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 …”.

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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!

IMG_1151.JPG

Continue reading →

Posted in Home & Family Life, This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog) | Leave a comment

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:

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Home & Family Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“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:

IMG_1090.JPG

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”:

Continue reading →

Posted in Home & Family Life, This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog) | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Heart For Worship

Posted on 2014/11/17 by Shawn Thomas

The way a person responds to God’s work in his life reveals a lot about his heart. In Acts 3:8 the Bible tells us that when the lame man outside the Temple was healed, “With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the Temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.” What this man did after he was healed spoke volumes:

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Outlasting Old Habits

Posted on 2014/11/12 by Shawn Thomas

Nehemiah learned that if you want to bring about change, you have to stay on top of it. Having led the people of Israel to re-establish many of the practices of the Law, including supporting the Levites with their tithes, Nehemiah went back to Babylon to see King Artaxerxes. But when he returned to Jerusalem, 13:10 tells us “I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers who had performed the services had gone away, each to his own field.” There’s a lesson here which many of us can apply:

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gladness & Sincerity — Or Not!

Posted on 2014/11/11 by Shawn Thomas

A wiseacre once observed that in politics, sincerity is the most important thing; once you can fake that, you have it made! But the truth is, people can usually tell the difference. It is striking to read in Acts 2:46 that as a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in the newborn church at Jerusalem, “they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.” So attractive was this heart-felt fellowship to those who saw it, that the next verse describes that people were being added to the church every day. “Gladness & sincerity” in a church’s fellowship are attractive — which is just where many of our churches are missing it.

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments