Great Reviews

April 9, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve continued to hear really positive comments about our Easter breakfast drama—Conspiracy!—from those who attended. I thought I’d share a few with you:

  • A fresh way to get the message across.
  • It was great! I hope we do more of it.
  • Everyone did a great job!
  • Very nice approach to a very special day.
  • Great presentation!
  • I really enjoyed this! Thanks for everything!
  • LOVED IT!
  • It was freaking sweet!!
  • Awesome 🙂
  • Very creative and innovative!
  • Great way to illustrate the Easter story.
  • It was great. Enjoyed everything and felt so welcome!

And in case you didn’t hear: 18 people invited Christ into their lives after this drama! That’s the highest compliment of all! I can’t wait to do this again!

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Struggling To Rest

April 9, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Anyone who knows the Ten Commandments has heard the command to take a Sabbath rest. The charge is to take one day a week to recharge. We take a break from our busyness to refresh ourselves. Sounds good, but I really struggle to take a rest.

Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets linked two warnings together: honor the Sabbath and don’t turn to idols. Here’s one example:

Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, most beautiful of all lands—because they rejected My laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated My Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols.

For me, work can become an idol. If I don’t take a Sabbath rest I’m really saying, “I can do it all.” Or maybe even, “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done.” By saying this, I’m making my work more important than my acknowledgment that God is in control.

Here’s what I’m questioning in myself: Do I work all the time because…

I’m asking the Holy Spirit to help me see why I struggle to take a Sabbath rest, and He has been showing me a few areas for improvement. I’ll be making those adjustments so that I can take a day of real rest.

I’d love your help on this one:

  • What have you learned about working smarter so that you can take a day of rest?
  • What does a “Sabbath” look like for you?
  • Have you had to deal with this issue? What resolution did you come to?
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Good For What?

April 8, 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.

There is a power in what we say. This is probably most true in what we say to ourselves.

Far too many people are so quick to beat themselves up and run themselves down. Do you ever do that?

  • How could I have missed that? I’m so stupid!
  • Grrr! I forgot my wallet again. I’m so forgetful!
  • I can’t believe I said that! I’m so insensitive!
  • I could never paint like that. I’m so uncreative!
  • I really messed that one up. I’m such an idiot!
  • I can’t seem to do anything right. I’m just a good-for-nothing!

If you talked to your friends the same way you talk to yourself, would you have any friends left?

The things you say to yourself have got to change. The way you think about yourself has got to change.

God made you the way He made you on purpose. In all of human history, there has never been another you. Right now among the nearly 7 billion people on earth, there isn’t anyone like you.

You are you because God made you. He loves what He made. He loves you!

Perfect? No way! None of us are. That’s one of the few things you and I have in common with everyone else.

Unique? You better believe it!

One of a kind? You sure are!

Good for something? Yep! You have the talents and abilities and personality and temperament that God intended for you to have.

STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP!

Look into God’s mirror and let Him reflect back to you just how wonderful you are! Spend quiet time with your Creator, with your Lover. Hear Him whisper to your heart how special you are.

Then be you. The world needs you to be you. The world is a better place with you in it.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Let God Choose Your Battles

April 7, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

God wants you to be successful. If you call yourself His follower, why would He want you to ever suffer a defeat? He wants His name to be glorified, so He wants you to be successful.

So let Him choose your battles for you. He knows what you can handle. Let Him pick the time, the place, and the method for your battles.

  • His way might be longer than you would like it to be, but His timing is better.
  • His place may not be your place for battle, but His place is better.
  • His methods might not be what you would choose, but His ways are better.

Check this out:

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. (Exodus 13:17-18)

I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. (Exodus 23:27-30)

God told me, “And don’t try to pick a fight with the Moabites. I am not giving you any of their land. … When you approach the People of Ammon, don’t try and pick a fight with them because I’m not giving you any of the land of the People of Ammon for yourselves.” (Deuteronomy 2:9, 19)

Are you in a battle now? If God brought you to this point, hang in there because He will give you the victory. Don’t try to pick a fight in territory God hasn’t given you. Wait for His timing, His place, and His method of victory.

If you’re in a battle now, let me know, and I’d be honored to stand with you in prayer.

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If All Your Friends Were Jumping Off A Cliff…

April 6, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

…would you do it too?

Okay, quick show of hands: how many of you heard your Mom or Dad say this to you? I’ve got both my hands up!

I always hated this statement, because I felt like saying, “Mom, I’m not an idiot. I know where to draw the line.” This an extreme example (a hyperbole) intended to get a point across. The point that our parents were trying to make is: humans tend to be crowd followers.

We want to be accepted, so sometimes we bend ourselves a little bit to get the stamp of approval from our peers. It might be a little more obvious among teenagers with clothing choices, music preferences, or attitudes toward those “outside” the mainstream. Although it gets a little more subtle among adults, I think the desire to be accepted—to go along with the crowd—is always there.

Or else we become rebels. If society says “Right” the rebel says “Left.” If society says “War” the rebel says “Peace.” If Mom and Dad say, “Go to church,” the rebel says, “I’m going to stay away from church.” Which shows another tendency of human nature: we tend to go to extremes.

God says, “Do what is right. Period”…

You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.

Don’t go along with the crowd just to be accepted.

Don’t go alone just to be an individual.

Live for the approval of an audience of One.

It’s only when I take the time to reflect on my conversations, my actions, my thoughts, that I see these two tendencies in me: I do one thing to go along and then do something entirely different to show that I’m my own man. Instead of these extremes, I need to ask, “Is this pleasing to God?”

I’m working on it. How about you?

