“What does the Lord your God ask of you but to…
- revere Him,
- walk in obedience in all His ways,
- love Him,
- serve Him with all your heart and soul, and
- observe His commands…
…for your own good!” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
‘Nuff said!
‘Nuff Said
June 3, 2010 — Craig T. OwensObey─Remember─Teach
June 1, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
I see this pattern of instruction repeated throughout the Bible, but especially as the Israelites are getting ready to enter the Promised Land:
- Obey God’s commands
- Remember what He has done for you
- Teach His commands to your children
When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He quoted a passage from Deuteronomy, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And He added, “And love your neighbor as yourself.” These, Jesus said, were the fulfillment of all the law.
- Love God
- Love yourself
- Love your neighbor
This Great Commandment corresponds with this pattern of obey-remember-teach.
- I obey God because I love Him.
- When I remember what He has done for me, I can fully appreciate my own value in His eyes.
- I teach others because I love them and want them to experience the same blessings from God that I have experienced.
This is what I need to be constantly evaluating:
- Am I obeying God out of fear of what may happen, or out of love for Him?
- Am I finding ways to continually be reminded of His blessings? Do I realize how valuable I am to Him?
- Am I expressing true love to others by passing on what I am learning?
Obey [love God] … Remember [love myself] … Teach [love others].
What a great way to live!
Yeah, But…
March 24, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
You know the story, or maybe you’ve even seen it portrayed on the big screen, where God appears to Moses in the burning bush. God handpicks Moses to lead His people to freedom. He assures Moses, “I AM the One who is sending you with My authority.” God shows Moses these miracles that He is going to do through him.
And how does Moses respond? “Yeah, but….” Sadly, this is how I usually respond too.
“Yeah, but who am I that You would handpick me?”
- I don’t have the right credentials.
- My family is dysfunctional.
- I’m not comfortable with risk.
- I’ve never done anything like this before.
“Yeah, but how do I really know this is You, God?”
- I need a sign.
- I’ve made mistakes before when I thought I was following You.
- Have I mentioned I’ve never done anything like this before?
“Yeah, but what if this doesn’t work out?”
- I need assurance.
- I want to know where this is going to end up before I get started.
- What happens next?
“Yeah, but how will I know what to say or do?”
- I don’t want to look like a fool.
- I don’t want to be embarrassed.
- I want to be in control.
It’s interesting to see that God patiently answered all of Moses’ “Yeah, but” questions. It was only when Moses reached the conclusion “You’ve got the wrong guy” that God became angry.
Moses’ first response was his best response: Here I am.
This is what usually happens to me. God calls me to do something or say something for Him, and I immediately say, “Here I am.” Then I begin to think about what I just committed to. It’s then that I come up with all my “Yeah, but” reasons why I can’t be the guy God thinks I am. In other words, I think my way out of God’s plan for me.
Here’s what I need to remember: If God calls me, it’s only because He has already equipped me.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
No more “Yeah, but” second-guessing, I’m just sticking with “Here I am.”
Ditch Digging
April 28, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
In 2 Kings 3 the combined armies of Judah, Israel and Edom set out to attack the country of Moab. To try to take Moab by surprise the armies marched for seven days through the desert.
But there’s a problem with deserts: no water! And when you have three combined armies with all of their soldiers and horses and cattle, no small amount of water is needed. So on the verge of battle, this massive army is unable to fight because they are parched. To find a solution to this problem, the prophet Elisha is consulted, and he gives some very unusual counsel—
Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink (verses 16-17).
Dig ditches in the desert? Yeah, right, sounds like a great strategy… NOT! But—
In the morning—it was at the hour of morning sacrifice—the water had arrived, water pouring in from the west, from Edom, a flash flood filling the valley with water (v. 20, The Message).
The story goes on to tell us that when the Moabites looked out into the desert the water looked to them like blood. They assumed that the armies had a disagreement between themselves during the night and their partnership dissolved into civil war. The Moabites rushed out to the battlefield—thinking they would now have an easy victory—only to walk right into the newly-invigorated and still-unified armies!
Many times the way God provides for us is contingent upon the level of our faith-filled obedience. Imagine this scenario: The army captains instruct their men, “Start digging ditches! Dig lots of them because we have lots of men and livestock to water.” The obedient soldiers jump to their work and begin digging. Out in the hot desert sun, digging through sifting sands, imagine how cynical the soldiers could have become.
“This is stupid! We’re in a desert, for crying out loud! There’s no water anywhere and not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can see. I’m already parched and now I’m breaking my back digging ditches?!? I don’t think so! This is pointless: I quit!”
But catch this—God could only send as much water as they were willing to dig ditches. If they didn’t have the ditches ready when the water started flowing in, none of the men nor livestock could have contained the water to be able to quench their thirst. The floodwaters would have been useless to them!
Many times I think God is calling us to dig ditches so He can provide for us. What do you need to do to be ready for the flood of blessing He wants to send to you? What blessing would be wasted if you didn’t already have ditches ready? What ditches do you need to dig? Maybe you need to…
- Get certified
- Finish your degree
- Make that phone call
- Setup that meeting
- Paint that room
- Train those teachers
Some of those “ditches” may seem pointless now—as pointless as digging water ditches in the desert!—but when God pours out His blessing, won’t you be glad that your ditches are ready? What ditches do you need to start digging today?
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