Day 7 ~ Mark 7

When reading about how the Pharisees, a person of this time might look at them and see something that is holy. I mean they do all the right things, they say all the right things, they do all the right rituals and keep them in the right order. Man, they even go as far as not eating unless they do a ceremonial wash to make sure that they are “clean”. Boy I tell you, to someone watching these people, they must be holy. The thought process that they must go through for some of these people is “man these guys have set the bar so high as to what is holy and righteous, I don't stand a chance!” One day Jesus and his disciples are eating and the Pharisees asked Jesus, “hey why don’t you make your disciples do the washing before they eat, like the rest of us do, as is tradition?” I would have hated to be in the room right then, because this is when Jesus literally smacks them in the face with the word. He tells them its not about tradition, being clean and unclean. Whatever you do to make yourself look good and all high and mighty is wrong, and that you are no better then a common sinner. The only thing that matters, that makes you holy and righteous, is the condition of your heart. You can look right and say and do the right things, but if your heart is not in the correct condition, it is all pointless and useless. Out of the heart comes repentance, and sanctification, and also out of the condition of the heart comes sin.

To me, if I heard this I would be rejoicing, because that would tell me that ‘hey, these holy rollers are no different then me, I can be just as redeemed and viewed at with the same likeness by God as these guys, if my heart is in the condition that says, what I am, and what I do, is for the glory of God only, and to him I give my all’. Praise God that he views our hearts and not our deeds.

Tanner Butkay

Day 6 ~ Mark 1:6 - 7:11

Of all the miracles that we find in this section of scripture, the feeding of the five thousand plus women and children, seems to be one of the greatest. The total number of people would have been around twenty thousand. We find this important enough to be recorded in all four gospels, Matt 13:13, Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10, John 6:1.

John relates that Jesus asked Philip where they should buy bread for these people. Philip answered by saying two hundred denarii would not be enough to buy bread to feed all the people. One denarius was a days wage, and the disciples didn't have nearly enough.

The was a boy in the crowd who had five loaves of bread and two small fish. Jesus looking to the heavens blessed the food and breaking the loaves and fish, gave it to the disciples to feed the people. After eating enough to satisfy all the people, the disciples collected twelve baskets of broken pieces.

First, we see that this took place after a full day of teaching.

Second, we see the disciples wanted to take the easy way out, as most of us do.

Third, Jesus tested Philip's faith. How strong is our faith?

Fourth, would you and I believe that feeding all twenty thousand would be possible with five loaves of bread and two small fish.

Bob Hogan

Day 5 ~ Matthew 25-28

Wow there is so much I could comment on between Matthew 25-28. Out of all of it, what I really love listening to on the cd set is Matthew 28. I have another version that I am able to listen to and when he says the “angel appeared, and he was like lightning, and he rolled back the stone and there was a great earthquake..” whooooooooooooo my speakers shake….. I just love playing it over and over. Just to imagine that angel scaring the life out of those soldiers… awesome…. The shaking of the earth, hearing the rock crush the smaller stones as it is rolled back from the tomb, the crash of the rock as it comes to rest, and to see… man to see an empty tomb with and angel sitting on it’s door.. whooo chills… chills!


Observation: God works his mighty power and it’s exciting to know that Jesus is not in the grave, we don’t serve a dead God but an alive God. An alive God who wants to show his great strength, mercies, and wonders through our lives just like he did the apostles. So that, not only we know he is alive, but the people that live their lives around us every day see that he is alive. It’s one thing for us to say that we know that he is alive and it’s another to live like we know Jesus is alive.

So Father my prayer for our people is, “no matter where they are today, no matter what they are doing, that you God will bring them just a little bit closer to how alive you are. Father I pray you would speak to their hearts and place them in awe over you… Father please do this in the name of your Son Jesus.. Amen

Scotty Smith

Day 4 ~ Matthew 20:1-16

As new Christians make the wonderful decision to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior it is an exciting time full of newness and discovery. If you have made that decision, think back on all of the questions, joy, and peace that you felt in that time of your life. As many Christians mature, unfortunately, our human weakness begins to sneak in and we start to wonder if there is a higher or better place in heaven for some. We may ask ourselves “Why should a man who accepts Jesus on his death bed be seen as equal to one who lived his entire life serving the Lord?”


