Thursdays With Oswald—The Intimacy Of God

March 15, 2012 — 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.

The Intimacy Of God

     The 139th Psalm ought to be the personal experience of every Christian. My own introspection, or exploration of myself, will lead me astray, but when I realize not only that God knows me, but that He is the only One who does, I see the vital importance of intercessory introspection. Every man is too big for himself, thank God for everyone who realizes it and, like the Psalmist, hands himself over to be searched out by God. We only know ourselves as God searches us. ‘God knows me’ is different from ‘God is omniscient’; the latter is a mere theological statement; the former is a child of God’s most precious possession—‘O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me.’

From Biblical Ethics

I love the line, “We only know ourselves as God searches us.”

He knows me better than I know myself. If I ever hope to mature, I can only do so as I make this my daily prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23,24)

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Listen To This!

March 14, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

There are a lot of voices out there. A lot! Facebook, Twitter, email, texts, news reports, conversations with friends, opinions of experts, sermons from pastors.

Jesus said,

I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not accept Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. (John 5:43)

How quickly I tune in to…

…that expert

…this esteemed pastor

…that doctor

…this teacher

…that specialist

…this author

…that friend

But all he or she can share is what he or she knows.

When Jesus speaks, it is with all the wisdom that is known, AND with all the wisdom that hasn’t even been discovered by man yet. He is all-knowing, all-wise, all loving. Jesus should always be my first and final authority.

Am I listening to His words? Or am I tuning in to someone else?

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We Must Pray

March 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I don’t want to make my plans, and then ask God to bless them.

Instead, I want to ask God what He will bless, and then go do that.

There’s a huge difference. In order to know the difference, we must pray!

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“Let it be a standing ordinance in the church that at certain times and occasions many shall meet together to pray, and supplication shall be their sole object. The private Christian will read, and hear, and meditate, but none of these can be a substitute for prayer: the same truth holds good upon the larger scale, the church should listen to her teachers, and receive edification from gospel ordinances, but she must also pray; nothing can compensate for the neglect of devotion.”

I have called for our church to have times that prayer will be our sole object. On Friday, March 23, and Friday, March 30, we will be meeting to pray. No singing, no devotional thoughts; just prayer for an hour starting at 5:30pm. If you are in the area, I welcome you to join us. If you’re not in the area, you can still join us in prayer.

Specifically, we’ll be praying for God to move on people’s hearts as we approach the Passion Week. We don’t want to just make a bunch of plans. We want to know what God would have us do during that week that will glorify His Name.

We must pray!

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Can We Truly Call Ourselves “Christian”?

March 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

These are eye-opening statistics from noted church researcher Thom Rainer:

  • 82% of unchurched people are likely to attend church if someone invites them.
  • 7-out-of-10 unchurched people have never been invited in their entire lifetime!
  • That’s because only 2% of church members invite someone to come.

Friends, this ought not be!

I’m looking myself squarely in the mirror when I ask this:

Why am I not inviting more people?!

Check out what J.C. Ryle wrote:

“We ought to feel compassion when we think of the wretched state of unconverted souls, and the misery of all men and women who live and die without Christ. No poverty like this poverty! No disease like this disease! No slavery like this slavery! No death like this…. I lay it down boldly, as a great principle, that the Christianity which does not make a person feel for the state of unconverted people is not the Christianity which came down from heaven hundreds of years ago, and is [displayed] in the New Testament. It is a mere empty name.”

I don’t want to be a Christian in name only. I want my life to embody the love and life of Christ. He loved all of humanity so much that He came to die as payment for our sins. He paid the price so we could live.

Why am I not telling more people about this incredible, life-changing news?!

I want to make a HUGE dent in these statistics!

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Every Sunday Is Easter

March 12, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

At most churches, Easter Sunday is the most well-attended service of the year. Perhaps this is appropriate, since the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone event of the Christian faith. Without Christ’s resurrection, what hope would we have?!

The first Christians were so convinced of the life-changing power of this singular event that they began to gather for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday), in honor of the resurrection. For them, every Sunday was resurrection Sunday.

What if we treated every Sunday like Easter?

Would we invite more people to church? I’m sure we would!

Of all the days of the week we could pick to gather together, why Sunday? Because Sunday reminds us of what happened 2000 years ago at a garden tomb in Jerusalem. Jesus arose from the dead!

When I look at the first followers of Jesus (see John 1:35-51), I see something amazingly simple in the lives of Andrew and Philip. It’s as simple as 1-2-3…

  1. They encountered Jesus.
  2. They immediately went to find a friend to tell them about this encounter.
  3. They invited their friend to “Come and see” Jesus for themselves.

Has Jesus changed your life? Then find a friend and say, “Come and see!” Don’t wait for Easter Sunday to invite someone to meet Jesus. Invite them to come this Sunday! (If you don’t have a church home, and you live in West Michigan, I invite you to come join me at Calvary Assembly of God.)

