Celebrate Reformation Day!

This Sunday we will celebrate Reformation Day.

I can't help but hear an eery quiet....maybe a barn door creaks...as not a soul has anything to say in reponse. "What is Reformation Day?" someone eventually chirps. Well, I can tell you that whether you know what it is or not, my church will be celebrating it out at a layman's property in the wide open spaces. We will have deep fellowship, worship, and all listen to my pastor expound on the rich life of one great reformer John Wycliffe. What a joy to walk in brotherhood with men of like mind; men who have a burning for the glory of God; men who are zealous for His sovereignty. Let me tell you there will be much rejoicing of the heart and exclamations of freedom in His grace, as we gather together over the day that the invisible church rose up against apostasy and demonism.
We celebrate the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral thereby declairing to all that no longer would the lies of the catholic church be swallowed; no longer would men stand for clergy spitting in the face of Almighty God; no longer...would men and women sit idley by while entire populations of culture were enslaved and bled dry by demonic men who twisted scripture, added to it, and used grace for their filthy schemes.

Do you think that many Christians use grace as a liscense to sin today? Do you know that the Catholic church still operates in this mode with their doctrines of demons such as purgatory, indulgences, praying to the saints, iconic worship, and salvation by grace through faith plus works? Do you see a blurring of lines between what different faiths believe, say, and do? Does it matter to you that so many have crept in to pervert the gospel?
The Bible uses the term "Bride of Christ" to denote His church. You see, many folks speak of how much rampant sin there is in the church today, and how she looks just like the world. I am telling you that is not true. The Bride of Christ is chaste, holy, and waiting for her King. She has her failings, but she is not wayward and she is continuously filling her lamp and trimming her wick. The problem is, what we call the church is not the church at all. The visible church IS in fact sick. The visible church is trying with all its might to emulate the world so that it will be "liked". Guess what, you do not "like" people unto salvation. What is the gospel unto salvation?

The gospel is: Repent of your sins before a just and holy God who is absolutely right to send all to hell and ask Him for forgiveness. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ who is your only hope for redemption as the perfect sacrifice for the eternal tresspass of your sin. Follow Christ and learn everything He has commanded so that you may become more like Him

Now, we must come to terms that God absolutely does all that good work in you. You could not repent, ask for forgiveness, believe, follow, or study Him unless He made it so, anymore than you could fly yourself to the moon. We all love to say how much we believe God is sovereign. Oh, but how we backpeddal when that awful, beautiful sovereignty gets applied to our lives. I do not see why anyone would want to worship a God who is not completely in control of everything He has made. A church that promotes a God like that has a name as well...the Whore of Babylon. Many people can make a sound case for the Roman Catholic Church being THE Whore of Babylon. I can assure you she is A whore at the least. Now, today in America everybody and their dog is a Christian with every piece of clothing sporting crosses and fishes. Rampant, man-centered ideologies and false doctrines plague evangelicalism. We call evil good and good evil and refuse to speak the truth to those who blaspheme the true Christ and shred scripture.

Much like the freedoms we have lost in this country, so we have sat with folded hands and droopy eyes as everything the reformers cried and bled for is laid waste around us. It's time to get up O Sons of God and Daughters of Jerusalem!! Let us hear three cheers for the Sovereign Free Grace of the Lord who sustains! His troops are marching on and we take refuge as one 'neath the sheltering walls of our Strong Tower.....It may be said that if you call yourself a Christian you can thank the Reformation that you do not attend mass at your local Catholic parish. Praise God for what He did through the reformers and give thanks in celebration of this momentous day!
Instead of a creeky barn door I can hear the deafening words of Martin Luther as he stood unwavering before the frothing beast of Romanism that demanded he bow and dared him to argue.........
‎"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason--I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other--my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me." Martin Luther

Gospel Call Update #2

This is an account from my friend and brother in Christ, Michael H., as he witnessed this last Monday night the 25th.....if you attend the well or live in Boise please be praying about what you can do to participate in helping us bring the gospel to the open air.

Michael says,
Roger and I were able to share the Gospel with a few people on Monday. First Roger approached 3 young men on campus and asked for a few moments of their time. One claimed Christianity, one was an Atheist and the other didn't claim any religious affiliation. Roger engaged them in conversation and then threw me on the spot to share with them the Gospel in a minute before they headed off. I think I took about 3 minutes to share the gospel. The gentlemen listened. I pray that God will open their minds.

