Poetry Saturday—Every Fallen Soul

June 8, 2019 — Craig T. Owens
Every fallen soul, by sinning,
Merits everlasting pain;
But Thy love without beginning,
Has redeem’d the world again:
Countless millions
Shall in life, through Jesus reign.


Pause, my soul, adore and wonder:


Ask, “Oh, why such love to me?” 


Grace hath put me in the number


Of the Saviour’s family:


Hallelujah!


Thanks, eternal thanks to Thee!




Since that love had no beginning,


And shall never, never cease;


Keep, oh, keep me, Lord, from sinning;


Guide me in the way of peace:


Make me walk in


All the paths of holiness.




When I quit this feeble mansion,


And my soul returns to Thee,


Let the power of Thy ascension


Manifest itself in me;


Through Thy Spirit,


Give the final victory.




When the angel sounds the trumpet;


When my soul and body join;


When my Saviour comes to judgment,


Bright in majesty divine,


Let me triumph


In Thy righteousness as mine. —Anonymous






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Poetry Saturday—The Course Of Prayer

May 25, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




Even so, the course of prayer who knows? 
   It springs in silence where it will, 
      Springs out of sight, and flows 
         At first a lonely rill: 


But streams shall meet it by and by 
   From thousand sympathetic hearts, 
      Together swelling high 
         Their chant of many parts. 


Unheard by all but angel ears 
   The good Cornelius knelt alone, 
      Nor dream’d his prayers and tears 
         Would help a world undone. 


The while upon his terrac’d roof 
   The lov’d Apostle to his Lord 
      In silent thought aloof 
         For Heavenly vision soar’d. 


Far o’er the glowing western main 
   His wistful brow was upward rais’d, 
      Where, like an angel’s train, 
         The burnish’d water blaz’d. 


The saint beside the ocean pray’d, 
   The soldier in his chosen bower, 
      Where all his eye survey’d 
         Seem’d sacred in that hour. 


To each unknown his brother’s prayer, 
   Yet brethren true in dearest love 
      Were they—and now they share 
         Fraternal joys above. —John Keble






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Worth The Risk

May 22, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




“‘And Jesus said unto them, strive to enter in at the straight gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able’ (Luke 13:24). Christ said His disciples were measuring by a wrong rule. ‘If following after sermons and testimonies and excitement were enough to save, heaven would already be full,’ He was saying. But do not sift the pure from the impure by such a coarse sieve. ‘Strive to enter—fight and wrestle, risk life and limb rather than fall short of heaven.’ … Almost anyone is willing to walk through heaven’s door if he never has to risk his pride in public or hazard his everyday interests by any inconvenience or opposition of the world.” —William Gurnall, in The Christian In Complete Armor






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Poetry Saturday—O My Soul What Means This Sadness

May 18, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




O my soul! what means this sadness?


Wherefore art thou thus cast down?


Let thy griefs be turned to gladness,


Bid thy restless fears be gone;


Look to Jesus, look to Jesus,


And rejoice in His dear name.




What though satan’s strong temptations


Vex and grieve thee day by day,


And thy sinful inclinations


Often fill thee with dismay;


Thou shalt conquer,


Through the Lamb’s redeeming blood.




Though ten thousand ills beset thee


From without and from within,


Jesus saith He’ll ne’er forget thee,


But will save from hell and sin.


He is faithful


To perform His gracious Word.




Though distresses now attend thee,


And thou tread’st the thorny road,


His right hand shall still defend thee;


Soon He’ll bring thee home to God.


Therefore praise Him,


Praise the great Redeemer’s name.




Oh that I could now adore Him


Like the heavenly host above,


Who forever bow before Him,


And unceasing sing His love.


Happy songsters!


When shall I your chorus join? —W.B. Bradbury






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Christ’s Powerful “I”

March 19, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




“…I…” (Jesus in John 14:2, 3, 6)


The disciples of Jesus, by their words and actions, have made it perfectly clear that they are “troubled” at the thought of being on their own. Jesus assures them with three powerful “I” truths:


    

  1. I go to prepare a place for you—your future home is secure.
    2. 

  2. I will come again—we will be with Jesus forever.
    3. 

  3. I am the way, the truth, and the life—there is no need to second-guess, no confusion; just perfect, heart-cheering clarity!
    4. 



The disciple’s job—and therefore our job as well—is simply this: “Believe Me” (v. 11). 


When we believe what Jesus says—I go, I will, I am—then we unleash the power of God in our lives. The power to…


    

  • … do greater works (v. 12)
    • 

  • … pray more powerful prayers (vv. 13, 14)
    • 

  • … know the companionship of the Holy Spirit (vv. 16-18)
    • 



Whenever fear tries to creep in and paralyze us, may we quickly drive out that fear by believing and reaffirming what Jesus says: “I go … I will … I AM!”






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Thursdays With Oswald—What Is Mammon?

January 10, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




Oswald ChambersThis 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.


What Is Mammon?


     You cannot serve God and Mammon [Matthew 6:24]. A man of the world says we can; with a little subtlety and wisdom and compromise (it is called diplomacy or tact), we can serve both. The devil’s temptation to our Lord to fall down and worship him, i.e., to compromise, is repeated over and over again in Christian experience. We have to realize that there is a division as high as heaven and as deep as hell between the Christian and the world. ‘Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God’ [James 4:4]. … 


     Never compromise with the spirit of Mammon. When you are right with God, you become contemptible in the eyes of the world. Put into practice any of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount and you will be treated with amusement at first; then if you persist, the world will get annoyed and will detest you. … What is Mammon? The system of civilized life which organizes itself without considering God. … 


     When we become mature in godliness God trusts His own honor to us by placing us where the world, the flesh, and the devil may try us, knowing that ‘greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world’ [1 John 4:4].


From Studies In The Sermon On The Mount


Mammon wants to get what it wants to get, without considering God and without regard to the long-term consequences. Mammon wants satisfaction right now! 


Mammon is the system of the world. People are constantly driven by what they can get for themselves right now, with little—if any—thought to what God thinks or to what the inevitable outcome is going to be. 


A Christian is different. 


A Christian is focused on something which cannot be seen right now. But just because the rewards cannot be seen doesn’t make them any less real. In fact, Jesus teaches that the rewards He gives are Reality itself. 


When a Christian insists on doing things God’s way, the devil will sneer and people will laugh. But God’s Spirit in you is greater than all of that, and He will help you to stand firm in Him, not compromising with the lure of Mammon. 






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Poetry Saturday—Joy In The Presence Of Jesus

December 29, 2018 — Craig T. Owens 




How tedious and tasteless the hours


When Jesus no longer I see!


Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers,


Have all lost their sweetness to me;




The midsummer sun shines but dim,


The fields strive in vain to look gay;


But when I am happy in Him,


December’s as pleasant as May.




His Name yields the richest perfume,


And sweeter than music His voice;


His presence disburses my gloom,


And makes all within me rejoice;


I should, were He always thus nigh,


Have nothing to wish or to fear;


No mortal so happy as I,


My summer would last all the year.




Content with beholding His face,


My all to His pleasure resign’d,


No changes of season err place


Would make any change in my mind:


While blest with a sense of His love,


A palace a toy would appear;


And prisons would palaces prove,


If Jesus would dwell with me there. 




My Lord, if indeed I am Thine,


If Thou art my sun and my song,


Say, why do I languish and pine?


And why are my winters so long?


O drive these dark clouds from my sky;


Thy soul-cheering presence restore;


Or take me to Thee up on high,


Where winter and clouds are no more. —John Newton






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