From the Home Place

October 16, 2025

Yesterday we visited about keeping our focus “on things above,” by allowing the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in our lives. I know this looks like a really big job, and it is. In fact, none of us can produce the Fruit of the Spirit apart from the Spirit. It’s a God-sized life change!

We were at a high school rodeo when I was a freshman. One of the guys that I helped get out on his bull was having trouble find his “seat” just before he asked for his bull. We had pulled his rope and everything was ready to go, but he was shifting this way and then that way, forward and then backward. He was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I could tell he was having a little trouble finding his brave, and so could the stock contractor standing on the back of chute, adjusting the flank strap. Finally the contractor said, “Well you’ve done a fine job of riding this ‘ol feller in the chute, let’s open the gate and see what you can do out in the arena.

When the gate was opened, my friend immediately looked at the ground, and the next jump of the bull, my friend proved that gravity was still working. The clowns got the bull’s attention and my friend made it safely back to the top of the chute.

As I said, he was just a bit fearful of the task before him. It takes a lot of brave to tie yourself to 2,000 pounds of fresh hamburger! It also takes an equal amount of brave to fully yield your life to the Holy Spirit.

Let’s take a gander at Colossians 3:3, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” You see friends, because of your faith in the Lord Jesus, you are “dead” in Him. Now that’s a phrase we are not accustom to. We like the phares that remind us that we are “alive in Christ.,” but here we are told that we are “dead.” You know, that thing we are all trying to avoid.

But you see, if we are dead in Christ, that means that we are already with Him in Heaven spiritually speaking. Right now, we are just waiting for the reality of said event. You see, verse 3 is in the “aorist” tense in the Greek language. This tense refers to a fact that is past, present and future all at the same time. That means we have died with Christ, we are dying with Christ, and we will die with Christ.

The moment you accepted Jesus as Savior, you were “hidden” with Him in Heaven, are being “hidden” with Him in Heaven each day of your life now and you will be “hidden” with Jesus in Heaven at the moment of your death. The word “hidden” is in the perfect, passive, indicative form. meaning that it is a fact that happened to you by God’s power, not yours.

Perhaps we would all do well to realize that we are already “hidden” with Jesus in heaven, now all we have to do is live like it here and now. Kind of like my friend put up a great bull ride in the chute, but now it was time to open the gate. For each of us, it’s time to open the gate, keep our eyes on the Lord and allow His Spirit to produce His fruit in and through our lives.

Let me encourage, at times the ride can be rough, but it really is an amazing ride! For according to verse 4, “you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” The reason cowboys attempt to ride bulls is because of the thrill of hearing the roar of the crowd! The reason we need to yield to the Holy Spirit is so that we can fully experience the “glory” of God, now as well as when you walk into His presence and you hear the God of Heaven declare, “Well done My good and faithful servant!”

Looking forward with you, Neal