I love the old Wild West movies – especially the ones in black and white where the good guy always wins. As a child I remember watching Dale Evans and Roy Rogers and begging my dad to buy me a horse that looked just like Roy’s horse Trigger. I decided at a very young age of four that when I grew up, I wanted to be a cowboy, ride a horse and belong to the posse that caught the bad guys. My dream partially came true when I was five years old, and my dad bought my sister and me our first horse, and of course we named him ‘Trigger.’ He was previously owned by a professional horse trainer and had been ridden by the man’s kids so he was what you might call “child proof.” [pullquote4 align=”right” style=”width:300px;”]If Jesus were a Cowboy
If Jesus were a cowboy, he’d lasso you and me
Brand us with His blood and then he’d set us free.
If Jesus were a cowboy, he’d surely ride the open range,
Hog-tying all the sinners and healing them of their mange.
If Jesus were a cowboy, he’d ride a wild Mustang,
Helpin’ the busted cowpokes, a lookin’ for some change.
If Jesus were a cowboy: broken-hearted-fences he’d mend,
Saving hurtin’ cowgirls — proving he’s their best friend.
If Jesus were a cowboy, we could ride throughout the day,
Knowing if a twister came up, we’d be safe along the way.
For Jesus is the greatest Cowboy, for you he’ll always pray;
That you be with Him in heaven – where all the horses are broke,
and you never run out of fresh hay.[/pullquote4]You could be trotting along and if you fell off (we always rode bareback) ole Trigger was trained to stop right there.As a kid/cowboy, trying to emulate Roy Rogers, I only knew one speed – fast! One day I was riding at my favorite speed and steered Trigger near an open gate that led to our neighbor’s pasture. For some reason, this time he refused and for some reason didn’t want to go through that gate. After several attempts, he finally went forward but once through the gate came to a dead stop in our neighbor’s yard, and I flew over the top of his head, landing around five feet in front of him. When I looked up I saw the reason why my father had always told me not to go to Mr. Purdy’s farm. He owned a mean old bull, and Mr. Purdy had forgotten to close his gate. Predictably the bull headed towards me but good ole Trigger got between us and reared at the bull in an attempt to defend me. By the grace of God, the bull stopped and retreated. I gratefully climbed back on Trigger and never did that again.
If Jesus were a cowboy, he’d lasso you and me
Brand us with His blood and then he’d set us free.
If Jesus were a cowboy, he’d surely ride the open range,
Hog-tying all the sinners and healing them of their mange.
If Jesus were a cowboy, he’d ride a wild Mustang,
Helpin’ the busted cowpokes, a lookin’ for some change.
If Jesus were a cowboy: broken-hearted-fences he’d mend,
Saving hurtin’ cowgirls — proving he’s their best friend.
If Jesus were a cowboy, we could ride throughout the day,
Knowing if a twister came up, we’d be safe along the way.
For Jesus is the greatest Cowboy, for you he’ll always pray;
That you be with Him in heaven – where all the horses are broke,
and you never run out of fresh hay.[/pullquote4]You could be trotting along and if you fell off (we always rode bareback) ole Trigger was trained to stop right there.As a kid/cowboy, trying to emulate Roy Rogers, I only knew one speed – fast! One day I was riding at my favorite speed and steered Trigger near an open gate that led to our neighbor’s pasture. For some reason, this time he refused and for some reason didn’t want to go through that gate. After several attempts, he finally went forward but once through the gate came to a dead stop in our neighbor’s yard, and I flew over the top of his head, landing around five feet in front of him. When I looked up I saw the reason why my father had always told me not to go to Mr. Purdy’s farm. He owned a mean old bull, and Mr. Purdy had forgotten to close his gate. Predictably the bull headed towards me but good ole Trigger got between us and reared at the bull in an attempt to defend me. By the grace of God, the bull stopped and retreated. I gratefully climbed back on Trigger and never did that again.
You know Cowboy Jesus is also that way. He warns us first and then, if we don’t take heed, he’ll accompany us until we are delivered to safe passage. Moral of the story – don’t go through gates where Satan (Mr. Purdy’s bull) is waiting. You may “fall off your horse” and live to regret it.
In Psalms 23, David promised that the Lord will lead us to greener pastures (the ones without Mr. Purdy’s bull) if we will put our trust in Him and follow our chosen path.
God will show me the path of life (Psalm 16:11)
It is a high price we pay for making the wrong choices, but hope and faith in God’s guidance will deliver us to our proper destiny.
