From the Home Place

April 16, 2026

Good morning! At 4:30 a.m. it’s 57 degrees, reaching toward 93 for a high. Praise our Lord for giving us these cooler evenings and early mornings. It sure does make some good sleeping weather!

Last night before calling it a day, I spent some time in Titus 2. If we would only apply this passage, our culture would look a lot different. You see, Titus 2 is a passage about “we” instead of the “me” our culture is constantly smothering us with.

I remember when television commercials were about a new product that was available to the general public. Most commercials were about a product for the home that would make life better for everyone who lived there. Today, it seems, that most commercials are an attempt to convince me that I need this product so that I can have more fun, work less, as I work at getting ahead of everyone else. Commercials have become very personal, leaving everyone else in the dirt, because you are the only person smart enough, or worthy enough to enjoy the advertised product.

Instead of America being the home of “we the people,” it has become the kingdom of the Three Stooges – “ME, MYSELF AND I.” It would appear that in today’s culture the American dream goes no further than my personal pleasure and pride. Just notice how often we are encouraged to get to the top, regardless of how many others get trampled down in the process.

That is perhaps why I enjoy Titus 2, a passage about helping others to become all that God intended for them to be. As you read this chapter, only 15 verses, you will notice that we are instructed to take time to build into the life of someone else, living our lives in a way that gives those around us a good example for following Jesus.

Don’t let the phrases, “older men” and “older women” lead you to think that these verses apply only to those who have one foot in the grave. Think of it this way, in your day-to-day life, who are you older than? You see my friend, all of us are older than someone. Just think of how the attitudes of Titus 2 would impact your home life if those who live with you all practiced these principles???

Another point of interest within this passage is that we are to minister to each other by gender. “Older women” with “young women,” and “older men” with “young men.” No this isn’t some chauvinistic passage; it is a biblical passage that realizes men and women learn best from their own gender when it comes to learning about life and walking with God.

And for all of us working people, this passage gives sound advice about our attitudes and actions concerning our employer. I know that it is anti-cultural to not want to “stick it to” my boss, but Titus 2 encourages me to actually go the extra mile to be a good employee. No laziness while expecting a decent paycheck. This passage takes us back to the old adage of expecting “an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.”

I’m of the opinion that this short chapter of Scripture is packed with a heap of vitamins that modern day life could sure be nourished with. Let’s close today’s visit with verse 14 as it speaks of Jesus Christ, “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

Building into the lives of younger folks with you, Neal

July 14, 2026

Good morning friends. Hopefully this note finds you and yours in good health and excited about serving our Lord one more day!

Our Heavenly Father poked me in the ribs at 3:30 this morning for our visit. As I praised Him and then prayed to Him, I could hear a train going through on the north side of our tiny town. To the south of our home, I could hear a semi-truck idling at the local truck stop. The main highway through Lush is a bit west of our home, and I could hear a couple of trucks driving down that street. East of us, a motorcycle was enjoying quick accelerations, I reckon he knew the local policeman were busy somewhere else. Outside our bedroom window the neighbor’s dog was barking at a rabbit or his own shadow.

As I lay there in bed, with the windows open for some cool air, all I could hear was the noise of the world around me. Try as I might, I heard no response from my Lord for quite some time. I then returned to praising Him that it looks like He is giving me one more day to study, pray, work and connect with others. It looks like He is going to allow me the blessing of being a blessing for one more day.

As I praised Him for allowing Miss Deb and I to be servants within His vast kingdom, I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me toward thinking of how Abraham could step outside of his tent and see a sky full of start, instead of the glow of streetlights. How Abraham, though he lived in a tent, was surrounded by livestock of all different kinds! And for whatever reason, I could sense the Spirit leading my mind back to the “home place” I was blessed to grow up on.

A place where there were no streetlights, not trains, no trucks, no barking dogs, no motorcycles, no noise! Oh, how I yearn for a place of quietness. What a blessing 5-10 acres would be. A place where I could stand and stare into a sky filled with dancing stars. A place where I could possibly even have a saddle horse, a few chickens and a garden. A place where the only noise I would hear at night would be the quiet of nature. Oh my, what a blessing that would be.

I know Miss Deb also yearns for a little spot in the country, where we could live out the last of our earthly days. A place where quiet is possible.

As I sit here within our home in the town Lusk, I continue to hear the trucks, trains, vehicles and barking dogs, but then just like that, a pair of Canadian geese flew over our house. It sure was nice of them to say “HI!” to me as they flew over, probably headed for breakfast in someone’s alfalfa field as the sun is just beginning to glow in the East.

