A Word from our Pastor - June 5, 2025

The Cowboy Code and God's Promises 

There was an era in American entertainment when we were obsessed with the cowboy. Actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood portrayed them on film, while authors like Louis L'Amour, Cormac McCarthy, and Larry McMurtry crafted their tales in print. Hank Williams, George Jones, and Waylon Jennings sang their songs. You don't need to be a fan to know the character: The cowboy was a self-sufficient, ruggedly handsome horseman with a fast draw and a strict moral code who stood up for the downtrodden and disadvantaged. 

 The truth is that cowboys make for good fiction for a reason. The real-life versions of our entertainment heroes rarely lived up to their fictitious counterparts. So far, there is record of only one human who was perfectly righteous, and it will stay that way until Jesus returns. 

 This week, we'll progress deeper into Deuteronomy as Moses reminds the children of Israel that they're not inheriting the promised land because they deserve it. They're not more righteous than the people they are displacing. In fact, Moses tells them that their unrighteousness has earned them God's anger and wrath, not his reward. Still, the encouragement to Israel (and to us) is this: God keeps his promises! 

~ Pastor Jeremy