by admin | Aug 12, 2021 | Strengthening Your Grip
By Jesse Horton / Cowboys of the Cross
We’ve recently been studying how communication between God and man happens. We all want to hear from God and know his will for our lives, but we’re unsure how that happens or even if it happens. I want you to be certain of this: God wants you to know him! He wants a relationship with you, and all relationships require time and communication.
The primary way God communicates to us is through the Scriptures. Spend time studying what God has said about himself, about humanity, and about his mission of reconciliation. Study deeply and intentionally. The second way God communicates with us is through prayer. We have recently been studying the model prayer (the Lord’s prayer) and have come to the point where we make petitions; that is, we ask God for specific things. But what should ask for?
“Give us this day our daily bread.” The book of Joshua records the conquest of the promised land by the nation of Israel as they moved from slavery in Egypt to a land known for its abundant resources. Such a drastic change in station certainly requires spiritual preparation, and that is precisely what we see in the 40 years they spent wandering in the wilderness prior to the conquest of the land of Canaan. Take a moment right now and read Deuteronomy 8:2-11 to see what God reminded his people of as they were completing their spiritual preparation for the land that flows with milk and honey. God wanted to remind his people that they are not independent or self-sufficient. No! Yahweh was their provider, protector, and conqueror; Israel had been completely dependent upon the goodness of God to survive those 40 years, and just because they were now entering a land of plenty did not mean they could forget their dependence or his provision. God is the one who provided the promised land. Each and every day, we should depend on God to provide the resources we need to live and serve him. Just as the Israelites in the wilderness, we can find God faithful to provide what we need, maybe not in abundance or excess, but certainly enough for this day.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” One of the greatest sins those who follow Christ commit is the sin of forgetfulness. We are quick to forget the immense mercy and grace that assures us of our salvation, so when we are wronged, we respond with anger and wrath. Read Matthew 18:23-33. This wicked servant had been forgiven a debt that was so great he couldn’t be expected to pay it back in 10 lifetimes, yet when one of his fellow servants owed him a debt he could pay back over three to five years, the wicked servant choked him and threw him in prison. We who have been forgiven such a great debt against such a holy God should be quick to forgive others who have wronged us. Pray daily to remember the forgiveness you’ve received, for no one gives grace better than the one who is truly convinced of his own need for it.
“Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” Praying in this manner acknowledges three important truths. First, there is One who has ultimate authority and knows what is good and right for you to do and what you should not do. Regardless of who you are in your community, your church, or this world there is One to whom you must bow. Second, the One who has ultimate authority has revealed his moral will.
There are clearly defined boundaries in which believers should live. We do not make our own determinations of good and bad, right and wrong. Third, we live in a world full of temptation where we have an enemy whose method of destroying us is to persuade us to accomplish our own demise through the pursuit of things that keep us from experiencing God’s kingdom rule.
In Numbers 22-24, Balak king of Moab was fearful of the Israelites who were conquering kingdoms on their way toward him. He contracted a pagan priest named Balaam to curse Israel so that he might defeat them. However, God prevented Balaam’s cursing; no outside force was great enough to withstand Israel as they followed God’s command (You should read these chapters; a talking donkey is worth the time!). But in the 25th chapter, it is reported that the Israelite men pursued sexual relationships with Moabite women who led them into idolatry. This compromise of morality that led to idolatry caused a plague that claimed 24,000 Israelite lives. Though they could not be destroyed by the curses of their foes, they might quickly be overcome when they compromised their loyalty to God and his commands. God’s boundaries and requirements for our lives are for our own good and the good of our faith community!
Take note of Numbers 25:7-8; the plague was stopped when Phinehas took decisive action against the idolators by killing one of them and his Moabite mistress. You tell me: is it important that we hold the members of our faith community to moral standards, or should we compromise to avoid hurting someone’s feelings?
There are three things Jesus asked for in this model prayer. First, he asked for daily provision. God knows our needs and is willing and able to provide if we simply recognize our dependence on him. It might actually be a win at the rodeo because the finances or the confidence it gives is what we really need that week. It might be the struggle of a continued losing streak because how we grow from it is what we really need. Second, he asked that we would be forgiven as we are forgiving. Sin is a part of our experience in this life and recognizing our own need for grace will result in the extension of grace to others when they sin against us. It is by grace that we have peace with God, and it is by grace that we will have peace with others. Third, we live in a world of things that can tempt us to wander from the path God has set before us. The problem is not so much the things outside of us as it is the desire for sin inside of us. James 4:1 and following reminds us of this truth: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”
As you pray, ask God to provide for you needs today. Ask him to forgive you of your sin and from that grace empower you to be forgiving toward others. Finally, ask him to keep you from the things your sinful heart is drawn toward and from the tactful lies of the enemy of your soul.
by admin | Aug 12, 2021 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
Do we believe in God or karma? It can’t be both. If God is real, there is no karma.
