One80
Testimonies from all over. Be inspired by stories of Christian transformation from around the world. Hear miraculous coming-to-Jesus stories from all walks of life and be amazed at how God writes a story in all of us. And stay for the Sendoff, where we feature an artist’s take on each testimony shared. One80 is a production of OneWay Ministries.
One80
Episode 63: Monty Rieck, The Cowboy Preacher
Today’s One80 is a rootin-tootin cowboy testimony!
Monty Rieck was a cowboy through and through. Hear how he went from a “black hat wearing” cowboy–rodeo roping, gun toting and chasing the things of this world– to the Cowboy Preacher.
Monty pursued a business venture and didn’t know he was surrounded by Christians. He was overcome with the love they had for their wives, and his own need for a savior. After saying “Yeehaw” to Jesus, Monty demonstrated Christian love for his wife, and biblical forgiveness for her and the men who had wronged him.
Today’s Sendoff features OneWay Prayercast Manager, Joe Schweitzer, and some good ‘ole Cowboy Bible.
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OneWay Ministries
Monty Rieck, The Cowboy Preacher, Episode 63
One80 Podcast Transcript
This transcript of One80 Podcast may contain errors that veer from the original recording, found here: https://one80podcast.com/listen/
Margaret Ereneta: This show contains marital infidelity, alcoholism, drugs, and surfing in cowboy boots. (Don't do that.)
Ladies and gents saddle your horses and giddy up. Cause we're going for a ride. Monty Rieck was a cowboy of Cowboys. Rodeo roping gun toting and chasing the things of this world. In fact, he led the cowboy life as young as 16. It would take more than 20 years for the good news of Jesus to start sinking in. First with a colleague and later at a work convention.
Have you witnessed to someone at work? Well be encouraged as you see how colleagues helped Jesus transform Monty from cowboy rabble, rouser to cowboy preacher. Yes, sir. Mighty fine testimony. Welcome to Monty's One80.
Ryan Henry: Alrighty. Welcome to today's very special One80. We have Monty Rieck here, the Cowboy Preacher joining us today on our show. Monty, welcome.
Monty Rieck: Oh, thank you so much, Ryan. It is such an honor to be here with you. And I've been listening to some of your podcasts and I got to tell the audience out there, man, you guys are doing a phenomenal job, excellent job. I just love what you're, you're getting the word out there and you're getting people's testimonies out there. And I am so honored to be here with you.
Ryan Henry: Cowboy Preacher, how did you get a title like that?
Monty Rieck: Well, you know, I, I grew up there in California, and I started rodeoing at a very young age, probably 16 years old. And, uh, I had rodeoed for up to 27 years. And then, when I did come to the Lord. It was just like I did this transformation of being a cowboy, living a wild cowboy life, and, and roping steers, and cows, and did a little bull riding, and, and just living the cowboy life, and chasing all the things of the world, and then when I gave my life to the Lord, it was just a powerful transformation where I just started preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to everybody that was in my path.
And, uh, the Lord just started using me. So, I sort of got the name from all my, my buddies calling me the, the Cowboy Preacher, and so, it just sort of happened.
Ryan Henry: It's very unique. I love it. We always start our show with a random question for our guests just to help our listeners, get to know you a little better. So, Monty, if there was a household chore that you could pass off to somebody else, which one would it be? Okay.
Monty Rieck: I’m in a mobile home here in Santa Barbara and I don't know if you've ever tried washing a mobile home. It is not easy. You've got to wash these things just like you do your car because, you know, the dust just sticks to them. And I tell you what, you know, it's probably 10, 12 feet high, so you have to get up on a ladder and scrub the whole thing down.
So I would definitely pass that on to, to somebody else for sure.
Ryan Henry: Yeah. That sounds like a chore.
Monty Rieck: Oh yeah, it's 60 feet long and 24 feet wide and 12 feet tall. So there's a lot of scrubbing to do.
