Great is His Faithfulness

Great is His Faithfulness

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. 

Lamentations 3:19-23

We’ve all had times of despair and worry.  The world we love is nonetheless broken and filled with sickness and death due to sin’s grasp.  Satan bequeathed disease, death, natural disasters, and the effects of people driven by evil—lust, which is the root of every vice, crime, and immoral actions—although harmful to you, you can remember that.

But,… however,… nevertheless,… although,… except for… the fact that Jesus is risen, and has defeated all that partners with evil—sin, sickness, death, disaster.  At this very moment, “remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends!”  Be ready to begin each day in God’s mercies.  Keep in your remembrance, every morning you wake, that God is faithful and your day begins fresh every morning.  So, wake daily with excitement, expecting His loving blessings and mercies to spill over and into your life. 

Don’t allow the bitterness of “suffering and homelessness” to overcome you, because, you do have a home, in a kingdom, in Christ.  The breath of Life—Christ breathing His Sprit into you—is your blessing.  He will sustain you of daily needs.  He will comfort you in all disheartened times.  He will save you from the emptiness of evil, and fill you with eternal Life in Christ Jesus—“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (1 Thess 5:24). 

You can concentrate on calamity, grief, and evil.

Or you wake with the joy of His faithfulness.  Which will you have?

Blessings,

Owen <><

The Cost of Heaven

But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.

Luke 12:20-21

God does not love a pauper over a lucrative entrepreneur, and God’s grace is for the world’s most wealthy people, and for the poorest of any society.  A pauper can hide all that is receives from charity, the well-to-do can invest riches; nonetheless, to hoard any amount will not help you in eternal matters.  To God your value is not measured by your great assets, nor if you’re homeless and without a next meal.

God’s miracle of eternal life isn’t affordable through your earnings; no amount in property, stocks and bonds are enough; nor will a mere smidgen of currency buy your way to heaven.  It won’t matter how much someone “stores things up for himself,” however much you finish with—rich or poor—you’re dead.  And, God has already decided if you are of His eternal Kingdom or not.

Those who have and those who have not are able to afford God’s greatest miracle.  So what is the cost?  “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit’” (John 3:5).  What you need is a miracle—the miracle is given by God in salvation, birthed by God’s Spirit; and this birth is given to those who confess to follow Jesus.  Do you want a miracle?  If the miracle is important to you, rich or poor you must understand, in order to receive the most wonderful miracle, you must be willing to give up the things you love for the things God loves—namely, Christ and those needing Christ—that will bring miracles in your life, and the gates into God’s Kingdom will be open to you. 

Owen <><

P. S.

You may ask, “Will God take everything I own?”  My answer is that I don’t know, he may take more than you have this moment, or he may give you more than you can imagine.  To be willing to give up all you have, has nothing to do with things, it has to do with your faith, and faith in God—above what you can possess.  

God Doesn’t Drop Calls

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up,

and he let none of his words fall to the ground.  —1 Samuel 3:19

In a true relationship, such marriage, the words of the loved one are listened to.  A relationship places importance in the words you hear, you “let none of [the loved one’s] words fall to the ground.”  In his youth “the LORD was with Samuel as he grew up” and his relationship with God grew, as an adult Samuel belonged to God.  Jesus said, “He who belongs to God hears what God says.” 

So, you may have a dilemma, the question may be something like this:

“Why doesn’t God ever talk to me, I’ve never heard Him?”  

First, a candid (blunt) answer, one that is the most important:  Are you in a true relationship with God through Christ, are you born again, saved?  Do you truly love and follow Him?  —  Jesus said, “the reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:47).  Is there a problem with the relationship?

Second, as a Christian, you need to be honest; do you listen to His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth placed in you at salvation?  Remember, anyone “who belongs to God hears what God says” and you, as a follower of Christ, “let none of his words fall to the ground.”

• How do you do that?  I suggest by prayer, enter His gates, presence with praise, adoration, and thanksgiving with a heart of one who is obedient and humble. 
• What does God sound like?  A whisper.  As you pray and read the Bible, ask him to speak to you; become silent, and listen—do so often, you’ll soon learn His voice.  

In Christ,

Owen <><

Anguish & Compassion Bring Joy

You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

John 16:20-22

I have discovered that compassion is ignited by anguish (grief), yet they are equal partners in response to the flame of Christ’s Spirit burning within.  To see those who are sick, harassed, and living in emptiness without Christ sparks anguish, in turn, igniting compassion for them.  Compassion turns into action by surrender to Christ’s Spirit and we become more like him, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12, see also Philippians 2:1-8, Galations 5:22-23). 

