Making The Hard Easy

May 16, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Can you relate to this?

     I know the right things I’m supposed to do, and I also know the wrong things I’m not supposed to do. I try my very best to do the right and avoid the wrong, but far too many times I find myself not doing the right things, and (even worse) discover I’m doing the wrong thing.

     I say, “Enough of this!” and I vow (again!) to stop doing the wrong things, and I redouble my efforts (again!) to begin doing the right things. It seems like this is working, but only for a little while. Then I’m right back into the same old habit of doing those wrong things again.

     It shouldn’t be this hard! After all, it’s so easy to tell right from wrong. So why do I keep on doing the wrong things?! Why can’t I keep on doing the right things?!

     Is there any hope for me? (my paraphrase of Romans 8:17-24) 

If you’ve ever felt like that, you’re in good company because that’s just how the Apostle Paul said he struggled with right and wrong. But keep on reading, because he also shared how he overcame this struggle. He said, “Those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

The Holy Spirit can help you do right, and avoid wrong. But you have to yield to Him.

I love what A.J. Gordon wrote—

“It costs much to obtain the power of the Spirit: It costs self-surrender and humiliation and a yielding up of our most precious things to God; it costs the perseverance of long waiting, and the faith of strong trust. But when we are really in that power, we shall find this difference, that whereas before, it was hard for us to do the easiest things, now it is easy for us to do the hard things.”

How would you rather live: finding it hard to do the easiest things … or finding it easy to do the hardest things?

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Out Of The Box

May 13, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I know firsthand the difference the Holy Spirit has made in my life. Which is why I’m so excited to kick off a brand new series this Sunday called Out Of The Box: Unleashing The Power of the Holy Spirit.

…the Holy Spirit makes the Father’s love more real

…the Holy Spirit makes the Christ-like life more livable

…the Holy Spirit makes the Bible more readable

…the Holy Spirit makes extraordinary living more attainable!

And this Out Of The Box life is for everyone. A.W. Tozer wrote:

“For the Holy Spirit is not a luxury, not something added now and again to produce a deluxe type of Christian once in a generation. No, He is for every child of God a vital necessity, and that He fill and indwell His people is more than a languid hope. It is rather an inescapable imperative.” (emphasis mine)

I hope you can join us at Calvary Assembly of God this Sunday at 10:30am.

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The Measure Of A Man

May 13, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

An anonymous poem that should make any man or woman ponder the impact of their legacy…

Not “How did he die?”

But “How did he live?”

Not “What did he gain?”

But “What did he give?”

These are the units

To measure the worth

Of a man as a man

Regardless of birth.

Not “What was his station?”

But “Had he a heart?”

And how did he play

His God-given part?

Was he ever ready

With a word of good cheer,

To bring back a smile,

To banish a tear?

  Not “What did the sketch in the newspaper say?”

But “How many were sorry when he passed away?”

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You’re Better Than A Star

May 12, 2011 — 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.

Astronomers admit that they cannot observe the entire universe, because it’s simply too vast for any equipment that has been made. In the Milky Way galaxy alone there are something like 10 trillion stars.

But that’s just one galaxy.

Astronomers used to estimate that there are another 10 trillion galaxies, but they have recently admitted that there are likely three times more stars than they originally thought. Which makes the total number in the observable universe 300 sextillion stars.

300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars

But here’s what is more amazing: God knows each of those stars by name!

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

As awesome as the stars are, here’s what God thinks about you…

When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—the moon and the stars You set in place—what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them? Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:3-5)

And most amazingly of all, God not only knows the 300 sextillion stars by name, but He knows you by name too (Exodus 33:17)!

Friend, in God’s eyes you shine brighter than a star! He knows you by name. If not one star is missing from His view, how much more does He see you!

If you’re feeling discouraged or alone or forgotten, step outside tonight and look up at the stars. God knows them all by name, but He knows you too—and He thinks the world of you!

You are not alone—God sees you and He loves you!

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

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Thursdays With Oswald—A Strong Weakness

May 12, 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 Strong Weakness

Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death. (Job 10:20-21)

     “I see no way out,” says Job. He lies down, not in weakness, but in absolute exhaustion. Job is not talking in a petted mood, but saying that unless God will be a Refuge for him, there is no way out, death is the only thing. In every crisis of life, as represented in the Old Testament as well as in the teaching of Our Lord, this aspect of God is emphasized—“God is our Refuge”; yet until we are hit by sorrow, it is the last thing we seek for God to be. There is a difference between the weakness of refusing to think and the weakness that comes from facing facts as they really are. Job is seeing for the first time that God is the only Refuge, the only way out for him; yet he cannot get at Him through his creed, it is all confusion; the only thing to do is to fling himself on God.

From Baffled To Fight Better

“The only thing to do is to fling [myself] on God.”

Alas, how many times does this become my last resort! Why don’t I learn to fling myself on God my Refuge as my first resort? I must remember this: For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

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Winner Or Whiner?

May 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

This morning on John Maxwell’s “Minute With Maxwell” he said: “Winners know they have to do the right thing and then they’ll feel good. Whiners want to feel good before they do the right thing.”

I have learned this is true in my life. If I wait until I feel like do something, I’ll make all kinds of excuses to avoid doing it. But if I do what I know I’m supposed to do I’ll feel good that I did it.