When someone finally gets what we think they deserve, so many of us call it karma. The stock contractor that did you dirty in a deal loses his best bull in an accident down the intestate. Your barrel racing rival’s horse comes up lame hours before the finals after always seeming to get the same coveted spot in the draw week after week. Your ex-girlfriend ends up spending a weekend in jail because of something she got caught up in with the guy she was cheating on you with.
Faith in God and belief in karma are two very different things. You simply cannot believe God is in control while some other force of nature is affecting outcomes at the same time.
Christians, even the ones you don’t like, actually don’t get what they deserve and those who choose not to believe and turn their back on God, actually do.
One of the core truths within what we call the gospel is the understanding that God will punish sin. All sin. Rigging the draw or beating your girlfriend. It all gets judged by God and God alone. But, through His son, Jesus Christ, He gave us all a way to be in good standing with Him, no matter what we have done. Jesus took the punishment meant for our sins so that by believing he was the son of God, died on the cross for us and rose again to be with God in Heaven, we can find a way to be saved from our sins. By believing in who Jesus was and is and what he did for us, and then by recognizing and accepting that we are sinners, genuinely repenting of that sin and asking God to forgive us, we can be saved from the punishment and assured an eternal, perfect life in Heaven.
The consequences of sin without salvation through Jesus are eternal separation from God in Hell. It’s an even playing field where we can believe in God and embrace His plan for us to be saved with an eternity in Heaven or we can believe in karma or whatever else we want to believe in, but any of the rest of it leads us to Hell.
So why does something bad finally happen to that dirty rotten so-and-so? Why do all his wrongdoings finally catch up with him? The same reason the nicest cowboy everyone knows dies in the night because the generator was pumping carbon monoxide into the camper.
Karma didn’t catch up with both of them. The consequences of living in a fallen world did.
We live in a broken world because of the choice Adam and Eve made in the very beginning. The world was perfect until they messed up and now seemingly good people can end up doing some pretty horrible things, entire towns can burn up in a wild fire and the person you’re closest to can end up with cancer.It can be hard for us to imagine a perfect eternity, especially when we’re struggling or at our lowest.
It can be hard to realize that through all the struggles and heartaches we face in between the good times, that all of this is temporary and we only have to go through it a short time.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
We may not understand why we’re going through something that seems absolutely horrible but we can trust that while sinful harm might come to us, God will still use it for our good. I would rather trust in that than karma.
Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
I’m going with God.
by admin | Jul 29, 2021 | Strengthening Your Grip
By Jesse Horton / Cowboys of the Cross
We continue this week with our discussion on how we hear from God through prayer. We’ve learned that the primary way we hear from God is through the study of his word. We can also hear from God and know his will through prayer, but prayer isn’t what we often make it out to be. It’s not about getting what I want from God; it’s about God getting what he wants from me. This week in our study of how we hear from God in prayer, we examine the phrase from the model prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
If God alone is good (Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19 both say: “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ; Luke 18:19 ) and therefore defines what a good life is, then a good life is not found in the success of my will but in the submission of all things to God’s will.
God alone defines what is good, true, wise, right, and loving, so our hope in life is never in getting our way. Hope in life is never in the realization of our own dreams. It is never found in gaining as much control as possible over the people and circumstances in our life. Hope is never found in my will being done. God has never not existed; his perspective goes beyond the origin of our past and beyond the future of our destiny, so he really does know what is best for all of his creation, including you and me. As such, true prayer is not getting the all-wise God to submit to your imperfect will but is an act of submitting your imperfect will to the all-wise God.
Unfortunately, we all slip from time to time into thinking we’re smarter than God. There are times for each of us when we believe that our plan and what we want is better for us than what God wants for us. We curl our lips at the “dish” God has lovingly and wisely placed in front of us and seek something we find more appetizing; but our idea of better will leave us empty, unfulfilled, unhealthy, and unable to receive the future good that God has in store for us.
So today, cry out for grace because the temptation to think you know better than God is still a powerful threat to your prayer life and your ability to hear from God; that puts us in the dangerous position of being our own hope – our own idol to which we pray, “My will be done.” Cry out to the Savior who submitted his own will to that of the Father to bring about the greater good for all mankind; He knows what it’s like to wrestle with wanting something different than the Father’s perfect will! Cry out to Jesus to save you from yourself. Pray for the sense to know that there is no safer, no better place to be than in submission to the will of your Father in heaven. Have the courage to pray, “Your kingdom come – let your kingdom’s reign begin in my life today. Your will be done – right here, right now, in my life – just like it is in heaven.” When we are joyfully willing to submit to God’s will for our lives, we know that his grace has entered our hearts.
Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV):
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
by admin | Jul 29, 2021 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
Bull team competitions are growing in popularity. To win, the team needs a bull that will score high enough but a rider who can also cover him because the scores will be combined to find a winner. Too rank a bull will score higher at that end but if the bull rider bucks off, they can’t win. Too easy a bull but the rider covers, neither will have high enough of a score to win.
Everything has to work together perfectly to win but the key word here is “together.”
The stock contractor can’t win on his own and the bull rider can’t win on his own.
The stock contractor brings his talents in breeding, caring for and training a good bucking bull. The bull rider brings the skills he’s developed to go from being one-jumped out of the chute to being able to spur a 90-point ride.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Throughout this chapter in his letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul is telling them about who they all have different gifts given to them by God. In this instance, he is describing specific spiritual gifts, as he makes the point that each person is needed despite being different from the others.
We’re all working together for a common good. God’s good.
For Christians, we all have a part to play
1Corinthians 12:12-20 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
With descriptions of different body parts instead of different gifts, Paul is reminding the church how they all are part of the body of Christ. Even though we have different gifts, we all serve the same God who has put us where He wants us to be and will use each of us for His purpose.
A common argument that comes up between contestants and producers is when a fair board wants to charge the contestants admission. The cowboys are quick to point out there isn’t a show without them because the crowd is coming to see them. The producer has to point out there isn’t a show without the committee. And nothing happens for anyone without back pen workers and a crew to set the whole thing up.
Everyone has a vital part to play for the show to succeed.
Everyone has a vital part to play within the body of Christ.
As Christians, we know that even as a stock contractor, event producer or rodeo contestant, our tasks, given to us by Jesus, are to love others, share the gospel and teach others. We also know that in everything we do, we’re meant to glorify God. These are part of the “common good” we can be working toward together.
Just like we have all make up different parts in the success of a show, we all serve Jesus together in our own ways. You might be the person who is skilled at starting a conversation with strangers and your friend might be drawn to helping others. On the way to the rodeo, he stops to help the family whose car is broke down at the side of the road and while he changes a tire, you’re the person who ends up telling them about Jesus.
We all have a part to play but we all serve Jesus together knowing it’s God who puts all the parts together.
by admin | Jul 15, 2021 | Strengthening Your Grip
By Jesse Horton / Cowboys of the Cross
We’ve been trying to understand how to hear from God and know His will. We noted that studying the Scriptures and prayer are two of the most frequent and consistent ways that God communicates with His people. We continue our examination of The Lord’s Prayer this week with the purpose of hearing from God. This is the prayer that used to be recited in school, taken directly from the Bible. The phrase we will examine is “Your kingdom come.”
The gospel Jesus preached in his ministry is summed up in Mark 1:15. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Notice that there is no mention of what Christ did for us on the cross or the denial of self to follow Jesus; all this is true and very important, but it is the work of Christ and our response to his lordship that accomplish a specific goal: the fulfillment of God’s eternal and perfect kingdom. The grace extended to us by God through Jesus Christ is intended to capture us for a better kingdom–God’s kingdom. But when we don’t think about that first or understand it, we end up trying to get in the way
In Mark 9:30-37, Jesus told his disciples that he would soon be captured and killed. They didn’t respond with concern or remorse. Instead, they argued amongst themselves about who among them was the greatest.
Unfortunately, we all tend to pursue the establishment and glory of our own kingdoms where we are lords and rulers of all. In some sense, we all hope to accomplish a situation such as that described in the parable of the rich fool: And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19). We want to create for ourselves some vision of our own utopia where we have all we need, our labor is easy and fruitful, our family members meet our expectations, and all things work together to keep us happy and fulfilled.
There are several problems with that model.
One problem is that we lack the ability to control circumstances and people (others and even ourselves). Look how hard we work to win a rodeo and look what happens to our attitude when we buck off a bull or bronc we were determined to ride or miss our catch after hours at the practice arena. We can do all we think we can to win, but it’s never guaranteed no matter what effort we put into it. As much as we try to control the outcome for a win, we can be badly hurt or killed. This is a fallen world, we are fallen people, and we are not Sovereign God! Another problem is that our perpetual happiness and fulfillment is rarely ever good for us or for mankind collectively, nor is it glorifying for God – the very purpose for which we were created.
In Luke 12:32, Jesus said to his disciples, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Jesus didn’t come to exercise his authority and power to make my little kingdom work, but by grace to welcome me as God’s child into a much better kingdom than I could ever create under my broken leadership and pathetic power. Only in the kingdom that Jesus invites us to can we experience eternal life, peace, and joy.
God, I repent of trying to be a sovereign ruler over my own warped mini-kingdom. May your glorious eternal kingdom come in me and through me today.
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