I then saw Grace, a girl I had previously tried to witness to with a couple of her friends the week before. She was walking with another gentleman. I engaged them in conversation and found that Dan was a non-practicing Mormon. I tried walking him through the law, but he was hard to pin down. Then I spoke about the Holiness of God and how He calls us to be Holy because He is Holy. I explained the horror of our sin against the Infinite God, and that our sin demanded that justice be met. This Justice pins us all in the corner. I talked about the reasonableness of hell and that Christ is the propitiation for sin.
Dan said he was still trying to figure out who Jesus was and then Roger explained that who Jesus is is not up for debate. We left him with this final word. John 8:24 "If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sin."

Roger then approached a non-practicing Catholic who admitted that he would spend a long time in Purgatory when he died. Roger shared the Gospel with him and I added a few illustrations. We left him with this word. What he thought was Purgatory is actually hell. Purgatory is a man made doctrine. No amount of Purgatory will purge the sins of man. Christ alone purges sin.

Lastly I handed a tract to a woman who stopped and talked. The first thing she said was that I couldn't convince her that God exists because she didn't even believe in matter. To state it shortly, our conversation did not go anywhere. I am glad it was not my job to convince her. Hopefully God will do a work in her heart.

Please pray that God's will be done in the lives of those who receive tracts and listen to the Gospel. Pray that He be glorified.

The Gospel Call Update #1

So I have a question for you. Do you burn for the lost? I mean, is the cry of the unsaved heavy on your heart?
Charles Spurgeon said this, and I quote,

"Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor."

It seems today that the thought of evangelizing the world repulses many folks, whether it be street preaching or just witnessing at work. If they have any unction for it all, it is only an invite to church or maybe just a resolve to let others "see" the gospel in their lives rather than speak any words to them. Well, as far as the invite, if the sinner is offended by so-called "institutions of religion" what should a person do? Can the reluctant witness for Christ defend their faith? Do they know how? As far as "living the life" instead of speaking it, I would say this: A picture is worth a thousand words yes, but it took words for you to know that.

God has ordained that it should be by the foolishness of preaching and the hearing of the Word that folks are brought to Christ. You may not be called to preach on the street corner, but you had better love the street preacher and his calling. I have a burning for the lost, but I have a greater burning for the glory of God. If you are a Christian, you should too. Making a continued, concerted effort to give reason for the faith that is in you and stand up for what is right by speaking the gospel truth will in effect bring God's glory to bear upon those around you. The law will close their mouths and they will be convicted. If the Spirit gives way, what excitement to give the the good news of a savior that actually saves. Again, my brother in Christ,
C.H. Spurgeon,

"I would sooner bring one sinner to Jesus Christ than unravel all the mysteries of the divine Word, for salvation is the one thing we are to live for."


This is the first of a series of updates I will provide from time to time on our street evangelism ministry. Hopefully, my fellow brothers who participate will have a desire to write short accounts on here as well. I have been hitting the streets with the gospel for about 6 years now. My fellow evangelists, Michael and TJ have considerable experience and I will let them tell you about it, God willing. We are excited to begin this ministry at our fledgling church The Well, pastored by Matt Marino.

Last Monday night we arrived at the BSU campus at approximately 6:30pm. We were four strong and walked all across campus speaking with those who were willing. We had some great tracts including the trillion dollar bills that have a gospel message on the back. These tracts look like real money and are excellent conversation starters. Shawn Holes, a humble street preacher who recently moved his home base to Boise, Idaho(Praise God!), provided me with around 2000 white, post card-sized tracts that have big black lettering which ask, "Is Good Enough Good Enough For God?". These have been great. I also have tracts in vivid color of the earth in relation to the sun and another of the Titanic sinking. These both have gospel messages on the back. We are working on writing our own as it is hard to find biblicaly sound tracts.