Ryan Henry: I'm sure. Well, let's jump into your story. Would you talk to us about where, you know, where you grew up and kind of what life was like?
Monty Rieck: I sort of have a real unique beginning. My mom and dad were hunting in Montana and God decided to knit me together in my mother's womb right in the the snowy freezing mountains of Montana. That's actually how I got my name is from Montie, Montana a famous cowboy trick Roper
It's pretty cool because later in life I became a rodeo cowboy and I was the first one in my family and If you look at the name Monty it means mountain man. And I ended up, you know loving going up into the mountains and hiking and I did a lot of archery hunting
Ryan Henry: what was your, uh, like, hometown?
Monty Rieck: My hometown is, uh, called Lompoc, California. It's just a little town, north of Santa Barbara, sort of set aside from everybody else.
It's a little farming community. It was known for actually the flower seed capital of the world, where back in the early 1900s, they actually grew mustard there. And they actually shipped the mustard seed all around the world.
Ryan Henry: Was there a faith component to your family?
Monty Rieck: My dad grew up with nothing of God in his life besides going when he met my mom at probably about 15 years old my mom grew up in the church going to church.
My mom was really into the church. She sang in the madrigals. The youth pastor said that my mom had, he actually, and my mom still has the letter, she showed it to me, where he was telling her, you gotta be careful.
Being around this kid that's not a believer. You don't want to be unevenly yoked with this young man. You know, my dad was this John Wayne type, handsome, 6'2 good looking dude, you know. Good at everything he did. And, um, of course my mom didn't listen to him. uh, she ended up meeting, um, my dad and marrying him at 18 years old.
And, she just wandered away from her faith. for like 50 years. She grew up in a real fire brimstone type church. And so she didn't really know the love of Christ and the grace of Christ and it was really hard on her. So she thought God was mad at her and, you know, this was her punishment for marrying my dad, not listening to the pastor. So my mom wandered in the desert, from the church for 50 years you know, so we had nothing of God in our life.
Ryan Henry: Yeah. Now, what did you, what did you think about God? Did you have any personal questions or thoughts about God as a kid?
Monty Rieck: I remember seeing like Billy Graham on TV. I was so young, I didn't really know what he was saying. And then I remember seeing the Pope when he came in his Popemobile and stuff like that.
I remember looking at this Bible where they had these pictures of the Pharisees and and there were nice robes and all that and I remember seeing the Pope come, you know and he had his entourage and his Popemobile and and all the Cardinals and everybody dressed really nice and their little zucchetto hats and and the big crosses.
And I just sort of looked at that and I go to me I thought You know, that's religion. That's what I've seen in that Bible, So that was sort of my impression of God.
Ryan Henry: was there anything that was going on that made life kind of difficult or would you say it was kind of a happy go lucky life?
Monty Rieck: yeah, I did have Some challenges as a child. I was sort of a sickly little guy. I got the whooping cough at a very young age. And, uh, I was born with a lazy eye. to where the coughing was so severe that it made me go cross eyed. So, like at five years old, I ended up having eye surgery
So here I am, semi cross eyed. so I got picked on a lot about that, you know, people would make fun of me, saying, Hey, you know, who are you looking at?
I had this little squeaky voice and gangly little kid. And, you know, so I got teased a lot. And my brother, Bill. He picked on me constantly and, so I had a lot of problems with that and I ended up having another surgery at 10 years old.
My cousin came sliding down a banister.poked me in the eye, the same eye, and I ended up going cross eyed again. So I had to have another surgery. So now my eyes are a lot better, but it was just tough, you know, and I had problems with my back, And I just remember, as a little kid, not even being able to walk. holding onto the walls and just wincing in pain and, and just not being able to walk. It was horrible.
So I did have a lot of tough times and, and being picked on, but you know, I know God always had his hand on me. Just I look back at my life and all those things that came at me, the sufferings and the picking on and bullying, that made me have compassion for other people.
