From the Home Place

May 24, 2026

Yesterday, Miss Deb, Coffee and I helped a very special young lady move into her little house in a new town. This dear girl is starting a new job in a town she knows little about, living in a neighborhood she knows even less about. Starting over again, new town, new job, new home, new church. The last part seems to be the hardest. This young lady’s heart is filled with the joy of the Lord, and she really wants to find the church where God wants her to be but, how does she go about such a venture?

This town contains an abundance of churches, each with its own story. Some are really old, some are new, but when a person asks around about the different churches of consideration, it doesn’t take very long before it turns into a Clint Eastwood movie, you know – The good, The bad, and The ugly.

Why is it that it is really difficult to find a church that lives under the full authority of Scripture? In John 17 we find the real “Lord’s Prayer.” Here, Jesus is praying to His Heavenly Father. It would appear that the most important thing on the mind of Jesus Christ during this prayer is that His disciples be different from the disciples of other religious groups of His day.

Jesus prayed this in verse 22-23, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one. I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity…” It would appear that the primary concern for Jesus concerning those first disciples is that they display His “glory” by living in “unity.”

Now we travel from Jesus’ prayer in John 17 to the beginning of the “church” in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit now indwells all born-again believers, and the church appears to have the bond of “unity” that Jesus prayed for. Each one who has excess, sells it, shares with those in need and all are in “awe” of what God is doing! Perhaps this thing called “church” should have ended there, but it didn’t.

Turn with me to the book of Ephesians where the Apostle Paul turns from the doctrinal truths he has been teaching in the first three and one-half chapters, to Chapter 4 where he teaches us how to correctly apply biblical truth. First, you have to grasp verses one and two of Chapter 4 to understand 4:3 where we read, “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Dr. D.L. Moody once skillfully preached this whole chapter to his congregation; with quite effective results I might add. Dr. Moody began the series with these words, “Any time you slide two Christians together in a pew, you create friction.” A statement that has been lived out for centuries within the church.

The great coach, John Wooden once declared, “Sports do not make character, they reveal it.” It is with that in mind that I would adjust Dr. Moody’s statement to read, “Any time you slide two Christians together in a pew, your REVEAL friction.” It appears to me that the reason Jesus Christ diligently prayed for His disciples of all generations to reveal “unity” through “love” is because we do not possess either on apart from the working of His Spirit.

Again Ephesians 4:3, “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Unity is as unnatural as selling you possessions and giving the funds to someone else is unnatural. However, when the first Christians were so excited about what God was doing within them, they wanted to reveal His love to those around them, so they loved one another, just like Jesus had prayed for.

But it wasn’t very long before unity was replaced by disunity within the body of Christ. Why? May I suggest because we have turned “church” into something we do in the flesh instead of in “the Spirit.” In an effort to remain in control of our lives, even spiritually, we have learned to trust humanity over trusting the Spirit. After all, fully trusting the Spirit could be costly!

In Hebrews 13:5 we are told, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content…” So, the Bible tells us to love God with all we are and have, yet we are warned that the love of money will breed discontent, which when you slide two discontent people together in church, they reveal how unloving people are who trust in self and stuff rather than in the Spirit. All of which painfully reveals just how little we allow the love of Christ to dwell “richly” within us so that it can work through us to reveal the “light” of Jesus to a very dark world.

Ephesians 4:13, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man…” So, one has toa ask, “Do we lack maturity because we lack “knowledge.” I think NOT! I would suggest that we lack maturity because we lack obedience to the knowledge we all ready possess..

Have not money and power been the downfall of humanity and the division of many churches through all generations? Jesus said it this way, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other…You cannot serve both God and wealth.”

Perhaps we should be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit.” A church that really loves God and each other is the kind of church I am praying for our special young lady to find. I know that such churches exist and I thank their pastor for his excellent leadership!

Pursuing “unity” within the local church with you, Neal

May 23, 2026

35 degrees at daylight, 75 for a high with a west wind. and some clouds to keep things on the cool side. A little warmer tomorrow.

A.W. Tozer once commented, “The first thing you think of when you hear the name God, is most likely the most important thing about you.” Some folks won’t be up for ten minutes before they use His name as a cuss word. Others will likely go days without even thinking of His name. For others, they will think of God for a few minutes while they are at church tomorrow and then go on living as if He doesn’t exist.

Some folks try not to think about God because of the guilt or fear they feel when they do pause long enough to think about who God is. Others have an opinion that God is out there somewhere, just waiting to lovingly escort them into whatever view of heaven they might have.

