Sunday, May 7, 2023

Guard Your Heart , Mind and Soul!

by David W Cowan


How many times have you heard someone claim to be "overcome" by an emotion or feeling? What has overcome you at points in your life...grief, fear, worry, shame, guilt?

We are called to be overcome by one thing and that is the love of Christ, by which He has overcome the world. Jesus explains to His disciples in John 16, verse 33.

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world."

The tribulation we face, lest we stay close to our Lord and Savior, can drag us down, can be overpowering unless we stay in the peace of Christ. Peter warns us about this very situation in 2 Peter 2:19.

"...for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."

Many times at funerals I have heard it said, "I am overcome with grief" Believers who slip have been known to say "I am overcome with guilt and shame."

A momentary emotion is not a bad thing. It shows we care and love. It goes to far when we allow it to overcome our ability to move on down the path God has set for us.

We have to remember that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus and he has overcome ALL the world and its sinful emotions with His love for us and His covering for our sins past, present and even future. We are, however, to be sorrowful and repentant when we realize we have not lived up to God's expectations, to turn from our sin and move on, but Christ has already overcome what we are facing and we rest in His work and we move down the road to sanctification and eventually His perfection.

Thank you, Jesus! 

Monday, March 20, 2023

You Have To Be A Sheep!

Another for the Standing On the Promises Series

by David Cowan


We are all familiar with the 23rd Psalm, but have you ever thought about it as, I think, one of the greatest set of promises in the Bible.

David tells us, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

These are another set of covenantial promises and are all available to us as children of God, but it requires that we are His sheep if He is to be our shepherd. If you grew up like I did, taught by parents in an age when you were to be self sufficient and depend on no one, the thought of being a sheep took some getting used to. Sheep, however, depend upon the shepherd for everything, as we read in the 23rd Psalm, food, water, protection, etc.

In Biblical times and locations, grass was not plentiful and sometimes, like the water also, might be days from the homeplace and not always easy to find. A good shepherd knew where the best was to be found. I read an article that said David even kept the sheep in age groups and that when they came to a pasture, he would bring the youngest in first for the tenderest part of the grass, then the middle group and, finally the most developed could handle the tougher part of the blades. David killed lions and all kinds of animals that would attempt to prey on his flock. He was the protector of what his father had.

The same is what God wants to do for us, but He will not force His provisions on us and our "self reliance" often gets in the way. Sheep, on the other hand just all clump together and depend on the shepherd. If we learn to be thankful for His love and depend on Him for everything instead of taking the approach that we will call Him if we need Him, we will be amazed at the provisions He made for us from the foundation of the world.

David knew this for in 1 Samuel, Saul was told that his kingdom would not continue, for God had sought and found for himself a man after His own heart, David the Shepherd. Not that David was perfect my any stretch, but his faith in God never wavered and he was a man, as Paul testified in Acts 13:22, that would do whatever God wanted him to do. He depended on God for everything and God blessed him abundantly, gave him protection and on many, many occasions, saved his life.

I want to be more like my name sake in that aspect of his life. I am striving to be less mule like and more sheep like and so should you!


Sunday, September 11, 2022

Make God Your First and Not Your Last Resort

3rd In Standing on The Promises Series

by David W Cowan

God calls us all away from our "I got this. I will call on you if I need you." attitude that the flesh teaches us through our years. He knows that little by little this self confidence turns into pride and our Creator cannot abide a prideful heart.

In Proverbs 29:23 it says, "A man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will bring him honor."

Our Lord's intent is to save us disappointment and heartache in every thing we do, in every decision we make and it is so important to Him and our relationship with the Father that He gave us a promise to stand on that saves us from our regret.

Also in Proverb, chapter 3, verses 5 and six spell out this promise and it's conditions.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight,"

How many times have you made a decision and found yourself caught in the middle of the consequences? Personally, I can't count the times on the fingers of both hands! Usually, then, we get on our knees and pray about it and God either shows us a way out or lets us know we just have to come out on the other side.

