Are You Out Of Your Mind?

June 17, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I love this thinking thought from James William Fulbright—

“We must dare to think ‘unthinkable’ thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about ‘unthinkable things’ because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.”

After you have identified the negative thoughts and you have started thinking creatively, you have to be able to take it further. You have to be able to think unthinkable things.

Too many times we don’t let our minds begin to go into “unknown” places, so we look at everything through the lens of what we’ve experienced in the past. Our thoughts are “in our minds.” When Albert Einstein began to propose that there were more dimensions to our universe than scientists had previously thought, people had a hard time following his reasoning. Even those in the scientific community thought he was “out of his mind.”

One of Einstein’s favorite books was called Flatland. In this book, Square lives in the two-dimensional world that Sphere came to visit. Because Square’s world only has length and width (no height), he can only see the part of Sphere that was on his level. As Sphere moves through Flatland, Square can see different parts of him, but he can never see all of him at the same time. If Sphere moves above Flatland, Square can still hear his voice but cannot see his shape.

So, too, with us. Many times we only perceive what moves through the “line of sight” we have previously experienced. We are—so to speak—in our minds.

But look what God has in store for you—

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT)

So here’s how Scripture teaches us to pray—

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.(Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT)

God wants to do infinitely more than you can ask or think. He wants to show you new dimensions of His greatness and His love—notice that Paul goes out of his way to list four dimensions (wide, long, high, deep) even though we live in a three-dimensional world.

Here’s the question: are you OUT of your mind or IN your mind? In other words, are you only looking for things that you know can happen, or are you believing God for things that are completely OUT OF YOUR MIND?

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Get Your Mind Out Of That Rut!

June 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.” —Apostle Paul (Romans 12:2, The Message)

It’s important to think about your thinking—to analyze why certain thoughts are swirling through your mind. But after you identify unhealthy thoughts, you need some creative thinking to be able to move your life in a new direction. This requires a whole new set of thinking skills that are called critical thinking.

Stephen Brooking described it this way, “Critical thinkers are continually exploring new ways of thinking about their lives…. Critical thinking is complex and frequently perplexing, since it requires the suspension of belief and the jettisoning of assumptions previously accepted without question.”

  • What have you accepted without question?
  • What have you become so well-adjusted to that you simply accept it?
  • Are there things you do just because it’s always been done that way?
  • Are there some things that you won’t try because it’s never been done that way?

Two warning signs in your thinking are always and never. With the exception of God, everything changes. So when you start thinking in terms of always and never you are essentially saying, “Nothing changes. And I’ve got everything figured out.” This is mind-in-the-rut thinking!

You’ve probably heard this before but it is valuable enough to be repeated—If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you always got.

If you need a change in your life, start with a change in your thinking. Ask God to help you think in new ways. In talking to His people about what He had done for them in the past God said it was time to think in creative ways—

But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. (Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT)

Don’t let your thinking stay stuck in a rut. Allow God to help you jettison the old ways of thinking and expand your horizons. God will give you greater creativity if you ask Him.

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Thinking About What You’re Thinking About

June 15, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

When was the last time you thought something new for the first time? Atheist Bertrand Russell said something painful, but true, “Most men would rather die than think. Many do.”

I’ve written before about the most important and most lengthy conversation all of us have every day. It’s the conversation we have with ourselves—it’s called thinking. But for many people, their thinking is stuck in a rut.

I’ve often had conversations with people bucking against a new thought where I have asked them why they believe what they believe. Far too many times they tell me, “That’s just the way I was raised.” Okay, but what do you think about it? “I don’t know. That’s just the way I was raised.”

Two books that have really helped my thinking are As A Man Thinketh (James Allen) and Thinking For A Change (John Maxwell). Allen uses the analogy of our minds as gardens where we need to constantly pull out the weeds and plant the thoughts that will bear the fruit we desire. Maxwell challenges us to look differently at the way we think our thoughts.

The Apostle Paul tells us to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). And then we can begin to change the way we think: Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

If your thinking is ever going to go to a higher level it has to start with this: You have to be willing to think about what you’re thinking about.

In other words, why are you thinking what you’re thinking? Start capturing the thoughts running through your mind and ask them, “Why are you here?” Are you thinking what you’re thinking because you thought it, or because someone else thought it for you?

It is only by capturing the thoughts that are already in your head that you can sort out the healthy thoughts from the unhealthy thoughts.

