He's Gone!

ApriI 11th. I’ve had it marked on my calendar since last year. Warmer days. The trees budding out. The not so long ago bare fields are turning green. It only means one thing to the hunter…turkey season. Turkey hunting fanatics are already doing some preseason scouting and making their opening morning plans in hopes of harvesting one of these magnificent “thunder chickens.” Myself included.

A few days ago, a friend of mine, Joe Finney and I went to a place just before daylight to listen for turkeys. He’d seen a large group of turkeys several times at that location and we were there to hopefully catch a glimpse (and maybe get some video footage) of them while on the roost. Joe had pin-pointed where a big gobbler had been roosting and we quietly made our way into his roosting area. As the sky started to lighten and we could see into the trees, we soon realized he was not there. He was gone! Then, just as quickly as we wondered where he had gone, he announced his presence from a tall hardwood tree down the ridge from us with a loud “gobble.” I could see him standing in all his glory, in a half-strut out on the limb. He gobbled a few more times then flew down off his roosting spot to the ground where he went about doing the things that turkeys do.

We were surprised that the old tom turkey was not where we expected it. Can you imagine how it must have been to go to the tomb where Jesus was buried after his horrible crucifixion on the cross and find that he was gone? He was not there! He had been placed there in that tomb and three days later, several ladies who went to the tomb where he was buried found that Jesus was not there. It was clearly not what they had expected. They were carrying burial spices. It was obvious that what they expected was a body laying there in that tomb. What they did find was an empty tomb and two angels that spoke to them and said, “Why do you search for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen.” Jesus had done exactly what he had predicted, yet his followers were in disbelief.
This empty tomb, the very resurrection of Jesus is everything on which Christianity is built around. If the resurrection did not happen, then Christianity is nothing but a big joke. The resurrection is not a joke at all and nor is it a secret, but a historical fact. There are many historical records found in the scriptures of Jesus meeting with, touching, eating with and talking with people after he rose from the dead. On one occasion a crowd of over 500 people saw him after the resurrection. In fact, a 1990 Gallup Survey revealed that 84% of people surveyed believed in the resurrection of Jesus.
What does it mean? It means Jesus is who he says he is. He never claimed to be a religious leader or great prophet, but He said that he was the Son of God. It means he has the power that he claims to have. He was killed by the Romans, made sure he was dead, placed in a tomb that was sealed with a stone and guarded 24 hours a day. Yet, Jesus claimed that he had the power to lay down his life and the power to take it up again (John 10:18). He had the power to rise from the dead and he did. It also means that Jesus will do what he says he will do. So then, what does it really matter to us? It means our sins can be forgiven, we can have a purpose for living, and that we can have a home in heaven. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die-ever!” (John 11:25-26).
Where is it that you look for things to fill your life, or better yet, fill you with life? We should ask ourselves the question that was asked to those who found the empty tomb. “Why do you search for the living among the dead?” We often times look for the living among the dead. We want to feel alive, to feel love, to feel energy and the exuberance of life, but we look in the wrong places; places with no life in them. I recommend looking to the one that is life. Jesus in fact, says that he is the way, the truth and the life.

So the next time you’re out hunting or fishing and the turkeys, ducks, deer or largemouth are not where you expect to find them, let it remind you that Jesus is alive... “ He has risen.” He’s like the turkey I saw out on the limb, gobbling and announcing to the woods that he is alive. Jesus does the same thing. He calls to us letting us know he is alive, coming to seek and to save the lost and doing the things that only He does: giving peace to the restless, giving hope to the hopeless, joy to the unhappy, and offering mercy and grace to all that believe in Him. Happy Easter and good turkey hunting!

Podcast: Turkey Fest in God's Country

The HOS fellas head to God's Country Outfitters in Albemarle, NC and meet up with Virginia State Turkey Calling Champion, Ricky Higgins. Shortly after our interview, Ricky walked away the winner of yet another calling contest - listen and you'll even get to hear one of the calls that helped him win the championship. ALSO - this will be the last podcast for Chaplain Brad as he will be heading to serve our country over in Iraq next week. God Bless Brad and God bless America!

Listen!

Turkey Calling Champion

Today, Brad Borders, Mark Ridenhour and I took our sons (Jack, Zack and Cade) to an outdoor show in Albemarle, NC. The show was held at a place called God's Country Outfitters. When we walked in the door we knew it was our kind of place. It was filled with camo, guns, dead critters mounted on the wall and on this day - the air was filled with the sounds of turkey calls. It was music to our ears. It's things like this that make it hard on a fella to make it to opening day. While there we got to see our buds from Lodge Creek Calls (Joe Finney, Mark McDowell, Randy Rigsby, Tim Stevens, Jonathan Ellsworth, Jonathan Seamon) which is our proud sponsor. We also made several new friends including Ricky Higgins (pictured above)and his son Ethan, from Galax, Virginia. It didn't take long to find out that Ricky was a follower of Christ who loved God's creation and was "pretty fair" at calling turkeys. Actually, truth be known, Ricky was recently crowned the Virginia State turkey calling champion. And on this particular day, Ricky pulled out his calls and eventually walked away the winner of yet another NWTF sanctioned open division calling championship. To be honest, Ricky actually sounds better than real turkeys do. He's a humble fella, who deflects any compliments toward him, to Jesus - giving him all the credit. Ricky uses his turkey calling success to glorify God and feels that it's given him many opportunities to plant "Kingdom seeds" in the hearts of fellow turkey fanatics.

