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  • Cedar posts!

    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

  • Climbing, Climbing, Climbing!

    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

  • “Only the start!”

    October 1, 2026

    Good morning friends. Well, here we are with the wacky weather of fall. At 5 a.m. the temperature is 46 degrees, that will drop a degree or two just before sunrise. Today’s high is set to be 66 degrees, with tomorrow’s high to hit near 86 here in Lusk. We should be through with the 80 degree days by this time of the year, but next week is predicted to be in the high 70’s and low 80’s. With no badly needed precipitation in sight, please be careful with anything that could start a fire!

    I know that with this kind of weather I should be working outside, but I am trying to put a day’s worth of lessons together for our Men’s Rally, along with getting ready for a Sunday School lesson and two sermons for this Sunday, as well as preparing lessons for two weekly Zoom meetings with young men. Miss Deb is doing a long-term sub job at our local elementary school. My girlfriend is amazing when it comes to helping the children in her classes know that she cares about each of them. Teaching children is one of the many ways Miss Deb serves our Lord.

    “Made For More,” sung by Josh Baldwin. is a song that has really gripped my heart. One of the lines of that song reads, “The Cross of salvation was only the start.” Loved ones, I am of the opinion that too many of us who profess Christ as Savior, have accepted Jesus as Savior, and now we are just waiting for Him to call us Home.

    As the song states, “The Cross of salvation was only the start.” You see loved ones, as important as accepting Jesus as Savior is, Ephesians 2:10 leads me to the conviction that salvation is more about how we live the rest of our lives than it is about how it starts.

    Remember the parable found in Matthew 24 that speaks of the second coming of Jesus? The master leaves his slave in charge of caring for his fellow slaves and in verse 46 we read these words, “Blessed is that slave whom his maser finds so doing when he comes.” Did you catch the words “so doing”? Salvation isn’t a time out; it’s a time to rev up and be found faithful when our Master returns!

    My dear friends, do you think that any of us are so special that God the Father would call us to salvation in Jeus because we deserve it? NO! Salvation is always an act of God’s grace. He presents the gift of salvation, all we have to do it to accept the gift, free of charge, regardless of the color of our skin or the terribleness of our sin, salvation is always a gift from God!

    Yet none of us are saved just for our good, but always for His glory! And that is the way the rest of our life is to be lived, for His glory! You see, Satan, our evil enemy wants us to think that salvation is the end product instead of “only the start.” God’s word tells us that we are saved by grace, to “do” the things the Bible tells us to do. Jesus told His first disciples that they would be blessed if the “do” the things He had instructed them to do. Why would we present-day disciples be charged with anything less?

    Each day, each of us who claim to be a Christ follower have plenty of opportunities to “do” something that will glorify our Heavenly Father, all we have to do is watch for the opportunity. A conversation, an act of kindness, a hug, an encouraging word, a testimony or biblical truth shared. We can all “do” something besides just exist. Today, let the soap operas and the golf clubs have a rest and look for something that will be a blessing for someone – thus be “doers of the word.” James declares, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

    Today, let’s all “do” something that brings joy to our Savior, thus revealing that our salvation was only the start, as we find the “more” that we were saved for!

    Finishing well with you, Neal

  • Leaving a legacy!

    September 30, 2026

    Well, it looks like another warm, dry day. The 30-day forecast is predicting 0 precipitation during the month of October. By now we should be getting some good amounts of snow in the mountain, oh my, I hope this winter isn’t a repeat of last year!

    Friends, it seems to happen so slowly that we don’t pay any attention to it. Today is the end of another month. As the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, then the months turn into years, and the years turn into a lifetime – all gone buy way too quickly. Stop and chew on it for a bit this last day of September 2026: “What did I accomplish this last month that will have a positive impact upon the future of someone else?”

    Regardless of your age today, if you get to see this day through, tomorrow you will be older. You see older is something each of us will get to experience, if we live long enough. Last month I shared the biblical account of the life of Abraham with you: “Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man…” If you live long enough, you will die as an old person, so, “Isn’t it about time that you start living while you are young?”

    Today, every person is the youngest they will ever be again, so why not live like it. Instead of focusing upon what you can’t do, focus upon what you can do! For at least a little while today, forget about the have to’s and focus upon a get to’s. Do something, say something that you will be remembered for. Impact another person’s life in such a way that they will tell the next generation about you.

    Last night, I spent 90 minutes with two other men my age. We talked about the present condition of the American male, and how there have been so many drastic changes in our culture concerning the views of men in today’s culture. We all concluded, “I do not want to be remembered as another man who stood by and watched a worldly culture destroy the value of the men God created!”

    So, on October 17, 2026, we will be hosting a “Men’s Rally” here in Lusk; a day of calling all men to begin living like a man of God. We will do our best to answer so many questions, questions like: “What does such a man look like? What does he act like? How does he live his life? How does he leave a legacy for the men who follow him? When his time of death comes, will his Heavenly Father invite him into heaven with the words, ‘Well done My son!’”

    You see my friends, I don’t want to just exist for however many years I might have left, I want to live! I want to set a track that will lead others straight to the cross of Jesus Christ! And there, they will find their real purpose of life. This life is not about the stuff I accumulate, nor is it about the notoriety I receive, this life is about leaving a straight track for others to fall in love with Jesus. By God’s amazing grace, each of us can play our part in helping someone else realize their potential as Christ followers; thus, we too can die as Abraham did, “satisfied with life.”

    So, to quote the old country song, it is time for each of us “to live like we are dying,” because we are. None of us will ever be younger than we are today. My friend, do something with your life that will guide someone else straight to the cross of Christ. Speak positive words, kindly. Let your light so shine that others will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven!” After all, this is the only September 30, 2026, all of us will ever see; why not make the most of it!

    Desiring to leave a positive legacy with you, Neal

  • “Try it, you will like it!”

    September 29, 2026

    Good morning! At 5 a.m. the temperature is a solid 49 degrees, looking to reach 71 before this day fades into the darkness of night. Last Friday was our last day of 12 hours of daylight for this year. From here on, the days will continue to get shorter and shorter until December 22, when we once again begin to add minutes to the amount of daylight we get to enjoy each day. The more serious issue is that the long-range forecast is predicting very little, if any, moisture for October for our area.

    Fall cattle work is getting wrapped up, the kids are back in school and for now, there is a bit of calm in the land of ranching. After an extremely busy Summer and a rat-race Fall, both filled with busy, busy, busy; this is the time of year when most families can take a breath and start enjoying school, community and church activates.

    For Miss Deb and I, Fall is when we attend sporting events as we can, we have more folks over for a meal and we both get busy building into the lives of others, as well as more time to work on us. Dr. Howard Hendricks once told me that “you can’t give away that which you do not possess.” In another words, he was saying that none of us can give out of a vacuum. Yet as we gain spiritual knowledge and truth, we are expected to share some of that with those around us.

    I pray that this Fall and Winter will give you plenty of opportunities to build into the lives of others. Start a study in your home or use a tool like ZOOM on your computer to get involved in the lives of others. As we have talked about before, you have become a Christian not just for yourself, but also so that you can be encouraged by others, and so that you can be an encourager. People need each other; or as the Bible states it, “Iron sharpen iron.” We all need someone to help us stay spiritually sharp, and this is the season for such sharpening!

    If you can’t find a group to join, start your own group. Find a topic and use a book and the Bible to delve deeper into that topic but be sure to take someone else with you on the journey! Please, do not allow “I can’t” to rob you from the opportunity of being sharpened. Besides, when we say “I can’t” the Holy Spirit says, “We can!” Trust Him to equip you with the tools needed to do your part in gathering a group of people for an amazing spiritual journey.

    Remember, apply that which you are learning and watch the Holy Spirit begin to use your life for His glory! It is absolutely amazing how our Heavenly Father can use us once we start moving. Speaking of moving, for many of us, this is the season that we quit moving and start gaining weight. I’m suggesting that we fight gaining physical weight and work at gaining spiritual weight. The more spiritual weight each of us gains, the better we will be able to “stand firm” against our enemy. The more spiritual weight each of us gains, the more joy and fulfillment we will experience. The more spiritual weight each of us gains, the greater our Kingdom contribution will be!

    So, come on, get involved in a study group! Why not jump into the deep end of the pool and host one? If you are not ready to lead, get someone from your church to do that part for you. After all, none of us will know what we are capable of until we say, “Here am I Lord, use me!”

    Growing and going with you, Neal

  • Looking for GOLD!

    September 26, 2026

    Good morning! It looks like a great day for our pasture golf tournament; and whatever else you might have planned. We are starting the day at 51 degrees, headed for 80 before this one is in the books. It looks like we will have a 9-mph North breeze and little to no chance of any rain. Enjoy your day!