Yet for the mature born-again Christian, they think of God often with respect and an anticipation of Him working through their life each day. These folks have come to know God the Father through prayer, reading the Bible and through a real relationship with Jesus Christ, their Savior. Believers go to church to enjoy the fellowship of other believers, to hear of how God is at work in and through their lives, and to calm their lives for a time of worshiping God together.

In 1 John 1:3 we read, “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” That is what I think of when I hear the name of God. He is the One who draws His children together for fellowship – the regular sharing of life while rejoicing in His grace and love. Also, the name of God reminds me that I am to live my life in a way that pleases Him and blesses others, as we prepare to meet together in Heaven, through faith in Jesus Christ!

The Bible teaches that God is the creator and sustainer of life. The Bible helps me to understand that God is constantly involved in the lives of people, in hopes that they will realize that without following God this life is difficult and full of pain. For those who love God as He first loved them, this life has its painful moments, yet this life is filled with opportunites to rejoice and be glad because of God’s great love and His amazing grace!

So, when you hear the name of God, what is the first thing that comes to your mind. Perhaps you should grab a Bible and read about God. For you see my friend, the Bible is God’s love letter to you. You will never know God fully during your earthly esixtance, however, thorugh reading the Bible you will get to know Him well enough to love Him with “all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind.” And that my friend, is a glorious way to spend each day, as we prepare to fellowship with God for all of eternity!

Rejoicing at the name of God with you, Neal

May 22, 2026

3:30 a.m. – 34 degrees and a wind that is blowing at that same speed. The ground is damp, but we could possibly receive a little more rain at daylight, hopefully. Sounds like there is more snow in the mountains! Today’s high of 61 will feel cooler than that because of the wind.

The Holy Spirit poked me in the ribs around 3 this morning. When I asked Him what we needed to talk about this is all I got, “Don’t limit Me.” Wow, there was no more sleep, but a lot of praying and thinking. I finally got up and started typing to hopefully share what the Holy Spirit placed upon my spirit.

My first question was, “Lord, how do I limit You?” It appears that we can limit HIs working in a couple of different ways: limited faith and limited availability. Lets’ take both of those ways one at a time and see where He leads us.

To start with I want to make it very clear that nothing man can do limits God’s ability; however, when we have little faith and little availability, we can limit His working in us so that He can work through us. It would appear that almost all who call them self born-again Christians want to be used in mighty ways by God in ways that I believe God wants to use us, however, these two factors limit to what degree our Father will regularly work through us.

I would suggest that we need to be growing “in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jeus Chsit” before our faith will stretch far enough to believe God for the impossible. In Matthew 19:16-26 we read the account of “The Rich Young Ruller.” This young man refused to let Jesus save him because of his personal limitation. He refused to give up his earthly riches so he could receive heavenly riches. I wonder how often I have limited the Spirit’s working through me because my limited faith refused to surrender “all” to Him.

When we first accept Christ as Savior, we immediately have a desire to walk with Him, in limited capacity. Illustration, I have a battery that contains 500 volts of electricity, but I connect to that battery with a fuse and wire that is capable of carrying only 50 volts of electricity, I will never use the full power of that battery, however I will enjoy some of its power. You see my friends, In Matthew 19:25 we read, “And looking at them, Jesus said to them, ‘With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

Doesn’t the rich young ruler limit the power of Christ because of his limited faith to truly trust Jesus? And I have to wonder how often do we do the same? How often do we ask the Holy Spirit to use us in a mighty way, to which He often says, “Oh, you of little faith.” His amazing power is available, but my faith cable is too small to handle all that He could possibly do!

However, quite often God works in spite of our little faith. Matthew 8:26, “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.” And for this element of God’s amazing grace we are all grateful. Hopefully, you often stop and praise Him for working even when you didn’t expect Him to. You see, we really are much like those first disciples, and Jesus is still who He has always been.

Repeatedly in 1 John, the Apostle uses the phrase “Little children” when describing something that they have not yet realized about the power of Jesus. They have faith enough to trust Jesus, but they do not possess enough faith to allow the Holy Spirit to draw them to full maturity in Christ.

Second, it would appear that we often limit God’s power to work through us when we refuse be available. It has been well stated that “God is not concerned about our ability, He only desires our availability.” So, we must each ask, “Am I limiting God’s working though me by refusing to be fully available to Him?” Answer that question by asking another, “Am I willing to go anywhere that the Holy Spirt may want to send me?” If not, then I am limiting God’s power to display His full power through me!

Two elements, “little faith” and “little availability” seem to limit to what degree the Spirit of the Living God will use me for His glory, and for the good of those around me. Yet, could it be that there is a third element that prevents me from realizing fully who God is and how He wants to work through me? I would suggest that the third element is pride.

