Saturday In The Psalms—God’s Compelling Kindness

September 30, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes (Psalm 36:1).

David believes that fear and reverence of Almighty God would deter the sinner from his sin. This is not a dread of punishment, but a fear of missing out on the wondrous, eternal depths of God’s love.

We are not asking sinners to give up something they enjoy for a better thing. We’re calling them to step into a Relationship that is more real, substantial, fulfilling, enlivening, and satisfying than anything they’ve ever experienced or even dreamed of!

How precious is God loving kindness. How trustworthy His provision. How abundantly satisfying is His fullness. How indescribable His pleasures. How endless is His love!

It is the kindness of God that leads men and women to His presence.

Heavenly Father, may I live in Your kindness and reflect it to all around me, inviting them to share in Your bounty for themselves. Amen.

“What can equal in costliness the love of God! Its preciousness is measured by the gift it gave, and by the innumerable gifts contained in that One—life, pardon, salvation, peace, the glory to be revealed. In this love there are unsearchable riches—exceeding riches of grace. There are no riches to be compared to this great love of God. Having it we are rich indeed. Without it we are poor, life is blank, eternity is dark. …

“God’s character is then the basis of human confidence. …

“This love which so suits the sinner and calls forth his confidence is that which is exhibited in the Cross of Christ. That Cross is the revelation of God’s love as a righteous thing; and thus appeals both to man’s heart and his conscience. The love furnishes the ground for trust, and the Cross removes every reason for distrust. …

“These wings [of love] are broad, and large, and strong, fitted to shelter all the sons of Adam. And thus stretched out they themselves invite us. They contain their own invitation. They say, ‘Come and be safe, come and be blessed, come and be sheltered from present wrath and from the wrath to come. Come, for all things are ready; the love is ready, the deliverance is ready, the protection is ready.’” —Horatius Bonar (emphasis mine)

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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 o’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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Thursdays With Oswald—Fiery Furnace

August 10, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.


Fiery Furnace 


   Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.


From Run Today’s Race


Run Today’s Race contains short statements from Oswald Chambers intended to stimulate Christians to ponder things like:


    

  • Do I only believe it because I can see it, or can I trust God even without seeing the reason for my trial?
    • 

  • Am I fully convinced of God’s unlimited love for me?
    • 

  • Have I learned lessons from my fiery trials in the past?
    • 

  • How can I help other brothers and sisters who may be in a fiery trial now?
    • 







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Poetry Saturday—Hymn XXXV

July 29, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 








In Thy presence we are happy,


In Thy presence we’re secure;


In Thy presence all afflictions


We can easily endure;


In Thy presence we can conquer,


We can suffer, we can die;


Wandering from Thee, we are feeble;


Let Thy love, Lord, keep us nigh. —Williams Pantycelyn










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Poetry Saturday—Everlasting Love

July 22, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 








 Love, Thou bottomless abyss,


My sins are swallowed up in Thee!


Covered is my unrighteousness,


Nor spot of guilt remains on me,


While Jesus’ blood, through earth and skies,


Mercy, free, boundless mercy, cries. … 




Fixed on this ground I will remain,


Though my heart fail, and flesh decay;


This anchor shall my soul sustain,


When earth’s foundations melt away;


Mercy’s full power I then shall prove,


Loved with an everlasting love. —Johann Andreas Rothe










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Poetry Saturday—Thine Forever

July 15, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 








What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered 


Was all for sinners’ gain;


Mine, mine was the transgression,


But Thine the deadly pain … 




Oh, make me Thine forever;


And should I fainting be,


Lord, let me never, never


Outlive my love to Thee! —Bernard of Clairvaux










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Thursdays With Oswald—Winning The Spiritual Fights

July 13, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.


Winning The Spiritual Fights


“The love of God in Christ Jesus is such that He can take the most unfit man—unfit to survive, unfit to fight, unfit to face moral issues—and make him not only fit to survive and to fight, but fit to face the biggest moral issues and the strongest power of satan, and come off more than conqueror.” 


“The devil is a bully, but when we stand in the armor of God, he cannot harm us; if we tackle him in our own strength we are soon done for.” 


“It is never wise to under-estimate an enemy. We look upon the enemy of our souls as a conquered foe; so he is, but only to God, not to us.” 


From Run Today’s Race


Run Today’s Race contains short statements from Oswald Chambers intended to stimulate Christians to ponder things like:


    

  • Have I disqualified myself from the fight because I view myself as “unfit”?
    • 

  • Do I know how deeply God really loves me?
    • 

  • Am I daily putting on God’s armor?
    • 

  • Am I trying to fight satan in my own strength, or in God’s strength?
    • 







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That’s What Friends Are For

July 10, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




Take just a minute to get a clear mental picture of your best friend.


Got it?


Now, think of a few adjectives you would use to describe your best friend.


Did you think of words like loyal … trustworthy … honest … loving … faithful … reliable … authentic … funny … patient ….?


What about godly? Would you describe your best friend with that word? After all, if your friend is godly, wouldn’t he or she also be loyal, trustworthy, honest, loving, and so on?


This gives us an idea of how important friendships are to God. If calling someone “godly” sums up the very best attributes of your very best friend, then that means that you can see God in your friend. And hopefully they can see God in you too!


Jesus told His followers that He viewed them as friends. He told them…


    

  • …how close to God He could bring them (John 14:20)
    • 

  • …how much the Heavenly Father loved them because they loved Jesus
    • 

  • …how much He was willing to do for them because of His love (John 15:9-13)
    • 

  • …how the Holy Spirit would continue to keep them close to God (John 16:12-15)
    • 



Eugene Peterson said, “Friendship is not a way of accomplishing something but a way of being with another in which we become more authentically ourselves.”


Your best friend is someone you can be completely real around, right? No games, no masks, just come as you are. And your friend still loves you completely. This is how it is with God as our Best Friend too!


There is nothing you could ever do to make God love you any less, so stop worrying! 


There is nothing you could ever do to make God love you any more, so stop trying!


Friends love us enough to be totally honest with us. That’s why Solomon said, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy only multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6).


Friends want us to have the very best, and to stay on paths that lead to success. So again Solomon wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (Proverbs 27:17).


Oswald Chambers tells us, “Friendship with God is faith in action in relation to God and to our fellow men.”


So be assured of God’s friendship with you. Then be God’s friend to those in your life, and allow them to be God’s friend right back to you … THAT’S WHAT REAL FRIENDS ARE FOR!








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Poetry Saturday—The Blessed Morrow

July 8, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 






’Midst the darkness, storm, and sorrow,


One bright gleam I see;


Well I know the blessed morrow 


Christ will come for me.


’Midst the light, and peace, and glory


Of the Father’s home,


Christ for me is watching, waiting,


Waiting till I come. … 




Oh the blessed joy of meeting,


All the desert past!


Oh the wondrous words of greeting


He shall speak at last!


He and I together entering


Those fair courts above


He and I together sharing


All the Father’s love. —Gerhard Tersteegen










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Christianity In Practical Working Order

June 26, 2017 — Craig T. Owens 




“God has loved me to the end of all my sinfulness, all of my self-will, all of my stiff-neckedness, all my pride, all my self-interest; now He says—‘Love one another, as I have loved you.’ I am to show my fellow men the same love that God showed me. That is Christianity in practical working order.” —Oswald Chambers, in Run Today’s Race






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