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Who Are You?

March 9, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This is another post especially for pastors (but I think others will find this helpful too).

John the Baptizer had no credentials, and yet people flocked to hear him speak.

He had no formal training, and yet people hung on his every word.

He had no authority from a sanctioning body, and yet he spoke with such power.

This perplexed the religious leadership. After all, they had credentials, training, and authority. So they came to John asking, “Who are you? What do you have to say about yourself?” (John 1:21-22).

If God has called you to the pastorate, He will equip you.

There’s nothing wrong with credentials, training, or sanctioning, per se. But when you think your call to preach has authority because of your title, your training, or your denominational appointment, you have missed the point! John had none of these, and yet Jesus said, “There’s never been a greater prophetic voice!”

So, pastor, who are you?

Are you the one who is credentialed, or trained, or sanctioned?

Or are you the one who has been called and equipped by God?

There’s a huge difference!

Who are you? I hope you can answer, “I am only a servant of the Most High, equipped by the Holy Spirit to make Jesus known in my city.”

UPDATE: I use John the Baptist as a prominent example in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Seeing Sin As Sin

March 8, 2012 — 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.

Seeing Sin As Sin

     Knowledge of what sin is is in inverse ratio to its presence; only as sin goes do you realize what it is; when it is present you do not realize what it is because the nature of sin is that it destroys the capacity to know you sin. …

     To ‘crucify’ means to put to death, not counteract, not sit on, not whitewash, but kill. If I do not put to death the things in me which are not of God, they will put to death the things that are of God.

From Biblical Ethics

Romans 7 tells me that there are two forces at work in my life: God and sin. This is a battle to the death! So, if I think I am standing firm, that’s the exact time to watch out (see 1 Corinthians 10:12).

God never turns away the one who prays to Him, “Be merciful to me, a sinner.” But He turns a deaf ear to the one that claims, “I’m alright.”

May I always be VERY sensitive to even the hint of sin in my heart.

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Always Be The Majority

March 7, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

In Acts 27, Paul is on his way to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. The weather has hindered them, so they are currently behind schedule. As they are docked at a town called Lasea, Paul advises the ship’s crew that they should stay right where they are.

But then comes this key phrase: “The majority decided that we should sail on” (Acts 27:12).

The majority in this case includes the sailing experts: the sailors, the ship captain, and even the ship’s owner. Julius, the centurion in charge of Paul, even sided with the majority.

But the majority was wrong.

As the ship is being ripped apart and driven way off course by a fierce storm, this majority even begins to give up on living through this nightmare.

But one man—Paul—with a word from God and “faith in God that it will happen just as He told me” (v. 25), became the most influential voice. From this point on, everyone listened to Paul: the sailors, the captain, the centurion.

One man + Faith in God’s Word = A Majority

Are you in a storm?

Is the majority telling you what you should do?

What has God said to you? Have you heard His Word?

Once you hear from God, cling to that Word in faith, and you will be the influential majority.

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Where’s God?

March 7, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

It is one of the most painful, gut-wrenching cries in all of history. Hanging on the Cross, suspended between Heaven and earth, Jesus Christ cries out, “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?!”

Ever been there?

Ever been in such a dark, painful place that you wonder if God has abandoned you?

You are not alone.

We’ve all been there. And best of all, Jesus Himself has been there. The Bible tells us that because Jesus has been there—where your pain is so intense, and the darkness is pitch-black—that He is the best One to help you.

Next Sunday we are kicking off a brand new series called Where’s God? In the darkest moments of our lives, where is God? what is He doing? how can anything good come from this? Please come join us.

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series, check them our here:

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Praying, Praying, And Praying Some More

March 6, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I start each new year teaching a series on prayer at my church. This year I also began by reading Mark Batterson’s excellent new book on prayer called The Circle Maker.

So 2012 has been a more prayerful year for me so far. As a result, I am hearing about and seeing miracles take place in my life, and throughout our church. You know what this is doing in me? Increasing my desire to pray more!

Charles Spurgeon wrote,

“We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. The motto for this year must be, Continue in prayer.”

But some of the things I am praying for have been on my prayer list for a long time. It appears that an answer hasn’t come… yet. You know what this is doing in me? Increasing my desire to pray more!

Here’s what Mark Batterson said,

“Some prayers go unanswered because they aren’t what’s best for us. Some prayers go unanswered because they don’t glorify God. Some prayers go unanswered because they aren’t part of God’s will. But while God doesn’t always ANSWER our prayers the way we want, we can be confident that He HEARS our prayers! And our Father knows best.”

Have you seen answers to your prayers? Keep on praying!

Are you waiting for answers to your prayers? Keep on praying!

And then pray some more!!

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