FULL STAMPED SADDLE PRIZE
Reed Phillips from Canyon City, Colorado sent me a charity raffle ticket for a drawing they’re having. Now it seems like a worthy cause and to tell you truth, it’s one time I wouldn’t mind winning. First prize is a genuine, handcrafted, silver mounted, full stamped, cowboy trophy saddle.
HANDCRAFTED SADDLE MAKERS
Now I’ve watched the old boys as they’ve built stamped saddles like that. I know the work it takes. My saddles have all been pretty slick and plain, mainly because that’s all I could afford. Handcrafting and stamping on saddles is meant to more than just some fancy foofaraw.
PRACTICAL STAMPING
Like everything else connected with cowboy gear, the tooling on the stamped saddle has its useful purpose as well. The rough indentation of the fancy saddle causes friction on the rider’s jeans. It helps a rider sit tight in the saddle without tiresome leg cramps that sometimes accompanies riding a snuffy horse. Most everything an old-time cowboy did had a very practical explanation. But the saddle could also be attractive.
PRACTICAL SPIRITUAL LIVING
Now, like stamping a saddle, it seems to me the Christian life brims with the practical. To Paul, every action of his held purpose.
“I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26).
A PURPOSE FOR EVERYTHING
For Paul, every step, every action, every word, every possession accomplished the task he’d been given to do. But his Christian life wasn’t a dull, boring grind. An individual believer or a whole
family can follow biblical principles of practical discipline, spiritual instruction, and respect for the sacred. Emphasize the eternal perspective. But you can add some polish and shine. You and they can also have an uproariously good time applying those principles.
LIVELY WORSHIP
We’ve got a choice. For instance, like a stamped saddle, a worship service has an important purpose. When we get together, we should show respect and honor and praise to God. But we can be fully alive in our responses too, with wide smiles on our faces, shouts of joy from our lips, and a clap of our hands.
You see, we could stay plain and simple and show God the minimum. We can choose to stick to the letter of obedience to God’s commands. Or we can be full of His Spirit with flair, with joy, showing great delight in His presence. Either way will get you there, if you’ve got Jesus. But one sure does look a whole lot better to Him.
Sort of like the difference between offering a plain saddle or one fully stamped.
Stephen Bly
Copyright©1993,2008
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“A Prize, Full Stamped Saddle” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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