Perhaps pride is what kept Jesus from transforming The Rich Young Ruler? The young man’s pride of who he was and what he owned kept him from humbly accepting the salvation of Christ. I wonder, how often does our pride prevent Him from using us to the full extent of how He would like to use us? How often does my pride get in the way of His power?

It has been well said that “faith” is like a muscle, the more often you use it, the stronger it gets. Regardless of the amount of faith we might possess, God can and will still work with what we have. It appears that the more we are humbly available, the more our faith will grow. And by the way, we all praise God that He often works through us in spite of our little faith!

Perhaps I should have just stayed in bed???

Praising God for who He is with you, Neal

May 21, 2026

Good morning everyone! Well, we seem to be continuing our crazy weather pattern: at 4 a.m. today the temperature is 40 degrees. The last two mornings have started in the 20’s. Today’s high is to be around 60, with evening thunderstorms, continuing through the night. Here’s the crazy part, they are saying the mountains across Wyoming could receive up to another foot of snow! I’m just saying, “Praise the Lord!” for sending moisture!

Have you recently met someone who is from a family that you knew of years ago? If so, you quite possibly asked, “Now, which one are you?” Or if you are looking for a certain part to put your lawnmower back together and you look into your bucket of parts and find three parts that are very similar, you might grab one of those parts and say, “I can’t remember which one this is?” Or you might have the joy of taking a little one to have an ice cream treat and you ask, “O.K. so which one do you want?” and your little person responds with, “I want this one.” No, I want that one!” To which you reply, “You can only have one, which one do you want?” If any of that sounds familiar, then you understand the value of “one.”

Today, we are going to talk about the value of the correct “one” In Ephesians 4:4-6 we read these words, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” Perhaps we should get the idea that “one” is rather important.

But, as you study this passage, sooner or later you will need to ask, “Which ‘one’ is the correct ‘one’?” For you see my friend, in God’s kingdom there appears to be only “one” correct “one” when it comes to salvation. In the book of Acts we read these words speaking of Jesus, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

In many spiritual circles, folks will attempt to convince you that “all roads lead to heaven.” Yet the Bible clearly states in Matthew 7:13-14 that “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter thorough it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” These verses are talking about the gate into heaven; leaving the impression that there is only “one” gate that leads to eternal life in heaven!

So, which gate are you going to choose, the “wide” one which implies that God owes everyone a free pass to heaven, or the “narrow” one that is surrounded with biblical evidence that faith in Jesus Christ is the only “one” way into heaven??? Two options but “one” is correct, “one” is not.

In a world where some folks believe in all sorts of spirits, in Ephesians 4 we read that the Holy Spirit is the only “one” correct spirit. Also, we read there is only “one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God” that is biblically correct! Contrary to popular belief, not all roads lead to heaven. Not all gods are the same. Not all faith beliefs will get you into heaven. In fact, the Bible makes it very clear that there is only “one” true GOD, and only “one” way into His holy presence, faith in the “one” and only Jesus Christ!

When Ephesians 4:6 states that God the Father is “in all,” we have to keep it in context of the rest of the book of Ephesians which makes it is very clear that there is salvation in no one else other than Jesus Christ. As such, the words “in all” means that God is the Father of “all” who have faith in Jesus only.

I know, salvation in Jesus Christ is restrictive in that His way into heaven is “narrow.” As such, I am very narrow minded when it comes to how a person enters into heaven. There is only “one” true faith, in only “one” Savior, that leads to a person choosing to walk the “narrow” path into heaven – the only answer is Jesus Chsit of Nazareth! Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

So, in a world full of spiritual options, which “one” are you going to choose? But please realize that there is only “one” correct path to heaven, not many. “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord,” as born-again believers in the finished work of Jesus Christ; nothing more, nothing less. Yep, there are a lot of options out there; Which “one” will you choose?

Choosing Jesus as the only “One,” Neal

May 19, 2026

Good morning. We were blessed with a bit of moisture yesterday and then a really hard frost. Anything that wasn’t covered is probably dead. All I know is that Coffee was out and back in record time today!

I didn’t give much thought to the phrase that “anything that wasn’t covered is probably dead,” but it seems to be a good place to start today. The cold, hard truth is that every person and every critter that is alive today is going to die at some time in the future. For some of us that future probably isn’t too far down the road.

Death will come knocking for each of us in the time He has allotted to us, and if we are not covered with the blood of Jesus Christ, it will be a chilling experience. Usually, for the person who has walked with Jesus during their life here on earth, there is a sense of peace at the time of passing. Believers are headed for a much better place when they leave this ‘ol ball of dirt behind!

