Oswald Chambers | Craig T. Owens

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Thursdays With Oswald—Right Thinking

March 6, 2014 — 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.

Right Thinking

We have to be so faithful to God that through us may come the awakening of those who have not yet realized that they are redeemed.

We must distinguish between the revelation of Redemption and the experience of regeneration. We don’t experience life; we are alive. We don’t experience Redemption; we experience regeneration, that is, we experience the life of God coming into our human nature, and immediately the life of God comes in it produces a surface of consciousness, but Redemption means a great deal more than a man is conscious of.

From Conformed To His Image

These comments come from a class Oswald Chambers taught called “Christian Thinking.” His contention was that (1) Christians are the living, breathing testimony of what God does for man; (2) Christians need to think right in order to live right; (3) the way Christians live will either attract or repel others to Jesus Christ.

This right thinking is formed in Christians as the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us through the Word. Often times we will find that we have been thinking all wrong about something, and we need to “be so faithful to God” that we are willing to give up these wrong lines of thinking.

Are you? Am I? Are we willing to admit, “I was wrong on this point” in order that others may see Christ in us and accept Him as their Savior? I sure hope so!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Christian, confession, God's Word, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, redemption, repentance, thinking. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Patience Of The Saints

February 27, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

The Patience Of The Saints

The patience of the saints may be illustrated by the figure of a bow and arrow in the hands of God. He sees the target and takes aim, He strains the bow, not to breaking-point, however sever the pain may seem to the saint, but to just that point whence the arrow will fly with surest, swiftest speed to the bull’s-eye.

The patience of the saints, like the patience of our Lord, puts the sovereignty of God over all the saint’s career….

From Christian Disciplines

This talk of patience is the last thing Oswald Chambers discusses in his rather lengthy book Christian Disciplines. We have to remember that God is working in our lives with the view of eternity in mind. We often want things microwave-fast: “Okay, God, go ahead and do something in my life, but do it quickly!”

God’s timing is perfect. His plan is set, and He knows exactly when, where, and how to launch us. Wait for Him. Wait in expectation. Wait in readiness. Wait in hope that He will accomplish exactly what He wants to accomplish, at exactly the right moment He wants to accomplish it.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christian, discipleship, God's plan, God's purpose, God's timing, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, patience, saints. 2 Comments »

Links & Quotes

February 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

“The patience of hope does not turn men and women into monks and nuns, it gives men and women the right use of this world from another world′s standpoint.” —Oswald Chambers

The proper place of science in our culture: Science And Its Limits

Astronomers, cosmologists and physicists are always trying to explain the “missing” parts of their evolutionary theories: Missing Galaxy Mass Found

Very good! The Non-Physical Sides Of Sex

“You may think it out of place for me to say so, but in our churches today we are leaning too heavily upon human talents and educated abilities. We forget that the illumination of the Holy Spirit of God is a necessity, not only in our ministerial preparation, but in the administrative and leadership functions of our churches.” —A.W. Tozer

“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor.” —Seneca

“Selfish religion loves Christ for His benefits, but not for Himself.” —David Brainerd

“Few marriages can make it if both partners are hiding out from God. Show me a marriage without one partner that is close to Jesus, and I’ll show you a marriage with little chance of survival. At least one of the partners must be in daily consultation with the Lord. It is best when both husband and wife are talking to Him, but if one partner is running from God, it is all the more important that the other be able to run to a secret closet of prayer for help and direction. A praying wife can often save her marriage, as can a praying husband. Love alone is not enough to keep a marriage strong—only God’s power can do that. That power is at work right now, healing and keeping marriages. Where Jesus rules, the marriage can make it.” —David Wilkerson

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, astronomy, church, cosmology, culture, David Brainerd, David Wilkerson, desire, emotional health, evolution, Holy Spirit, hope, intimacy, Jesus Christ, marriage, mental health, Oswald Chambers, patience, physical health, physics, prayer, quotes, religion, science, self-control, selfishness, Seneca, sex, sexuality. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Sixth Sense

February 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Sixth Sense

The life of faith is the life of a soul who has given over every other life but the life of faith. Faith is not an action of the mind, nor of the heart, nor of the will, nor of the sentiment, it is the centering of the entire man in God.

