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Slightly Obsessed #063: Unbowed
Then He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’ – Matthew 22:21 Bow or Burn The new statue of Nebuchadnezzar stood in all its golden ninety-foot glory, erected to honor the Babylonian king. Nebuchadnezzar planned a very special celebration for…
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Slightly Obsessed #062: Pure Worship
“Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, which is your spiritual service of worship.” – Romans 12:1 What is worship? Three huge screens beam the words so everyone in the entire building can see them. The worship team moves seamlessly from one song to the next as the service begins. A few…
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Slightly Obsessed #061: A Faith That’s Real
Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 6:1 The need for validation is a powerful drug. In today’s world, it often leads contrive a public profile not entirely realistic. A recent social media meme depicts a…
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Slightly Obsessed #060: A Rose without Thorns
For God so loved…. – John 3:16 Holidays are a set up for disappointment. My mother used to say the only thing holidays were good for was to set people up for hurt and disappointment. It seems cynical, but unfortunately, it’s often true. The world’s expectations for these contrived celebrations definitely set us up…
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Slightly Obsessed #059: Beyond the Grave
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 He pulled into the nursing home parking lot with a heavy heart. He opened the mechanical door and it…
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Slightly Obsessed #058: When Dead Men Speak
When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ – Luke 7:13 The widow shuffled behind the men who carried the body of her only son. Despair gripped every line of her face. Her thin shoulders sagged under the weight of a life without hope. …
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Slightly Obsessed #057: Still, He waits
So the LORD said, ‘I have pardoned them according to your word; but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.’ – Numbers 14:20-21 It’s been a tough day in God’s world. The images from television and Internet have been especially sobering. Across the planet,…
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Slightly Obsessed #056: The Wisdom from Above
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. – James 3:17 James D. Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA and a Nobel Prize winner, was an avowed secular humanist and evolutionist. In 2007, he ignited a public firestorm for a comment…
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Slightly Obsessed #055: Angel Voices
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’ – Luke 2:13-14 In Nazareth, one man really appreciated census time. The innkeeper stepped into the street to get more provisions…
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Slightly Obsessed #054: The Heart of a Child
But Jesus said, ‘Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ -Matthew 19:14 Christmas is for children, just like salvation. We started celebrating Christmas early the year our daughter flew out with her family for the holidays. Long before Thanksgiving,…
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Slightly Obsessed #053: Time Out
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. – Colossians 3:15 In a holiday season careening out of control, I long for the Deliverer whose arrival we celebrate. It happens every year. I begin the holidays with a fresh thrill of expectation…
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Slightly Obsessed #052: Whatever Happened to Holiness?
Every day, the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change. – George Barna How we live influences others as they make decisions that will walk them into eternity. When Graham Cyster was smuggled into a Communist cell of young people fighting apartheid in South Africa, he was eager to…
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Slightly Obsessed #051: The Ladder Called Life
So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. – Romans 9:16 The futile race to the top He sits on a riding lawnmower as he trims the lush green lawn around his house. In this old commercial for a finance…
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Slightly Obsessed #050: God and the Merman
Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. – 1 Samuel 5:1-2 Do we live as if God is a token deity in the pantheon of…
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Slightly Obsessed #049: You Are not Forsaken
I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you. – Hebrews 13:5 Failure is a human condition. One month ago she climbed a silo at an abandoned concrete plant and jumped to her death. Before that day, twelve-year-old Rebecca Sedwick endured nearly a year of bullying by as many as fifteen girls…
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Slightly Obsessed #048: Shipwreck
Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. – James 3:4-5 Life and…
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Slightly Obsessed #047: Why the World Has Not Ended
In the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’ – 2 Peter 3:3, 4 There is blood in the streets, in the…
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Slightly Obsessed #046: Don’t Judge Me
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. – Matthew 7:1 Do you not know we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? – 1 Corinthians 6:3 It’s been a long day. I finally flop down on the sofa, turn on my favorite sappy TV show, and tell my…
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Slightly Obsessed #045: Play On
When there is no light by which to read the music, those who know their God by heart play on. –Joni Eareckson Tada She sat on a stage at a large conference in the Philippines, excited to be in that exotic country. Quadriplegic artist and disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada enjoyed the musical performance…
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Slightly Obsessed #044: When Darkness Closes In
Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21 The jet-black night was alive with intense pinpoints of light that mocked the beam from my husband’s flashlight. It was dark, and we had taken the challenge from our daughter, son, and daughter-in-law to get our feet…
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Slightly Obsessed #043: Are You Starving?