My first encounter was with a young lady who was very kind and soft spoken. She stopped to listen to me explain the gospel and she barely asked a question. She initially said that she sort of floated around to whatever church she felt like going to. I expected her to argue more, but she seemed genuinely interested and said that she would consider what I had said. Her name slips my mind.
As I walked up to TJ, he was speaking with a group of four young men and they were listening to him with intent. I stopped to listen as well when I noticed an older woman of around 57 walking by. I asked her how her evening was going and began to walk with her. She said fine and I gave her a tract. As we approached the library we stopped and I brought her through the "Good Person Test". This consists of asking the person if they have ever lied, stolen, committed adultery of the heart, blasphemy, etc. She had admitted to all these, but when I began to speak of a holy God she wanted none of it. She said the God she served would forgive her. As I began to speak of a necessary payment for sin she became very angry and stormed inside the building. I don't know if she knows this or not, but Islam believes that Allah will simply forgive when you ask him. This is not the God of the Bible. Her name was Linda.
Next I had an opportunity to speak with James, a professing Christian. He even said he knew TJ and spent time at the BSC. As we walked I simply asked him to give me the gospel. In fact, I described a mock scenario of lying on the ground dying from a stab wound. I told him I only had two minutes and all I wanted was to know how to be saved. He couldn't do it. We talked for some time and I witnessed to him and encouraged him to look at the sovereignty of God.
As I made my way back to my friends, TJ became engaged with a relativist who really wnatednothing to do with a conversation about God. A girl was with him and before long TJ had them taking away with him and the gospel was being expounded. As I listened a young woman with walked by and I turned top hand her a tract. She was very open to speak about God and said that she had been raised a Catholic but didn't really go anymore. I delivered the gospel to her and she listened very closely asking pertinent questions. We spoke for awhile and I labored hard on the sovereignty of God, the Atonement of Christ, and salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. She began to ask me about my church and said she would check out the website. I told her we had many wonderful women being used by God who would love to talk with her more about these things. She said she would consider attending. Praise God! Her name was Patty.
Another very young man named Josh was quite struck by the gospel and was obviously convicted as we walked. He had been exposed only briefly to the Catholic church and could not even tell me one of the Ten Commandments. He said he was being effected by my words and thought he should get to church. I then encouraged him to stay away from any church that is saying they are the only church and have the only authority in scripture. I expounded on the Atonement and he was visibly moved.
As TJ and I made our way back, we ended up speaking with an injured guy who professed Christ but had no idea what the gospel was and did not even want to talk about it. We prayed for him and left. He never gave us his name. Before we got off campus we ran into a guy named David. He was very sketchy and kept looking around. He had just moved here from California and was going to school for Material Sciences. We talked for some time with him, and he seemed out of touch with reality but listened and responded well enough. We prayed for him and for his parents per his request as we walked away (he said he wasn't ready for us to pray with him together.
Please pray for Linda, James, Patty, Josh, and David. Pray that the Lord would bring them to their knees in conviction and raise them up to glory. Pray that their eyes would be opened if indeed it be the Lord's will for them.

Michael, Roger, TJ and I ended the night discussing our encounters and praying together. There is something about being out there proclaiming God's Word that is hard to describe. You really have to experience it for yourselves. Christ commanded us to proclaim the gospel from the housetops. I will let Spurgeon take it away....

"If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness,
it is the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world."

Grace, Grace, Grace

As we move toward the end of the month I am very excited to be celebrating Reformation Day. This will be my second year doing so and we will enjoy a time of fellowship, good food, and good teaching out in the countryside. There is great meaning for me today in this celebration of a point in history when men stood up to the Roman Catholic Church and held their ground on the true faith of scripture. The wealth of sound doctrine, right theology, and scriptural discernement that Christ has poured into me these past three years has transformed all of who I am today. What excitement indeed to see God for who He truly is.....Almighty God.

One of the nuggets of truth I have unearthed is the amazing grace of God. Just to see that this grace He gives out is so bountiful and at the same time so undeserved by wretched sinners; to understand that when He gives this grace to a sinner, the sinner is unable to reject the mighty hand of God; to know without doubt, that once this special grace of salvation has been infused into sinners, theirs is a faith that is never extinguished and indeed will be finished; Realizing all this along with His supreme sovereignty, has generated within me a hunger for God and a fire to burn for Him amongst the masses.

