Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

November 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“With such prayer it is an absolute certainty that I must succeed with God in prayer. If my prayer were my own prayer, I might not be so sure of it, but if the prayer which I utter be God’s own prayer written on my soul, God is always one with Himself, and what He writes on the heart is only written there because it is written in His purposes.” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Jude 20

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them.” —C.S. Lewis

Dr. James Dobson has 8 reminders for stressed parents.

“We must stand on every promise and pray in faith, effectually, fervently, without doubt, and then wait and rest, trusting the Lord to do what is right, in His time and His way. Few Christians today wait with patience for God to work in His time. The more it is delayed, the angrier some get. Some finally give up, thinking God doesn’t answer.” —David Wilkerson

A university scientist is fired for publishing a peer-reviewed paper in a respected scientific journal that dares (gasp!) to mention that the biblical Flood might account for a specific finding he had made. The scientific community is becoming more and more touchy about anything that disproves their tenuous beliefs in an Earth that is anything less than billions of years old.

Continue to pray for Asia Bibi, who is appealing her death sentence in Pakistan. Her crime? She is a Christian. Also please consider supporting the American Center for Law & Justice who is helping Asia, and many others like her.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Have I mentioned that I am a huge fan of The Overview Bible Project? I love this infographic and insight into the biblical authors.

The Delight In God’s Word

November 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Psalm 119 is a loving poem to God because His Word to us is so amazing! All 176 verses of this psalm say something special about God’s laws, statutes, decrees, precepts, or commands.

Like this psalmist, we too can discover 176 praiseworthy things in God’s Word. Things like…

Blessing by walking according to His law
Blessing by keeping His statues
Blamelessness when walking in His ways
Full obedience when obeying His precepts
Steadfastness because we obey His decrees
No shame in following His commands
Uprightness in learning His laws
His continual presence when obeying His decrees
Purity in living by His word
Direction when following His commands
A sinless life by hiding His word in our hearts
More reasons to praise Him when He teaches us His decrees
Joy in recounting His laws
Rejoicing in following His statutes
Joy in meditating on His precepts
Delight in attending to His word
Life and goodness in obeying His word
Wonderful things in His law
God’s companionship in His commands
Our soul’s longings fulfilled in His laws
No curses by keeping His commands
No scorn in keeping His statutes
Immune to slander in meditating on His decrees
A delightful counselor in His statues
A preserved life in His word
God’s answers in His decrees
Understanding wonderful things in His precepts
Strength in His word
Grace in His law
Truth in His laws
No shame in His statutes
Freedom in His commands
God’s counsel in His decrees
Deeper understanding in His law
Direction and delight in His commands
A strengthened heart through His statutes
Eternal life in His word
Fulfillment in His promises
No dread nor disgrace in His laws
Preserved life in His precepts
Salvation in His promises
Answers for enemies in His word
Hope in His laws
Eternal security in His law
Freedom in His precepts
Influence in His statutes
Delight in His commands
Love in His commands
Hope in His word
Comfort in suffering in His promises
Steadfastness in His law
Comfort in His laws
Proper emotions toward the wicked in His law
Songs in His decrees
Nighttime comfort in His law
Healthy practices in His precepts
Complete help in His word
Finding God in His promise
Course corrections in His statutes
Motivation in His commands
Rescue in His laws
Midnight thanks in His laws
Friendship-strengthener in His precepts
Seeing His love everywhere through His decrees
Blessing in His word
Knowledge and good judgment in His commands
Healing in His word
Goodness in His decrees
Immunity to slander in His precepts
Enlivened emotions in His law
Help for affliction in His decrees
Riches in His law
Understanding in His commands
Encouragement for others in His word
Godly paradigms in His laws
The comfort of His unfailing love in His promise
Delightful compassion in His law
Justice in His precepts
Influential friendships in His statutes
Blamelessness in His decrees
Hope in His word
Comfort in His promise
Preservation in His decrees
Perseverance in His law
Victory in His law
Trust in His commands
Staying power in His precepts
Life and love in His statutes
Firm foundation in His word
Generational faithfulness in His word
Enduring glory revealed in His laws
Delight in affliction in His law
Preserved life in His precepts
Salvation in His precepts
Peace in His statutes
Perfection in His commands
Love in His laws
Wisdom in His commands
More insight than your peers in His statutes
More understanding in His precepts
Avoiding evil through His word
Personally taught by God in His laws
Sweetness in His words
Understanding in His precepts
Light in His word
Direction in His laws
Preservation in His word
Praise in His laws
Safety in His laws
Avoiding snares in His precepts
Joyful heritage in His statutes
Developing an obedient heart through His decrees
Strong love in His law
Hopeful refuge in His word
Repelling evildoers through His commands
Sustaining power in His promise
Deliverance in His decrees
Acceptance in His decrees
Purity in His statutes
Awe and reverence in His laws
God’s constant presence in His word
Victory over oppressors in His law
Salvation in His promises
Loving treatment in His decrees
Discernment in His statutes
Justice in His law
Riches in His commands
Knowing right from wrong through His precepts
Wonder in His statutes
Illumination in His words
Fulfillment in His commands
Mercy in His word
Victory over sin in His word
Redemption in His precepts
His favor in His decrees
Passion in His law
Righteousness in His laws
Confidence in His statutes
Zeal in His words
Throughly-tested truths in His promises
Enhanced memory in His precepts
Everlasting truth in His law
Peace in trouble in His commands
Fuller understanding in His statutes
Answers in His decrees
Salvation in His statutes
Hope in His word
Peaceful meditation in His promises
Preservation in His laws
Peace around enemies in His law
God’s presence in His commands
Eternity in His statutes
Deliverance in His laws
Defense in His promise
Finding God in His decrees
Compassion in His laws
Victory over persecutors in His statutes
Satisfaction in His word
Love in His precepts
Eternal truths in His laws
Learned reverence in His word
Great riches in His promise
Love in His law
Reasons to praise in His laws
Great peace and stability in His law
Salvation in His commands
Great love in His statutes
Blessed paths in His precepts
Understanding in His word
Answers to prayer in His promise
Praise in His decrees
Songs in His word
Ready help in His precepts
Delight in His law
Sustaining praise in His laws
God seeking me out in His commands

