by admin | Nov 14, 2024 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
A question I’ve been asked a lot over the years from the cowboy crowd is, “How do I know what God wants me to do?”
Often times, it has to do with one of two things: sorting out when to retire from the rodeo and find out what else to do in life or what to do about a relationship.
In one case, the young man was sincerely struggling. He was dating a girl and it was getting really serious for him but she was wanting to go back to her husband. He didn’t think her husband was right for her and that he could give her a far better life. He thought she was perfect for him and was hurt deeply that she would leave him after they had moved in together. He didn’t know why God would take her away from him or what he should do to try to convince her to stay.
Now, for must of us, this is pretty straightforward with or without the Bible. You let her go back to her marriage.
But for Christians, this should still be one of the easiest decisions to sort out. Sure, it hurts to lose a relationship that is important to you but the Bible offers lots of teaching against adultery and certainly in Old Testament laws, the punishment for it was severe.
Leviticus 20:10 If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
While we know when Jesus came, he turned a lot of these rules upside down. He kept the religious elite from stoning a woman to death for it but he still recognized and called out adultery as a sin.
Not everything in the Bible is as clear as this situation and issues can get complicated on what the Bible teaches about divorce and remarriage with some churches still take a hard stand on this also being adultery.
But for this young man’s dilemma, if he truly wanted to know what God wanted him to do, there are verses that make it clear he has no choice but to let her go back to her husband and no longer interfere in that marriage. Further, if he truly seeks God’s will, he would realize his actions were sinful and they both were in need of repenting.
There are many verses that give us clear direction that can apply to countless daily situations. Jesus commands us to be kind to others, he tells us to share our faith with others, he tells us to live in ways that honor God.
For the situations that are less clear, we still have to seek God’s will first in scripture and prayer but also through the counsel of those we trust to also be digging into God’s word for the direction we are supposed to take.
Our second example, of whether or not it’s time to quite rodeo doesn’t necessarily have clear Bible verse, but with a growing understanding of what is in scripture, we can look at issues about how the sport is affecting our family or personal life, our finances, our health and we can find other verses that might lead us to a decision that it is better for us to pack it in. Other verses could show us how the sport has become an opportunity for us to minister to others and share the gospel and there could be very compelling Biblical reasons that God would want us to stick with it.
Sometimes it’s easy to know what God wants us to do and sometimes it’s hard. Always, there are answers and guidance in scripture.
by admin | Oct 23, 2024 | Truth
PART TWO OF THREE
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
How we think and act on information is influenced by our culture, our attitudes, our upbringing and the people we put in our lives. For Christians, how we think about the world around us needs to be one that’s influenced by our faith in Jesus and knowledge of scripture.
That’s called a “world view.”
It’s how owning a gun can be natural to many Americans but in Canada and England, far fewer people even think about owning one. As similar as the countries are, there are different worldviews influenced by their cultures.
Our world view as Christians MUST be grounded in scripture and influenced by a desire to live the way Jesus wants us to live.
There is no other way.
Having a Christian world view means we are going to want to seek out what is true.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Paul is encouraging us to look for what is right and good in the world around us and focus on that.
We live in a time where false information spreads like wildfire across social media platforms. When we aren’t operating from a Christian world view, we are going to have strong opinions about issues that affect us that aren’t shaped by truth. The false information is put out there by people who are putting their own interests first, wanting to shape how you think about the issue, person, circumstance or situation they are talking about, often for political or financial gain. They’ve formed their opinion without a Christian world view and often can’t be trusted. Their motivations are to get you to think the way they do. Some don’t even believe what they have shared or put out there. They simply say what they think you want to hear to collect views, clicks and likes for financial gain.
When we share information, are we doing the same thing? Are we sharing something because we want it to be true and want to sway others to believe it too or are we sharing something that we know is true. There’s a big difference and for Christians, it should only be because we know it is true. As Paul said, what’s noble and true are what we should be focused on.
As Christians, we need to be people other Christians can trust as well when we seek advice or wisdom on how to act on the information around us.
In the age of social media, it’s hard to know what is true sometimes. We have such strong opinions, particularly about politics right now, that we believe anything that supports our view without checking the sources or having any reason to know it’s true other than to us, it is something we want to believe is true. We are to the point where we are making life choices and ending friendships over believing information that isn’t real. In a way, that’s like living in a false reality.
It’s okay for you and I to look at the same facts and truths and come to a different opinion about it. As long as we’re doing our best to apply the Bible and seeking godly wisdom to know how to respond to the truths we are pursuing, we can still come to a different conclusion from someone else. Whether dealing with other Christians or not, as long as we still treat people we disagree with the same same way Jesus would, we still maintain our integrity and are still interacting with the world around us based on a Christian approach to knowledge that is real.
And when we’re focused on what is real, noble and praiseworthy to God, God is glorified and our hearts are more at peace with the world around us.
by admin | Oct 23, 2024 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
Whether on the ranching, rodeo or horseman side, a cowboy is known for being tough, independent and taking care of work and life on his own. There are times when there’s no way around it and we just need some help, but otherwise, it’s seen as being weak to not be able to take care of ourselves, our animals and our families.
For Christians, we have to look at it a little differently by letting go of at least some of our pride. People who don’t have a saving faith in Jesus just see their strength as their own and their circumstances are whatever they made them.
