October 4, 2026
Good morning! It is a very cool 43 degrees at 5 a.m., yet this day will end on the hot side at 80 degrees. You might want to get a bucket with a lid on it and keep some of that warm, the weather man is predicting 40’s for highs by the end of the month.
The Lord poked me in the ribs around 3:30 this morning for a good visit. Near the end of our visit, He guided my mind to cedar fence posts. Yep, that’s the depth of my spiritual insight!
So, our lesson for today is about “cedar fence posts.” From the time I first remember helping with “men’s chores” around our outfit, every Fall we cut and peeled cedar fence posts. One of our neighbors off to the west of us had lots of “Jack cedars” that grew to 4-6″ in diameter and about seven feet in height.
Dad and I would take a sharp axe and a bow saw with us and spend a day cutting cedar trees, and stacking the brush off said trees. By the end of a long/hard day, we would arrive back home with a pickup load of new posts. Well, they were almost posts – now we had to peel the bark off all of them.
It was necessary to peel the bark off each post because bugs and moisture would settle in under the bark and soon rot the post. So that meant that I was responsible to put the bigger end of each new post against the bottom of a big post in our corral, and using a shovel, peel all of the bark off of the new post. Of course, today there is a machine for that job, but back then, I was the machine.
After peeling 99% of the bark off with a sharp shovel, I would then use a drawknife to finish cleaning the new post, and then I would carefully rick all of them in a pile to dry so they could go into a fence line next Spring.
Well, here is today’s lesson that the Holy Spirit guided me to early this morning: We too, need to allow the Holy Spirit to peel the “bark” off of us. I saw it as that old self, the outer man that Paul speaks of. Because, you see, our outer bark is just like the bark on those cedar trees, it’s where the decay will take place if not dealt with properly.
Today, as we go to church, may I suggest that we each ask the Holy Spirit to help us get rid of a layer of our fleshly bark – sinful attitudes and actions. For I can promise you, if you ask Him to do so, He will gladly help you see what needs to be peeled away so that you can be more useful in His service. And please know, that if we are unwilling to let Him peel off the old bark, the decay of sin will just get worse and worse, until it completely rots the life away; and none of us wants that to happen.
Each of those cedar posts served our ranch well for many years, after the bark was removed. Now it’s our turn to let our Master peel back some that which will cause decay in our individual lives, making this a great day to celebrate His amazing grace! So, go to church, enjoy the fellowship, sing loudly, and allow Him to peel away some of your bark – you will come out of church looking bright and shiney, ready for years of faithful service!
Dealing with decay with you, Neal
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