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Real Raw Emotions

June 12, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

This week I’ve been writing about my favorite book—the Bible—and why I find it so fascinating. Yesterday I talked about how the Bible helps me mentally. But we are not just mental creatures, we are emotional, too, and I have found my Bible to be an excellent way to express some of my deepest, rawest emotions.

(If you would like to read the other parts of this series, they are here, here, here, and here.)

Humans are created in God’s image, and God expresses emotion. In fact, God expresses emotion more deeply and purely than we humans can His sorrow is more bitter, His love is more intense, His jealousy is more pure.

Emotion is expressed throughout the Bible, but I’m particularly attracted to the emotional responses in the Psalms. These are prayers and songs which express the deepest emotions of angry, loving, hurting people. A few examples—

You know what I long for, Lord; You hear my every sigh. (Psalm 38:9 NLT)

Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack. My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride. (Psalm 56:1-2 NIV)

God, smash my enemies’ teeth to bits, leave them toothless tigers. Let their lives be buckets of water spilled, all that’s left, a damp stain in the sand. Let them be trampled grass worn smooth by the traffic. Let them dissolve into snail slime, be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight. Before what they cook up is half-done, God, throw it out with the garbage! (Psalm 58:6-9 The Message)

O my God, my life is cast down upon me and I find the burden more than I can bear…. (Psalm 42:6 AMP)

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer, by night, and am not silent…. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth…. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. …But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. (Psalm 22:1-2, 14-16, 19 NIV)

Jesus came to earth as fully God and fully man, able to experience the deepest, rawest emotions of anyone. “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus knows what you feel because He felt it, too: “For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation” (Hebrews 4:15). As a result, “He lives forever to intercede with God on [our] behalf (Hebrews 7:25).

Don’t ever be afraid to express your rawest emotions in God’s presence—He knows profoundly what you are feeling. When you are struggling with deep emotion, the Bible knows how to speak your heart’s cry to God.

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Winning The Argument Or The Battle

June 11, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

When I entered college, I did so as a science major: pre-med biomedical chemistry, to be exact. I still really enjoy all of the medical sciences: biology, microbiology, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and the like.

As you might be aware many of the scientists today have a bent toward the theory of evolution. That means that a few of my professors and several of the authors I was reading taught and wrote from that paradigm.

This set up the environment for me to want to debate for my Creationist beliefs.

I had one professor who would specifically challenge me during lectures to refute what he had just said about evolution. An author who wrote a lengthy book about evolution carried on a year-long correspondence with me where we each brought out our best arguments. In all instances—although we believed passionately in our positions and could adequately defend them—the discussions never became shouting matches.

The Bible taught me how to do this.

(This week I’m discussing my favorite book—the Bible—from a couple of different aspects. You can read some of those thoughts here, here and here.)

At times I was tempted to “cross the line” to win the argument. And I may have won the argument, but I would have put myself in a position to lose the overall battle. There are two key passages of Scripture that I keep in mind to help me with this.

(1) In telling His followers about the Holy Spirit (John 14-16), Jesus said, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). And also, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

The Holy Spirit helps me apply biblical truths and principles to my everyday life. He guides me and reminds me of what I have studied.

(2) The second key passage is, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

Yes, it is important for me to be prepared to give an answer, but this is the middle thought. First, I have to make sure what I’m saying is exalting Christ as Lord. Then I do my best to study and prepare to give an answer, but I must give that answer gently and respectfully.

Allowing the Holy Spirit to help you prepare from the Bible, and allowing Him to guide you into answering questions/critics gently and respectfully honors Christ. And that always wins the battle.

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The Thinking Book

June 10, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that.” —James McCosh

My kids recently returned from a PK (Pastor’s Kids) Retreat weekend. Our Michigan Assembly of God District Youth Director Jeff Kennedy coordinates this weekend every year. A fun part of their time together is a take-off of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if…” routine. It’s called “You might be a PK if….” Here are a couple of my favorites—

  • You might be a PK if you’ve used the church sound system as your personal stereo.
  • You might be a PK if National Take Your Kid To Work Day is any day you don’t have school.
  • You might be a PK if you’ve ever taken a bath in the baptismal tank.
  • You might be a PK if you occasionally take Sunday afternoon naps on a church pew.
  • You might be a PK if every answer your Dad gives you comes from the Bible.

Cute! And, for the most part, dead-on accurate!

