Sing to the Lord

Posted on 2013/02/11 by Shawn Thomas

Exodus 15:1 says that after the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea and the Egyptians were drowned: “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord …”.

Notice that the RECIPIENT of their song was THE LORD. Continue reading →

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Our God Does Whatever He Pleases!

Posted on 2013/02/08 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 115:2-3 says: “Why should the nations say, ‘Where now is their God?’ But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” Just like in Israel’s day, there WILL be times in ours when those who do not trust our God will ask: “Where now is their God?” If our God is real, why does He not act? When we are ill, they might ask: “Why doesn’t his God heal him?” And the same with a multitude of other cases. “Why doesn’t their God do anything?”

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“Paradise”: The House Showing

Posted on 2013/02/06 by Shawn Thomas

Following my resignation at First Baptist, Moss Bluff, last Sunday, our house went on the market this week. We will not be able to live at 954 Mission Lane with me being unable to work full-time (or at all, presently) so we needed to plan on selling. In God’s providence, a few years ago we bought a small apartment in Norman, Oklahoma, and although there were times when we wondered why we had it, we are now grateful that we do. We hope it will be just the place for me to be able to rest and hopefully, in God’s time, get better, and possibly return to preaching. But first, we needed to get our current home ready to sell. As many of you know, that is no small task.

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Letter To My Church Family (2-03-13)

Posted on 2013/02/03 by Shawn Thomas

We are fast approaching one year since I first went home sick from prayer meeting on a Wednesday night with what came be to diagnosed as dysautonomia, or POTS. We have employed a wide array of medications and exercises, and of course sought the Lord in prayer for my healing over the past year. As of yet, these prayers have not been answered — or at least the answer has been “no”, or “not yet.”

In light of the extended nature of my illness, and the fact that there is no imminent cure on the horizon, I believe this is the right time for me to step down as pastor of First Baptist Moss Bluff. The church needs an active pastor to lead her in these trying days, and I am not physically able to provide that leadership at this time. We are short several members on our ministerial staff, but it is difficult to call staff members without a stable senior pastor in place. After much prayer, deliberation, and seeking God in His word, I believe it is in the best interest of the church, and also God’s will at this time, that I submit my resignation today, effective in two weeks, Sunday, February 17. Continue reading →

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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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