    Tomorrow, our Adult Bible Fellowship group will begin a long study of the book of Romans. As a church family we are learning to study less for more. That means that for this Sunday, we will be looking at Romans 1:1 and a couple of other Scriptures; a method we will use as we work our way through the 16 Chapters of Romans.

    I am of the opinion that we Americans tend to read too much Scripture in one chunk instead of really discovering every golden nugget in a smaller group of verses. Sure, you can read through the Bible in a year, but I have to ask, what do you get out of such an exercise. Oh, please don’t make me say something I am not about to say: Any time we open the Scriptures we should draw ever close to God.

    May I illustrate: You and I are walking across a mountain range here in Wyoming. A range that we both know to be rich with gold deposits. So, we grab our pickaxe and shovel, and off we go looking to strike it rich with our gold discovery! As we walk across the landscape, we both keep our eyes peeled for a golden nugget, and we walk, and we walk, and we walk. All day long we walk back and forth across an area that our friends have found plenty of gold nuggets on.

    One of our friends who has found plenty of golden nuggets tells us that we have to cover at least 20 miles each day if we really want to find a lot of gold. So, we walk, and we walk, and we walk. Back and forth, up and down, around and around we walk every day, all week long. Yet our pockets are never filled with gold nuggets.

    If we are in an area that is known for its gold, perhaps we should stop walking, and dig. You know, maybe we should just stop and use the tools we have brought with us to find the golden nuggets that lie just below the surface of the ground???

    My point, every time we read the Bible we will find some kind of nugget, but to find the bigger, richer nuggets, we need to camp on a few verses and dig. Dig deep into biblical truth using the tools we have to dig with: a dictionary, a study Bible, a notebook and a pen. Stop and dig around into the words of each verse, the truths within each verse and the application of each verse. Cover less ground, but dig deeper and discover more golden nuggets of Scriptue!

    Romans 1:1a, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.” To begin with, I would do some digging into who Paul is. What can we find out about this man? Next, I would want to know what does the term “bond-servant” mean? This is a fun one: In the Bible, a “bond-servant” is a slave who has decided to work for the same master for the rest of the slave’s life.

    Quite often a biblical slave would work for a kind, benevolent, master. That slave would be allowed to take a wife; they would have children and have a good life working for their kind master. Because the slave was a Jewish man, at the end of seven years of service, he was to be freed. But because he has a great master, a wife and family who really belong to his master, he now chooses to stay and continue working for his master and to live with his family. A slave who chose to stay over being free to walk away was called a “bond-servant.” As such, Paul considers himself to be a slave of a very benevolent Master – Jesus Christ!

    You see my friends, we are all a slave of someone or something. Here in America, it is usually something that keeps us enslaved. Wealth, security, freedom and status each tend to be our taskmaster. These earthly treasures keep us enslaved for years and years because none of them are a considerate, loving master.

    The amazing thing is that Jesus Christ is a very loving, considerate, compassionate Master who gives us wealth, security, freedom and status as we walk with Him though this thing called life. In fact, there are even some folks who have decided to live the rest of their life serving Jesus, people who are now what the Bible calls a “bond-servant.”

    In closing, I offer two suggestions: 1) Study less for more; and 2) Spend the rest of your life serving the very best Master anyone could ever have. Serving Jesus is way better that being enslaved to chasing money, false security and temporary status.

    Digging deep into a rich relationship with Jesus with you, Neal

    And by the way, remove the “L” from “GOLD” and see what you get! My, the difference one little letter makes.

  • “Fore!”

    September 25, 2026

    It looks like we will start this day at 46 and make it up to 71 this afternoon. Cloudy and breezy, this will be a great day!

    It will be an interesting day as I will be setting up the course for our Pasture Golf Tournament. Men can use a five-iron and wedge, women can use a 4-iron and a wedge. We will be playing in a cattle pasture just north of Lusk. All green fees are a donation toward an orphanage in Uganda. There are 45 children there in desperate need of food and medical attention. Hopefully we can help with a part of their expense and have a lot of fun in the process. We are playing tomorrow, Saturday, September 26. Starting at 10 a.m. and enjoying a carry-in lunch at noon. Please come and join us if you can!

    You see, this golf tournament will be much like our spiritual lives as well. For some, they will sprint around the course, making it look easy; while we “whack & smack” golfers will take way longer to finish the last hole. Some folks find walking with Jesus to be confusing and difficult, while others easily fall into a rhythm and grow at a regular rate. What makes the difference? May I suggest two things.