Oh, how wonderful is God’s Word!!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: blessing, command, decree, delight, joy, law, precept, Psalm 119, rejoice, statute. 2 Comments »

Spiritual Warfare

November 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

The Bible makes it clear that we are involved in an epic battle (see Ephesians 6:10-17; 1 Peter 5:8-11). It’s spiritual in its roots, but many parts of it are carried out in the physical realm every single day. I love these two passages from some great thinkers about this spiritual battle we face each day…

“The doctrine of the Fall (both of man and of some ‘gods,’ ‘eldils’ or ‘angels’) is the only satisfactory explanation. Evil begins, in a universe where all was good, from free will, which was permitted because it makes possible the greatest good of all. The corruption of the first sinner consists not in choosing some evil thing (there are no evil things for him to choose) but in preferring a lesser good (himself) before a greater (God). The Fall is, in fact, Pride. The possibility of this wrong preference is inherent in the very fact of having, or being, a self at all. But though freedom is real it is not infinite. Every choice reduces a little one’s freedom to choose the next time. There therefore comes a time when the creature is fully built, irrevocably attached either to God or to itself. This irrevocableness is what we call Heaven or Hell. Every conscious agent is finally committed in the long run: i.e., it rises above freedom into willed, but henceforth unalterable, union with God, or else sinks below freedom into the black fire of self-imprisonment. That is why the universe (as even the physicists now admit) has a real history, a fifth act with a finale in which the good characters ‘live happily ever after’ and the bad ones are cast out. At least that is how I see it.” —C.S. Lewis (emphasis added)

“In the early days, when Christianity exercised a dominant influence over American thinking, men and women conceived the world to be a battleground. Our fathers believed in sin and the devil and hell as constituting one force, and they believed in God and righteousness and heaven as the other. By their very nature, these forces were opposed to each other forever in deep, grave, irreconcilable hostility. Humans, our fathers held, had to choose sides—they could not be neutral. For them it must be life or death, heaven or hell, and if they chose to come out on God’s side they could expect open war with God’s enemies. The fight would be real and deadly and would last as long as life continued here below. People looked forward to Heaven as a return from the wars, a laying down of the sword to enjoy in peace the home prepared for them….

