Endless Noise

October 22, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

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The psalmist said it this way, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

The apostle Paul said, “Study to be quiet” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).

And the prophet Elijah learned that God was not in the big crashing, jarring noises but in “a still small Voice” (1 Kings 19:12).

We are bombarded by noise. Are we missing God in all the noise? When was the last time I was quiet? Quiet enough to hear His still small Voice?

Nearly 80 years ago T.S. Eliot wrote a poem called Choruses From The Rock. Check out this passage—

The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust.


Jesus found time early in the silent morning to get alone with His Father. We would do well to follow this example. Let’s make some quiet time today to hear what God is saying to our hearts.




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Sola Gratia

October 22, 2012 — Craig T. Owens 




Another great thought that the Reformation brought us is sola gratia—salvation is by grace alone.


If you are a Christian you have probably said something like, “I thank God that I’m saved!” This is a wonderful thing, but it’s also an incomplete statement. In order to fully appreciate God’s grace, and in order to have a full testimony for others, we need to work on completing this statement.


We’re saved FROM the punishment of justice.


We’re saved TO eternal life.


We’re saved FOR God’s glory.


But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)


—Saved From Death— …it is by grace you have been saved…


—Saved To Eternal Life—…God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…


—Saved For God’s Glory— …in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace…


You can fully appreciate the incomparable riches of God’s grace when you understand all that your salvation includes: from, to, and for. Look at the incredible testimony of grace that the Apostle Paul had in the from, to, and for thoughts in his statement in 1 Timothy 1:12-17.


That’s the same type of testimony we can all have! Don’t just tell people, “I’m saved!” Tell them how God’s grace saved you from the penalty of your sins, to eternal life in Christ, and for the glory of God.


If you have missed any of the messages in this series, you can find them all here.






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