From the Home Place

August 27, 2025

This Sunday will be the completion of a three-month commitment to fill the pulpit at a local church. I must admit, it has been a great blessing and we will really miss those dear folks. They have hired their new full-time pastor and are excited about what God has next for them! Miss Deb and I will be able to return to our “home” church for worship and fellowship, and to travel to better support our church planters who work so faithfully to bring the great message of hope to their communities. But what will be our next chapter of service to the Kingdom, we do not yet know.

I figure that I get to retire the day my Savior calls me into His eternal presence, until then, there is work to be done. Today, I start praying and waiting. Yet, what is next in our service to the King is secondary. What is most important is our relationship with Him. You see, God is way more concerned about who we are, than He is concerned with what we do.

Yes, both elements have value in His kingdom, yet without the relationship with Him, service to Him carries little weight. So for today, like every day, we will work on our relationship with our Heavenly Father. May He find us faithful regardless of the opportunity of service He shall provide.

Ephesians 2:8-9 makes it very clear that we are not saved by works. It is faith and faith alone that allows us to call God, “Our Father.” Yet 2:10 states that we are saved for good works. What makes those works “good” is often a topic of discussion. I am of the opinion that any service you or I might provide to God’s Kingdom is good when He receives the glory for the completed work.

The standard of “good works” is to be set by God, not by us. If we were to set the standard of determination, we would set the bar within reach of human possibilities. When God sets the standard, it is most often impossible for we humans to reach to that height without His assistance. In other words, “good works” are those things that the Holy Spirit works through human vessels to accomplish.

That is my heart’s desire, to join the Holy Spirit in His good works. I pray that is also your desire. To accomplish such great things, we must begin by making sure that our spirit is in tune with Him. That requires a daily yielding of self to the Savior, and a constant willingness to be used by Him in whatever way He chooses. You know, “daily take up your cross and follow Me.”

Today, we would appreciate your prayers for the next chapter of our lives in service to the King. We too, shall be praying for you to be given clear direction as to what God is wanting to do within you so that He can work through you. After all, I would much rather ask “What’s Next?” rather than say that “I’m retiring.”

Awaiting our next assignment with you, Neal