I was born in 1950 with two grandfathers. I loved them both. “Grandpa Doc” Shrader was a dentist in Iowa, my father’s father. “Grandpa Sam” Condren was a simple man, a butcher in a local grocery store in Springfield, MO, my mother’s father. Both were WWI veterans, grandpa Doc in the medical core, and grandpa […]
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Author: Rick Shrader
Merry Christmas 2018
The secularization of our society over the last twenty five years is nothing short of amazing. I remember vividly traveling to Russia during Christmas of 1991 with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. The old Soviet Union had fallen and that country was trying to pull itself out of a communist economy that had failed miserably. The […]
Walking With God in Death
We end our series about walking with God where it should end, considering the time of our death. I don’t know why the topic should seem morbid to us, all of us will die and the only thing that can change that is the rapture of the church at the end of the age. That […]
Walking With God in Judgment
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 11:13-14). The words judge and judgment and their cognates appear […]
The Meekness of Wisdom
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13) Who wants to violate the first characteristic of meekness and write about it? Who wants to appear to be like the one who brags about being humble? […]
The Greater Virtues
It is the selfish part of our human nature to place our energies on the showy but lesser virtues rather than upon the more difficult and greater virtues. Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the […]
Our Sanctification, Part 2, A Reset
In part 1 we explored the subject of sanctification in its various aspects including the failures of legalism and license. We also asked the questions, Why do we have to continually fight against sin? How is the power of sin removed from us? Do we ever get to a place where we have victory over […]
Our Sanctification, Part 1
No series on walking with God would be complete without some explanation of the Biblical doctrine of sanctification. The Biblical word comes from the same root word as “holiness” and “saints.” It basically means to be set apart. Although sanctification has been discussed and debated as long as the church has been around, there is […]
We Who Are Friends
In a study of walking with God we have seen that Jesus Christ must be the only Lord and Master and that we submit ourselves to Him being mere slaves. This relationship is accepted at the very beginning as the humble repentance of our sins casts us completely at His feet for mercy and forgiveness. […]
We Who Are Slaves
Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). To deny oneself in today’s culture might simply mean to practice a little self-control, perhaps to eat a little less, or to be more diligent with one’s personal devotions. But this […]