But that last one got me thinking: do I do this? I sincerely hope (not just because I’m a pastor) that the answer is always “yes.”

I agree with James McCosh that no other book in the world compares to the Bible for challenging me to think. In the King James Version of the Bible, there is a phrase that James uses about God’s Word: he says that we should “receive with meekness the engrafted Word” (James 1:21).

The more I read the Bible, the more its principles become engrafted into my thought patterns. The more I think about the Bible, the more my attitude about life conforms to God’s attitude. And the more my attitude conforms to God, the more my actions and words align with the Bible.

You don’t have to read much every day for God’s Word to make a difference in your life. If you are honest with the Holy Spirit as He illuminates a passage of Scripture to you, you will see how God’s Word can be applied to your life today.

“The Bible is…a chart by which the Christian sails to eternity, the map by which he daily walks; the sundial by which he sets his life; the balance in which he weighs his actions.” —Thomas Watson

To be successful make sure you are looking often at the chart, the map, the sundial, and the balance of God’s Word.

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A Powerful Prayer

June 9, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Bible study is love reading its Lover’s letters. Prayer is love keeping tryst.” —S.D. Gordon

The Bible is God’s love letter to humanity; more specifically, to you and me. But did you know that the Bible can also be used as our love letter to God?

If you’re a parent, you know how powerful it is when one of your children quote you back to you. Like when my daughter reminds me, “Dad, you said that you would….” Even if I haven’t forgotten what I said, it’s still so nice to know that she was listening to me and remembered what I promised her.

God has never, ever forgotten His word to us. But as our Heavenly Father, He loves to know that we hear His words, that we remember His promises, and that we love Him. So one of the most powerful prayers you can pray is when you pray God’s own words back to Him.

Personalized prayer based on God’s Word is a powerful prayer.

Let me give you an example. Here’s a prayer I wrote out the other day from 1 Chronicles 22:19—

Now…

There is no time to wait, I have to begin now. I cannot put it off a moment longer. It’s never an interruption of my day for me to draw closer to You, my God. Now I come to You in love.

devote…

This is not a partial commitment. I’m giving You my all. I’m laying all of me on Your altar. I’m not holding anything back. It’s all Yours, God, all of me.

your…

This is mine to give, and I’m choosing to give it to You. I’m not living for someone else; I’m not riding anyone’s coattails. I’m giving You what is mine to give. I’m giving you me.

heart…

My dreams, my passions, my desires. They’re all Yours, Heavenly Father. I reserve no passions for my own selfish pursuits, but I only have passion for You.

soul…

My inmost being—who I really am—the part of me that’s truly me is all Yours. My mind, my will, my emotions, my personality is only alive because of You.

seeking…

My longing, my soul’s craving is for You. I look for You’re everywhere and in everything. I seek You in the bird’s song, in the ocean’s roar, in the mountain’s majesty, in the midnight’s silence, in the bee’s buzz, in my children’s laughter, in my wife’s kiss, in my friend’s counsel, in Your love letter to me.

the Lord…

You are Lord over all. There is not now, nor ever will there be, anyone to take Your place in my heart.

your God…

You are mine and I am Yours. Forever. Because You loved me I love You, my God.

Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God (1 Chronicles 22:19).

Use your Bible to form your own powerfully intimate prayers to the Lover of your soul.

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My Favorite Book

June 8, 2009 — 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.

“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.” —Martin Luther

I love to read. So I read a whole lot of books every year. It’s not unusual for me to be working my way through four or five books at a time. I read the classics, poetry, history, biographies, autobiographies, devotionals, leadership training, personal development, marriage and parenting skills, and many other genres. I don’t have enough shelf space for all of the books I have!

But when people ask me my all-time favorite book, I don’t even have to hesitate. The book that is in a category all by itself is my Bible.

I say my Bible because I have made it my own. I highlight, I underline, I star, I jot notes in the margin, I circle keywords. Sometimes I even mark all the question marks in a passage!

My study Bible is one I’ve had for over 20 years. Each time I read through my Bible I use a different color or style of highlighter. So as I look at different highlighted passages I can remember back to where I was in my life, what I was going through, the struggles I was having. Sometimes I smile when I remember what the Holy Spirit revealed to me in my Bible at that time, and how I’ve grown. Sometimes I remember the deep emotion as I see where a teardrop caused the highlighter to run, and recall the comfort my Bible brought to me.

Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible) is a poem of love to God for His Word. In 176 verses the psalmist refers to God’s Word in 172 verses. Here are just a few—

  • I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You (v. 11)
  • I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches (v. 14)
  • Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law (v. 18)
  • Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors (v. 24)
  • I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free (v. 32)

If you haven’t made Bible reading a part of your daily schedule, Psalm 119 is a good place to start. Scientists tell us that you only have to do something for 21 days in a row for it to become a habit. Psalm 119 is divided into 22 sections. And each section is just eight verses long.

You can find the time to read just eight verses a day, can’t you? If you do, you will have established one of the greatest habits in your life: daily Bible reading. 

I spent a whole week writing more about my favorite Book, so check out these posts too:

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? ◀︎◀︎

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Old And Valuable

June 5, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

During my freshman year of college, I was placed as a roommate with another freshman who was a theology major. Just so we’re all clear about this: theology is the study of God. And just so we’re all crystal clear about this: the study of God is typically based on the Bible.

I can hear some of you now, “Duh! Great insight!” But hang with me for a moment.

Near the start of our first semester together my roommate came into our dorm room very upset, slammed the door shut, and threw down his backpack. When I asked what was the matter he told me he had just come from a meeting with his academic advisor and was furious at his list of required classes. When I inquired what class he wasn’t allowed to take, he said, “No, it’s not what class I can’t take; it’s what classes I have to take!”

“So what classes are you upset that you have to take?” I asked, thinking maybe something like science or phys ed.

“Old Testament,” he responded. I was speechless, but he continued, “I mean, Old Testament! C’mon, that was stuff from a long time ago. We live under the new covenant now, so the old covenant has no purpose for us anymore!”

Although this is somewhat shocking to hear from a theology major, I’m afraid a lot of people feel this way.

Did you know…

  • The Old Testament (OT) is directly quoted by the New Testament (NT) writers nearly 700 times.
  • There are thousands of references to OT people, events, or principles in the NT.
  • Of the 27 books in the NT, only six don’t have direct OT quotations. But four of those six books refer back to OT people or passages.
  • Of the 39 books in the OT, all but nine of them are quoted in the NT.
  • Jesus Himself quoted from the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) nearly 60 times.

I love the Old Testament! There I read some great stories and meet some very colorful personalities. But I especially love reading the OT to see what was going to happen and then reading the NT to see both what did happen and what’s still going to happen.

Those 39 books of the Old Testament may be old, but they’re so rich, and so valuable, and so enlightening to the New Testament. If you haven’t made the OT a part of your Bible reading time, I encourage you to do so.

The Old Testament is not old, as in worn out, archaic, useless. It’s old, as in priceless, valuable, foundational.

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Success Is Going

June 4, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

King David is one of the most well-known characters in the Old Testament. Such incredible stories are told about him that his life can be summed up in one phrase that occurs four times in Scripture—The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went (2 Samuel 8:6, 14; 1 Chronicles 18:6, 13).

When David was faced with a challenge or an enemy, he threw himself fully into meeting the enemy head-on, and he was always successful. There is no record of David ever being defeated in battle. If he went out, he won.

Aha, keyword alert—The Lord gave David victory everywhere he WENT.

The only times David was defeated was when he stood still:

• When his son Absalom killed another of David’s sons, Amnon, David didn’t do anything. Even when Absalom returned from exile, David stayed home and didn’t reconcile with his son (2 Samuel 13-15).

• David’s son Adonijah behaved inappropriately and eventually rebelled against David, too. But David “never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’” (1 Kings 1:6).

• David lusted after and then committed adultery with Bathsheba when, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. … But David remained in Jerusalem” (1 Chronicles 20:1).

• David angered God by ordering that a census be taken of all of the men eligible for military service in Israel. “So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, ‘Go and count…” (1 Chronicles 21:2). In other words, David stayed while others went.

Solomon correctly noted, “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave” (Proverbs 15:24). There are only two directions: forward (or up) OR backward (or down). There is no standing still.

The Lord gave David victory everywhere he WENT, not everywhere he stood still. To stand still is to begin to go backward.

Is there a battle you need to fight? Is there a challenge you’ve been avoiding? Is there something you need to complete? Are you waiting for something to happen? Are you content just to stand still?

Stop standing still and start going! If you are following God, He will give you victory everywhere you go.

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