The Significance of a Shed

The other day I made a significant discovery while walking in the woods. There in the trail lay a buck’s shed antler from earlier this year. It is remarkable that I found it in such great shape, as there appeared to be hardly any evidence of the chewing of rodents. Deer will shed their antlers so they can grow a new set each year. With this being the case, it’s not really a loss for the buck, because it leads to new growth with a new pair of antlers. There is something bigger and better that will come as a result of what he shed.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ shed his blood and He lost his life. However, that was not the end of the matter. Not only was Jesus raised from the dead, but the blood that He shed led to some great things.  As He was instituting the Lord’s Supper on the night of his betrayal, He said “for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt. 26:28, KJV). As the writer of Hebrews reflected on the Old Law, he says “…without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). The forgiveness of our sins was only made possible by the shedding of Christ’s blood.

Another thing that was much more significant was what the blood of Jesus bought. When Paul was giving his farewell address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus, he said the church was purchased with the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). The institution that we are a part of today as members of the body of Christ was bought with blood. Even as Peter says that we were redeemed by “…precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:19).

The shedding of Christ’s blood is something that we need constant reminders of, for it is of the utmost significance for the Christian who is the recipient of the cleansing effects of His blood and a citizen of God’s household, the church. The next time I see a shed antler I’ll be reminded by what came about as a result of the shedding of the blood of Jesus.

The Spiritual Applications of a Treestand

Ever since mankind became hunters after the global flood, there have been many methods employed to pursue our game of choice. Some hunters prefer a good spot and stalk, using their knowledge and ability to sneak up close to the prey. Some hunters like the community effort of a good "deer" drive, whereby they attempt to flush out the game to some other human predators lying in wait. Other hunters prefer to find a stationary spot on a good crossing or feeding spot, at which they place a treestand to remain hidden up in the perch of a concealing tree. Myself, I prefer a stand in a tree to surprise the unsuspecting deer that happen to wander by my undisclosed locale.

Have you ever thought about some spiritual applications of the treestand? While we are often only focused on the hunt itself, I am mindful of some spiritual truths which can be found above the ground in the security of a tree-hugger. The following is a plethora of treestand truths from a young man who has spent many hours in God's great outdoors.

Spiritual application #1 - Place your stand in the best possible spot for close encounters. Especially true for bowhunting, make sure your stand will offer you that shot at a close proximity. Just as deer are a target of many bowhunters, our targets for evangelism are those who don't have Christ in their life. If we are going to reach people, we need to be in close proximity to the people. Jesus called us to be fishers of men (Mark 1:17), so it only makes sense to be around the people. You can't catch men unless you're in their midst.

Spiritual application #2 - Make sure to secure yourself so you don't fall. Safety belts can be life savers, even if you're only hunting ten feet off the ground. Likewise, we have security available for our spiritual lives. We are told in the Bible that we can fall from grace and drift away(Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 2:1; 3:2; 4:11). We need to make sure we are secured through salvation in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who have been obedient to the gospel can be secure in their salvation by walking in the light (1 John 1:7), and we can know that we're saved (1 John 5:13). My brother, Chris, fell out of a treestand one time and lived to tell about it. Those who fall spiritually will not be able to secure themselves once they die or the Lord returns.

Spiritual application #3 - There are many different types of treestands. Climbing stands are beneficial when you are going to be in the area temporarily. Hanging stands are great options for the season when you need a low profile in the tree. Ladder stands are great when you've got lots of cover, and perhaps you've even got one to accomodate two people. Just as there are many types of stands, the church is made up of many different kinds of people. There is one body, but there are many different parts (1 Corinthians 12:12ff; Romans 12:3-8).

Spiritual application #4 - The aim of a treestand is to lift you above where you are. If you're hunting on the ground, you don't need a treestand; their purpose is to get you above the ground. Likewise, Christians are to set their minds on things above, not on things of the earth (Colossians 3:2). I'm mindful of the song Higher Ground and the line that states "Lord, plant my feet on higher ground." Think about this the next time you plant your feet in the lofty heights of your treestand.

Our boat is faster than yours!

Several years ago, I had the privilege of travelling to Alberta, Canada to bear hunt and fish with my family and some other good friends. One particular day, my brother and I, along with Bob and Rob Simpson, were doing some fishing at one of the lakes in two separate boats. At the start of this particular fishing expedition, it was very apparent that the boat Chris and I were in was much faster than the Simpson's boat.

As Chris and I decided to showboat our speed advantage, we started going around their boat in circles yelling, "our boat is faster than yours!" The Simpsons just smiled and took it at face value, knowing there was nothing they could do to outrun us. We were in a race car, and they were in a 4 cylinder!

As we were really enjoying our bragging rights, just then, it happened: we ran out of gas! Suddenly, the boat that was running circles around the other, was out of commission. We had to swallow our pride and yell "we're out of gas." As much as we hated to do it (mostly because of how we had acted), we had to rely on our friends (if they still were) to bail us out of this embarrassing situation.

To ensure that they got a hand up on us after what we had done, they decided once they caught up to us that they would just wave goodbye to us and motor along the water. I don't know about Chris, but one of my thoughts was, "maybe that wasn't the brightest idea!" Thankfully, the Simpsons circled back around and came to our rescue, towing us back to the shore. Yes, you're right if you guessed that around the campfire that night we got quite a ribbing from everyone.

