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Seated In Heavenly Places

January 2, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

In 2017, may we all learn how to quiet ourselves in God’s presence, and to becoming increasingly aware that we are continually in His presence.

“This is our rightful place, to be ‘seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,’ and to ‘sit still’ there. But how few there are who make it their actual experience! How few, indeed think even that it is possible for them to ‘sit still’ in these ‘heavenly places’ in the everyday life of a world so full of turmoil as this.

“We may believe perhaps that to pay a little visit to these heavenly places on Sundays, or now and then in times of spiritual exaltation, may be within the range of possibility; but to be actually ‘seated’ there every day and all day long is altogether another matter; and yet it is very plain that it is for Sundays and week-days as well. …

“You may not see or feel the operations of this silent force, but be assured it is always working mightily, and will work for you, if you only get your spirit still enough to be carried along by the currents of its power.” —Hannah Whitall Smith

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christian, God's power, God's presence, Hannah Whitall Smith. Leave a Comment »

Favorite 2016 Posts

December 31, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

These are the Top 10 posts that were published on my blog in 2016…

1. Break Free From Porn

2. 7 Must-Have Bible Study Tools

3. 9 Quotes From “The Porn Circuit”

4. 7 Quotes From “The Beauty Of Intolerance”

5. 10 Quotes From “#struggles”

6. Theism Or Christianity?

7. Notes From The Global Leadership Summit

8. 4 Practical Prayer Tips From Jesus

9. The Porn Circuit (book review)

10. 9 Quotes From “Chase The Lion”

And these are the posts with “staying power.” These posts received the most views in 2016, even though they were published in an earlier year…

1. 21 Quotes From “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn” [originally posted October 22, 2013]

2. 17 Quotes From “Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power & Miracles” [January 15, 2014]

3. 14 Quotes From “Smith Wigglesworth On Healing” [May 7, 2013]

4. 11 Quotes From Vujicic in “Stand Strong” [July 23, 2014]

5. 22 Quotes From “The Ragamuffin Gospel” [July 17, 2013]

6. 15 Quotes From “Mansfield’s Book Of Manly Men” [January 11, 2014]

7. 10 Quotes From “You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader” [March 19, 2013]

8. 13 Quotes From “God’s Pursuit Of Man” [September 13, 2014]

9. 23 Quotes From “The 5 Levels Of Leadership” [March 28, 2013]

10. 10 Quotes From “The Necessity Of An Enemy” [July 13, 2012]

Poetry Saturday—Prologue

December 31, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

O, ’tis for the Rebellion a dark time.

For those they have the death Star all destroy’d,

Imperi’l troops did from the ashes climb

And push the rebels closer to the void.

Across the galaxy pursu’d with speed,

The rebels flee th’Imperi’l Starfleet vast.

A group with Luke Skywalker in the lead

Hath to the ice world known as Hoth flown fast.

Meanwhile, the cruel Darth Vader is obsess’d

With finding young Skywalker. Thus he hath

Through ev’ry point of space begun his quest

By sending robot probes to aid his wrath.

In time so long ago begins our play,

In war-torn galaxy far, far away. —Ian Doescher

For Christmas I received the innovative The Empire Striketh Back—Star Wars Part The Fifth by Ian Doescher, in which the entire movie is retold as William Shakespeare would have told it. For both Star Wars and Shakespeare aficionados, a delightful read!

It’s fun to read the Lucas version and the Doescher version of the Prologue side-by-side, so check out the film version here…

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: George Lucas, poem, poetry, Star Wars, video, William Shakespeare. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Living In The Now

December 29, 2016 — 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.

Living In The Now

Jesus did not use figurative language in talking about the Hereafter. He said: “Let not your heart be troubled”—“My Business is with the Hereafter.” Our business is to live a godly life in the present order of things, and not to push out beyond the durations God has placed as limits. …

I have no power to choose whether or not I will take the consequences of my choice; no power to say whether or not I will be born…but I have power to choose which way I will use the times as they come. …

Jesus Christ taught a reasonable life on the basis of faith in God—“Be carefully careless about everything saving your relationship to Me. Don’t be disturbed today by thoughts about tomorrow, leave tomorrow alone, and bank in confidence on God’s organization of what you do not see. Yesterday is past, there is no road back to it, tomorrow is not; live in the immediate present, and yours is the life of a child.” …

Jesus Christ deliberately chose “the long, long trail”; we choose “the short cut,” and continually go wrong until we understand the meaning of the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, He leads me in the right paths.”

