When You Don’t Have A Word

Posted on 2013/04/08 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 130 the Psalmist, in “the depths,” cries out to God. Then in :5 he says: “in His word do I hope”. In “the depths” of our own particular situations, we should do the same thing: put our hope in God’s word. Sometimes people talk about how God has given them a specific “word” of scripture to “hang their hat” on, and trust in for their situation. But what if He doesn’t give you a word like that? Continue reading →

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A Call To Worship (Psalm 132)

Posted on 2013/04/07 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 132 is one of the Songs of Ascent, which were sung by pilgrims on their way to worship at Jerusalem. Verses 7-9 still present a great call to worship for us today:

“Let us go into His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool.
Arise O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your godly ones sing for joy.”

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Remember His Name in the Night

Posted on 2013/04/06 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 119:55 says: “I remember Your name in the NIGHT O Lord, and I keep Your Law”
What is significant about remembering God’s name “in the “night”? Continue reading →

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Love Your Enemies: The Prequel

Posted on 2013/04/05 by Shawn Thomas

Exodus 23:4-5 says: “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless, you shall surely release it with him.” What is significant about this verse is that we are not commanded to do these things for our FRIENDS, but for our ENEMIES!

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A Stress Reliever

Posted on 2013/04/04 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 127:2 almost seems fatalistic: “It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Some may wrongly think that this verse implies that it is “vain” to work long hard hours, because God will bless the one He is going to bless even while he is NOT working – even in his sleep – so why bother to work hard; it’s all up to God anyway?!

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Don’t Take The Bait!

Posted on 2013/04/03 by Shawn Thomas

II Timothy 2:23 admonishes: “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.” Then :24 begins “The Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome …”. This verse commands God’s servants not to even get into “foolish” and “ignorant” discussions which you know are just going to lead to quarrels.

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Kind To ALL

Posted on 2013/04/02 by Shawn Thomas

It is easy to read past II Timothy 2:24, “the Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all”, and not think much of it other than that it is a very general admonition, which everyone should know: “be kind to all.” Sure; we should all do that. But if you really stop and think about what that is saying, it is quite a challenge: we are to be kind to ALL!

— this means we are to be kind to our friends and those we like; easy enough.

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You Shall Be Gracious

Posted on 2013/04/01 by Shawn Thomas

Exodus 22:26-27 may read at first like a quirky, specific law for Israel, but it is in fact an admonition to grace: “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.”

In the midst of sundry precepts following The Ten Commandments, God instructs His people to be gracious to each other. The specific command here is that if they take a man’s cloak as a pledge (for a loan) they are not to keep it, but are to graciously give it back to him that evening so he will have something with which to cover himself while he sleeps. That is going “above and beyond” what lenders typically do, but God admonishes His people to be gracious, and do more than is expected in their dealings with others. Continue reading →

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I Was Glad

Posted on 2013/03/31 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 122 opens with a familiar and beloved verse for many: “I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of YHWH”. This Psalm is one of 15 Psalms called “Songs of Ascent” which were sung by those who were going up to the Lord’s house for worship in the Old Testament. This verse and the ones following it teach us some important things about worship. Take for example :4, “The tribes go up, even the tribes of The Lord – an ordinance for Israel – to give thanks to the name of the Lord.” Look at what this 4th verse teaches us about worship then and now: Continue reading →

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My “Holy Saturday” Tradition

Posted on 2013/03/30 by Shawn Thomas

I attended a Good Friday service at Trinity Baptist, Norman last night and really enjoyed the service. It included some public worship singing, a series of scripture readings, and several choir anthems. I had not been in the habit, as a pastor, of having Good Friday services, although Friday night I wondered why. I guess we live and learn! If I return to the pastorate I think I would seriously consider doing something like that.

One personal tradition I have observed over the years on what we call “Easter weekend” has to do with the song, “Up From The Grave He Arose.”

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