Canelo Cowboy Church

Deuteronomy 31:6 tells us to, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Moses was speaking these things to the Children of Israel right before they crossed the Jordan in to the Promise Land. Now you’ve got to remember that there were giants in the land at that time! We’re talking real live giants! And the giants’ main focus in life was to kill people! I’m thinking that they probably didn’t even like to share the same air as anyone that were different from them. And truth be known, they probably didn’t even like the other giants that were just like them. They were mean and an evil bunch. But God said, “Don’t be afraid or terrified because of them.”

I guess we all have giants in our lives. Big ugly giants that are mean and evil. We may not be able to see them but we know they’re there just the same. Might be a giant in the form of cancer. Maybe a giant in the form of a relationship with a spouse or a friend or relative. Maybe it’s one of our kids living a life that we know is self-destructive. How about a giant in the form of, “To much month at the end of the money?” This Scripture speaks the same to us as it did the day that Moses said it, “Be strong and courageous!” We can face these giants, just like the Children of Israel did when they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. And the great thing about God speaking these words to us is that we can realize that God knows what’s in store for us. He knows what we’re going to go through before we even go through it and He says to us, “Be strong and courageous!”

I John 4:18 tells us that there is no fear in love. God says He’s our Father and that He loves us. Which one of us as earthly fathers would do anything that would jeopardize our children? How many of us would knowingly put our children in harm’s way? Our desire is to protect them from things that will hurt them in anyway. But we can’t shelter them from every evil that’s out there. Our Father doesn’t want to hurt us either, but He understands that we need to go through some things to make us mature.

II Corinthians 4:17 tells us, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving in us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all!” It’s doing in us just what Romans 8:28 tells us it’s going to do. It is working together for our good! We need to experience these “giants” here on earth before we experience the glory that He has for us in eternity. That’s why the author of the wonderful hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul” could pen those beautiful words. “When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul.” Horatio Spafford knew the peace that transcends understanding. Remember, the bigger the giant the easier it is to hit! David didn’t see a giant, he saw a great big target! Think about it.

Please pray for me and I’ll be praying for you! We serve a great God! Naomi and I love y’all.

Brothers and sisters there are some things that we just can’t do anything about! Like gravity. What goes up must come down. For some of us gravity is not our friend. We fall down. A lot. Or the laws of nature. Ever tried to control nature? How’s that working out for you? So often we need rain and there’s nothing that we can do about it. We can just sit back, pray and continue to ask God to bring it on! And then we realize, there really are some things on this ole’ Earth that we just cannot change, and the list goes on and on!

And just like in nature, there are somethings in God’s law that we just cannot change. For starters, God cannot lie! The Bible says if you have given your heart to Jesus, REALLY given your heart to Jesus (Not just walked an isle to satisfy your mother), nothing can ever take that away! Also, His love for you is everlasting. There is nothing that you will ever do that will stop Him from loving you. And that my friends is called mercy!

In the book of The Lamentations of Jeremiah chapter 3:22-23 tells us, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” If I was God, I’d have wiped out this old evil world a long, long time ago! But because He shows us mercy He doesn’t. His mercy is constantly updated! No matter what is going on or how rotten we’ve been acting, His mercy is new every morning. We get a do over! I praise the Lord for that!

Then there’s giving to Him. Do you realize that you can never ever out give God? That no matter how much you give He’s going to give back to you much more! That’s a promise that you can take to the bank! And if you really think about it, we came into this world naked and we’re going to leave this world naked. We’ll all circle the proverbial drain no matter how much or how little we have. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21 that, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” What that simply means is this, if you’re storing up treasures on this earth and not investing that treasure in Heaven your heart is on this Earth! But if you are laying up your treasures in Heaven, your heart is fixed on Heaven! So ask yourself, “Where are your treasures?” Think about it! Jesus says in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” What good will all the money in the world do us in eternity?