Yep, it sure is tough to live in the middle of so much noise; but it is sure enough a blessing to get to live. I don’t know if the Lord is getting ready to move us out into the country or not, but what is really important is that we get to live for Him wherever we call home. For you see my friends, for each of us, this earthly home is just the place we are passing through on our way to our eternal home.

While here on this ‘ol ball of dirt, we may not get to live where we would prefer to live, but for as long as we are alive, may we each live! For whatever reason, way before sunrise today, my Lord reminded me of the words of Dr. Hendricks when he said to us one day in class, “Gentlemen, would you please pray for me that the day that I quit living and the day that I die have the same date.” I pray that for you and for myself as I sit at this computer at 4:30 a.m.

Well, it’s now 5:30 a.m. and the temp is at 60 degrees, headed for 96. I’ve been awake for a couple of hours: praying, listening, reading and writing; it must be time to build a pot of coffee and get this day underway. I have no idea what this day holds for each of us, but I do know Who holds this day. May we each walk into it boldly with Him as we get to serve the King of kings!

Looking for some peace and quiet with you, Neal

July 13, 2026

Greetings! We are enjoying a cloudy morning, with a cooler breeze blowing at 16-37 out of the SSE. The one part is that we are headed for 99 degrees, with 1% possibility of rain.

The Lord was kind to us in Guernsey yesterday. The young folks who lea music for us were a blessing; there were several visitors from around Guernsey, and we really enjoyed seeing friends from Lusk who were also in attendance.

For our lesson time, we looked at Ephesians 3:19b where the Apostle Paul prays for us that as followers of Jesus Christ, that we will know the “love and surpassing knowledge of Jesus, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

We used a balloon to represent us as individuals. As we gain knowledge about who Jesus is and what He has done on our behalf, that should not puff us up like a balloon but instead should bring about great humility within our soul. As Paul stated, we are to “be filled with all the fulness of God,” instead of gaining just more biblical information.

The book of Proverbs tells us that knowledge by itself just “puffs up.” Knowledge without proper application inflates our personal balloon, so that we tend to be quick to judge others instead of loving others. We American Christians are so focused upon gaining information that we seldom work on application of said information. Years ago, I heard a professor state that in his mind “wisdom is the proper application of information.”

So, to know the “love of Jesus that surpasses knowledge” is the proper application of that which we know of Jesus. Personally living what the life of Jesus Christ teaches us leads us toward the “fullness of God.” Here the word “fullness” is well understood as “being complete in God.” “Fullness” means lacking nothing.

Now I agree, none of us will ever achieve that level of completely knowing God while we live on this ‘ol ball of dirt, but we should always be reaching closer and closer to Christ-likeness as we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

To use Scripture to push this idea forward, the more we learn of Jesus, the more like Jesus we should become and the more the Fruit of the Spirit should be evident within and through our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

It seems to me that for many of us as Christians, the more information we gain, the less “patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” is revealed. Instead, we often live out Galatians 5:26 which is found in the next paragraph after the list from above: “We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Yes, we are to allow the Holy Spirit to breathe His air into our personal balloon, but then we are to quickly and appropriately apply that “knowledge.” For each of us, we are to “Humbles ourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time.”(1 Peter 5:6) As such, may we each be careful not to “think more highly of” ourselves than we should, thus blowing our own air into our balloon, leading to conceit.

Conclusion, allowing the Holy Spirit to breathe His air into our balloon will be revealed in a life that lives the love of Jesus Christ! A life that reveals a portion of “the fulness of God.”

Placing myself under the “mighty hand of God” with you, Neal

July 10, 2026

Good morning. It’s a cool 53 degrees at daylight, with a projected high of 91; along with a 1% chance of rain. Tomorrow will start a week of nasty heat and wind, not a good combination during a drought, but we continue to trust our Lord, even during the difficult times.

Sorry that I haven’t written for a few days, it is difficult to know what to write about. However, today I would like to share a truth with you that our most recent model has reminded me of. God is in the difficult times as well as the good times.

Stop and think about it, if this life was made up of only the good and easy, what would our character be like? Romans 5 makes it very clear that God uses trials to train us to be totally dependent upon Him, and to be more like Him. As I typed that sentence, I realized that with that dependence upon God, He wants us to do what we can do without compromising our dependence upon Him.