Brad and I recorded a podcast with Ricky, where he gave us a short calling demonstration. The particular call that Ricky performed was called a "fall hen assembly." The fall hen assembly is a call that a hen turkey might make during the fall when her young (called poults) get seperted from her. She does this to call her young back to her to keep them safe. He made the statement that her young know her voice and follow her. Jesus said something similar about his followers in John chapter 10. He said, "My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." Do you hear Him calling? Do you know His voice? If Jesus was a turkey hunter, he'd be one of those guys who was aggressive - constantly calling and calling. Yelping and cutting as hard as he could to try to get a response. I have to believe that because that's the way he is with us throughout our lives. He calls to us through His creation, through His word, through other people, and he aggressively calls directly to our hearts. He desperatley loves us and rigoriously pursues us (like a crazed turkey hunter) so that we would hopefully respond to His calls and accept his gift of eternal life. It is our prayer that the next time you hear someone working a box call or yelping on a slate, or you hear wild turkeys in the spring woods, that you'll not only visualize a big 'ole Boss Gobbler, but hear the voice of God in your heart calling to you - and you'd accept his call to salvation.

Thank God for Turkey season!

Stanlyville FBC - Men of the Outdoors

One of my best friends, Chris Moore, started an outdoor ministry at his church this past year. They call themselves Stanlyville FBC "men of the outdoors." God is using these fellas to share the Gospel with outdoorsmen in their community already. I have attached a video they put together from a recent dove hunt - Great Job men!

"Snow Day"

Today was a snow day. We woke up to about 6 inches of snow here in Salisbury, NC. With all the snow laying around it just seemed right to show off this picture that I got today of one of our buddies. Rick Dinkel, (the second dude from the right "cheesing" with a snow goose) one of the HOS fellas, recenlty went on a snow goose hunt around the Currituck Sound in eastern NC with a few of his hunting buddies - Jay, Will and Paul. Looks like they had a "snow day" too. Great job Rick!

Rick owns a business in Mooresville, NC called Image Signs, Inc. The guys there make all kinds of signs (sandblasted, lighted, vehicle graphics and vehicle wraps). Check them out at www.imagesignsnc.com Check out the pictures on the site of the vehcile wraps - they are awesome.

" Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 106:1

A Sure Thing

The most predictable thing about hunting and fishing is that it’s unpredictable. I don’t know why, but I forget that rule often, only to be rudely reminded of how true it is. Let me illustrate. I have hunted from tree stands where people have seen deer day after day from the same spot. When I get there, I only see “tweetie” birds and my body provides a smorgasbord for mosquitoes. I’ve taken off of work to hunt the turkeys that were gobbling their heads off all week only to see and hear nothing while I was in the woods. I duck hunted one day this year at a spot where hundreds of ducks were flying in daily on the lake. You guessed it; I only got cold and never fired a shot. I have also been known to “dry up” a good fishing hole on more than one occasion. Nothing is a sure thing in the hunting and fishing world.
I guess the rest of the world is not immune to this “nothing is a sure thing” rule either. Just look at the stock market and how it’s been lately. Look at the job situation in our own community where guys who have been with employers for many years are looking for new jobs. That’s the nasty part of the pill that we are forced to swallow in the broken world in which we live. It leaves a terrible after taste when you’ve invested so much time, effort, money, dedication, devotion, heart and soul into something. It surely makes one think, what was all the effort for?
God has a different view of things and has something to say about your efforts for Him. I Corinthians 15:58 says “…Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” If we are going to be totally honest, we must admit that we sometimes wonder if what we are doing is really making a difference for the Kingdom. It seems like the effort, the time, and all the stuff we do has no impact. But just when we let that kind of thinking creep into our minds – God reminds us that we make a difference, as he did with our guys recently.
By the time you read this article, the Heart of sportsman fellas will be fresh off a very busy February. We will have been to talk to others about sportsmen’s ministry, helped with a Sportsman’s banquet, and been serenaded by the songs of hundreds of coon hounds during our 3-day tour of duty at Walker Days (a huge coon hunting convention). Along the way we will have met hundreds of people and invested a little time in their lives. We may only for a brief minute step into a person’s life and in most cases will never see them again. Some guys will stick in our minds; others will be forgotten nearly as soon as they walk away. With such a brief glimpse at someone, we never really know what that person’s dealing with or going through in their life. What we do know is that all of them, every single one needs Jesus. I figured it up the other day and realized that the HOS guys have personally given away over 1000 DVD’s that share the Gospel, nearly 1000 tracts, and put over 600 Bibles into the hands of men just like us who love the outdoors.
What’s all that time and work for? Recently, one of our guys shared a story about the difference that something as simple as a DVD made in the life of someone he had met. He had given a DVD to this fella some time back. The fella stopped by and told him what a difference that message in the DVD had made. The DVD touched his heart and changed the way that he looked at life. His life was changed, all because someone cared enough about someone else and where they would spend eternity that he gave him a DVD. That’s what it’s all about!
You may never know what a difference your time and effort makes (this side of heaven, anyway) when doing Kingdom work. The thing we do know is that God tells us, to put it in my own words, your labor for the Lord, “ain’t in vain.” Now, that’s an investment you can count on!

Podcast: Treeing Walker Days

All the fellas at the 35th annual Southeastern Treeing Walker Days (That's coon hunting for those that don't know) festival at the Rowan County Fairgrounds.

Listen now!