Do It Quickly

October 8, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Sometimes when you read about an incredible prophet like Elijah, don’t you think, “I wish God would use me like that?” I mean, why not? Was there something different about him? Even James said in the New Testament that Elijah was “just as human as we are.”

So why could use God use him so powerfully? Why not me?

I think the key is in how quickly Elijah responded when God spoke. Check this out:

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah…. So he did what the Lord had told him.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath….” So he went to Zarephath.

The word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go present yourself to Ahab….” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

See the pattern? God speaks, and in the very next verse, Elijah acts.

No delays.

No excuses.

No planning.

No extra prayer.

No companions.

Just obedience.

The next time you read your Bible and you hear the word of the Lord speak, act on it immediately.

The next time your pastor speaks the word of the Lord to you on Sunday, put it into action on Monday.

As James also said, let’s not just be hearers of the word of the Lord, let’s be immediate doers of the word.

Do it quickly and watch God begin to work through your life powerfully.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Not Imitating Jesus

October 7, 2010 — 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.

Not Imitating Jesus

      God does not expect us to imitate Jesus Christ: He expects us to allow the life of Jesus to be manifested in our mortal flesh. God engineers circumstances and brings us into difficult places where no one can help us, and we can either manifest the life of Jesus in those conditions, or else be cowards and say, “I cannot exhibit the life of God there.” Then we deprive God of glory. If you will let the life of God be manifested in your particular human edition—where God cannot manifest it, that is why He called you, you will bring glory to God.

From Approved Unto God

This so encourages me, because it tells me that every difficult situation I’m in is God-engineered. He put me in these tough spots because He wants the life of Jesus to be seen through me. And He wants to be glorified. If God desires these things, then He will give me His Holy Spirit to strengthen me to shine in difficult places.

Shine on!

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A Life Well Lived

October 6, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Early yesterday morning, a saint went home to be with Jesus. She was known to all of us at Calvary Assembly of God simply as Grandma. And she was the hippest Grandma we ever knew!

So full of Jesus, and radiating love through her smile. She loved to laugh, she loved to live, she loved to love. But as full of life as we thought she was here on this earth, it’s nothing compared to the life she is experiencing now in the presence of her Savior! She’s home now, and more alive than ever.

We will be celebrating her life for a long time, but we will especially focus on the blessing she was to us this week (the details are here). Please be a part of the visitation time and the homegoing celebration service at the end of this week.

We love you, Grandma! Thanks for showing us how to live so well.

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Your Lego

October 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple or Spotify.

Red, yellow, green, or blue?

Six dots, four dots, three, or two?

Long and straight, or thick and round?

Inside, outside, upside-down?

Cutting-edge that’s very new?

Or a classic shape that’s tried-and-true?

The Creator made you, oh, so right!

That’s why your Lego shines so bright.

God loves the way He made you! You were made to fit just right and make the Body of Christ all that it could be. If you hold back from using your talent, we’re all diminished. The Bible has a different way of expressing this:

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

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Serve More To Lead Better

October 1, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

As King Solomon’s son Rehoboam was ascending the throne, he received some wise counsel:

If you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.

I also like the way The Message paraphrases this same verse:

If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you.

In other words: the more you serve, the better you will lead. Unfortunately, Rehoboam chose to reject this counsel, and his leadership disintegrated.

If you will be a servant [position] and serve [attitude] they will serve you.

This Hebrew word for serve is used quite a bit in the Old Testament. Interestingly, the first five times it is used are all in the agricultural sense: farming the land, tending to the plants, working, waiting, and ultimately harvesting. Leadership is never developed quickly. Servant leaders must be in it for the long haul.

Jesus also emphasized servant-leadership…

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

Bottom line: The more you serve others, the better you will lead others. 

I take a deep dive into this kind of leadership in my book Shepherd Leadership.

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Thursdays With Oswald—God’s Worker

September 30, 2010 — 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.

