Persevere
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 15th, 2025
6 AM and the rain finally stopped. We walked over 7 miles yesterday and did not see a single fresh moose track. Bizarre. With 4 days left to hunt we'll need to break camp and move. We walked, we climbed, we sat still and glassed a big stretch of country. Though it's early, we may try calling moose today. Most often success requires perseverance. The same thing is true spiritually. After Jesus call...  Read More
Be Still And Know
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 14th, 2025
5 AM- first morning in the woods in months. I am enjoying the gift of a 'dry camp.' Spending this time alone in the dark- reading my Bible by lantern light- is good for my soul. The quiet, is mesmerizing. Last night my son David commented that he couldn't believe how loud was the sound of a yellow leaf falling from a tree to the ground.We are so seldom "quiet' anymore. It's as though a whole new w...  Read More
Unshakable
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 13th, 2025
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Do you have a contentious spirit? Are you easily offended? Do you feel the need to argue and win? If any of those are true, you are missing out on a clearly stated blessing of God. Peacemakers do not insist on having their own way. Peacemakers are eager to compromise and are willing to surrender their rights. Peacemak...  Read More
Stand
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 12th, 2025
Jesus wept. In a world that seems to become desperately more wicked by the day, so many things grieve the heart of our Savior. Christ-followers are mourning because of another mass shooting of Christian school children by another person who bought into the ridiculous 'boys can be girls and girls can be boys' ideology. It's simply another lie from the pit of hell intended to destroy people created ...  Read More
He Will Restore You
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 11th, 2025
The Scripture says that "God disciplines those he loves." It also tells us that "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful." Pain, though almost universally unpleasant, is a gift. It keeps us from resting our hand on a hot stove or further injuring a torn muscle. In that sense, pain protects us. When the Holy Spirit brings conviction about our sin, the emotional and spiritual pain and ...  Read More
With All Your Heart
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 10th, 2025
God says in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." There are many things in life that are worth 'finding.' At this very moment millions of people are seeking a good job, seeking a person to share life with, seeking the best medical care... and now... for the first time in many decades... an unprecedented number of young people are SEEKING a genuine rel...  Read More
Come To Jesus
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 9th, 2025
Jesus said, "Come to ME all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Years ago I was coming off a mountain with a whole dall sheep in my pack- meat, hide and horns. I was side-hilling down a vertical slope- trying not to twist my ankles on rocks- attempting to get good footing with each step- but soon my muscles were so exhausted from the strain that my legs started...  Read More
Spend Time With The Lord
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 8th, 2025
Up at 4 AM and I feel a little bit like someone poured sand in my eyes. It's not unusual for me to be up this early, but last night I was up till after 1 AM doing things that needed to get done. Why? Because today we'll be driving about 500 miles round trip to check out a river. It might be a total bust, but then again, we might find a new place to hunt. We only have today. My friend flies out tom...  Read More
The Beginning Of Wisdom
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 7th, 2025
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is why there are 5 year-olds with greater wisdom than their grandparents. The ability to earn money is not wisdom. The ability to generate 'likes' and 'followers' is not wisdom. No person without Christ has ANY wisdom- none- zip- nada. Intelligence- yes. Great personalities- yes. Love for family- yes. Work ethic- yes. And yet, a rejection of Ch...  Read More
Notice The Miracles
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 6th, 2025
We call it 'instinct', but in truth, it's God-given patterns of behavior that are so miraculous that scientists simply apply a common term as the 'explanation'. Birds travel thousands of miles on their migration routes and often use the same nest year after year. Salmon travel those same thousands of miles to spawn in the exact river or stream where each individual fish came to life. Canadian scie...  Read More
Risks Worth Taking
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 5th, 2025
For those who hunt off the road system in Alaska with ATV's, 'scouting' before the hunting season serves two main purposes. First, it tells you if there's any game in the area; and, second, it tells you the condition of the trail going in. In my experience, the trails most often fall into one of three categories: 'hard and occasionally dangerous', 'extremely hard and very dangerous', or, 'we can't...  Read More
Thank Him
by Pastor Brad Rud on September 4th, 2025
Yesterday was a very typical from the standpoint of provision. I had salmon for lunch, moose for dinner and wild blueberries for dessert. Salmon and wild game has been my diet for decades. In fact, Laura and I never bought any kind of meat our first 11 years of marriage. We've been blessed to live on dall sheep, black bear, caribou, moose and salmon. For me, there is something intensely gratifying...  Read More
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