From the Home Place

July 27, 2026

Starting this day at 64, headed for 93 for a high. 55% possibility of a bit of rain this afternoon and we are praying that 55 turns into 100%!

It’s 4 a.m., with a bit of cool in the air. After roasting in yesterday’s 100+ degree heat, 64 feels cool; and after walking in the flesh for the first part of my life, walking in God’s amazing grace feels way better! Salvation is one of those things in this life that a person just has to experience for themself. No one can completely explain to another person what it feels like to know that God is in control of life’s circumstances. Without the Holy Spirit within a person’s spirit, it’s impossible to fully understand how God is constantly drawing each believer closer and closer to Himself each day. Without the Spirit it is very difficult to read and understand the Holy Bible. Yep, salvation is just one of those things that a person has to experience before they can really begin to understand it.

Yesterday, Miss Deb and I enjoyed lunch with a group of special people who love the Lord and each other. As I sat there and listened to conversations, it was such a blessing to notice the different levels of spiritual maturity being expressed. You see that is what makes the local church a person’s “church family.” Every person is a valued member of the family, yet no two of them are exactly alike. Just like your earthly family!

A spiritual family nurtures and cares for each other, and sometimes, they even disagree with each other, just like an earthly family. But because of their “blood” relationship, they soon forget their differences and pick up where they left off, being family. You see, as a group of Christians, we are all related through and in the blood of Jesus.

For me, that is one of the exciting things about getting to go to heaven as a Christ follower, there will be folks there from all over the world, from centuries of different cultures, times and circumstances that I will get to spend eternity with as true brothers and sisters. In heaven, the family will be complete!

For many years, Miss Deb and I were serving our Lord in states far away from our earthly family. As such, we missed many family gatherings. Times of tears and times of joy passed by without us being present. As long as we were unable to attend a family gathering, the family wasn’t complete. The local church of today is not yet complete because some folks who will become family members through faith in Jesus, are not there yet. So, it is our responsibility to introduce them to what it looks like to live with Jesus as they watch our lives.

You and I are to live our lives in such a way that others see the joy, the peace and the power of walking with Jesus. Yep, we get to reveal what it is like to be a part of God’s family! That means that you and I have to be careful how we live when pre-Christians are around us. They don’t need us to be like them, they need to see that being a part of God’s family changes how a person acts, talks and respects others. The unbelievers that you and I will come into contact with this week need to see that walking with Jesus DOES make a real, genuine difference in a person’s life. Let’s all be praying for each other that we will each represent our Heavenly Father well as walk across this ‘ol ball of dirt!

Revealing the love of Christ with you, Neal