Yet for the person who is not covered in the blood of Jesus, death is most often a fearfully cold experience. Of course, after death, they warm right up, spending eternity in the fires of hell! A place of constant torment, pain and desperation. Why anyone would choose hell over heaven is beyond me, but the Bible tells us that many will choose to reject rather than receive Jesus.

The quote “Life is the sum of all your choices” is attributed to Albert Camus, the French-Algerian philosopher, writer, and Nobel laureate It appears in various compilations of his works and is often paired with the follow-up question, “So, what are you doing today?” 

Camus, a central figure in existentialist thought, believed that individuals are responsible for shaping their own lives through the decisions they make. His quote emphasizes that: Values and principles guide your choices, and aligning actions with them can lead to a more meaningful life. Every choice contributes to the overall narrative of your life, whether big or small. Camus went on to state that personal responsibility is key — “you have agency over your destiny.” (Web search result)

To some degree Camus is correct, our life choices do impact our life. Yet the part Camus neglected is the fact that choosing to follow Jesus Christ transforms a person’s life here and now, and for all of eternity. When Jesus died upon the cross, He paid the penalty for all sin; past, present and future. (Rms. 8). As Romans explains, the blood of Jesus does not give me a license to sin, but it does give me forgiveness when I confess my sin. (1 Jn. 1:9)

For you see my friend, I accepted Jesus in past tense, but I also accept Jesus in the present tense. Each day, my past decision to follow Jesus impacts today’s attitudes and actions as well. You might say that a decision in the past to truly follow Jesus, “covers” the rest of my life and eternity, protecting me from the chill of death.

How about your life my friend? Will you choose to reject or accept Jesus? Please realize that refusing to accept Jesus is a choice to reject Jesus, thus sealing your eternal fate. Grasp this, “God does not send anyone to Hell, we choose to go there by refusing to choose Heaven through faith in Jesus!”

Covered under the blood of Jesus with you, Neal

May 18, 2026

Good morning, MOISTURE!!! Oh, it may not be the inches of rain that we need, but it is a blessing, and we thank you Lord Jesus for taking care of Your creation!

For today, let’s talk about American Christianity. May I suggest to you that you tap into the “Barna Group” to find relevant statistics about today’s world. A world that is for the most part, walking away from the organized church. Stats show that church attendance is nearly one-half the number it was twenty years ago.

For the most part, the younger the generation, the less likely a person is to look to the church for spiritual guidance. More teen and college age people of today look for spiritual guidance from “social contacts” more often than they turn to the church to assist them in drawing closer to God. Both Gen Z (born 1997-2012) and Millennial (born 1981-1996) generations feel that the opinion of their peers is of greater value than the teachings or words of older generations.

Yet, it is interesting that each of these generations feel that “sharing life stories” is of great value. That means these two generations are less likely to attend a formal “study” but are quite likely to sit with older person at a coffee shop and talk about life experiences. That is, they want to tell you about their life experiences, and they also want you to tell them about your life. Yet, they do not want you to be critical or judgmental about where they are in their life experience.

May I suggest that the Gen Z and Millennial generations are open to visiting with you about Jesus, but they want to see Him at work in your life before they decide to follow Him. In other words, they are interested in only “authentic faith.”

You see my friends, the young people among us are at a point that if walking with Jesus hasn’t made a significant change in your life, why would they want to waste their precious time believing in a God who doesn’t make a difference in the world around them. However, it they do see that Christianity has made a real change in who you are, they are quite likely to want to talk with you about how such a faith has changed you and could possibly, positively impact their life as well.

So, rather than condemning these young folks, perhaps we need to open our homes and lives to them and share stories with them as how walking with Jesus has transformed our life. However, you must be ready to allow them to challenge your belief as they test the genuine value of said faith.

Yep, it’s a different world out there today, but hiding in our churches and complaining about all of the people who do not attend church is not going to change the world either. Once again, we need to follow the example of Jesus, we have to live our lives among the people we are called to make disciples of. For you see, the way Jesus loved people is still relevant for today.

It seems that the best way to reach today’s world it to invite them as the Apostle Paul invited his generation when he wrote these words in the second half of 2 Thessalonians 3:9, “but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.” As I have often said, “We need to be careful to set a good track for other to follow, always ending up at the foot of the cross of Christ.”

After all, using my life as an example, Jesus is the only one who can transform a person’s life. It always amazes me that we get to invite others to “follow me as I follow Jesus,” thus introducing them to the One who has changed us, and can also change others.

In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul concludes his prayer with these words in verses 20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within you, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.” Please note his mention of “all generations.” Every person, regardless of their generation, needs to experience the love of Jesus Christ as He lives through your life.

Valuing people who are important to Jesus with you, Neal