In the tradition of the five Solas of the Reformation, the Reformers saw clearly in the scriptures the five part order of imparted knowledge by God to His servants. It goes like this, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christos, Sola Scriptura, and Sola Deo Gloria. We are saved by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, of Scripture Alone, for the Glory of God Alone. These things work in harmony but are in themselves completely singular. Awesome.
This is what I have been thinking about: the word used for "grace" here is "gratia".
It is Latin and means in order to, for the sake of,
on account of,
gratitude, or favor.
In Latin, the word for free is "gratis".
It doesn't take too much to show that if one is getting grace then that grace must be by its very definition, completely free. It is entirely redundant to use "free" and "grace" in the same sentence. Nevertheless, great pains have been gone to in using the phrase "Free Grace", in order to enlighten men's hearts to the very reality of God. Indeed, the title of this blog proclaims that to be the thrust of my writings. Why must we be redundant in proclaiming this amazing grace of God? Let's look at some questions.

Is God actually in control of all He has made? Does He truly know what every man, woman, and child is thinking, doing, and saying, or for that matter has ever or will ever think, do, or say? Is the very fabric of creation and its continued existence contingent upon the sustaining power of God? Does God mete out salvation according to His divine will? One more question; If we answer yes to all these questions, are we actually prepared to love God enough that these truths be applied to our lives?

If you are known by the God of the Bible, then either, salvation is very appealing to you or salvation has already made its effect upon you. Likewise, the unfathomable being of Almighty God must do nothing less than lay upon you the truth of the answer "yes" to the above questions. Why then do so many dig their heels in and baulk at election and pre-destination? They try to equivocate and skirt the main issue. Could it be that man-centered doctrines have filled the church today and we have no room for a God so big that He has placed nothing contingent on our "free wills"? Even now, you may be reading this and think that I have contradicted myself by saying "the UNFATHOMABLE GOD" and "laying upon you the truth of 'yes' to the above questions". Maybe not. However, just for clarification, allow me to lay out for you a wonderful verse from so long ago when God was dealing with His chosen people.
Deuteronomy 29:29 says this:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

If the things are secret, then we will never know them this side of eternity. They belong to God. Things like what exactly His glory is, how it is that He has never had a beginning, or the wonderful majesty of the Trinity are things not for us to know now or possibly ever. However, our God has revealed many soul-stirring things about Himself and the ways in which He works in this 'ol world and He also wants us to know what these things are. One thing that frustrates me so much is when I speak with a Christian about certain doctrines that they may not fully grasp and they become exasperated and end up exclaiming that they are good where they are at and do not want to speak of such things.
If I may, let me point you to another precious scripture that speaks volumes about what Christ desires of us:
In Matthew 28:20 we see the risen Christ giving out the Great Commission and what does He say?
...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It is not enough to simply believe that Jesus is God. Even the demons believed this and trembled. It is clear in the first chapter of Mark that we must Repent, Believe, and Follow. What does it mean to follow? Is this a reference to the importance of the "journey" we are on rather than a focus on the destination as many apostate leaders would have us believe. Of course not! We are to soak up everything we can about the Godhead Three in One! We are to "observe everything.." as Jesus said! You will love what you look at and look at what you love. What are you looking at today?
Do you think it is "all about the journey"? Do you belive that the church is a hospital for the sick? Did you ever stop to think that the destination is indeed what matters? To be glorified in the presence of Almighty God is what we long for! Oh Christian, do you not realize that men are dead in their sins!? They do not need a physician they need a Saviour who raises people from the dead! The church is for the equipping of the saints! Period! We must not waver in dolling out the hot fresh bread of the gospel and the meat of heaven from the pulpit. For truly, the FREE GRACE of God will do its job anyway and how much more when the foolishness of preaching is done the way God has commanded?
This is why we proclaim from the housetops that God is a Holy God and we are not. God will judge all those not under the covering of christ. What joy that there is this unending flow of free grace whereby God saves. For indeed, without it, not a soul would see the streets of gold.
If God is actually God, then He is completely and totally sovereign over all things. Otherwise, why worship Him? Did you catch that? I said that God is completely and totally sovereign. A closer look will show you that I have been very unnecessary in my redundant use of words. For if someone is sovereign over another it is already understood that said sovereignty is total and complete. If the sovereignty is not total, it is not sovereignty. So why would one ever need to say "Total Sovereignty"? It is because in today's age we do not know how to process information and we know nothing of propositional thinking. We think and speak in blurbs to our demise.
While we are not too often redundant in our use of the word sovereignty, we do in fact become generously redundant when we speak of grace. "We" being those of us who are reformed in our thinking and Calvinistic in our doctrine. We love to say "free grace" because it sounds so sweet. When we are pleading with unbelievers or even professing Christians who cling to their libertarian free-will, we say the free grace of God is precious and saves sinners. Even the Westminster Confessions of Faith written from July 1643 to February 1649 by men who came together in one accord over the scriptures in order to exposit sound doctrines, contains the term "free grace" more than once. Why? It is because the brevity or conciseness and quality of expressing much in few words is nowhere found more precious than in the proclamation of the grace of God. WE DO NOT DESERVE IT! We are depraved and God would be absolutely just in sending us all to Hell. However, praise God He has chosen some for redemption! Oh how I pray you count yourself among this number! So we are redundant and exclaim, "Free Grace"! We say it because we are passionate about driving home the truth of God's supreme Holiness and our abhorrent depravity. We say it because we are in awe of our sovereign Lord and wish to be a City on a Hill for all to see. We say it, because it is His blinding glory which we so desperately desire to be on display.
Gratis Gratia.