So I sort of became a, caretaker for the, the weak and the, people being picked on. So I would stick up for the guy getting picked on and, you know, stand up to the bully. And I was just this little runny guy, but, you know, I was pretty, tough.
At 10 years old, we moved out to the ranch. my dad bought 45 acres So I sort of became a worker bee at a very young age. So I learned to work hard and play hard and, gave me a taste of what it's like. Being a rancher, and you know, we had cows and chickens and pigs and horses and motorcycles, We had a lot of fun things to do, but a lot of work.
I was sort of transforming into this country boy. I started rodeoing at 16 years old and my dad came up to me and said, Hey, you want to learn to rope? And I said, sure, you know, and I had this professional cowboy named Leon Bright.
He took me under his wing and he taught me.
So, I just sort of became a cowboy and and living the cowboy life and There's a lot of things that come along with that lifestyle and, uh, just working hard and, and living the wild cowboy life and going to rodeos and it's sort of free. I, I did a lot of sports.
My whole identity sort of became sports.. That was my god. And, um, unfortunately in high school, my mom and dad, ended up divorcing.
So that was a major blow in my life. It just, you know, and it devastated me. So, I really started getting into, uh, you know, drinking. So, at a very young age, at 16 years old, I started drinking. And I ended up drinking, a lot until I was like 38 years old.
So I started smoking pot in high school. Um, I started doing, you know, cocaine and stuff. I was on this downward spiral real quick.
And, um, you know, and I grew up watching all these Western movies and you know, being a cowboy, you want to live the cowboy life like a real cowboy does. as soon as you walk in the bar, as soon as you walk in the house, in the old black and white movies, they hand you a drink, so I started drinking Jack Daniels whiskey, you know, to be a man, to be tough, you know, doing all that kind of stuff, and, um, it was just devastating, I was just going downhill.
It was a path of destruction and, uh, I just kept feeding into it and feeding into it
Ryan Henry: But in the moment, did you feel like it was making you temporarily feel better with the situation with your dad and your mom?
Monty Rieck: Oh, definitely, definitely. I was definitely self medicating myself, because I would think about, you know, mom and dad because my mom left the house, and when she moved into town. And then I stayed with my dad, which is pretty rare, but I would go stay with my mom and my dad so I sort of bounced back and forth, and I was the baby so I was there the longest.
It was just it was a devastating time of, doing drugs and and drinking, trying to suppress that pain and agony that I was in.
I never showed it though! I don't think I ever told anybody that.
I just beat my chest, fighting off all this, pain and anguish, through drugs and alcohol. And, uh, but I had one bad situation where, um, this girlfriend that I really liked a lot, um, and had dated her for quite a while,
We ended up, uh, getting engaged when I graduated before her and she ended up breaking off the, uh, engagement. She went to school off in Oklahoma. And, uh, it just devastated me, so, from that moment on, I just sort of just started womanizing, and.
I would date a girl, and as soon as it started getting a little serious, I would just leave them, I was living the true cowboy life, not saying all cowboys are bad, not all rodeo guys are bad, that's not what I'm saying, but, I was living the black hat cowboy life, I was destined for hell, is what I was.
Ryan Henry: Did you feel like you had a a perspective of God at that time that was just like, whoa, way off. I mean, you kind of mentioned that a little bit earlier.
Monty Rieck: Yeah, I mean, I had no perspective of God, except, you know, we could say, Oh, God did it, I never believed in him. I never, thought God was there with me. These instances happen this one time though. I was, surfing out at Tahigas right by Santa Barbara.
And I went out in this during the winter and the waves were huge, I shouldn't have even been out there. I wasn't good enough surfer to be there, but I'm the type of Cowboy. I'm like, it's funny. Cause I wore my Cowboy hat, my surfer shorts and my Cowboy boots.
But I remember wiping out on this wave. And one wave after another kept pounding me and pounding me.
