“Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy — think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or
seen in me —
put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:8-9)
As an archery hunter,
this is a sharp arrowed passage of Scripture
for me. I want the flight of my life
to
hit the target, to make a purposeful mark.
The only way for that to happen is through Christ in me,
the hope of
glory, the Prince of peace, the one who enables me to think and
practice
rightly.
Bow hunters know
that
a critical part of the equipment is a set of good arrows with sharpened
broad
heads. Keeping those arrows
sharp and
ready is a must. Learning how to aim
well ahead of the season is also a must, developing the ability of
concentration and focus when opportunities arise.
During my last archery season in Montana, I carefully snuck up on a bull elk that was
sleeping on a hillside. It took me over
an hour to put on the sneak. When I
finally took the shot, that dreaded sound of arrow into wood broke the
silence. After the pain of watching
the bull walk
away, I unscrewed the arrow and left the buried broad head in the tree. Later, Kristi and I suddenly found
ourselves
within range of several elk. I
quickly put
an arrow on my bow, and got ready to draw for a second-chance shot. Kristi got my attention and pointed out that
the arrow was missing the broad head. It
was the same arrow that had buried itself in that tree, an arrow with
no
point. Another missed opportunity.
I heard about a hunter who asked God
before his hunt to keep
his arrow flying true. That prayer
was
answered in a big way…. he ended up shooting a grizzly bear and saving
his son’s
life. What if he had an arrow
without a
sharp broad head or with no point at all?
Thinking rightly.
It’s the way to stay sharp and live with a point. Help me Lord, to keep sharp and think
about
the right things so that my life can hit the target of your will being
done in
and through me.
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