The old-timers were spinning yarns about the weather, the scourge of the XITs, and Charlie Goodnight’s barbed wire fences doing away with the “real cowboys,” a cattle disease called Texas Fever, and many a “she did me wrong yarn.
“Their laughter filled the room, and everybody was smiling until one ole cowboy who spoke with a gravelly tone, asked, “What was that young cowpoke’s name? Ya know, the one that got himself thrown off a green-broke mare on the XIT. That horse was a rank one, ya know.”
“I was there. His name was Jerry Duke. He was a praying boy,” the barber said.
“Not sure that pony was green-broke, though. Although that’s what they told young Jerry. He came strolling out of the bunkhouse one morning when some cowboys started poking fun at him. He didn’t have much experience, but he wanted to show them he could rope and ride.”
“I took it all in Charles and spoke not a word. I was spellbound.”
The barber continued, “They were daring Jerry to ride that crazy horse brought over from an XIT line camp. They couldn’t handle the pony there.
“Those cowboys were mean to him. At first, Jerry did a good job ignoring them, but they just kept making fun of him. ‘Come on, ya got religion, we hear tell. You can do anything with that Jewish carpenter’s help, can’t ya, boy? Why don’t ya wanna ride that horse? Ya scared? Maybe you’re too green like that yearling cow pony. Maybe even yellow?’”
“Everybody gathered ‘round to see what was gonna happen. Every eye was on young Jerry. His face was beet red. He just stood there looking at that horse and didn’t move. The men laughed at him, threw up their hands, and started walking away. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen. The barber watched him throw his shoulders back and begin to walk toward the corral.
“He grabbed a bridle and opened the gate. You could hear the whispers as most men returned to watch.
“He bridled her and proceeded to rub the mare all over with a saddle blanket while he whispered to her. One old cowboy yelled, ‘Bite her ear.’ Another, ‘Snub her to a post.’ Another, ‘She’s got crazy eyes.’
“Jerry ignored them all, except to say, ‘She’s not crazy, just afraid.’
“Didn’t take long for him to get a saddle on her. He climbed on her real slow, like, and rode with a newfound confidence. She seemed to trust him.
“Suddenly, someone cracked a bullwhip and yelled, ‘Ride ‘em, cowboy.’
“She must have jumped ten feet. And, as everyone hooped and hollered, she reared up, falling over backward on top of Jerry. The horse got up, but not the boy. He just lay there in the dry, dusty dirt. The barber was the first one who got to him, and Jerry sure didn’t look good. He tried to talk, so he bent down close to his mouth to hear his words.
“’Please get my Book, the one that boss Jake gave me.’
“The barber thought he hadn’t heard him right, but he said it clearly again.
“’Please get me my Bible.’
“He sent one of the others to fetch it from his saddlebags. He tried to make him comfortable, but there wasn’t much he could do. He wondered how he’d explain all this to boss man Jake. When the Book arrived, the barber showed it to him.
‘Here, Jerry, here’s your Bible.’”
“’Lay it on my chest and open it to John 3:16, please. Put my finger on those words.’
“He spoke all raspy like. “’Please, do it, please!’
“The barber found that verse and lifted his hand. Jimbo cried in pain cause his Jerry’s arm was broken. The barber placed his finger on the verse.
“’Tell boss Jake that I made that decision just like he told me I should.’
“With that, he closed his eyes and was gone.” The barber had tears in his eyes as he ended the story.
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I made three decisions after I heard the barber’s story. The first was to name the creek we now live on, Barber Creek. The second was to have my boys bury me one day with my Bible opened on my chest with my finger placed on John 3:16. And the third was to give every cowboy who works with us a copy of the good Lord’s Word, His Holy Bible.
Jeremiah and Jacob seemed most moved.
Jeremiah spoke first. “Mr. Willis, our sister Mary told us about that Carpenter. Is He for real?”
“Boys, He’s as real as the skin on my bones.”
“What does that verse say, Mr. Willis?”
“It says that whosoever puts his trust in Jesus will have everlasting life.”
“What does whosoever mean? Who’s that?”
“I reckon, Jeremiah, that’s you and me and every cowboy and cowgirl. Even the mavericks, the culls, and the undesirables. God swings a mighty big loop. But, there’s many a cowboy who doesn’t want His brand.”
There was a peace in the camp as an unseasonably cool breeze blew in.
Then Jeremiah said, “I want His brand.”
Jacob added, “Me, too.”
The End
A Sawdust Trail for you and me
I rode in on a sawdust trail hewed from a rugged tree meant for me.
I had no way to make myself anew. But another did, unknown to the likes of me.
On a sweltering August Eve, a preacher-man told eight-year-old me about a Carpenter from Galilee who once hung on a tree—not an ordinary man—but Deity.
“Would you remember me?” asked another who hung on the hill called Calvary.
Yet another mocked the innocent One. He, too, hung on a tree.
At last, I, too, cried, “Please remember me,” as I pleaded empty-handed at the foot of that tree that lives in infamy.
For you see that center tree was meant for me.
Yes, it is written: He shed His blood—God’s lifeblood for me on that tree.
The Just for the unjust, that’s so unfair.
The Righteous for the unrighteous, how can that be?
The Godly for the ungodly, I knew that the latter was me.
The sinless Lamb of God for the sinner, the mere thought pierced me.
Which thief on the cross was I to be? The one who said yes to the innocent Man nailed that center tree.
I gasp, I shall not be the one who says no to His free gift of eternity.
I recall His blood washing over me as His peace overwhelmed me.
Will you not join me and say yes to the One who died for you and me? There’s still room at the foot of that old rugged tree.
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According to the Bible, we all have feet of clay and fall short of God’s glory. Our righteousness is described in the Bible as filthy rags. God’s grace (his undeserved favor) is available to us all. However, we must accept His gift of forgiveness. This gift was bought and paid for with Jesus Christ’s lifeblood on the cross. You can say yes to Jesus’s free gift right now.
Our greatest need is forgiveness. Christ came to forgive us, but we must accept that free gift. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. —Revelation 3:20
Jesus knocks, but you must open the door to your heart, to your life, to your future.
It’s not a prescribed list of words. In Luke 23:42, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus pleads, “Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom. His heartfelt cry of faith from the cross saves him.
Jesus answers in the next verse with a promise. He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The first person to accompany Christ to Heaven was this lowly thief on the cross.
Isn’t it time to decide which “thief” on the cross you are? Are you the one who put his faith in Jesus Christ? Or are you the one who rejected our Savior who gave His lifeblood for us?
The most famous 25 words ever written.
For God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16
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If these words are how you feel in your heart, then pray:
Heavenly Father,
I pray to You, asking for the forgiveness of my sins.
I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that Jesus is Your Son. He died on the cross at Calvary so that I might be forgiven.
Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I ask Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.
I turn from my sins and will surrender to your will throughout my life.
Your word is truth. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus!
In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen!
Reach out and touch Him today!
For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well. —Matthew 9:21
“Many today have just enough religion to inoculate them from knowing Christ.” —Randy Willis
Dedication
Dedicated to my late brother, Jerry Duke. A Cowboys’ cowboy.