And my board got away from me. It didn't have, I didn't have a leash on. And I just remember going, “Am I gonna die? This is how I'm gonna die.” And I just remember looking up and saying, “God help me!” I don't know why I called out to God, but I think because God places eternity in our hearts.
We have that yearning to know God the Father, and all of a sudden, as soon as I said that, my feet both landed on a rock. And I was able to push off this rock and ride the next wave in, it's so funny because I called out to God, but I didn't really acknowledge him. I didn't say, Oh, thank you, God.
You know, I just like, Oh, you know, hey, I made it, you know, and I just sort of. It went on my, my life, but now I know when I look back at it,
You know what the scripture says that Jesus Christ is the rock that we stand on. And I look back at it now and God saved me. He had.
Ryan Henry: Hmm. just hearing you talk about your faith and knowing where you came from, obviously something amazing must have happened. How bad did things get and when did it start to turn?
Monty Rieck: Oh, man, well, going through high school like I did, it got really bad, as you can tell, and, you I ended up working for my dad for 13 years, and I had a really hard time working for my dad. He just did not treat me fairly, and, uh, he always gave everybody, you know, special attention where he didn't with me.
You know, I was sort of like the, the older brother in the prodigal son. I wasn't the prodigal son, necessarily, I didn't take my inheritance, although I partied like that guy, my other brother was uh, he was really tied up with drugs and alcohol and died at a very young age, from alcoholism.
And, uh, I used to always, you know, say, Dad, why, why are you always babying him? Why are you always caring for him? I'm here, I'm working hard, and and I'm a plumber just like you and and, you know, I'm a rancher and a cowboy just like you and and I just was never satisfied. My dad
It was just so hard having a dad that just was so absent. My dad was, you know into his hunting Um, he was a professional drag racer Um, you know, he ended up becoming a world champion. So he was just not there for me at all and that really affected me.
Ryan Henry: That role of a dad is so important.
Monty Rieck: Yes, definitely so I ended up leaving and going to uh Colorado, and I ended up working for a, uh, a Christian, uh, plumber there.
And that was the first time that somebody actually confronted me saying that they talk to God or pray to God. So that was my, my beginning of what was going to happen.
Um, how I was going to be drawn to Jesus Christ was through that. this guy was not a real good testimony. But he did say, Hey, God brought you to me. He answered my prayers and I thought he was crazy. I'm sitting there thinking, this guy talks to God. The only guy I can think of is, is Koresh and, and Jim Jones, you know, thinking these guys are crazy, you know, God talks to them and, cause I had no background in that.
Anyways, I ended up working for him a little bit and then, um, I ended up getting my own license, started working for myself. I was in Loveland, Fort Collins, area. then, I had, quit working for my dad and I went getting another boss that was just, hell on wheels.
He was horrible. This guy was worse than my dad by far. So I just felt like I hated mankind. I hated everybody, I didn't want to do deal with people they just nobody wanted to do the right thing Anyways, when I was in Colorado All sudden I got a phone call on Thanksgiving morning and it was my dad And I'm like, wow, my dad actually called me.
First time my dad's ever called me in my life. And my dad calls me and I'm like, you know, I'm thinking, man, this is awesome. We, we sort of split on a really bad note
And, uh, so we had a good conversation. I was telling him about, you know, the plumbing jobs I had going. I had got my own license and I was doing my own thing. then all of a sudden he says, well, you know, let's not talk about work. Let's just talk about something fun. But I'll call you again, you know, another time.
And I said, sure, no problem, you know, and so we hung up. And then that morning, the phone rings. And it's my mom. And my mom's crying. Profusely. Just bawling and bawling. And come to find out, my dad died.
Monty Rieck: That day. after he called me. So, I was just blown away. I didn't realize how much I had put into my dad. My identity, my hope. He was my superhero. He was my guy to look up to and to mentor. You know, he was, he was my hero. I was devastated.
