More from the cowboy with heavenly wisdom.
Cody was explaining what Heavenly ‘wisdom is: first of all pure, then peace loving, then sweetly reasonable–sometimes translated as gentle—approachable and submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
“That’s a beautiful list; I like it!” said Amanda.
“Yes, it is beautiful, both in word and application. If we follow this wisdom, it is possible to resolve many conflicts before they escalate.”
“Mr. Cody,” said Sam, “You know those verses by heart!”
“You bet, Sam, a man can’t always be looking into his Bible during the day when he’s out punching cattle or going on a drive. So, I memorize the passages that are important to me, that way I always have them with me.
“Reading through the Bible is important, and memorizing, praying and personalizing passages are more important, very important.”
“How many passages have you memorized?” Sam asked.
“Well, I don’t rightly know, never sat down to count them, but there’s a number. It took me a while to get them down. I try to memorize one verse a day with the goal of learning a whole chapter. I’d copy the verse down on a bit of paper and carry it with me into the day. When there was a pause, I’d get it out and practice it.
“What’s your favorite passage?” Amanda asked.
“There are a number of my favorite passages which I’ve memorized, like Psalm 1, 23, 37, 62 and 86. Each one gives me insight into different situations. For instance, Psalm 37 helps me with conflict between me and others.
“And in the New Testament, Matthew 5, 6 and 7, Romans 1, 8 and 12. Ephesians 1, 2 and other parts.
Sam’s eyes were wide, “That’s a passel of verses,” he said. I don’t think I could do that!”
“Of course you can, Sam. It’s just like eating a whole buffalo, you do it just one bite at a time, one verse a day, and then after memorizing a section, reviewing the whole passage every day for a couple of weeks, then going on to another.
Cody drank the last of his coffee. “There’s a saying, ‘A lake is formed drop by drop.’ Your grasp of God’s Word comes the same way, one little bit at a time.
“You’ve got a Bible. Start reading a chapter a day and memorizing a verse a day. That will take you about ten minutes.
“Start memorizing Psalm 1, then 23. Those are easy because they paint word pictures.”
Cody leaned back in his chair and looked at Amanda. “Any more coffee? I can always use another cup!”
“Of course,” said Amanda, “we always have plenty on at meal time.” She brought him another cup and he drank it black.
As he was finishing his cup, there was a clatter of hooves outside. “Guess we’ve got visitors,” he said, reaching for his rifle.
As Cody stepped from the door, followed by John with his rifle and Amada with her shotgun, they saw a tight group of riders gathered in the yard, eleven in all.
“Hi Dodge,” said Cody. “Haven’t seen you for a while.”
“Well, Cody Smith, what are you doing here?” Dodge pushed his hat up and moved his hand back over his pistol butt.
“Just stopped by for some coffee. Would you like some?”
“No, can’t say I do. Don’t eat with sod busters. We’re just coming back from checking on our cattle over beyond the river. Wanted to make sure this sod buster got our message loud and clear.”
“Sure did,” said John.
Cody spoke up, “Now, Dodge, what’s your motive for threatening this good man and his family? As you can see, he’s put a lot of work into setting up his outfit here.”
“You know perfectly well, Cody. He’s on my land, taking over one of the springs I use to water my cattle. He’s in the way and I want him out! I don’t want any more like him coming in!”
Picture: Cody, John and Amanda on their porch talking with Dodge