Blessed are those who hunger…. –Matthew 5:6 His eyes are icy blue pools in a sea of brown mink. His long teeth protrude slightly from under his upper lip, reminiscent of some distant saber-toothed relative. He purrs softly as he rubs his nose against my hand in a blatant bid to be petted. I…
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Slightly Obsessed #042: Leaving Baca Behind
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways of Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring. – Psalm 84:5-6 The night eased toward early morning. I tossed in my bed trying to shake off the day’s burdens so I could…
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Slightly Obsessed #041: A Psalm for the Dark Days
I will remember my song in the night. – Psalm 77:6 It was one of those days, he was tired of the maze Struggling in the mud and the mire. The rage in him grew before the day was through The insults fed the smoldering fire. That was the day I just…
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Slightly Obsessed #040: No Robots Allowed
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you…
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Slightly Obsessed #039: Learning to Smile
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! -Philippians 4:4 A dear family friend died a few years ago. Knowing how beloved she was in the community, we guessed the memorial service would be packed. We arrived at the large Lutheran church long before the service began, but the main sanctuary was already full.…
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Slightly Obsessed #038: Hungry
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:13 Something is going on inside me. It’s not sadness. It’s not depression. It’s…longing. Lately, an intense spiritual yearning has awakened in me. It sends me into God’s Word and drives my spirit to prayer. It…
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Slightly Obsessed #037: The Greatest Battles
God sees not as man sees, For man looks at the outward appearance, But the LORD looks at the heart. -1 Samuel 16:7 It had been a terrible week. Everything that could go wrong, had. I was teetering on the edge of the precipice separating grace and a bug-eyed fit. Walking in grace had recently…
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Slightly Obsessed #036: Is the Church Committing Suicide?
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. – 1 Corinthians 12:26 He stood at the front of the church, his hands stretched toward God as he prayed. Someone walked by and told him, “You look stupid in those shorts.”…
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Slightly Obsessed #035: Scapegoat
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. -2 Corinthians 5:21 scapegoat [ˈskeɪpˌgəʊt] n a person made to bear the blame for others* In recent months, Washington, D.C. has been shaken by a series of scandals. One particularly nasty…
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Slightly Obsessed #034: The Gate Called Beautiful
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. – Psalm 84:10 You are not a beggar. At the hour of prayer, the disabled man lay at the gate of the temple in Jerusalem, carried there so he could beg for money from…
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Slightly Obsessed #033: Dread Champion
The Lord is with me like a dread champion. -Jeremiah 20:11 The two men squared off and eyed each other as the opening bell rang. One man was already viewed as the underdog, having lost the first match to the same fighter seven months earlier. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!…
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Slightly Obsessed #032: Between Two Opinions
How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. -1 Kings18:21 Dexter’s mother was a purebred Golden Retriever, but you’d never guess it by his solid black coat. His imposing size, deep bark, and huge white teeth make most people hesitate before…
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Slightly Obsessed #031: Dance
I’m coming back to the start Where You found me I’m coming back to Your heart Now I surrender Take me This is all I can bring – “God’s Great Dance Floor” by Chris Tomlin I am the dancer You are the Lord of the Dance -“Lord of the Dance” by Steven Curtis Chapman…
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Slightly Obsessed #030: Everyday Heroes
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. – John 15:13 One moment, the street was filled with the laughter and cheers of the crowd as they soaked in the festive atmosphere of Patriot Day.…
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Slightly Obsessed #029: Hold On
How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. -1 Kings 18:21 The Bible is filled with accounts illuminating the bi-polar nature of mankind. The heroes and heroines we read about and admire were men and women blessed by God and called by Him…
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Slightly Obsessed #028: Why Are You Weeping?
Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ – John 20:15-16 It had been…
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Slightly Obsessed #027: Killing the Lamb
On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves… You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. – Exodus 12:3, 6 His name was Ferdinand, but my brother…
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Slightly Obsessed #026: Stonethrower
He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. – John 8:7 The man, a new believer in Christ, sat in the Sunday morning service fairly brimming over. He couldn’t wait until the time in the Sunday service when the pastor asked for people to share…
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Slightly Obsessed #025: Sing
Our real songs begin with our sacrifices. – Corrie Ten Boom King Hezekiah’s father greatly angered God during his reign in Judah. Before his death, he raided the house of God, closed its doors, and worshiped the gods of the land. God’s house remained closed and desecrated until his death. Hezekiah became king after…
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Slightly Obsessed #024: The Resistance
Upon this rock I will build My church; And the gates of Hades will not overpower it. – Matthew 16:18 Across the battlefields of Europe, nations fell to a brutal assault led by a maniacal killer. As World War II raged under the boots of Nazi soldiers, a different war was being waged in…
Author Profile
Pamela Thorson
Believer, wife, mom, grandma, nurse. Contributor at cmaddict.com. Homeschooling vet. Daughter of the American Revolution. Charred but still standing.