His Manner of Grace

Posted on 2013/03/20 by Shawn Thomas

The prayer of Psalm 119:132 is “Turn to me and be gracious to me – after Your manner with those who love Your name”. The Psalmist asks God to be gracious to him, and bases it on the “manner” of God. Continue reading →

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Soldiers of Christ

Posted on 2013/03/19 by Shawn Thomas

Paul encouraged Timothy in II Timothy 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus”. One of the many failures of American Christianity is that we fail to see ourselves as “soldiers of Christ Jesus.” Continue reading →

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Theology 101

Posted on 2013/03/18 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 119:68 contains what we might describe as “Theology 101” — a basic understanding of God: “You are good and do good.”
This verse reminds us that the basic nature of God is good; and everything that He does is good.

Continue reading →

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“Lord We Come To Hear Your Word”

Posted on 2013/03/17 by Shawn Thomas

Cheryl & I have visited Trinity Baptist, Norman OK, with pastor Ronnie Rogers, for a couple of weeks, and both Sunday mornings they have sung the song, “Lord We Come To Hear Your Word” just before the message. I visited with worship leader Randy Presley after the service today, asking for the name of the song, because it is such an appropriate prayer song leading up to the pastor’s message.

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Are You Taking His Name In Vain?

Posted on 2013/03/17 by Shawn Thomas

In Exodus 20:7, the 3rd Commandment says: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” There are many ways we can violate this command, but one of them is certainly by claiming to take the name of the Lord upon our lives as His followers, but neglecting to live like He is really our Lord.

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The Christian Blessing

Posted on 2013/03/16 by Shawn Thomas

It is significant that the Christian greeting which the Apostle Paul employs in II Timothy 1:2 is “grace, mercy and peace”. It is NOT “justice, reward, and fear” — and of course we should be most thankful for that! None of us should desire what we “deserve” from God. Continue reading →

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The Word of God is Not Imprisoned

Posted on 2013/03/15 by Shawn Thomas

In II Timothy 2:9 Paul wrote to Timothy: “I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.”  Paul evidenced an important outlook here which unfortunately many of us seem to miss: the Kingdom of God is not tied to our personal fortunes. Continue reading →

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The Servant and the Word

Posted on 2013/03/14 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 119:125, the Psalmist prays: “I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies.”  There is an interesting relationship here between the servant of God and the word of God: Continue reading →

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Consecration Before Revelation

Posted on 2013/03/13 by Shawn Thomas

In Exodus 19:10, the Lord told Moses: “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow … and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai …”. It should be instructive to us that God did not immediately reveal Himself to the people of Israel; He had them consecrate themselves — make themselves holy — for two days first, and then on the 3rd day His revelation would come.

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POTS Update: A Change of Geography Helps?

Posted on 2013/03/12 by Shawn Thomas

Due to my bout with dysautonomia/POTS, I had to step down as pastor of FirstWelcome to Oklahoma Baptist Moss Bluff, Louisiana, at the end of February 2013, and my family & I moved to Norman, Oklahoma.  While we are still very much in the process of getting settled, I thought I should post an update because of the dramatic improvement I have seen as a result of the move.  (NOTE: while there is probably ample opportunity for some “I moved to God’s country — the home of the Sooners”-type humor, I will avoid that — for the most part! 😉

Let me describe my condition before we moved. Continue reading →

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