Are You Turning Away From Evil?

Posted on 2014/12/15 by Shawn Thomas

Job 1:1 says that Job “was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.” That phrase “turning away from evil” is an important one, which should challenge each of us:

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Whose Birthday Is It?

Posted on 2014/12/11 by Shawn Thomas

In Boca Rotan, Florida, several years ago, a 6-year-old boy who was attending a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese was left at the restaurant by his parents after the party. The child went into state custody, as the parents did not discover the child was missing until the next day!

Inconceivable as it might seem that a child might be forgotten on his own birthday, pretty much the same thing happens every year at Christmas time. Ostensibly, Christmas is about the birthday of Jesus, but He often gets left out of many of our plans and celebrations. Continue reading →

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Lay Down Our Lives?

Posted on 2014/12/09 by Shawn Thomas

I John 3:16 says: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren.” This verse should challenge those of us who claim to be Christian brothers & sisters. It commands us to “lay down our lives” for each other. This sounds like a noble idea in principle, but it actually plays itself out in the little details of life which are not nearly as glamorous.

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When The Platitudes Don’t Work

Posted on 2014/12/08 by Shawn Thomas

It’s easy to quote popular spiritual platitudes to ourselves and others in times of difficulty. But what happens when they don’t “work”? We find in Psalm 22 that David knew something about that. In :4-5 he says, “In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.” But in the next verse he decries his own situation: “But I am a worm and not a man …”.

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Spirituality and Trials

Posted on 2014/12/04 by Shawn Thomas

“What did they do to deserve this?” Whether we verbalize it or not, we often wonder such things when we observe people going through difficult times. But we might be surprised at the real answer! In Job 1:8 the Bible says that the excruciating series of tests that Job went through was initiated by God: “YHWH said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job?'” That statement should cause us to re-evaluate our attitudes towards our own, and others’, suffering.

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Thanksgiving on the Prairie

Posted on 2014/12/02 by Shawn Thomas

Thanksgiving has become perhaps our very favorite family holiday in recent years, and we were looking forward to it even more this year, with our grandbabies coming in. While David & Ashley were on their way from North Carolina, they took this picture of Abigail in the back seat. Cheryl’s response when they posted it on Facebook: “Oh my goodness; she is so cute, get her here!” That pretty much summarized our attitude towards the week!

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When You Feel Forsaken

Posted on 2014/12/02 by Shawn Thomas

Where do you turn when you feel forsaken? David cried in Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” These were the very words that Jesus later used to express His own desolation on the cross. Perhaps you have felt that way before — or do now? Notice something important that happens three times in the course of this Psalm:

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Praying For Your Family

Posted on 2014/11/25 by Shawn Thomas

The first chapter of Job describes the central character of this book as a man who was not only “blameless” and “upright” before God (:1) but as one who loved his family, and ministered to them spiritually. Verse 5 says: “When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, ‘Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did continually.” Job’s habits challenge each of us to follow His example of intercessory prayer for loved ones: Continue reading →

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“The Little Condo on the Prairie” 11-21-14

Posted on 2014/11/21 by Shawn Thomas

I know it’s supposedly “Thanksgiving” holiday, but with the grand babies coming in we see it more as:

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The kids and grandkids should be on their way to Norman today, and boy, have we been getting ready for them! Cookie baking and remodeling are among the headlines for this week’s “Little Condo”:

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Be Still and Trust Him!

Posted on 2014/11/19 by Shawn Thomas

“Be very still right now; I am about to do something very tricky.” Since the lady speaking those words had an electric razor in her hands, and she was cutting my hair, you can bet that I was very obedient! It actually reminded me of what I had read earlier that morning in my quiet time: Continue reading →

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