Uncategorized | Craig T. Owens

May 2026
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Links & Quotes

December 18, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“How shall a holy and just God treat us sinners with so much kindness as to give us the greatest Reality in the universe (His Son) to enjoy with the greatest joy possible? The answer is that God put our sins on His Son, and judged them there, so that He could put them out of His mind, and deal with us mercifully and remain just and holy at the same time.” —John Piper

“This Christmas, enjoy the fruit of the first coming, but anticipate the glory of the second. We live between the advents. Let the first one whet your appetite for the final one.” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Between The Advents.

I marvel at the discovering scientists make, but I also marvel at how adamant these scientists are that there isn’t a Creator. In this study on how the earth’s deep crust could support life, one scientist says, “If you identify a source of energy that’s everywhere, it’s no longer a limiting factor for the spread of life.” The Bible does identify The Source of life!

If you love studying the Bible, here is a list of 5 free Bible study tools on the web.

[VIDEO] Lecrae gives us a good word on how to engage race issues—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Advent, Bible study, Christianity, Christmas, Creation, Creator, First Advent, forgiveness, God's glory, Jesus Christ, John Piper, justice, Lecrae, Max Lucado, mercy, quotes, race relations, science, Second Advent, sin, video. Leave a Comment »

John Bunyan On Prayer

December 18, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great quotes from John Bunyan on prayer—

“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised.”

“The best prayers have often more groans than words.”

“Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for satan.”

“When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: feeling, God's promise, heart, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, John Bunyan, prayer, sacrifice, spiritual warfare, Trinity. Leave a Comment »

17 Quotes From “Winning With Principle”

December 17, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

John Wooden won the right way: with principle and integrity. And his wins were not short-lived, but they can last a lifetime. Check out a few quotes from Winning With Principle, a collection of quotes from Coach. You can read my full book review by clicking here.

“You learn as much from those under your supervision as they do from you.”

“Truth will always stand the test of scrutiny.”

“There is no substitute for hard work. If you are looking for the easy way, the shortcut … you’ll not be developing your talents.”

“The best competition I have is against myself to become better.”

“Time spent getting even would be better spent getting ahead.”

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of the self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

“There is nothing stronger than gentleness.”

“You can do more good by being good than any other way.”

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”

“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”

“Players with fight never lose a game; they just run out of time.”

“The shining trophies on our shelves can never win tomorrow’s game.”

“Always try to be better today than you were yesterday.”

“Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”

“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings and the feelings of others before your own rights.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, change, failure, gentleness, growing, John Wooden, leadership, learning, mistake, quotes, strength, success. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

December 16, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor Saeed Abedini is an American citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith. This letter he has written from prison is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. After reading this letter I hope you will sign this petition to let your voice be added to those calling on Iran to release Pastor Saeed.

“Prayer is not a lazy substitute for work. It is not a short cut to skill or knowledge. And sometimes God delays the answer to our prayer in final form until we have time to build up the strength, accumulate the knowledge, or fashion the character that would make it possible for Him to say ‘yes’ to what we ask.” —Roy M. Pearson

“Whoever, therefore, thinks that he understands the divine Scriptures or any part of them so that it does not build the double love of God and of our neighbor does not understand it at all.” —Augustine

As you prepare for Christmas and celebrate Advent, check out these beautiful words from Max Lucado in What Love Does.

Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit will like this post: Bilbo’s Last Goodbye.

What this so-called ethicist says about “post-natal abortion” is truly horrifying.

Winning With Principle (book review)

December 16, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Not only did John Wooden win, and win, and win on the basketball court, he won off the basketball court too. Literally decades after he stopped coaching, his players still traced their off-the-court success to the principles Coach taught them, and they continued to seek out his wise counsel. Winning With Principle is a collection of quotes from this legendary coach.

Coach Wooden was a lifelong learner. He relied on lessons his father taught him, he continued to read and memorize other wise people, and he continually learned how to adapt with the changing times. Some people have called Wooden’s maxims “homespun wisdom,” but I call it down-to-earth practical wisdom.

There are dozens of books that Wooden’s former players have written on the life lessons they leaned from Coach, but it’s best to hear from the man himself. This book of quotes is the perfect introduction to this amazing man’s wisdom.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, John Wooden, leadership, lifelong learner, NCAA basketball, quotes, wisdom. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

December 15, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“Lord, show me just so much (neither more nor less) about myself as I need for doing Thy will now.” —C.S. Lewis personal prayer

“The whole problem of our life was neatly expressed by John the Baptist when he said (John 3:30) ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ This you have realised. But you are expecting it to happen suddenly: and also expecting that you should be clearly aware when it does. But neither of these is usual. We are doing well enough if the slow process of being more in Christ and less in ourselves has made a decent beginning in a long life (it will be completed only in the next world).” —C.S. Lewis

For my pastor friends: “Our preaching and teaching must endeavor to promote three kinds of love: a proper self-love, love for God, and love for our neighbors.” —T.M. Moore