I was so lost that I didn't want to go on anymore.
It was so weird. because I had nothing of God. I didn't know what happened to him. So I ended up Leaving everything I had in Colorado and I moved back to Lombok. I tried to take over my dad's plumbing business But that didn't work out. My stepmom wanted nothing to do with me or my brother because we offered hey, we'll come and run dad's plumbing business.
That was our whole plan from the very beginning, but it didn't work out that way. I ended up buying another business.
Ryan Henry: So what happened after that? I mean, for you and regarding your faith.
Monty Rieck: At that time I still had no faith. Although I did have that guy talk to me a little bit about God And that you can pray. I had a son that, he had to get tubes in his ears, and he had a big cyst on his arm, and, he had to have surgery. He was only a year old. That was our second son, William, and I called him my little lemon, because he always had something wrong with him.
He was always sick. I was really worried about that cyst being cancer. um, I just remember that got me praying a little bit, And, um, that was just sort of a little step further and a little step further, into, seeking the Lord and stuff like that.
And when I really, came to know the Lord is, I didn't have the best, you know, husband skills, I didn't have the best relational skills, you know, I didn't have anything of God or the Word of God in my life.
My wife, my relationship was just falling apart and my business started really suffering.
I was just on a downwards spiral. I was stressed out to the max. And me and my wife weren't planning on having anymore children. We just had the two boys. And all of a sudden we had one of those oops babies.
It was it was really rough. We weren't getting along good. She was really sick a lot and I was stressed because I had all this debt on me and and running the business by myself I came home one day and me and my wife, she was eight months pregnant at that time, and we got in this blowout, horrible fight.
And I just remember us just screaming at each other, and it got so bad I ended up hitting her in the arm. Not a full on punch,I did her sort of like a side punch with my side of my fist.
In the arm and she just came, unglued, screaming, fell to the ground, and our relationship was just never the same After that, our little boy was born Brandon. He was just the sweetest little guy and anyways after some time went by He was about two two and a half years old and and we were really stressed She did a lot of the book work And so she knew our finances and I didn't realize that we're really bad off.
I was working without insurance. Anyways, she, uh, took off and, um, I was just lost. And it was devastating, anyways, I ended up finding out that my wife, ended up having several affairs.
I took her back and stuff, and I was still not a true believer, but then a guy came into my plumbing shop, and he told me about this business I ended up getting into this business, because I didn't want to do plumbing anymore.
It just so happens to be the guy that was the leader of my group and he's actually a Baptist preacher, too So I ended up going to these meetings, and they have a system where you listen to tapes, read books, and then you go to conventions or seminars, it was really cool because I ended up, going to my first church service at one of these conventions.
And I had never been to church before, and just before that, probably about two years before that, some gal that I did a plumbing job for, um, gave me a, a Bible, and so I had this Bible already, And then here I go, to this church service and I didn't know it, but I was hanging out with a bunch of Christians.
So I was learning Christian principles through all these tapes, people that are famous in the business but they talked about all their problems in life. And it was just sort of a training system of just transforming how you think and how you live your life. So I actually started hearing godly principles for the first time.
And it just, you know, started changing the whole direction of my life,
Ryan Henry: What was a principle that really stood out to you?
Monty Rieck: basically the love that these men had for their wives and the wives had for their men. I never had that before. You know, I didn't really know how to love my wife like Christ loves the church and like the scripture says. Um, so I was really, um, lacking in that because I was, I was my dad, basically. I did everything my dad did and how he did it.
Ryan Henry: So you are starting to get these principles. How does this all lead to you finding Christ?
Monty Rieck: Yeah. Well, you know, going through what I went through, finding about all this stuff that my wife did and, I just started, burying myself in the word of God more and more. And, um, I went to one of these conventions in, uh, Las Vegas, um, Johnny Hall got up there and he preached a sermon.
