From the Home Place

August 24, 2026

Good morning. At 4:30 a.m. the temperature is 63, after an evening low of 57. The thirty-day forecast shows evening lows in the low 50’s and upper 40’s for September, now that will be some good sleeping weather! Today, the weather man is predicting 90 for a high, with a small chance of rain. Wednesday is looking like a much better shot at receiving some rain!

Yesterday I preached from Ephesians 4:14-17 about God’s desire for His children to “Grow up.” The Holy Spirit was kind as He helped each of us realize that growth in Christ is a constant process. One that is very strongly required by our Heavenly Father. You see friends, following Jesus is a constant growth process that is measured byour likeness of Jesus. Each season that I walk with Jesus, I should be becoming more and more like Jesus, or I’m just out for a stroll.

Look at His first disciples, let’s focus upon Peter. Within a three-year period, Peter had gone from catching fish as a living, to now catching men because he was living with Jesus. Just look at Peter’s sermon in Acts 3:11-26; notice the boldness, clarity and purpose with which Peter preaches. This is the guy who couldn’t decide where he stood with Jesus a short time earlier, and now Peter’s declaration, application and invitation are truly the working of a Spirit-filler preacher!

How was it that Peter was able to make such a life transformation? As the Bible states, “they recognized that these men had been with Jesus,” speaking of Peter and John. It seems to me that there two elements to this picture: 1) Peter has lived with Jesus long enough that he was absolutely convinced that what Jesus said was truly words from the Father; 2) John held Peter accountable as they worked together to advance the Kingdom of God!

Today, we study this and we study that, but how often do we walk with Jesus during our day-to-day lives? You know, how often do we make decisions based upon biblical truth? How often do we treat others as Jesus would treat them? How often do we talk with Jesus about our life circumstances? How often do we declare Jesus Christ as our King in the ways that we live our lives, spend our money and especially in the ways that we talk and act?

How is it that we can say, “I’ve walked with Jesus for thirty years,” and live and act more like the non-Christians around us than like Jesus? The disciples walked with Jesus for three years and their lives were absolutely transformed to the point that they would literally die for the cause of Christ, and I find it difficult to tell someone about how Jesus worked in my life yesterday.

Through daily study of Scripture and prayer, we are learning to walk with Jesus, not just fulfill a spiritual obligation. In 2 Peter 3:18, Pete challenges us: “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Here’s the simple truth that we talked about yesterday during the sermon, “If I am not growing in Christ, then I am not glowing in life.” Remember the words of Jesus, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matth. 5:16)

Remember, Jesus Himself declared, “You are the light of the world.” (Matt. 5:14) Later in 2 Corinthians 4:6, Paul writes this note to us as Christ followers: “God who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness.’” You see my friends, if our light isn’t illuminating the darkness around us, perhaps we are not as spiritually bright as we think we are?

Allowing the light of Jesus to shine within and through our daily lives with you, Neal