By Allen Bach
Clay O'Brien Cooper

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).”

Jesus - The Author and Finisher of our Faith

Allen: As another year in my life comes to a close, I have been looking back at the things that have happened over the year and even over my life. I have been thinking about when I started my walk with God, how it began and the journey I have been on since then. I have been reading a lot in the Gospel of John, in Chapters 14, 15 and 16. These chapters tell a lot about the disciples and their life with Jesus.

It occurred to me that their walk was a lot like mine. When they first met Jesus, they didn’t know who He was. There wasn’t really any written or spoken word to convince them why they should quit their jobs and follow Him. But, there was something about Him that attracted them and they wanted to be with Him. Then, day by day, as Jesus spent time with them, He began to reveal Himself to them. That’s sort of how our walk with Christ begins. We don’t know a lot at first, but then the more time we spend with Him, the more we start to understand who He is. Maybe our first introductions to God were by our family taking us to church when we were little, or a friend telling us about Him. That is the introduction, and then it is up to us to take the relationship to the next level.

Clay: I grew up with my mom and step-dad and we didn’t go to church. When I was little, I really didn’t have a concept of who God and Jesus were. I knew about Christmas, and that Jesus was born in a stable, and he was God’s son and that kind of stuff. I didn’t know much else, but I still had a strong awareness of God’s presence. Even as a little kid, like four or five years old, I can remember talking to God. I knew God was there and that He knew all about me. Like I said, my family didn’t go to church or talk about God, but somehow, some way, I knew in my mind that God was real and He had a plan for me.

Allen: I grew up pretty much the same way. My mom died when I was a teenager and I was out to be as wild as I could be. Peggy’s mom helped me get on the right track when I was younger, but getting to know God has been a long process. One night in 1977, I went to a Bible study in Billings, Montana with Dennis Tryan. We accepted Jesus as our Savior that night at the Bible study. I didn’t know much of anything about God, but He sounded like a wonderful Dad and I wanted to be in His family. The next day, Dennis and I were heading to a rodeo in a pickup with a camper and a four-horse bumper-pull trailer. We hit black ice and started spinning and sliding off the road. We were heading for the bar ditch and we were going fast enough it was going to kill us. We were out of control and there was nothing we could do. I don’t know why it came out of my mouth, but I said, “Help me, Jesus.” The minute I said that, He miraculously put His hand on the rig, put it back on the road and we were going down the right side of the road in the right lane. That was the day after Dennis and I had accepted Christ as our Savior. We just looked at each other and both knew it was totally and completely God who had saved us at that very instant. Neither one of us knew anything about God, but He was already showing us who He was.

Clay: God is so awesome at giving us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. I didn’t grow up with my real dad, but I was able to spend Christmas and summer vacations with him. He was the one who introduced me to the Bible. I was 19 and Beth and I were living in Gilbert, Arizona. My dad and stepmom had been going to church and had recently received Jesus into their life at that time. They were so excited by who Jesus was that they drove down specifically to tell us about Him. My dad showed me the scriptures John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10. When I saw those scriptures and started reading the Bible, I saw those written words as God speaking to me. Until that point, I had God in my mind and I would talk to Him and pray to Him, but when I discovered scriptures in the Bible, that was Him talking directly to me. That was when He became so real to me.

Allen: It’s amazing the way God can present Himself so real to us. I have story after story about times when I really needed Him and He was there - even for things that seemed little. In 1979, I was roping at my first National Finals. On the morning of the last performance God spoke to my heart and I really felt, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I felt His presence and His hand of blessing on me so strongly - I just believed in Him for a good performance. It turned out that everything that needed to happen that day happened so I could win my first world championship. My heart was right with God and He blessed me. He has since used that world championship as a vehicle for me to talk to other people about God.