“Among those who are able to enjoy God with us, we love some whom we help, some by whom we are helped, some whose help we need and whose wants we supply, and some on whom we bestow no benefits and from whom we await none ourselves. Be that as it may, we should desire that all enjoy God with us and that all the assistance we give them or get from them should be directed toward this end.” —Augustine

[VIDEO] John Maxwell on the value of exploring new things—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Augustine, C.S. Lewis, discipleship, exploring, God's will, Jesus Christ, John Maxwell, John the Baptist, lifelong learner, love, neighbor, pastoring, prayer, quotes, T.M. Moore, video. Leave a Comment »

O Come, All Ye Faithful

December 15, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor Tom Kaastra continued our series The Carols Of Christmas by looking at the well-known Christmas hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful. The line he especially highlighted comes from the third stanza—Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

It is so vital that we keep both of those aspects of Jesus Christ in mind: He is both the Word of the Father and the Word become flesh. As Tom pointed out, this fact helps us answer the two most vital questions that humans have:

Who is God?
Who am I?

I can learn more about who I am when I know more clearly Who God is. And when I know this, I can more fully—as the song says—come and adore Christ the Lord.

Jesus is fully God:

He is the Eternal Word (John 1:1-3)
He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3)
He is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15)
He is the fullness of God (Colossians 1:19)
When we see Jesus, we see God (John 14:8-9)

Jesus revealed to us the Father’s love; after all, God is love (1 John 4:16). Jesus came to show us the love of God.

Jesus is fully Man:

He got tired and hungry (John 4:6)
He limited Himself to do only what the Father told Him to do (John 5:19-20)
He limited Himself to say only what the Father told Him to say (John 12:49)
He felt anguish and pain (Luke 22:44)

As C.S. Lewis said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” And as sons of God, we have access to the Heavenly Father—

Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, “Abba! My Father!” (Romans 8:14-15)

Word of the Father now in flesh appearing is cause for adoration because Jesus has made it possible for us to become sons and daughters of God!

O come let us adore Him!!

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series, you may check them out by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Advent, Bible, C.S. Lewis, Christmas, Christmas carols, God's love, God's Word, Heavenly Father, human, hymn, Jesus Christ, Scripture, Word of God. 3 Comments »

Links & Quotes

December 14, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

This is really good: 4 bad reasons for choosing a church.

10 Historical Myths About World Christianity

This is scary: Canadian bill would legalize euthanasia for people with disabilities.

[VIDEO] A teacher asks students to write letter to themselves 20 years in the future, and then he delivers the letters to them 20 years later—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christianity, church, church history, disability, euthanasia, history, missionary, missions, myths, pro-life, teacher, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

December 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“The Lord has many lovers of His crown but few lovers of His Cross.” —Thomas á Kempis

Charles Spurgeon on the power of unity: No Bigotry In Unity.

David Witt asks: Is It Time To Rethink Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs?

“The degree of blessing enjoyed by any man will correspond exactly with the completeness of God’s victory over him.” —A.W. Tozer

Dr. Benjamin Mast has a lot of initials after his name (which means he’s really smart!). Check out this interview with him: Alzheimer’s, The Brain and The Soul.

Here is an amazing admission from scientists regarding stem cell formation: “No one, not even the dozen or so groups of scientists who intensively study reprogramming, knows how it happens. They understand that differentiated cells go in, and pluripotent cells come out the other end, but what happens in between is one of biology’s impenetrable black boxes.” Read more in this article about stem cells, but I am glad I can trust the Creator to reveal to us what may be in “the black box”!

I love ReverendFun cartoons! Here is one of my favorites—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Abraham Maslow, Advent, Alzheimer's Disease, blessing, brain, cartoon, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, Christmas, Creator, disciples, eternal life, Jesus Christ, medical science, motivation, quotes, ReverendFun, sermon, soul, stem cell, surrender, Thomas a Kempis. 3 Comments »

Zig Ziglar On Money & Success

December 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Zig Ziglar was a highly successful salesman, which opened the door for him to have a successful second career as a motivational speaker. His insight into money and success is well worth paying attention to—

“I define success as having acquired some of the things that money will buy and all of the things that money won’t buy—while maintaining balance in your life.”

“Money bought me the house, but it won’t buy me a home. It’ll buy me a companion, but it won’t buy me a friend. It’ll buy me a good time, but it won’t buy me peace of mind. It’ll buy me a bed, but it won’t buy me a good night’s sleep.”

“Don’t count the things you do. Do the things which count.”

“In America, we have become greedy. We are bombarded with so many ads that say, ‘You gotta have this car! You gotta wear these clothes! You gotta take this vacation trip! You gotta have that second home at the beach,’ and all of these absurd things. Over the years, I have noticed this—that if standard of living is your number-one objective, your quality of life almost never improves. But if quality of life is your number-one objective, standard of living invariably goes up. That kinda contradicts what a lot of people believe.”

“Until you are happy with who you are, you will never be happy because of what you have.”

These quotes are from the book Inspire To Be Great. You can read my review of that book by clicking here. I shared some of my other favorite quotes from this book earlier, and you can read them by clicking here.