Study Desk

So, cowboys and cowgirls, ride hard and prove you belong to the brand. Do these things I've told you and you won't fall off.

There will be many a cowboy who will leave the narrow trail and follow the immoral highway. Their lives will seem so much better on the outside, therefore many will shun the authentic cowboy way.

God got so fed up with our ancient ancestors that he destroyed the whole world with a flood. Only Noah and seven others were saved. Noah was a cowboy who urged righteous living and practiced what he preached.

It was so bad that he was rebuked by his donkey who spoke with a human voice and stopped him from becoming completely insane in his greed.

The Lord isn't slow-bucking his promises to us. He is being patient with all of us so that all who can be will be saved. He wants everyone to turn from their sins and ride for him. He's going to wait as long as he can because he doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. He's waiting for everyone to turn loose of their sins.

But I know I'm just explaining cattle to cowboys. Y'all already know all of this. Keep an eye on the horizon so you will not be lured away by lawless vagabonds and lustful temptresses. Stay close to God and stick to the narrow trail and you'll be safe.

We tell you what we have seen and heard so that you will join us in the crew that rides for the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

So then, if we say we ride in his crew, but we ride in darkness, then we are counterfeits in word and deed.

The point of this letter is so you will turn loose of your sins. But just in case we fall off and do sin, we have someone who is pleading our case on our behalf before God. That man is Jesus Christ, the only perfect man to ever live—and he is on our side!

But I write to you now about a new one. Or maybe I should say it is the old one made new. Jesus was the embodiment of the command, and so are you who live in him. The darkness is dying away and the light has begun to shine on the horizon.

Hate lives in the darkness and so do we if it has a place in our hearts. Hate blinds us and we know not which way to turn or what to do. It blinds us to the light.

Cowboys, the end is so close you can nearly touch it. You were told Jesus's nemesis would come. Many of his enemies have already come and gone, so we know the time of the end is close.

God has showered us with his love like a spring rain on dry ground. He loves us so much he calls us his own kids. And if God says it, it is so. That's why the world treats us like it does. The world doesn't know God and doesn't know us.

So, in light of this, why does it surprise you that the world, who does wrong things, hates you for doing right things?

Listen, cowboys. Just because some hombre rides up claiming to have the Spirit in his life don't make it so. There's been a ton of counterfeit cowboys who have made the same claim.

That love we have of his grows in us each and every day so that on the day of reckoning, we will be able to have courage and confidence. Jesus wouldn't be worried about that day and since we ride for him, we won't worry about it either.

I'm telling you all this so you can be sure you have eternal life by your ride with Jesus.

If you see a fellow cowboy doing something he shouldn't, you should pray for him and God will hear the prayer and bring him back. That's not to say there is a possibility someone could do something so heinous that God would turn their back on them. Possibly something as bad as turning their backs on God. Praying for that guy probably wouldn't do a lot of good.

Watch your backs so that you don't get bushwhacked by silly notions and foolish opinions. Don't lose what you've ridden so hard to get.

This type of person is always complaining about this or that and blaming others for everything. They follow their own evil ways and brag about all they are and all they've done. They flatter others with lies so they can rob them blind.