And he was telling me about Jesus Christ And it's amazing how I grew up in the United States with a church on almost every corner and never heard the gospel and then he's telling me about what Christ did for me and and those who are our burden and weary and their lives are a mess and I was thinking that's me that's me and I just remember when he said, you know, if any of you feel Christ tugging on your heart right now You need to give your life to Jesus Christ and he did an alter call and I just remember Crying my shirt was soaking wet.
My sleeves were soaking wet I was just pouring down tears saying man, that's me, you know, I don't want my life anymore I ended up standing up, raising my hands up and just saying, Lord, I don't want my life no more.
Monty Rieck: You know, my life's a mess, my relationship's a mess. My wife and I are a mess. Everything. I'm going broke, I'm losing everything that I work so hard for.
I said, “I need you.” And I surrendered my life right there. I was 38 years old.
Ryan Henry: Wow,
Monty Rieck: Yeah. So I went 38 years of living. Chasin gthe things of the world. I was so lost, but boy I was found, you know.
And that just changed my life. I was just like, I had energy, and a hope again at that very moment. I could just feel this burden lift off my shoulders, and I was just like, yes, I can get out of this, you know,
Ryan Henry: So you felt that change right away.
Monty Rieck: Oh totally
Ryan Henry: Isn't that amazing? And what did that do for you, Monty? What started happening at that point?
Monty Rieck: Oh man, it was a life change. I just remember going home and telling my, my wife, you know, we had to end up, uh, getting back together and I just told her, I said, man, I gave my life to Jesus and you got to give your life to Jesus. I was so excited about it and everything It was just amplified.
It's like I kept seeing Jesus everywhere like pictures of Jesus and you know those candles They sell at the store with Jesus on them I was seeing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus And then I was listening to songs that I had been listening to my whole life and I would hear Jesus in there It's like, you know, just like he says in John 3 that unless you're born again You can't see or enter the kingdom of God.
I was seen Christ. I was seeing the kingdom, When I had that spirit in me, all I could see was Jesus.
The Word of God just started opening up to me more and more and more.
Ryan Henry: What about the word did you was the most transformative thing you? What truth did you gain?
Monty Rieck: You know, when he says, my peace I give you, my peace I leave you, I had total peace when I read the Word of God, and I could see what he says in the Word of God come true. Like he says, if you pray in my name, in the name of Jesus, I will do it. And I just started walking on that faith of believing what the Bible said.
And so when I started praying for people, I believed it 100%. I had no doubts. That when I pray for someone, whether their back is out, or they're, you know, having problems with their wife, or whatever it is, the Lord, if it's His will, He's gonna answer. And, and they're gonna, um, have their problem taken care of.
And that's what I was seeing in my life.
It just like took off where the Lord started answering my prayers when I remember this one guy at church His back was all twisted and he could hardly walk And I see him walking along the foyer and wincing in pain and I walked up to him and I said hey, man I said I see your back is out.
Totally. He says yeah, he says I've been like this for like weeks And I've gone to the doctor, I've gone to the chiropractor, and nothing's working. I said, do you believe Jesus can heal you?
And he goes, yeah.So I just laid hands on him, and I just started praying in
You know, in the name of Jesus, I just pray in the name of Jesus that you'll heal this man, and just heal his back And I remember just praying for him in the Holy Spirit. and you could just feel the, Spirit. that was Sunday, and then Wednesday, we were going to Bible study, and I saw him, and he's just walking fine, and I said, Hey, man, how's your back doing?
He says, Doing great, and I said, When did it get better? He says, I went to work the next day,
And he had been off for, for weeks, and the Lord just started answering my prayers. I had prayers with my mom, you know, was suffering from uh, transient amnesia. She just totally lost her mind, and she couldn't think of anything, and I just prayed for her, in the name of Jesus, and the Lord gave her her memory back like instantly, and just one thing after another he just kept revealing himself,
Yeah, it was just, I know that the Word of God is true, and if we have that faith, you know, no doubts, not being tossed back and forward like the sea, that He will answer our prayers if it's His will. So that's sort of been my, my walk with the Lord, you know, since then.
