Todd Thomas

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@TonyGrossi I’m on straight across on the east coast. Looks very similar. But it beats snow 😬.

[NancyH @NancyH_60]

Peter slept the night before they planned to kill him.
That is the part that still stops me.
Acts 12 says he was chained between two soldiers, extra guards at the door, trial at dawn. James was already dead. The church was up all night praying. And Peter was asleep.
An angel had to strike him in the side to wake him. Not tap. Strike. Then the chains fell off his wrists like they had never been locked.
I used to think the miracle was the open gate. Lately I think the first miracle was the sleep. A man who trusted God enough to rest when every human plan said tomorrow was the end.
Some of us are chained to the next appointment, the next bill, the next “what if.” We call it being responsible. Scripture calls Peter’s sleep faith.
The church prayed. God sent help. Peter still had to get up, put his sandals on, and walk past the guards he could see.
If you are lying awake tonight with tomorrow already written in your head as a disaster, this story is not a fairy tale. It is a reminder: the Lord can reach a locked cell, and He can give you peace before He gives you the door.
Read Acts 12:5–11 for yourself. Don’t take my word for it.
#Acts12 #PeterInPrison #FaithNotFear #BibleStudy

[Mike Winger @MikeWingerii]

For the one who thinks they may be beyond the mercy of God.

Scripture tells us that God's mercies are new every morning. I think of the cold crispness of the fresh morning air and how it really does seem like each day is a new thing and not just a continuation of indistinguishable, consecutive moments. I've had truly hard days (as you have) where I couldn't wait to just get to the next morning when it felt fresh and somehow removed from the pain of the prior day. It's poetic and impactful to me to think of God's mercies as "new" after not only hard times but my own personal failings and shame. His mercy is not old or used up. It is not running out and his love is not drawing thin.

To reinforce this far more I ask you to consider the context where Scripture says that God's "mercies are new every morning." It's in the book of Lamentations; a book of terrible mourning and grief after the continual sins of the nation have brought them into God's judgment. They have watched their people be killed, their temple destroyed, their children slaughtered by invaders. It's not just tragedy, it's judgment from God for their sins. This all happens after Jeremiah is instructed by God not to even pray for the people anymore leading up to their judgment. But once the judgement came, a divinely inspired prayer and assurance comes in the book of Lamentations. Now they are prayed for. Now they are praying. And their lament is heard by God. They are assured of his mercies even after he has struck them down righteously due to their sin.

God's mercies are still available for you even if you have lost everything because of your sin. Because, as Lamentations says...

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;
let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope;
let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.
For the Lord will not cast off forever,
for, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;"
Lamentations 3:22–32 (ESV)

[Wes Huff @WesleyLHuff]

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. - 1 John 4:8

God’s love is not a single, undifferentiated emotion but a multifaceted divine attribute that must be held in tension with other aspects of God’s character, particularly His sovereignty and justice.

There are distinct expressions of divine love: the love within the Trinity itself (Father and Son in perfect relationship), God’s providential care over creation, His redemptive love toward sinners, His particular love for the elect, and love connected to obedience. Each operates within its own proper context rather than being collapsed into a single meaning. The intra-Trinitarian love, for instance, exists in a relationship of perfection untouched by sin, whereas God’s love toward rebellious humanity manifests through wrath, redemption, and the Cross. Crucially, within the Reformed tradition I find myself within, a distinguishing between God’s love for all creatures in some general sense and His unconditional love specifically for those who are His children in Christ exists. This distinction proves essential to maintaining both divine love and divine sovereignty. While it’s accurate to say God loves the elect and passes over the reprobate, this truth requires complementary biblical affirmations to avoid drifting toward an imbalanced understanding of God’s sovereignty.

The classical Reformed position resists the logic that affirming God’s universal salvific will alongside the claim that “God is love” necessarily leads to universalism. Rather, God’s love is grounded in His sovereignty. God would commit no injustice in condemning all sinners, yet in His love He sent His Son and grants saving faith to some through the preaching of the gospel. God’s love is therefore real and genuine, but it operates within the framework of His just governance and free election, not in opposition to them. This integrated understanding of Scripture’s full testimony on God’s love proves doctrinally and pastorally essential.