A Not-so-Graceful Hunt

As the sun broke in orange and purple hues over the horizon of the open-sky country in which I grew up, my heart stirred with excitement. Today would be the day that I was sure to kill my very first deer. I am in my thirties and have never in all my life taken a game animal from the field barring land fowl. For some reason my dad never took me with him and my brother became the avid hunter while I pursued other interests, not the least of which was making a general wreck of my life. I missed out on a decade of relations with my family because of the enemy's foothold. Oh, but the joy of restoration has been sweet and I am covered by the white robe of Christ. I love guns and enjoy hunting, I guess I just never made them a priority. Today both guns and hunting are more important to me than ever, and this for reasons that surpass hobby or obsession. My passions are God and family and ministry....yes, in that order. What concerns me today is the severe decline of importance of these things in our culture and the consequent symptoms of centralized government, unjust war, militarization of police, dependency on the state for provision, and loss of freedoms previously viewed as inherent. These thoughts and more ran through my mind as I watched the sun rise. I remarked at the Lord's handi-work to my wife, and my brother took the opportunity to throw open the thin curtain and exclaim that the sun came up every morning and promptly inquired if we had seen it before. He is not only an early riser but a continuous joker.
We finished breakfast and small talk. Our wives were off to church while Ben and I secured weapons, ammo, licenses and headed out at around 8am on this very still October morning. I had made an effort to consecrate Saturday to the Lord with prayer, Bible reading, and worship knowing that I would miss Sunday morning services for this hunt. My communion with the Lord during the previous week had brought a peace to me that it was well I go hunting with my brother on a Sunday. I was determined to give the hunting experience entirely into God's hands and trust that He would be glorified.

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
1 Corinthians 10:31

The place we chose to hunt was entirely Ben's decision. His knowledge of the area and past experiences with sure hunts had my blood pumping. I would love to tell you where, but then I would have to kill you. Of course, that would prove difficult in all the tracking you down and wasting time on the Internet. So let's suffice it to say that it was in Idaho. All kidding aside, I am very thankful for my younger brother and his unwavering passion for the hunt and all things related. He has many kills of deer and elk and is sharp-shooter material. It is always a joy and pleasure to spend time with him shooting our guns. I was so glad to be heading out with him on the opening day of deer season and had high hopes for our success. Ben had plans to take his horses to another spot for an extended deer hunt and is in fact there as I write this, so this was strictly my hunt even though he carried his rife. I was carrying my dad's .243 rifle and Ben had our great-granddad's 30.06. As we got out of the pickup I slung the gun over my head with the strap across my chest. Ben thought he heard rocks falling and looked around for the source of the sound. Nothing. I hadn't even got my door shut when immediately, my brother said, "There he is. Shoot him. Kill him Dan." He said it matter-of-factly and with little emotion. We were looking up at a canyon face and just at the rim there was a nice 1x4 buck looking down at us. He was quite a picture in the crisp morning light contrasted with the darker shadows created by the high canyon walls below him. I had a clear shot although he was about 200 yards away. I moved to rest on the window sill of the truck door. Too late, before I got a shot off, he leisurely mosied along the rim for a few steps only to vanish from our sight. I was only slightly put out by my decision not to shoot, as I knew if I had missed we would have slim chances to get one as the shot caused them to bolt out through the prairies of the plain above the canyon and beyond. Now we had a hunt ahead of us with a proven target and a real opportunity to place ourselves between the buck and his freedom. I prayed for readiness. A craggy gorge broke up through the canyon wall eventually ramping up in a gentle slope to the plain above. All we had to do was walk it and make our way as far into the plain as necessary, circling back around on top moving towards the canyon rim, hopefully trapping him against the sheer drop.

