Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

October 22, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Those of us who are married need to ponder again and again how mysterious and wonderful it is that God grants us in marriage the privilege to image forth stupendous divine realities infinitely bigger and greater than ourselves.” —John Piper

“Have we any work to do now that we can set about at once? If we have, whatsoever our hand finds to do, let us do it. Let us not be asking for greater abilities than we have. If we can get them, let us do so; but meanwhile let us use what we have. … The best preparation for it will be, renew your dedication to Christ, be much in earnest prayer, seek the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and then go forth in your Master’s strength with this as your resolve—that as portraits of Jesus Christ it shall be said of you, ‘He went about doing good’ [Acts 10:38].” —Charles Spurgeon

“The only difference between the Christian life and any other life is the matter of where we stand as we encounter the everyday trials and difficulties of life. … Even though the circumstances of a Christian’s life change, and even become adverse and cumbersome at times, this does not alter the fact that the Christian stands in—has access to, come what may—the glory of God. Believers may, under all circumstances and in every situation, slump down into the loving arms of the Lord and find glory and strength to help them bear up with joy and peace through even the worst life can throw at them.” —T.M. Moore

“Better to ask twice than to lose your way once.” —Danish Proverb

Sad to see how abortion providers target minority communities. Two-thirds of abortions in Michigan are done in the Detroit area, where only 40 percent of the state’s population is.

Eric Metaxas has some great advice for talking to your atheist friends about the problems with Darwin’s theories.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, apologetic, Charles Darwin, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, Creation, Creator, Detroit, difficulties, DNA, Eric Metaxas, evolution, God's glory, help, Holy Spirit, humility, Jesus Christ, John Piper, marriage, Michigan, Planned Parenthood, prayer, pro-life, proverbs, quotes, T.M. Moore, talent, trials, work ethic. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Your Thought Life DOES Matter

October 22, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

This is a periodic 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.

Your Thought Life DOES Matter

“Beware of saying, ‘Oh well, it doesn’t matter much what I think about in secret’; it does, for the opportunity will come when what you think about in secret will find expression and spurt out in an act. The Bible always speaks of sin as it appears in its final analysis. Jesus does not say, ‘You must not covet because it will lead to stealing’; He says, ‘You must not covet because it is stealing.’ He does not say, ‘You must not be angry with your brother because it will lead to murder’; He says, ‘You must not be angry with your brother because it is murder.’”

From Our Portrait In Genesis

This is why the Apostle Paul tells us to take all of our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). What you are thinking about IS determining who you will become in the future. Capture those negative, unbiblical thoughts and replace them with the truth found in God’s Word.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Corinthians, anger, apostle Paul, Bible, covet, God's Word, Jesus Christ, lust, murder, Oswald Chambers, steal, thought life. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

October 21, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“So great is God’s love, and so powerful is His transforming glory, that He actually fills us beyond ourselves into a greater measure of Himself, as we partake of His Word and Spirit and meet Him in the increasing experience of His glory and love.” —T.M. Moore

“Almost all men are infected with the disease of desiring to obtain useless knowledge.” —John Calvin

“Prayer is God’s way of bringing our priorities into line with His.” —John Piper

“Christians are Christ’s body, the organism through which He works. Every addition to that body enables Him to do more. If you want to help those outside you must add your own little cell to the body of Christ who alone can help them.” —C.S. Lewis

“As Christians, we are often called to attempt something small. We are called to simply buckle down and work hard at the mundane tasks God has set before us. The world calls us to be famous; Jesus calls us to be faithful.” —Murray Vassar

GREAT NEWS—Planned Parenthood announced “our Federation has decided … that any Planned Parenthood health center that is involved in donating tissue after an abortion for medical research” will accept “no reimbursements for its reasonable expenses.” This is a good start, but John Stonestreet says we still need to keep the heat on them, and I agree!

Live Action notes a common misconception that the pro-life movement is a religious movement. Here are 4 non-religious reasons to be pro-life.

MORE GREAT NEWS—Hyatt Hotels are also removing pornography pay-per-view!

[VIDEO] Alan Shlemon gives us insight on how to talk to Muslims about the crucifixion of Jesus.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, apologetic, Bible, C.S. Lewis, church, crucifixion, faithfulness, God's glory, God's love, God's Word, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus Christ, Live Action, Murray Vassar, Muslim, Planned Parenthood, pornography, pro-life, quotes, T.M. Moore, video. Leave a Comment »

Authority Comes From Submission

October 21, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Out of all the unlikely places, I never would have expected that guy to be a theologian! After all, the ones with the amazing insight into how God works are supposed to be deep into Scripture, know the ancient biblical languages, and be able to preach profound sermons. This guy had none of that.

