Roping Religion: Get a good start. Take a good throw

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.

Of all the stories in Jeff Copenhaver’s devotional the one that sticks in my mind is the roping advice he was given while he was developing his skills. A mentor told him, “Get a good start. Take a good throw.” I would like to adapt that saying for us. My saying comes from Jesus. “Love God and love one another.” If we would say that to ourselves every morning it would help us get a good focus for the day.

Jesus summed up all of the commandments in my saying. God has created us to love Him and others. Sherry Copenhaver, who is Jeff’s wife, received a message that God spoke to her heart which said, “If you’ll reach out to meet the needs of others, I’ll see to it that your needs are met!” This certainly lines up with the concept of reaping what we sow.

My favorite vision that Jeff shared in his devotional follows: “I was standing inside a circle of hundreds of business card-sized mirrors. Every little mirror was me, (or about me) my horse, my truck, my dreams, my desires, it was all me, me, me. Now get this: When I would read the Word of God and do what it said to do, the Holy Spirit would take this tiny hammer and tap, tap, tap on one of the mirrors. The mirror would break then be replaced by a window. As I looked through the window, I could see others — their wants, their needs, and their desires. My whole approach to life changed. I realized that God put me on the earth to reach out, help and be a blessing to others.”

When we give our lives away in the service of God and others we find the life that is truly life. We each need to run with patience the race that God has set before us. We may need to strip off those things that are keeping us from racing our best. Perhaps you have overcommitted yourself or perhaps you still are in the grandstands watching others race. Christianity is not a spectator sport. God wants us to live an abundant life and enjoy it. Giving our lives away under the unction and direction of the Holy Spirit is the key that unlocks the door to this abundant life.

Hebrews 12:1 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Perhaps right now the Holy Spirit is reminding us of the issues in our lives that we need to deal with in order to run our best race.

One of my favorite scriptures is Hebrews 11:6 which states, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

I am a big fan of rewards. I am excited about storing up treasure in heaven. I want to hear, “Well done.”

In order to experience rewards I need to believe that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. I need to fan into flame the gift of God inside me. When we become discouraged we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord just like King David did.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 states, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” We don’t get a do over when Jesus returns or when we die. This is the one opportunity we have to obtain rewards. God has a plan for good for each of us. He has a plan to prosper us. He wants us to be in health. Let’s work as if we’re working for the Lord in the situation He has placed us in. Let’s believe for promotion from the Lord at the right time in our lives. Let’s work on finishing well when we get near the finish line.

Let’s keep running the race to win.

May God Bless You Big.