From Shade Of His Hand

In Shade Of His Hand, Oswald Chambers is taking an in-depth look at the book of Ecclesiastes. In chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says there is a time for everything.

Chambers reminds us that we don’t choose the time we will be born, and we don’t choose the time we will die—God alone chooses those. But everything between birth and death is our choice. Jesus taught us that our choices and our level of joy in the moment will be much better if we seek God’s wisdom for all of those choices we make.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: decision-making, Ecclesiastes, God's wisdom, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, Psalm 23, Solomon, time, today, tomorrow, yesterday. Leave a Comment »

5 Quotes For The New Year

December 28, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

“God, forgive us for expectations of You that are too low.” —Craig T. Owens

“I am the God of unlimited creativity; expect Me to do surprising things in this year that stretches out before you.” —Jesus (from Sarah Young’s Jesus Always)

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.” —Benjamin Franklin

“Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation.” —A.W. Tozer

“Real peace is knowing that no matter what I do, God will never stop loving me. Real peace is knowing that no matter what happens, God will never leave me alone. He’ll always be with me. Real peace means that no matter what happens in the New Year, or in the years to come, I know that God is going to give me the strength to handle it. Real peace is living by God’s Word, the Bible, so I can avoid a lot of the needless hang-ups and hurts and habits that mess up my life.” —Rick Warren, in On This Holy Night

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Benjamin Franklin, Bible, Christian, God's Word, Jesus Christ, New Year, peace, quotes, Rick Warren, Sarah Young. Leave a Comment »

Book Reviews From 2016

December 27, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

Here are the books I read and reviewed in 2016. Click a title to read the review…

Archeological Study Bible

Chase The Lion

Churchill’s Trial

Culture

Hope … The Best Of All Things

How To Read A Book

I Stand At The Door And Knock

Jesus Always

Letters To A Birmingham Jail

Light & Truth—Acts & The Larger Epistles

Light & Truth—Revelation

Light & Truth—The Lesser Epistles

More Than A Carpenter

Of Antichrist And His Ruin

On This Day

One Of The Few

Our Iceberg Is Melting

Shaken

So, Anyway…

Streams In The Desert

The American Patriot’s Almanac

The Bad Habits Of Jesus

The Beauty Of Intolerance

The Blessing Of Humility

The Dawn Of Indestructible Joy

The Duty Of Pastors

The Gospels Side-By-Side

The Mathematical Proof For Christianity

The Philosophy Of Sin

The Place Of Help

The Porn Circuit

The Psychology Of Redemption

The Seven Laws Of Love

The Shadow Of An Agony

The Tabernacle Of Israel

Think On These Things

Today’s Moment Of Truth

Useful Maxims

Your Sorrow Will Turn To Joy

Here are my book reviews for 2011.

Here are my book reviews for 2012.

Here are my book reviews for 2013.

Here are my book reviews for 2014.

Here are my book reviews for 2015.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, American history, angels, antichrist, apologetic, archeology, atonement, autobiography, Bible study, biblical history, book review, books, Brian Ridolfi, business strategy, change, Christianity, Christmas, church, comedy, commentary, Corrie ten Boom, Craig Groeschel, crucifixion, culture, Dan Delzell, Dave Willis, difficulties, Easter, encouragement, fable, family, First Advent, football, forgiveness, God's wisdom, government, health, hope, Horatius Bonar, humility, Incarnation, intolerance, Islam, J. Warner Wallace, J.I. Packer, James Strong, Jesus Christ, John Bunyan, John Cleese, John Maxwell, John Owen, John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Josh McDowell, L.B. Cowman, Larry Arnn, Leonard Sweet, Mark Batterson, Martin Luther King, mathematics, Max Lucado, maxims, memoir, Mortimer Adler, Nabeel Qureshi, Nazi, New Testament, Old Testament, Oswald Chambers, parenting, Passion Week, pastoring, pornography, proverbs, purity, redemption, Resurrection Sunday, Revelation, Sarah Young, Sean McDowell, sexual sin, sin, spiritual warfare, Tabernacle, thought life, Tim Tebow, trials, US armed forces, William Bennett, Winston Churchill, wisdom, world history, World War II, worship. 8 Comments »

