“And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth forth not good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
Is an oak tree much value to a hunter if it doesn’t produce acorns? Hunting oak trees with a good crop can really help in deer sightings and filling tags. If a tree is not good for acorns its not of any value for hunting. What good would any tree be if it didn’t produce fruit? When trees stop producing fruit they become good for one thing, the wood splitter and the fire. If you know much about burning wood its important to let it dry out for a while before burning it. When a tree produces green leaves and good fruit it has life in it. Taking green leaves and trying to light on fire wont burn very good. Its amazing how God shows us a picture of eternity through creation. 
In this verse of scripture we can see that an axe is laid to the root meaning its getting cut down. Why cut down a good tree? Some might move into a new home and decide they don’t like trees in the yard, but generally speaking a tree gets cut down because its dead and could cause a lot of problems. Its sad the amount of people that claim Jesus as their Saviour, but yet their lives reflect as a dead tree bearing no fruit(not telling anyone about Jesus). If you have no desire to spread the gospel there are one of two things wrong in your life; either your a believer living like your lost or your lost. Lost would refer to the example of the tree; DEAD. There is only one way to have life. The Bible says in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus died on the cross to keep every human soul from being cut down and cast into the fire. God hates sin and will one day deal with it, unless your sins are forgiven. When a tree gets cut down its good for the fire. Where do you stand today? Are you a dead tree or do you know Jesus? Salvation is a confession in the heart that Jesus Christ died and rose again for your sin. The Bible says you must call upon him by faith! The axe is sharp, but Jesus died to give you victory over the flame.
Memory Verse Week 10/2/17
Luke 3:9
“And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
Jesus has risen from the dead and spent 40 days making himself known to the disciples of His resurrection. This passage of scripture is known as The Great Commission. Just before Jesus Christ returns to heaven, He gives the most important command to believers, “preach the gospel to every creature.” God gives us a great promise in vs 20, “the Lord working with them”. We get so tied up in our short lived life that we quickly lose focus on the most important thing to focus on; The Great Commission. To some it may be a ball game, work around the house, or even filling a deer tag. Is there anything wrong with these things? No! Its about keeping things in the right perspective! Why are so many Christians unhappy and living a bad testimony today? James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Do you have a burden in your heart to tell others about Jesus dying on the cross for their sin? Does it way on your mind? If you don’t feel that conviction from the Holy Spirit you may first want to ask yourself if salvation has ever taken place in your heart? If you have that burden and conviction how often do you act upon it? Do you carry gospel tracts? When was the last time you tried to tell someone about Jesus? The Bible tells us that if we know that its good to tell others about Him, “and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” There is so much emptiness in the Christian life today and its because soul winning is not hardly a thought. James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” There is great happiness in walking with the Lord. The disciples went on preaching the gospel after Jesus Christ gave The Great Commission and the Bible says the Lord was with them. There is a great joy in soul winning that you cant find anywhere else. Life is empty and tough because your not reading your Bible, spending sincere time in prayer, and most importantly not sharing with others the gospel of Jesus Christ. Does God really want a Christian to live life on their own agenda and expect happiness? No! Anyone who does not live according to the scriptures is not living right! If your not living right that would mean your living in sin. John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Real joy is only found in Jesus! Tell someone about Him today! Hell is forever! How will people hear the gospel if believers are too consumed in themselves?
s it hard to be patient? As deer season is near the anticipation is a constant thought that clouds the mind! Have you ever been to that place when you think you have hunted all you can and success is nowhere near? Right now the hope is that deer season will open quickly, but as season goes on you may find yourself stressed, worried, and weary that season may end without filling your buck tag. Do you hunt the season to the end, or do you quit? There are so many stories that consist of ” the last day, the last hour.” If you quit to soon you have no hope of filling your tag! Our spiritual life is much like that! A Christian will always gain the most strength by waiting on the Lord. God tells us time and time again to wait on Him. For some it may be loneliness with a desire for a spouse, for some it may be finances, a new house, a new job, a better vehicle, an answer for the ministry God is calling you to. Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the LORD.” God can teach us many things through patience; for the hunter it may be a big buck, but to the Christian it might be that God wants you to marry the one He wants you to be with and not the one you think you need. For a vehicle, it might be that the one you want to buy is going to break down in six months and the reliable vehicle will not be available for purchase for another month or two. The more we learn patience the better we will handle future situations! Its a great feeling when that animal hits the ground. Does it make you happy? Does the success give you a joyful spirit? When we wait for the Lord the Bible says there will be joy in your heart! Yes, its tough, but its part of His plan! Don’t be quick to make a decision, wait on the Lord!
