See bulletin If you happen to be just outside of the city of Fond du Lac the day before gun deer opener, you will without a doubt hear hunters sighting in their rifles before they head off for the hunt. Maybe you are one of them? Prep. Practice. Gear up. After all, the last thing hunters want is to miss their mark and have to track a dying deer for miles. Missing the mark is something that we all as sinful humans are accustomed to doing, since God's holy law demands perfection every moment of every breath. Rather than perfection, we daily trespass in crossing into the devil's land in what we think, do, and say. The Children of Israel's history was very much the same. "From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer" (Lamentations 1:6). This was a common occurrence in Israel's history where God's people had once again wandered from the green pastures of His Holy Word. And when the enemy attacked, they fled without the strength of their Almighty Lord. Is it so different today? Is our nation, and are we as Christians, repeating the same history? If we are not regularly grazing next to our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, you and I will also become spiritually weak just like a wounded deer or one that has become malnourished due to spiritual starvation. Instead, you and I still today can take a lesson from the deer and avoid the same stumbling and trespassing our forefathers of the faith fell into. Prep. Practice. Gear up. Christ is coming! Take every opportunity to feed on the lush, green, life giving gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because He is the One who forgives all our misses and failures each moment, gives us new strength for tomorrow, and promises us comfort and joy in the majesty of our eternal life with Him!