We Should Be Better Christians

December 26, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

“We should be better Christians if we were more alone; we should do more if we attempted less, and spent more time in retirement, and quiet waiting upon God.

“The world is too much with us; we are afflicted with the idea that we are doing nothing unless we are fussily running to and fro; we do not believe in ‘the calm retreat, the silent shade.’ As a people, we are of a very practical turn of mind; ‘we believe,’ as someone has said, ‘in having all our irons in the fire, and consider the time not spent between the anvil and the fire as lost, or much the same as lost.’

“Yet no time is more profitably spent than that which is set apart for quiet musing, for talking with God, for looking up to Heaven. We cannot have too many of these open spaces in life, hours in which the soul is left accessible to any sweet thought or influence it may please God to send.” —Lettie Cowman

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christian, L.B. Cowman, meditation, prayer, quiet, quotes, solitude. 1 Comment »

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

December 25, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

That first Christmas was supposedly a silent night and a holy night. Maybe there was some singing angels involved, but at least their message was about “peace on earth.”

Sometimes that idea of “peace” at Christmas time can make us feel like hypocrites. Sometimes it seems as if there is more turmoil than peace, and more ill-will than goodwill.

Even Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem called I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day starts out in celebration, but then shifts to the dark words, “And in despair I bowed my head: ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said, ‘for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.’”

If you have had a hard time finding peace this Christmas, this short message will bring you hope and encouragement, so that you can truly say, “Merry Christmas!”

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series The Carols Of Christmas, you can find the full list here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 John, Advent, Christmas, Christmas carols, First Advent, goodwill, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Max Lucado, peace, poem, poetry, Revelation, Romans, spiritual warfare, video. 2 Comments »

Poetry Saturday—The Christmas Wish

December 24, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

A Christmas wish is special,

It is full of heart and warmth,

Especially if you share it

With God and Jesus in your heart.

So go and tell about Him,

For He was born on Christmas day,

To teach each and everyone one of us

How to live the Christ-like way.

So when you’re carving Christmas ham

With all the trimmings and the pies,

Please hold out your hands

And thank the Lord up high.

So when someone asks me

What will my Christmas wish be,

I just look up and tell them

That I have the Christmas wish in me… Jesus! —Billie Jean Watkins

**Billie became a Christian in October 2004, and wrote this poem as she got ready to celebrate Christmas for the first time as a Christian.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Advent, Christian, Christmas, family, Jesus Christ, poem, poetry. Leave a Comment »

An Angel’s Story (book review)

December 22, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

Reader’s of my blog will know that I seldom read fiction books, but Max Lucado tricked me into reading this one! I read the introduction to An Angel’s Story and thought, “Wow, this is going to be an interesting take on the Christmas story,” and I began reading. But before I realized I was reading a fictional account, I was hooked and had to keep on reading.

I’m so glad I did!

We often think of the night of Christ’s birth being—as the Christmas carols tell us—a silent night of wonder, a holy night of rejoicing, a festive night of an angel choir singing in the skies above Bethlehem. Indeed this is the picture we get in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

However, the book of Revelation tells a different story.

In Revelation, we see the lengths to which the devil and his hoard went to prevent the Advent of Jesus. And we also read about the angels who remain loyal to God battling against the dark forces in the heavens. Max Lucado imagines what this might of have looked like in the unseen spiritual world around Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.

If you’ve ever read anything from Max Lucado, you know that he is a first-class storyteller, and An Angel’s Story is no exception. Believe me: this book will grab your attention, keep you riveted until the very end, and give you a perspective of the night of Christ’s birth like you’ve probably never seen before.

I highly recommend this book to you!