January | 2011 | Craig T. Owens

January 2011
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Get Up And Do

January 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I was reading an article posted on WebMD about how much damage we can do to our hearts by spending more time in front of the TV or computer than we do exercising. You’re probably thinking, “Well, duh!, isn’t that obvious?!” It should be, and yet we still have a tendency to just sit there. (By the way, you can read the article here.)

One quote from this article especially stood out to me:

“It’s not even about the exercise. It’s about not sitting,” says Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “I think that sort of points us in a little different direction. In order for you not to cause harm to yourself, you really need to focus on getting up and moving.”

This reminds me of Joseph (Mary’s husband) in the Bible. God seemed to speak to him quite often in dreams. Instead of just sitting there contemplating the vision, there’s a phrase that shows up after every vision…

“Joseph got up and did.”

Has God given you a vision for your life? If so, just sitting there may do damage to your heart. So follow Joseph’s example and Get up and do!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: action, carpe diem, dream, Gospel of Matthew, health, initiative, Joseph, WebMD. 4 Comments »

So, It’s That Easy, Huh?

January 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve been in full-blown praying/planning/dreaming mode for the last couple of weeks. I’m really looking forward to what God has in store for our church in 2011!

Somehow I thought all of this vision “stuff” was going to be a lot of work. But I just discovered a 13-page book that is going to revolutionize my church in just a matter of minutes! I just ordered my copy, and you should too.

(Don’t you wish it really was this easy?)

(Um, for those of you who haven’t figured it out yet: this is a joke. At least the “easy” part is; the “hard-work-and-lots-of-praying” part is for real.)

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, dreams, funny, planning, prayer, vision. Leave a Comment »

Perfect Praying

January 8, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

We just wrapped up a great week of prayer, and tomorrow we dive into part two of our 2011 inaugural series of the new year: The Perfect Prayer.

I can’t think of a better way to set the pace for the year than to pray!

Hope to see you tomorrow for some great worship and a helpful study on The Perfect Prayer (location, service times, and other details are here).

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Lord's Prayer, prayer, sermon. 1 Comment »

Can You Have Too Much Blessing?

January 7, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I seldom turn on religious TV shows, because when I do I typically hear the same two messages: (1) God wants you to be rich; (2) God wants you to be healthy. I believe God is good all the time, but that doesn’t mean those who follow Him always get wealth and health.

Consider this:

After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all of Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord.

Notice: When Rehoboam was healthy and wealthy, he abandoned God. When things looked bleak—when the future for Rehoboam was very much in doubt—Rehoboam was “walking in the ways of David and Solomon” (2 Chronicles 11:17). When the Egyptians attacked, Rehoboam and his court officials “humbled themselves before God” (12:6).

Health and wealth derailed Rehoboam, but difficulties kept him close to God.

Maybe a better prayer than “Bless me” would be “Build Your character in me.” Or as it says in Proverbs:

Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

The prayer that Jesus taught us to pray is perfect: Give us today our daily bread—no more, no less. That keeps me focused on my Heavenly Father.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Chronicles, blessing, daily bread, difficulties, God's provision, health, Heavenly Father, humility, Lord's Prayer, prayer, proverbs, Rehoboam, trials, wealth. 1 Comment »

Pray First, Then Preach

January 6, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, not only is this a week of prayer for our church, but I have also declared 2011 to be The Year Of Answered Prayer. As a result, I’m reading and studying more about prayer, and praying more too.

This post is mostly for my fellow pastors.

Pastors, I came across two quotes this morning to which we should pay careful attention. The first is from Augustine’s On Christian Teaching, and the second is from E.M. Bounds’ Power Through Prayer.

“He should be in no doubt that any ability he has and however much he has derives more from his devotion to prayer than his dedication to oratory; and so, by praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he must become a man of prayer before becoming a man of words. As the hour of his address approaches, before he opens his thrusting lips he should lift his thirsting soul to God so that he may utter what he has drunk in and pour out what has filled him.” —Augustine

“The character of our praying will determine the character of our preaching. Light praying will make light preaching. … The preacher must be preeminently a man of prayer. His heart must graduate in the school of prayer. In the school of prayer only can the heart learn to preach.” —E.M. Bounds

Before you prepare it, pray it.

Before you preach it, pray it.

After you preach it, pray it some more.

Pastors, let’s be men and women of prayer before we’re men and women of words.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: Augustine, E.M. Bounds, pastoring, pastors, prayer, preaching, quotes. 2 Comments »

Thursdays With Oswald—A Passion For Christ, Not Souls

January 6, 2011 — 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 Passion For Christ, Not Souls

The reason some of us have no power in our preaching, no sense of awe, is that we have no passion for God, but only a passion for Humanity….

It is not a passion for men that saves men; a passion for men breaks human hearts. The passion for Christ inwrought by the Holy Spirit goes deeper down than the deepest agony the world, the flesh and the devil can produce. It goes straight down to where Our Lord went, and the Holy Spirit works out, not in thinking, but in living, this passion for Christ.

From Approved Unto God

Wow, tough word. But it’s true: If I love Christ more than my loved ones, I will love my loved ones even better. A passion for Christ will win others to Christ; a passion for souls will only lead to building my ministry.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's love, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, passion, pastors, preaching, priority. 1 Comment »

No Ear = No Heart

January 5, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Israel’s early history goes something like this: King David firmly established Israel’s boundaries, King Solomon built on David’s success, then King Rehoboam split the country in half.

As Rehoboam became king the people asked him to reconsider the working conditions that existed under his father Solomon. Rehoboam consulted with his father’s counselors, who advised him to listen to the people. Then he consulted with his friends, who told him to make the working conditions even harsher. Unfortunately, Rehoboam listened to his friends’ advice.

Here’s what happened:

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So all the Israelites went home.

The people didn’t rebel because they didn’t get the answer they wanted; they rebelled because their leader didn’t listen to them. This word for listen means:

pay attention
carefully consider
empathize

The people felt rejected because Rehoboam didn’t listen. In essence, they said,

“We don’t have your ear, so you won’t get our heart!”

A leader doesn’t have to give in, nor does he have to give the people everything they ask for. But he does have to listen—truly listen. He has to put himself in their place and feel what they feel.

People will never give a leader their buy-in or support if they don’t feel they have his ear.

No ear of the leader = No heart of the people

Hey, leaders, are you listening?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Chronicles, conflict resolution, David, leadership, listening, Rehoboam, Solomon. 1 Comment »

No Fast Food Prayers

January 5, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

If there is one thing the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me during our week of prayer, it’s this: I need to spend more time praying for people.

Not more time studying for Sunday morning messages. Not more time reading. Not even more time hanging out with people. But praying for them.

Not more time talking to them. Not more time thinking about them. But more time talking to God about them.

There is nothing better I can do.

And not just a “fast food” prayer, either, but deliberate, personalized prayer. Look what David wrote:

Don’t they know anything, all these impostors? Don’t they know they can’t get away with this—Treating people like a fast-food meal over which they’re too busy to pray? (Psalm 14:4, The Message)

Bull’s-eye!

Time to get back to praying…

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: family, friends, intercession, loved ones, prayer, Psalm. Leave a Comment »

Banished Words

January 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Lake Superior State University releases a list of banished words each year (the list for 2011 is here). These are words that have gotten over-used and lost their meaning. I can’t say that I agree with the entire list, but it’s pretty accurate.