Today my joy comes when sharing God’s Word with you, encouraging you to be Christlike.  Compassion is what urges me to pray for you, to share the story Christ, and to minister to you in the Spirit.  It is by kindness, humility, gentleness and patience I can submit to a sovereign God and in Christ’s power know that the hope of healing, peace, blessings, and salvation will come to you. 

Jesus sees with a compassion that is ignited by anguish—Jesus wept tears of anguish, his compassion took Him to the cross, and the power of His resurrection replaced anguish and grief with hope and joy.  Likewise, as anguish ignites “God’s chosen people,” compassion is birthed, from which comes joy:  to giver and receiver alike. 

Owen <><

It Doesn’t Matter

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:8-11

We, you and I, face problems, and as hard as it is to accept, it doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t matter how long you've been living in grace, by faith, and it doesn’t matter what and how much you've learned about life, there is going to be some suffering and a few setbacks. It doesn’t matter how good your plans were, things don't always turn out the way you expected. Life can be a discouragement—but, it doesn’t matter.

When discouraging times are happening in your life, remember, setbacks are temporary. There is a spiritual war, making persecution and problems occur, but you will be blessed in this life and forever more, no matter what (Matt 5:11).  Although you live in this present world, if Christ is in you, you’ll overcome whatever you are up against (2 Cor 10:3-7)—a battle may be lost along your journey; but, you have hope and the power of God’s Holy Spirit to withstand all that that is against you—the spiritual war is won by Christ, and those who are in Christ.  So, get up from the dust, a little dirt just doesn’t matter, and go at life again.

You may not understand, and I can’t help but chuckle when I say, “That doesn’t matter.”  You do your best when focused on Christ and attentive to the counsel of the Holy Spirit—Christ sends believers to help you, receive them, and of pray, pray often, pray intently as you become still to hear the whisper of God’s will. 

God’s dream for us may not always be clear, I know, I wrestle daily with questions.  God has given me a dream, but it seems I keep losing a battle here and there, but like a dummy I don’t dance with joy in the little victories I have and the moments of clarity God gives me—I focus on the problems, that which doesn’t matter.  I think of Joseph, who had a dream, but didn’t realize it would cost him a life of loneliness, heartache, slavery, prison, and a struggle to step into the position that would, in turn, manifest God’s dream for him (Gen 37, 39-50).  As you are doing what Christ has planned for you (Jer 29:11), and God’s dream comes true, well, what seemed to be defeating you, doesn’t matter any more.     

What matters?  Christ and his dream fulfilled in you matters—He gives you hope; your Christ focused desires and daily needs.  Seek Him; there are plans for you that matter

 Owen <><

Listening to Whispers

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight;

what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Matthew 10:27

Most of our mindsets about receiving a message from God is one of there being a deluge of blinding light and a thunderous voice emanating from the Almighty.  Sure, no doubt God speaking might happen like that; or other ways.   

More often, hearing from the Lord is in a quiet moment; often in prayer and meditation during the evening or predawn.  With the lights off, God will tell you in the dark, something that will catch your breath as His still voice fills you.  What is whispered in your ear at that moment?  Most often it is encouragement, and comfort—for you, and others.  And, maybe, a Scripture is whispered from the Word of truth, and it burns upon your soul—as the truth burned upon Isaiah’s lips—until you share the whispered Word.  On occasion I’ve awaken with a Scripture burning on my mind; once I share the verse with someone, I am embraced with a thankful response of one who needed that very whisper.

Job proclaimed, “And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” (Job 26:14).  Take time, be it in a quiet conversation over coffee, or by proclaiming with a thundering broadcast from a roof . . . share — what is whispered in your ear. … …

Pssst,

Owen <><

Greatest Thing on Earth

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

To see the fulfilling of the “gospel of the kingdom” before my eyes is a reality of joyful anticipation, hope, but “then the end will come” as our current reality slips away.  Going to heaven, how awesome is that?  But, it is something I can only imagine.  Something I can’t comprehend, something beyond my imagination, is when people, nations, enter eternity without God.  To miss out on the greatest purpose on earth happens when we are silent.  Being a part of the cause for Christ, active in His mission—to seek the lost (Luke 19:10)—is the greatest purpose we can join.  As William Tyndale (c. 1494 – 1536) stated, “The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it.”

 

L. John Bueno, Director of Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM), proclaims the cause for Christ to be the best purpose one can be involved in.  He states this wonderful truth as follows:  “There is no greater purpose than the cause of Jesus Christ. We're involved in something that is not just worthwhile but essential for the eternal well-being of all humanity. People desperately need the message of Jesus. Being involved in His mission is the greatest thing on earth.”

Involved,

Owen <><