Stand Your Ground

A tired buffalo walks into an arena, lies down in the dirt, and instantly disappoints the crowd. Then the fighting bull charges and everything changes. The collision is so violent it sounds like an explosion, but when the dust clears, Pierre the buffalo is still there, still steady, and the “unstoppable” attacker is the one stumbling backward. 

We share a story from 1907 to frame something we all need at the start of a new week: the ability to stand firm when pressure hits from every direction. We talk through Ephesians 6:13 and the full armor of God, not as religious decoration, but as real spiritual preparation for the day of evil, the unexpected attack, the temptation, the conflict, or the wave of anxiety that shows up without warning. The goal is simple: after you’ve done everything, you are still standing. 

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Transcript

The Bet That Starts It All

Pierre Takes The First Charge

Armor Of God And Standing Firm

Encouragement For The Week Ahead

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Good morning and welcome to Starting Right. I am Danny Mack, and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right. In 1907, Scotty Phillip, who was a well known cattle rancher from South Dakota, was down in Texas on a cattle buying trip. While he was down there, he came across a couple of gentlemen from Jarhez, Mexico, who claimed that their fighting bulls in Juhez were the strongest and healthiest bulls of any in the world, and they could defeat any animal anywhere at any time. Scotty, who had his cattle ranch, also was a buffalo fancier, and he said to the men from Jares, I've got a couple buffalo who could take your fighting bull any time. The following discussion led to an agreement and a fairly large bet of a battle between Scotty Phillips Buffalo and the fighting bull of Warhez, Mexico. So Scotty went home and he packed up two of his buffalo to send down to Jarez. One of those buffalo was an eight-year-old named Pierre. I want to pick up the story as it was reported in the South Dakota magazine in an article by Jim Dixon. When Pierre ambled out into the arena, the crowd emitted a buzz of anticipation. The buzz became a groan as the shaggy bison reached the center of the ring and, tired from his long trip, calmly flopped himself down. There was a roar as the Mexican fighting bull entered the ring, and seeing the unkept mound of the bison in the middle of the ring, he launched himself at it. Pierre managed to get himself to his feet just in time to take the bull's charge head on. There was what sounded like an underground explosion, and the dust cleared to reveal an unmoved Pierre stoically contemplating a surprised and slightly dazed bundle of bovine bewilderment that had bounced back fifteen feet or so from the point of impact. But the bull's mama hadn't raised any dummies. After all, he had a pair of sharp horns that could do major damage to this buffalo. So he sidestepped to a position that gave him a clear shot at the buffalo's uncovered flank. Lowering his head he charged again. Alas the bull's mama hadn't told him about a major difference between bulls and buffalo, namely that buffalo can turn on their front feet rather than their back feet. This ability allowed Pierre to pivot at the last minute and once more absorbed the bull's charge with his massive skull plate, and this time the buffalo put some thrust behind his powerful counterblows. After the final encounter had brought him to his knees, the once fearsome fighting bull fled to the other regions of the arena and tried to climb out of the ring. Failing that, he could only stand shaking as the cat calls of the angry crowd rained down on him. I loved that story, and it made me laugh. But it also reminded me so much of what God tells us in Ephesians chapter six and verse thirteen. He says, Put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you've done everything, to stand. Just like that old buffalo who stood his ground and took whatever the fighting wolf could throw at it, he wasn't about to be moved. Our instruction from God is that as we put on the armor of God, we become strong, and we are able to stand when we are attacked. And when it's all said and done, when the attack is over, we are still standing. As we go into this week, I encourage you, my friends, put on that armor of God so that you can stand no matter what comes at you this week, no matter where it's coming from, no matter who it's coming from, whatever it is, when we have God on our side, when we have his armor on us, we can stand just like old Pierre. Have a great week, my friends. We'll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you for listening today. And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.