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)




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Everlasting, Unshakable Joy

January 4, 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 Lord is angry with all nations… (Isaiah 34:2). 


Perhaps that verse surprises you in light of the title of this post, “Everlasting, Unshakable Joy,” but stick with me.


These phrases from Isaiah 34 do sound like terrible news:


    

  • God is angry with all nations
    • 

  • His wrath is on all their armies
    • 

  • God will totally destroy them
    • 

  • Even all the starry host will fall
    • 

  • God Himself says, “My sword has drunk its fill” 
    • 

  • All the world’s princes will vanish away 
    • 



But please keep in mind that this is only bad news for those who don’t have their sins forgiven through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause” (v. 8). And, “He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you” (35:4). 


So God’s anger is not at those whose sins have been forgiven, but at those who are not only unforgiven but hell-bent on attacking those who are forgiven. 


These words are intended to “strengthen feeble hands, steady the knees that give away,” and to bring strength “to those with fearful hearts” (35:3-4). 


The righteous have nothing to fear when the world is quaking in fear! “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crowned their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (v. 10)! 


This is why Jesus told us, “I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more” (Luke 12:4 NIV), and, “Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in His hands” (Luke 12:5 MSG). And also the apostle Peter reminds us that we do not fear what the world fears (1 Peter 3:14). 


If your sins are forgiven, if you are walking in God’s paths, if you are seeking to savor the glory of God, and desirous that His glory be seen on earth as it is in heaven, there is not only nothing to fear, but you will have an everlasting, unshakable joy! 


Get your eyes off the world’s bad news, and keep your eyes firmly on the Good News that only Jesus has made a reality! 


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Faith To Stand

November 24, 2021 — 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. 



“…If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). 


These words were spoken to King Ahaz and his people when they heard that enemies had allied themselves to attack. Their immediate response was, “And his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (v. 2). These are the people to whom God says, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” 


In Hebrew this phrase is really just the same Hebrew word repeated twice: aman aman. It amounts to this: if you don’t stand, you won’t stand. 


Stand on what? Your faith. 


Faith in what? Isaiah tells us, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says” (v. 7). Jehovah Adonai is the final word. He calls the two conspiring enemies “smoldering stubs of firewood,” and He states definitively of their plans, “It will not take place, it will not happen” (vv. 4, 7). Fittingly, several English translations of this verse say, “Their plans will not stand.” 


When God speaks his final and decisive word, my faith-filled response should be exactly what He commanded the Israelites: “Be careful, keep calm, and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart” (v. 4). 


I must deliberately and repeatedly silence the saber rattling of the enemy by standing in faith on God’s decisive word. My faith comes from hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17). 


This is why I am a huge proponent of not only reading God’s word, but turning His decisive word into prayer. Reminding myself—and repeatedly re-reminding myself—of what Jehovah Adonai has said is the only way to stand firm in faith. If I don’t stand firm in faith on His word, I will not be able to stand at all. 


I recently shared some faith-filled decisive promises from God’s word in another post. If I can help you find a word of God on which you can stand in faith, please reach out to me. 


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Take A Big Swing

November 4, 2021 — Craig T. Owens 




Leaders need to give their teammates permission to try some things, to take some chances.


If they are just standing still, doing nothing, that means there is nothing for you to coach. Let them take some chances and see what happens! You never know when their big swing is going to result in something amazing!


This is a recent clip from our leadership podcast “The Craig And Greg Show.”








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Poetry Saturday—Day By Day

October 16, 2021 — 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.



Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—


Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.




Ev’ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,” 
This the pledge to me He made.




Help me then in eve’ry tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land. —Lina Sandell




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Thursdays With Spurgeon—God’s Word Prevails

April 29, 2021 — 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 iTunes or Spotify.





God’s Word Prevails


Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22 NKJV) 


     “One of the greatest enemies of deity has always been the wisdom of man. The wisdom of man will not see God. Professing themselves to be wise, wise men have become fools. But have you not noticed, in reading history, how God has abased the pride of wisdom? In ages long gone by, He sent mighty minds into the world that devised systems of philosophy. ‘These systems,’ they said, ‘will last forever.’ … 


     “‘Ah, but,’ said God, ‘that book of yours will be seen to be folly before another hundred years have rolled away.’ … 


     “This Bible is the stone that will break philosophy into powder. This is the mighty battering ram that will dash all systems of philosophy in pieces. This is the stone that a woman may yet hurl upon the head of every Abimelech, and he will be utterly destroyed. O church of God! Fear not! You will do wonders. Wise men will be confounded, and you will know and they, too, that He is God and that beside Him there is none else.” 


From Sovereignty And Salvation


God is indisputably God.


One of the ways He has revealed Himself to us is through His infallible word—the Bible. On those pages, every philosophy that seeks to deify man is exposed. On those pages are lovingly and powerfully portrayed for us the one and only path to eternal joy. 


If you haven’t already, make studying your Bible a daily habit. In its pages, you will find the truth that will set you free, bring peace to your heart, and give you an assurance unlike anything or anyone else can.


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“Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit”

April 26, 2021 — Craig T. Owens 




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



I have some sobering news for you: You are going to die. 


Death is the great equalizer. It comes for the rich and poor, the scholar and the illiterate, all races, all ages, the healthy as well as the sick. Unless you’re still alive when Jesus comes back again, your odds of dying are 1-in-1. 