Ryan Henry: wow. did your wife ever accept the Lord?
Monty Rieck: No. We, after all that, finding out about all those men, I ended up taking her back. that's one thing I want the, the listeners to hear that, that God can do anything.
Even after finding out about those, three men, and they're friends of mine, close to me, the Lord gave me forgiveness for her.
to a point where I actually forgave her, I took her back, and I loved her better and more than I ever did. It was just amazing. and that's how I knew that the Word of God and Jesus is alive. because I remember while she was gone, I, broke down in my closet just crying my eyes out when I found out about all those men, you know, all at the same time in the same week.
I was so broken. and, you know, I had already started divorce, to divorce her and stuff, when she left, you know, once I found out what she was doing, and then I hear I am in the closet, just crying my eyes out and, and just saying, Lord, I don't want my life no more.
I can't take this anymore. I can't believe she did that. And then the Holy Spirit just came to me and man, he lifted me up and I ended up praising him and thanking him for my sufferings. And that right there was the moment where I truly forgave her and the Lord totally healed my heart. I ended up even calling two of the guys.
and talking to them. I was preaching the gospel to one of the men that had an affair with my wife for almost a year.
I literally was telling him, Jesus loves you man, and I totally forgive you and he was totally broken. and he felt really bad, but I said it's okay, man.
I said you got to give your life to Jesus and I was preaching the gospel to him. it's just like a miracle who else can do that except Jesus, He changed me that much come to find out years later I end up running into him and he gave his life to the Lord and and he's a brother in Christ now and actually Is going to the same church that I go to now.
Ryan Henry: Oh my gosh. That is so cool.
Monty Rieck: I love the guy, he's a brother in Christ, and you know what, how I knew that the word of God is true and that Jesus is alive?
He changed my heart. I have no animosity, no hatred, no unforgiveness, no nothing towards those men or my wife.
Nothing. we ended up getting back together, but it still didn't work out, and she ended up cheating on me for the fourth time.
And then I said, okay, I've had enough now, and I divorced her and stuff. but you know, the beautiful thing is God again, who else can do this is I remember going to her house years later.
And cause she moved down here to Santa Barbara and that's where I came later. And I actually went to her house and I apologized for anything I did wrong in the relationship. And then I went to her new husband, which is the guy that she left our marriage for, and I went to him and I said, hey man, I want you guys to have a wonderful marriage.
I want you to have a better marriage than we did, and I want it to last and work. I totally, forgive you, and I just hope you guys have a wonderful life.
Only Jesus can do that.
Yeah, and that's how I know that he's alive and I tell you just from all sufferings and all the things I went through you know more and more and more And the Lord just started sending people to me With a lot of the same problems as me and, uh, he just started answering my prayers and he answered my prayers a lot of times for myself with pain and suffering.
I would pray and have my back would be totally out and I'd pray and he would heal my back and I would just be instantly well, So I knew definitely right away that I had the gift of evangelism and gift of healing, just from him answering my prayers, how else could it be?
Not that I'm doing anything, but it's Jesus Christ doing it.
Ryan Henry: That's just so so cool I mean just to hear the fruit of what God did in your life. You've experienced, quite a lot of loss, you know, with the situation with your wife, what's your family status now?
Monty Rieck: My wife now, Heidi. God is so good. we've been married now for ten years, together for twelve years. Between us, we have six boys and two girls. So, we have eight children and, uh, we have 12 awesome grandchildren ranging from nine years old down to one years old. it's just It's been, such a blessing. We have a home here in Santa Barbara.
He blessed me with a beautiful loving wife that loves God. We serve the Lord together. We go to church together We just she's beautiful and I just want the people to know that there's always hope just don't give up and Just keep seeking Jesus first.
