Roping Religion: Become better, not bitter

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.

This year, I adapted the story about the roping instructor telling Jeff to “Get a good start. Take a good throw.” I shared with the congregation to get up in the morning and say, “Love God. Love one another.” I encouraged the flock to practice saying this for the next 21 days as that is the length of time it typically takes to form a new habit.

This week, I want to continue to pursue some of the Biblical truths that we need to implement in order to win. We need to remember that people are watching how we live and how we treat others.

The Bible teaches us that time and chance happen to all. We need to continue to believe for God’s best while playing the cards we have been dealt. There is no sense complaining about our situations. Psalm 34:19 states, “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”

Perhaps you need to find someone who is going through a similar challenge that you know something about and encourage them through the process. Another good strategy is to start a thankful list when you may be tempted to throw a pity party for yourself. The best strategy is to decide to become better rather than bitter after a tough trial. One strategy that I have used with some success is to laugh, as a merry heart does us good.

When things are overwhelming we need to really trust God and lean into Him. We need to remember that everyone born of God overcomes the world. There is nothing too difficult for God to handle. Our job is to ask. I John 5:14-15 states, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”

Perhaps your prayers seem to be lacking power. I encourage you to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I have often told my congregation to not believe any thing I say but to check it out in the Bible. I encourage you to read the Bible and ask God for His best for your life.

When Jesus went away, He sent the Holy Spirit Who is our Comforter. He reminds us of the scriptures that we have hidden in our hearts and He calls them to our remembrance at just the right time. Another huge advantage of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced with tongues is that when we don’t know how to pray about certain situations we can pray in the Spirit and trust God for His best to come to pass in each and every situation. We need to continue to put our hope in God and to praise Him.

The things we tell ourselves we believe more than the things others say. When we tell ourselves, “Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world” we will begin to believe it. We can encourage ourselves by saying, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” We can also say, “What can man do to me O God?” We can begin to see ourselves victorious and say, “Everything is possible to him who believes.”

We need to have a holy and reverential awe of God. We need to have a holy fear and respect of God. We ought not to fear man, the devil, or our circumstances. God has a good plan for our community, the Church of Havre, and each of us.

May God bless you big.

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