Study Desk

But the most astonishing part wasn't the money. Before they gave the money, they gave themselves wholeheartedly. If you're looking for what God wants from his cowboys, this is it!

Not that I need to remind you, but Jesus gave us his riches and became poor for your sake. He gave up everything he had so you could have it instead.

All the thanks for all our lives goes to God and his wonderful gift. The gift that words cannot describe.

You see, I've promised you to Jesus like a father promising his virgin daughter to a king.

I'm going to continue to ride for y'all this way. That way you will be able to tell the difference in a real cowboy and one who comes riding in with shiny silver on his saddle and fancy words on his tongue. These charlatans say they do the same things we do, but you'll be able to spot the difference a mile away.

If he does that, of course his servants will play dress up as well. But when the big sorting arrives, we will see who is sorted in and out of the narrow gate.

If you need proof that Jesus speaks through me, you'll get it when he deals with you when I arrive. You'll sure enough see his power then.

Now, listen cowboys and cowgirls, I want y'all to be joyful. I want you to become the best cowboys and cowgirls you can be. Encourage each other and don't let each other down. Get along with each other. Then God will send his peace and love to ride with you.

This letter is from Paul, a cowboy for Jesus. I was chosen to be a cowboy, but not by anyone here on earth. The authority I've been given came from Jesus himself and his Dad, who raised his boy up from the dead.

Not too long ago, God called you to ride for his outfit through his son, Jesus. I'm appalled you are now riding for another brand. There is only one good news message, but y'all have jumped the fence and are chasing something else.

Little did I know though, before I was even born, God had chosen me to ride for his brand. I didn't deserve this kind of grace, but God was pleased

to show me his son and recruit me to ride for his brand. Now my life is all about gathering strays and telling outsiders the good news.When God showed me his son, I didn't run out to find a human teacher to answer my questions.

Three years later, I rode to Jerusalem to meet Pete. I stayed at his place for about two weeks.

They all agreed with me. They didn't even ask Titus, who was a Gentile outsider, to have his pickle clipped.

We both know a cowboy is made right with God by his faith in Jesus, not by following the code of Moses. Both of us believe in Jesus and are right with God because of it, not by following the Code. You can't be right with God by following rules.

Let me ask you again, is the Holy Ghost a gift from God for obeying rules or believing in Jesus? I think y'all know the answer. It's because you believed in Jesus and signed up to be a part of his crew.

Think about it! Abraham believed in God. He and God were tight because of that, not because he was good at following rules. It was because of his faith.

God made a promise to Abraham and his child. I want you to notice that it didn't say, "and his children." The promise was made to Abraham and God's Boy, Jesus.

Think about this, can following a set of rules bless us? If it could, then we wouldn't need God's promise, just good rule-following ability. But God blessed Abraham because of his faith, not because he followed rules. We have the same promise made to us.

So, what good was the Code? It was to show us how often we do wrong things. These rules would continue until the special cowboy came along—the child of Abraham. The Code was given through angels to Moses. And Moses was the middleman between God and his people.