The Race That is Set Before Us

Posted on 2013/11/18 by Shawn Thomas

Hebrews 12:1 encourages us: Therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
There is so much we can learn from this verse, but let us focus for a minute on the words: “the race that is set before us.”

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The Obedience of Love

Posted on 2013/11/16 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 119:57 the Psalmist writes: “Yahweh is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.” Here we see the key to the kind of obedience that God wants from us.

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The Counsel of the Word

Posted on 2013/11/15 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 119:24 says: “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” In Hebrew, “they are my counselors” is literally: “the men of my counsel.” What a picture God has given us here: that those who testify to us about their experiences with God through the word of God are in a very real sense “counseling” us and giving us insight and direction! Continue reading →

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When Doing Nothing Is The Most Important Thing

Posted on 2013/11/14 by Shawn Thomas

There are times when we should trust God, but then act, knowing that He is working through us (see devotion here) but there are also times when we are to totally leave things in God’s hands, and when we are to do NOTHING but allow Him to act.

David was in a situation like that here in I Samuel 26:9-11. He definitely wanted Saul “out of the way” so that he would stop persecuting him without cause. But despite several opportunities which presented themselves to him, David was NOT going to raise his hand to do anything against Saul. Here a second time (see chapter 25) David could have easily killed Saul, but did not.
Instead he trusted that God would do it without his help. David said: “As the Lord lives, surely

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The Law & The Need For Grace

Posted on 2013/11/13 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 119 is a great paean to the Law of God, extolling many marvels and facets of His word. Verses 1-8 (in which each verse begins with the Hebrew letter Aleph, as Psalm 119 is an acrostic in Hebrew) open the Psalm with a blessing for those who keep God’s Law. The problem for the thoughtful reader, however, is: WHO can live up to the standard proclaimed here?

Notice the depth of commitment and obedience that is required to the Law of God: Continue reading →

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Modeling the Golden Rule

Posted on 2013/11/12 by Shawn Thomas

In I Samuel 26, David and Abishai stealthily crept into Saul’s camp and came upon him while he was sleeping. Abishai took this as God’s providence, and as the chance to do away with Saul. But David stopped him. Verse 9 says: “But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?'”

This is now the second time David has had an opportunity to kill Saul, and did not. Both times he mentioned the same reason for his reticence: he would not lift his hand against God’s anointed. (See also Chapter 24:6)

It is not insignificant that David HIMSELF was also God’s anointed!

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Look to the Reward

Posted on 2013/11/11 by Shawn Thomas

Hebrews 11:26 says that Moses considered “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” In this chapter which extols faith, we find here a glimpse of how it practically works in a given situation:

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Who Will Go With Me?

Posted on 2013/11/09 by Shawn Thomas

In I Samuel 26:6 David asked a bold question of two of his most valiant warriors: “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” If this sounds daring, it was even more so because :5 says that Saul was asleep in the middle of the camp, surrounded by his soldiers!
But notice something about David’s challenge which should instruct us:
He did NOT just say: “Who will go down to the camp?”, but instead he asked: “Who will go down WITH ME.”

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A Simple Testimony

Posted on 2013/11/08 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 116:6 says: “The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.”
In keeping with the word “simple”, which opens the verse, the story line here is simple: “I was brought low — and He saved me.” This is a simple truth; a simple testimony. It reminds us that the basics of Christianity are not complicated.

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He Does Whatever He Pleases

Posted on 2013/11/07 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 115:3 is one of my favorite verses; it says: “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” The context of this statement is the question of :2, “Why should the nations say, ‘Where now, is their God?'” There WILL be times when people who do not know the Lord will question, observing our circumstances, “Where is their God?” “Why doesn’t his God heal him?” “Why doesn’t her God answer her?” — and so on in a multitude of cases. But our solace, our answer, is to be found in God’s sovereignty: “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” God has His own reasons for what He does or does not do. We are to trust Him. When the puzzles of life confound us, we are to trust in His sovereignty.

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