As Ben and I walked we whispered and moved though the brush as silently and slowly as possible. When we were over half way into the gorge we decided to scale an easy escarpment up onto the open ground. As we took a break at the top of the canyon we quietly remarked on the zero wind factor and the surprising warmth for October. We got up to move and further on, as we approached closer to the rim, there was a slight depression in the plain that prevented us from seeing on the other side. We moved more slowly, but it was to no avail as we were spotted by a doe and her fawn before we saw them. We froze and lowered ourselves onto our haunches. Soon enough the mother deer shot her head up above the knoll so she could get a better view. She promptly disappeared and before Ben could finish telling me that she was circling around our flank, there she was. She watched and considered us for some time obviously upset that she was unable to perceive our scent. She decided she had seen enough and began to bound away with her fawn eventually heeding the doe's lead. We continued on. As we got closer to the canyon rim the ground sank down and rocks sprouted up around us in clumps and whole crags. Just as we came to the table top of a formation of rock, Ben exclaimed that the buck was coming up on the other side. By that time the buck had seen us and was slowly bounding away at about 60 yards. I took my shot and missed. I took a second shot following through with his pace across my scope hitting him in the leg. He careened wildly in circles with his now useless leg making rotations in ways that it shouldn't. While I watched him through my scope my brother shouted out to shoot him, however I wanted to keep from damaging any meat and thought he may go down. Now here is where my obvious inexperience is displayed. I still cannot believe that in all my years in Idaho and knowing the men I've known I have never been in a position to kill a deer. There have been endless varmint and bird hunting, but never a true big game hunt. My adrenaline surged and all I could think of was how successful the hunt had been.....only I was in the middle of taking the shot. Yeah, that's buck fever and it had more of an effect on me than I had thought it would, plus I was out of practice with the rifle. This, all coupled with shortness of breath contributed to a misplaced shot. I also neglected to remember that damaging a little meat with a bullet was far preferable to the deer running hard in fear for who knows how long and thereby causing adrenaline to rankin the meat. As the deer turned for the canyon wall where the small gorge was I took a final shot which landed well behind the fleeing animal.

Now I looked at my brother and wondered how far we would have to search. He had not followed through with a kill shot to help me because he knew it was my first deer and wanted me to bring it down alone. We ran to the cliff edge and Ben again said he thought he heard a distant rustle of rock. When we reached the edge we remained motionless, scanning the area for any sign...sound, dust, a flicker of horn or hair...nothing...nothing but silence. We waited holding our breaths. If we couldn't find it that would mean a grueling search in country that barely betrays mark or track worth counting on. The deer was wounded and needed finding as soon as we could. We looked around seeing no sign, eventually settling on the fact that the deer had doubled back where he was unseen and headed out across the plain to take cover. We went that way and never found a thing. We searched a vast area of desert and then made our way back to the sight of the initial struggle, actually finding the exact spot that the deer took the bullet. Tendon, hair, and blood were spattered on a rock and one single drop of blood trailed away toward the canyon. The track disappeared but we went back to the place that we lost sight of him and then followed the gorge rim out into the desert. The sun beat down upon the back of my black sweater and I thought of what the deer must be going through. A rattlesnake sunned himself on a rock as I passed by and did me no favor of warning me. I saw him sitting there and stopped, thinking he was a sure sign that the panicked deer had not come through here. I moved toward him and now he wanted to shake his rattle. Oh well, better left alone. Hoping for the best,we moved on and made our way to the furthest end of where the gorge started down into the canyon from the open grasslands.

