Author: Cisco Baez

Words from the Pastor
And just like that we are done with March and April is upon us! The older I get the faster that time goes slipping, slipping. slipping into the future. And I know that this next statement is EGO (Extraordinary Grasp of the Obvious!), but we are one day closer to eternity than we were yesterday. Isn’t that exciting? Are you ready? Have you put your things in order down here on this earth and are you ready to meet Jesus? I hope so because I really do want to hang out with each and every one of you in Heaven! Now the only affair that needs to be put in order is your relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not know beyond a shadow of a doubt if you’re going to Heaven or not you and I need to talk!
Talking about a relationship with the Lord, David sure had one, didn’t he? I was thinking about David’s Psalm 121. It is so beautiful. And I really like it in the KJV. It’s really lyrical in the KJV: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Isn’t that amazing? David, a man’s man, a warrior, a giant slayer knew that he could not do anything if he didn’t rely on the Lord. And David also knew that the Lord would never leave him, never take a nap and would be his keeper always! And you and I can claim the same thing brothers and sisters! Jesus will never ever allow our foot to be moved!
You might say, “Well David sure messed up and David paid for it for a long time. Just read the story of Bathsheba and Uriah. God wasn’t watching out for David then!” but was that God’s fault? Did God make David look at Bathsheba and lust after her? Did God make David kill Uriah? Was that God’s fault at all? No, in no way was that God’s fault. David looked and lusted and acted on that lust. In the book of James he tells us this: “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:13-15).” So see, if you are tempted, just remember where your help comes from. It comes from Jesus. He is your author (He wrote your story), and He is the perfecter (He has already been there, done that and got the shirt. If we just look at Him and not on our circumstances, we will finish the race) of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). “Lord, help us to allow You to work in our lives and take control of everything that You set in our paths.” Amen.
Please let me know if you need anything. You pray for me and I’ll pray for you. Naomi and I love you all. -Pastor Steve

Words from the Pastor
Paul tells us in Romans 15:13 this: “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Isn’t that beautiful? So, Paul here is wanting God to fill the recipients of this letter with joy and peace until it is coming out of every pore in their bodies!! “So that you may overflow…”
I think we have all seen pictures of the flooding in Nebraska this past week. There has been so much rain that the water has run over the river banks and now whole towns are being affected and everything is being touched by this natural disaster.
To me, this is a picture of what Jesus wants the Holy Spirit to do in our lives if we will let Him. Jesus said in John 7:37-39: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Christ’s desire for us is that we will be so full of the Spirit that no matter what happens around us, in us or to us, our God of hope will overflow with hope! What happens when we overflow? Whatever is coming out of us is touching and affecting those that are near us. Our families, our co-workers, our friends and anyone that we happen to come in contact with. The Holy Spirit touches them through us and they can observe that peace and hope that comes only through a relationship with Jesus. Because essentially, that is what we are here for isn’t it? We are here to bring glory and honor to Christ Jesus while we live our lives out on this earth. And as we bring honor and glory to Jesus, people see Him working in us and they want what we have, hope and peace. Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:18-19 this: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” Allow Jesus to fill you to overflowing and touch a lost and dying world. We can make a difference in some. All they need to see is His light shining in their dark world.
Please let me know if you need anything. You pray for me and I’ll pray for you. Naomi and I love you all. -Pastor Steve

Words from the Pastor
I want to welcome you to the March Ranch Family Fun Day (RFFD). It’s so great to see you all here! And I hope that you have brought a friend with you. Everybody needs to know Jesus and what’s a better way to find Him than in a rodeo arena?
How many of you have been by Planet Fitness and seen their advertisement as a “Judgement Free Zone?” Isn’t that great? I haven’t ever been inside of Planet Fitness before but I hope that this is true! And I hope that this is the way that Canelo Cowboy Church operates also. I really do believe it is.
I always tell everyone that these RFFD’s are Judgement Free Zones because it doesn’t matter how good you are in your event, we’re just here to have fun! And everyone is here to help everyone else I believe. We’re all pulling ropes, sharing a better way to throw a loop, letting someone know how they may be able to shave a few seconds off their barrel or pole run…because that’s what we do.
But is this the case in everything we do? James tells us in his epistle that we can’t be a person that judges others by the way that they dress or how much money that they have, we have to look at each person through the eyes of Jesus. James 2:8-9 says this, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” Favoritism James says. Holding someone in higher esteem because they look the same way we do. Or they fit into our circle better. Or they aren’t homeless and on and on and on.
Remember John 8 where the religious leaders of the day brought a woman that had been caught in adultery to Jesus trying to trap Him by telling Jesus she needed to be killed? And Jesus simply bent down and wrote on the ground. Finally, He stood up and said in verse 7, “But let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone (John 8:7).” I certainly would not be able to cast a stone! I sin each and every day. And I think that each one of us do. So, who could do the stone throwing? The only one that could throw the stone was Jesus, and He had mercy on her!
On down in the 2nd chapter of James verse 13 he tells us, “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.” That is pretty straight forward isn’t it? God will not show mercy if you haven’t shown mercy to others, and He will show mercy if we have sown mercy to others, very plain and simple. The dictionary defines mercy like this: “Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” And if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, isn’t that what God has shown us? There is no reason that I could ever deserve God’s mercy. It is all about Him and His love for each one of us. It is about His Son dying for us on the cross so we could have eternal life with Him. So please, for Jesus’s sake, show mercy. You will be rewarded later!
God Bless You! Let us know if we can do anything for you. Naomi and I sure love all y’all! -Pastor Steve