. If...  Read More

How do you respond when someone wounds you? I don't mean physical wounds- we care for those as best we can. I'm talking about something deeper, something that hurts your feelings- an attack upon your performance or perhaps upon you as a person. Sometimes the words spoken are true. Sometimes they are completely false. At times the wound is given unintentionally, but often you are the target. HOW DO...  Read More

"I might have lasted longer if I had occasionally set my back against a tree." These words were written by a man used powerfully of the Lord for decades. Having both a heart that still hungered to preach the gospel AND broken health, he was reflecting that he should have taken better care of himself. That's a great reminder for all of us, isn't it? We are made of BODY, soul and spirit. The Holy Sp...  Read More

The temperature is hovering around 0° and snow is falling hard. Winter is back. After weeks of driving on road grime, it's hard to tell the color of my truck. But all of that dirt and grit and grime has disappeared- just like that- under a blanket of white. This is what God does in regard to our sins. Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord, "though your sins are like s...  Read More

As the temperatures dropped, our rain turned into snow. With the wind, we had an actual 'Minnesota-type' blizzard. High on the mountain, we got about 6 inches. The snow's undercoating of freezing rain made the roads treacherous. Alaskans are used to driving on snow. The ice hidden underneath was the problem. So often in life, the danger is hidden beneath the surface. I once listened to a young wom...  Read More

Our team from Ukraine leaves today. Last night was amazing. We had our annual missions dinner. We honored our missionary guests, ate, worshipped, and heard a powerful message from Slavik Golovatyuk, the founder of Solid Rock Mission in Ukraine. We watched video reports from our foreign missionaries sharing the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of decisions for Christ this past year! Between our Women's Minist...  Read More

As my truck began sliding sideways down my driveway yesterday, it occurred to me that I needed sand... Fortunately a good friend put me at the head of his list and got the job done. A team is staying with us who are part of a ministry in Ukraine. They needed to drive a 15 passenger van down to the church, but would never have made it down our driveway! Isn't it great when you have a friend who can...  Read More

As I sit at my kitchen table this morning I can hear the wind roaring outside like a jet engine. Where did it come from? Where is it going? We cannot see the wind, but we FEEL it and see its EFFECTS. Jesus said in John 3:8, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Every Christi...  Read More

Many things in life are behind us. Those experiences are gone, and we will never get them back. That's the thing about time- it is truly our most precious commodity. My week has been filled with reminders. I spoke with the family of a man who was 'suddenly gone', with the father of an infant who is no longer with us, and prayed with a man (and his family) who is not expected to leave the hospital....  Read More

Consider the farmer who plants 1,000 acres of corn. Not counting the astronomical cost of equipment and fuel, he will spend $100,000 on seed. Then he buries it in the ground... INVESTMENT...RISK...WORK...FAITH...WAITING....Producing a harvest always comes with a significant cost. The same is true in our spiritual lives. Salvation is free, but following Christ will COST YOU EVERYTHING. Jesus said, ...  Read More

I had a chance yesterday to help a man lift a 140 lb propane range off his truck and put it in a cargo sled behind his snowmachine. He was a little bashful at first when it came to accepting help. Typical man. I know, because that's how I would have responded. But he was thankful that I INSISTED on helping. When you see a need, is it your natural inclination to try to do something to meet that nee...  Read More

My first retriever (named Tuck-A Duck-Away) was so intelligent that by 12 weeks old he took hand, voice, and whistle commands. The process of teaching him was so joyful that I actually considered a career as a dog trainer. 'Tucker' was strong, impervious to the cold, loved to learn, loved water and loved to hunt. I had followed the instructions in a book by a world-class dog trainer, and I honestl...  Read More

With our machines still idling in the bitter cold, we were finally able to put on our warm gear and get ready to ride. Another friend was off-loading at the same time as us. Seeing that we were having problems, he walked over to our machines and asked, "Did you bring extra gas?" I said, "No." He replied, "Then you better follow me to my cabin. You're almost out of gas. I have some there." A short ...  Read More

It was a short drive by Alaska standards. My son David and I drove less than 2 hours and pulled over to off-load our snowmachines. The temperature was −17°. When David stepped out of the truck, he said, "We have a flat tire on the trailer." Sure enough, completely flat. Before we could jack the trailer up, we needed to off-load the machines. It took a lot of pulling and sweating and freezing finge...  Read More

So here we were- the better part of a day of hard labor, good conversation with friends, inflating a raft, putting on our gear... There was one logjam higher up that we needed to portage. Other than that, the East Fork of the Eklutna River was high and raging. We plunged through all of the 'boulder gardens' and 'drops' that we had intended to portage around. This was whitewater rafting at its best...  Read More

As we made our way alongside the river, carrying raft and gear, we noticed a number of places that we felt were too dangerous to raft. "We'll need to pull out right here and portage." Those words were heard again and again. Because of the grade, we expected Class IV whitewater, but we were seeing a lot of Class V. Then we passed where an avalanche had covered the riverbed but the river had melted ...  Read More

