A Mutual Embrace

Posted on 2016/05/04 by Shawn Thomas

“My soul clings to (after) You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:8)

We get glimpses in several of the Psalms of the kind of deep spiritual relationship that David had with the Lord. Psalm 63 is one of those. He writes in its first verses that because God is HIS God, he will seek Him earnestly (literally “early”), and that in a desert land, his greatest need is not for food or water, but “You”! (:1b)  Verse 8 continues to reveal the nature of the relationship that David — and every true believer — has with the Lord: Continue reading →

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The Real Reason You Shouldn’t Worry

Posted on 2016/05/03 by Shawn Thomas

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink …”. (Matthew 6:25)

Many Christians would admit that anxiety is one of the biggest problems in their spiritual life. Everyone knows that we “shouldn’t” worry, but knowing that, and not doing it, are often two different things.  But in context Matthew 6:25 gives followers of Christ a really good reason not to worry, by encouraging them to focus their attention elsewhere: Continue reading →

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What’s Your Focus?

Posted on 2016/05/02 by Shawn Thomas

“The lamp of the body is the eye; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?” (Matthew 6:22-23)

These verses are considered by some to be enigmatic and uncertain in meaning, almost oddly inserted in between some powerful verses on laying up treasure in heaven (:19-21) and serving only one master (:24).  But when you understand what :22-23 are driving at, they fit right in.  Continue reading →

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You Have Only One Master

Posted on 2016/04/28 by Shawn Thomas

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”  (Matthew 6:24)

Here Jesus famously says that you cannot serve both God and wealth (or “mammon” as the old King James says).  But we should also not miss the fact that there is a principle here that applies beyond merely the sin of avarice.  Jesus begins the verse by saying, “No one can serve two masters.”  So the principle is that you cannot serve two master of ANY kind — not just money.  This should cause each of us to search our souls about our commitment and priorities. Continue reading →

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Relationship, Not “Transaction” In Prayer

Posted on 2016/04/25 by Shawn Thomas

“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8)

Here Jesus tells His disciples that their prayers are to be different than those of the pagan Gentiles. He had just said in :7 that they were not to use “meaningless repetitions like the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.”  It is an ungodly mindset which thinks that prayer is a kind of “transaction” between us and God. This is reflected in what Jesus called the Gentile outlook on prayer: that the more you pray, however little your heart is really in it, the more you will “get” from God. It is like: the more “coins” you put in the “machine”, the more you will “get” out of it.

But He said Christian prayer is not like that: Continue reading →

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Which World Are You Living For?

Posted on 2016/04/20 by Shawn Thomas

Why do hypocrites do what they do? In His Matthew 6 admonition to His disciples to avoid hypocrisy, Jesus gave several examples which reveal a basic motivation that each person takes into consideration when they make their choice of action:

—  He said those who perform their good deeds for the approval of men have “no reward with your Father who is in heaven” (:1)
— Three times in this passage He says those who desire attention for their actions: “have their reward in full.” (:2, :5 & :16)
— On the other hand, He said of those who do their works for God only: “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (:4) (also :6 & :18)

The question behind all three of the examples Jesus gives here is: are you living for the attention of people and the reward they can give you in THIS world, or for the approval of God and the reward that He will give you in the NEXT?   Continue reading →

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Good Works: To See or Not To See?

Posted on 2016/04/19 by Shawn Thomas

Should a person do good works that people can see, or not? One might get conflicting ideas regarding the answer to that question from a couple of scriptures in Matthew chapters 5 & 6:

— “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

— “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them, otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)

Is Jesus contradicting Himself in these passages?   Continue reading →

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Trusting The Potter’s Hands (Genesis 2:7-8 sermon)

Posted on 2016/04/18 by Shawn Thomas

Sometimes you will hear a person described as a “self-made man”. I know what they are talking about when they describe someone that way: they mean that they didn’t begin life with a fortune; that they worked their way “up the ladder” to where they are today. But in reality, the expression is a poor one. There is really no such thing as a “self-made man.” Scripture tells us that God gave every one of us, every ability that we have. Thus we owe everything we have, and everything we are, to Him.

We should be reminded of that every time we read the Creation story of Genesis. In Chapter 2 of that book, we find a re-telling of God’s creation of man. In verses 7-8, there are 3 verbs which describe for us specifically 3 things that God did for that first man — and that He does for each of us as well. They serve as a good reminder of how dependent we are upon the Lord, and how we need to look to Him daily for our help, and trust Him with every one of our circumstances. Continue reading →

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Will Your Righteousness Get You To Heaven?

Posted on 2016/04/18 by Shawn Thomas

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

This is one of those sayings of Jesus that must have astounded His hearers. The scribes and the Pharisees were generally considered to be the most religious people in their society — and yet Jesus shockingly indicated here that these men were NOT great in the Kingdom of Heaven like everyone assumed, but that in fact they would not even enter it!  He said that the righteousness of His hearers had to surpass that of these men, or they would not enter heaven.  This must have occasioned some soul-searching among Jesus’ hearers. It should among us as well. Continue reading →

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Do You Have The Right Enemies?

Posted on 2016/04/14 by Shawn Thomas

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:12)

When one of the presidential candidates was harassed at a campaign stop this week, one commentator said that it was actually not that bad of a thing for him, because it demonstrated to his voter base that “He has the right enemies.”  In other words, having those particular people to oppose him meant that he was on the right track. Continue reading →

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