Prairie Pastoral

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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Eulogy for Larry

Larry and his parents were lifelong members of our church. Larry and his father were ruling elders at one time. That’s not to say, though, that they were pillars of the church. Perhaps crumbling pillars, but not pillars in that legends-of-faith sort of way. I’ll explain.

Larry got into trouble with drugs back in the 1970’s. He was arrested a few times and then got clean. Some brain cells were lost in the process, but he was still likable, functional, and kind. He stayed clean for decades. That’s when I got to know him. [Read more…]


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Superabounding faith

I lost my temper last night. I yelled at people who probably needed some gentle prodding, but not the verbal cannon fire I launched at them. I’ve apologized several times. Nevertheless I will lose my temper again.

My mother would tell stories of my epic temper tantrums as a child. My bedroom strewn with clothes flung from my dresser drawers, pages torn out of books, toys and stuffed animals hurled around the room. At least I’ve moved past property damage, right?

Peter wrote, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8).

“Increasing.” I really like that word “increasing.” [Read more…]


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All the befores, durings, and afters

It’s a story I’ve told a hundred times, maybe more. I was young and broke, with an unpaid emergency room bill hanging over my head. The hospital had just called, threatening to send the charges to a collection agency. I was sitting on the floor, in tears, begging God for an answer, when the phone rang again. It was a friend and co-worker, calling to finalize plans for a girls’ night out.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, hearing the shake in my voice and the too-loud sniff.

I told her.

“How much do you owe?” I told her.

“Oh, I’ve got that. I’ll give it to you, and you can just pay me back.” God answered my prayer in an instant of grace.

But, in truth, in order to answer that prayer, God had to have set in motion a whole series of events leading up to that instant. God led [Read more…]


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Bible Verse of the Day

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
DailyVerses.net
LaJunta Presbyterian Church