Matthew Levis To Wranglers Series

Mike and I had been praying for God to bring him a new job. Mike had cancer as well as severe back surgery. He and his wife Lesa have been tremendous servants at Trail To Heaven Cowboy Church by managing our concession stand during rodeo days. These folks have been faithful with their lives and service to the Lord. Mike drove a cement truck most of his adult life. He once told me the only truck in the world where the door handles get worn out is a cement truck, because the driver is constantly getting in and out.

In and out, up and down all day long wore on Mike’s back. During this time of prayer I started Denton County Cowboy Church at a place known as the “Lucky B” ranch owned by a man named Lloyd. The Lucky B was the first place we thought of when looking for a place to meet because they had an enclosed barn with heat and a large porch to meet on when the weather was nice. One day completely out of the blue, we asked Lloyd to meet at his barn, and he agreed.

Lloyd worked at several businesses and he always prowled around for more business opportunities. Soon after we started meeting at the Lucky B, Lloyd and his business partner started a trucking company serving the oil fields. The business took off like a rocket and he needed a driver based locally to drive a truck. I remember Mike and I prayed for another job opportunity and soon afterwards I introduced Mike to Lloyd. Lloyd hired Mike and now Mike has a job that the door handles don’t get worn out, and appears he will make more money.

Out of the blue, Lloyd and Mike’s lives and careers changed. They made a commitment to serving the Lord with what little they had.

People all over this country are in constant search of new or better jobs. There are numerous funny stories about people interviewing for these jobs posted on several executive websites. Here are some of the comical things happened during a job interview to various applicants:

• A balding candidate abruptly excused himself and returned to the office a few minutes later, wearing a “hairpiece.”

• An applicant “wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time.”

• Another “stated that, if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.”

• One applicant “Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions.”

• “When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap-dancing around my office.”

• Another applicant “Said he wasn’t interested because the position paid too much.”

• Finally, one applicant “asked who the lovely babe was, pointing to the picture on my desk. When I said it was my wife, he asked if she was home now and wanted my phone number. I called security.”

Matthew

The eighth disciple of Jesus is Matthew, who was also called Levi. The name Levi comes from the tribe of Levi. Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons and Levi was the third son of Jacob. Eleven tribes of Jacob received land, but one did not . That was the tribe of Levi. Levi became the tribe of priests. Their responsibilities included taking care of the temple, collecting tithes and offering and preparing sacrifices. Since the Levites had no land given to them, they earned their living from the tithes and offerings.

Levi the disciple, changed his name to Matthew sometime after Jesus called him. This is similar to how Simon changed to Peter, Saul to Paul, and Jacob to Israel.

Levi changed his name to Matthew. We don’t know how, when or why. He collected taxes for the Romans and sat at his booth day in and day out so people could stop and pay their taxes. The tax collectors were folks the common man chose not to hang out with. Many tax collectors collected more than enough taxes to pad their own pockets. It would not appear Matthew was an unethical tax collector.

Levi’s life changed out of the blue in one day. He woke up that morning following the normal routine he did day in and day out. Levi never expected he would one day be a great leader of men. He never expected to move from Levi to wrangler, handling the truths of God to help men handle their lives with the Master of the Universe. A wrangler is one who professionally handles animals, specifically horses, for a living. Hence, we get the title of this chapter from Levis to Wranglers.

Matthew 9:9

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.