Salt & Light

March 30, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus called His followers to be salt and light in the world. He said:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

We have been placed in this world to season it and to illuminate it. What does that mean? How do we do that in a way that glorifies your Father in heaven?

I’m really excited to kickoff our new series Salt & Light this Sunday morning. I hope you can join me at 10:30am to learn more about being seasoning and illumination.

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Costly Grace (book review)

March 29, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Jon Walker comes out swinging with his timely book Costly Grace. This book is subtitled “A contemporary view of Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship,” and it makes Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s challenging book come alive for a whole new generation.

“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

If you have previously read Bonhoeffer’s classic work, you will appreciate the way Jon makes The Cost Of Discipleship understandable to this generation. He does this with watering down Bonhoeffer’s tone at all.

If you haven’t read The Cost Of Discipleship, Jon’s book should be just the primer you need to dive into Bonhoeffer.

In either case, be prepared: Costly Grace is no easy read. You will probably feel like your toes are being stepped on, and that Jon (and Bonhoeffer) are being too unreasonably difficult. This is a serious read for serious disciples of Jesus Christ. So if you are ready to step into a more mature walk with Christ, Costly Grace is an excellent place to start.

I am an ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers book reviewer.

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1-on-1 Time

March 29, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love my 1-on-1 time with my kids. It’s wonderful when we can spend time together as a family, but there is something special about the times I can zero-in on just one of my kids at a time.

Harrison and I read Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Teens awhile ago, and now Samantha and I are working our way through it together. Brandon is just beginning to get into some serious reading, and right now we are discussing the situations in which Frank and Joe Hardy find themselves in The Hardy Boys series.

It doesn’t have to be over a book. Go for a walk … schedule a daddy-daughter date … play some basketball on the driveway … debrief the life lessons you just watched in a movie … play a video game.

Listen to this Dad and Mom: It doesn’t really matter what you’re doing together, as long as you are doing it together. Not what you want to do, but what they want to do. Get involved in their lives. The precious time you invest 1-on-1 with your kids will make all the difference in the world!

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Bringin’ It!

March 29, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Everywhere you go today, you will be bringing something.

What is it?

Compassion … Empathy … Servanthood … Encouragement … A smile?

…or…

Disinterest … Apathy … Selfishness … Discouragement … A frown?

Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace, that
where there is hatred, I may bring love;
where there is wrong, I may bring forgiveness;
where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
where there is error, I may bring truth;
where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
where there is despair, I may bring hope;
where there are shadows, I may bring light;
where there is sadness, I may bring joy. —Francis of Assisi

So what are you going to bring today?

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Overloaded Recap

March 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

We all have times that life feels overwhelming. Like there is too much to do, but not enough of us (or our time, or our money, or our willpower, or…) to accomplish what we need to. In a word: we are overloaded.

I just finished a 4-part series about God’s ways for finding relief for our overloaded lives, and I thought this quick recap might be helpful.

If you’re feeling OVERLOADED, remember…

Less Is More

When the “less” is stuff, the “more” is relationships.

Off Makes On Better

A day OFF (a Sabbath) helps you appreciate ON more.

Study To Be Quiet

Tune out all the noise so you can tune in to God’s voice.

Trust God First

Give God the first 10% of your income and enjoy His blessing.

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Sanctuary Needed

March 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Why is it that a bad morning at school follows you and becomes a bad afternoon at home?

Why is that a bad day at work follows you and becomes a bad evening at home?

We all have a tendency to hang on to things. But the problem is we end up taking out our problems on those who didn’t create the problem. In other words, our family takes the heat from us because we know they will still love us, even after we unload on them. So we make our problem their problem.

Yes, we all need someone to listen to us vent when we’ve had a bad day, or we’ve been snubbed by someone, or we’ve gotten an after-school detention, or we’ve been chewed out by the boss. But venting is different from transferring. Venting is when we express our hurts to someone who loves us; transferring is when we take out our hurts on someone who loves us.

Dr. Richard Dobbins gave some wise counsel on how to avoid doing this:

“Develop the mental and spiritual ability to put space between your workplace [or school] and your home life. Treat your home life like a sanctuary. Don’t bring the feelings created by being treated unfairly in the workplace [or school] home with you.”

Maybe this will help you. Here’s what I do: I have created a boundary line (in my case it’s a road) over which bad attitudes created during the day cannot cross. As I approach home I remind myself that my family was not who gave me trouble, so I’m not going to bring my trouble home to them. If I need to, I’ll stop my car and sit for a few minutes before I cross that boundary, just to make sure my attitude is right before I cross that boundary line.

Where’s your boundary? Where can you make some space, so that your home becomes (and remains) a sanctuary?

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Setting A Good Example

March 25, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Last week I told you about how proud (and humbled) I was by Brandon’s aware-winning essay. The story was covered in the Cedar Springs Post, and you can read it here.

Brandon is wearing a blue shirt, fifth in from the right (in front of his proud parents!).

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The One To Copy

March 25, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Adoniram Judson was a missionary to India and Burma in the mid-1800s. His passion for missions was so contagious that a group of students at Andover organized America’s first missionary society, and used the reports from Judson as a means to encourage other students to become involved in missions.

Local newspapers and various religious publications began to compare Judson’s missionary work to the ground-breaking and miraculous missionary trips conducted by the Apostle Paul and the other apostles of the New Testament.

Judson began to write letters to the editors, expressing his displeasure at this comparison. In one letter he wrote,

I do not want to be like them. There is but One to copy, Jesus Himself. I want to plant my feet in His footprints and measure their shortcomings by His and His alone. He is the only Copy. I want to be like Him.

Who are you copying? Your parents? Your pastor? Your mentor? Some figure from history?

Truly: There is but One to copy, Jesus Himself.

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Biblical Ethics (book review)

March 24, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Like every book from Oswald Chambers, be prepared for Biblical Ethics to hit you right between the eyes! In my lifetime the term ethics has had so many qualifiers added to it: situational ethics … biomedical ethics … wartime ethics. As though ethics becomes something changeable if you are in a difficult situation.

But in clear, unequivocal language, Oswald Chambers brings all ethics back to the Bible.

Keying in most frequently on the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, Chambers helps us get to the true intention behind the ethical requirements of God’s Law. For any who would say, “But it’s too hard to figure out what Jesus actually meant,” Chambers replies,

“When we come across something we don’t like, we say we don’t understand it; it is too plain not to be understood.”

This is not light reading, but it is valuable reading. Serious disciples of Christ will be well-rewarded by reading and studying the wisdom in Biblical Ethics. If you would like to read more thoughts from Oswald Chambers, check out my weekly installment Thursdays With Oswald.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Obstinacy Or Determination?

March 24, 2011 — 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.

Obstinacy Or Determination?

     It is easy to be determined, and the curious thing is that the more small-minded a man is the more easily he makes up his mind. If he cannot see the various sides of a question, he decides by the ox-like quality of obstinacy. Obstinacy simply means “I will not allow any discernment in this matter; I refuse to be enlightened.” We wrongly call this strong-mindedness. Strength of mind is the whole man active, not discernment merely from an individual standpoint. The determination in a disciple is a comprehending one, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” says Paul.

From Facing Reality

     The difference between an obstinate man and a strong-minded man lies just here: an obstinate man refuses to use his intelligence when a matter is in dispute, while a strong-minded man makes his decision after having deliberately looked at it from all standpoints, and when opposed, he is willing to give reasons for his decision.

From Baffled To Fight Better

“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is, that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.” —Henry Ward Beecher

So in hanging onto (and defending) what I believe, am I being obstinate or justly determined? 

Hmmm? What do you think?

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