by admin | Mar 4, 2026 | James
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
If you’ve competed in the roughstock side of rodeo, you know what it’s like to be judged. In that context, the judge is using his knowledge and a rule book to decide what points to award you or, if the book still has a mark-out rule, to disqualify you for missing it.
That same judge could decide to issue you a fine if you cuss within earshot of the crowd, your dog gets loose in the arena, you have an eagle feather in your hat or you’re wearing an unapproved sponsor patch. There are consequences for not following the rules and the judge gets to determine if the rule was broken and hands out the fine or ban. The rest of us may have our own opinions about the rules or the fine that was given but the judge makes the call.
As Christians, we have a rule book to follow in the form of the Bible and James cautions us against judging others, recognizing God is the only judge.
James 4:11-12 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Now, the Bible is far more significant in our lives than a rule book. Those with a saving faith in Jesus know obeying rules do not get us into Heaven. It’s only through repentance and asking to be forgiven of our sins that our belief in Jesus saves us from God’s punishment for our sins by Jesus’s death on the cross, taking the punishment in our place.
It’s because of what Jesus did for us that we want to follow what the Bible teaches but it can be easy to forget the sins we’ve been forgiven from when we see someone else that isn’t measuring up to what the Bible teaches us.
We become judges and it often shows up in the form of us running our mouths about the person’s mistake, slandering them and judging them for what they have done.
It’s important to understand the judging someone is not the same thing has talking to them about their sin. If we can’t help someone understand how their sin separates them from God and will lead them to hell without Jesus, we can’t ever share the gospel. Pointing out to someone that cheating on his wife is a sin isn’t judging them when it is between the two of us and is about pointing them to Jesus. That is offering them hope, not condemnation. When we condemn a person and no longer offer them forgiveness for what they’ve done, now we’ve judged them because we’ve not just identified the sin but we’ve held it against them.
That’s God’s place and a very arrogant place to put ourselves as James is saying.
When we use the rules and teachings we find in the Bible and hold it against a person for failing to live up to it, we’ve put ourselves in God’s position. James is basically saying, “how dare you?”
When we have a saving faith in Jesus, we’ve been forgiven all our sins and God no longer holds it against us. If we’ve been given that when we deserve punishment, how can we judge someone else and punish them?
That judgment, remembering we mean also condemning the person, can show up in the form of us gossiping and slandering the person among others who know them, it can be in the form of taking our revenge against them if their sin was against us personally or it can simply be in our attitude toward them in hearts where we look down on them for what they’ve done.
What they need from us is the same forgiveness we’ve been given through the blood of Jesus Christ.
by admin | Feb 18, 2026 | Power in our Words
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
There’s an expression that sometimes circulates on social media in posts or memes—that the best sermon is lived, not preached.
There’s good intentions in this, but it can really misdirect us.
Our words are incredibly important for two reasons: so that our actions line up with what we say we believe about the Bible and so that we can clearly communicate the gospel. We can live a Christ-like life but if we can’t help people understand what it means to have a saving faith in Jesus, our actions help no one with their eternity.
People want to know why we live differently; why our actions might be different than those. Why did you give money to that homeless guy when you know he’s going to buy drugs? Why didn’t you just knock that guy right off the bucking chutes for acting like that back there? Why would you shake that rodeo judge’s hand when he’s cheated you out of the finals two years in a row?
Even if they don’t come right out and ask it, our actions lead to questions in their thoughts but if they also hear us speak about our faith, they can obviously connect it all together as having something to do with Jesus and the door might open to tell them about our faith if we haven’t found a way to bring it up already.
But how we live our lives and the Christ-centered reasons we give for it can lead to people hating us or challenging us.
1 Peter 3:15-17 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
The hope Peter is referring to here isn’t the same as hoping for a certain outcome, it’s about those with a saving faith in Jesus understanding there is nothing here for us compared to what is to come in an eternity in Heaven. Our hope or trust isn’t in anything from this world but in Jesus and heaven.
Peter wants us to live out a life that honors Jesus and his holiness while being able to tell people how to get to heaven through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, repentance or our sin and a desire to be forgiven in the understanding Jesus took the punishment that was otherwise meant for our sin.
Peter stresses the importance of how we live our lives, that it can actually lead to suffering in a culture that hates Christian beliefs but because of our efforts to live like Jesus, it makes those who come up against us look shameful.
But he also stresses we have to be prepared to defend our faith and share the gospel with others. Our words are necessary to explain that sermon we are living out.
by admin | Feb 5, 2026 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Caleb Crouch / Cowboys of the Cross
Do You Ever Ask Why?
Here’s a few words from Jesus Himself:
Matthew 5:45 AMPC “…for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].”
It’s fully human to ask “why.”
But, it’s the enemy’s desire to create doubt toward God during these awful moments that cause us to ask this realistic question.
◦ It’s vital to understand Who is in control.
◦ It’s vital to understand the only just One.
◦ It’s vital to understand Who’s on your side.
◦ It’s vital to know that God makes no mistakes, if He allows it or brings you to it, He will bring you through it!
◦ It’s vital to accept the forbidden earthly journey, and say as Christ also said in the last moments of the garden: “Not My Will, But Thy Will Be Done.”
◦ It’s vital to surrender to whatever the Father allows, decides and wants — He will continue His work, working in and through you, and He will continue working ahead!
