by admin | Mar 24, 2025 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
When we imagine the Old West, it’s often pictures of whiskey drinking, gambling, saloon brawls, gunfights in the streets and brothels. In rodeo, you don’t have to look too far to find some of the same. Buckle bunnies abound, usually in the form of young women roaming the rodeo and bar scene in search of a cowboy to take home or go home with. Drugs and alcohol can be found in the parking lot and while I’ve never seen a full-on brawl, there are times, I’ve certainly seen guys bust each other up.
That isn’t all there is to rodeo and while stereotypes exist for a reason, there are strong family values and a real community that looks out for one another.
Yet the sinful side is there and it doesn’t take much to find it.
James 1:12-15 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Sin often comes in the form of pleasure. Sins can feel good physically and emotionally. Heck, sometimes it does feel good, at least in the moment, to tell someone the hurtful thoughts you have toward them or to haul off and deck the guy who just ticked you off for the last time. That’s what makes so many sins tempting.
James is reminding us of something important here though. Temptation is on us. Adam and Eve chose for there to be sin in the world by defying God that very first time. We live with the consequences of that sin and can only be free of God’s judgment of it through a saving faith in Jesus. From other parts of scripture, we know that God, being perfect, will not tolerate sin in His presence and will judge it. The consequences of being tempted and then acting on our sin is, as James puts it, is death. Without a saving faith in Jesus, we are eternally separated from God in hell as God’s punishment for our unforgiven sin. But it remains our choice to put our hope in Jesus’s death on the cross, where he took the full punishment meant for our sins so that by believing in him, repenting of our sin and asking to be forgiven, we can be saved from that punishment.
James makes us aware that God, who is perfect, will never sin or be tempted by it but that we, as sinful people, will be drawn to it. It is entirely up to us to resist temptation and fight against sin. Paul teaches us in Philippians that we can accomplish anything through Jesus and that includes resisting sin.
God wants us to find that saving faith in Jesus and isn’t going to tempt us away from that. It’s up to us to choose. We can live in the wild west or we can live in the Christian community. Both can literally be found in the rodeo industry and figuratively, they can be found anywhere we live. The temptations of sin will always be there, but there will also be a community ready to help us avoid temptation and seek Jesus.
by admin | Mar 12, 2025 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
Has someone ever made you feel worthless? It could have been a bad relationship, it could have been a teacher or family member but many of us have experienced this feeling and for some, it can bad enough to have a negative impact on their whole life.
If we’re lucky, it’s a temporary feeling and can even be brought on by ourselves during a very bad week. Maybe we’re trying to train a dog or fighting to get a horse to stop being afraid of a plastic bag and we’ve just gotten nowhere this week in the time we have. Then one of our kids gets angry with us because we disciplined them, our wife misunderstands something and went to bed angry and we just stripped a bolt trying to fix an oil leak. It’s pretty easy to feel worthless after all those events pile up.
God doesn’t want us to feel that way and uses James to help teach that.
James 1:9-11 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
James is first speaking to those believers who have very little but calls attention to the understanding that as believers, they do in fact have a high position—they are saved through faith in Jesus and are assured eternity in Heaven.
Now, imagine you’re a wealthy Christian and that wealth is important to you. You’re proud that you worked hard for it, saved where you could and made good financial decisions and investments that have left you able to support missions while living in a great house. In verse 10, imagine taking that wealth and offering it to God in front of everyone you know, but God turns it away saying it means nothing to Him. That would be a truly humiliating experience.
But that’s not the point. God doesn’t want to humiliate us. He loves us more than anything. What James is telling us God wants to see is simply us, loving Him. He needs nothing from us and in eternity, anything we’ve worked for or gained here, doesn’t go with us to Heaven. Material possessions eventually break down and decay and wealth just transfers to someone else.
James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Through our understanding of the Gospel, how we are saved from God’s wrath through Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection, we are made worthy to be in God’s presence. In the Old Testament, before any of a harvest could be consumed by us, an offering from it had to be made to God first. He was given the first fruits of the harvest. Here, James is showing us that at that time, they were considered the first fruits of God’s harvest—those who were coming to a saving faith in him through what Jesus did. The expectation is that there would be a bigger harvest that we are a part of now.
Cowboys of the Cross is a rodeo/bull riding ministry that leads cowboy church services at events and maintains an online presence to share the gospel and make disciples among the ranch and rodeo community. They can be found at CowboysOfTheCross.com
by admin | Feb 26, 2025 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
In the sport of rodeo, you have to be “all-in.”
It isn’t something you can do halfheartedly and expect to have any success. While there’s a danger in any rodeo sport, on the roughstock side of the arena, especially bull riders, know that if you aren’t all-in when you get in that bucking chute, you’re going to get hurt and maybe get others hurt too who have to try to rescue you.
Most rodeo cowboys would agree that you can’t play at these sports. You have to take it seriously, be fully committed and put all your effort into it.
James using the need for wisdom to teach us something about being committed and all-in with our faith.
James 1:5-8 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
This isn’t an instruction that if we fail at it, we aren’t good enough for God or to make it to Heaven but it’s a strong direction from James that if we are to be firm in our faith when seek help or direction from God.
As Christians or in rodeo, there’s a difference between making mistakes or getting something wrong and not being all-in. We’re still going to mess it up and sometimes it can even be costly. Getting the timing wrong means missing a catch in calf roping or getting hung up and in a dangerous situation during a bull ride. For believers, it can mean engaging in a sin with consequences such as an unplanned pregnancy or lashing out in anger and damaging a relationship the other person no long wants to repair.