The Apostle Paul is the one writing in this passage of scripture. When we look into his life we can see that his heart was like everyone’s; wicked and sinful. Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What treasures do you desire? Paul’s life consisted of persecuting Christians in the church. He consented the death of Stephen in the book of Acts. Sometimes it can be really hard to deal with folks who are not saved. Its important to realize that people do the things they do because of a wicked heart. Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:…..” Matthew 12:35 “…..and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” In the main passage of todays devotion we can see that Paul had a significant change in his heart. God can do great things to people, but salvation must take place within the heart. Romans 10:10 “For with heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” One day Paul was on the road to Damascus. He met with God and had a great heart changing experience. Paul went from being the most feared persecutor to the bravest missionary of the Bible. God’s grace can change anyone and everyone, but there must be a willingness to repent of your sins. There may be a lot of things you have done in your life that would make you think your not good enough to have a relationship with God, but the Bible says He will forgive all sins. The Ten Commandments tell us “Thou shalt not kill”, but yet we see Paul having a strong hand in the death of many saints. Paul was changed when he met Jesus, not only was he changed, but he was also forgiven. Don’t let sin control you today! Have faith in what the Bible tells us! Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God will save you from a devil’s hell if you confess to God that Jesus died on the cross and rose again for you! He didn’t suffer and die for you to live an unhappy miserable life. He died so you could be set free and no longer be bound to this world of sin. The Apostle Paul is a great example of how God can take anyone and use them for Him! Do you know Jesus today? Is He your Saviour? If your not sure heaven is your home you can settle that in your heart right now! In your own words pray to God; repent of your sins, confess Jesus Christ died and rose again for you, and believe it in your heart! “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Samuel is the prophet in this passage of scripture that has been given instruction to anoint a new king for Israel. Saul is the current king and has committed some terrible sin and with time he will be dethroned by death. Samuel was given instruction to go to the house of Jesse; as he looks on the appearance of Eliab he says to himself surely this is the king that should be anointed. God quickly tells him that its not what you see on the outside Samuel, but what I see on the inside. Samuel passes through nine more of Jesse’s sons, but no peace for the new king. Samuel questions Jesse about any others sons he may have, knowing that the Lord had commanded him to anoint one from the house of Jesse. Out in the field, watching over the sheep, was the last son who had been missed, his name was David. David was just a young boy, but had a heart for the Lord like no other. In fact, King David became known as one after God’s own heart. David encountered some trials like everyone does, but after some time he became a great king and a great leader for Israel. What have you set your focus on in life today? Do you ever fail? Are you trying to do it alone? If you think you can find your own success, and live your own life, your nothing more than the one that is named in Isaiah 14 when he committed the first sin. His name was Lucifer. Full of pride and self will God cast him from heaven and one day he will burn in the lake of fire, forever! Pride destroys everyone! The scriptures tell us that God looks at the heart, not the appearance. Its sad the amount of Christians that show up for service every week, but yet have a heart that would bring nothing but shame to Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter what people see you to be, it doesn’t matter how nice you are to others, it doesn’t matter how many churches services you show up for, but it does matter what God is seeing within your heart. Life can be really tough sometimes. You may feel like you will never be anything, you will never go anywhere, but look again at King David! He started out as just a young shepherd boy, but his heart was set upon serving the Lord and his life became a success that could have only been from God. If your a Christian today and your unhappy, its because your heart is probably not in the right place. God wants the heart of every believer to be focused on serving Him! Where is your heart today? Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”
When was the last time you read your Bible? The Word of God is a light for direction in this dark world we live in. Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” How do you find your stand in the early morning hours? Once your set in your stand, in the early morning, do you use a light to arrange all of your equipment? When its dark outside a light is necessary to not only find your way, but also get all of your equipment in order before the sun comes up. The Word of God is telling us we need the scriptures to find our way in this sin cursed world of darkness. Do you spend time reading your Bible every day? God wants to help us through our struggles of life. Being a born again Christian doesn’t mean life is easy, but it does mean God will guide us through every difficulty of life. Why would a hunter walk through the woods without a light? It doesn’t make much sense! Why are Christians living their lives without reading the Bible? God is here to guide you through everything! Don’t try doing it yourself! Your going to step on a lot of sticks and finding your stand may be nearly impossible!
