Hidden horse teaches a Holy Spirit lesson

Hidden horse teaches a Holy Spirit lesson

by | Jul 17, 2025 | Behind the Bucking Chutes

By Daryl Skeeter Spaulding / Cowboys for Christ

I feed my horse every morning before I head out for work. A few things come to mind that have really
been a blessing in my early morning adventure.
First, it’s been such a delight to be out there before dawn. The stars and the moon are truly amazing
without cloud cover and it’s a wonder to behold. When I look up there is no doubt in my mind that I’m
looking at God’s creation. Genesis 1:16 recalls the creation of sun, moon and stars. We can’t have a
bright moon without the sun and on a clear night the sky comes ALIVE!!! Almighty God really knew what
He was doing. The Big Dipper is one of my favorite constellations to gaze at. It will point you right to the
North Star. If you follow the two stars that make up the end of the dipper you will see it. It’s faint, so you
must train your eyes to look for it.
Secondly, I’ve been reading my Bible while I have my horse in one of the outdoor feeding stalls enjoying
his breakfast. It takes him about 20 minutes to finish his feed. I spend that time with my
Bible opened laying across the fence rail. If it’s still dark, I use a head lamp so I can read. I have found so many amazing
passages of scripture. Some whole chapters are exciting to read. Then I find these nuggets tucked in a
sentence that just catches my eye. One such instance is about having a willing heart and mind to serve
the Lord that’s found in 2 Chronicles 28:21. When I read that, I asked the Lord to give me a true heart of
worship and a willing mind to follow Him. That’s what I want!!!
Thirdly, one dark morning due to heavy cloud cover, I did not find my horse up at the feeding stalls like
usual. The light from the barn wasn’t much help. I thought to myself, “where is he”? as I went through
the gate and then looked for him momentarily. I was getting ready to pound on the gate with the brass
latch that we keep the gate closed with, it’s how I call him up when I need to. Then, I heard him nicker, I
know that nicker of his. He stepped out of the shadow. He was up there the whole time; I just didn’t see
him in the dark.
From time to time, I’ve heard the Holy Spirit whisper or nicker at me at just the right moment. It’s
always when I wasn’t expecting it. Most often it’s a particular verse in the Bible I’ve memorized, a
worship song on the radio or hymn I heard in church. I can’t necessarily explain it but it’s a faith builder
for sure.
This is why it’s so important to be in God’s Word as a regular habit, just because you love being in it. We
find proof of this in Romans 10: 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing the word of Christ. Jesus
also promised us the Holy Spirit in John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Helper, to be with you forever. And a little down in verse 26 we read, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you. (All scripture is ESV)
Do yourself a favor; spend time in God’s Word and you just might hear the Holy Spirit nicker at you.

Getting a horse changes you, finding Jesus will do even more

Getting a horse changes you, finding Jesus will do even more

by | Oct 12, 2022 | Behind the Bucking Chutes

By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross

If you’ve never been involved in the industries before, then you decide to ‘get into’ horses or ‘get into’ rodeo, it changes you.

You suddenly start wearing different clothes, you learn new terms and expressions that go with what you’re learning about the horse, I mean, not everyone knows what withers are or what a honda is on a rope. The people you spend time with change as you surround yourself with others who share your interest that you want to learn from or ride or rodeo with.

Friends and family will notice the changes when horses or rodeo become important to you and begin making it more a part of your every day life.

When we become Christians, it’s the same thing, only more.

It isn’t an interest we’re engaged in, it’s a complete transformation. Once we have a saving faith in Jesus, God no longer sees us for our sins that He must judge. Instead, He sees us through the sacrifice Jesus made, as perfect, extended grace for the mistakes He knows we will continue to make.

Ephesians 4:22-24 To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

There’s lots that can be unpacked in these two verses but we’re going to just focus on what Paul is saying in his letter about being the new self.

God no longer sees the old self that Paul refers to. The old self is corrupt and condemned. The new self is seen as righteous and holy. Really simplified, it means we’re now seen as perfect. This is one of the verses where we come to understand this is how God sees us once we are saved.

Again, it doesn’t mean we are perfect, it means God sees us that way despite mistakes we might continue to make. We start a process of becoming ‘sanctified’ which means being made more like Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

We understand that it’s through the Holy Spirit that we begin to change by what’s described as ‘the sanctifying work of the Spirit.”

Our friends and family might start seeing changes in us over night or gradually. For the person who decides to take up horsemanship or team roping, they choose to pursue those interests but as a Christian, the Spirit begins to work out those changes in us. We start to study our Bibles to learn more about how to be more like Jesus and to understand everything God has for us in His word. We connect with other believers we find at work or in rodeo or the sales barn and we find ourselves learning and spending time with them.

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