Tag: Salvation

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Fence Post Devotional “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

The Lamb of God

“He looked up, ya see, and there was Jesus walkin’ past at that very minute. ‘Look yonder!’ said John. ‘The very Lamb of God Himself!’ John’s men (called dee-sie-puls); well they knew exactly what John was a sayin’. They lit out after Jesus” John 1:36-37 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

When John called Jesus the “Lamb of God,” well he plumb said a mouthful. You see, there were some fellows years before in the Old Testament, like the prophet Isaiah who referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” In fact, something like 700-years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Isaiah had this to say about Jesus . . .

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

And generations before that, when Issac was climbing Mt. Moriah,carrying with him all the necessary ingredients for a sacrifice; everything except the sacrificial animal, he asked his father, Abraham, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:7-8). And sure enough God did provide the sacrificial animal (a ram caught in a thicket) in place of Issac.

But the ultimate answer to Issac’s question happened on another mountain years later when God provided the Lamb, His very own dear Son to die on an old rugged cross as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of all mankind.

You see, John was absolutely right that day, when standing with his disciples, he pointed to Jesus and proclaimed for folks of all generations, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

And because of the sacrifice of that one true Lamb of God, we will join the chorus of saints as we gather around the throne some future day in heaven and with loud voice proclaim . . . 

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Revelation 5:12).

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Fence Post Devotional “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

“So John told ‘em, ‘I baptize in  water, but there is a Fella who stands amongst us that y’all ain’t met yet. I ain’t even worthy to unbuckle His spurs off His boots for Him’” John 1:26-27 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

John the Baptist was one tough dude. He had lived his entire life (at this time he was about 30-years old) in the wilderness. His clothing was rough and rugged, certainly not store-bought and his diet consisted of locust and wild honey. He probably is best compared to a tough-as-nails-wrangler who rode tall in the saddle and could shoot the head off a rattler at thirty paces.

But ol’ John had a tender side. He loved God and lived his whole life for Him. In fact when God got ready to send His only Son to the world to preach the Gospel, He sent for John and told him to introduce Him to all the folks around. And that’s exactly what John did. He even started getting them ready by preaching a message of repentance and baptizing those who repented in the Jordan River (that’s how he got his nickname of Baptist).

Now, John had his own following of disciples. And he couldn’t wait for them to get to know Jesus. So one day when they were all together, he saw Jesus walking nearby. John got all excited, pointed toward Him and just plain yelled it out, “Look yonder! The very Lamb of God Himself!” John 1:36 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

John’s job of introducing Jesus to the folks around there was pretty important. But he knew that Jesus had a more important job to do; in fact was the very savior of the world. So, John told his disciples that when he lined himself up next to Jesus, he didn’t feel worthy enough to even pull off Jesus’ boots or to unbuckle his spurs.

You know, Jesus has called all of us to do a pretty important job, too, to tell folks about Him. But when we see His goodness and His holiness next to ours, well I guess we begin to feel pretty much like ol’ John did. All we can do is bow our heads and cry Holy! Holy! And one day “cast our crowns at His feet” Revelation 4:10.

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A Cowboy’s Most Distinguishing Mark

Without a doubt, a cowboy’s most distinguishing mark is his hat; the kind of hat, the crease, the color, the way he wears it, and so forth. My mother used to tell stories about the way her father  wore his hat. My grandfather was never a slave to fashion, especially when it came to wearing his hat. My mother said that when he bought a new hat, he never had it creased. And she said that when he picked up his hat to put it on, that he always just grabbed it by the crown and jabbed it on his head, totally unaware if it was frontward or backward or whatever.

Certainly, for my grandfather, his hat was his most physically distinguishing mark. My mother said, she never had a hard time picking him out of a crowd, all she had to do was look for his hat. Continue reading “A Cowboy’s Most Distinguishing Mark”

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The Real Deal

I carry an 1878 Morgan silver dollar in my pocket. I do it for a couple of reasons. For one, a dear friend gave it to me a number of years ago and told me that every time I reached in my pocket and felt the coin, it would be a reminder that he was praying for me–a pretty good reason.

But there’s another reason. I carry it because it is authentic. It is the real deal. it is the most authentic thing I have that actually identifies me with the cowboy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the exact currency cowboys carried in their pockets and used to buy, sell and  trade.

You know the old saying, “If only this coin could talk!” I often rub the silver dollar between my thumb and finger and wonder, where all has this coin been? How many pockets, how may hands have handled it? How many Continue reading “The Real Deal”

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To Walk With Jesus

Pat Erickson “Long Time Partners”

Buck Brannaman is one of the original “horse whisperers.” For years he was a student of Ray Hunt and also of Tom and Bill Dorrance, all followers of a horse-training movement called. “natural horsemanship.” We know it by its more common name, ‘Horse Whisperer.’

A movie was made of Buck Brannaman, simply entitled “Buck”.  The movie follows Buck from one horse ranch to another where he holds horsemanship and cattle-roping clinics.

Buck said that he has been training horses since he was 12-years-old. He said that he has been bitten, kicked, buckled-off and run over. In the movie, Buck confessed, “I’ve tried every physical means to contain my horse in an effort to keep from getting myself killed. I started to realize that things Continue reading “To Walk With Jesus”