Temptation

Ridin for the Boss and the Brand, page 16

Fact: we can never be good enough to meet
God’s requirements for salvation.
Fact: we are all sinful, no matter how
charitable we are.
Fact: the wages of sin is death.
Fact: God only accepts the death of Jesus as payment for our sins.
Fact: if you admit and confess how you have
failed to meet God’s desires;
if you ask for His forgiveness and help to turn from your sinful ways;
if you ask Jesus to take control of your life and believe He will do it
God will be faithful to His promise and will write your name in His Book of Life.

Here’s where that stumbling block comes in.
It is difficult to give up control of our lives when everywhere we turn, we see beautiful people in beautiful settings luring us to believe we could be one of them.
Of course that takes the right car, the right deodorant, the right stock broker and so forth.

Temptation

TV shows and magazines
are selling stuff with sexy scenes.
Movies where the bad guy wins
and never answers for his sins
are telling me that I could be
more happy than I am.
Come on, give in, don’t be a fool,
everybody cheats in school.
And only goody-goodies frown
at drinking beer or sleeping ’round.
It seems to me that I can be
more popular than I am.
I am confused. I feel abused
and cry out in frustration,
“Help me today live life Your way;
lead me not into temptation.”
Cheat on my expense account,
no one’s gonna find me out.
Fudge a little on my taxes;
no one cares; besides the fact is
plain to see I can be
much richer than I am.
Drugs and sex and alcohol,
why not give in and have a ball?
When everything is said and done,
material girls have all the fun.
Society is showing me
who is better than I am.
Temptation’s natural, not a sin,
unless, of course, I just give in.
I call on God’s unending power
to help me through my darkest hour
and then I see God’s will for me
can strengthen who I am.
I’ve been confused and felt abused;
I’ve wrestled with frustration.
But with the love from God above
I’ve triumphed o’er temptation.

All this visual temptation will give you “I” trouble. But you won’t be the first to suffer from that.

“How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
Isaiah 14: 12-15

Rancho Reality

Ridin for the Boss and the Brand, page 14

I heard this somewhere and it came back to me while I was writing this. It seems to fit. For Christians, Jesus is a stepping stone. For everyone else, He can be a stumbling block.

Rancho Reality

I expected to see the Marlboro man;
tall in the saddle, broad shouldered and tan.
I looked for Tom Selleck or someone like that
wearing chaps and spurs
and a big Stetson hat.
Instead, there’s a spindly old guy in a truck
who looks worn out and weary
and down on his luck.
I hoped for “The Duke”
ridin’ hard in his prime
not a grizzled old coot
who is long past his time.
But, this geezer explained
when you live on the land
the hard work will wear down
the heartiest man.
The shortage of water
and high price of hay
turns what hair you have left
to gunmetal grey.
I longed for the movie,
the myth and the dream
but reality’s different
and not nearly as clean.
There’s dust in my dinner plate,
sand in my shorts
and gooey stuff sprays
from my horse when it snorts.
The cattle are smelly,
my saddle is hard,
I got stuff on my boots
when I walked through the yard.
I wonder if God feels the same about me?
Disappointed I’m not everything I could be.
Do the things that I do
ever give God the blues?
Am I like the stuff
on the sole of his shoes?
What would God do in His infinite grace?
Oh, yeah, he sent Jesus to die in my place.

Christians believe there is only one way to eternal life and that is through faith in, and a personal relationship with, Jesus Christ. If there was another way, why would God have gone to all the trouble? It sounds simple, but churches are full of folks who acknowledge there is a creator and still refuse to believe, accept and submit to His plan for their eternal life. That plan centers on Jesus Christ; God’s Son who, as a man without sin, volunteered to pay the price for our sins. That price was death.

Jesus made it clear: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4: 12

If you don’t agree, you may be a lot of things, but Christian isn’t one of them.

Blessed Insurance

Ridin for the Boss and the Brand, page 12

I remember, back in the 90s, during my confrontational Christian poetry stage, I adapted the old hymn, “Blessed Assurance” to make the point that we are not saved by what we do.

Blessed Insurance

Blessed Insurance, Heaven is mine,
I’ve got my ticket, no waiting in line.
I helped the needy, I’ve done my share.
I gave my money. That only seems fair.
This is my story, this is my song.
I’m pleased to do it, don’t get me wrong
This is my story, it’s understood
I’ll go to heaven, because I’ve been good.
Blessed Insurance, Heaven is mine
I said a blessing each time that I dined.
I prayed that others one day would see
You really want them to be more like me.
Blessed Insurance, heard in the pew
Come to our work day, there’s plenty to do.
Increase your giving, serve on a board
Keeping real busy is pleasing the Lord.
Holy confusion, what have we done?
Taken the Glory away from God’s Son.
Jesus, the Savior, died for our sin.
If we believe it, God will let us in.
This is my story, this is my song.
God take control and help me be strong.
This is my story, it’s understood
We’re saved by faith not cause we are good.

Evangelize

Here is another excerpt from "Ridin' for the Boss and the Brand."


What I see these days is a distorted view of Jesus’ call to witness. I won’t say churches intentionally misrepresent the Great Commission, but it does seem they interpret it as more about getting people to a church service than getting them to heaven?

