Staying Connected

Staying Connected
by Brodie Swisher


On Monday of this week, I received two different messages from hunting buddies of mine sharing the story of how they had fallen from a treestand while preparing stands for the archery opener. One friend fell after his treestand platform came out from under him like a trap door. In a brief moment, he found himself dangling from his treestand harness 19 feet above the ground. My other buddy was attacked by a swarm of bees that had made their home in the treestand during the off-season. In the chaos of swatting bees, he too fell from his stand. In both instances these guys were wearing a full-body treestand harness. But the saving grace for each of these guys was the fact that their full body harness was connected to the life-line system that kept them safely anchored from the ground up. You see, the fall typically happens along the ascent or descent from the stand. It comes when you least expect it.  In both cases, the lives of my two friends were saved because of their commitment to stay connected to the life-line.  

I thank God for the life-line.  It truly is the anchor.  Wearing the harness alone would have resulted in serious injury or death of these guys. But their connection to the life-line resulted in the opportunity to live and hunt another day. 

In the woods and in our daily spiritual lives there is a need like never before for us to stay connected to the life-line. Jesus is that life-line. Knowing about Him is not enough. Carrying a big honkin’ Bible around ain’t gonna cut it. Are you connected to Him?  Do you know Him? Does He know you?  Get connected and stay connected to Jesus today! Apart from Him you can do nothing.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5

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