April | 2014 | Craig T. Owens

April 2014
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Links & Quotes

April 10, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading from today.

“All of the advertising we can do will never equal the interest and participation in the things of God resulting from the gracious answers to the prayers of faith generated by the Holy Spirit.” —A.W. Tozer

“The state of the times extremely requires a fullness of the divine Spirit in ministers, and we ought to give ourselves no rest till we have obtained it. And in order to [do] this, I should think ministers, above all persons, ought to be much in secret prayer and fasting, and also much in praying and fasting one with another. It seems to me it would be becoming the circumstances of the present day, if ministers in a neighborhood would often meet together and spend days in fasting and fervent prayer among themselves, earnestly seeking for those extraordinary supplies of divine grace from heaven, that we need at this day.” —Jonathan Edwards

Why is the media not in an uproar over this?! Pakistani Girls Forced to Renounce Christianity And Marry Muslims

“There is a bond: He takes it and crosses it all out and hands it back to you, and says, ‘There is a full discharge, I have blotted it all out.’ So does the Lord deal with penitents. He has a book in which all your debts are written; but with the blood of Christ He crosses out the handwriting of ordinances which is there written against you. The bond is destroyed, and He will not demand payment for it again. The devil will sometimes insinuate to the contrary, as he did to Martin Luther. ‘Bring me the catalogue of my sins,’ said Luther; and he brought a scroll black and long. ‘Is that all?’ said Luther. ‘No,’ said the devil; and he brought yet another. ‘And now,’ said the heroic saint of God, ‘write at the foot of the scroll: “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin.”’ That is a full discharge.” —Charles Spurgeon

Funny, but instructional, from Ken Davis: Five Super Powers Of Effective Leaders!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Charles Spurgeon, Christianity, church, devil, exploited children, fasting, forgiveness, Islam, Jesus Christ, Jonathan Edwards, Ken Davis, leadership, Martin Luther, pastors, persecution, prayer, quotes, sin. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

April 9, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading from today.

“What satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” —C.S. Lewis

“Leadership requires vision, and whence will vision come except from hours spent in the presence of God in humble and fervent prayer?” —A.W. Tozer

[INFOGRAPHIC] Christ’s activities during the Passion Week.

I am proud of my heritage in the Assemblies of God, which is celebrating its centennial this year. Read the history of the fellowship’s creation here and here.

[VIDEO] Logan finds out he’s going to be a big brother.

Astronomers may have found some dark matter at the center of our galaxy. That’s cool, but if we can accept this science by faith, why can’t we accept the biblical version by faith?

Research says forgiving yourself makes you healthier physically.

“When should a Christian, then, be like Jesus Christ? Is there a time when he may strip off his regimentals—when the warrior may unbuckle his armor, and become like other men? Oh! no; at all times, and in every place let the Christian be what he professes to be.” —Charles Spurgeon

Links & Quotes

April 8, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading from today.

“Why do we take a railway guide and arrange for a particular journey? … Well, one has confidence in the reliability of these official publications. As a rule we are not put to shame! Now, just as we use a railway guide we must use our Bible. We must depend on God’s Word just as we depend on man’s word, only remembering that though man may not be able to carry out his promise, God will always fulfill what He has said.” —Hudson Taylor

More archeological finds in Israel confirm the historicity of the Bible: Canaanite Fortress Discovered.

Explain to me again how this is legal (or humane!): Nurse tells grisly tale of partial-birth abortions.

The New York Post finds that tanning salons are inspected more than abortion clinics.

Medical science shows stress in the home adversely effects chromosomes in kids.

“Distractions must be conquered or they will conquer us. So let us cultivate simplicity; let us want fewer things; let us walk in the Spirit; let us fill our minds with the Word of God and our hearts with praise. In that way we can live in peace even in such a distraught world as this.” —A.W. Tozer

“If indeed the name of the eternal God is named upon us, we are secure; for, as of old, a Roman had but to say Romanus sum, I am a Roman, and he could claim the protection of all the legions of the vast empire; so everyone who is a man of God has omnipotence as his guardian, and God will sooner empty heaven of angels then leave a saint without defense. Be braver than lions for the right, for God is with you.” —Charles Spurgeon

“How one learns to be thankful for each day on which one can still do something.” —Karl Barth

Links & Quotes

April 7, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading (and watching) from today.

