Thursdays With Oswald—A Hard Word

November 15, 2012 — 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.

A Hard Word 

     Have you ever heard the Master say a hard word?—if you have not, I question whether you have heard Him say anything. Jesus Christ says a great deal that we listen to, but do not hear. … Our Lord has a perfect understanding that when once His word is heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. The terrible heartbreak is that some of us prevent its bearing fruit in actual life. … 

     Beware of allowing anything to soften a hard word of Jesus. It is a terrible thing to see how we keep Jesus Christ waiting. … We twist His words and debate about their meaning, we discuss His teachings and expound His Gospel, and all the time we leave Him absolutely alone because at the center of our heart there is the gnawing grip of one of His hard sayings that keeps us sorrowful, and He waits until we come and lay it all down. 

     All the time in between has been utterly wasted as far as Jesus Christ is concerned, no matter how active we have been, or how much we have been a blessing to others, because none of it has sprung from devotion to Him but from devotion to an idea….

     Not a question of saying, “Lord, I will do it,” but of doing it. There must be the reckless committal of everything to Him with no regard for the consequences. 

From God’s Workmanship (emphasis added) 

Jesus, when you speak a word to my heart—no matter how hard it seems—may I quickly obey what You have spoken. May I never waste time trying to figure it out, water it down, or soften a hard word, but may I be recklessly obedient to You.

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I’m Not In Control

November 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I am reminded again that my stressful feelings come because things are not going according to my plans. This can only mean one thing: Somehow I have let myself believe that I am in control of all my circumstances!

But I am not in control.

God alone is in control. He tells me not to be anxious, not to worry about tomorrow, but to come to Him to find rest.

Why, oh why, don’t I do this?!?

Enough! It’s time to once and for all give my concerns to the only One who can handle them.

“‘Come unto Me,’ says Jesus, ‘and I will give you rest.’ Do Jesus Christ’s words apply to me? Does He really know my circumstances? Fretting is sinful if you are a child of God. Get back to God and tell Him with shame that you have been bolstering up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for Him. Ask Him to forgive you and say, ‘Lord, I take Thee into my calculation as the biggest factor now!’” —Oswald Chambers

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Bible

November 8, 2012 — 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.

The Bible

      The revelation of God’s will has been brought down to us in words. The Bible is not a book containing communications from God, it is God’s revelation of Himself, in the interests of grace; God’s giving of Himself in the limitation of words.

      The Bible is not a faery romance to beguile us for awhile from the sordid realties of life, it is the Divine complement of the laws of Nature, of Conscience and of Humanity, it introduces us to a new universe of revelation facts not known to unregenerate commonsense. The only Exegete of these facts is the Holy Spirit, and in the degree of our reception, recognition, and reliance on the Holy Spirit will be our understanding. …

      The Bible does not simply explain to us the greatest number of facts, it is the only ground of understanding of all the facts, that is, it puts into the hand of the Spirit-born the key to the explanation of all mysteries. …

      The Bible tests all experience, all truth, all authority, by our Lord Himself and our relationship to Him personally….

From God’s Workmanship

Quite simply: The only authoritative Source we need to understand all the facts of life is the Bible.

Are you reading it? Every day? If not, make it a habit to live on and live through. It is God’s Word to you!

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Thursdays With Oswald—What Motivates My Service?

November 1, 2012 — 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.

What Motivates My Service?

     If my love is first of all for God, I shall take no account of the base ingratitude of others, because the mainspring of my service to my fellowman is love to God. The point is very practical and clear. If I love someone and he treats me unkindly or ungenerously, the very fact that I love him makes me feel it all the more, and yet Paul says loves “takes no account of evil,” because self is absorbed and taken up with love for Jesus Christ. 

     If you are going to live for the service of your fellowman, you will certainly be pierced through with many sorrows, for you will meet with more base ingratitude from your fellowman than you would from a dog. You will meet with unkindness and “two-facedness,” and if your motive is love for your fellowman, you will be exhausted in the battle of life. But if the mainspring of your service is love for God, no ingratitude, no sin, no devil, no angel, can hinder you from serving your fellowman, no matter how they treat you. 

