As we approach the month of March 2022, we are watching the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. It was a hundred years ago when Ukraine was being persecuted and starved by Joseph Stalin and the USSR. That persecution would last for another half-century until, by God’s judgment and the resolve of strong leadership, […]
You are browsing archives for
Author: Rick Shrader
GPS – A Generation of Seniors
Thank you for reading Aletheia. I am beginning the year with a new format, building on Senior Saints and Sensibility from last year. Ministering to the current generation of older saints is a necessary and biblical mandate. It is also biblical for the current generation of seniors to minister to their world in various ways […]
SS&S – The Times & Seasons
When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream he warned the king that it is the God of heaven Who “changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings” (Dan 2:21). That is an amazing statement! It should remind us that God sovereignly controls everything that happens in our world (His creation). As […]
SS&S – Thankful for Older Age
Can we really be thankful for growing older? It may not be part of our nature to think so, but it is part of our biblical responsibility. In fact, the Bible extols old age and makes it an example for others to follow. “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found […]
SS&S – Time to Pray
Jonathan Edwards said, “Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life.” I would like to believe that is true in me but I fear it is often not. I feel more like Martyn Lloyd-Jones when he said, “Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer.” Prayer seems […]
SS&S – Those Who Serve
All believers would agree that serving is a biblical characteristic of a Christian. “Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph 6:6). There are about a half dozen Greek words for servant, the most common being the bond-servant (as here) harking back to the […]
SS&S – Respecting Ourselves as Eders
The writer of Proverbs said, “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness” (Prov. 16:31). Also, “The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head” (Prov. 20:29). The Bible is clear about respecting our elders, i.e., the […]
SS&S – When I Am Weak
The apostle Paul said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Paul had just described his translation to heaven, what he had seen, and the “inexpressible” words which he heard. But even the great apostle needed a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble in light of such a […]
SS&S – Stay the Course
As seniors and elders, we have seen a lot in our life-time. We remember the earlier days of prophetic preaching when we were encouraged to keep looking up because the days were so evil. Now we look at what’s happening in this generation and we wonder what the preachers of that day would have thought […]
SS&S – Lay Hold on Eternal Life
It may seem unusual to most people to talk frankly about death. But as seniors, this should be the first thing we have settled in our minds. why should we not want to go to heaven? Augustine put it this way, “For sooner or later every man must die, and we groan, and pray, and […]