Bible Study Verses
Ephesians 6:13-18
Therefore put on the full armor of God,  so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,  with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (NIV)
 
Thoughts
This scripture in Ephesians is one of my favorites. It makes me feel as if I’m gearing up for a battle! However, sometimes it’s tough to have quiet times with God, isn’t it? We get too busy and 30 minutes seems like an hour when our schedules are packed.
 
Men especially have a difficult time with this because, frankly, reading scripture sometimes seems about as important as shining our shoes!  

A hunter will spend months in physical training preparing for a big hunt, weeks at the range, and countless hours pouring over his gear. Looking at these things, we see that the ability to discipline ourselves is there, so why the difficulty with setting aside time to be with God and read His Word? Maybe it’s because we don’t see our life as a great battle. 

Action Point
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1Peter 5:8-9).

This is our battle, not our pastor’s or our more spiritual friends. Don’t think others will fight this one for us. God is the Mighty Warrior. Learn of Him. Look what He did for David in I Samuel 17. Then, read what happened to King David when he had his armor off in II Samuel 11:1-5.   

God has given us the gear we need, warrior, right there in His Word. Use it as if our life depends on it! Remember; it’s not an intellectual thing, it’s about connecting with God. If we’re not connecting with Him, we’re gonna be connecting with something else.

Sportsmen’s Tip of the Day
Taking a Bible with us on a hunt or fishing trip is an excellent idea. We can read during our down time or while in a stand. Admittedly, I can also fall asleep pretty quickly under these circumstances, so I like to take other books as well! A book inspired this devotional that I feel is so good and relevant to my spiritual walk that I can’t help but recommend it to you. “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge will inspire you to dig deeper in the Word, and he is clearly an outdoorsman to boot. On the first page he takes you with him on an elk hunt! Get it and I am certain you will grow from it.