This is an absolutely brilliant description by Professor Walter Williams of the morality and viability of free-market capitalism. Please take just 5 minutes to get educated on this.
Is Capitalism Moral?
September 16, 2015 — Craig T. OwensA Half Dozen Quotes From C.S. Lewis
September 16, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Whenever is it not a good day for some quotes from C.S. Lewis?!
“It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” —C.S. Lewis
“Obedience is the road to freedom, humility the road to pleasure, unity the road to personality.” —C.S. Lewis
“The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly ‘as to the Lord.’ This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow. We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation.” —C.S. Lewis
“The Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Acts. The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the ‘gospel’ or good news which the Christians brought.” —C.S. Lewis
“An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers. He is trying to get into touch with God. But if he is a Christian he knows that what is prompting him to pray is also God: God, so to speak, inside him. But he also knows that all his real knowledge of God comes through Christ, the Man who was God—that Christ is standing beside him, helping him to pray, praying for him. You see what is happening. God is the thing to which he is praying—the goal he is trying to reach. God is also the thing inside him which is pushing him on—the motive power. God is also the road or bridge along which he is being pushed to that goal. So that the whole threefold life of the three-personal Being is actually going on in that ordinary little bedroom where an ordinary man is saying his prayers. The man is being caught up into the higher kinds of life—what I called Zoe or spiritual life: he is being pulled into God, by God, while still remaining himself.” —C.S. Lewis
“Christ says ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the truth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’” —C.S. Lewis
Links & Quotes
September 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“There is something which we can do which God does. He does good to all His creatures, and we can do good also. He bears witness to His Son Jesus, and we can bear witness too. … Do you not see, brethren, that we stand on the same platform with the eternal God? When we lift our hand, He lifts up His eternal arm; when we speak, He speaks too, and speaks the same thing; when we purpose Christ’s glory, He purposes that glory too; when we long to bring home the wandering sheep, and to recall the prodigal sons, He longs to do the same.” —Charles Spurgeon
Great insight on the Kim Davis story. Check out what John Piper says.
This is a longer piece, but this attorney points out that same-sex “marriage” is not the law of the land.
Planned Parenthood is big business, and their business is abortion. Check out what they are teaching kids as young as 10-years-old about sexuality. With teaching like this, they are sure to have a steady stream of business!
For married couples, here is a healthy and healing way to handle your spouse’s sexual history.
Many people are crippled by guilt. I love the way my friend, Pastor Dave Barringer, addresses this topic in his post Done With Guilt.
Party Conversations
September 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Here is Brian Regan at his best! There are some valuable social lessons here…
Learning To See Creatively (book review)
September 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
I thoroughly enjoy photography. Looking at the way a photographer creatively captures his image has always fascinated me, and I’ll never forget the thrill of the first time I developed my own roll of film from my 35mm SLR camera. I’m still learning this art, and Bryan Peterson’s book Learning To See Creatively is a wonderful textbook to help me grow.
Although, it’s really more than just a textbook. The way Bryan walks the reader through the process of seeing the shot, setting up the shot, and processing the shot feels like I was taking a class with him, allowing me to look through his viewfinder with him. This book is chockfull of pictures that are detailed in their account of which lens he used, at what settings, and what point of attraction caught his attention.
God has given us an amazing camera in the eyes He created for us. Learning To See Creatively allows us to capture the way we are seeing the world to share with those around us. What a gift this is! Anyone interested in upping their photographic game will enjoy this book.
I am a Random House book reviewer.
Links & Quotes
September 14, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
No matter how loving Christians are, and no matter how carefully we present our beliefs, people will still be offended. Check out this short video from Alan Shlemon at Stand To Reason.
“I am considering not how, but why, [God] makes each soul unique. If He had no use for all these differences, I do not see why He should have created more souls than one. Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you. The mould in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never seen a key: and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the Divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions. For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you—you, the individual reader, John Stubbs or Janet Smith. Blessed and fortunate creature, your eyes shall behold Him and not another’s. All that you are, sins apart, is destined, if you will let God have His good way, to utter satisfaction.” —C.S. Lewis in The Problem Of Pain
“One doesn’t realize in early life that the price of freedom is loneliness. To be happy one must be tied.” —C.S. Lewis
Eric Metaxas asks, “What’s the difference between evolutionary theory and an octopus?” You will love his answer!
“We make a mistake as Christians if we hold the view that all non-Christian culture is worthless and should be avoided. This is simply not the case. God has given gifts for making culture to every human being, and very often those who do not know Him are capable of making artifacts, establishing institutions, or promoting conventions that actually are very useful for human flourishing. This is a measure of God’s common grace to all people. Believers must not despise such gifts, and we must not ignore or avoid them. … We do not repudiate those unbelieving aspects of culture which are good and useful. Rather, we appropriate all such forms, learning as much as we can about them and considering ways they might be put to use for the glory of God.” —T.M. Moore
Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood wanted to rid society of “human weeds,” and in 1925 she wrote, “We must clear the way for a better world; we must cultivate our garden.” Read more here.
