Author Archives: Shirlee Abbott

Fast Right

Isaiah 58:6 (NIV) Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?   Fasting done right makes … Continue reading

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Simply Fast

Joel 2:12 (ERV) This is the Lord’s message: “Now come back to me with all your heart. Cry and mourn, and don’t eat anything! Show that you are sad for doing wrong.”   Don’t fast half-heartedly, by rote, out of duty … Continue reading

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How the Fast Works

  Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.   Fasting isn’t some magical method to get God to do what you want. It tunes your ears to hear His plan.

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What the Fast Does

    It’s not what we give up. It’s what we go after.   “Prayer is reaching out and after the unseen; fasting, letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepens, confirms the resolution that … Continue reading

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Let the Fast Begin

Lent starts this Wednesday–40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter. A season of preparation. A time of prayer and fasting. Yes, fasting. What do you know about fasting? No food Sacrifice Not for me Fasting is less about giving something … Continue reading

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Safe from Pestilence

  Coronavirus in China. Locusts in East Africa. These twin disasters bring to mind the plagues in the book of Exodus. Both have the attention of the United Nations.   Regarding the virus, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the … Continue reading

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Presidential Providence

  We started the week with Washington’s wisdom. Let’s end it with more of the same:     “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God to obey His will, to be grateful for … Continue reading

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Presidential Principle

Wise words, written in hard times: On principle I dislike an oath which requires a man to swear he has not done wrong. It rejects the Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of repentance. I think it is enough if the man … Continue reading

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Simply Presidential

Short but true: “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

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Presidential Concern

As the presidential campaign gets ugly, we’d do well to think like Lincoln:   “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

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