poetry | Craig T. Owens

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Poetry Saturday—The Friends Beside Us

February 20, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

When the powers of hell prevail

O’er our weakness and unfitness,

Could we lift the fleshly veil,

Could we for a moment witness

Those unnumbered hosts that stand

Calm and bright on either hand—

Oh! what joyful hope would cheer!

Oh! what faith serene would guide us!

Great may be the danger near,

Greater are the friends beside us. —Anonymous, quoted by Oswald Chambers in Not Knowing Where

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him Who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. —Hebrews 12:1-3

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: encouragement, endurance, faith, friends, Hebrews, hope, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, perseverance, poem, poetry, spiritual warfare. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—He Leads Us On

January 30, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

He leads us on by paths we did not know;

Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,

Though oft we faint and falter on the way,

Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;

Yet when the clouds are gone,

We know He leads us on.

He leads us on through all the unquiet years;

Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,

He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze

Of losses, sorrows, and o‘er clouded days;

We know His will is done;

And still He leads us on. —Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: encouragement, God's direction, hope, Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, poem, poetry. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Preventing Mercies

January 23, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

The sorrows, that to us seem so perplexing,

Are mercies kindly sent

To guard our wayward souls from sadder vexing,

And greater ills prevent.

To save us from the pit, no screen of roses

Would serve for our defense,

The hindrance that completely interposes

Stings back like thorny fence.

At first when smarting from the shock, complaining

Of wounds that freely bleed,

God’s hedges of severity us paining

May seem severe indeed.

But afterwards, God’s blessed springtime cometh,

And bitter murmurs cease;

The sharp severity that pierced us bloometh,

And yields the fruits of peace. —Hugh Macmillan

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's blessing, Hugh Macmillan, mercy, peace, poem, poetry, sorrow. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Truth

January 2, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

Oh how unlike the complex works of man,

Heaven’s easy, heartless, unencumbered plan!

No meretricious graces to beguile,

No clustering ornaments to clog the pile,

From ostentation, as from weakness, free,

It stands, like the cerulean arch we see,

Majestic in its own simplicity.

Inscribed above the portal, from afar

Conspicuous as the brightness of a star,

Legible only by the light they give,

Stand the soul-quickening words—BELIEVE AND LIVE. —William Cowper

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Gospel, poem, poetry, salvation, simplicity, William Cowper. Leave a Comment »

2 Poems + 1 Quote On Jesus From David Jeremiah

December 23, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

On This Holy Night is a great pre-Christmas read, to help you focus your thoughts for your celebration of the First Advent. I’ve been sharing some of the quotes from this book. David Jeremiah wrote a chapter entitled “Thou Shalt Call His Name Jesus.” Here’s a quote from Pastor Jeremiah, and two poems he shared.

“Did you know that in the Gospels, God’s Son is called by the name Jesus over 500 times? In fact, the word Jesus appears throughout the New Testament 909 times. You get the impression that it’s the favorite and most endearing term for our Lord. Of all of the names and of all the titles that are given to Christ, the one most beloved by His followers is that simple name, Jesus.”

Jesus, the name high over all.

In hell, on earth and sky.

Angels and man before it fall;

And devils fear and fly.

Jesus, oh the magic

Of the soft love sound.

How it thrills and trembles

To creation’s bound. —Anonymous

There is majesty in the name of God.

There is personality in the name Jehovah.

There is power in the name Lord.

There is unction in the name Christ.

There is affinity in the name Immanuel.

There is intercession in the name Mediator.

There is help in the name Advocate.

But there is salvation none other,

None under heaven given among men,

Apart from the name Jesus.

An Alexander may build an empire.

A Napoleon make change the nations of the world.

A Newton may bring about an intellectual revolution.

An Edison may create a new world for science.

A Wyatt may usher in a new era of industry.

There is only One who can touch and transform the human heart.

And that One is Jesus. —Anonymous

I’ve also shared quotes from this book from John Maxwell, Bill Hybels, and Max Lucado. And you can read my review of On This Holy Night here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Advent, Bill Hybels, book review, Christmas, David Jeremiah, First Advent, Gospels, Jesus Christ, John Maxwell, Max Lucado, New Testament, poem, poetry, quotes. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Two Things Stand

December 12, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Question not, but live and labour

Till yon goal be won,

Helping every feeble neighbor,

Seeking help from none;

Life is mostly froth and bubble;

Two things stand like stone:

Kindness in another’s trouble

Courage in our own. —Adam Lindsay Gordon

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Adam Lindsay Gordon, courage, hard work, helping hand, kindness, neighbor, poem, poetry, trouble, work ethic. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Multiply

November 28, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

One man awake, awakens another.

The second awakens his next-door brother.

The three awake can arouse a town

By turning the whole place upside down.

The many awake can cause such a fuss

It finally awakens the rest of us.

One man up with dawn in his eyes

Surely then multiplies. —Lawrence Tribble

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: awake, Lawrence Tribble, poem, poetry, revival, speak up. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday— A Grammarian’s Funeral

November 21, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

That low man seeks a little thing to do,

Sees it and does it:

This high man, with a great thing to pursue,

Dies ere he knows it.

That low man goes on adding one to one,

His hundred’s soon hit:

This high man, aiming at a million,

Misses an unit.

That, has the world here—should he need the next

Let the world mind him!

This, throws himself on God, and unperplexed,

Seeking shall find Him. —Robert Browning

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: initiative, poem, poetry, purpose, pursuing God, Robert Browning. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Can’t Say Me

November 14, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

You cannot pray the Lord’s prayer, and even once say “I.”

You cannot pray the Lord’s prayer, and even once say “my.”

Nor can you pray the Lord’s prayer and not pray for another.

For to ask for “our” daily bread, you include your sister and brother!

All God’s children are included in each and every plea.

From the beginning to the end of it, it does not once say “me.” —Charles Royden

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Charles Royden, Lord's Prayer, poem, poetry. Leave a Comment »

Try Reverse Thinking

November 12, 2015 — 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.

Today was the absolute worst day ever

And don’t try to convince me that

There’s something good in every day

Because, when you take a closer look,

This world is a pretty evil place.

Even if

Some goodness does shine through once in a while

Satisfaction and happiness don’t last.

And it’s not true that

It’s all in the mind and heart

Because

True happiness can be obtained

Only if one’s surroundings are good

It’s not true that good exists

I’m sure you can agree that

The reality

Creates

My attitude

It’s all beyond my control

And you’ll never in a million years hear me say that

Today was a good day

(now read from the bottom to the top)

Psychologists call it metacognition when we think about what we’re thinking about. The Bible calls it capturing every thought (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Sometimes it takes reversing our thinking.

The devil has a singular agenda: He wants to steal joy from your life, he wants to kill any hope you have for the future, and he wants your end to be utter destruction.

Jesus has a singular agenda for you too: I have come that you might have abundant life.

Try reversing your thinking. Try thinking about your thinking a different way.

The devil says, “Life has no purpose.” God says, “I created you on purpose.”

The devil says, “You’re nothing special.” God says, “You’re one-of-a-kind.”

The devil says, “God remembers you blew it.” God says, “I’ve forgotten everything I’ve forgiven.”

The devil says, “This life is all there is.” God says, “You can’t even imagine what’s coming next!”

The devil says, “You’ll never find true love.” God says, “I love you so much that I died for you.”

Reverse your thinking to listen to what God says. Then you will be able to reverse today was the absolute worst day ever to today was a good day!

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