May I illustrate: We are in the process of remodeling the bathroom in our little house. The old surround bathtub has been cut up, taken out and hauled away. Yet as we all know, tearing something, or someone apart is the easy part. Building up is the difficult part. Perhaps that is why in 1 Thessalonians 5:11a we are told to, “Encourage one another and build up one another…”

Oh my, if we as Christians would live just this one portion of Scripture. To “encourage” means to “urge” or to “exhort” others. We could quite likely say that the word encourage means to gently push someone else forward. No, not forward to what we think they should be, but forward to consistently being more like Jesus – a process the Bible calls making “disciples!”

May I ask each of us, especially myself, how well do I “urge” others to be like Jesus. Let’s just be plain honest shall we, our tendency is to tear others down for not being like me, instead of “urging” them to be more like He. Oh my, how often I tend to tear down rather than build up.

One more reading of 1 Thessalonians 5:11a, “Encourage one another and build up one another.” First we are to “encourage” (urge, gently push forward and upward); Then we find the little word “and” followed with the command to “build up one another.” You see, to “encourage” one another is only the first half of the command. The second half is to “build up one another.” To understand the command to “build up” is simple, it is the opposite of doing that which comes natural – tear down!

Tearing out the old bathroom was the easy part, but building up the new part has been extremely difficult. Each day brings a new difficulty with this project of remodeling the bathroom. Oh, and by the way, Jesus clearly stated that “each day has enough trouble of its own,” boy, this remodel is proving that statement to be accurate.

You see friends, the words “build up” in the original language are described as, “a verb, present, active, imperative, second person, plural,” meaning that to “build up” requires action, it is imperative – a command not a suggestion, “second person” tells me that it is something I am to do for someone else not just myself, “present” means that I am to continue the process daily, and the “plural” indicates that I am to fulfill this command with everyone around me, not just myself. Come on, admit it, it’s easy to “build up” self, but it is hard work to “build up one another.”

Fact, it took me one day to tear down the old bathroom; a week later, we are about half done with building up the new one. Sure, building up is difficult, time consuming, and unnatural, but it is required by our Lord, for the betterment of all involved. From a biblical point of view, to “build up” means to “strengthen,” which means to “make more effective.” Once again, that sounds like making “disciples,” the primary thing every Christian is commanded to be doing with their life.

For sure, the new bathroom will be much nicer when it is finished, just like your disciple will be much nicer when you are finished encouraging and building up that person! But my human nature still finds it easier to tear down than to build up; perhaps I need to work on me more than I thought? After all, following Jesus is not natural, it is a super-natural work, empowered by the Holy Spirit!

Building up with you, Neal

July 8, 2026

Greetings! It was 56 degrees at 2:30 a.m. when the Lord poked me in the ribs for a visit. At 5:30 its 53, headed for 81. There is a 62% shot at some rain this afternoon, hopefully without any rocks in it.

The early morning visit was about John 10:10 where Jesus states, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

I hope that you as a Christ-follower have noticed the constant influence in today’s movies, portraying the “dark side” of this world? So many popular movies portray Satan and his fellow demons as subjects of great movies that everyone should watch, and unfortunately, most all of these kinds of movies make billions of dollars and gain great popularity. Why?

Simple answer, “Because we live in a world that is under the influence of Satan.” Although God the Father is in control of the universe, including what takes place on this earth, He also allows humanity to choose their lot. God does not force Himself upon anyone. Thus, as fallen humans, we prefer to exist within the dark rather than live in the light

Just look at the lifestyles that are portrayed on television and in movies: homosexuality is constantly portrayed as normal, while Satan’s main attributes are celebrated – “steal and kill and destroy.” The word “steal” doesn’t just mean to take that which is not mine, it carries the idea of doing so with force. There is a measure of brutality even in Satan’s method of stealing. This idea continues in the next two words, “kill and destroy.”

To “kill” within this context is to murder. There is nothing humane about the way Satan and his crew steal life from someone. Take a moment and read the verses following John 10:10. As you study verses 11-21, note the conversation is about a wolf killing sheep. The “sheep” are here a reference to humanity, not just Christians. The “wolf” is Satan.

When a wolf kills a sheep there is nothing humane about it. The process is laced with terror and pain. Wolves most often kill for the sport of killing, not just for food. Verse 12 reveals that Jesus possessed a keen understanding of how wolves operate. Note, Jesus doesn’t use pronouns to describe a wolf killing a single sheep because the wolf is hungry. No, the wolf “snatches them” and “scatters them.” The word “them” reveals that as a wolf attacks a group of sheep, his aim is to disrupt the life of each sheep within said group. Suggesting that the “sheep” are like a human family.

