I am unapologetically proud of the fact that I raised my sons to be outdoorsmen. As the famed bumper sticker once put it, "Boys who are raised to hunt and fish don't grow up to mug old ladies!"
And thus, many an hour was spent by me with my sons, either out on the lake fishing and/or deep in the woods hunting. In truth, to this very day, some of my most cherished memories are of the two of them dozing off in a deer stand as they sat ensconced in my lap.
These days, of course, they no longer sit in a deer stand, with me or without me. If they sit with anyone, it is with their own sons. All of which is okay with me. As Hank Williams Jr. once put it, they’re just “carrying on an old family tradition”.
Another thing that is different is that they are not quite as bored there as they once were. Seriously, sitting in a deer stand can not only be time consuming, but at times, even down-right boring! An average morning hunt can consume three to four hours, as can an evening hunt. Back in the day, I might take a paperback book with me to help occupy my time. These days, many a hunter takes along his or her cell-phone for similar purposes.
One other difference is that all modern hunters are a little more inclined to know exactly what game is present. Back in the day, we looked for “sign” - a game trail (as a result of repeated traffic by deer), a ground scrape (as a result of a mature buck pawing), a tree rub (as a result of a buck cleaning his antlers of velvet and sharpening them), etc…
While this still happens, deer stand placement today is as likely to be based as much on information obtained from trail cameras as these former things. Trail cameras are motion activated, and take snapshots of any movement triggered by a passing animal.
Thus it is that my oldest son has placed a couple of trail cams in the woods behind our house. We have been dumbfounded to see the sheer number of animals - raccoons, opossums, deer, etc… - that have since had their images captured as they meandered their way across our property in the darkness.
Little wonder, then, that I was so intrigued when my younger son recently sent me a couple of snapshots posted on Instagram by Steven Rinella of www.meateater.com.
The pictures show a sequence in which a typical house cat is seen out prowling, headed past the trail cam and into the thick woods beyond. Shortly thereafter, however, the same camera captures a mountain lion walking in the opposite direction with the very same house cat firmly ensconced in its jaws!
Ouch! The hunter had suddenly become the hunted!
As I viewed these pictures, many things came to mind. The first was that “pride goeth before a fall”! So says the wisest man who ever lived (Solomon) in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs (chapter 16, verse 18). And the admonition of the Apostle Peter in his First New Testament Letter (chapter 5, verses 8) bears this out: “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
I’m quite sure that the unfortunate little house cat felt it was “large and in charge” as it set out about its nightly routine. No doubt it was jubilant as its day of sleeping gave way to the unfolding darkness, which afforded it the long anticipated opportunity to go forth and conquer whatever poor, unfortunate creature it encountered. Alas, of course, the same held true for the cougar. Apparently, cats do love cats!
Of course, many other Biblical references to lions abound. Among them… In the Old Testament, Samson slew a lion among the Philistines (Judges, chapter 14) and Daniel entered a den of lions in Persia (Daniel, chapter 6). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul also referred to being thrown to the lions by the Romans (I Corinthians, chapter 15).
Still, the primary thought that came to my mind had to do with this particular time of year. After all, it is the Christmas season. And as the holiday season unfolds, the world seems as much askew as it has ever been - indeed even more so. So much so that one cannot help but wonder whether evil, so frequent and so abundant and so brash and (above all) so vile as it is in its modern assertions, is inevitably destined to be victorious!
Indeed, it seems as if the time has come for evil it to confidently go forth and conquer.
And yet, the Bible still has the last word! As Sammy Hall once boldly proclaimed, “I’ve read the back of the book and we win!” How right he was. For we read in the New Testament Book of Revelations (chapter 5, verse 5): “Weep not! For behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has conquered!”
Satan and all his minions may well see this present age as their heyday. He (and they) may very well believe that they are fully in control as they venture forth to stalk, attack, and assault whatever and whoever they happen upon. But rest assured, any such assumption is shortsighted!
For the Bible clearly shows us just Who triumphs in the end. And the record of this is documented, not in the memory card of some temporal video camera, but in the annals of all eternity. And that is reflected in the victory of none other than the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ!
If Christmas means nothing else, my friend, surely it means this. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” For this means that not only He, but all who follow Him, will henceforth enjoy the lion’s share, which is to live forever, triumphant and victorious!
SOURCES:
https://www.themeateater.com/;
https://www.instagram.com/stevenrinella/.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/16-18.htm;
https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_peter/5.htm;
https://biblehub.com/revelation/5-5.htm;
https://biblehub.com/john/3-16.htm.
