October 2, 2026
Good morning to each of you. Thank you for reading these posts, I hope they are challenging and encouraging you to continue to walk with the Lord Jesus in an especially powerful way! Knowing that Jesus gave His all for us, can we do any less for Him?
Forty-plus years ago, I heard Alastair Begg state, “A person never knows how far they have fallen from Jesus until they start the long climb out.” I’ve been climbing for all these years, and I still have a sizable distance to go to begin to accurately reflect the grace of Jesus Christ. When our Heavenly Father called me to salvation in 1982, I had no idea of the amazing things He had in store for my life!
I have been extremely blessed to be used by our Savior to share His amazing grace with so very many dear souls. As I ramble along this morning, please know that I am not attempting to draw attention to self, but only to Savior; yet the best credit I can give to the working of the Holy Spirit is to mention how He has been so faithful for the better part of my life. So, perhaps we can praise our Lord together for His “Amazing Grace!”
I constantly tell others, “God will accept us right where we are at, yet He has no intention of leaving you there.” You see friends, our loving Heavenly Father will reach to the depths of human life to take ahold of a person who is desperately attempting to run for Him. I so very well remember the day that the Spirit of God first spoke into my life, at least, the first time I heard His voice calling me to come to Jesus.
It was a beautiful March evening, the kind that encourages a person that Spring just might by around the corner. We had experienced on of the toughest winters I have ever seen, and I have walked through a few of them. All winter long, we could not get away from the constant snowing and blowing of an extremely cold and long winter. Yet on this particular night, the wind was calm, the stars were dancing across the snow-covered countryside and the Spirit of God had Miss Deb and I both ready to listen to His gentle voice.
You see, God does use circumstances to help attune our ears to His soft voice. It seems to me that when a person comes to the end of themself, they are ready to come to the beginning of God. That is where we both were on March 17, 1982. We were running ourselves ragged attempting to balance operating a cattle ranch and working at a local open pit mine while we were trying to raise three special kids and keep our marriage together. It would appear that we had come to a breaking point within our lives; and then God stepped in!!!
I remember when we rededicated our vows as Christ followers that following June on our tenth anniversary, that evening Miss Deb mentioned that there might not have been an eleventh anniversary had we not come to Jesus. Her comment shook me to my core; so, I started learning how to walk with Jesus, a journey He and I have been of every since.
Often, I have to stop and marvel at how extremely patient our Savior has been with me. Most anywhere along the path, He would have had every right to discard me and find someone else to invest His love into, yet He did not. As we all know, Jesus is always faithful! As one of my professors one stated, “Jesus will pull us along, leaving black heel marks all the way across the landscape.” I’m not sure that if I had so much learning to do, or so much unlearning to do, or perhaps both. Yet Jesus has always been faith for drawing this ‘ol coyote ever closer to Himself.
I pray that in some way that these writings have encouraged and challenged you to keep climbing. Keep climbing upward and onward, ever closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Every rung of the ladder that the Holy Spirit places your foot on, in one more step to your eternity with Jesus! Together, we continue to grow and glow for His glory and for our good. Together, we serve an amazing Savior because we want to, not because we have to. Together, we bow our knees, lift our hands and praise God the Father for sending the most precious gift any of us have ever know, His Son!
“Heavenly Father, we praise You for allowing us to walk with You through this thing called life. Together we offer our lives as living sacrifices for Your glory. Lord God, please continue to show us your kindness when we allow this world to pull us in its direction; and Holy Spirit, please help each of us to better keep our eyes focused upon the Author and Perfector of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!”
Father God, all I know to say right now is to repeat that which You drew me to say so many years ago, “I’m right here God, use me for Your glory! Send me where You want to send me, use me as You wish to use me to draw others to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Heavenly Father, help me to burn-out advancing Your kingdom, instead of rusting out loving this world system.”
God has called and I have answered, how about you? Have you answered by living your life for and with the Lord Jesus? If so keep climbing. If not, start climbing, it is so worth every moment!
Climbing out of the pit with you, Neal
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