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@MikeWingerii @BenSchettler Faith is not a work but a position of loyalty and allegiance. Biblical faith cannot be viewed through an English concept of the word but through a covenantal lens. It’s our loyalty/faith that causes us to live for God.

[J.D. Greear @jdgreear]

Woe to those who call evil good. Our God will not long tolerate a society that delights in the destruction of the innocent. What is the existential difference in a baby 30 seconds before birth and 30 seconds after? Is there any science or logic involved in this discussion?

Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me.” He is for life. Those who know him will be also.

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@Sean_McDowell @MarvelStudios It was fantastic! Great job with the comic tie-ins.

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@LtGovJimTressel @OhioStateFB Congratulations Coach! Well deserved.

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@vincentdonofrio @Daredevil Once again, great performance!

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@vincentdonofrio @Spdrmnkyxxiii @Daredevil @MarvelStudios You were fantastic!

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@vincentdonofrio Fantastic!

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@vincentdonofrio @vincentdonofrio can’t wait! Thanks for being a part of bringing these characters to life. You do an amazing job!

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@Sean_McDowell @ScottMcdowell27 My son and I can’t wait! 🤞Daredevil shows up!

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@vincentdonofrio @Marvel @DisneyPlus Can’t wait! You all do such an amazing job!

[Greg Laurie @greglaurie]

"As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit guides us like that twinge of discomfort, a nudge to keep us moving in the right direction. God’s laws are not to contain us; they’re to protect us from the consequences He knows we’ll face if we stray.

Getting drunk can lead to bad decisions and poor health. “Sleeping around” can cause heartache, illness, and disintegration of God-intended intimacy. Worshipping false idols can distract us from our purpose and leave years wasted behind us. Just to name a few!

God doesn’t call us, as His children, to follow the rules “because He says so.” He calls us to live a better, healthier life because He loves us and wants us to thrive. When we remember that His ways are better than any short-term thrill, the choice is clear!"

Continue @cathelaurie's midweek devotional at https://t.co/5GXfkiUtU1

[PaulsCorner-VerseQuest @TNTJohn1717]

🚨‼️Most Christians never read 2 Chronicles because they think they already read it in Kings. That is exactly why they miss it. Kings shows you history from the throne down. Chronicles shows you history from heaven down. Kings explains political failure. Chronicles explains spiritual cause. Kings tells you what happened. Chronicles tells you why God let it happen. One book gives you the event. The other gives you the verdict. If you only read Kings, you know the story. If you read Chronicles, you know the mind of God behind the story.

Chronicles is not interested in impressing you with human strength. It is obsessed with exposing spiritual reality. It skips over military details and zooms in on altars, priests, repentance, and covenant. Because in God’s economy, the battle was never decided on the battlefield. It was decided at the altar long before the first sword was drawn. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). That verse alone explains every victory and every collapse in the book.

You begin to see a pattern. When a king seeks God, he becomes stronger than nations. When a king forsakes God, he becomes weaker than himself. Asa defeats an army of a million men by prayer. Jehoshaphat wins a war by singing. Hezekiah watches God destroy 185,000 Assyrians overnight. But the moment pride enters, protection leaves. Because God was never defending their swords. He was defending their obedience. The strength of Judah was never military. It was spiritual alignment.

Chronicles is the autopsy report of a nation killed by spiritual drift. It shows you that collapse never begins outwardly. It begins inwardly. The temple grows cold before the walls fall. Worship fades before protection fades. The king compromises before the kingdom collapses. That is why Chronicles matters now more than ever. Because it proves something modern Christianity has forgotten: God does not abandon His people suddenly. He withdraws gradually, one compromise at a time, until what remains is structure without presence.

[Paul Anleitner @PaulAnleitner]

Here’s an uncomfortable truth about the Epstein accusations:

We only find them morally reprehensible because of Christianity.

Before the spread of Christianity, “civilized” Greek and Roman elites openly flaunted underage s*x slaves. This was normal.

Emperor Hadrian built an entire city in honor of his favorite boy.

We’ve heard for decades that Christianity is a barrier to moral progress, but if you undercut the moral foundations of Christianity from the West, culture reverts back to pagan norms.

[Todd Thomas @pastortoddscc]

@KirkCameron Well done. Really enjoyed the conversation.

[John Piper @JohnPiper]

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

Abundance.

For the sake of life-giving speech, fill your heart with life-giving truth.