God addresses these thoughts and how he sees such human weakness in a parable in Matthew 20:1-16. God says that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who hires laborers early in the morning who agree to work for a normal day’s wage. The landowner then hires more laborers later in the day for “What is fair.” The landowner goes out from his home and sees yet more workers idle and offers them work for a “Fair wage.” At the end of the day the landowner instructs his manager to call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last then going to the first. The Manager then pays those hired late in the day a full day’s wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner. Those that worked in the fields the whole day in the scorching heat expected to be paid more than those who merely worked a few hours. The landowner replies to the unhappy workers, saying that he has done them no wrong and that he has paid them what was agreed to in the beginning. The landowner tells them that it is no business of theirs that he chooses to be generous with what belongs to him in giving the same to those he only worked a few hours. So God says such will be in heaven “The last will be first and the first will be last.”

We are all precious to God and our salvation is the greatest gift that can be given. It is not for us to understand or even question God’s generosity with what belongs to him. We should all remember to be honored that we were given the gift to work in God’s vineyard. Each time another person is hired (accepts Christ into their life), no matter how late in the day, we should be excited that they have made the decision to accept the best gift of all. “The last will be first and the first shall be last.”

Clifton Shearrer

Day 3 - Matthew 16:4

What were your first thoughts as you were preparing for your day? Was your mind filled with countless tasks to be completed, places to go, meals to plan, and other items on your agenda? In the rush of your morning routine, did you turn your attention to God? Every day we are faced with the struggle of who will be in charge of our lives. Too often, we selfishly desire to have control. Human instinct tells us to look out for ourselves first. However, we know that Christ should be our main focus in all that we do. Our sinful nature battles with our desire to follow Christ.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:4 that we are to deny ourselves and follow Him. This is not a command that is to be taken lightly. Jesus took following God to the ultimate extreme in His death on the cross. God wants to bring us to a place where we no longer direct our lives but we follow His leadership entirely. Our lives should be so entrenched in Christ that He is our very meaning for living. We will no doubt continue to have various items in our schedules, but when we give Christ control, He will become central in each of these areas. However, the more we seek to follow Christ, the more Satan will try to tempt us to stray! We must rely on the Holy Spirit to help us to give Christ full control. We can’t do this on our own! Find some fellow believers who can encourage you as you seek to follow Christ in all you do. May God bless you and guide you as you take up your cross daily!

Adam Shelburne

Faith In The Lord - Day Two - Matthew 8-12

These chapters cover a variety of different topics from faith, healing, fear, fasting and trust. All that goes on within these five chapters’ of Matthew centers on our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. In the beginning of chapter 8 Jesus heals a man with a skin disease, followed by the servant of the Roman commander, and then He heals many. Faith is where it all starts for without the belief that this man Jesus could do these things; the people would not have come.

Jesus is the great physician. Put your faith in Him, not just on Sunday morning, but every day of your life. The cost of following Jesus is putting all your faith and trust in Him. I’m not saying that all your problems will go away, or that all your illnesses will be miraculously cured. What I do know is that by putting all your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus your burdens will be made lighter. You will be at ease about what life throws at you knowing that you have given it to the Lord of Lords.

Faith comes by hearing the word and the only way to do that is to read and/or listen to the bible every day. It cannot come by hearing on Sunday’s only. For your faith to grow you need to stay in the word and associate with those of a like mind. Set aside a time each day to read or listen to the word of God, pray and listen for the Lord speaking to you through the Holy Spirit. Find an accountability partner to share and discuss the things you do not understand. If you do this faithfully, I believe over the next forty days you will see a change in the way you look at life around you.