And thus, many an hour was spent by me with my sons, either out on the lake fishing and/or deep in the woods hunting. In truth, to this very day, some of my most cherished memories are of the two of them dozing off in a deer stand as they sat ensconced in my lap.
These days, of course, they no longer sit in a deer stand, with me or without me. If they sit with anyone, it is with their own sons. All of which is okay with me. As Hank Williams Jr. once put it, they’re just “carrying on an old family tradition”.
Another thing that is different is that they are not quite as bored there as they once were. Seriously, sitting in a deer stand can not only be time consuming, but at times, even down-right boring! An average morning hunt can consume three to four hours, as can an evening hunt. Back in the day, I might take a paperback book with me to help occupy my time. These days, many a hunter takes along his or her cell-phone for similar purposes.
One other difference is that all modern hunters are a little more inclined to know exactly what game is present. Back in the day, we looked for “sign” - a game trail (as a result of repeated traffic by deer), a ground scrape (as a result of a mature buck pawing), a tree rub (as a result of a buck cleaning his antlers of velvet and sharpening them), etc…
While this still happens, deer stand placement today is as likely to be based as much on information obtained from trail cameras as these former things. Trail cameras are motion activated, and take snapshots of any movement triggered by a passing animal.
Thus it is that my oldest son has placed a couple of trail cams in the woods behind our house. We have been dumbfounded to see the sheer number of animals - raccoons, opossums, deer, etc… - that have since had their images captured as they meandered their way across our property in the darkness.
Little wonder, then, that I was so intrigued when my younger son recently sent me a couple of snapshots posted on Instagram by Steven Rinella of www.meateater.com.
The pictures show a sequence in which a typical house cat is seen out prowling, headed past the trail cam and into the thick woods beyond. Shortly thereafter, however, the same camera captures a mountain lion walking in the opposite direction with the very same house cat firmly ensconced in its jaws!
Ouch! The hunter had suddenly become the hunted!
As I viewed these pictures, many things came to mind. The first was that “pride goeth before a fall”! So says the wisest man who ever lived (Solomon) in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs (chapter 16, verse 18). And the admonition of the Apostle Peter in his First New Testament Letter (chapter 5, verses 8) bears this out: “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
I’m quite sure that the unfortunate little house cat felt it was “large and in charge” as it set out about its nightly routine. No doubt it was jubilant as its day of sleeping gave way to the unfolding darkness, which afforded it the long anticipated opportunity to go forth and conquer whatever poor, unfortunate creature it encountered. Alas, of course, the same held true for the cougar. Apparently, cats do love cats!
Of course, many other Biblical references to lions abound. Among them… In the Old Testament, Samson slew a lion among the Philistines (Judges, chapter 14) and Daniel entered a den of lions in Persia (Daniel, chapter 6). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul also referred to being thrown to the lions by the Romans (I Corinthians, chapter 15).
Still, the primary thought that came to my mind had to do with this particular time of year. After all, it is the Christmas season. And as the holiday season unfolds, the world seems as much askew as it has ever been - indeed even more so. So much so that one cannot help but wonder whether evil, so frequent and so abundant and so brash and (above all) so vile as it is in its modern assertions, is inevitably destined to be victorious!
Indeed, it seems as if the time has come for evil it to confidently go forth and conquer.
And yet, the Bible still has the last word! As Sammy Hall once boldly proclaimed, “I’ve read the back of the book and we win!” How right he was. For we read in the New Testament Book of Revelations (chapter 5, verse 5): “Weep not! For behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has conquered!”
Satan and all his minions may well see this present age as their heyday. He (and they) may very well believe that they are fully in control as they venture forth to stalk, attack, and assault whatever and whoever they happen upon. But rest assured, any such assumption is shortsighted!
For the Bible clearly shows us just Who triumphs in the end. And the record of this is documented, not in the memory card of some temporal video camera, but in the annals of all eternity. And that is reflected in the victory of none other than the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ!
If Christmas means nothing else, my friend, surely it means this. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” For this means that not only He, but all who follow Him, will henceforth enjoy the lion’s share, which is to live forever, triumphant and victorious!
SOURCES:
https://www.themeateater.com/;
https://www.instagram.com/stevenrinella/.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/16-18.htm;
https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_peter/5.htm;
https://biblehub.com/revelation/5-5.htm;
https://biblehub.com/john/3-16.htm.