Intergenerational Ministry

Posted on 2013/05/02 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 145:4 says: “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” This describes intergenerational ministry – one generation sharing with another — a too rare thing in American church ministry today.

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When Faith Means Giving Up

Posted on 2013/05/01 by Shawn Thomas

In II Timothy 4:6-7 the Apostle Paul wrote: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith …”. There are some who might have criticized the Apostle Paul in these verses for seeming to “give up.” He didn’t seem to “have faith” for his deliverance, or hold out any hope for release. Instead he said, “The time of my departure has come.” His famous 3-fold phrases are all PAST tense: “I HAVE fought the good fight, I HAVE finished the course, I HAVE kept the faith.” The fact is, Paul knew that there was not any hope for deliverance or escape this time. He had a certainty that his impending death was God’s will now, and he accepted that.

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Ultimate Accountability

Posted on 2013/04/30 by Shawn Thomas

II Timothy 2:15 adjures: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed …”. The words “approved to GOD” are key here. They remind us that it is not any man or human organization to whom we are ultimately accountable; rather it is GOD by Whom we are to seek to be approved.

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A Picture of Intercession

Posted on 2013/04/29 by Shawn Thomas

In :9-12 of Exodus 28 God commanded: “You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel … You shall put the two stones of the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial.” Thus Aaron the priest was to take the names of each of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders when he went into the presence of the Lord. Continue reading →

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“Negative Preaching”?

Posted on 2013/04/28 by Shawn Thomas

In II Timothy 2:2, Paul exhorts Timothy: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and teaching.” It is interesting that of the three terms Paul uses here to describe the kind of preaching he wants Timothy to do, TWO of them might be considered “negative”: “reprove” and “rebuke.” (“exhort” would be the 3rd)

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The Priority of His Presence

Posted on 2013/04/27 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 140 ends: “the upright will dwell in Your presence.” (:13) THIS is what is really important. Psalm 140 speaks repeatedly of the “evil men” (:1) who “stir up wars” (:2) and “sharpen their tongues”, etc. But the Psalm ends by saying that despite all that, the upright have the presence of God, which is by far more important than any earthly “success” or possession or blessing of any kind.

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Enemies of God

Posted on 2013/04/26 by Shawn Thomas

Exodus 23:22 says: “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” That is an awesome and sobering thought: that God would be an enemy to those who are your enemies, and an adversary to those who are your adversaries. But, as with many Bible promises, there is a condition attached to this, and it is one strong condition: you must “truly obey His voice and do all that I say.” Continue reading →

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Guard My Mouth

Posted on 2013/04/25 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 141:3 David prays: “Set a guard, O LORD over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
We often think of prayers as being for God to protect US: “set a guard over me; protect me”, etc., and those are legitimate kinds of prayers. But it is notable that here David prays that the “guard” that God would set would be over his OWN MOUTH! Many of us would have to admit that we need to pray the same thing. Continue reading →

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Not “As You Wish,” but “Just So”!

Posted on 2013/04/24 by Shawn Thomas

In Exodus 25:8-9 God said: “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.” Here after the giving of the 10 Commandments, God gave instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, where Israel would meet with God and offer sacrifices. Although we are not, in the New Testament era, under obligation to build such a tabernacle, there is yet a principle here which is important for us to remember.

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The Problem With “Promise Keeping”

Posted on 2013/04/23 by Shawn Thomas

After God had given Moses the 10 Commandments and various other commands, Exodus 24 records the response of the people: “All the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” (:3) “Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!’” (:7) After they heard the Law, all the people of Israel promised to keep it. The problem was, they WEREN’T obedient. They promised they would be, but when it came right down to it, they in fact did NOT obey.

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