From the Home Place

May 14, 2026

Hot and windy – The End!

So, how’s your ticker working? Mine has always run quite a bit slow with low blood pressure. My nurse daughter says that’s part of the problem with too much plaque in my arteries, I don’t know about that, but if that is even close to true, it is a great illustration of many folks’ spiritual life.

When a spiritual life runs so slow and at such a low pressure that it keeps getting clogged up. You may know such a person: They call themselves “Christian”, but it really hasn’t made much difference in their life. They still talk and act like they did before they took on the name “Christian.” They still have the same negative and judgmental attitudes as they did before taking on the name “Christian.” In fact, if you knew this person before and after calling themself “Christian”, you probably haven’t seen any significant changes in who they are and how they live.

That’s because the name “Christian” carries no power by itself. Illustration: I have a 6″ piece of garden hose to which I affix the label “Dynamite.” I even put a bit of string in the end of it and painted it all brown; do I have a stick of dynamite? The label does not make it real, does it?

The way to prevent your “Christian” life from becoming low and slow, is to put it to work! In 1 Peter we find a verse that is rarely mentioned, look at 1:17, “if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;” Add to that 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

You see my dear friends, the label on the outside doesn’t mean much without there being a changed life on the inside. When a person commits their life to Jesus Christ for more than fire insurance, He begins transforming attitudes and actions, the primary things the two verses above address.

To keep your spiritual arteries flowing nice and clean, put them to work by being a blessing in the life of another person. Do for others instead of just for self. Live, love and laugh with those who do not know Jesus yet by letting the light of Jesus shine through you! Remember, “People do not care how much you know until the know how much you care.” When you joyfully live your life for others, they will know the difference – and then the label “Christian” really means something!

Living Christianity with you, Neal