Another time, we were at the Finals in Las Vegas and we lost our little dog. She had been with us for 13 years and was a huge part of our family. We were so sad, but we prayed for God to help us find her, and he did. He directly answered the prayer. Or, there was the time that Joel and I were having a special fishing trip, but we fished all day and didn’t catch anything. Joel, who was like eight at the time, was so disappointed. I told him the story of how Jesus’ disciples fished all night and caught nothing, but when they saw Jesus, He said to try the other side of the boat and they caught so many fish their nets couldn’t hold it. So, we prayed to God, thanked Him for our special time together and then tried the other side of the lake. He caught a fish first cast. He remembers that fishing trip to this day. There have just been so many times in my life when He was watching over me so closely. I was doing a timeline over my life as a Christian and I never cease to be amazed at the ways He has worked in my life. Even just recently at the National Finals, I received a huge blessing from God. I have always asked God for direction in my career and when it was time for me to stop that I would heed His direction. In the middle of this past year I was really about ready to go home for good. I prayed about it and felt God telling me He still wanted me out here rodeoing, so I stayed. Then I went on to have one of my best years ever. I won over $80,000 at the Finals alone. I am competing against guys half my age, but I still won more than I ever have at the Finals. That was just a huge blessing and confirmation that I am under God’s will.

Clay: I am the same way. Throughout my whole life there have been so many things that have happened where I know God had His hand on me, protecting me and speaking to me in different situations. There have been horse wrecks and different things that have happened where I could have gotten hurt really bad, but I got out of it without being touched at all. Those types of things I relate directly to God’s protection. I got saved at 19 and then several years later I rededicated my life to Him. After 16 years of being committed to God, to really applying myself to letting Him guide and teach me, then I started learning about faith, and what God’s will is. God has taken care of so many pieces of my life, with healing, with finances and so many other things. I have applied His gifts by faith and through my faith He has worked awesome wonders in my life.

Allen: I always think of the story of David and Goliath. David killing Goliath was definitely the work of God, but it wasn’t as crazy as some people think. David grew up taking care of his dad’s herd of sheep. He became an expert with his sling shot, which he used to scare away predators. One time he killed a lion which was trying to attack the sheep, and another time he killed a bear. He was young and small, but when he saw Goliath and all the horrible things he had done, he drew on his experiences with God. He reasoned that if God had delivered a lion and a bear into his hands, would God not also deliver this horrible Philistine giant into his hands? David went forward with confidence that he was under God’s protection and by faith he did kill the Philistine giant. That is the same way God works in our life. Every day He proves Himself a little bit more and a little bit more. We are the key to all of it though. God will be as awesome as our faith will allow.

Clay: We all have a David and Goliath in our lives. The longer you walk with God and interact with Him, the more He teaches you and the more confidence you get in Him. You know Him better by the things He has done in your life. These things build your faith so you can believe in Him for bigger things, for the Goliaths in your life. God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrew 11:6). Without faith we can’t please Him.

Allen: That is exactly right. We can’t please Him with our talents, or abilities, or successes - He gave all those to us. However, He doesn’t make us be faithful to Him - He created us with that choice. However, when we personally choose to be faithful, that makes Him happier than anything else we will ever do in this life. And why wouldn’t we be faithful to a God who can command the wind and sea, the God who can deliver enemies into our hands, the God who can protect us when we are horseback or driving down the road, the God who has prepared a place for us in Heaven that is so special, we can’t even imagine how wonderful it would be. Why wouldn’t we want to serve a God like that? He is the author and finisher of our faith. No matter what your position in life may be - young Christian or old Christian, team roper, fireman, lawyer, teacher, mother or whatever - you will still need faith. In all my years as a Christian, I have never heard anyone say, “I have all the faith that I need.” Instead, I have met many fellow believers who confessed that they lack faith, or that they desire to have more faith to trust in God. One good way to have more faith in God is to study the lives of great heroes of faith, like David, or Moses, or Jacob. All of their stories show why Jesus should be the author and finisher of our faith. Another way is to investigate your own life. Chances are you will find all kinds of situations where God intervened in your life and brought you blessings. That is the kind of God I want to serve. I hope you want to serve Him too.