I try to say this verse at the start of most days, acknowledge to God, who already knows. that I trust in Him with all my heart and ask Him to direct me through my decisions of the day. I also do my best not to get caught up in the day and talk with Him about my decisions before I pull the trigger. I try to compare what I feel I should do with His nature and if the two don't match, I rethink my decisions.

In dealing this way the decisions of the day, I am standing behind my trust in Him, I'm putting my understanding under the direction of my creator and acknowledging Him in all my ways....all the things I must do to stand on His promise for direction. Now, if I could just do that perfectly!

Think about the words "In all your ways acknowledge Him". Then think of all the decisions we make in a day and ask yourself "Did I acknowledge God and what He would want when I made all those decisions?" The truth is, probably not. I think that we think that some decisions are just to small to bother Him with, but that's just not true.

In the twelfth chapter of Luke, verse 7, Jesus tells us "Indeed the very hairs of your head are numbered." I think that if He keeps track of each hair on our head, the decisions we make in our life, which became His when we came into relationship with Christ, are far more important and life changing for our journey home.

I challenge you to try it and see how much better your day is, how much more peaceful your mind and heart feel. Start by asking Him what you should have for breakfast and, then, thank Him for your daily bread. 


Saturday, July 30, 2022

A Peaceful Promise

 The next in the Standing On The Promises Series

by David Cowan

In the 26th Chapter of Isaiah, verse 3, we are given a promise of peace. "You will keep him in perfect peace, who's mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

What steals your peace? What keeps you from calm and rest during your getting up and laying down?

For me, it is worry, worry about things I cannot change. There is a difference between worry and planning your day. I always plan out what I will do for the next day and what my guys will work on for the day, but gradually that planning seems to turn to worry and my peace is gone.

What if it rains? What if my parts don't come in? What if someone is sick tomorrow? What if what I measured to fit, doesn't fit correctly? All these things I have no real control over, but they steal my peace.

So, let's look at God's promise again. "You will keep him in perfect peace, who's mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

When we remember that God is in control of all things and especially those things we have no control over, we can breath a sigh of relief.  Jesus talked about this very thing in the 6th Chapter of Matthew. Starting in verse 25, He sums it up starting in verse 31. "Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

There will be disruptions and troubles in our life, but God, when we trust in Him, will handle the eventual outcome to our benefit. Our job is to rely on Him, reflecting to the outside world our trust in Him, and deal with the present days complications as He has taught us and shows us how. That, personally, gives me a peace in the midst of chaos that only comes when I know in my heart God has my back.

It's a promise. 






Sunday, July 10, 2022

Standing on the Promises...

By David W Cowan

If you find yourself here reading this post, you have started a series. How many times you return is up to you. How many teachings will be in this series is up to God. 

I think that we can all agree that within God's Word there are many promises for His people and if God made a promise, He is not going to take it away or fail to live up to the promise. Unlike us, His children, He is always faithful and can never fail.

To stand on one of these promises, we must fully understand the promise and how it fits in with the nature of God who made the promise. There are many I have read and counted on over the last 50 years of my life and some, when I did, discouraged me because standing on them did not provide the results I had hoped. In every case, it was because I didn't understand the promise or failed to align myself with God's nature.

I first want to address Gods promise in Deuteronomy 31:6. Israel is getting ready to cross over the Jordan River, after refusing the first time and wandering through the desert, again, for all those years. Moses tells the people the word he received from God, "Be strong and of  good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

Now, some will say that was an Old Testament promise and doesn't apply to us of the New Covenant, but the Apostle Paul makes it plain in Hebrews 13:5 that we stand on that promise, too. He says to the church, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"

Most believers have, at some point, stood on a promise because of some situation in their life, but not felt that things were getting any better, like God was moving away from them instead of closer; ignoring them instead of remedying the problem or situation.  Here is where understanding God's nature and the promise you are standing on becomes vital.