[VIDEO] John Maxwell with some great advice for overcoming procrastination. (Don’t put off watching this one!)

[VIDEOS] I love what this digital effects specialist from Dreamworks does with his 3-year-old son!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Dad, father, John Maxwell, kids, procrastination, video. Leave a Comment »

Healed Healer

April 7, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Martha has gotten a bad rap throughout history. So many people jump on her for buzzing around her home trying to make sure Jesus, His disciples, and all of the other guests were taken care of. She was attempting to be a good hostess.

But let’s read her story again carefully (see Luke 10:38-42). Notice first of all that Martha “opened her home” to Jesus. She took the responsibility for making sure Jesus felt welcomed in her home.

Next notice how Jesus addressed Martha. He said “Martha, Martha.” There are no unnecessary words in the Scripture, so His repeating her name is significant. Jesus alone speaks like this in all of the New Testament: only He repeats someone’s name to make sure He has their undivided attention—

Simon, Simon (Luke 22:31) when warning him that satan is after him.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem (Luke 13:34) to the people who could be helped by Him.
My God, My God (Matthew 27:46) to His Father from the Cross.
Saul, Saul (Acts 9:4) to the young zealot who was persecuting Christ.

Jesus was not scolding Martha, but He was trying to get her attention. Jesus told her she was “worried and upset about many things.” By contrast Mary was focused on one thing: soaking up Christ’s words. It’s hard to be hospitable when you’re doing it in your own strength. It’s hard to be a healer when you need healing yourself.

In an amazing turnaround, Jesus became the Host. He wanted Martha to see that having a relationship with Him is THE priority. Everything else flows from that.

It’s not coincidental that both hospitality and hospital come from the same root word meaning a place of healing.

You are HEALED when you make Christ at home in your heart.
You are a HEALER when your heart makes others feel at home.

This is the essence of being God-oriented and then people-focused. This is when YOU can be a healed healer!

Think about this: What does it mean to you to make Jesus at home in your heart? What’s stopping you from receiving His healing today? It’s only after you’ve been healed that you can bring healing to others.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Gospel of Luke, healer, healing, hospitality, Jesus Christ, Martha, priority. Leave a Comment »

Hospitality

April 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some folks have asked me to post the Max Lucado quotes on hospitality that I shared this morning.

“Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions on faces. In the auditorium one person speaks; around the table everyone has a voice. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk. Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community.” —Max Lucado

“If we wait until everything is perfect, we’ll never issue an invitation. Remember this: what is common to you is a banquet to someone else. You think your house is small, but to the lonely heart, it is a castle. You think the living room is a mess, but to the person whose life is a mess, your house is a sanctuary. You think the meal is simple, but to those who eat alone every night, pork and beans on paper plates tastes like filet mignon.” —Max Lucado

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: dinner, family, food, home, hospitality, loneliness, Max Lucado, quotes. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

April 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some links to some interesting reading and quotes I found this weekend.

Eric Metaxas shares some interesting archeological finds: Make No Camel Bones About It.

“No man has any moral right to go before the people who has not first been long before the Lord. No man has any right to speak to men about God who has not first spoken to God about men. And the prophet of God should spend more time in the secret place praying than he spends in the public place preaching.” —A.W. Tozer

A couple of family men (not!): Sports radio hosts blast player for taking paternity leave. UPDATE: I was glad to see that one of these guys, Boomer Esiason, apologized for these remarks. Good job, Boomer!

Helpful post for parents: How To Notice Changes In Our Kids.