… The faith of the saints is, as it were, a God-given sixth sense which takes hold on the spiritual facts that are revealed in the Bible.

From Christian Disciplines

When we look at the “hall of fame” of faith in Hebrews 11, we see the repeated phrase by faith. These amazing lives were lives not by a belief in a principle, but by belief in a Person. Faith-filled people haven’t worked themselves up into faith, but have centered themselves in the rock-solid assurance that the God of the Bible is their God.

When Christians live this way, we don’t always have “logical” rationale for why we feel a certain way, but we do have, as Chambers put it, a sixth sense. The Holy Spirit in us bears witness with our mind, and heart, and will, and sentiment that we are following God’s way.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: assurance, Bible, emotions, faith, faith in action, Hebrews, Holy Spirit, mind, Oswald Chambers, Scripture, sixth sense, will. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Power To Descend

February 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

The Power To Descend

The test of spiritual life is the power to descend; if we have power to rise only, there is something wrong. … Spiritual selfishness makes us want to stay on the mount; we feel so good, as if we could do anything—talk like angels and live like angels, if only we could stay there. But there must be the power to descend; the mountain is not the place for us live, we were built for the valleys. …

The reason we have to live in the valley is that the majority of people live there, and if we are to be of use to God in the world we must be useful from God’s standpoint, not from our own standpoint or the standpoint of other people.

From The Love Of God

When Peter, James and John were with Jesus on the mountain and He was transfigured in their presence, Peter said, “Lord, let me build some shelters so we can stay here always!” (see Luke 9:28-36). But there was no one on the mountaintop, except for them. In the valley below was a demon-possessed boy who needed help (Luke 9:37-43). If they had stayed on that mountain, this boy would not have been helped.

On the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were on the “mountaintop” of an upper room when the Holy Spirit baptized them (Acts 2:1-4). It was an amazing experience, probably very similar to what those apostles had seen with Jesus. It would have been very tempting to stay there, basking in the presence of God. But Jesus had said that this baptism in the Holy Spirit was to empower them for the “valley” of service (Acts 1:8). There were people in valleys all over the world who needed the good news of Jesus.

Mountaintops with God are great. God gives us these experiences so that we can be of greater service for Him in the valleys. The people are in the valleys and they need what you and I have received from God. Enjoy the mountaintop experience with God and then go quickly to minister in the valleys!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Peter, Christian, God's power, Gospel of Luke, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, minister, Oswald Chambers, Pentecost, selfishness, usefulness. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Anarchy!

February 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Anarchy!

Every other view of sin, saving the Bible view, looks on sin as a disease, a weakness, a blunder, an infirmity; the Bible revelation shows sin to be an anarchy, not a missing of the mark merely, but a refusal to aim at the mark.

From Christian Disciplines

Pulling no punches, Oswald Chambers calls sin exactly what it is: anarchy against God.

Sin is not something we can cure or tame; it’s not something we can inoculate ourselves against. Sin must be put to death! We cannot do this. Only Christ can put sin to death, so we must surrender to Him.

The Bible uses the word Atonement. I like to think of it this way: at one-ment with Jesus. I can only be forgiven and free of sin if I am at one-ment with the only One who can kill sin: my Savior Jesus Christ.

Have you completely surrendered to Jesus? You cannot fight off sin on your own. Until you surrender to Christ, you will remain in open rebellion—anarchy!—against God. Don’t wait another day, surrender to Christ now.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: anarchy, atonement, Bible, death, forgiveness, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, rebellion, repentance, salvation, sin. Leave a Comment »

Sunday Recap

February 2, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Another great Sunday worshiping with my church family and learning more about prayer! Here are a few take-aways that I hope encouraged you today.