I  want to share an example of what I mean from my personal life. A little over twenty years ago,  I went through a divorce. Totally unhappy for years, I decided that  was the solution to my unhappiness and along with the divorce, I began a path of  bad life choices which did not align with the rededication of my life to God. I had made new commitments to that relationship and Satan came at my life with renewed vigor.

The debts  I took with me after the divorce and a strained credit climate ended up taking me into bankruptcy and I felt God had deserted me. The downward spiral began to make me feel  like God had indeed "left me and forsook me". The bankruptcy plan I chose was one to pay back my creditors over a five year period. In this case, the court decides how much of your paycheck you can keep each pay period and it isn't much.

Oddly, the thing I noticed, after a short time, was that the lack of money sometimes meant little to eat towards the end of the week, not much activity outside of work, things like that, but those things bothered me less than not being able to tithe. I  had gotten involved again in my church and tithing to me was a heart felt gift and worship for me. I didn't look at it as paying for anything God had done for me, but it made me feel, I don't know, ...appreciative! There just wasn't anything left over at the end of the week. I spoke to my Pastor about it and he assured me that it was okay, that God knew my heart and suggested that I might substitute some physical service to the church body. I began helping in  Bible Study, etc.

It still bothered me, though. On one of my morning runs, my prayer and meditation time, I happened to notice a dollar bill sticking out of the corner of a fast food bag someone had thrown out the window. I stopped and picked it up, along with some change and kept running. As the run progressed and my meditation continued, I prayed to God and said, Lord from this day forward until I get back on my feet, any money I find is Yours. For the next few years, I would find anywhere from five dollars, up to forty one week and I was able to tithe through the bankruptcy period.

Along with God answering my prayer, I begin to realize that He had not deserted me, I had deserted Him, in part. He was right there  where I left Him, ready and willing to take me back and comfort me in my distress. The fact is, God cannot be in the presence of sin. I had to confess and repent and return to Him and things began to look up even down that difficult road I had chosen. The consequences of my decisions did not go away, but I was comforted by God's presence in my life.  Now, I am much more conscious of how my current nature and God's unchangeable righteousness can fit together and, that, only because of the work of Jesus on the cross.

2 Chronicles 7:14 spells it out. "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek  My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

I see these two verses as bookends of the same promise. God knows He will never leave us, but that we will move off the path He has set for us. He has, however, included a way back for us.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

A Friend For Eternity

"And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'" Luke 22:31,32

As we have grown up, we've all had friends, best friends, who we thought would stick by us to the very end no matter what. I've had five or six in the 62 years I've been alive and maybe two or three are still there and haven't deserted or turned their backs on me for one reason or another. The others I would like to think I would hold up my end of the deal for regardless of how they have stuck, or not, with me, but I have my doubts.

When you look at this passage from Luke, remember...Peter was one of Jesus' closest disciples. He was the rock. Jesus knows, however, as we read in the verses that follow, that he will deny Him three times, vehemently in the end. For the man part of Jesus (fully God and fully man) this had to be an almost heart breaking denial, but what did Jesus do? He prayed to His Father, Almighty God, that his faith would, ultimately, not fail and that he would return to Jesus and bring strength to the Brotherhood, which we see come to fruition.

That is a friend no matter what. We know Jesus as a Savior to all who believe in Him, but this, to me, reveals Jesus as that Savior and the friend we all sang about as kids and taught our kids to sing...,"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

I note a change, if temporarily, in their relationship. Simon was his given name. Jesus had changed his name to Peter , the rock. At this point, the rock was not going to be there, but Jesus prayed for him and the rock would return and strengthen the brethren who would take the Gospel to the world.

Jesus, an eternal friend, no matter what. He knows your heart. Maybe we should take the heart of our friends into consideration when we feel neglected or abandoned and pray for them, that they may return to us in the future.

This verse has always given me hope. I know I am not always what my Savior expects of me, but I know He is praying for me and I do always seem to return, sometimes a little worse for the wear, but that is my own fault. Without my eternal friend's prayers, I would still be wandering in the eternal darkness! 

Thank you, Jesus!