From the Home Place

October 10, 2025

Good morning friends and thank you for taking a moment to visit. As I mentioned yesterday, being a good Christian carries the same characteristics of a good horse. We too are to be loyal, trustworthy and kind.

The Holy Spirit poked me in the ribs at 1:30 a.m. today, and I started praying and listening. Hopefully I listened correctly and I am to share with you the following observations. By the time my life was in double-digits, I was riding colts for my dad and a few for other folks. By the time I was in my early teens, riding colts was my primary job every summer.

Oh, there was still plenty of fence fixing and haying, along with windmill repairs and daily chores, but the rest of the day would find me working with horses. It seemed like I was always working with colts of all different ages and different stages. Some were wild and crazy, just getting started on this idea of being a good horse, while others were really close to being a finished horse, ready to return to their owner. And by the time a finished horse was loaded in a trailer and headed out the gate, two new ones would arrive.

Here we go again, comparing horses to Christians. I pray that there will always be a fresh crop of new Christians, and most likely plenty of those new Christ-followers will be “wild and crazy.” They are just starting to understand what it really means to be a Christians. Much like a colt, those new Christians will have moments of reverting to their old independent ways, looking like everyone else who is wild and running free out in the pasture. Yet at other moments they will show signs of learning to yield to their trainer, developing one or two of our primary characteristics of a good follower of Christ.

Back in my younger years, almost all colts started with a truck load of fear, accompanied by anger and resistance. Interesting isn’t it, that many people start their Christian walk in much the same way. They are afraid of losing their previous identity of who they have always been. These new converts will usually display a right smart amount of anger and resistance as well. But in time, both people and horses usually learn to trust their Master.

Many years ago, a old cowboy encouraged me to look at a person through a young horse’s eyes. Usually, they would see someone who most likely has only hurt them every time they were around a person. Sadly, the same is true of many folks today, they have only experienced pain at the hand of Christians. If you haven’t ever been hurt by a churchgoer, then you most like haven’t gone to church very often. As Dr. Moody once commented, “When you slide two Christians together in a church pew, you create friction.”

The same was true when you put a young horse together with a person way back when I was a kid, someone was going to get hurt! But if we would both stay with it, we would eventually learn to work together, and perhaps even become good friends. Again, true of going to church.

Over my years of training horses, I have ridden some really good ones. Yep, the same is true of being around Christians, I have been blessed to know a passel of really good ones. You see, every horse is different, and a good trainer will learn to respect those differences and allow that colt to become who he is with guidance. People as well are different, but if you will allow them to use those differences in a way that honors God, it is amazing how often such folks become a real key part of the local church!

Well, I reckon you have had just about enough of my yammering for one day, so let’s see if we can close the gate on this one: Differences are by God’s design, work with them. If He had wanted us all to be a Billy Graham, I reckon He would have made all of us to be like that grand ‘ol gentleman. Within biblical parameters, work with the differences, and watch that new believer bloom!

Secondly, your disciple needs you to show them the way, not to try to shove them to the way. As Jesus said, “Come follow me.” Just like horse trainers, God accepts us right where we are, but He has no intention of leaving us there. He sent Jesus to be an example of how we are to live our lives, so please, be that example for someone else He has brought into your life.

Well, here it is now 3:30 a.m. and I should probably spend another hour praying – my way getting my tack ready for another wild day of working with colts and working on the home place.

Riding off into the sunrise with you, Neal