What happens “on the other side”? What happens after this life is over? Since it seems dark and mysterious to most people, they tend to ignore it until it’s thrust upon them. That’s why I find the dying words of people interesting. Like P.T. Barnum asking, “How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?” or W.C. Fields reading a Bible on his deathbed and telling a friend, “I’m looking for a loophole.” 


Or the very last words of Jesus: “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” 


Jesus is steeped in Scripture, so nearly everything He says in His final four declarations come directly from the Psalms, including His final phrase which comes from Psalm 31:5. 


When Jesus broke a three-hour silence with His cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me,” both Matthew and Mark use the Greek words megas phoné to describe how loudly Jesus spoke. And now with His final words, Luke uses the same megas phoné description. 


Notice in the first megaphone cry Jesus calls on God the All-Powerful Creator. And with His last megaphone declaration, He calls on His Father who is All-Loving. How comforting it is to know that God is both All-Powerful and All-Loving! Not only can He answer our cries, but He delights to answer them! 


The word Jesus uses for “commit” is in the future tense and it means “to entrust as a deposit.” Jesus believed that God was going to do more than just give Him life again, but that He would give life to all who would believe in Him. 


Unlike atheist Bertrand Russell who said, “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong,” Jesus DID die for His beliefs, and by rising from the dead proved He was right in trusting God. 


Job saw an inescapable death for all mankind, but he also foresaw the forgiveness of God (Job 14:5, 16-17). Jesus died once for all mankind and was then resurrected, bringing about the death of death by making forgiveness accessible to anyone (Hebrews 9:27-28; 1 Corinthians 15:19-22). 


We can now have the peace that comes from trusting the only One to Whom we can safely entrust our souls. Because Jesus brought death to death, we can have the same peace when we die that Jesus had when He died. 


With faith in Jesus, you can…


…live today knowing you’re invincible until God calls you home 


…live today full of joy because your home in heaven is secure


…live your very last day in peace because you know to Whom your soul is entrusted 


Because Jesus died at peace with God, we can face death triumphantly! 




If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series on the dying declarations of Jesus, you can access the full list by clicking here.


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Whom To Fear

March 23, 2021 — Craig T. Owens 




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



When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. … In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise—in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4, 10-11). 


Have you ever been afraid of someone? Have you ever experienced the fear of God?


Interestingly, it’s the same Hebrew word (yaré) for both. This word can mean either something that causes me to fight or flight, or it can mean reverential respect. David is saying, “When I begin to feel the fear of man, I instead turn to the fear of God, and I am no longer afraid.”


Or to put it another way: “When I think I have to fight or flight on my own, I instead choose to reverence God and He takes care of my fear.” 


In both verses 4 and 10, the word “praise” is the Hebrew word for “Hallelujah!” When David feels fear of man creeping in, he looks to God’s Word, finds a promise on which to stand, and reverentially begins to worship God: “Hallelujah! With this promise, I no longer need to fear man!” The Amplified Bible says, “On God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear.” 


There is one other difference in the Hebrew language that is not readily apparent in the English translation. In verse 4, David uses the name Elohiym for God. This means the Mighty God who is Supreme over all. In verse 10, he uses God’s covenant name Yahweh or Jehovah. To me, this sounds like David knew that the fear of God could combat everything from general fears of human philosophies to a specific fear of a specific mortal. His conclusion is a good one: What can man—a mere mortal—or any of his worldly philosophies do to rattle me? Absolutely nothing because I am secure in God!” 


We all become fearful at times. If we choose to fight or flight the fear, we do it in our own strength. This may result in temporary relief, but the fear will come back around again. However, if we decide to fear God—to say “Hallelujah!” to His promises—He is able to completely remove our fear. 


The choice is ours: fear man or fear God. 


To paraphrase the declaration of Joshua: “Choose this day whom you will fear. As for me, I choose to fear God!” 


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Poetry Saturday—Arise, My Soul, Arise

March 6, 2021 — Craig T. Owens 




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



Arise, my soul, arise,


shake off your guilty fears;


The bleeding sacrifice,


in my behalf appears;


Before the throne my Surety stands,


Before the throne my Surety stands,


My name is written on His hands.




He ever lives above,


for me to intercede;


His all redeeming love,


His precious blood, to plead;


His blood atoned for every race,


His blood atoned for every race,


And sprinkles now the throne of grace.




Five bleeding wounds He bears;


received on Calvary;


They pour effectual prayers;


they strongly plead for me:


“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,


“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,


“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”




The Father hears Him pray,


His dear anointed One;


He cannot turn away


the presence of His Son;


The Spirit answers to the blood,


The Spirit answers to the blood


And tells me I am born of God.




My God is reconciled;


His pardoning voice I hear;


He owns me for His child;


I can no longer fear


With confidence I now draw nigh,


With confidence I now draw nigh,


And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry. —Charles Wesley




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Poetry Saturday—Yesees and Noees

February 27, 2021 — Craig T. Owens 




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



The Yesees said yes to anything


That anyone suggested.


The Noees said no to everything


Unless it was proven and tested.


So the Yesees all died of much too much


And the Noees all died of fright,


But somehow I think the Thinkforyourselfees


All came out all right. —Shel Silverstein




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