Is waiting a bad thing? What’s the purpose of waiting? In today’s society it seems like everyone has to have it right now. We nearly demand of God “I want this and I want it now. ” There are many Christians that claim God is the one that blessed them with their new car, new house, new fourwheeler, or new bow, but was it really a blessing from God? Was it an impulse buy that caused you thousands of dollars in debt? Does that mean God blesses people with debt? Debt doesn’t sound like a blessing, but more like a burden! When we run the credit card or take out a credit line; are we really trusting the Lord? Proverbs 22:7 “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” The children of Israel were in bondage to Egypt for roughly 400 years. When God delivered them from their slavery it was a great day for Israel, yet today we see so many Christians slaving themselves to the bank, neighbors, friends, and family members! God doesn’t bless with debt, yet so many believers are chained to this society of material things. There are many things that we may want in life, but there is a huge difference between a want and a need. Is it wrong to pray for things we don’t need? Not necessarily, God wants to bless us with great things, but He wants us to trust in Him in everything we do. Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” In the main text the Bible tells us there is no shame when we wait on the Lord. How many hunters do you know of that complain about the big buck they killed, or the doe tag they filled? Any? What about you; have you ever been disappointed about the big trophy that hit the ground after hours of hard work? Fun Hard Work;) It takes hours and hours of waiting in the deer stand to connect with the animal your after. When your tag is filled do you feel ashamed about all the time it took to connect? We surely hope not! The God of the universe created patience to have value. There is great success at the end of long hours in the tree stand! It feels great filling a tag! It causes happiness! Laughter! Good fellowship with friends! A time of family gathering for the recovery! Its an awesome feeling! When it comes to every other area in our lives why wont we wait on the Lord? Don’t be to quick to make a decision; maybe a job change, maybe a new church, maybe a struggle you have with your spouse or family member, maybe a new truck, or bigger house. God will make things very clear to us when we wait on Him! When things come to pass there will be lots of smiling, joy, and happiness. Psalm 25:3 “Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed,…..”
There are a lot of hunters that walk on the mountains and hills of this sin cursed earth. Giving way to the god of success is nothing more than a deception from the devil and a life full of pride and arrogance. There are many sportsman that believe because they’ve killed a monster buck or many trophy class animals, they are right with God. God hates pride, self will and mountain tops of the sinful. Is your mountain top because of Jesus Christ? If you feel like your on the mountain top today because of yourself, there is only two things that it could mean: either your lost and bound for hell, or your a born again believer that is out of the will of God. Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” The biggest buck in the world will never get you to heaven, neither will a room full record book animals. Your ways are not God’s ways, and your thoughts are not God’s thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). How many deer have you killed on Sunday when you should have been in church? Maybe you didn’t kill any on Sunday, but you spent your time trying to! Your mountain top of pride is destroying your life, your family, your finances, and most importantly your eternity. Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Hunting is a false god to many sportsmen and sportswomen, but Jesus Christ died to bring you off that mountain top of pride and self will. He loved you! Mountain tops are great when Jesus is the One that helped you get there! Don’t let hunting destroy you, it will chain you to this world of sin. Jesus Christ was crowned with thorns, beaten with whips, and nailed to a cross because he loved you. Why do you reject Him? Why do you refuse to believe in what He did for you? Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters(people who put hunting before God), and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Your name can be written in the book of life today, but the Bible says you must believe it with all your heart. Believe what with all your heart? That Jesus died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. You must call upon the name of the Lord in prayer and confess that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the grave for your sin. Acts 16:30-31 tells us how the Philippian jailer got saved, the great thing about this story is that it applies to all! “……and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,…….”
For the excitement? The adrenaline? Yet in moments, pride breaks your relationship with God, because all you think about is how your buck is bigger than all of your friends bucks. Proverbs 27:1-2 “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” You hear many hunters say “Thank you Lord, thank you Lord,” but many times its nothing more than a ritual rehearsed. Do you really give God the glory? Or do you think highly of yourself for your success? Pride can rise quickly when that big buck hits the ground! Don’t let the devil ruin your blessing! There’s nothing wrong with sharing your stories with your hunting friends and community, but don’t brag, boast, or look down on others because your deer is bigger, it will affect your relationship with Jesus Christ!
the lake of fire.” Everyone is born into a sinful state, but believing and confessing that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again is the only way to heaven. Its understandable why people who don’t know Jesus as their Saviour would commit constant game violations; but Christians? Why do men and women of God constantly violate game laws? The Bible is telling us here that God has ordained powers to be. That would include gamewardens. God gave animals to man, and he also allowed higher powers (gamewardens) to rule over His creation. Yet, Christian hearts, skip a beat every time they encounter a gamewarden in the field: is it because they knowingly do wrong or have an intent to do wrong every time they step in the field? As children of God we must desire to live right and do good in every area of our lives, yes, that includes hunting. Christians need to be a testimony of Jesus Christ even to the gamewardens, but yet they continue to shoot deer from the road, shoot after legal hours, double bag on bucks, and many other evil acts. Look at vs 3 again “For rulers are not a terror to works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good,…..” If other hunters can abide by the rules why cant you? If you would pick up a hunting regulation book and read it, but not just read it, do what it says to do, you wouldn’t be so scared of the gamewarden. If your a blood bought child of God you need to stop ruining your testimony to the law enforcement community. Read the first 4 verses of Romans again! The reason you have so much trouble doing right is because your full of pride and self will, not God’s will! Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” If your not sure heaven is your home please visit our lost page or watch some of our hunting videos, but if your saved, stop living like your lost! Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”