Poetry Saturday—The True Aaron

July 23, 2022 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

See Aaron, God’s anointed priest,
Within the veil appear;
In robes of mystic meaning dressed,
Presenting Israel’s prayer.


The plate of gold which crowns his brows,


His holiness describes;


His breast displays, in shining rows,


The names of all the tribes.




With the atoning blood he stands,


Before the mercy-seat;


And clouds of incense from his hands,


Arise with odor sweet.




Urim and Thummim near his heart,


In rich engravings worn;


The sacred light of truth impart,


To teach and to adorn.




Through him the eye of faith descries,


A greater Priest than he;


Thus Jesus pleads above the skies,


For you, my friends, and me.




He bears the names of all His saints,


Deep on His heart engraved;


Attentive to the state and wants


Of all His love has saved.




In Him a holiness complete,


Light and perfections shine;


And wisdom, grace, and glory meet;


A Savior all divine.




The blood, which as a Priest He bears


For sinners, is His own


The incense of His prayers and tears


Perfume the holy throne.




In Him my weary soul has rest,


Though I am weak and vile


I read my name upon His breast,


And see the Father smile. —John Newton [Levitcus 8:7-9]




►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎






Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »



	



…The Certainty Of Eternal Light

July 18, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.



Even though Jesus explicitly told His followers about His crucifixion, it was clear on that Friday on Golgotha that they didn’t fully grasp what was going on. 


We see the same thing in Heman’s maskil of Psalm 88: The faint hope that his Savior would rescue him from death, but still not fully grasping what was happening. Just as Jesus cried out, “It is finished” and His disciples thought the darkness had fallen, Heman ends his psalm with, “You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend” (Psalm 88:18). 


There is the reality of darkness in this world—but it is only temporary darkness. This is why I entitled our look at Psalm 88 as “The reality of temporary darkness” because, in the second part of this couplet of maskil psalms, Ethan moves right into the light of Resurrection Sunday: “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever” (Psalm 89:1). 


Consider this Good Friday-to-Resurrection Sunday thought from Jesus: “…In the world you will have tribulation; BUT be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This tells us of both the temporary darkness and the conquering Light. But also notice that Jesus said our peace would come from knowing that both darkness and light are realities: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.” Whether we are in temporary darkness or looking forward to the eternal light, our peace is only found in Jesus. 


When the followers of Jesus came to His tomb on Sunday morning, the angels asked them a penetrating question, “Why are you looking for a living Person in a place where there are dead people?” Then they began to stimulate their memory to get them to recall Christ’s words. Finally, we read, “THEN they remembered” (Luke 24:5-8). Then they had to choose to obey the word of God. 


Ethan recalls God’s words and uses his “will” three in the opening two verses. 


The disciples also could bank on Christ’s words, just as Ethan chose to bank on Jehovah’s words. The central part of Psalm 89 is God speaking: Check out His assurance in the “I will” statements within the quotation marks in verses 19-37. Then we are called to Selah to let that soak in. 


Notice what radiates out from this foundational assurance:


    

  • Ethan uses the pronouns You/Your 20 times in reference to God to assure us that God is in sovereign control (vv. 8b-14). Then he tells us of the blessings of God’s favor on our obedience to His word (vv. 15-18). 
    • 

  • On the other side of the central quotation from God, Ethan again uses the pronouns You/Your 13 times in vv. 38-45, but then he tells us of the blessing of God’s discipline on our disobedience.
    • 

  • Radiating out further, Ethan asks seven questions—much like his brother Heman did in Psalm 88—in verses 5-8 and 46-48. 
    • 

  • Finally, we see the psalm both opening and closing with praising God as we remember His covenant word (vv. 1-4, 49-52). 
    • 



Remember we said the darkness cannot prevail. The darkness is temporary (Romans 8:18) but Ethan repeatedly reminds us of God’s foreverness (vv. 1, 2, 4, 29, 52). 


    

  • The Selah after v. 4 is to pause in wonder at God’s words and break into rejoicing!
    • 

  • The Selah after v. 37 is again to pause after remembering God’s covenant, and to reflect on our own obedience or disobedience. 
    • 

  • The Selah after v. 45 is a pause to mourn and repent from our disobedience. 
    • 

  • The Selah after v. 48 is to pause to reflect on the forgiveness purchased on Calvary and the eternal light and life that bought. 
    • 

  • Finally, v. 52 harkens back to v. 1 as the praise is restored and the cycle begins all over again. In fact, the praise of God’s light continues forever! 
    • 



Heman and Ethan both remind us of this important truth—


My dark days are meant to get my attention. Are they dark because I live in an evil world, or because I have sinned? In either case, my only remedy is to rely on God’s covenant promise fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. 


