Saturday In The Psalms—Creation Recognizes Its Creator

March 10, 2018 — Craig T. Owens

The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back, the mountains skipped like rams … rocks turned into a pool of water… (Psalm 114:3, 4, 8).

What would cause a sea to shrink?

Or a river to stop flowing? Or mountains and hills to quake in fear?

What could turn flint rocks into puddles?

God’s presence!

Creation recognizes its Creator!

Do we?

Waters and mountains and rocks cannot think or feel or appreciate majesty and beauty—but they can and do recognize their majestic Creator and bow in His presence.

How much more so we who can think and feel and appreciate—how much more so should we bow before our Majesty, the Creator of all!

Jesus may have had this Psalm 114 in mind when He said that rocks would cry out in praise if we humans did not [Luke 19:37-40]. I, for one, am not going to let rocks or waters praise on my behalf!

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Saturday In The Psalms—Sing A New Song

February 3, 2018 — Craig T. Owens

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! (Psalm 96:1).

God is so great—His worth is infinite—that He deserves a new song every time we sing to Him. There is no need to copy or duplicate something done before, but we should continually find new ways to praise Him.

Look at the angels encircling God’s throne. They continually sing out, “Holy! Holy! Holy!” as they perceive new dimensions of God’s grace, love, faithfulness, beauty, and majesty.

“Oh! Did you see that? Holy!” 

“Look at that! Amazing!” 

“Wow, I just saw something else breathtaking” Worthy!”

Our praise of God should follow that example: “Holy! Holy! Holy!” This is what Psalm 96 tells us…

Sing!
Bless His name!
Tell how good He is!
Declare His glory everywhere!
He is great!
He is greatly to be praised!
Look at His majesty!
Stand in awe of His beauty!
Give Him the glory due His name!
Worship! 
Thrill at the beauty of His holiness!
Bow before His majesty!
Rejoice!
Be glad!
Listen to creation praising their Creator!
Join creation in their song!
He is coming soon!
Maranatha!
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing it now and forever and ever!
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Poetry Saturday—Prayer

January 20, 2018 — Craig T. Owens
Lord Jesus, Maker of creation, Word
and Son of God, Redeemer, Savior, Lord
and King, we worship You, because we know
You, and we know that You have loved us so
that we might never have to live in fear;
and when our sojourn has concluded here,
Your resurrection power, which now transforms
us into Your own image, and conforms
us to Your pleasure, will deliver, keep,
and bless us. Catch us up, Lord, in the sweep
of Your forever-marching-forward grace,
and bring us to Your glorious, waiting face,
where are we, with You, and like You, will abide
forever, in Your presence, by Your side.
Amen. —T.M. Moore, in To Know Him






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A Leader’s Observations

January 17, 2018 — Craig T. Owens 




When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers… (Psalm 8:3).


David starts and ends this psalm with the same phrase: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! In the middle, David marvels at the diversity and beauty of God’s creation. David observes…


    

  • the blue skies
    • 

  • the wide-eyed wonder of children
    • 

  • the moon and stars
    • 

  • the marvel of man
    • 

  • the flocks and herds of the field
    • 

  • the birds in the air
    • 

  • the fish in the seas
    • 



David takes nothing for granted. He observes, he sees God, and then he worships God as Creator. David’s constant cycle is—observation and contemplation which leads to adoration.


A mark of a godly leader is one who is continually learning about his Creator.


Don’t ever stop observing; don’t ever stop learning. Become a lifelong learner, and let your contemplation lead you to adoration of our excellent Lord and Creator!


This is Part 18 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts on this topic by clicking here.






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Saturday In The Psalms—A Sabbath Psalm

January 13, 2018 — Craig T. Owens 




A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day (preface to Psalm 92).


The Sabbath is—


    

  • a day of reflection
    • 

  • a day of rejoicing
    • 

  • a day of reconnecting
    • 

  • a day of meditating on past blessings
    • 

  • a day of strengthening for the upcoming week
    • 

  • a day of acknowledging the Creator
    • 

  • a day of appreciating creation
    • 

  • a day of assessing the investment of my God-given talents
    • 

  • a holy day—different from all other days
    • 



So … “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night” (vv. 1, 2).


Sabbath is not just a noun, but a verb—sabbathing—something that can be done every day, but something which also takes on special significance for the one day each week that we set aside as our holy day or worship and reflection. 


The Creator’s works and wisdom should be pondered and praised as we sabbath (vv. 4-6), something “a fool” doesn’t take time to do.


As we sabbath, we should confess to God—and then turn over to Him—those things which have overly preoccupied our minds (vv. 7-9).


We should recommit that the place of growth and blessing is in God’s presence (v. 13) as we endeavor to keep our hearts there. And then we can be energized and joy-filled as we contemplate His blessing which never diminishes nor grows old (vv. 14, 15).


Truly sabbathing is a good thing!


Do you have a Sabbath day? Do you find time to regularly sabbath in God’s presence? 


UPDATE: I dive deep into this idea of sabbathing in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter. 