“How different today. The fact remains the same, but the interpretation has changed completely. People think of the world, not as a battleground, but as a playground. We are not here to fight; we are here to frolic. We are not in a foreign land; we are at home. We are not getting ready to live, but we are already living, and the best we can do is rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life to the full.” —A.W. Tozer (emphasis added)

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, angels, C.S. Lewis, demons, Heaven, Hell, pride, satan, spiritual warfare. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

November 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading and watching from today…

[VIDEO] John Maxwell says the joy-ratio of giving-to-receiving is 10-to-1.

“Faith never knows where it is being led, it knows and loves the One Who is leading. … Faith is not resignation to a power we do not know; faith is committal to One Whose character we do know because it has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ.” —Oswald Chambers

“The devil’s master strategy for us Christians then is not to kill us physically (though there may be some special situations where physical death fits into his plan better), but to destroy our power to wage spiritual warfare. And how well he has succeeded. The average Christian these days is a harmless enough thing. God knows.” —A.W. Tozer

Some have argued that aborting a baby diagnosed with cystic fibrosis is humane and ethical. This kid proves them wrong.

Seth Godin with a really good reason why you should vote tomorrow.

…and The Gospel Coalition reminds Christians why they should vote.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, abortion, apathy, blessing, Christian, cystic fibrosis, democracy, faith, football, giving, Jesus Christ, John Maxwell, Oswald Chambers, pro-life, quotes, Seth Godin, spiritual warfare, video, vote. Leave a Comment »

7 Ways To Avoid Becoming An Adulterer

November 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

God said quite simple, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18). This entire verse is just one word in the Hebrew language—na’aph—but it packs quite a punch.

Na’aph has two dimensions to it: physical and spiritual. Physically it prohibits sexual relations between a married person and someone not their spouse. Closely related to adultery is fornication, which is unmarried people engaging in sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage. Spiritually na’aph prohibits worship of anything other than Jehovah God.

This means that an inappropriate intimate relationship on the physical level affects our spiritual relationship with God, and vice versa. That is why immoral sexual acts are almost always incorporated into the worship of false gods. But which came first? Did someone leave behind God’s design for sexuality and begin a downward slide away from Him, or did someone’s heart stray from God and the evidence was the illicit sexual acts? It starts when we leave God’s love behind (see Romans 1:21-32).

Adultery and fornication are fueled by lust. Lust is rooted in selfishness. And by it’s very definition, selfishness kills love. Adulterers and fornicators cannot truly love each other; they are only using each other to satisfy their own selfish cravings, and in so doing, they are actually abusing each other.

So here are 7 ways to avoid becoming an adulterer:

Love God passionately—Mark 12:30.
If you’re married, invest in your marriage—emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually.
If you’re single, develop discipline. I define discipline as choosing what you want most over what you want now.
Guard your eyes—Job 31:1.
Avoid tempting places—Proverbs 5:8.
Fill your mind with God’s Word—Proverbs 6:20-24.
Have an accountability friend—Proverbs 7:6-9.

Any sexual relationship outside of God’s prescription—one man married to one woman for life—short-circuits God’s design, so it can never fully satisfy. Adultery and fornication break God’s heart because of the damage it does to our relationship with Him and to our relationships with each other.

