From the Home Place

January 29, 2026

Good morning. Here in Lusk, Wyoming at 5 a.m. we have 28 degrees, west wind and snow falling. Things should clear up in a bit and get close to 42 for a high.

Yesterday’s ride was great fun. Though it was cloudy and cool all day, we had an easy ride. The horses all behaved well, the cattle gathered quickly and hit a steady walk back to their new pasture. I had a great morning of listening and getting to know three gentlemen better. God is good!

With the country getting ready for the Super Bowl, most of our community is headed for the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City, South Dakota, this weekend. When you live in cattle country, most everyone is excited to go spend a day or two at the Stock Show. The problem is, it is snowing right now, with measurable snow coming tomorrow. As such, Miss Deb and I will probably choose to not get out on slick roads.

I suppose our choice is a byproduct of old age? Winter safety is considerably more important right now than it has ever been before. We seem to be more concerned about slick sidewalks and streets when walking; snow packed roads are also a no-no.

I remember a day when I was not so cautious about traveling on bad roads: When Miss Deb was two months away from delivering our second child, we gathered our little girl, Christmas presents, warm clothes and headed out on the 33-mile trip to the home place. We were living in Guernsey at that time and had decided to go out to the ranch to spend Christmas Eve with my family.

The last 12 miles of our trip would be gravel road that would be blown full of snow. When we got to that point, I chained up our 2-wheel drive pickup and said, “Well, here we go!” There were a couple of times that I had to get out and exercise my muscles by shoveling through snow drifts, but we finally made it.

All of my siblings were there, and I happily carried our little girl, and Miss Deb grabbed my arm as we plowed our way to the house. As we trudged through the snow, we could see the dim light on the porch. Anticipating a warm welcome, along with warm fellowship we finally made it to the door. As I opened the door, my dad greeted us with these words. “You get back in that pickup and get out of here! I’m not having my grandchild delivered here!”

Well, so much for the warm welcome. It didn’t take very long to determine that we were not welcome. And here in is the application for today: I fear that there is going to be a lot of people who get excited about going “home” for eternity, only to be greeted with the message of “you are not welcome here.”

Look at Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”‘” You see, these folks knew that they had done so many great works in the name of Jesus that their entrance to heaven was guaranteed, yet Jesus did not receive them.

There appears to be two reasons that Jesus refused entrance to heaven: 1) They did not have a personal relationship with Jesus and 2) Though the claimed the name of Jesus, they still practiced “lawlessness.”

To us, Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” If you want to go to heaven, you MUST have a relationship with Jesus now. Secondly, the name of Jesus carries great power, regardless of who uses it. But if the user continues to habitually sin against God, they will be rejected upon the judgment day.

Walking with Jesus is supposed to change the way we walk and talk, along with how we treat those around us. As Christ followers we are to be notably different from the non-Christians around us. For sure, none of us will ever live a perfect life here on this earth. Perhaps that should be a constant reminder that each day we need to depend upon the Holy Spirit to get most things correct, and that we also need to daily confess our sins to our Heavenly Father. Praising Him for the cleansing blood of Jesus!

You see my friend, God does not grade on a curve; “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We ALL need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior; not just good works done in His name. Remember, we are saved for “good works,” not by them. (Eph. 2:8-10)

Cling to Jesus, confess your sins and continue to do that which He calls you to do, for His glory. In such a manner, we shall be welcomed into His presence when we make our trip back home.

Traveling through this thing called life with you, Neal