Tag: Jesus

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Fence Post Devotionals “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

Betrayal

“Judas Iscariot was out doin’ his dirty work. He figured Jesus would be headed to one of His favorite spots to pray after supper . . . So here come Judas with a posse of Roman soldiers and their cohorts. Along with ’em was some religious so-called officers sent by the chief priests and for sure some of them hottentot Pharisees with their lanterns and torches . . . Jesus knew all along what was takin’ place so He went out to meet ’em face to face and asked, ‘Who are y’all lookin’ for?’ ‘Jesus the Nazarene’ . . . Jesus done spoke up sayin’. ‘I am He.’ For sure that no good Judas was standin’ right up in the front with ’em'”—John 18:2-5 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

Have you ever been betrayed? Yeah, I reckon most of us at some time or another have been or at least have felt betrayed. It’s bad enough to be betrayed by a company or cooperation, on social media, in the workplace or at school. But to be betrayed by a friend or close acquaintance; well, that likely hurts most of all.

That’s what happened in the best-known betrayal scenes of all time. Even folks that are not well acquainted with the Bible know about Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.

It was in the dark of night. Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane kneeling upon a rock with droplets of blood cascading from His brow. And there in that place and at that hour He once and for all settled the matter of the Continue reading “Fence Post Devotionals “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style””

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Fence Post Devotionals “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

Living Water

“When the last and biggest day of the feast came around, Jesus spoke out to the crowd so they could all hear Him, yes-sir-ee! He hollered out, ‘If any one of y’all is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! Any fellow or gal that believes in Me like the Good Book says will come to have rivers of living water gushin’ forth from deep inside”— John 7:37-38 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

One of the best-loved country and western songs of all times is “Cool Water.” Written by Bob Nolen, it was first recorded on March 27, 1941 by the Sons of the Pioneers. Others who recorded the song were such artists as Hank Williams, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, Frankie Laine, Marty Robbins and Burl Ives.

“Cool Water” is about a prospector and his mule named Dan. Parched from thirst, they are crossing a barren desert, and are tormented by mirages of water dancing across the burning sands. Following are some of the lyrics . . .

“All day I face the barren waste, without the taste of water, cool water. Old Dan and I with throats burned dry, And souls that cry for water, cool, clear, water.”

Chorus:

“Keep a-movin’ Dan don’t ya listen to him Dan, He’s a devil of a man and he spreads the burning sand with water. Dan, can you see that big green tree, where the water’s running free, And it’s waiting there for you and me?”

It almost makes you thirsty just to read the lyrics. And, of course for the prospector and his mule, it was real thirst that they were dealing with.

Perhaps you have been thirsty. Maybe there has been a situation in your life that you, like the prospector, experienced a life-threatening need for water; you knew what it was to be truly thirsty.

At times when I have been thirsty, and it may be true for you as well, that the only thing that really and truly slacked my thirst was water. Nothing else, no other beverage really satisfied my thirst like a good long drink of “cool water.”

Well, that’s all about physical thirst. But, there is another kind of thirst. There is also a spiritual thirst that can be just as real and tangible a need as physical thirst.

That’s what Jesus is talking about in our text. He is in Jerusalem and it is the last day of the Feast of the Booths that celebrates God’s provision of water for the Children of Israel during their 40-years of wilderness wanderings. On that 7th and last day, the Jewish priests carried clay pots filled to the brim with water up the temple steps.

And Jesus cries out to the crowd, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” He wasn’t talking about physical water and He wasn’t talking about a physical thirst. He was talking about the soul of man. He was speaking about salvation. He was talking about a deeper and greater thirst, and that is to know God in a saving relationship. You see, He is the only One who can satisfy the deep needs, the deep cravings and thirst of all mankind.

It is the same that Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well . . .

“Jesus . . . said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

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Fence Post Devotionals “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

Creation

“Everything as far as eye can see was made by Jesus, and without Jesus nothin’ was made that has been made” —John 1:3 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

William Paley, a theologian who lived in the 19th century developed what has become known as the “Paley Argument” for the existence of God. Back in the day, it was a much-discussed topic by theologians and scientists alike. It even lends credibility to the affirmation of God’s existence by some in today’s theological world.

A paraphrase of “Paley’s Argument” goes something like this . . .

“A man walking along the beach kicks up a rock out of the sand. ‘I supposedly could be asked,’ the man thinks, ‘how the stone came to be there. And I might answer that as far as I knew it may have lain there forever.’

But suppose it had been a watch laying upon the ground. And again, the inquiry as to how the watch happened to be in that place. And the answer once more that as far as the man knew, the watch may have lain there forever.

But upon closer examination the man observes the intricate working order of the watch; its gears, springs and wheels all working together in an orderly fashion; seconds, minutes and hours following each other in a predetermined manner. Upon asking himself how this came to be, he concludes that somewhere there must be an intelligent being who formed the watch, i.e., a watchmaker.

Taking note then of his surroundings, the world about him, all things working together in an orderly fashion: The tide ebbing and rising on schedule, the setting and rising of the sun, and seasons following each other in a predetermined order. He concludes that there must be an intelligent and omnipotent being who formed the world; i.e., a world maker.”

And, indeed there is a world maker. His name is Jesus, the Son of God . . .

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” John 1:3 (KJV)

You see, there are a lot of folks who think the world and everything in it, including our existence, came about by pure accident. Gail Burton in “1-Minute Bible Love Notes” says it this way . . .

“They say our world just happened . . . from a random explosion or some other accident . . . and then life haphazardly evolved from mutations . . . with stronger organisms clobbering the weaker ones.”

According to Paley’s Argument, that kind of thinking would be as absurd as to think that springs, gears and jewels randomly, by accident or coincidence could all come together to form, mold and create an intricately detailed working watch.

No! The answer is, God created the world and all that is in it. It is faith, not evolution that answers the mystery of creation.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

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Fence Post Devotional “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

“There’s one thing I do know; I was blind but now I see” —John 9:25(“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

I am a Louis L’Amour fan. He brings to life stories from the old west. He writes about cowboys, Indians, gunslingers, outlaws, trail drives, and wagon trains headed for the western frontier. When I’m feeling stressed or depressed, I can pick up a Louis L’Amour book and soon I’m lost in a world of cowboy and frontier action where the good guy always wins.

Now-and-then, L’Amour, in his fancy camps along the trail with the story’s main character. Camped in the open, the cowboy, according to L’Amour, never looks directly into the fire, because it would obscure his vision of possible danger or an intruder that might be lurking in the dark shadows.

In our Scripture text, we have the story of a man whose sight was obscured; blind from birth. Unlike the cowboy whose sight was obscured by the light, Continue reading “Fence Post Devotional “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style””

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Rider on a White Horse

“Jesus said to His pardners, ‘Let’s saddle up and ride back to where Lazarus’s family is”—John 11:7 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

Did Jesus ride a horse? No! Not really. I periodically had Jesus and His disciples riding horses in the writing of “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style” just as a fanciful way to keep the translation cowboy Style.

Scripture does, however, record at least one time when Jesus rode on a donkey. It was the occasion of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem when He rode on the foal of a donkey. But as any cowboy knows and will tell you that riding a donkey’s colt is a far cry from riding a horse.

But, that’s not all of the story. The Bible says there will come a time when Jesus will ride on the back of a horse; and not just any horse, but a very Continue reading “Blog”