Roping Religion: Take what is offered to you by the Lord

Many of the ideas and scriptures for this article are from the devotional “God Wants You To Win!” by world champion calf roper Jeff Copenhaver.

2 Chronicles 15:7 — “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

We need to remember that there is going to be a payday someday. When we become discouraged we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord. God has many good promises available to His children but we need to appropriate the promises. It doesn’t do us much good if we find out at the end of our lives that we could have had access to many of the gifts, resources and strategies that God had available for us since we believed in Him.

I have often said that salvation is free but everything else in this Christian walk comes at a cost. Salvation is free to us because it cost God so much. Growing up and becoming a mature believer in Jesus is a long and costly process. Some Christians act like they have won the race when they trust Jesus for salvation. They don’t realize that they are just at the starting line.

There are many dangers along the road to becoming a mature son or daughter of the King. Pride, ignorance, laziness, jealousy, impatience or just an unwillingness to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives can stop our growth in a hurry.

When we refuse to forgive or refuse to give we harm ourselves and stunt our growth. When we get safely through a trial but then choose to become bitter rather than better we hurt our lives both today and in the future.

Perhaps you may feel that you have been passed over for a promotion or that your work is not really appreciated. Promotion comes from the Lord. I encourage you to position yourself to be blessed. Our prayers and our gifts to the poor are seen and heard by God. When we work as if we are working for the Lord then God notices our efforts performed through the unction and power of the Holy Spirit. When we do our best even though no one is watching we are serving an audience of One. We need to be like Daniel, who had exceptional qualities that distinguished him among others.

Let’s believe that if God can bless anybody in our state He can certainly bless our communities, businesses, churches, schools, families, neighbors, friends and relatives. If we are going to believe this then we need to start speaking out blessings and recognize that death and life are in the power of the tongue. We need to ask the Lord to set a curb at our lips if we are going to say something that would not be what our Father would have us to say.

Another great strategy is to get someone to agree for God’s best for our part of the world and for the items we petition Him about. If two of us agree on something that lines up with the Word of God, we need to believe and not doubt that God will both hear and answer that prayer in His perfect timing. It is likely that God will use those of us who are willing and obedient to answer some of the prayers offered to Him.

Another strategy that may help us obtain our reward is attending church. A coal separated from the fire cools off when it is by itself. We can encourage one another to keep running the race to win while watching out for the devil who wants to kill us, steal from us and destroy us. We ought not to spend a lot of time being angry at one another. We should not sin. If you want to be angry then be angry at the devil and his demons.

Recognize that we are in a spiritual battle and then proclaim the name that is above all names when dealing with issues, problems, trials, and battles. That name is Jesus.

May God bless you big.

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This is the 11th in a series of columns by Kevin Barsotti, pastor of Ark Church in Havre.