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Higher Standards For Greater Rewards

April 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Most people think of the Ten Commandments as God’s law given through Moses. Actually the Ten Commandments are just the beginning of the laws, practices, and regulations that God gives to His people. The rest of the book of Exodus, the entire book of Leviticus, and the first ten chapters of Numbers compromise the bulk of the law.

For those of you keeping track, that’s nearly 60 chapters of rules and regulations.

Why so many? I think the answer is found in the lead-up to the Ten Commandments:

Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

God wants people who are treasured. A people who are priests. A people who are holy. In short: He wants pacesetting leaders.

Priests have intimate access to God, and they are people who set an example for others to follow. In order to enjoy these special privileges, priests must be held to higher standards.

These are not standards just for those of Jewish ancestry, but for anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. Look what John recorded in the last book of the Bible:

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

…With Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.

Yes, the standards to be a priest—to be a holy leader—are higher. But the rewards are immeasurable!

Are you ready to bring greater glory to God? Do you want to be a pacesetting leader for the Kingdom of heaven? Then ask the Holy Spirit to sanctify you as you take on the discipline of greater responsibility. Live up to higher standards, and you won’t be disappointed by the rewards!

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Building Blocks

April 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Whether you have been a follower of Jesus for years, or you’ve just invited Him into your life, there are important building blocks that can help this relationship grow stronger. Join us as we discuss the basic building blocks of a relationship with God over the next four Sundays…

April 11—Relationships. A satisfying relationship with God shows up in satisfying relationships with others. How do we make all our relationships better?

April 18—Bible Reading. Just what is this big book and how can we use it to help us every day?

April 25—Prayer. Does talking to God sound scary? It doesn’t have to be. In fact, it can be the best conversation ever!

May 2—The Holy Spirit. His role is probably the least understood, but the most vital, for our day-to-day lives.

We’d love to see you on Sundays at 10:30am.

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Worth It

April 4, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

We went big for our Resurrection Sunday celebration. Instead of our usual format, we had two services, we provided breakfast for everyone, and we wrote and presented an original Easter drama. It was a stretch for us. Going big means:

  • More nights and weekends spent writing and rehearsing.
  • Recruiting more nursery workers.
  • Asking those nursery workers to give up being in the service to minister to our kids.
  • Spending Saturday setting up tables and chairs.
  • Spending money on food that we wouldn’t normally spend.
  • Asking our music team to come earlier and stay later.
  • Speaking twice.

But it was so worth it! At the end of the morning, 18 people invited Jesus into their life!

Since Jesus gave His life for these folks, I think it is a small sacrifice for us to give the money and time and effort that we gave.

I’m so proud of my cast and crew, and kitchen workers, and worship team members, and nursery workers. Not to mention all of our church members who invited family and friends to come to our Easter breakfast drama this morning.

Ah, yes, it is so worth it!!

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What’s So Good About Good Friday?

April 2, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Good Friday? Good for whom?

For you and me? Yes.

Good for Jesus, no. It was Bad Friday for Him, wasn’t it?

Or was it?

The writer of Hebrews says, “For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the Cross, scorning its shame.”

What joy?

It was for the joy of what was nailed to the Cross.

So what exactly was nailed to the Cross?

Isaiah records an usual statement from God –

Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

That seems unfair! We receive double (!) for our sins! Here’s a brief video where I explain what this means culturally –

Only when invoices were paid-in-full did they get doubled-up.

The Bible tells us that we’ve all sinned, and that the invoice or penalty for our sin is death. We have the IOUs of sin nailed to the door of our heart where God says “You owe Me your life!” But we cannot pay this debt by ourselves.

But Jesus can. And Jesus did! Check this out –

He personally carried our sins in His body on the Cross…. (1 Peter 2:24, NLT)

Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us. This He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to His Cross. (Colossians 2:14, AMP)

That’s what is good about Good Friday. Jesus knew that taking our sins on His body, and then allowing His body to be nailed to the Cross, would double-up and nail-down our sin once and for all!

When Jesus said, “It is finished!” He was really saying, “It is was paid-in-full!”

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Let Me Give You A Piece Of Advice

April 2, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

How many times have you heard someone say you, “Let me give you a piece of advice”? Ah, yes, everyone has some advice to share. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone wants to give you a piece of their mind. Everyone is an expert in an area where they think you’re deficient.

I remember going through comment cards at the end of a long week of youth camp. I’d read one card that would say the food was excellent. Just a couple of cards later some “expert” would share how terrible the food was. One would say they loved the evangelist, another would give their “advice” on where the evangelist missed it.

Whom should I listen to? Who should get my ear?

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius gives this counsel to Laertes “Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice: Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.”

Nice prose, but how do we live it out?

I like the example I see from a man named Jethro in the Bible. Jethro is Moses’ father-in-law, and he really only appears on the scene in just one chapter (Exodus 18), but his method of giving advice should be a model for us all.

Credentials—Jethro was a God-fearing man. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, weigh carefully the advice given to you by those who don’t have the same biblical foundation.

Relationship—Jethro had a personal relationship with Moses, he wasn’t just a business acquaintance. That means Jethro had a vested interest in Moses’ success or failure.

Firsthand—Jethro heard about what was happening, but he came to see it for himself. Beware of those “experts” who only have secondhand information about you or your situation.

Up-Close—Jethro spent an entire day right by Moses’ side just watching and listening. He saw what was going on from the front row.

Questions—Jethro led with questions, not with advice. Before giving Moses his opinion, Jethro asked clarifying questions.

Wisdom—Only after all of this did Jethro give his opinion to Moses. The words that he shared were then received by Moses as God-given wisdom.

Your counselors should earn the right to be heard. Just because someone has an opinion doesn’t make him an expert. And just because someone has been-there-done-that doesn’t mean that her way should be your way.

Screen out the clamoring voices by making sure they have credentials, a relationship with you, firsthand experience, and godly wisdom.

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