“There is no rule binding with iron force upon you, for we are not under law in Christ’s church, but under grace, and grace will prompt you to do more than law might suggest….” —Charles Spurgeon
“We wouldn’t dare rob somebody of his gold watch or bank account. Yet God states clearly that slandering someone’s name is robbery of the worst kind. And we can do it in the subtlest of ways: by pointing an accusing finger, questioning one’s character, passing on tidbits of gossip. Indeed, three of the most damning words we can speak are, ‘Have you heard?’ The mere suggestion of the question robs a person of something valuable. And it defiles our own mouth.” —David Wilkerson
Frank Turek has an interesting look at the Kim Davis situation in Kentucky.
Save Souls Sinking Into Hell
September 14, 2015 — Craig T. OwensThese are sobering words from Charles Spurgeon…
“Men can be so careless about the ruin of men’s souls. Let us hear the cry of ‘Fire! fire!’ in the streets, and our heart is all in trepidation lest some poor creature should be burned alive; but we read of hell, and of the wrath to come, and seldom do our hearts palpitate with any compassionate trembling and fear. If we are on board a vessel, and the shrill cry is heard, ‘Man overboard!’ whoever hears of a passenger wrapping his overcoat around him, and lying down upon a seat to contemplate the exertions of others? But in the church, when we hear of thousands of sinners sinking in the floods of ruin, we behold professed Christians wrapping themselves up in their own security, and calmly looking upon the labours of others, but not even lifting a finger to do any part of the work themselves. If we heard tomorrow in our streets the awful cry, more terrible than fire, the cry of ‘Bread! bread! bread!’ and saw starving women lifting up their perishing children, would we not empty out our stores? Who among us would not spend our substance to let the poor ravenous creatures satisfy the pangs of hunger? And yet, here is the world perishing for lack of knowledge. Here we have them at our doors crying for the bread of heaven, and how many there are that hoard their substance for avarice, give their time to vanity, devote their talents to self-aggrandisement, and centre their thoughts only on the world or the flesh! Oh! could you once see with your eyes a soul sinking into hell, it would be such a spectacle that you would work night and day, and count your life too short and your hours too few for the plucking of brands from the burning.” (emphasis added)
The Joy Of Trials
September 14, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
A quick show of hands: How many of you would consider your difficult situations a blessing from God?
Probably not a lot of hands went up, but it’s true.
Peter lists six blessings of God for which we can bless Him (see 1 Peter 1:3-3-9):
- God’s great mercy
- New birth
- Living hope
- An inheritance that can never perish
- God’s shielding power
- Trials
Trials?! Yep!
Peter is quick to tell us that trials only last for a little while, but they are sent our way to prove that our faith is genuine. He says that trials result in praise, glory and honor from God to us, and that successfully going through our trials lead to “an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
In trials you probably don’t feel like praising God, but our God-breathed soul is made up of more than just emotions. We also have been given a mind and a will. So here’s what I would suggest—in your trials, use your mind to reflect on the blessings of God. Then use your will to open your mouth. When you you do this, you will experience the emotion of an inexpressible and glorious joy.
In other words: you are more likely to act yourself into feeling than you are you feel yourself into action!
Look at how David did this in Psalm 34. In a huge trial…
- …he used his mind and will: I will extol the Lord at all times.
- …then his emotions kicked in: My soul will boast in the Lord.
- …his worship helped others: let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
- …and this pointed everyone to God: Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.
Seeing your trials as a way to bless God not only benefits you, but it draws others to God’s sustaining power as well.
If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here.
Links & Quotes
September 12, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Jackie Hill Perry on how the church can reach those who are LGBT—
Was the Constitution written in a way that was designed to protect freedom and limit the government’s size? Here is how Robert George answers that—
Voddie Baucham talks about how to fight pornography—
Re. Trent Franks makes a passionate appeal for Planned Parenthood to be defunded—
Bobby Conway talks with J. Warner Wallace, a cold case detective, about how he uses his investigative skills to examine the existence of God—
Do You Want To Be Average?
September 12, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Average” is what the failures claim to be when their family and friends ask them why they are not more successful.“Average” is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best. Which of these are you?
“Average” means being run-of-the-mill, mediocre, insignificant, an also-ran, a nonentity.
Being “average” is the lazy person’s cop-out; it’s lacking the guts to take a stand in life; it’s living by default.
Being “average” is to take up space for no purpose; to take the trip through life, but never to pay the fare; to return no interest for God’s investment in you.
Being “average” is to pass one’s life away with time, rather than to pass one’s time away with life; it’s to kill time, rather than to work it to death.
To be “average” is to be forgotten once you pass from this life. The successful are remembered for their contributions; the failures are remembered because they tried; but the “average,” the silent majority, is just forgotten.
To be “average” is to commit the greatest crime one can against one’s self, humanity, and one’s God. The saddest epitaph is this: “Here lies Mr. and Ms. Average—here lies the remains of what might have been, except for their belief that they were only ‘average.’” —Edmund Gaudet
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