God gives us grace for when we get it wrong but James makes it very clear that we need to be singularly focused on our faith. It defines us and there is no other way to live it out.
When we don’t, he describes us as being tossed two and fro like waves in an ocean. As Christians, we understand all our choices and decisions as Christians are directed by God, the Holy Spirit and our attempts to live out what is taught to us in Scripture. When we aren’t committed to our faith wholeheartedly, if we try following our own plan, from God’s perspective, we’re just being tossed around with no solid footing or ability to be on track. The only track we should be on is the one God has for us. Sometimes our direction is more clear than other times, but we should be taking each step on solid ground with a firm intent on letting a Biblical understanding direct our choices.
In this particular example from James, he is telling us that when we are facing struggles and are unsure of what to do, we should ask God for wisdom. But when we ask for it, we’re to approach God firm in our faith and confident He will guide us.
That means being willing to go where He leads us and do what we know He expects us to do.
That wisdom can come from people we know who are more mature in our faith or it can come directly from reading God’s word. If it comes from others, it won’t contradict anything we can find in the Bible.
To help us be firm and all-in, we have to spend time in God’s word studying and learning.
We know you’re all-in as rodeo cowboys but are you all-in for God? We’re here to help you figure it out if you are uncertain how to do it.
by admin | Feb 6, 2025 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
Whether it’s competing in rodeo, raising cattle or working with horses, there is a lot to learn. The same is true of any job, hobby or interest that we pursue.
If I keep breaking the barrier during team roping but can’t figure out why I always leave that box a split second too soon. Someone with more experience may have advice to help me find that sweet spot between breaking the barrier or hesitating too long.
I’ve got a calf that just doesn’t seem to be putting on weight. I’m going to take supplement advice from a more experienced rancher a few miles down the road or what a veterinarian I know might suggest.
We need wisdom to make right choices or improve.
And when we are faced with a challenge in our personal life, especially when it’s unlike any conflict or struggle we’ve encountered before, we might not have the first clue what to do. James gives us some direction.
James 1:2-5 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
First, we learn that we should actually find joy in a trial we face but we have to remember this isn’t an emotion like being happy we’re going through a divorce, we lost our job or we broke our collar bone again and have to miss the next six rodeos—it’s a response to the understanding that God will do something good in that struggle. We can have a joyful attitude in the knowledge God is building us up while we face the current challenge.
James also suggests this response to a trail: pray for wisdom.
There are lots of examples in the Bible about praying for help and deliverance from a struggle but in this lesson from James, he’s specifically telling us to ask God to give us wisdom. That wisdom could be a solution to the struggle, it could be guidance on next steps or it could be clarity on what God is doing in us that we can be joyful about.
If this is specifically what he is directing us toward, we can trust that it is good advice to follow.
We wouldn’t ignore a veterinarian’s suggestion on how to treat a horse’s infected foot. We know the vet knows more than us and can trust his or her advice. A champion bronc rider’s suggestion on how to get your feet to the front is advice we can trust.
James was taught be Jesus and was a significant teacher in the formation of the early church. Then when he tells us to pray for wisdom, I think that would be the wise thing to do.
by admin | Jun 13, 2024 | Behind the Bucking Chutes
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
When we face a struggle, it can feel like we’re alone. We can vent or unload to a friend about what is going on but often be left feeling they just don’t understand.
Sure, a rodeo or ranch friend can understand and sympathize with having to sit out events or work because of a bust femur, but it’s harder for them to appreciate the struggle when the steel rod that was needed isn’t set right, there’s an infection and the down time has now increased because of a second surgery. Meanwhile, the bills are piling up and the friends that helped with some meals have got busy with their own lives. Far more than anyone can understand, the struggle you’re facing is very real and very difficult.
The same can be said when, as believers, we’re fighting to overcome a sin in our lives but we keep falling back into it. The rodeo lifestyle in particular floods us with opportunity to party hard and make the terrible choices that go along with that from cheating on a wife or girlfriend to finding ourselves in need of rehab while rodeo fines have piled up and there’s no way to pay entry fees anymore.
First, when it comes to what are referred to as trials in the Book of James, we see from James himself both an understanding of the struggles a person can face whether in his time period or ours and he offers and encouragement.
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
This can be really hard for a person to accept and a difficult attitude to adopt when you’re in the thick of trial or struggle but James is offering us an assurance that we can try to see it as a good thing and take joy in it because that struggle will be used to help build us to be more like Jesus. When we have a saving faith in Jesus, we begin a process called sanctification which means that our lives become about making us more like him. While we will never become fully perfect before we get to Heaven, we will become more and more like Jesus as we learn from the Bible, live out what we’re taught and grow in our faith.
In that process to become more like Jesus we find there are sins in our lives we want to rid ourselves from and Hebrews offers a great encouragement for those particular struggles.
Hebrews 4: 15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus is the high priest being referred to here and what we see is just how great a company we keep as Christians—followers of Christ. Jesus himself, even though he was perfect, still faced temptations and God loves us so much and understands the struggle, that through our saving faith in Jesus, we have God’s grace and mercy for when we fail and to give us the confidence and encouragement to get up again and press onward each time we feel like we’ve fallen.
Count it all joy, my brothers,[a] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
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