Every true adventure has a cost attached. We took turns carrying the 85 pound raft 7 miles up the East Fork of the Eklutna River. We also had 4 paddles, lifejackets and other essential gear. A friend was dragging a kayak. Our goal was to be the first people ever to raft this stretch of river. We scouted every stretch as we journeyed in, and the river was much more gnarly than we had anticipated. I...  Read More

The temperature has finally dropped below freezing again. Everything that was wet is now frozen, but 'dry ice' is much better for driving than 'wet ice.' After breaking October's record for snowfall, we've now broken all-time records for 'lack' of snow. In some ways it reminds me of God's created order for the harvest. At harvest time, you reap an abundance. But then there is month after month of ...  Read More

Snow at higher elevations- 2 inches at my house, but rain at the bottom of the mountain. At lower elevations we have a grit and grime. It clings to our shoes and boots and vehicles. But the higher you go the cleaner things become. The breathtaking purity of a blanket of fresh snow is in stark contrast to driving rain on grimy streets. There is a spiritual principle to be learned from this. God is ...  Read More

The light shines in the darkness. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I preached by candlelight to hundreds of people in a totally dark room. This was not by design. As I began to preach, the fire alarms went off. I told people to remain seated. Then the power went off. We had wind gusts in the area that exceeded 100 miles per hour, and we could hear the heavy gusts battering our building. A...  Read More

While Georgia and Alabama and Texas are getting snow, Alaska is getting rain. The first 3 months of our winter have been strange, but we still have several months left. With temperatures around 40°, I'm seeing people in shorts and t-shirts.  Undoubtedly, the snow will come. Strangely, I love this time of year. It's filled with expectation- with anticipation. Each day the sun rises a bit higher in ...  Read More

California is burning. Is it simply God's judgment upon the nucleus of the most evil entertainment industry in history? Some think so. Without question there is an enormous failure of leadership. Not only were warnings ignored (for years) from the professional firefighters, but the Governor of California also slashed the firefighting budget. This was important to make sure that there was money for...  Read More

Turning around was a hard decision. Climbing with a pack and rifle is never easy. The ridgeline that I wanted to hunt went on for miles. I'd been climbing all morning. Here I was just a few feet away, but the crevasse in front of me was impassable (translated 'impossible'). Whether I'm hiking or climbing, I always experience a sense of disappointment when I'm forced to stop and turn around. This i...  Read More

I'd never seen anything like it. The narrow ridgeline, often almost razor thin, suddenly stopped as though the mountain had simply split open. There was perhaps a 3 foot gap, and then the ridge began again. Even carrying a pack and rifle, with a little momentum I had no doubt that I could leap across it. But I was sheep hunting. I knew there was NO way I could come back across that precarious gap ...  Read More

The battles you face will never be won by 'committee.' Sure, seek wise counsel. Of course you want to learn and prepare. But when it comes to doing what is right- when it comes to standing firm for Jesus- the opinion of the crowd simply doesn't matter. The Israelite king and his entire army were quaking with fear. Day after day, they were frozen by indecision. But get this- a refusal to make a dec...  Read More

38° and rain? In January? After breaking records for snowfall in October, this has been a strange winter. Trying to drive home yesterday we were fishtailing and sliding everywhere on our side roads. We didn't even make it to the first hill. One of our neighbors braved it, and then called me to say the steep hills were actually in better shape than the flat roads. We tried again and made it home. W...  Read More

While Jesus commanded, "Therefore go," he also commanded us to 'stop.' The disciples weren't ALWAYS actively sharing their faith. Jesus knew they needed time to LEARN. You see, knowledge takes us from faith to FAITH. In other words, you can be 100%, sold-out, all-in regarding your faith, and yet somehow knowledge ADDS TO and INCREASES our faith. We need time to learn, but we also need time to YEAR...  Read More

Much of my life recently has been spent traveling. An unexpected trip to sit with grieving loved ones, a rescheduled conference, Christmas with my parents, preaching at a cousin's funeral, and a ministry trip with Upward Sports have seemed to come one right after another. While I am thankful that God has given me both blessings and opportunities to bless others, I am also anxious to be 'home' with...  Read More

Yesterday (for the first time in my life) I watched a professional bass fishing tournament on television. I had no idea that there was such a thing as 'Major League Fishing.' These men had the right EQUIPMENT, had a lot of TRAINING and EXPERIENCE, and were entirely FOCUSED on catching fish. I imagine that's what a few of the disciples were like when they first met Jesus. They also were fishermen- ...  Read More

Some people equate age with wisdom. While it's true that more years equals more experience and that experience can make us smarter and improve our skills, does age make us wise? Not according to God. He tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." In other words, the 5 year old who loves Jesus, has far greater wisdom than our current President and our list of top billionaires in Am...  Read More

I made some new friends today. I still don't know them well. God has given me an amazing opportunity.  But then, doesn't he give you and me this opportunity almost EVERY day? I'm sure that he does. More than the 12 who were chosen traveled with Jesus. There were additional men (and women as well). In today's church, we might call those people a 'life group.' They were more than traveling companion...  Read More

On this New Year's Day in the year 2025 I once again wonder, "How long, Jesus? How long until you return for those who love you?" Those who are wise WAIT and WATCH for his return. A part of us longs for it, but we do much more than that. We wait and we watch and we WORK. Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into...  Read More