Category: Canelo Cowboy Church

Words from the Pastor
Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 this: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done (NLT).” I believe that one of the things that we need to do as Christians is learn to thank Him for everything that happens in our lives. We always say that we trust Him and that we know that He is in control, but do we really put that into practice when the push comes to shove? When hard things come in my life, do I allow the Spirit of God to have His way in my life or do I kick and scream like a brand-new baby Christian? I think that I have gotten stronger after all of these years but I still have a long way to go.
My niece posted the following quote on my Facebook page this last week: “If you can trust a puzzle company to make sure every piece is in the box to complete the puzzle, then why can’t you trust God that every piece of your life is there for a reason?” Isn’t that the truth? He is the one that pieced this whole earth together, hung every star in the sky and set this whole thing in motion, so why can’t we trust Him to know what He is doing with our lives?
Now I do know that somethings that happen to us are just from us reaping what we have sown. I mean, that is just a principle of life. If we live a promiscuous lifestyle, we just may pay for that. If we drink and drive, we just may pay for that. If we live in sin, we are going to reap what we have sown and we should never think that God is being mean to us! He gave us our own free will and He allows us to make our own choices, that is just how our Heavenly Father operates. But there are times that He will allow things in our lives that are out of our control just so we can grow in our walk with Him. If you don’t believe that just read the Book of Job. Or read the story of Joseph in Genesis. Both of these men were righteous men, but God allowed things in their lives just to prove to them that He is in control. His desire for us is that we can grow constantly and that our walk with Him will be one that is constantly getting stronger.
In the 7th verse of the 4th chapter of Philippians Paul tells us, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” So, if we don’t worry about anything and we pray about everything then we can experience God’s peace. And His peace will guard our hearts and minds. What does it mean to guard something? It means to protect something. It’s interesting that Paul writes “guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” That’s where all of our problems start you know, in our minds. And that’s why Paul writes in the 8th verse, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things (NIV).” Think about good things. Fill your mind with good things. There are plenty of things out there that beg for our attention and it is up to us to fill our minds with things that will glorify God and bring us that kind of peace that exceeds anything that we can imagine. His desire for us is that we have this peace no matter what our circumstances. All we need to do is reach out and take it!
Please let me know if you need anything. Naomi and I love you all. -Pastor Steve

Words from the Pastor
I want to welcome you to the February Ranch Family Fun Day (RFFD). I can’t believe it’s our 13th season already! This is the first RFFD this year, so I hope this one is your best! 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?
Speaking of knowing Jesus, what does it take to know Him? That’s pretty simple actually, it takes faith. Simple, childlike faith. Jesus said unless you become like a little child you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3). “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me (Matthew 18:1-4).” In our world of manly men this doesn’t seem to fit does it? But think about it for a minute. If a child is loved and cared for, they are usually pretty happy. I am going to have to assume that the little child that Jesus placed among them was a toddler. And most toddlers that I know are pretty sure that they will be taken care of. They never fear that their parents are going to allow anything to happen to them that will harm them. They are pretty sure that they will be fed and clothed and that their needs will be met.
Now I am not naive enough to think that all children everywhere are taken care of like my children and my grandchildren are. But for the most part, the children that I hang out with are well taken care of. And they trust their parents to meet their needs. And this is what I believe Jesus is asking us to do! Relax and allow Him to take care of us.
How many of us knew what it was like for our parents when they were raising us? They could have been as poor as pig tracks, but us kids never knew it. We just knew that we were loved and cared for and we were fed. And that’s what Jesus is asking of us. Just to trust Him completely like a little child. Trusting in Him to do what He says He is going to do, and that is to supply your every need and take care of you no matter what your circumstances are. Can you trust Him for that? Can you completely give Him your life? Faith, if you have trusted Him to take you to Heaven one day where you will spend eternity with Him, why can’t we trust Him for our everyday needs? He promised that He would meet them no matter what it looks on the outside. We just need to build our house on the Rock! You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that’s a fact!
God Bless You! Let us know if we can do anything for you. Naomi and I sure love all y’all! -Pastor Steve

This weekend will be our first Ranch Family Fun Day of the year and we are excited to tell you about some changes for this year: After many requests, we are bringing back our separate Lead Line Class for Barrels & Poles for the littles that aren’t quite ready to compete on their own. This will be a smaller pattern and will run right after the roughstock, while the littles are still awake and happy! Remember this is just for fun, not for points towards year end awards. To qualify for year end awards in each event, the competitor must attend and compete in the event at least 3 times in the year. For example, to qualify for barrels, they must compete in barrels at least 3 times. Also to qualify for year end awards, there must be at least 2 people to compete in each event. So bring your friends! The order of events will be as follows: -Roughstock (Mutton busting, calf & steer riding, chute dogging) -(Concurrently with roughstock) Dummy roping & Goat ribbon pull -Lead line barrels and poles -Goat tying -Barrels -Poles -Breakaway Thanks again, Tiffany
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I was messaging back and forth this morning with a friend whose husband has been in the hospital for two and one half weeks and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. He is unconscious and on a breathing machine, his kidneys had failed and it has been a rough go for him. I asked her how she was holding up and she wrote, “The enemy is so good at this game. My time in prayer and in God’s Word hasn’t been this wonderful in a couple of years, and every time I see a glimmer, he (Satan) tries to snuff it out. But I have to remember that through Jesus I have power over him. So, please pray for me that I can remember that.” I wrote back to her, “Amen!” and I quoted John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Did you read those words? “Have it to the full!” King James says, “I am come that they might have life and that more abundantly.” Are we living life to the full brothers and sisters? You do realize that “life to the full” doesn’t have anything to do with our circumstances don’t you? Like the man that asked his brother in Christ, “How are you doing?” To which the second man answered, “Pretty good under the circumstances!” “Well what are you doing under them?” the first man asked? Are we allowing our circumstances to dictate our mood brothers and sisters? Are we telling God that we don’t like what He is doing in our life and that it would be so much easier if He would let us be in control of this situation? But understand this, God is a lot smarter than we are! He knows what it’s going to take in our lives to mature us into the Christian He wants us to be. And when we came to Christ and gave our lives to Him we essentially gave Him the deed to our lives and said, “Here Jesus, do whatever You need to do get me to the place where I can have and live that abundant life.” Paul says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 3:11-13).” In other words, no matter what our circumstance are, we can be overcomers in Jesus! All we need to do is take our strength form Him! Jesus is the answer that we need to everyone of our problems and issues! He can make all things new in Him. All we need to do is hold on and allow Him to pull us through the storm. He is faithful, just trust Him. Please let me know if you need anything. Naomi and I love you all. -Pastor Steve
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