God’s Worker

     Never choose to be a worker, but when once God has put His call on you, woe be to you if you turn to the right hand or the left. God will do with you what He never did with you before the call came; He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.

From Approved Unto God

If God hasn’t called me to do His work, then anything I attempt will be in my own power alone. How miserable I would be if I attempted to keep doing this.

If God has called me to do His work, then He will equip me to do His work. How miserable I would be if I turned away from His work.

Are you God-called or self-called?

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Engaging Culture

September 29, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I read something very interesting: Next to Christmas, more money is spent on Halloween than on any other holiday event. Halloween?!? Wow! We’re in the midst of planning our church’s role on Halloween night, so I’ve been thinking quite a bit about engaging our culture.

It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

So here’s how I think followers of Jesus Christ should light a candle to engage culture:

(1) Have the right motivation. In Jesus’ inaugural sermon, He said He was coming to preach the Good News about God’s love. He purposely left out the part of Isaiah’s prophesy that talked about God’s coming judgment. There will be a time for that, but for now, our motivation should be to make known the favor of the Lord.

(2) Get out of your box. If you only hang around with Christians, your ability to effectively engage culture will be diminished. If you never get around others, it’s sort of like salt that sits in the saltshaker too long. Paul told the Athenians that he had been walking around their city looking at their culture.

(3) Listen. As Paul talked to the Athenians, he quoted their poets to them. He knew what they were listening to because he was listening too. What are people watching on TV? What movies are they talking about? What music are they listening to? You can find the key to their heart by knowing something about what interests them.

(4) Collaborate. There are lots of other faith-based organizations, non-government organizations, and churches that are already active in your community. Join forces with them.

(5) Just be there. Go to local restaurants, cheer on the local sports teams, join a rec league team, attend the city council meetings, volunteer at a shelter or food pantry. Just be there! After a while, people will begin to ask you why you are so involved, and you’ll have a great platform to speak to them.

It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

Are you engaging your culture? It’s time to go shine!

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What Good Is God? (book review)

September 28, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Philip Yancey always makes me think. He explores the edges of Christian faith, not content just to walk down the safe paths of well-worn, traditional preaching. Just the title of his latest book—What Good Is God?—tells you that this book will be no exception.

This book is laid out in ten sections, each with two chapters. The first chapter in each section gives you the setting, the second chapter is a speech that Yancey gave in that setting. And, wow, what tough settings they are! Every setting is one that makes you wonder, “Where was God in that?!?”

What Good Is God? will take you to settings like…

  • The campus of Virginia Tech after a gunman opened fire on faculty and students.
  • The secret house churches in Communist China.
  • The post-apartheid South Africa where wounds of hate are still healing.
  • The volatile Middle East where religious beliefs violently collide.
  • The middle of a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

In every section, Philip Yancey masterfully and empathetically takes us on a journey of discovery that shows that God is still God and that He is good. He does this through personal example, Biblical references, and always with a heart that seems to know his audience.

It’s a challenging read, but well worth your time.

I am a Faith Words book reviewer.

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Blessed Man

September 27, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

My church family surprised me yesterday for pastor appreciation Sunday. I got a yummy cake, and a new iPod to replace the one that was stolen.

I absolutely ♥ my church family! Even if I wasn’t the pastor, this is still the church I would attend. Hey, if you live in the Cedar Springs area, stop by and see what makes this such a great group.

I’m a blessed man!

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Downhill

September 27, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I was riding my bike back from volunteering at the Red Flannel 5k Race in Cedar Springs on Saturday, and there’s one stretch I really enjoy: it’s a nice downhill run. Downhill is so much fun! I get to zip along with very minimal effort.

King Solomon wrote a letter to another king and talked about his downhill run:

But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.

Downhill is a breeze, but there are some problems with it…

  • I build only minimal muscle going downhill
  • My stamina is not stretched at all
  • Aerobic exercise is almost non-existent
  • It’s harder to stop

Downhill is fun, but I need some uphill climbs too:

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials [some uphill climbs], for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

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