Not The Easiest Route

Posted on 2013/02/01 by Shawn Thomas

In Exodus 13:17 it says that when the people of Israel came out of Egypt, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near …”. God does not always take us in what seems to us as the most “direct” or “logical” route. He often has His own ways which Isaiah 55:9 says are higher than ours. SO … when you are looking for your next steps, be sure to seek God’s leadership. He may not take you in what others would call the most “natural” direction!

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Redeemed

Posted on 2013/01/29 by Shawn Thomas

Just before the Exodus of His people from Egypt, God commanded in Exodus 13 that when they came to the land of promise, they were to devote every first born thing to the Lord as a sacrifice. There was one exception: verse 15 says, “but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.”
Can you imagine being a firstborn son in the land of Israel, and thinking how you should have been sacrificed to the Lord, but instead were redeemed? Each time he saw one of the animals sacrificed, he might have thought: “That should have been my fate, had I not been redeemed!” It must have fostered an attitude of great humility and gratitude in the thoughtful person, for the grace of having been redeemed.

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Forget None of His Benefits

Posted on 2013/01/11 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 103:2 says: “forget none of His benefits.” Forgetting is one of our biggest spiritual problems. Israel was constantly cited for forgetting God, forgetting His blessings, etc. We do the same thing, of course.

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What to Pray

Posted on 2013/01/07 by Shawn Thomas

Instead of praying the same things over and over for those we care about, it is good for us to use scripture to guide our intercessions. I Timothy 4:12 is one of those verses we can use profitably in our intercessory prayers. It says: “In speech, conduct, love, faith and purity show yourself an example of those who believe.”

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Your Spiritual Diet

Posted on 2013/01/02 by Shawn Thomas

Many of us make resolutions about our physical diet as a new year begins, but what about your spiritual diet? I Timothy 4:6-7 contains quite a contrast: :6 adjures us to be “constantly nourished on the words of the faith and the sound doctrine which you have been following”, but :7 says we should avoid “worldly fables fit only for old women”. Scripture says it is “the words of the faith” and “sound doctrine” which are to feed us spiritually, NOT “worldly fables.” Continue reading →

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New Year Disciplines

Posted on 2013/01/01 by Shawn Thomas

I Timothy 4:7-8 says: “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
Just as there are “bodily disciplines”, which :8 refers to, so there are “disciplines” of godliness. Some of these are: prayer, Bible reading, scripture memorization, fasting, training one’s self to be more holy in daily, practical ways; witnessing, etc. We need to “exercise” these disciplines on a daily basis in order to become more godly. We are mistaken if we think that spirituality will just “come naturally”. It will not. It comes from practicing daily, godly disciplines. Continue reading →

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Posted on 2012/12/31 by Shawn Thomas

I’m getting comments that unfortunately this same scam is going on again this year, hence I’m re-posting in hopes it may help someone.

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I was really looking forward to my Friday off: after a pretty hectic start to the new year, I had a stress-free day with nothing planned!  Unfortunately someone marred the middle of it with a really despicable act.

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The Word of God and Prayer

Posted on 2012/12/28 by Shawn Thomas

I Timothy 4:5 says that all food is allowed to be eaten “For it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” The order here is not accidental, and not without importance. Notice that the WORD comes first – THEN comes the PRAYER. The truth that God gives us about food comes first, and then our prayers regarding it are a response to that word. This is significant, and should instruct our praying, as well as direct the practice of our faith in general.

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Darkest Before Dawn

Posted on 2012/12/27 by Shawn Thomas

In Exodus 7:3 God told Moses: “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.”
This verse tells us that there are at least some occasions when God allows things to get worse — or even causes them to, as He said He did here — in order that He may show how great He is when He delivers us from the extremely desperate situation. Continue reading →

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And The Winner Is …

Posted on 2012/12/25 by Shawn Thomas

The Winner of the 2012 Thomas Home Gingerbread House Decorating Contest goes to:

#5 Elizabeth Breland and Ashley Thomas!

The contestants are lined up in order of their entries below:
#1 Michael
#2 Paul
#3 Joshua
#4 David
#5 Libby & Ashley

Thanks to everyone who voted! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Merry Christmas!

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