Prayer isn’t supposed to look like this Jonny Hawkins cartoon!

In the cycle of prayer, your level of peace will determine your level of perseverance. This is why it’s so important to be immersed in God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to give you His discernment. Keep on praying!

“The worst of it is that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This is folly. Come, my soul, shake off such sinfulness, and trust your God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present.” —Charles Spurgeon

“God’s silences are His answers. … Some prayers are followed by silence because they are wrong [this is where we need God’s discernment], others because they are bigger than we can understand [this is where we need His peace].” —Oswald Chambers

God was going to give Hannah a son, but the time was not yet right. God needed a strong man in a dark time, and it wasn’t dark enough yet! (see 1 Samuel 1:1-17)

God feels & sees

In the meantime, remember this: God feels all of your infirmities, and He sees all of your tears.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, cartoon, Charles Spurgeon, God's love, infirmities, Jonny Hawkins, Oswald Chambers, perseverance, prayer, tears. 1 Comment »

Boomerang

January 31, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I was very hesitant to enter the pastorate. As I look back now, I see God had been preparing me for this all my life, but I was reluctant to take on such a heavy spiritual responsibility.

When I finally submitted, I made a covenant with God: “I never want to preach a sermon where my finger is pointed at the congregation, where I am saying, ‘You people better listen to this!’ But I only want to share what You have been challenging me to do and become. I want the congregation to hear an overflow of the work being done in me.”

I recently read a paragraph from Oswald Chambers that validates that covenant I made—

“It is an easy business to preach, an appallingly easy thing to tell other people what to do; it is another thing to have God’s message turned into a boomerang—‘You have been teaching these people that they should be full of peace and of joy, but what about yourself? Are you full of peace and joy?’ The truthful witness is the one who lets his light shine in works which exhibit the disposition of Jesus; one who lives the truth as well as preaches it.”

My pastor friend, don’t preach it if you’re not living it! Or another way: live it first, then preach it.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: covenant, Holy Spirit, integrity, Jesus Christ, lifestyle, Oswald Chambers, pastors, preaching, responsibility, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Eternal Life Now

January 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Eternal Life Now

But to the soul alone with God the secret is known and made real, and already a Paradise has begun that presages a grander and a greater blessedness than has entered into the heart of man to imagine.

From Christian Disciplines

Far too many Christians think of Christ’s promise of “eternal life” to mean something we get later, as in after we die. They falsely think that they have to just hang on during this life to finally get eternal life, if only they’ve hung on long enough.

That’s not at all what Jesus meant!

The Gospels record Jesus talking in present tense about being Life and having His fullness of life flow through us. He talks about the oneness we can have with the Father, just has He has, right now. He tells us the Holy Spirit will be a constant companion to us, revealing more and more of God’s mind to us about this present eternal life.

Don’t wait until after death to live in eternal life; live in it right now … today!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: death, eternal life, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, life, Oswald Chambers, promise. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Heavenly Minded & Earthly Good

January 23, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Heavenly Minded & Earthly Good

Entire sanctification puts a man’s breast and back as either should be, places his feet on earth and his head in Heaven, and gives him the royal insignia of the saints.

From Christian Disciplines

Have you ever heard it said of someone, “He’s so heavenly minded that he’s no earthly good”? They are saying that man has ideas which sound spiritual but aren’t very practical.

Isn’t it also true that someone could be “so earthly minded that he’s no heavenly good”? Yes, sadly, many people fall into this category!

Oswald Chambers is saying that those people who allow the Holy Spirit’s total sanctification process in their lives are both heavenly minded and earthly good. Or, as Chambers says in If Ye Will Ask, “Jesus Christ does not make monks and nuns, He makes men and women fit for the world as it is (see John 17:15).”

Christians should be the most practical people on earth, because their feet remain on earth while their mind and hearts remain in Heaven, hearing and applying God’s timeless and practical truths. True Christians should sound and live differently.