Religion: Discuss how your religious views affect your hunting lifestyle. All religions are welcome to post.
Much of the time I am surrounded by "the world of man" and thought God is everywhere and inside me, the world of man is a distraction to my relationship with GOD.
When I go hunting, I leave behind the world of man as much as I can as that is usually where the hunting is best. It is in the quiet of nature that "God's world" is more evident and I find it easier to be closer to GOD.
Amen brother Duffy..even the Lord went away oft in the mountains to get away from man..My wife and I go through a wonderful devotional every morning before getting into the word. The book is called The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis..
Here's a quote..from Thomas a Kempis “We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are.”
Amen brother Duffy..even the Lord went away oft in the mountains to get away from man..My wife and I go through a wonderful devotional every morning before getting into the word. The book is called The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis..
Here's a quote..from Thomas a Kempis “We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are.”
Did he bow hunt or rifle ?
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The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. Zephaniah 1:14
פרץ
It's a good time to meditate and settle down when you are in the woods and nothing is happening, but too many people use the "I feel closer to God when I'm in the woods" excuse to avoid going to church.
This falls back on a point that's been made many times before--do you go with your feelings, or do you follow the instructions?
Hebrews 10:25 " Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
Matthew 18:20 " For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Say you are in the middle of a prayer or deep meditation, and a new world record steps into your shooting lane. I don't care who you are, ANYONE is going to be distracted, and 99.999% are going to forget everything but making the shot. That is why you are there to begin with!
On the other hand, if being in the woods makes you feel closer to God, how many times do you just go to the woods and sit for hours without a weapon, when it's not hunting season, and don't look for signs, trails, etc.?
Just something to think about.
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Amen Chad; One MUST keep the main thing, the main thing!! The whole duty of man if to fear God, and keep his commandments. To many are looking for a way that seemeth right unto a man, and forget about the commandments of God.
It's not a matter of works that must be kept because they are written on stone, in a book, or preached by a church group. It is a matter of keeping what is written in the heart, because we love the Author and our soul desire is to please him.
I always carry a pocket New Testament (camoflaged of course!) and a devotional guide or two when I'm hunting. In the areas I hunt, there is often a lull around 9am, and that is when I pull them out for some time with God. I often will spend considerable time praying (eyes open) thru the morning sit, and I find the time I spend meditating on God's word to be more beneficial when sitting in a treestand than sitting in my home. I think that the further removed you are from the distractions, the better your time with God can become since you can focus more on Him. That is not to say that the appearance of your intended target won't interrupt that, but there is plenty of down time most days.
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Today' s small bucks are tomorrow' s trophies.
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Just to be clear, I'm not condemning praying or meditating while hunting--just don't use the excuse to go hunting in place of going to church. You go hunting to hunt, (at least I do), you go to church to worship and study (or at least should).
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
There are times when my "prayer" is a deep devotional type and that normally happens in a Church (or home). There are times when my "prayer" is as a part of a Christian community worshiping together and again that is normally at a Church.
Other times my "prayer" is a conversation with GOD. Sometimes I see a lovely small flower growing out of the crack in a rock and I say "Thank you GOD for that".
And if a nice buck walks by while I am hunting you can bet I would be grateful to it's Creator and whisper a thank you Lord .
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