If you first seek the kingdom of God, everything else will be given unto you, and, I've been living that life, now, and it's such a blessing.
Ryan Henry: That's amazing. Before I ask the last question I want to make sure we know how to lead people to your book The Cowboy Preacher series and And you've got the book, I Am Eli.
And then I believe there's a, there's another one, right?
Monty Rieck: Yes. Eli's Road Less Traveled. That's the second one.
And you can go to cowboy, cowboypreacher.com, is my website. And there's a link to Amazon right there where you can buy the books. And you need to read them in order because it's basically my full testimony.
You know, and we just touch on a little fraction of the whole story.
Ryan Henry: nice. What's the inspiration behind those?
Monty Rieck: Oh man, just, to speak to those people that grew up like me. Out there following the ways of the world, living the wild cowboy life, the sports life, maybe your whole life is work or whatever, that was me. I was just a man of the world. And just to show a middle class kid growing up, Doing everything wrong, but Jesus loved me and he was patient with me.
he saved my life many times. There's other stories that you'll read in my, my books of, I should have died and things were not going well. But, uh, you know, he had mercy on me and he had grace. And it doesn't matter what you've done or what your life has been. He loves you and He will give you hope again and lift you up and we need to be transformed, when you're born again in the Spirit, you're a new creation. back in the garden of Adam and Eve, you know, when they sinned in the garden, we were all separated from God. But God Himself came in the form of the Son. All the deity of God is in bodily form in Christ Jesus.
And He came here, walked this earth, fulfilled the law for us, Never sinned, but died and took our punishment. Everything that we deserve, because we're sinners, He bore in His body and died on the cross, but He rose again on that third day. And you know what? He's alive to this day. And I want each and every person hearing this to believe in their heart that,
Jesus is alive. It's not a myth. It's true.
Ryan Henry: Monty That's amazing. So I have a last question for you. The last question is if you could talk to the Monty out doing dangerous things. Maybe even the Monty who's, you know, surfing in the winter time in the water and wondering if you're gonna make it, what would you say to him?
Monty Rieck: I would just say, you know what? Monty, there is a loving God. One that created you to be who you are. And He loves you so much. surrender your life to Jesus Christ and your whole life will be transformed and go in a different direction.
Ryan Henry: that's so good. Monty the cowboy preacher it has been such a privilege to have you on our show today
Monty Rieck: Thank you, Ryan, so much. It's been awesome
Ryan Henry: This is Joe Schweitzer, Prayer Cast Manager over at the Good Folk at OneWay, here to bring you some Cowboy Bible in honor of Monty's 180. So saddle up your horses and listen in. Ephesians 4, 17 through 32. So I tell you and encourage you in the Lord's name not to live any longer like other people in the world.
Joe Schweitzer: Their minds are set on worthless things. They can't understand because they are in the dark. They are excluded from the life that God approves of because of their ignorance and stubbornness. Since they no longer have any sense of shame, they have become promiscuous.
But that is not what you have learned from Christ's teaching. You have certainly heard his message and have been taught his ways. The truth is in Jesus. You were taught to change the way you were living. The person you used to be will ruin you through desires that deceive you. However, you were taught to have a new attitude.
You were also taught to become a new person, created to be like God, with a life that truly has God's approval and is holy. So then get rid of lies. Speak the truth to each other because we are all members of the same body. Be angry without thinning. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the devil any opportunity to work.
Thieves must quit stealing and instead, they must work hard. They should do something good with their hands so that they'll have something to share with those in need. Don't say anything that would hurt another person. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, What you say will help those who hear you.
Don't give God's Holy Spirit any reason to be upset with you. He has put his seal on you for the day you will be set free from the world of sin. Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. Be kind to each other. Sympathetic, forgiving each other, as God has forgiven you through Christ.
You can find great resources at Prayercast.com happy Trails, folks!