If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our Selah series, you can find a complete list by clicking here.


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎








Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments »



	



The Reality Of Temporary Darkness…

July 11, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.



A father came home from work and noticed a note addressed to him taped to his teenage son’s door:


Dear Dad, 


Jason and I borrowed Mom’s car to go to Taco Bell. I know I didn’t have permission, but I thought we’d be back before you and Mom got home. Unfortunately, I hit a pothole and blew out the front right tire. 


We jacked up the car to put on a spare tire, but the jack slipped and the car rolled backward into the ditch. 


Bill came with his pickup to pull us out, but the tow strap pulled off the front bumper and the car rolled further down the hill and sunk in the pond. 


I bought a bus ticket to get out of town and go enlist in the Army. Give Mom a hug and I’ll see you both in about 2 years. 


Love, your son


P.S. None of the above is true. Mom took her car to Aunt Jan’s house and I rode my bike to Jason’s house. However, I hope the fact that none of these bad things actually happened will help you put in perspective the D+ on my report card. 


We like to manage expectations, don’t we? We frequently deliver bad news with the good news close by. 


Psalms 88 and 89 are written by brothers: both of them are called Ezrahite, and both of them were worship leaders in the tabernacle. And until Solomon, these guys were considered the wisest in the land (1 Chronicles 2:6; 15:19; 1 Kings 4:29-34). 


I believe these two psalms form a couplet. They make up the last two psalms of Book III in the Psalter, with Psalm 89 ending with, “Amen and Amen.” Both of them label their psalms a maskil which means “a poem of contemplation” (NKJV). And look how Psalm 88 leaves us in the dark, while Psalm 89 shines a light in the dark.


In Psalm 88, Heman soberly prepares us for his two-Selah psalm in his introductory remarks. He uses a phase mahalath leannoth which means someone who is so physically weak from emotional grief that they are now battling depression. The NLT calls it “the suffering of affliction.”  


Heman is describing a reality: We will all experience pain in this life. Maybe even for our entire earthly life—from my youth I have been afflicted and close to death (v. 15). Heman’s reality is seen in his words in the first five verses of this psalm. 


His first Selah is breathtaking because he wants us to pause to realize that God has allowed all of this (notice the pronoun You in vv. 6-8, 16-18). But still, Heman knows God saves because he has made a decision to continue to praise Him even in the dark times (vv. 1-2, 9, 13).  


Heman’s second Selah comes in the middle of a series of five questions (vv. 10-14) that sound a lot like both questions Jesus asked in Gethsemane and from the Cross, and the reality of the temporary darkness He was facing (Psalm 22:1-2; Luke 22:53; John 19:11). 


Even the way Heman closes his psalm foreshadows the darkness surrounding the death of Jesus: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 


Jesus tasted all of this darkness for us so that He could be our perfect and empathetic High Priest (Hebrews 5:7, 4:15-16). 


Psalm 88 shows us the reality of temporary darkness (like Good Friday), but Psalm 89 points us to the certainty of eternal light (like Resurrection Sunday)! 


So when you are battling your dark times, let me give you these assurances: 


    

  1. This darkness is only temporary (Romans 8:18) 
    2. 

  2. Jesus walks with us in our dark times (Romans 8:26-39)
    3. 

  3. The darkness cannot prevail—Jesus tasted all of this temporary darkness for us so that He could be our eternal High Priest!
    4. 



If you’ve missed any of the messages in our Selah series, you can check them out by clicking here. Please join me on Sunday when we will look at Ethan’s words in Psalm 89 about the certainty of the eternal light. 


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎








Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments »



	



Responsibility And Accountability

July 6, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



God had a rather simple message for Ezekiel, “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, speak to your people’” (Ezekiel 33:1–2). 


I find that pronoun “your“ intriguing because you would think that God would say, “My people.” They are indeed God’s people, but God had set Ezekiel apart as His watchman (vv. 7–20), so Ezekiel had to take personal responsibility for the people. They were to be treated and spoken to as though they were indeed his people. 


This idea of responsibility gets a little tricky for some leaders because, with the responsibility to their people, they usually feel they are accountable to their people as well. 