Mike Dickmann

Day One - Matthew 2:13-15

Sometimes we downplay the importance of prayer, specifically the discipline of being still and quiet so that we can hear the Lord when He speaks. Our busy lives and cluttered world leaves little time for solitude and rest at the feet of our Lord. As a result many today are missing some of the most important directions of their lives from the Lord. In Matthew 2:13-15 an angel comes to Joseph and tells him to take the child and his mother to Egypt. Joseph immediately gets up and leaves with his family. I wonder what would have happened if he would not have listened? What if he would have missed the message or refused to believe it's merit? What then? I believe that every single word God speaks is important to our lives. God does not talk just to hear Himself. He does not ramble on about nothing. When He speaks it is important and we must be prepared to take whatever He says and immediately move into action. If we don't we may just miss out on something that could be extremely important.

Tips to hear God speak:
     1,  Listen - When you pray be intentional about being still and quiet at least twice as long as you .                       speak. Don't just talk when you pray, listen, it's a two way street.
     2.  Make time every day - set a specific time and place each day where your distractions are
                        limited and you can sit still and just listen.
     3.  Read or listen to God's word every day -  If you want to know what God sounds like, you
                        need to read the words of the Bible and become familiar with His voice through the
                        written word.

Help Haiti!

Do you want to be apart of something cool?  You want to do something amazing for the people of Haiti?  Come to church this weekend for all the details on how you can help.  The church of God can do amazing things when the people of God come together.  This is going to be one of those times!

Pastor Pete

PS more to come...

Word From The Pastor

How should we respond? There is a great deal of debate right now over what churches should or should not do in response to the earthquake in Haiti. Some feel that we should allow our government to handle the situation because they can handle it best. Others say that churches should raise money and send it through organizations like Red Cross to the people that have been affected. Still others say it is not our responsibility at all to help those who are hurting because we have so many in our own country that are suffering. But what does the Bible say?

First, it says we should pray! In Exodus when the natural disasters struck Egypt the pagan Pharaoh asked Moses to pray. The people of Haiti who have long been known for their Voodoo practices are now calling on Christians to pray for them too. Should we refuse? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we should pray continually, and the Bible teaches us that we should pray about all things and on behalf of others. We must pray for the people of Haiti. We should also pray for wisdom and discernment in how we can physically help those people as well. If we do this we can be certain that God will lead us in the next two areas.

The church of God should also give to help those in need. Paul thanked those in Philippi for sending him aid again and again while he was in need. Romans tells us that we are to be hospitable and share with those in need. 1John 3:17 says “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” The church should give to those in need, despite their geographic location or ability to pay us back or come to our aid in the future. If we pray God will give us the specifics on how much and when to give.

Finally, the church should GO! We should go and physically respond to natural disasters such as this if we are able. While we help hurting people we have the privilege and honor of sharing our faith with them as well. In Romans 10, Paul asks how can the lost respond to the Gospel unless they hear the gospel, and how can they preach unless they are sent? The church must GO!

So what are we doing? Well we have already started to pray and if you have not done so already please join us in praying for the people of Haiti and how the Lord will use us in response to this disaster. We will give, but we will NOT be collecting special offerings for the people of Haiti. At Cowboy Fellowship we have never asked you to give more then your 10%. We firmly believe that if you and your family faithfully tithe God will provide for all of our needs as a church and we will have the resources we need to respond in times like this as well. If you are not tithing we would challenge you to start today so the church can continue to impact the world with the Gospel. You can now give online at www.cowboyfellowship.org as well. Finally we will have boots on the ground in the coming months. As the search and rescue efforts come to a close and the relief efforts go into full swing we plan to send individuals from our team into Haiti to help and share the good news of Jesus with others. If you are interested in going please check the bulletin each week for updates and announcements.

Cowboy Fellowship is one of the most gracious and Biblical churches I know of. Because of people like you we have responded to the tsunami, Katrina, Rita, the earthquake in China, and to droughts in Africa. It is amazing to look back on our short 6 year history as a church and see the impact that this church has had all around the world. Because of people like you we will soon be adding Haiti to that list as well. I hope to see you this weekend at one of our services!

Pastor Pete