He was simply an officer in the military who had an aide-de-camp who was sick. He had enough basic knowledge to see that Jesus could do something for his faithful assistant, but—strangely enough—he didn’t think he was worthy of having Jesus come into his home.

He said something that caused Jesus to be amazed. When Jesus is amazed by something a man does, that gets my attention!

This military officer said, “Although I’m an officer who can tell people what to do—when I say, ‘Jump!’ they say, “How high, sir?’ When I say, ‘Go!’ they say. ‘Yes, sir!’—I’m also a man under authority. I recognize that you too, Jesus, are a Man of authority. So if You simply say, ‘Go!’ to this disease, it will go.”

Jesus was amazed!

What theology came from that guy—a Roman centurion! This military officer saw that authority came from being under authority. Jesus had authority because He remained under the authority of His Heavenly Father (see John 12:49-50; Philippians 2:5-11).

We can learn a valuable lesson from this unlikely theologian. Authority comes NOT from trying to get our way, but from doing things God’s way … from staying under His authority. All the authority you will ever need is found in the Word of God (see Matthew 9:6-8; 10:1; 16:19).

This is a great story. Check it out for yourself here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: authority, BibleGateway, God's power, God's Word, Gospel of John, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, military, Philippians, power, submission, theology. Leave a Comment »

Quotes On Prayer

October 20, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“How does your child come to you when he wants anything? Does he open a big book, and begin reading, ‘My dear, esteemed, and venerated parent, in the effulgence of thy parental beneficence’? Nothing of the kind. He says, ‘Father, my clothes are worn out, please buy me a new coat;’ or else he says, ‘I am hungry, let me have something to eat.’ That is the way to pray, and there is no prayer which God accepts but that kind of prayer—right straight from the heart, and right straight to God’s heart.” —Charles Spurgeon

“How is God glorified by prayer? Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need.” —John Piper

“Pray; pray always; or literally, in all times and seasons; not yesterday only, but today; not in darkness only, but in the light; not in adversity only, but in prosperity; not in the day of bereavement, and terror, and weariness, but in the time of security, and comfort, and peace. Pray always. Pray without ceasing.” —Horatius Bonar

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Charles Spurgeon, childlike, confidence, Heavenly Father, Horatius Bonar, humility, Jesus Christ, John Piper, prayer, quotes. Leave a Comment »

Billy Graham On The Church

October 20, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Many persons today insist on coming into the church head first rather than heart first.”

“I am afraid that we in the church are making a great mistake by trying to make Christianity popular and pleasant. We have taken the Cross away and substituted cushions.”

“I wonder if the church has not failed this generation of young people by failing to make the Christian faith the thrilling, joyful, triumphant experience that it really is.”

“The greatest need in the church today is a spiritual revival that will drive her back to her knees and will cause her earnestly to contend for the faith once delivered.”

“There is a viewpoint prevailing in some areas of the church that its function is to change social structures, through political power and political pressure. In my opinion, this is not supported from the Bible. I think the biblical approach is to change men and men themselves will change society for the better.”

“I am convinced that if the church went back to its main task of preaching the Gospel and getting people converted to Christ it would have far more impact on the social structure of the nation than it can have in any other thing it could possibly do.”

All quotes from The Quotable Billy Graham (1966)

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Billy Graham, Christianity, church, Cross, Gospel, Jesus Christ, politics, popularity, preaching, quotes, repentance, revival. 2 Comments »

Links & Quotes

October 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“The issue is not how much a person makes. Big industry and big salaries are a fact of our times, and they are not necessarily evil. The evil is in being deceived into thinking a six-digit salary must be accompanied by a six-digit lifestyle. God has made us to be conduits of His grace. The danger is in thinking the conduit should be lined with gold. It shouldn’t. Copper will do. Copper can carry unbelievable riches to others.” —John Piper

“I would prefer to combat the ‘I’m special’ feeling not by the thought ‘I’m no more special than anyone else’ but by the feeling ‘Everyone is as special as me.’ In one way there is no difference, I grant, for both remove the speciality. But there is a difference in another way. The first might lead you to think, ‘I’m only one of the crowd like anyone else.’ But the second leads to the truth that there isn’t any crowd. No one is like anyone else. All are ‘members’ (organs) in the Body of Christ. All different and all necessary to the whole and to one another: each loved by God individually, as if it were the only creature in existence. Otherwise you might get the idea that God is like the government which can only deal with the people in the mass.” —C.S. Lewis

“Life will always bring challenges. But God will always give strength to face them.” Read more encouraging words from Max Lucado’s post Here’s What You Need To Know.

Seth Godin started writing about too much salt, but he took it somewhere I wasn’t expecting. Wow!