But in the next few verses, God makes it clear that Ezekiel must be accountable to God alone.


Responsible to his people. Accountable to his God. 


When we start feeling we are accountable to people, we can get distracted, discouraged, or derailed by their unpleasant responses. 


Notice that when Jesus spoke pleasing words to people, everyone spoke well of Him. But when He pointed out to them the words of God they were ignoring, they were ready to kill Him. 


People are fickle—they sing praises when they hear those words they like, and they are ready to attack the messenger when the words are upsetting. 


A mark of a godly leader is one who has a clear understanding of his responsibility and his accountability.


When you are God’s leader, He will entrust people to your care and He will entrust His message for those people to you. You are now responsible to deliver His message to your people. You are then accountable to God alone for delivering His message. Be responsible to people, accountable to God, and be careful not to mix the two. 


This is part 66 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎






Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »



	



Trading Rights For Responsibilities

June 28, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



“When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.” —Gerald Brooks 


Sadly, I encounter far too many “leaders” (at least they are leaders in title only) who think being a leader means they have more rights. It might be the right to a better parking place, or to be first in line, or to ignore some of the rules that others have to follow. 


That certainly wasn’t the attitude of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9, a chapter which the NIV gives the heading ‘Paul Gives Up His Rights’:


Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:11-12 NLT) 


Paul said the natural thing was for those in leadership to feel entitled to certain rights, but the spiritual thing is to turn those rights into responsibilities toward the people around us. 


Spiritual leadership is not about gaining more rights, it’s about fulfilling God-given responsibilities. In fact, the higher you progress in a leadership role, the fewer rights you have. Godly servant leaders gladly trade rights for responsibilities. 


A mark of a godly leader is one who has stopped demanding his “rights.”


To trade our rights for responsibilities is a sacrifice. But I don’t mean a sacrifice that comes with a “Woe is me!” feeling. God will only ask us to sacrifice what is holding us back. God wants to use His leaders to minister to His people. He will not give us a larger position if we are only going to use that for our own benefit.


Consider the rights Jesus had because He was fully God. Yet He made the ultimate rights-for-responsibilities sacrifice by going to the Cross in our place. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 


Leaders, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you may be clinging to your rights, and how you can exchange those rights for responsibilities to the people God has placed under your care.


This is part 65 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here. 


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎






Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »



	



In-ness

May 30, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



We said that when it comes to the Holy Spirit’s involvement in a Christian’s life: In > On. For instance, in our learning we don’t have to go to a tutor or attend classes only at set times, but we have The Tutor IN us. Or when need wisdom for decisions we don’t have to seek out the right advisors and try to coordinate their schedule with ours, but we have The Counselor IN us. 


As we saw with Samson, many times in the Old Testament we read of the Holy Spirit coming ON someone. But throughout that First Testament we also see people longing for the Spirit to be IN them. David, especially, recognized the value of the “in-ness” of the Holy Spirit in both his prayer of repentance (Psalm 51, especially vv. 10-11) and again in his beautiful prayer in Psalm 25. 


Let me point out the in-ness that permeates this 25th Psalm and then show you its fulfillment when the Holy Spirit comes to baptize believers in the New Testament. 


(1) “IN You I trust” (v. 2). Not in human abilities or personal pedigree or earthly riches, but IN the in-ness of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “He who believes IN Me—who cleaves to and trusts IN and relies on Me—as the Scripture has said, ‘From his INNERmost being shall flow continuously springs and rivers of living water.’ But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) IN Him were afterward to receive…” (John 7:38-39 AMP). 


(2) “my hope is IN You” (vv. 3, 5, 21). A natural fruit of trusting IN the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is the hope that only that relationship brings. Paul talks abut this twice in his letter to the Romans. First, even in the midst of trials, Paul says we have this hope: “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out INto our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). And then Paul prays for his friends to experience this same in-ness of hope: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust IN Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). 


(3) “guide me IN Your truth … guide me IN what is right” (v. 5, 9). Jesus identified the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth Who guides us INto truth (John 14:17, 16:13). This is how Jesus lived (Matthew 4:1) and it’s how we can live too: “But I say, walk and live habitually IN the Holy Spirit—responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit—then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh…” (Galatians 5:16 AMP). 


