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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While You Are Waiting

Posted on 2013/03/12 by Shawn Thomas

If you are in a difficult, “in between” situation, Psalm 119:114 may have a word for you.  In it, the Psalmist declares: “You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.”  These are great directions for those of us who are waiting: Continue reading →

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No Excuse

Posted on 2013/03/11 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 119:110 the Psalmist declared: “The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I have not gone astray from Your precepts.” His commitment to follow God’s word even while others were trying to entrap him is an important one. Sometimes we take difficulty — and especially the oppression of others — as an excuse for abandoning what we know is right: “all’s fair in love and war”, etc.!

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Memories (For My Mother’s 75th Birthday)

Posted on 2013/03/09 by Shawn Thomas

Mom, your grandson Paul went down in our family history for the prayer he prayed one night after going to your house in Moore: “God, I thank you that I got to go to Grandma’s house today, and that I got to eat ice cream, and smash bugs on Grandma’s porch!”

Well, I have my own favorite memories of you, Mom:

Continue reading →

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Unashamed to Care

Posted on 2013/03/09 by Shawn Thomas

In II Timothy 1:16, the Apostle Paul wrote that Onesiphorus “was not ashamed of my chains.” Onesiphorus was a true friend and minister — he was not ashamed of Paul’s situation, but loved and cared for him just the same.

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Listen and DO!

Posted on 2013/03/08 by Shawn Thomas

Exodus 18:24 says that after Jethro advised Moses to share his ministry with others among the people, that Moses not only had the humility to have “listened to his father-in-law” but that he also “DID all that he had said.” It is one thing to supposedly “listen” to someone; but the truth is that listening is only the first step. Moses not only “heard” Jethro, but he followed through and DID what he advised him to do and implemented his suggested system of shared ministry.

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A Wineskin In The Smoke

Posted on 2013/03/07 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 119:83 the Psalmist declares: “Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.” What a picture of a total commitment to the Lord and His word: even if he dies, even if he is consumed like a wineskin on fire, yet he will not relent in his commitment to God and His word.

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The Grace of Listening

Posted on 2013/03/06 by Shawn Thomas

After Moses’ father in Law Jethro gave Moses advice about sharing the burden of his ministry with other leaders among the people of Israel, Exodus 18:24 says: “So Moses listened to his father-in-law …”. It should be instructive to us that Moses LISTENED!

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Our Witness In Trials

Posted on 2013/03/05 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 119:74 the Psalmist prays: “May those who fear You see me and be glad, because I wait for Your word.” He gives a needed reminder to those of us who are undergoing trials: We are not the only ones concerned with what happens to us.

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Afflicted In Faithfulness

Posted on 2013/03/04 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 119:75 says: “In faithfulness You have afflicted me”. These words may appear odd to us at first. One might well ask: How is it “in faithfulness” that God has afflicted him?

— First, God is faithful to His PURPOSES. When we are afflicted, it is not that we might be destroyed, but it has an end purpose, to make us like Christ, and to further God’s kingdom work through us (Romans 8:28). God is faithful to His purposes in our afflictions.

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