Evangelize

Old Ben Dollar and Pete Purdue
were chewing over what to do
about the task they had in store.
They hated going door to door
or calling on the telephone.
So Pete told Ben, once they’re alone,
“Evangelize; a scary thought.
I realize I’d rather not.
The preacher said, ‘go spread the news’
but he just wants to fill the pews
on Easter and on Christmas Eve.
He seems to want us to believe
that if we get them in the door,
next Sunday, they’ll come back for more.”
“More what?” asked Pete, “More Bible-light?
He preaches so we’ll feel all right
about our lives, our hopes and dreams
with scriptures that support our schemes?
We’re told, forget the other stuff,
God’s there to help you, that’s enough.
Just ask and He will sure deliver
AND God just loves a cheerful giver.”
Ben agreed, it seemed confused
about why they should spread Good News.
He said, “We should tell those we know
that Jesus died so long ago
as part of God the Father’s plan
to bring eternal life to man.
He died to save us all from hell,
not so church membership could swell.”
See, worship is what we should do
but where should be left up to you.
Just find a church that’s Bible based;
a church where emphasis is placed
on God the Father, God the Son,
God the Spirit; Three in One.
With that in mind, we just relax
and share how Jesus Christ impacts
our daily life. Tell how we’ve changed;
how values have been rearranged.
Then Pete said, “When it’s put like that
just hold it while I get my hat
cause when God’s love is emphasized
it makes sense to evangelize.”

I like the idea of “event evangelism;” special concerts, celebrity guest speakers and dozens of other opportunities to invite someone to church. But what do they get when they show up? Is your church equipping members for the battles we are fighting against Satan’s forces or is it just a Sunday social club?

Ridin' for the Boss and the Brand

More from my book of Poetry with a Purpose so you can get a sense of what is included. FYI, there is also an abridged version available on CD.

Ridin’ for the Boss and the Brand

When the boss says,
“There’s some fence to mend
and you all lend a hand.”
There’s never hesitation
cause you’re ridin’ for the brand.
If you have to move a herd of beef
much sooner than you’d planned
you saddle up and head out
cause you’re ridin’ for the brand.
There are certain obligations.
There is pride and loyalty
and you’ll always lend a hand
because you’re in the family.
I think that it’s the same for those
who heed the Master’s call
and witness to the love God showed
through Jesus Christ for all.
The Lord said there is right and wrong
and you must take a stand.
He won’t accept the middle ground
when you’re ridin’ for His brand.
The branding iron that sears your heart
was fired by sacrifice.
God sent His Son to die for you
so take some good advice.
Count yourself as lucky
if you’re cut out from the herd
by the wrangler that is Wisdom
on a horse that is the Word.
And know that what awaits you
is the glory that God planned
when he sends His Son to round up those
who’ve been riding for the brand.

God’s given us all a horse to ride, but too many of us just want to keep it in the barn. My hope is that this book will remind you to saddle up and tell everyone you meet about the thrill of Ridin’ for the Boss and the Brand. Being a Christian takes courage. And, like John Wayne is quoted as saying, “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway”.

I am a Cowboy Poet!

I need to tell you that "Ridin' for the Boss and the Brand" is more than just another book of Christian poetry and it's not a just book of Cowboy poetry. (I have one of those if you're interested) I thought I'd give you a taste of what the book is about by printing excerpts on this blog.


"My purpose is not to relate life in the saddle, but use life in the saddle as a way to relate what I consider eternal truths. I hope that explains why I wrote this book.

For the record:

Like most folks who enjoy cowboy poetry, I don’t make my living in the saddle. But I can dream of cool nights under a big sky, campfires and camaraderie. I feel “cowboy.”

I am a Cowboy Poet

I am a cowboy poet.
Well, not the “cowboy” part.
I don’t spend days on horseback
but there’s cowboy in my heart.
I am a cowboy poet.
I wear a wide brim hat
just like those for-real cowboys do.
I make dern sure of that.
I am a cowboy poet.
I use phrases like “Dern sure,”
“All-you-all” and “Adios”
to give my rhymes allure.
I am a cowboy poet
and I love the out of doors;
The glistening mountain glaciers
and verdant valley floors.
I love the smell of fresh cut pine,
the chill of mountain streams
and the sound of saddle leather.
I’m bustin’ at the seams
with joy for all things cowboy
except the cowboy way
of walking round in high heeled boots
for all the live long day.
But, as a cowboy poet
I have to play the part
cause folks expect the image
when there’s cowboy in your heart.

That’s sort of like a Christian;
There is joy, but also pain
when standing on God’s principles
while those around complain
that you’re just a soggy blanket;
A fool and not real smart.
But God applauds the sacrifice
when there’s Jesus in your heart.

God has truly blessed me when it comes to Cowboy Poetry. In 2006, I did something that had never been done before; perform in mainland China. I was part of the Great American Cowboy Concert Tour that played on The Great Wall, in Beijing and in Shanghai.

Two years before that God opened the doors to New York’s Carnegie Hall. Only one other cowboy poet had ever performed there. What an honor!"


Just so you know, I was asked to record an abridged version of the book and it is now available on CD. I'm keeping the cost low so you can order some for all your friends.

Texas Two Step

The "Texas two-step" came to be
quite simply, from necessity.
It was a line dance at the first
and never, ever was rehearsed.
Each hand, I’m told, jist let er loose
when he found the outhouse was in use.