(4) “He instructs sinners IN His ways” (v. 8, 12). The Hebrew word David uses for “teach” in vv. 4, 5, 9 is “lamad.” It means being taught in a way that equips us to teach others. Jesus “gave instructions through the Spirit” to His disciples, and then He commanded them to teach others the same way (Acts 1:2; Matthew 28:20). The Spirit of Truth that inspired the Word of God can illuminate it to our hearts as He instructs us (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17). 


(5) “the Lord confides IN those who fear Him” (v. 14). The KJV says, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.” Isaiah said, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21). And Jesus said that every word He spoke was directed by the Holy Spirit IN Him (John 12:49). 


(6) “I take refuge IN You” (v. 20). We can take refuge IN the One whom we trust and hope, the One who leads us INto truth and instructs us, the One who confides IN us. This in-ness helps us thwart the enemy’s attacks against us. As John wrote, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives IN you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4 NLT). 


Don’t stop at salvation, but allow the Holy Spirit to baptize you and fill you. Don’t be satisfied with merely experiencing God’s presence ON you, but let His Spirit come IN you. 


This in-ness keeps us trustful of God, victorious over the devil, hopeful of our future, righteous in a wicked world, informed of God’s ways, peaceful in trials, and fully protected from the enemy of our souls. 


If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series called We Are: Pentecostal, you can check out all of the messages by clicking here. 


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎








Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments »



	



Thursdays With Spurgeon—The Final, Authoritative Word

May 26, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




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


Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 





The Final, Authoritative Word


…For the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 1:20).


     It would not be worth our while to speak what Isaiah had spoken if in it there was nothing more than Isaiah’s thought—neither should we care to meditate hour after hour upon the writings of Paul, if there was nothing more than Paul in them. … 


     It is not mine to amend or adapt the gospel. What? Shall we attempt to improve upon what God has revealed? The Infinitely Wise to be corrected by creatures of a day? Is the infallible revelation of the infallible Jehovah to be shaped, moderated, and toned down to the fashions and fancies of the hour? God forgive us if we have ever altered His Word unwittingly. … 


     One Word of God is worth more than libraries of human lore. ‘It is written’ is the great gun which silences all the batteries of man’s thought.


From The Infallibility Of Scripture


As Solomon neared the end of his writings in the Book of Ecclesiastes, he made this observation, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body” (12:12). How true that is. Have you walked through a bookstore lately?! There is no end to the opinions that people want to share with you. 


But there is one thing that all of the books in all of the bookstores and all of the libraries have in common: not one of them is given to us by “the mouth of the Lord.” 


There are certainly many, many books that are saturated in Scripture, but they are still the opinions of man. We need to make sure that everything we read, or every wise person that we listen to, or even every conversation that we have with ourselves are all proven to be true or false based on what God has spoken.


Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would remind us of everything God’s mouth had spoken to us (John 14:26), and that He would guide us into all truth (John 16:13). 


So go ahead and search out wise, godly books and wise, godly counselors. But remember that their word is not the final word—only the words that come from the mouth of the Lord are the authoritative words you should apply to your life.


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎








Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »



	



The Comfort And The Terror Of God’s Love

May 24, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



The Book of Hosea is a love story. It’s a real story telling a much grander story. 


The real story is between a man named Hosea and his wife Gomer. Sometime after their marriage, Gomer became unfaithful to Hosea and became entrapped to someone like a pimp, because it required a rather large payment from Hosea to redeem her. Gomer was restored to Hosea and they lived together faithfully from that point on. 


The grander story is the relationship between God and His people. God’s faithful love redeemed us, but our sin is like that of a cheating wife who has abandoned her husband for another lover. 


God’s love sounds like this:


    

  • “Let My tender words woo you back to Me” (2:14) 
    • 

  • “I will betroth you to Me forever” (2:19) 
    • 

  • “My compassion is aroused toward you” (11:8) 
    • 

  • “I will not carry out my fierce anger against your sin” (11:9) 
    • 

  • “I will care for you in the wilderness” (13:5) 
    • 

  • “I will feed you until you are satisfied” (13:6)
    • 



But God’s love also sounds like:


    

  • “I will block your path with thornbushes” (2:5) 
    • 

  • “I will ignore you” (4:6) 
    • 

  • “I will hide Myself from you” (5:6) 
    • 

  • “My sword will flash in your cities” (11:6) 
    • 

  • “I will terrify you like a roaring lion” (11:10) 
    • 

  • “I will attack you like a mother bear robbed of her cubs” (13:8)
    • 



(Check out all of the above references by clicking here.) 