The shepherd’s responsibility is to keep the sheep in a group, well protected. Verses 12 & 13 reveal that the shepherd mentioned here is a “hired hand.” He doesn’t own the sheep, and as such, has no vested interest in the wellbeing of the sheep; for this shepherd it’s just a job. Why does the shepherd “flee” when the wolf shows up? Because the shepherd knows that the wolf is a killing machine and as such, is likely to kill the shepherd as well as kill the sheep.

However, Jesus is a “good shepherd.” He is willing to “lay down” His life to protect the sheep because He does care about the sheep. His desire to protect the sheep, is exactly why Jesus went to the cross where He laid down His life for the sheep.

I encourage you, spend some time chewing of John 10:10-21; and then stay away from programs, books, movies and other avenues of influence that glamorize the workings of Satan. After 40+ years of counseling, I can tell you for sure that the power of influence is tremendous. Just look at the world around you – most are captivated with the brutality of the dark side. Stay away from all influences of evil, even those considered to be “innocent.”

It’s really simple, if you desire to be a follower of the “good Shepherd,” then stay away from the “wolf”! If you want to enjoy “life abundantly,” then you must stay very close to the Shepherd! “Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear.”

Living under the protection of the good Shepherd with you, Neal

July 4, 2026

It will be a warm one today, starting at 53, headed for 90 with NNW winds at 9 to 18 mph.

With this hot and dry morning, I can’t help but think of other fourth-of-July mornings on the ranch where I grew up. I can remember waking up on this date in the 1960’s to snow on the ground. Yep, enough snow that us kids couldn’t shoot any firecrackers until the snow melted, usually around 10 a.m.

A layer of fresh, wet snow would sure enough be a welcome gift this year. As it is, it’s so dry today that country kids won’t be able to shoot firecrackers either. It seems like Wyoming is the land of extremes. Too hot, too cold. Too wet, too dry. Too far away, too close. Too beautiful, too cruel. Yep, this ‘ol gal is the most beautiful, amazing and loved place, that is also one of the most feared, brutal and hated places in the US of A! But, for those of us who call Wyoming home, we can’t imagine living anywhere else.

But then, it has been that way for generations upon generations. I reckon there were plenty of times when the Indians looked at each other and ask, “Why do we live here?” And then they, like us, probably answered, “This is home!”

It has well been said that “Home is where the heart is.” Having lived in several other states, Miss Deb and I have always felt at home in each of those locations. Yet, there was always a yearning to get back to Wyoming. Having been both born and raised here, there was always a pull to move back “home.” And by God’s amazing grace, here we are.

Today, we pause and say, “Thank You Lord that we are getting to live back home in Wyoming.” For you see as much as we enjoy living here among friends and family, we also enjoy living here because of the folks we haven’t met yet. Though we live in the least populated county, in the least populated state in the United States, we are grateful for each.

Forty-years-ago when we left Wyoming to begin our service to His kingdom, we had no idea about all of the amazing people our Heavenly Father would allow us to love and serve. But now that we are back “home” we are truly enjoying our final years of service to the King here in Wyoming!

Though there have been times that serving the local church have been as brutal as a drought summer in Wyoming, we have been totally blessed by His strength, grace and love! It doesn’t matter where a person lives on this ‘ol ball of dirt, our enemy will make certain that it isn’t always easy or fun. Yet, our Heavenly Father consistently draws each of us toward Himself, especially in the difficult times.

You see my friends, today we celebrate a national freedom that has been purchased with the blood of thousands of soldiers throughout the years. Today, we also celebrate a spiritual freedom that was purchased with by the King of kings and the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. That is why we pause and praise God that we get to live back home in Wyoming. Today we praise God that we get to remember friends and family who no longer share this life with us yet left their thumb print upon our lives. Today we praise God for the opportunity to worship and serve Him as we get to love those who walk with Him and with those who don’t yet know Him as Savior.

Praising God for our personal and spiritual freedoms with you, Neal

P.S. It really is great to be back home as we prepare to go home!!!

July 3, 2026

Greetings! Starting at 54, headed for, with a possible thunderstorm this afternoon; this ought to be an interesting day to work outside.