    First, consistent spiritual growth resembles an improving golf game in that both take practice and time. Tomorrow will be the first time I’ve touched my golf clubs in more than two years – I don’t expect to wow anyone with my abilities. Likewise, if a person attends church once or twice a year and seldom reads their Bible in between those occasions, their spiritual maturity will likely also be less than impressive.

    Yet for the person who works at improving their golf game, they will be like the person who works at improving their spiritual life. Neither circumstance finds improvement by lack of effort. The Apostle Paul tell us to “work out” our faith. It doesn’t just happen that a person becomes spiritually mature, or a good golfer. Both require effort, training and consistent practice.

    The second reason that some people’s golf game and spiritual life never improve is simply a lack of interest. If improving either one is not a priority in my life, I will always be a “whack & smack” player at both. I hope that we all have things we work at improving, but to improve at anything takes time, hard work and dedication. Golf and spiritual maturity both require each of these elements.

    Now, for how golf and spiritual maturity are different: one is a game and the other is not. One is temporary, the other is not. You see my friends, if you enjoy golf, it will last only for a season – sorry I really doubt there will be golf in heaven. Even the best of golfers are at their peak for just a few years. Yet your spiritual journey of walking with Jesus will prepare you for an eternity of enjoyment. So, go ahead and play golf, but get serious about your spiritual life, for only one will last you forever.

    If you can make it, we will see you one mile north of town tomorrow morning for some crazy golf, and if you are growing in you walk with Jesus, I’ll see you in heaven when our time on this ‘ol ball of dirt comes to a close.

    Working at spiritual disciplines with you, Neal

  • What a great picture!

    September 23, 2026

    Good morning friends! Here in Lusk, we are starting this day at 55, headed for 75, with a slight possibility of some rain this afternoon. After last week’s rains, this area finally has a green tint to it! What a blessing it is to finally see green grass showing up in place of the brown!

    I pray that the same can be said for the spiritual life of each of us: There is fresh new growth that has replaced the old, withered faith of yesteryear. You see my friends, with each season that pass by, we should be able to look back and say, “Thank You Lord! Thank You, Lord, for the added spiritual growth, the changes in attitude that are bringing about changes in actions.

    “Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to serve you for at least one more season of this thing called life. Thank You, Lord, for giving me the strength and the wisdom to handle the rough patches with grace and love; for helping me to know You better than I ever have before and for allowing me to know me better than I ever have before.

    “Lord Jesus, we are very grateful that You continue to work within us, so that You can work through us. It truly is a blessing to get to walk with You during each day that You give each of us life!”

    You see my friends, serving Jesus is not a burden when we each realize how extremely blessed we are to know Jesus as Savior, and to get to live our life in a way that brings Him glory. However, we must constantly want such a life for those around us as well. Walking with Jesus is not a so much a privilege as it is a responsibility. As the old saying goes, “You might be the only Jesus some folks will ever know; represent Him well.” That is to say, that as Christ followers we get to be the picture of what a life of contentment, humility and joy looks like for those who don’t know Jesus as of yet.

    The way we talk and walk represents Jesus to those around us. May each person we cross tracks with today get to see an accurate picture of Jesus Christ, and not blurry picture of self? For as much as you and I might pray, “I want to see Jesus!” we must also pray that we each reveal Jesus in both attitude and action.

    Enjoying the green grass of a growing faith with you, Neal

  • The spiritual treadmill!

    September 13, 2026

    Good morning! It’s a bit cool out there this morning, headed for 78 for a high, perhaps with a bit of rain later in the day. Miss Deb and I are headed out the door on our way to preach at Esterbrook Community Church. This trip is always a going-home time for us! We are both looking forward to being a blessing to those dear folks and anticipating that we will most likely receive the greater blessing.

    On Friday, we had to go to Cheyenne so I could run on a treadmill for my Cardiologist. Wow, was that fun, not! But, by God’s amazing grace I survived. While visiting with the folks who were administering said testing, I attempted to guide the conversation into a spiritual direction. It was kind of like trying to steer on old John Deer tractor while it is barely moving. Neither of my young friends were the least interested in visiting about spiritual matters.

    So, as I was trying hard to keep both feet moving in a forward motion, wondering why there was so little oxygen in the little room, I was instructed to keep my focus upward and straight ahead! As I looked upward and straight ahead, all I could see was a calendar which was located on a wall about two feet in front of me.