Ryan Shelton talks about the benefit of gathering together with other people at church: Godward Together On Sunday Morning. By the way, if you are looking for a “Godward together” church in West Michigan, I ♥ Calvary Assembly of God!

Glad to see my home state is trying to ban the gruesome practice of abortion by dismemberment.

[VIDEO] Ken Davis knows something cool (and unique) about Michiganders—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, blessing, C.S. Lewis, Calvary Assembly of God, challenge, Christian, church, comedy, difficulties, God's strength, government, grace, John Piper, Ken Davis, Live Action, love, Max Lucado, Michigan, pro-life, quotes, Seth Godin, video, wealth, YouTube. Leave a Comment »

5 Ways To Live As A Free Servant

October 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

We Americans love our freedom! But “freedom” is often misused and even abused—

We have sexual freedom … but not the “freedom” to say no.
We have freedom of expression … unless it’s “offensive” to me.
We have freedom of speech … unless I think it’s “hate speech.”

Freedom usually means: I am free to do what I want when I want to do it, but you are free to only do what I agree to. In other words, “freedom” has become subjective and selfish. For Christians, citizens of Heaven who are passing through Earth, the Bible calls us to use our freedom in a different way.

[1] Make sure your freedom is based in reverence for God (1 Peter 1:17). God is the One who will judge our actions. The Amplified Bible adds, “conduct yourselves in reverent fear of Him and with profound respect for God.”

[2] Live good lives, shown by your good deeds (1 Peter 2:12). The word good here means beautiful, useful, beneficial. In other words, the emphasis is more on action than on talk. George MacDonald wrote, “The time for speaking seldom arrives, the time for being never departs.”

[3] Do good to silence foolish talk (1 Peter 2:15). Notice the contrast between doing (the citizens of Heaven) and merely talking (the citizens of Earth). Good doing always trumps good talking.

[4] Live as free servants (1 Peter 2:16). That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? A free servant?! But this is the same word used to describe Jesus in Philippians 2:7. It’s also how Jesus lived. In fact, the only time Jesus said, “I have set you an example” is when He was being the lowest of servants.

[5] Never forget the Cross (1 Peter 2:21-24; 4:1-6). Because of what Jesus did on the Cross for us, we die to sins and live for righteousness. Because of the Cross, we are to live differently from Earthlings.

When we live in this peculiar way, it gets noticed:

Simple question: If you are a Christian, are you living the way Peter instructs you to live?

If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Peter, action, Calvary Assembly of God, Christian, freedom of speech, George MacDonald, Jesus Christ, Periscope, Philippians, quotes, sermon, servant, video. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

October 17, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“What a great responsibility God has laid upon us preachers of His gospel and teachers of His Word. In that future day when God’s wrath is poured out, how are we going to answer? How am I going to answer? I fear there is much we are doing in the name of the Christian church that is wood, hay and stubble destined to be burned up in God’s refining fire. A day is coming when I and my fellow ministers must give account of our stewardship: What kind of a gospel did we preach? Did we make it plain that men and women who are apart from Christ Jesus are lost? Did we counsel them to repent and believe?” —A.W. Tozer

“Prayer pursues God’s glory by treating Him as the inexhaustible reservoir of hope and help. In prayer, we admit our poverty and God’s prosperity, our bankruptcy and His bounty, our misery and His mercy.” —John Piper

“We love beauty with simplicity, and we love the pursuit of knowledge without effeminacy. We employee wealth properly, for use rather than for noisy display, and we do not consider poverty to be a disgrace but do regard it as shameful for someone not to seek to escape poverty through labor. We citizens of Athens care for both our own domestic concerns and for the affairs of state; those of us engaged in business are not lacking in understanding of public matters. For we alone consider those who avoid engagement in public affairs not as ‘uninvolved’ but as useless. And we, as we judge and reflect carefully on matters, do not consider words to be a hindrance to actions. Rather, the real hindrance to action is to enter into whatever must be done without taking forewarning through discussion.” —Pericles, speaking about Athenian culture, quoted in the Archaeological Study Bible

The serious mental health costs of watching pornography. Don’t be fooled: porn is dangerous!

Tim Dilena talks about the difference between truth and “viral fame” in this video.

Truth! Why marriage shouldn’t end your dating life.

I like Seth Godin’s thoughts on our vocabulary. “It’s not about knowing needlessly fancy words (but it’s often hard to know if the fancy word is needless until after you learn it). Your vocabulary reflects the way you think (and vice versa). It’s tempting to read and write at the eighth-grade level, but there’s a lot more leverage when you are able to use the right word in the right moment.” Read more in Does Vocabulary Matter?