With Jesus, we realize that nothing we do is accomplished without him. That can hurt our egos a little until we start to understand better what it means to “walk with Jesus.”
John 15:3-5 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
These verses are most often taught to show us that when our faith in Jesus is real, we produce fruit through having Jesus as a deep part of our lives. Fruit are the good, God-honoring actions and attitudes we produce in our lives and when we have been saved through our faith in Jesus and our repentance of sin, he abides in us. We can’t help it and as a result, everything we do is through Jesus.
More of the verses teach us that without Jesus, we are eternally separated from God, unable to do anything in this life that would be seen as fruit—actions and attitudes that honor God.
While life can still be difficult and we can face struggles and challenges we haven’t even imagined yet, if we take the time to think through these verses, we can realize we aren’t alone in our struggle and we’re going to have the strength we need from having Jesus in us.
Ephesians gives us something similar that we can also found encouraging.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God created us to to good works, which is also another word for fruit. Even when we struggle, God has plans for us that are already set out. That means we have Christ going through it all with us. When we are following what God wants us to do, Christ is there to give us the strength to do it, working along side us as we saw in John.
That means we can pursue what God wants us to do with every expectation of it working out the way God intends it to. Life can still be hard and not go the way we want it to, but God will use us in ways that build up His kingdom. There is hope and purpose for us if we can understand and accept that as true.
by admin | Oct 10, 2024 | Truth
Part ONE of THREE
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
Part ONE in a three-part series about truth and integrity
Having an opinion about information and situations that are true or real is good. It’s especially important that our opinions are shaped by our understanding of scripture.
Having an opinion about information we don’t know is true is bad and likely we aren’t even applying our understanding of scripture when this happens.
It makes us untrustworthy.
If we’re untrustworthy, any message of hope from us about the gospel and a saving faith in Jesus is going to be lost.
1 Peter 2:12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
First, we have to understand our primary purpose for living is to glorify God. Second, we have to understand that Jesus gave all believers the task of sharing the gospel: how a saving faith in him gives us an eternity in Heaven.
If we don’t understand these two points, then this short series will mean little and those who don’t understand, will carry on doing as they please without letting scripture guide them. If that’s the case, then it’s important to re-evaluate your understanding of the gospel and whether or not you’re going to heaven or hell. It’s a harsh reality but too many people call themselves Christian without ever experiencing a desire to be more like Jesus. If you aren’t sure of your salvation, that’s something that gives you personal proof that it’s real. You know whether or not you care to both know and apply what’s in the Bible to your life.
When we do understand these two things, then many of us need to start taking the rest of this message more seriously.
What we’re being told in the verse from 1 Peter is that people have to see us acting with integrity. There are plenty of people who are still open minded and willing to listen to us if we just take the time to talk them about Jesus. There is also a growing part of our population that dislikes and even hates Christians. Some people will never listen to us explain our Christian beliefs. But if we don’t demonstrate integrity and that we are trustworthy, we can’t reach any of them.
Living out what the Bible teaches us are the good deeds being talked about. They are referred to in other verses in the Bible as works—the actions we take because of our faith in Jesus. These actions glorify God and they stand against anything hateful or harmful that non-believers might throw at us.
When our integrity holds, then others can see this, trust us and have a better chance of believing us when we tell them Jesus lived her, lives on in Heaven and is our only path to salvation.
by admin | Sep 5, 2024 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
You have the ability to change the course of someone’s day or even life.
Men especially, think how often you’ve heard a compliment outside of a dating scenario (or even in a relationship). Sometimes criticism is necessary and we need to know how to receive it without getting upset, angry or defensive. But we take criticism so often at work, in relationships and from family. Sometimes it gets back to us from our extended social circles where someone out there has been criticizing or complaining about us. Sometimes it gets back to us that it was someone close to us.
It isn’t weak to admit that sometimes it’s hurtful or at the very best, discouraging. It certainly makes most of us angry and puts us in a defensive position. And the more we hear, the more it piles up and the more discouraged we can become.
More importantly, it also isn’t weak to admit that it actually feels good to hear something nice once in awhile.
It can mean even more when it comes from people out of our extended connections who we know aren’t just saying something because they’re a close friend that sees we’re frustrated or who suspect might have an agenda behind the compliment. When it comes from someone who really did observe an action we took, a way we spoke to someone or a situation we handled, it can carry more weight because we know it was sincere.
Think of someone in your extended circles and something you’ve seen them do or a way they handle themselves and text or message them right now: “hey man, I just want you to know I’ve noticed how great you are with –your daughter–how you handled that bad call by that rodeo judge–how you never seem to let that supervisor get to you– the way you always lend someone a hand.”
Look for the good in the people in your close circles and in your more distant ones.
Do not underestimate how much God can use you to lift that person out of a very bad head space you didn’t even know they were in. And don’t rob yourself of such an easy way to glorify God by following what this verse teaches us.
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.
Paul is telling us to first make sure we aren’t speaking any junk to begin with whether it’s gossiping or running someone down behind their back or even two their face or just speaking with foul language. We should only be using words and language that would be God-honoring. We forget, He is listening.
Paul then reminds us that anything we say should be for the benefit of others and that when we do this, it can point people to God’s saving grace.
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