    Here’s my point: In spite of all of my efforts to keep up with the ground that was moving underneath my feet (the treadmill), I was going nowhere. The calendar never got any closer, and the wall that I was running toward, never allowed me to catch it. Literally, I was running like an ‘ol fat man, yet going nowhere in the process.

    And then it struck me, way too many folks who call themselves Christians are running on a spiritual treadmill. They are running like crazy but are going nowhere! They run to church for worship, for meetings, for exercise classes, for special gatherings, but their spiritual depth never seems to go anywhere.

    These folks most likely attend Bible studies, small groups, and even have devotions every morning, but because they seldom apply all of that learning, their spiritual life doesn’t move much. As such, their spiritual growth seldom changes scenery. They just continue to run on the same spiritual treadmill, expecting to see things change, but they seldom do.

    You see my friends, without deliberate application, all of our learning does very little to push us forward to become more like Jesus. We have lots of head-knowledge, but the scenery seldom changes; just like watching a calendar on a wall while struggling to just keep my feet moving forward.

    Friday, I mentioned to my two young friends in that little room with me, that one would think with all of today’s electronic advances that their I.T. person should be able to replace that calendar with a television screen that shows a constant change of scenery as a person walks through the mountains or around a lake, or even down the street. They both shrugged their shoulders and increased the incline and speed on my treadmill!

    I guess some folks don’t care all that much about where they are headed on the treadmill of life, but then there are those of us who want to see things change on a regular basis. If you are one of those change people, try applying all that you are learning spiritually. It’s amazing how quickly the scenery changes with proper application!

    Enjoying walking on the spiritual treadmill with you, Neal

  • 9/11!

    September 11, 2026

    Greetings friends. We are starting this day 15 degree warmer than yesterday, yet today’s high should be around 86, 5 degrees cooler than yesterday’s high. A steady North/West breeze of 15-40 mph will keep things cooled down some. These strong winds are not going to be a blessing to firefighters though. All of that with a 2% rain probability, doesn’t make for a good day of fighting fires.

    Well, here it is once again, 9/11! On this day we will pause to remember the thousands of folks who lost their lives on this date in 2001. The date that will always remind us of the invasion of an enemy upon American soil. Though this enemy threatened our national security, we also have an enemy who threatens our spiritual security.

    Satan and his army of demonic spirits have battled against humanity, and especially against God’s children, since the day that Satan invaded the Garden of Eden and brought spiritual destruction upon the first humans, Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us that the sin on Adam, is passed on to every human born after that time in the Garden.

    Every person who has ever been born after Adam’s sin, has inherited a “sin nature” that desires to rebel against God. That is why the Bible can clearly state, “For we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 Because everyone of us has sinned against God, every one of us needs a Savior, a need that only Jesus Christ can fill.

    Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Because we all have followed in our father Abraham’s footprints and have sinned against God, we all need a Savior/Jesus.

    And much like our nation continues to battle against the terrorists who invaded America on 9/11, each of us continues to battle against our spiritual enemy who invaded humanity shortly after creation. An enemy who is alive and extremely well here in America today.

    In the same way that our government has used military forces to battle the terrorist enemy of America, God is using every Christian soldier to battle Satan and his demonic forces as well. For you see my friends, we are at war with the “spiritual forces of evil,” who daily attempt to destroy the lives of people all around us.

    As a born-again Christian, you are now a member of God’s spiritual army, battling against an enemy as old as time itself. As the children’s song reminds us, “I’m in the Lord’s army!” Each Christian needs to rise up and stand firm upon Biblical truth. We need to fight with our lives (our personal testimony), for the spiritual lives of every pre-Christian around us on a daily basis. As the Apostle Paul would tell us, “Fight the good fight!”

    As such, Jesus challenges each of us, “Let your light so shine that others will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven!” You see friends, how we live our lives really does matter. The things we say, and the things we don’t say, have very significant value in the lives of those around us.

    Our pre-Christian friends and neighbors need us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 Dear friends, we have an enemy, and that enemy is not each other! (Eph. 6:12)

    So, as we remember the brave men and women who gave their lives on 9/11, and continue the fight every day since that moment in American history, may we also be reminded that we are still in a spiritual battle. A battle that God will one day have a great victory over and bring to a close. Yet for today, we are at war.

    “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

    Standing firm with you, Neal

    Sorry, I didn’t get this posted yesterday.