Ben commented that he should have taken the kill shot for me. I told him not to worry about it, it was an easy shot and I should have had the kill immediately. I knew we were both thinking about the wounded deer and the wastefulness of never finding him. I started to ask God what it was that He wanted me to know from the loss of a shot deer. My mind actually wandered toward thoughts of the great evils we see around us in this 'ol world. I started thinking about this blog post that I wanted to write and I thought of how I would speak of the sanctity of life and how the holocaust of unborn children should matter more to us than the sufferings of a buck deer, but doesn't. All things come from God, evil is not a thing. It is a corruption of that which God has made and He always uses it to the glory of His own plan. Of course, I would say that the Father in heaven takes care of the beasts of the field and I thought of the fine meal that would await starving coyotes. In fact, as we rested part way through the canyon I confessed to Ben that I was feeling more destructive than productive. I said that I hoped to find the deer but that I was asking God how losing the deer glorified him. My brother said that a pack of starving coyote pups just might get a choice meal from God. We smiled and moved on.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [7] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34


As we passed many overhangs and brushy outcroppings that seemed good cover for a buck in distress yet hid no buck, we began to wonder if we ever would find him. Then, as we stepped up high on a point of the trail, there he was. He was laying down behind a rock with only his head popping up and his right eye straining to see back behind himself at our sound. I was so relieved to see him. I lifted the gun to my shoulder for a shot to his neck. The shot thundered around us off the steep canyon walls and he slumped down. When we got to him he was taking ragged breaths, and Ben ended his life with a sharp knife to his throat. The hunt took all of 3 hours and God had provided.

I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me,the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
Isaiah 43:19b-20

At that point I went to my knees and thanked the Creator of the universe for answering my prayers and the gift of the mule deer. I acknowledged His sovereignty over the bullets and over the animal. I took joy in His free grace over my brother and I and in His bountiful provision of such a fine harvest of meat. What a specimen the animal was, the biggest we could take from the area eventually weighing in at 130 lbs. of skinned animal. We dragged the deer back to the truck and it was a true physical effort to do so, however my brother remarked quite sharply, "Remember this one. This is the easiest it will ever get."

A Living Sacrifice

Well, I guess i almost blew the whole year out as far as blogging goes. Such is the outcome of a blue collar worker bee. Freedom to write as I wish would be amazing. I confess I spent alot of my free time debating people on facebook. A recent fellowship with brothers from The Well at our Men's Retreat brought home the necesssity for an order of priority in my life, with special regards to the lack of propositional thinking in our society at large, as well as in our own minds. Is it as important to throw out a few "blubs" about truth vs. opinion in light of the lack of deep, drawn out, philosophical processing that exists all around us. I am of course, meaning philosophy that is governed by sound theology. All this is must be weighed out over against God's absolute, sustaining rule. He is King, we are not.
That being said, allow me to change the tone a little. Tomorrow is Sunday and I am going out for a one day deer hunt with my brother. I have been praying about it all this week and decided to skip church. This is not the norm for me, and there is a void that always persists when I miss fellowship with brothers of like mind and the consecration of time to God. I have not been hunting with my brother for many years. He is avid about securing a good kill of elk and/or deer with one of his many selections of firearms, which he promptly sets about endeavoring himself with at the very whiff of hunting season each year. I enjoy shooting and love guns. I also enjoy hunting, but lets just say I have busied myself with other things over the years.
At any rate, I have decided to make a go of it on a day that coincides with corporate worship. This troubles me, but I also find that I am motivated to make it a sacrifice to God. I have spent all of today worshipping and reading the Word. Tomorrow I will rise very early and spend time aknowledging God's presence, communing with Him, and asking for His favor in the hunt. The meat that could be provided from a deer would be a great blessing for my wife and I. The time spent with my brother will be much needed, as well as opportunity to speak of the glories of Christ within the context of our brotherhood that has been so strained by chaos, strife, and loss. Hard heartedness abounds, I not the least of these, and my hope and prayer is for God to bring His sons to glory.
This particular blog is cutting into my preparedness time, for I am to leave in an hour, and I fear I am rushed through my thoughts. My creator is sovereign and His grace to allow me these words is sufficient. I will take my wife with me and she will spend the time with my brother's wife as they attend another church. What does it mean to exhort one another to greatness in God? Do we know what it means to embrace His righteousness and shun our own? Oh the precious longsuffering of an Almighty God who makes every provision for us to walk in His way. My heart pours out in thankfulness for His amazing grace that He has freely given me in my wife especially and in my family. My prayer is that He changes my will to love Him through His gifts and be a blessing to Him as He has been a blessing to me...even crowning only His own gifts, for surely nothing good lives in me...oh, but His righteousness does sustain!