The Christian Church is free.
Wiersbe’s Commentary on Galatians 4:22 & 23- For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.
“Legalism does not mean the setting of spiritual standards; it means worshipping these standards and thinking we are spiritual because we obey them. It also means judging other believers on the basis of these standards.” (Wiersbe)
3G Event
This Saturday, June 8th beginning at 8 AM. Breakfast will be
provided. There will be a brief message/ discussion, then we will be
shooting bow’s. NOTE: We are going to shoot bow’s only; no firearms
this time. (Only the little kids with supervision will shoot BB guns
and maybe a .22.) Please bring your bow and if you have a target,
bring that as well. Typically this event runs till about noon.
Words from the Pastor
What a wonderful week at CCMA Rodeo Bible Camp! There was so much given this week, there was time, effort and money given that is going to have eternal rewards and I know God was glorified in everything. I would like to ask you to please be in prayer for all of the young people who were in camp. We are dealing with souls here and as young people they need all of the help that they can get. And prayer does change things! Every prayer and every dime given to the effort of reaching the lost is so important and God sees everything brothers and sisters, so please don’t think that what you are doing is not being used in His Kingdom. It is and it is important for reaching the lost. and as I write this, I know there were 4 decisions to accept Christ as Lord and Savior! Hallelujah!
So often I believe we allow worry in our lives to dictate what we do and how we do it. I read this some where the other day: “You may not know what will happen if you try, but if you do not try nothing will happen!” It’s not a Bible scripture but it is a Biblical principle. Jesus says in Matthew 5:27-34, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Isn’t that great? I think we should stop worrying about what might happen. Stop being afraid of what could go wrong. Start being excited about what could go right! Can we trust God to lead us and guide us as we move forward in what He has called us to do? I do understand that the unknown can sometimes be scary, but God knows. Can we trust God to give us wisdom Brothers and Sisters? He tells us in Proverbs 3:5 & 6 this: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” So, no matter what it looks like on the outside we can trust God to work it out not matter how crazy it seems like to the world. Is God calling you to start a work or join a Bible study? Is He calling you to maybe teach a Sunday school class? Or maybe just to start attending a Sunday school class. Maybe He is prompting your heart to share the Gospel with someone at school or at work. Or scarier yet, to a family member! Trust Him to lead you with what to do or what to say. And remember, He loves you and wants what is best for you here on earth and eternally. Trust Him and He’s going to lead you! His Word promises this.
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
This week the Rodeo Bible Camp starts, on Tuesday to be exact. Kids from 12-18 years of age will come from all over Arizona to participate in camp and receive top-notch instruction from world renowned champions! These kids start early in the morning and finish late at night and are instructed in their various rodeo events (Team roping, breakaway roping, pole bending, barrel racing, beginning ropers, goat tying and horsemanship) on how to be a better contestant and win at the sport of rodeo. But even more than that, these top notch, world renowned instructors will pour Jesus into each of these students and help them become winners in life and as a child of God. And that my friends is instruction that will be eternal. I have taken part in this camp every year and each year it just gets better and better. The instructors, counselors and all of the staff just ooze the love of Jesus into these campers and they work on changing their lives from the inside out.
And isn’t that what it’s all about? Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:18-22 this, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He said to make disciples of all nations in this verse. We could translate that word nations as cultures. We need to share Jesus with every culture, and as you know, cowboy is a culture. Agriculture is a culture that produces food for others. So, according to what Jesus tells us, we are supposed to preach Christ to them and this is why we spend so much time, effort and money on this camp! And that is also the reason that we hold an RFFD every month. We are putting action to our faith!
And how about you? Are you sharing Jesus with the people in your world? “But preacher, I’m not out in the jungles of Africa as a missionary, what are you talking about “my world?”” Your world is where ever you are at. Where you work, where you study, where you shop. It’s all those places. We are constantly rubbing shoulders with people outside of church, do they know that you serve a risen Savior? Do you know if they know Jesus? And we don’t have to preach to them. We need to show Jesus in our actions. Allow Jesus to speak through you. Just see what happens! You’ll be eternally grateful!
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 May 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?
Fred Keys made a statement last week and I thought it was very profound. He said, “Death is a door, you decide what’s on the other side.” Isn’t that great? In other words, it is in your power to know where you will spend eternity. Because no matter what people say, you are going to live forever! You will live forever in either heaven or you will live forever in hell. It is your choice. We are all immortal and we are all going to live forever either in Heaven with our Savior Jesus or in hell with the enemy of our souls.
Paul writes in the 3rd chapter of Philippians about what he did to get ready for Heaven. In the first 3 verses he is talking about the religious Jews of the day that are working their way to Heaven by doing all sorts of stuff on the outside. Then in verses 4-6 Paul writes about how much confidence he could have in the flesh just because of his past. Then, in verses 7-14 he talks about what he actually does. Here’s what he said: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
See, everything that Paul did from the time that he met Jesus on the road to Damascus until the moment when he was writing this letter to the church at Philippi was for God’s glory! On that day when Paul met Jesus he saw that door and he decided that he was going to live forever in the presence of Jesus and that he was going to take as many people with him as possible! And that’s the same choice you and I have brothers and sisters! We can serve Jesus with all of our hearts and make Him Lord of our lives, we can barely squeak by with our “fire insurance” or we can go to hell. It’s our choice. I personally want to strive to serve Jesus with all of my heart and share the Gospel with as many people as I can so that they know the truth about my Savior Jesus and have the chance to make Heaven their home too! But no matter what we choose it is our choice. Jesus gives it to us but He also gives us our own free will to make that choice or not.
I pray that if you don’t know Jesus that you will find Him. And if you do know Him that you, like Paul, can serve Him with all of your heart and press on. If you don’t know Him and you want to, just take a moment and tell Him you want to know Him. Just tell Him that you know that you are a sinner and that you know that He died for your sins. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart and live. Easy as that. Then please, let someone know of your decision. We want to rejoice with you!
God Bless You! Let us know if we can do anything for you. Naomi and I sure love all y’all! -Pastor Steve