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Saturday In The Psalms—Like No One Else

November 18, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




Praise is awaiting You, O God… (Psalm 65:1).


Why is praising awaiting God? Because no one else does what He does!


    

  1. He hears all our prayers
    2. 

  2. He turns no one away
    3. 

  3. He atones for our transgressions
    4. 

  4. He helps us approach Him
    5. 

  5. He fills our lives with good things
    6. 

  6. He longs for us to dwell with Him
    7. 

  7. He satisfies our deepest longing
    8. 

  8. He is All-Righteous
    9. 

  9. He does awesome things!
    10. 

  10. He is Salvation
    11. 

  11. He is Confidence
    12. 

  12. He answers our prayers
    13. 

  13. He is Creator
    14. 

  14. He is Wonderful
    15. 

  15. He is Beauty
    16. 

  16. He is All-Powerful
    17. 

  17. He is Provider
    18. 

  18. He is Abundance
    19. 

  19. He is Good
    20. 

  20. He is Joy
    21. 



There is no like You, O God!


So my praise will be lifted to You—to You my vows will be fulfilled!






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Saturday In The Psalms—Don’t Be A Fool

November 4, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 53).


You can choose this paradigm if you like. But if you do, here’s what you can expect—


Corruption … you will reap from others the corruption you sow


No one seems trustworthy … you will live your life untrusting and not being trusted


Limited understanding … “without God we’re just a lucky convergence of matter and energy, and after death there’s a vast nothing,” says the fool. But anyone who’s ever fallen in love knows there is something more than just matter and energy.


Everyone seeks his own self-interest … no one does good just to do good (we’re back to the untrusting lifestyle again!)


Fear and terror of the unknown … these lurk constantly in the back of your mind


Missing out on eternal blessings … what if you’re wrong? what if there really is a God who wants to be in relationship with you? If that’s true, you are squandering your life. You are living for the moment, and about to miss out on an eternity of pleasure in God’s presence.


A fool sticks his fingers in his ears, closes his eyes, and refuses to even consider an alternative—“There. Is. No. God!”


Don’t be a fool!


Will you at least be willing to consider the possibility that this Universe was created on purpose? Will you at least be willing to consider that the Creator made you to have a relationship with Him?


The fool tries to make all of life fit into his tiny box. The wise person knows there’s so much more.


Don’t be a fool!






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Just A Whisper

October 11, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the rain in His thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with His clouds. He created the horizon when He separated the waters; He set the boundary between day and night. The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at His rebuke. By His power the sea grew calm. By His skill He crushed the great sea monster. His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and His power pierced the gliding serpent. These are just the beginning of all that He does, merely a whisper of His power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of His power? (Job 26:7-14)


Take a look at the majesty of creation. Look at the vastness of space. Marvel at the pounding surf of the oceans. Tremble at the earthquake, the hurricane, the volcano.


Then look through a microscope and see the perfection at the smallest scale. Smell the fragrances, thrill at the beauty. Job reminds us, “These are just the beginning of all that God does, merely a whisper of His power.”


Are things troubling you? They don’t even begin to touch the power of God! No matter what you are facing, God’s power is infinitely stronger. Hide yourself in Him. Cling to His love. Rest in His strength.


Fear not, for far greater is your Father in Heaven than anything troubling you!






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You Are A Masterpiece!

July 10, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




“‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them’ (Ephesians 2:10). The Greek word for workmanship is poiema, from which we get the English word poem. It can also mean masterpiece. …


“The book of Genesis tells us that God created each of us in His image. You and I are created to be so much more than normal. Being normal is safe. And easy. It doesn’t require much work or effort or change on our part. But it always leads to mediocrity. When you strive to be just like everyone else, you never have a chance to be special. When you start to embrace and even celebrate how different God made you, you can begin to do extraordinary things. You can begin to see yourself through His eyes. You can begin to live in the uniqueness with which you were created.” —Tim Tebow, in Know Who You Are, Live Like It Matters (emphasis mine)






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Poetry Saturday—Presumption

July 1, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 








Whenever I am prone to doubt or wonder—


   I check myself, and say, “That mighty One


Who made to the solar system cannot blunder—


   And for the best all things are being done.”


Who sent the stars on their eternal courses


   Has fashioned this strange earth by some sure plan.


Bow low, bow low to those majestic forces,


   Nor dare to doubt their wisdom, puny man.




You cannot put one little star in motion,


   You cannot shape one single forest leaf,


Nor fling a mountain up, nor sink an ocean,


   Presumptuous pigmy, large with unbelief.


You cannot bring one dawn of regal splendor,


   Nor bid the day to shadowy twilight fall,


Nor send the pale moon fourth with radiance tender—


   And dare you doubt the One who has done it all?




“So much is wrong, there is such pain—such sinning.”


   Yet look again—behold how much is right!


And He who formed the world from its beginning


   Knows how to guide it upward to the light.


Your task, O man, is not to carp and cavil


   At God’s achievements, but with purpose strong


To cling to good, and turn away from evil.


   That is the way to help the world along. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox










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