Read the Bible

Cowboys and Coyotes

¹ Listen cowboys! Throw your frowns in fire and be glad about what God has done for you. I know y'all have heard it before and you'll hear it again and again. I will drill it in your heads for your own good. ² Keep a sharp eye out for those coyotes, those charlatans, those scissor-wielding pickle-clippers. ³ True circumcision comes from worshiping God in the Spirit. That means relying on what Jesus did instead of what we can do. We have no confidence in ourselves, but all the confidence in the world in God. ⁴ If I wanted to rely on who I was, all I'd have to do is show y'all my pedigree. If others think they are papered well, I'm papered better—I assure you!

⁵ My pickle was clipped at just eight days old. I've got Hebrew on the top and bottom that goes all the way back to Benjamin. Nobody has more than that. I belonged to the Pharisees. We kept the letter of the Law better than anyone. ⁶ I was an ardent defender of the Law. I was a religious bully and hurt a lot of people who didn't do things the way I did them. I justified everything I did because I felt like I was right with God because I followed rules real good.

⁷ What I once thought was my crowning achievement, I now think of as crap. What I can do is worthless compared to what Jesus did. ⁸ The only thing in life that is important is knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord. Because of him, I have left everything behind. I left my former life like garbage waiting on the fly-wagon. You have to lose everything if you are to gain Christ. ⁹ This is the only way to become one with him and ride for his brand. I no longer believe I am right with God because I can obey rules. I am right with God because I have faith in what Jesus did for me. Following rules won't get you right with the Boss. Only faith can do that. ¹⁰ I don't want to just ride for the Lord. I want to know him! This means experiencing the same things he did. I want to know the power of being brought back from the dead. I even want to suffer like he did so I can know the death he endured. ¹¹ Whether it be knowing his life or knowing his death, I will know Jesus and be raised from the dead on that day. ¹² Now, I ain't put a loop on all of this yet. For some of it I haven't even taken down my rope, but I'm already tied on and I've got my eye on Jesus just like he had his eye on me. ¹³ Listen cowboys, it's not that I don't ever miss a shot, but I'm going to be ready when Jesus calls my name. How do I get ready? I forget about all the misses I've made in the past and I focus on the next shot. ¹⁴ I'm running across God's pasture at full-stupid so that I can win the prize that is waiting for me in Christ Jesus.

Hell-Bent or Heaven Bound

¹⁵ The real cowboys will agree with me. Even if some disagree to an extent, I know God will clear things up for them in time. ¹⁶ We've worked real hard to get snubbed up next to God. We can't slip any rope now and lose the progress we've already made.

¹⁷ Saddle up and ride for the Lord the way we showed y'all. Pay attention also to others who ride the way we do. ¹⁸ It breaks my heart that many cowboys only ride for themselves. In doing so, they make themselves enemies of the cross. ¹⁹ They whip and spur, hell-bent on self-destruction. Their god is their voracious appetites for the things of this world. What they think is their glory is the one thing that shows their shame. They point their ponies toward an easy life without realizing they're headed for the hard pits of hell. ²⁰ But our horses already have a stall in heaven waiting on us! We keep one eye on the sky as we eagerly wait for him to come riding back and save us all. ²¹ He's going to swap this frail, weak body we currently live in for one that is indestructible and will last forever. And it is with this power that he will make every knee bow down under his control.