Good feelings follow good actions.

Winners do right to feel good.

Whiners wait to feel right before they do anything.

Behavioral psychologist William James wrote: “Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not. Thus the sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if our cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully and to act and speak as if cheerfulness were already there.” (emphasis mine)

So let me ask you: Are you going to be a winner or a whiner today?

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How To Win Friends And Influence People (book review)

May 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Dale Carnegie wrote How To Win Friends And Influence People over 70 years ago. It’s stood the test of time and has—rightly so—earned the label “classic.”

Have you read it? I’ve certainly heard lots of people reference it, and I’ve seen other authors quote portions of this classic work. But honestly I hadn’t read it for myself. I had sort of assumed that I knew all that was in this book just because I had read so many snippets from others.

But I was wrong. Dead wrong. Now I’m almost kicking myself for having waited so long to read this. The principles in this classic about how to deal with people in the right ways would have saved me a lot of grief. Who knows, it may have even helped me to win more friends and perhaps even influence more people. But it’s never too late to start.

I love this Carnegie thought: “Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? Good! That is fine. I am all in favor of it. But why not begin on yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint, that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others—yes, and a lot less dangerous. So I’m beginning on myself.”

If you haven’t read this classic, get it, read it, and begin to improve your relationships.

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You Were Born For This (book review)

May 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love the way Bruce Wilkinson makes biblical truths so exciting and live-able. You Were Born For This is no exception.

The idea behind this book is that God does miracles every day, but He usually calls on people to deliver those miracles. That’s what we were born to do. Bruce writes:

“You see, God did not place you on this earth to notice Him at work only once or twice in your whole life. He did not create you to consistently miss out on the wonder of His presence and power. The truth is, you were born to live a supernatural life doing God’s work by God’s power. You were born to walk out your door each morning believing that God will use you to deliver a necessary miracle today.”

Using a powerful combination of scriptural and personal examples, Bruce makes the case that God wants to use everyone of us as His delivery agents. He shows us that the Holy Spirit is nudging us to see the needs right in front of us. And then Bruce shows us how we can be a part of the delivery process.

One more quote from the book:

“When you and I purposely ask God to send us to do His work on earth, we take on a completely different role in our day. We are now people sent from God, His delivery agents. We walk out the door knowing that He could have a miracle (a delivery through us) for anyone we meet. Why? Because, from God’s point of view, everyone, everywhere, at all times is in need. God knows about every need, and He cares about each one. That’s why He loves to send servants who are passionate about delivering visible proofs of His goodness and glory.”

As always when I finish a Bruce Wilkinson book, I’m seeing the world differently now. I’m ready to be God’s miracle delivery agent. If you are ready to see God’s miracles happen around you time and time again, I highly recommend this book as a great place to start.

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Coasting

May 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

When I was in the 6th grade my school was at the end of a dead-end street, which was at the top of a not-too-steep hill. Coming home from school we would try to see how far we could coast on our bikes before we had to start pedaling. We’d pedal really hard across the parking lot, and then start coasting as we hit the top of the hill. I think my record was nearly four blocks!

Coasting is so much fun! It’s easy and exciting, and involves no work at all. Your legs are never tired at the end of a long coasting spree.

But you can only coast downhill. (Well, okay, I guess you might be able to coast for a short distance on level ground, but not nearly as far.)

Downhill might be fun on a bike, but it’s a lousy way to live. Solomon wrote:

The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave. (Proverbs 15:24)

Coasting is easy, but it’s taking you in the wrong direction.

Coasting doesn’t cause any muscle pain, but it doesn’t build any muscle strength either.

Coasting is fun for awhile, but the longer you coast, the harder the journey back.

Save coasting for your bike rides, but in your life be very cautious of coasting too long.

Instead…

  • Keep learning new things
  • Keep reading challenging things
  • Keep growing in new areas
  • Keep setting stretching goals
  • Keep forgiving
  • Keep strengthening relationships
  • Keep climbing higher and higher

It may be work to climb to the top, but the view is incredible!

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Never Surrender (book review)

May 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In my estimation Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin is a true American hero, and Never Surrender is a great motto for us all to adopt.

Never Surrender is an autobiographical account of how General Boykin served our country in some of the deadliest and harshest places on the planet. But woven throughout his life story is this unmistakable message: Know what you believe in, and never surrender to the adversaries who try to get you to back down.

General Boykin has had such a movie-like military career: getting selected to be in the first Delta Force unit ever created, hunting down terrorists and drug lords, rescuing hostages, and even battling the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., and the talking heads of the mainstream media. It’s sad to read that a patriot as committed to the protection of America and democracy-loving people around the world would come under such much fire from fellow Americans because he was so vocal about his faith in Christ. It’s almost appalling to realize that this patriot’s most vocal critics were right here in the USA!

Despite the smear campaigns and half-truths, despite the garbage the media spewed out about Gen. Boykin, he never backed down and he never surrendered. In the end, he was completely exonerated. Oh yeah, along the way, Gen. Boykin and his Delta Force operatives kept us a whole lot safer. And for that we’re all indebted to this proud soldier.

This book reads like a military novel—it’s a real page-turner! I highly recommend it.

I am a Faith Words book reviewer.

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