Saturday In The Psalms—My Praise Is Beautiful

September 23, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

…praise from the upright is beautiful (Psalm 33:1).

God thinks praise from upright people is a beautiful thing! That’s great … for the person who is upright.

Whose life does God think is “upright”?

Well, God helps me with that too! “The Lord looks from heaven” and He sees me (v. 13), and “He considers all [my] works.” But before looking at my works, He develops the inside part of me from which my works flow—“He fashions [my] heart individually” (v. 15). I am not an assembly-line, mass-produced product. I am a unique, one-of-a-kind creation!

So how do I get God to spend this individualized attention on me? “Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him” (v. 18). Just standing in awe of His greatness—worshiping Him—asking for His kingdom to come and His will to be done—is the kind of invitation God delights in.

When I fear God it gets His attention and invites His individualized heart work on me. That makes me beautifully upright in His sight, and makes my praise pleasing to His ears. My praise glorifies God and increases my reverential awe of Him, which develops an even deeper fear of God … [and the cycle repeats!].

God delights in making my praise of Him delightful. I am a beautiful thing in His sight!



But none honors God like the thirst of desire,


Nor possesses the heart so completely with Him;


For it burns the world out with the swift ease of fire,


And fills life with good works till it runs ov’er the brim. … 




Oh then wish more for God, burn more with desire,


Covet more the dear sight of His marvelous Face;


Pray louder, pray longer, for the sweet gift of fire


To come down on thy heart with its whirlwinds of grace. … 




God loves to be longed for, He loves to be sought,


For He sought us Himself with such longing and love:


He died for desire of us, marvelous thought!


And He yearns for us now to be with Him above. —Frederick William Faber, Desire Of God






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7 Passages From “The Christian Book Of Mystical Verse”

March 15, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




A.W. Tozer had a great ear for poetry that would help Christians better glimpse the heart of God. In his collection called The Christian Book Of Mystical Verse he shares dozens of these poems. Check out my review of this collection by clicking here, and then enjoy these short passages I have highlighted.


If you enjoy poetry, I post a new poem every Saturday. Enter your email address in the box to the right, and click “Sign me up!” to be notified whenever a new poem is posted.


We from Thy oneness come,


Beyond it cannot roam,


And in Thy oneness find our one eternal home. —Frederick William Faber






Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell


How high your great Deliverer reigns;


Sing how He spoiled the hosts of hell,


And led the monster death in chains:


Say, Live forever, wondrous King!


Born to redeem, and strong to save;


Then ask the monster, Where’s thy sting?


And, Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? —Isaac Watts








Thus doth Thy grandeur make us grand ourselves;


’Tis goodness bids us fear;


Thy greatness makes as brave as children are,


When those they love are near. —Frederick William Faber








My sins, my sins, my Savior!


They take such hold on me,


I am not able to look up,


Save only Christ to Thee;


In Thee is all forgiveness,


In Thee is abundant grace,


My shadow and my sunshine


The brightness of Thy face. —John S.B. Monsell








Then, my soul, in every strait,


To thy Father come, and wait;


He will answer every prayer:


God is present everywhere. —Oliver Holden








O Love Divine! that stoop’st to share


Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear,


On Thee we cast each earth-born care,


We smile at pain while Thou art near. —Oliver Wendell Holmes








My heart is at the secret source


Of every precious thing.


Now the frail vessel Thou hast made


No hand but Thine shall fill;


For the waters of the earth have failed,


And I am thirsty still. —Anna Laetitia Waring








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Poetry Saturday—The Thought Of God

February 25, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 








clouds-and-waterThe thought of God is like the tree 


Beneath whose shade I lie, 


And watch the fleet of snowy clouds 


Sail o’er the silent sky.




‘Tis like that soft, invading light 


Which in all darkness shines, 


The thread that through life’s sombre web 


In golden pattern twines. 




It is a thought which ever makes 


Life’s sweetest smiles from tears 


It is a daybreak to our hopes 


A sunset to our fears. 




One while it bids the tears to flow, 


Then wipes them from the eyes, 


Most often fills our soul with joy, 


And always sanctifies. 




Within a thought so great, our souls 


Little and modest grow, 


And, by its vastness awed, we learn 


The art of walking slow. —Frederick William Faber










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Poetry Saturday—The Eternal Spirit

August 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens 




 




Frederick FaberFountain of Love! Thyself true God!


Who through eternal days 


From Father and from Son hast flowed


In uncreated ways!


O Majesty unspeakable!


O Person all divine!


How in the Threefold Majesty,


Doth Thy Procession shine!


Fixed in the Godhead’s awful light 


Thy fiery Breath doth move;


Thou art a wonder by Thyself


To worship and to love!


Proceeding, yet of equal age 


With those whose love Thou art;


Proceeding, yet distinct, from those 


From whom Thou seem’st to part.


An undivided Nature shared


With Father and with Son; 


A Person by Thyself; with Them


Thy simple essence One;


Bond art Thou of the other Twain! 


Omnipotent and free! —Frederick Faber




 






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Links & Quotes

June 23, 2014 — Craig T. Owens 




link quote


Some good reading from today…


“There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire.” —John Witherspoon


Religious persecution alert: ISIS is eliminating Christians in Iraq.


“It is a serious fault if a believer is in want, and thou knowest it, or if thou knowest that he is without means, that he is hungry, that he suffer distress, especially if he is ashamed of his need…. If he is in prison, and—upright though he is—has to suffer pain and punishment for some debt (for though we ought to show mercy to all, yet we ought to show it especially to an upright man); if in the time of his trouble he obtains nothing from thee; if in time of danger, when he is carried off to die, thy money seems more to thee than the life of a dying man; what a sin is that to thee!” —Ambrose


[VIDEO] Detroit Tigers radio announcer Ernie Harwell broadcasting his last game.


Interesting: Why The First Hospital To Do Sex-Reassignment Surgeries No Longer Do Them.


“When the Middle East is fragmented in this horrible war, this savage, savage war between militant Shiites and militant Sunnis … the only place where you have freedom, tolerance, protection of minorities, protection of gays, protection of Christians and all other faiths is Israel,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister. Read more about the wrong-headed decision of the Presbyterian (USA) Church to divest in Israel.


More young adults are having kids outside of marriage, and that is creating a dangerous environment for the kids.


“Kind words are the music of the world. They have a power which seems to be beyond natural causes, as if they were some angel’s song which had lost its way and come on earth. It seems as if they could almost do what in reality God alone can do—soften the hard and angry hearts of men. No one was ever corrected by a sarcasm—crushed, perhaps, if the sarcasm was clever enough, but drawn nearer to God, never.” —Frederick William Faber






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