We love the first list—and, indeed, that’s where God would desire us to stay—but the second list is just as loving. 


The opposite of love is not hate, but the opposite of love is apathy. 


God loves us too much—His Son paid too high of a price for us—for Him to let us head down a path that leads to eternal destruction. Listen to how the prophet Isaiah says this:


In all their distress He too was distressed, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy and He Himself fought against them. (Isaiah 63:9-10) 


We need both the comfort and the terror of God’s love. 


We need Him to roar His lion’s roar and flash His terrible sword when we are on the path of destruction so that we can return to the path of life and experience His tender voice and bountiful provision. 


When we pray for our wayward loved ones, pray for both God’s sword and His loving words. He knows best which to use. And for ourselves, when we are stricken with fear, use that as an opportunity to ask why we have heard God’s roar or seen His sword flash. Then, if needed, repent and return to His tender embrace. 


God’s love speaks tenderly and roars ferociously because He loves you so very much! 


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎










Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »



	



Poetry Saturday—For Fear Of Feeble Man

May 21, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.



Shall I, for fear of feeble man,


The Spirit’s course in me restrain?


Or, undismayed, in deed and word


Be a true witness for my Lord?




Awed by a mortal’s frown, shall I


Conceal the Word of God Most High?


How then before Thee shall I dare


To stand, or how Thine anger bear?




Shall I, to soothe the unholy throng,


Soften Thy truths, and smooth my tongue,


To gain earth’s gilded toys, or flee


The Cross, endured, my God, by Thee?




What then is he whose scorn I dread,


Whose wrath or hate makes me afraid?


A man! an heir of death! a slave


To sin! a bubble on the wave!




Yea, let men rage, since Thou wilt spread


Thy shadowing wings around my head;


Since in all pain Thy tender love


Will still my sure refreshment prove.




Savior of men, Thy searching eye


Doth all my inmost thoughts descry;


Doth aught on earth my wishes raise,


Or the world’s pleasures, or its praise?




The love of Christ doth me constrain


To seek the wandering souls of men;


With cries, entreaties, tears, to save,


To snatch them from the gaping grave.




For this let men revile my name.


No cross I shun, I fear no shame,


All hail, reproach, and welcome, pain!


Only Thy terrors, Lord, restrain.




My life, my blood, I here present,


If for Thy truth they may be spent,


Fulfill Thy sovereign counsel, Lord!


Thy will be done, Thy Name adored!




Give me Thy strength, O God of power;


Then let winds blow, or thunders roar,


Thy faithful witness will I be:


’Tis fixed; I can do all through Thee! —Johann Joseph Winckler (translated by John Wesley)




►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎






Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »



	



Thursdays With Spurgeon—The Mouth Of The Lord Has Spoken

May 19, 2022 — Craig T. Owens 




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


Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 





The Mouth Of The Lord Has Spoken


…For the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 1:20).


     However this sacred Book may be treated nowadays, it was not treated contemptuously, nor negligently, nor questioningly by the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and Lord. It is noteworthy how He reverenced the written Word. The Spirit of God rested upon Him personally, without measure, and He could speak out of His own mind the revelation of God, and yet He continually quoted the Law, and the Prophets, and the Psalms…. I am sure, brethren, we cannot be wrong in imitating the example of our divine Lord in our reverence for that Scripture, which cannot be broken. … 


     The New Testament writers sit reverently down before the Old Testament and receive God’s words as such without any question whatever. You and I belong to a school that will continue to do the same, let others adopt what behavior they please. As for us and for our house, this priceless Book will remain the standard of our faith and the ground of our hope so long as we live.


From The Infallibility Of Scripture


As I have discussed before, the 39 books of the Old Testament were called “Scripture” by Jesus and those living in that same era. The New Testament writers saw Jesus as the fulfillment of those Old Testament Scripture, and what they wrote for us then became Scripture also (Luke 4:18-21; 24:27, 44-45; John 2:22, 17:12; Acts 1:16, 8:35; Galatians 3:8, 16, 22; James 2:8, 23, 4:5-6; 1 Peter 2:6; 2 Peter 3:16). 


When we read the Bible, we are reading words from the mouth of God Himself! 


This Book is the measure of truth, the guide for our lives, and the blessed assurance we need as we anticipate the second advent of Jesus. We need to be much in this Sacred Book!


►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎










Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »








« Older posts 


Newer posts »