When a person undertakes to study the life of Abraham (Genesis 12-25), you soon discover that God gave Abraham several important promises. God promised to build many nations through Abraham’s linage, but more importantly, God promised to use Abraham and his sons to develop the nation we now call Israel.

Next, God gave Abraham a promise that would impact the rest of the world. In Genesis 12:3 we read God’s declaration, “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.” Thus, the importance of blessing Israel.

However, for today we want to visit about Genesis 12:2, “And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing. Now turn to 1 Peter 3:8, “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;” Wow, that’s enough of a challenge for a lifetime, isn’t it? Just think about it, if every Christian would follow these five guidelines, we would live in a very different world!

Remember the article this past week that challenged each Christian to live a life that is balanced with biblical truth, not cultural preference? Well, now, read 1 Peter 3:9 with that writing and Genesis 12:2 in mind, “Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” It looks to me like if you desire to receive a blessing from God, then give a blessing that reveals God’s nature at work in your life – stop fighting and arguing with those who challenge your life.

Hopefully you have walked with God long enough to notice that He requires His children to do things quite the opposite of the culture in which they live. Instead of trading insult for insult and evil for evil, we are told to do just the opposite if we want God’s blessing! Our culture leads us to expect a blessing, and then if we receive such a blessing and if we should want to, we can share the blessing with those around us who bless our lives – you know, our family members and close friends.

Yet, God’s word tells us in 1 Peter 3:8-9 that we are to give a blessing to those who don’t like us so that God can then bless us. Man, you talk about being anti-cultural, to give a blessing before you receive a blessing, that’s crazy! How can I give something that I don’t possess?

But you see my friends, we too often consider a “blessing” as something tangible – more money, more property, more fame. But in 1 Peter 3, God is saying that because we have already received the blessing of being called His child, we are to bless others with our Christ-like attitude; and that possessing the attributes mentioned in verse 8 is our blessing!

Think about it, do we naturally possess the attributes of “harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted and humble in spirit?” NO, I sure don’t! Oh, we might pull one or two of them off once in a while, but to live there day-after-day; man, what a blessing that would be! But you see my friends, as God’s children, indwelt by His Spirit, guided by His word, encouraged by other believers – it is possible for each of us to reveal such attributes on a consistent basis.

To live the life mentioned in 1 Peter 3:8, we would have to be like the Apostles Peter and John. Those who condemned them knew that they had been “with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) For you see, if a person spends enough time with Jesus, that person will begin to be like Jesus, “not returning insult for insult” – but will start to live 1 Peter 2:23; “entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

Summary; if we desire God’s blessing, we must first be a blessing by living a life that is contrary with the culture within which we live. When we live in “harmony” with those around us because we have already received the blessing of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, then our loving Heavenly Father blesses us for revealing His nature to those around us.

Choosing to be anticultural with you, Neal

July 2, 2026

Good morning! Starting at 60, headed for 90 with a 1% chance of rain – looks like summer is here.

Yesterday was a event-filled day with several different projects to complete around here and then spending the evening with relatives from Arizona and friends. We enjoyed good eats, good conversation and a good night’s sleep.

Today, we will be traveling to Torrington so Miss Deb can go see the bone-cracker and then we go on to Scottsbluff, Nebraska to get plumbing parts and some groceries. Back to Guernsey to get another load of rock for the front yard and then to a men’s gathering at a church east of Lusk. Sounds like another boring day with little to do, NOT!

I’m very excited to attend the men’s prayer gathering at the Node church. They are a great group of guys, and I’ve been asked to share how God is leading me to help churches develop a mentoring process for men. The mentoring ministry will involve men from the ages of 13 to 90. For far too long we have allowed men to be pushed off into the back room in churches and homes. It’s time we start developing godly men who fulfill their responsibilities as men.

I often marvel at how culture has influenced the church more than the church has influenced the culture. Most every God-fearing, Bible-loving church develops ministries that culture will accept; we call it “outreach.” It semes to me that we need to begin teaching and living the truth of God while gracefully asking culture to walk into our world instead of us always following culture’s lead.

When Jesus told His disciples to go into all of the world and make disciples who follow Him, He wasn’t talking about us going into the world so we can be disciples of the world. We are to be different by design. Is it any wonder that most of the world pays little attention to the American church as long as we develop programs to benefit those who don’t know Jesus yet (a good thing), and stay inside our churches the rest of the time (a not so good thing)?