I wanted to tell this story just for fun. I saw Bob Simpson at my parents' fish fry the other night, and I hadn't thought about this incident in several years. Yes, there are some spiritual applications, but I'll save those for another time. I hope you enjoyed a laugh at my expense. I hope you have a great day!

Hunting Report

This was my fourth time to go hunting this season, and I was bowhunting within the city limits of Columbia, TN. There were three does already out in the field when I got there about 3:45 this afternoon. I watched several more does throughout the evening, as the rain began to fall lightly from the overcast sky. The problem was I couldn't get the does within bow range. My comfortable range is out to about thirty yards, but it wasn't happening.

About ten minutes before dark, I began hearing a deer walking up the bank from the creek behind me. If you can picture my setup, I was dressed in camo sitting in a white plastic chair in the woods about five yards off the edge of a field. When I heard the deer, I knew I was in trouble if the deer came straight toward me; he did! I had simply turned my head around to see what came out, and I watched a small spike appear over the rise. He walked up within three yards of me sitting in this white plastic chair. As he got behind me, I began moving intentionally because I thought I heard another deer in the field. He finally spooked, but he only ran a few steps further.

I don't like shooting young bucks, but as he sat there staring at me, I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind. Nonetheless, I waited until he left before I walked back to my car. It was truly a nice evening to be out there.

When Did Hunting Begin?

I pose this question, not to be silly or frivolous, but to point out some things from Scripture. Some people in the world are animal rights activists who continually bash outdoorsmen who hunt, whether for sport or for food. As long as there are people in this world, this conflict will exist. I want us to ponder this question, partly because of a recent post where a friend of mine was inquisitive about my comment on hunting being a part of stewardship. Let's see if we can tackle this one.

Upon the creation of man on day six, Adam and Eve were not given instructions to eat anything they wanted. Prior to the first sin in the garden, mankind and animal life was given plants and fruit to eat. "Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life; I have given every green plant for food'; and it was so" (Gen. 1:29-30). Yes, it was a vegetarian diet at this point. There were no meat-eaters; this even included the dinosaurs!

When did this change? After the flood, God changed the diet of mankind. God gave the charge that all of the creatures had been given over into mankind's hand. "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant" (Gen. 9:3). Not only did we have dominion over them as God said in Gen. 1:26, but now we would be a cause of fear for them. This would have changed things drastically in the animal kingdom.

We go on to read about Nimrod, who was a great-grandson of Noah, and he was a mighty hunter (Gen. 10:9). Fast-forward to today, where hunting abounds as ways to acquire food solely for some, but also as an outdoor conservation method. The fact that God gave us rule over the fish, birds, cattle and every other creeping thing has not changed. When we talk about stewardship, we mostly think about money and what we give back to the Lord. However, I proposed a few years ago that hunting and fishing is a part of our stewardship. How is this?

One of the reasons we hunt is to control the animal population. How many of you have come close to hitting a deer while it is crossing the road? If hunting were to stop, can you imagine how many more automobile accidents would happen as a result of this? Take Tennessee for example. A few years ago, the TWRA increased the limit on deer to three does a day. This has really not even made a dent in the population, as many hunters are only able to hunt on weekends. Deer are still being hit by cars and they are still contracting certain diseases. If hunting were stopped, there would be so many ill effects on the human population that it wouldn't be a laughing matter. I wish everyone could go back and read an article by John Sloan in Reader's Digest. It will make you think!

Don't think of it though only in terms of keeping the population in check. Think about it in the sense of continuing to do what God told Noah upon exiting the ark, as well as understanding what God said early on about us having dominion over them. So, when did hunting begin? Hopefully I answered any questions you might have had about this subject about its necessity and beginning. We can surely say it is scriptural!

Hot Hunt in November

When you think about going hunting in November, you don't think about it being in the 70's even as the daylight starts to fade. There I was in my treestand yesterday evening sweating from the heat. All I had on were some camoflauge clothes over my dress clothes. Up until about fifteen minutes before dark, I was saying to myself that I shouldn't have even gone hunting.

I was hearing white oak acorns dropping all over the forest floor. It was really hard to hear between that and the highway traffic behind me (I can see the vehicles driving by on highway 7). I did manage to catch a glimpse of a little spike buck foraging on acorns. There is some buck sign in the general vicinity of my stand, but after seeing him I was sure hoping that he didn't make it!

Was I glad I went? You bet! Even though it was hot, you just know there won't be very many more of those days ahead. It's worth it just to be out there among God's creation.

Our God Is Awesome!

Has anybody been able to look at the beautiful fall colors and not been able to realize the power of God? This time of year always amazes me. It's definitely in times such as this that I think about what Paul said in Romans chapter one. "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20).

One of the greatest places to experience this is in the woods during hunting season. Some people can't understand why some of us like to hunt animals. I'm not going to get on my soapbox talking about how that is a responsibility of us as stewards of His creation. I'll save that for another day. Many people don't realize that when we're out in the woods, we are among God's creation to witness His handiwork firsthand. It's very peaceful to sit in a treestand or a ground blind and watch the falling leaves flutter to the ground. We also get to watch a variety of animal life go about their daily activities: squirrels jumping from limb to limb, deer following a trail looking for acorns and hawks scanning a field for a meal.

If you haven't gotten away from the latest hustle and bustle of life, go out in the woods for a little while and get away from it all. I think you'll come away with a renewed sense of God's creative power.