OnFire #336 Rodeo Horses and Holy Life

OnFire Encouragement Letter

OnFire #336 Rodeo Horses and Holy Life

The last time I wrote was Jan’s birthday. We went to the rodeo and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. There were a couple of events that were the most fascinating to me. First was the calf herding. Working in pairs, riders on horses sorted 10 calves by directing them one at a time from one pen to another. Barrel racing was the other. Riders and horses charge around a course of three barrels to race against the clock. 

It takes amazing control to do these things, and these riders had amazing control over their horses – they could command them to go forward, backward, step to the side, turn as far or as little as they needed, make them go or stop, fast or slow. 

I don’t know a lot about horses, but I know this. This is not the first inclination of a horse. Horses can be stubborn. They want to do what they want, and they’ll take advantage of a weak rider to push their limits of what they can get away with. A horse has to be trained. Again, I don’t know a lot about this process, but I know it has to be done to make a good horse. 

In 1 Thessalonians 4:4 we read, “…that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable…”

As Christians, we always face an important decision. We can be led around by our urges and desires, or we can actually take control of our own lives. In fact, I think we can go so far as to say that until we take control and learn to control our own bodies, we are simply slaves led around by our impulses and urges. 

Until we take control of our bodies to turn them toward holy purposes, we are like untrained horses. As Christians we need to take control of our own bodies if we are to seek the higher goal of being set apart for God’s purposes.  

I hope this helps. Be on fire.

Troy

OnFire is a letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis.  Married  to Jan, Troy is a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces, and has more than 20 years of pastoral experience. This letter published Nov 24, 2015.  *New International Version. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com