“How many have we in our churches of crab tree Christians, who have mixed such a vast amount of vinegar, and such a tremendous quantity of gall in their constitutions, that they can scarcely speak one good word to you; they imagine it impossible to defend religion except by passionate ebullitions; they cannot speak for their dishonored Master without being angry with their opponent; God if anything is away, whether it be in the house, the church, or anywhere else, they conceive it to be their duty to set their faces like a flint, and to defy everybody. They are like isolated icebergs; no one cares to go near them. They float about on the sea of forgetfulness, until at last they are melted and gone; and though, good souls, we shall be happy enough to meet them in heaven, we are heartily glad to get rid of them from the earth. They were always so unamiable in disposition, that we would rather live an eternity with them in heaven, than five minutes on earth. Be ye not thus, my brethren. Imitate Christ in your loving spirits; speak kindly, act kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, ‘He has been with Jesus.’” —Charles Spurgeon

Rush Limbaugh’s take on the resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich.

“To be a Christian it is necessary that he serve his generation as well as his God.” —A.W. Tozer

“God’s presence is not the same as the feeling of God’s presence and He may be doing most for us when we think He is doing least.” —C.S. Lewis

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, archeology, baseball, Bible, Boomer Esiason, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, children, Christian, Dad, Eric Metaxas, father, God's presence, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, kids, parenting, pastors, politics, prayer, preaching, quotes, Rush Limbaugh, sports. Leave a Comment »

Spring (time) Cleaning

April 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

This is a reprint of an article I wrote for this week’s Cedar Springs Post.

Now that it appears that—let’s cross our fingers—Spring has finally sprung, many people will be throwing open the windows, airing out the house, and cleaning up some things that have accumulated over the long, icy winter. Ah, yes, the annual rites of spring cleaning!

One place that lots of things accumulate is our schedule. Between sports schedules, church activities, music lessons, grocery store trips, making meals, parent-teacher conferences, birthday parties, and so many other things, our schedules are packed chockfull.

In our relationships love is typically spelled “t-i-m-e.” So if you don’t have enough t-i-m-e to express your love, perhaps some spring cleaning is needed.

A few things to remember:

(1) Time is finite. You cannot call a time-out, you cannot bank up some time for another day, you cannot slow down the clock. Once you commit to something, that time is gone forever.

(2) It’s okay to say “No.” A friend of mine recently shared this thought: Whenever you say “Yes” to anything, there is less of you and your time for something else. So make sure your “Yes” is worth the “less.” If the “less” is t-i-m-e with your loved ones, please say a guilt-free “No, thank you.”

(3) Make your “Yes” mean yes. If you do decide to commit to something, then honor your commitment. Jesus said, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37). And wise King Solomon warned, “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

(4) Time is your servant, not the other way around. Make your time work for you; don’t be a slave to the clock. A good indication that you’re the slave and not the master is that feeling like you are always running late for everything. Cut out some non-essentials like TV time or countless Facebook hours so you can make t-i-m-e for what’s really important.

Happy Spring (time) Cleaning!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Cedar Springs Post, Facebook, relationships, television, time, time management. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—If

April 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

‘Twixt what thou art, and what thou wouldst be, let

No “If” arise on which to lay the blame.

Man makes a mountain of that puny word,

But, like a blade of grass before the scythe,

It falls and withers when a human will,

Stirred by creative force, sweeps toward its aim.

Thou wilt be what thou couldst be. Circumstance

Is but the toy of genius. When a soul

Burns with a god-like purpose to achieve,

All obstacles between it and its goal

Must vanish as the dew before the sun.

“If” is the motto of the dilettante

And idle dreamer; ‘tis the poor excuse

Of mediocrity. The truly great

Know not the word, or know it but to scorn,

Else had Joan of Arc a peasant died,

Uncrowned by glory and by men unsung. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: action, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, excuses, Joan of Arc, mediocrity, poetry, purpose. Leave a Comment »

Pray More Than Preach

April 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Pastors, please read this…

“No man should stand before an audience who has not first stood before God. Many hours of communion should precede one hour in the pulpit. The prayer chamber should be more familiar than the public platform. Prayer should be continuous, preaching but intermittent. …See to it that we pray more than we preach and we will never preach ourselves out. Stay with God in the secret place longer than we are with men in the public place and the fountain of our wisdom will never dry up. Keep our hearts open to the inflowing Spirit and we will not become exhausted by the outflow. Cultivate the acquaintance of God more than the friendship of men and we will always have abundance of bread to give to the hungry.” —A.W. Tozer