If you have missed any of the messages in our series The Love In The Law, you can find them all by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accountability, adultery, Calvary Assembly of God, fornication, idolatry, lust, marriage, selfishness, sermon, sexual purity, sexual sin, sexuality, Ten Commandments. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

November 2, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from this weekend…

[INFOGRAPHIC] Another great Bible study resource from The Overview Bible Project on the book of Hebrews.

Eric Metaxas reminds us that our existence itself is a miracle.

“God has not called us to save America; He has called us to save Americans from the coming judgment of God by introducing them to faith in Jesus Christ.” —Robert Jeffress

uknowkids has a good post for parents and teachers: 7 Signs Your Teen Is Suffering From Peer Pressure.

“It is the Spirit of Christ in us that will draw satan’s fire. The people of the world will not much care what we believe and they will stare vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never forgive us—the presence of God’s Spirit in our hearts. They may not know the cause of that strange feeling of antagonism which rises within them, but it will be nonetheless real and dangerous. satan will never cease to make war on the Man-child, and the soul in which dwells the Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks.” —A.W. Tozer

“The real trouble about the duty of forgiveness is that you do it with all your might on Monday and then find on Wednesday that it hasn’t stayed put and all has to be done over again.” —C.S. Lewis

Poetry Saturday—There Is A Safe & Secret Place

November 1, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

There is a safe and secret place,

Beneath the wings Divine,

Reserved for all the heirs of grace;

O be that refuge mine!

The least and feeblest there may bide,

Uninjured and unawed;

While thousands fall on every side

He rests secure in God.

He feeds in pastures, large and fair,

Of love and truth Divine;

O child of God, O glory’s heir,

How rich a lot is thine.

A hand almighty to defend,

An ear for every call,

An honored life, a peaceful end,

And heaven to crown it all! —Henry Francis Lyte

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: blessing, God's protection, Heaven, Henry Francis Lyte, hymn, poetry, prayer, safety, saints. Leave a Comment »

Susanna Wesley On Prayer

October 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some powerful quotes about prayer from Susanna Wesley—

“Make plain to me that no circumstance nor time of life can occur but I may find something either spoken by our Lord Himself or by His Spirit in the prophets or apostles that will direct my conduct, if I am but faithful to You and my own soul.”

“Help me, O Lord, to make a true use of all disappointments and calamities in this life, in such a way that they may unite my heart more closely with You. Cause them to separate my affections from worldly things and inspire my soul with more vigor in the pursuit of true happiness.”

“I thank You, O God, for the relief and satisfaction of mind that come with the firm assurance that You govern the world; for the patience and resignation to your providence that are afforded as I reflect that even the tumultuous and irregular actions of the sinful are, nevertheless, under Your direction, who are wise, good, and omnipotent, and have promised to make all things work together for good to those who love You.”

“Enable me to keep my heart with all diligence, my thoughts and affections, for out of them are the issues of life. How often have I offended in this kind! Cleanse me from secret faults, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Help me to guard against vain and unnecessary words, and to speak of You, my God, with that reverence, that humility, that gravity that I ought.”

“O God, I thank You because, when I have been for some time interrupted in my work and my thoughts of You have been diverted, I have found how pleasing it is to my mind to feel the motions of Your Spirit quickening me and exciting me to return.”

“I give You praise, oh God, for a well-spent day. But I am yet unsatisfied, because I do not enjoy enough of You. I would have my soul more closely united to You by faith and love. I would love You above all things. You, who has made me, knows my desires, my expectations. My joys all center in You and it is You Yourself that I desire; it is Your favor, Your acceptance, the communications of Your grace that I earnestly wish for, more than anything in the world.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: prayer, Susanna Wesley. Leave a Comment »

14 Quotes About Thinking From “The Moral Foundations Of Life”

October 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

As I noted in my review of The Moral Foundations Of Life (you can read that review by clicking here), Oswald Chambers wanted Christians to think more deeply about their relationship with Jesus Christ, and then live differently because of their new way of thinking. Here are some of his quotes related to a Christians’ thought life.

“When we become spiritual we have to exercise the power of thinking to a greater degree than ever before. We starve our mind as Christians by not thinking.”