◦ God will be Who He’s always been, through eternity, and so will our adversary.
◦ One day, the adversary and all his slaves will be in hell forever!
◦ That same day, all who have chosen God — will be in heaven forever!
Guard yourself, if you ask “why,” just know there’s two directions this can lead you: to God or digging deeper into who God is, recognizing our dependence on Him and humility in our true position.
◦ Guard to always choose your trust God
◦ Guard to resist the devil and his awful lies, plans, and terror.
◦ Guard to not mislead those around.
God will always, always, always come through.
God is always working, even in the face of impossibility.
God will bring you through it, if you can stand the pull!
His presence has never been limited by man’s limitations!
It’s okay to ask “why,” but do it with humility toward God, surrender to Him which will likely need you to fill that gap, and to understand you belong to God.
God knows where we are, exactly what we face, and most important: He cares about you!
Going further by Philip Crouch:
It is okay to ask “why,” but I must make sure the attitude of my heart is right.
This is accomplished by remembering that God is good (always) and any evil that may befall me cannot come from Him (even though He allows it). “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5
This is accomplished by practicing “in everything give thanks” 1 Thessalonians. 5:18. This is easy to do in the good times but also easy to forget to do. It’s vital that I make this a habit during the “good times” so that when the hard times come praise and thanksgiving to God will be my first instinct.
This is accomplished by remembering “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Choose praise over complaining.
Choose trust over fear.
Choose thanksgiving over want.
Choose peace in the midst of turmoil.
Choose joy in times of grief
This is how I guard the attitude of my heart when asking “why.”
by admin | Feb 5, 2026 | Power in our Words
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross“I’m sorry for what I said when we were working with cattle.”
That’s a form of a joke we see about how working with horses and cattle can bring out the worst in us, particularly causing us to swear or have angry outbursts.
We all know the idea of taking a breath and counting to 10 to give us time to calm down but there’s also a biblical way to do this.
James 3 tells us about how much power our words have to do great harm. He uses the example of a bit in a horse’s mouth or the rudder of a ship to make clear how something that seems so small is capable of controlling the direction we take. It can lead us into great evil with the power to destroy. In studies in bullying, there’s research that shows how girls tend to stay on another girl they target relentlessly from face-to-face confrontations to attacks across social media. They are capable of using their words to push someone to suicide though this has happened in both boys and girls.
James isn’t exaggerating in how much evil our words can do. He calls them a ‘restless evil’ and a ‘deadly poison.
I’ve witnessed rodeo cowboys spread rumors that have forced someone to leave the industry even though they knew the stories were likely to be false.
James 3:3-8 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James makes the point that no human can bring the tongue under control. While it’s easier to choose not to intentionally do harm or spread gossip, it’s so easy to say harmful words in anger.
Earlier in his book, James addresses part of this in James 1:19 saying “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Now, James seems to be telling us there’s nothing we can do about it but he’s saying no human can tame the tongue, he isn’t saying that it can’t be. We serve and worship a God who can control everything. Instead of taking a breath and counting to 10, we need to take that breath and pray for God to take our anger away or to give us the right words to say.
God will control our tongue if we let Him and we can hold back from doing genuine evil in the world around us.
by admin | Jan 12, 2026 | Power in our Words
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
The words we speak to someone have the power to be someone’s breaking point or they can become that person’s turning point
The Bible teaches a lot about the power of our words. In Ephesians, Paul gives us some encouragement in what we should say and why.
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
First, Paul instructs us not to speak gossip, vulgarities, profanities, anything that would harm what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus.
Instead, he wants our words to be directed toward lifting others up.
In the rodeo community, the cowboy crowd is actually used to doing that. Whether on the timed event of the arena or the rough stock, we all know how to lift another person up, either with praises about the run or ride they had or encouragement if they missed their catch. Constructive criticism is welcome and serves to build that person up by helping them improve and learn from where they might have gone wrong.
The same needs to be extended to the world around us. That can be a lot harder. It’s easier to be unkind to total strangers. Social media has made that easier for us but now it carries over into the real world and the people we interact with there. It should be easy to hold our tongue when a server in a restaurant is terrible or when our wives or girlfriends get under our skin. And better yet, we should be looking for opportunities to lift that person up. God puts people in front of us every day who we have no idea what they are going through, good or bad.
Speaking angrily or in frustration and being unkind can be the last straw for that person while offering a kind work or encouragement can be what gives someone at the end of their rope the real hope they needed.
And when someone has been torn down by corrupting talk, it’s a lot harder for someone else to come along and build someone up when they have a lot further to go. A foundation of kind words and encouragement that you’ve already left means the person gets lifted even higher if the next person comes along with a positive comment.
Sure we all have people we don’t like. Sometimes we’re given good reason to not like that person. The expression, “if you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything at all,” really kicks in at that moment. We can at the very least avoid them or refrain from gossping to someone else. Better yet, Paul wants us to still find a way to be encouraging.
Why does that matter? When Paul says our encouragement gives grace to others, what it does is opens up the opportunity to tell others what it means to have a saving faith in Jesus. We are never going to find opportunities to bring that up in conversation with someone who we have torn down. And if we’re known to be Christians, it makes it harder for the next person to share Jesus is the example we have set has been discouraging instead of encouraging.
Look for opportunities in front of you this week to be an encouragement.
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