From Biblical Psychology

The Bible tells me to love my neighbor as I love myself. But I also know that my heart is naturally evil, that I am naturally self-centered and self-absorbed. I can only love myself correctly if I see myself correctly, and that can only happen if my heart has been made new through the forgiveness of my sins.

That’s why the first greatest command is: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mark 12:29-30). When I love God first and best, I can see myself correctly: As a trophy of His grace. Then—and only then—can I love others in a way that will never be exhausted, nor offended; nor will my motivation to love my fellowman be diminished by others’ ingratitude.

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The Height Of Arrogance

October 26, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Warning: this post may step on your toes.

Oswald Chambers wrote, “We have to find out God’s methods, not try to get God to approve our methods.”

Pastor, are you telling God what your church is going to do, and then asking God to bless your efforts?

Sadly, many churches innocently slide into this mode. But watch out: this is the height of arrogance!

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you know how to reach your community, or organize your church, or even accurately select your next sermon. You can’t do it!

But God can!

He knows your community and your church better than you do. So try a better approach by starting with humility.

Don’t tell God what you’re going to do and then ask Him to bless your plans. Instead, ask God what He is already blessing, and then go do that.

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Thursdays With Oswald—My Standard Of Conduct

October 25, 2012 — 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.

My Standard Of Conduct

     Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

     The practical outcome of these words is astonishing; it means that my standard of moral conduct must exceed the standards of the most moral, upright man I know who lives apart from the grace of God. … Instead of our Lord lowering the standards of our moral conduct, He pushes it to a tremendous extreme. We have not only to do right things, but our motives have to be right, the springs of our thinking have to be right; we have to be so unblameable that God Himself can see nothing to censure in us. 

From Biblical Psychology

There are some very moral people in the world, but their morality is of their own design, and not the morality that comes from a relationship in God’s grace (i.e. just like the first-century Pharisees). I cannot try to match their moral lifestyle, because my morality will not be God-centered.

My thoughts have to be perfectly moral. My thoughts about how I’m going to behave must be God-pleasing. This prayer of David needs to be my prayer as well if my thoughts and conduct are to be unblameable in God’s sight—

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep Your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:12-14)

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Thursdays With Oswald—Not A Saint, But Many Saints

October 18, 2012 — 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.

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.

Not A Saint, But Many Saints 

     The Book of God is insistent on this: we cannot develop a holy life alone, it would be a selfish life, without God in it and wrong. …

     Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone, you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts, He alters them. 

From Biblical Psychology 

I’ve got news for you: It’s not about you as an individual.

If you have asked God to forgive you of your sins because you believed that Jesus paid the price for your salvation on the Cross, you haven’t just been saved from death; you’ve also been saved to a fuller life. A key component of this fuller life is your interaction with other Christians.

Search through the New Testament and you will find that the word saint never appears in the singular form—it’s always plural: saintS.

I need other Christians to help form Christlike character in me, and other Christians need me to do the same for them. Don’t ever buy into the lie that you can be a Christian and live an isolated life.

You are a part of the Body of Christ. Don’t rob the Body of your vital role! Together we saintS are so much stronger and more effective than a solitary, isolated saint.

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

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Thursdays With Oswald—I Hope I Am Insane!

October 11, 2012 — 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.

I Hope I Am Insane!

     Insanity simply means that a man is differently related to affairs from the majority of other men and is sometimes dangerous. Paul was charged with madness (Acts 26:24-25), and the same charge was brought against Jesus Christ—“For they said, He is beside Himself.” 

     Have you ever noticed the wisdom of the charge? Both Jesus Christ and Paul were unquestionably mad, according to the standard of the wisdom of this world; they were related to affairs differently from the majority of other men, consequently, for the sake of self-preservation, they must be got rid of. Our Lord was crucified, and Paul was beheaded. When we are imbued with Jesus Christ’s Spirit and are related to life as He was, we shall find that we are considered just as mad according to the standard of this world. 

