shawnethomas

Have You Signed A Peace Treaty With The Enemy?

Posted on 2015/11/03 by Shawn Thomas

“‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.'” (Isaiah 36:16-17)

Isaiah 36 describes how Sennacherib’s army invaded Judah, seized all of their strongholds, and surrounded Jerusalem. The Babylonian general, Rabshakeh, mocked the beseiged Judeans, and called for their surrender. And he also made them an offer, found here in :16-17, to give them peace and provision in exchange for their surrender: “eat each of his vine … until I come and take you away to a land … of grain and new wine …”. Basically the offer was: trade the perilous place that your God has you in, for safety and prosperity — and surrender to the enemy. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged compromise, faith, Isaiah 36, peace treaty, prosperity, security | 1 Comment

When Tolerance Is No Virtue

Posted on 2015/11/02 by Shawn Thomas

“He plans wickedness upon his bed; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he does not despise evil.” (Psalm 36:4)

The first verses of Psalm 36 describe the ungodly person. Verse 1 labels him the “ungodly”, and says “there is no fear of God before his eyes.” The following verses describe this person in even more detail. The present verse (:4) lists three additional qualities of the ungodly: Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged compromise, evil, Psalm 36:4, tolerance, toleration, wicked | 1 Comment

Paul on Decision-Making, Part III

Posted on 2015/10/27 by Shawn Thomas

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31)

In the book of I Corinthians, the Apostle Paul shares several “nuggets” of truth which can help us in our decision-making. One of is found in 9:23, “I do all things for the sake of the gospel”, and another in 10:24 “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Applying these verses to our situations can help us to make godly decisions: we should consider the impact of our decisions on others (see devotion on 10:24 here), and on the witness of the gospel (see devotion on 9:23 here). In the present verse (10:31) we find another consideration: the glory of God. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged advice, Apostle Paul, decision making, decisions, God's will, I Corinthians 10:24, I Corinthians 10:31, I Corinthians 8:6, I Corinthians 9:23 | Leave a comment

“This Is My Story: The Gerasene Demoniac” (Mark 5:1-20 sermon)

Posted on 2015/10/26 by Shawn Thomas

During the Second World War, when Hitler conquered France, he immediately shut down the borders to keep the people from leaving the country. But one small border town saw its population diminish rapidly, so the Germans searched for the answer. It turned out, this town had a cemetery that straddled the border with the neighboring country, which was free from Nazi control. The locals opened up an ancient gate in the wall of the cemetery, and they kept having “funerals” – except the people never came back! They went out to the tombs, but they just kept on walking, right out the back gate, to their freedom!

This morning, our next “story” is the story of a man who also found “freedom” in a cemetery – it is the story of the Gerasene Demoniac – a man who was bound by the power of Satan, but who found freedom among the tombs by the power of Jesus. We have talked before about how a good outline of a testimony is to share your life “before” Christ; then how you came to know Christ; then your life “after.” We are going to follow that outline this morning as we look at the “story” of the Gerasene Demoniac from Mark 5:1-20 … Continue reading →

Posted in "This Is My Story" sermon series, Sermons | Tagged Acts 1:8, All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name, cemetery, demon-possession, demons, evangelism, Jerusalem, local missions, Mark 5:1-20, mission, missions, salvation, Satan, spiritual warfare, story, testimony, witness | 1 Comment

Decision-Making, Part II

Posted on 2015/10/26 by Shawn Thomas

“Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” (I Corinthians 10:24)

Having already stated in I Corinthians 9:23 that his first consideration in decision-making was the gospel (see post here), Paul here offers a second: consider the impact your decision will make on others. It is not merely what is good for YOU that ought to consider, but the impact it will have on OTHER people. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged decision making, decisions, God's will, I Corinthians 10:25, Philippians 2:4, selflessness | 1 Comment

A Gospel Decision-Making Grid (Decision-Making, Pt. I)

Posted on 2015/10/23 by Shawn Thomas

How do you determine if you are going to do something or not? By whether you “want” to do it? If it will make you appear good to others? Because it will make you money? How do you decide?

The Apostle Paul had a method for his decision-making that impacted everything he did. We find it in I Corinthians 9:23: Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged decision making, decision-making grid, decisions, God's will, gospel, I Corinthians 9:23 | 2 Comments

Your Body: Slave — or Master?

Posted on 2015/10/22 by Shawn Thomas

“But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:27)

Paul wrote here that he “disciplined” his body. The New American Standard Bible indicates that the word “discipline” there is literaly “bruise.” The point is that Paul kept his body under control, so that it served him, and what he was seeking to accomplish on behalf of the gospel. In fact he said he made his body his “slave” for that purpose.

I wonder how many Christians in America today could say a similar thing about their bodies? Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged body, diet, discipline, eating, food, I Corinthians 9:27, master, physical body, slave | 2 Comments

The Stability of Your Times

Posted on 2015/10/21 by Shawn Thomas

“And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” (Isaiah 33:6)

Significantly, this verse was written to God’s people in a time of impending distress and judgment. One invader was about to be destroyed, another was yet to come, the whole land was filled with uncertainty. What peace, what comfort was there to be found in such times? Isaiah gives the answer: Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged comfort, Isaiah 33:6, peace, Psalm 113, Psalm 16:11, stability, trial, tribulation | Leave a comment

We Exist For Him

Posted on 2015/10/20 by Shawn Thomas

Four little words found in Corinthians 8:6 would prove revolutionary if we would really understand and apply them. The words? “We exist for Him.” Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged abortion, glory of God, I Corinthians 8:6, philosophy, selfishness, we exist for Him | 2 Comments

A Prayer For Grace

Posted on 2015/10/19 by Shawn Thomas

In Isaiah Chapter 33 we find a marvelous prayer from the lips of the prophet:

:2 “O YHWH, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their (our) strength every morning.”

When we break this verse down into phrases we see several things that can help guide us to pray for a personal prayer request, or for someone we know who needs God’s grace in a particular situation: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged intercession, Isaiah 33:2, morning, prayer, strength | Leave a comment