I’m of the opinion that it is time that we Christians push each other to be the living-breathing church for the advancement of God’s kingdom. If that upsets cultural standards, yeah God! Could it be that we have spent so much time being like the lost world around us that they no longer see us as being anything different than they are in most situations?

I mean, we divorce just as often as those of the world, we tend to cuss as much as those of the world, we likely drink and party like those of the world, we tend to cheat and lie as often as those of the world, too often the people of the “church” are way more like the culture than they resemble Jesus. Situations that I think most Christ followers would really like to see changed, we just don’t know how to go about it. That’s why Jesus told us to “go make disciples,” or often called mentoring.

I’m suggesting that we need to start training men how to fulfill their God-given role as males in a culture that dislikes them greatly. However, if churches develop mentoring ministries that will call men to be godly men, and women to be godly women (Titus 2), perhaps we can give the culture around us something really good that they will want to be a part of? Shouldn’t we the church be inviting culture to be more like us, rather that the church trying to be more like culture?

I will close with one last question: “When was the last time you stepped into a church where the holiness of God was displayed in great reverence for who He is?” Isaiah 6:1-9 shows us what happens when a person finds themself in the presence of God – how often do we Christians experience a similar situation when we go to church?

Now, don’t make me say something I am not saying, our pastors and church leaders are working hard to help their followers to become followers of Jesus – I’m just saying that we have allowed too much of the culture around us follow us into the church; and too little of Christ-likeness to follow us into the culture after attending church.

Desiring to be part of a movement of God with you, Neal

June 30, 2026

Starting at 54 and headed toward 85, with a 55% chance of a sprinkle of rain. The screaming wind finally died down around midnight, hopefully the firefighters were able to make some progress on fires around here and around the country. The smoke will continue to be an issue.

On top of everything else yesterday, our electricity went out for a couple of hours. Have you ever given much thought to what America will be like when the electrical grid for the nation goes out long term? In today’s culture, you can’t buy, sell or trade most anything without electricity. No food, no fuel, no water, no sewage removal, all because the last three functions each run on electric pumps.

Without electricity there will be no mail, cell phones or news reports. Without electricity traffic lights fail, as well as do law enforcement communications. Oh sure, some of these places have emergency generators that will help until the fuel keeps them going runs out. Most of our modern comforts come to a halt with a long-term electrical outage. The really weird thing is that with all of our modern power plants, we can’t even make electricity without electricity. You see my friends, to make living in America more comfortable, everything is controlled by a computer, which is controlled by electricity!

Food supplies will soon spoil, sewage will flood homes, and garbage will pile up around towns and cities, causing extreme health issues, all because of no electricity. I’ve always been amazed that a great and powerful nation could soon be brought to its knees by destroying the electrical grid of America. A couple of satellites rendered unusable, and we as a world leader are in serious trouble.

The way of life that millions take for granted all day, every day, could quickly disappear. Rape, riot and murder will soon become the norm. Fear will rule the land!

You think that such a catastrophe is impossible? Every world power that has ever existed is vulnerable in some simple way. It seems to me that electricity may be the most vulnerable element of American security and survival. For as the Chinese leader once stated, “I will conquer America and never fire a shot!” All they have to do is to stop the satellites that control our electrical grid.

So, enough of the good news about our personal security, let’s talk quickly about our spiritual security. In Matthew 28, Jesus gives all true Christians their marching orders: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Did you notice that not only did Jesus tell us to “make disciples,” but He also told us that this “age” will end?

The command to “make disciples” is fulfilled by three participles in the Greek, “going, baptizing and teaching.” All three are action words. Grab your Bible and read Matthew 24:44-46. This is the parable about the master leaving His servant to care for His property, belongings, and fellow slaves. The “faithful” servant is “that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.” Once again “doing” is an action word. Did you notice that the text does not mention that the slave who is “knowing” is rewarded when the master returns? No, it is clearly the slave who is “doing” what the master has requested him, or her, to be “doing” that is “blessed.”

The Master (Jesus) has told we slaves (Christians) that we are to “make disciples” for His kingdom. Did you notice that Jesus didn’t make any mention of joining a church, or being baptized, or attending studies? Though each of these things are of great value for our spiritual health. they each are to facilitate disciple making, not replace disciple making.

Final thought, the return of the Master will come extremely quick, just like your electricity going off! Question, “Will Jesus find each of His slaves making disciples, or will He find us enjoying the good life as we happily live on the Master’s property? Everything could change as quickly as flipping a switch!

Working to be found faithful by the Master with you, Neal