From Biblical Psychology (emphasis added)

The teachings of Jesus are not only counter-cultural, but they are also are 180-degrees out-of-sync with worldly wisdom. I don’t want to be worldly wise; I want to be called insane by the “wise” men of this world!

Later in this same chapter Oswald Chambers writes:

Read the expositions of the Sermon on the Mount today and you will find some of the cleverest dialectics that have ever been written. The writers try to prove that Jesus is not mad according to the standards of this world; but He is mad, absolutely mad, and there is no apology needed for saying it. Either the modern attitude to things must alter, or it must pronounce Jesus Christ mad. 

Holy Spirit, may I never live my life by the “sane” beliefs and practices of this world’s culture, but may I be imbued with Jesus Christ’s Spirit and related to life as He was.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Prayerful Havoc

October 4, 2012 — 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.

Prayerful Havoc

     There are supernatural powers and agencies of which we are unconscious which, unless we are garrisoned by God, can play with us like toys whenever they choose. The New Testament continually impresses this on us. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). All that is outside the realm of our consciousness. 

     If we only look for results in the earthlies when we pray, we are ill-taught. A praying saint performs far more havoc amongst the unseen forces of darkness than we have the slightest notion of. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” We have not the remotest conception of what is done by our prayers, nor have we the right to try and examine and understand it; all we know is that Jesus Christ laid all stress on prayer. “And greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do [John 14:12].” 

From Biblical Psychology (emphasis added)

What an amazing reminder! Prayer is doing havoc in the spiritual realm, but much of that realm is outside of my conscious awareness.

Prayer accomplishes much. I may not see it in the earthlies each time I pray, but I must remain confident that my prayers are always heard and always make an impact.

Don’t let the lack of “visible” results keep you from praying. You may not see with your natural eyes what is happening when you do pray, but you can be assured that nothing at all will happen if you don’t pray!

Remember: “A praying saint performs far more havoc amongst the unseen forces of darkness than we have the slightest notion of.”

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Thursdays With Oswald—Two Dangerous Extremes

September 27, 2012 — 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.

Two Dangerous Extremes 

     Possibly the best illustration we can use is that of a lamp. A lamp unlighted will illustrate individuality; a lighted lamp will illustrate personality. The lighted lamp takes up no more room, but the light permeates far and wide; so the influence of personality goes beyond that of individuality. “You are the light of the world” said our Lord. Individually we do not take up much room, but our influence is far beyond our calculation. … 

     Individuality, then, is a smaller term than personality. Personality means that peculiar, incalculable being that is meant when you speak of “you” as distinct from everybody else. People say, “Oh, I cannot understand myself”; of course you can’t! “Nobody can understand me”; of course they don’t! There is only one Being Who understand us, and that is our Creator. … 

     There are possibilities below the threshold of our lives which no one but God knows…. God makes a man know that He is searching him. … 

     Introspection without God leads to insanity. … The people with no tendency to introspect are those described in the New Testament as “dead in trespasses and sins,” they are quite happy, quite contented, quite moral, all they want is easily within their grasp, everything is all right with them; but they are dead to the world to which Jesus Christ belongs, and it takes His voice and His Spirt to awaken them. …

     The path of peace is for us to hand ourselves over to God and ask Him to search us, not what we think we are, or what other people think we are, or what we persuade ourselves we are or would like to be, but, “Search me out, O God, explore me as I really am in Thy sight.” 

From Biblical Psychology

There are two dangerous extremes: Never looking within ourselves, and looking within ourselves without God’s help.

If you want your personality to shine far and wide, you must pray regularly as David did: “O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. Now search me again, and reveal to me anything that is offensive or displeasing to You, and then help me to change those things” (see Psalm 139:23-24).

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