"Once Upon a Cowboy Time"

Once upon a cowboy time,

We rode the range so free,

It was so very long ago,

All my old pards and me.

We chased the bovine cross the plains,

We roped ‘em when we could,

We helped each other everyday,

And showed our friends we would.

The cow boss always led the way,

No gunsel got ahead,

And if he did he paid the price,

By all the grief we fed.

We went to town ‘bout once a month,

We drank till cash ran out,

We slowly rode back to the ranch,

And said no more, no doubt.

One day a preacher traveled by,

He shared the Lord’s Good News,

Right from the Good Book clear he read,

And said Christ paid our dues.

I was touched by what he preached,

I heard it as a child,

But I had never prayed that prayer,

And now a cowboy wild,

I thought it was too late for me,

To ever change my ways,

But he said no, that I should ask,

For grace that comes and stays.

And so I got down on my knees,

And prayed the sinner’s prayer,

Lord, forgive me, come on in,

He saved me then and there.

And all the cowboys, one by one,

Came to do the same,

The Holy Spirit did His work,

They called on Jesus’ name.

Except for our old cow boss,

He said it’s not for me,

And though we prayed and hoped he would,

Refused till finally,

We were bringing in some bulls,

And some were bad to fight,

And as we pushed ‘em all along,

We saw an awful sight.

This old bull had downed his horse,

And pinned him to the ground,

Laying there was all broke up,

What we rode up and found.

Boys, he said, I’m glad you came,

But it’s too late for me,

I’ll soon be gone, please say a prayer,

For I’m hell-bound, you see.

I said no, it’s not too late,

If you will call on Him,

He bowed his head and gave his heart,

Before death did him in.

All this happened long ago,

I write it now for you,

‘Cause if you do not know the Lord,

It’s not too late, it’s true.

Just bow your heart and call on Him,

To forgive your every sin,

And Jesus Christ who died and rose,

Will surely come right in.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…” (Romans 10:13, NIV)

Calling on the name of the Lord means I intentionally pray and ask the Lord to do for me what He has promised. I acknowledge that I’ve sinned and ask His forgiveness. I accept His gift of pardon and ask Him to take control of my life. There is no “sinner’s prayer” spelled out in scripture, but calling on Him embodies these basic components. One may not fully understand salvation when they call on the Lord. They may have a very elemental understanding of God’s grace as offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus. But one does not have to be theologically astute to be saved. We just have to call on Him to do it for us. I’ve known people who simply prayed, “Lord, have mercy.,” who received salvation and their life changed. If you are not sure you’ve called on Him, then now would be a good time to do it, and ask Him to make you sure it has happened.

Lord, make us sure that we have called on You and received salvation, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Lloyd Voges, used by permission. Thanks, Lloyd, and God bless you.