“The Atonement of our Lord never contradicts human reason, it contradicts the logic of human intellect that has never partaken of regeneration.”

“Is Jesus Christ’s teaching God-breathed to me? There is an intention that seeks God’s blessings without obeying Jesus Christ’s teaching. We are apt to say with sanctimonious piety, ‘Yes, Jesus Christ’s teaching is of God’; but how do we measure up to it? Do we intend to think about it and act on it?”

“The old idea that we cannot help evil thoughts has become so ingrained in our minds that most of us accept it as fact. But if it is true, then Paul is talking nonsense when he tells us to choose our thinking, to think only on those things that are true, and honorable, and just, and pure.” [Philippians 4:8-9; 2 Corinthians 10:5]

“We are so extraordinarily fussy that we won’t give ourselves one minute before God to think, and unless we do we shall never form the habit of abiding. We must get alone in secret and think, screw our minds down and not allow them to wool-gather.”

“If a man lets his garden alone it very soon ceases to be a garden; and if a saint lets his mind alone it will soon become a rubbish keep for satan to make use of.”

“If we have been storing our minds with the Word of God, we are never taken unawares in new circumstances because the Holy Spirit brings back these things to our remembrance and we know what we should do; but the Holy Spirit cannot bring back to our minds what we have never troubled to put there.”

“Think of the sweat and labor that a scientific student will expend in order to attain his end; where do we find men and women concentrating with the same intensity on spiritual realities?”

“As soon as you get down to pray you remember a letter you ought to write, or something else that needs to be done, a thousand and one little impertinences come in and claim your attention. When we suspend our own activities and get down at the foot of the Cross and meditate there, God brings His thoughts to us by the Holy Spirit and interprets them to us. … God has not the remotest opportunity of coming to some of us, our minds are packed full with our own thoughts and conceptions.”

“The devil does not need to bother about us as long as we remain ignorant of the way God has made us and refused to discipline ourselves; inattention and our own slovenliness will soon run away with every power we have. … All we need is grit and gumption and reliance on the Holy Spirit. We must bring the same determined energy to the revelations in the God’s Book as we bring to earthly professions. Most of us leave the sweat of brain outside when we come to deal with the Bible.”

“God will not bring every thought and imagination into captivity; we have to do it, and that is the test of spiritual concentration. The inattentive, slovenly way we drift into the presence of God is an indication that we are not bothering to think about Him. … God gives us the Holy Spirit not only for holy living but for holy thinking, and we are held responsible if we do not think concentratedly along the right lines.”

“Glean your thinking; don’t allow your mind to be a harborage for every kind of vagabond sentiment; resolutely get into the way of disciplining your impulses and stray thinking.”

“We have to transform into real thinking possession for ourselves all that the Spirit of God puts into our spirits.”

“An undisciplined imagination will destroy reliable judgment more quickly even then sin.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, atonement, Bible, book review, Christian, creative thinking, hard work, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, memorization, memory, Oswald Chambers, prayer, quotes, salvation, Scripture, thought life, work ethic. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

October 29, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from today…

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” —Albert Einstein

The danger of redefining marriage: How The Decline In Marriage Is Fueling Inequality.

An important post from Tim Elmore for parents and teachers: How Stress Disables Empathy In Students.

My cousin, Dick Brogden, has an amazing year-long devotional book called Live Dead Joy. Get the Kindle edition now for only $2.

“How may I tell when satan hinders me? I think you may tell thus: first by the object. satan’s object in hindering us is to prevent our glorifying God. If anything has happened to you which has prevented your growing holy, useful, humble, and sanctified, then you may trace that to satan.” —Charles Spurgeon

“It is good to come to the understanding that while God wants us to be holy and Spirit-filled, He does not expect us to look like Abraham or to play the harp like David or to have the same spiritual insight given to Paul. All of those former heroes of the faith are dead. You are alive in your generation.” —A.W. Tozer

“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.” —C.S. Lewis