Diet + Exercise = Healthy Growth

May 5, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The right diet will start you on the road to excellent health, but to keep growing in a healthy way you will need to incorporate some regular exercise too. This is true physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

If I just eat the right foods but don’t exercise, my physical metabolism will not be stoked to the proper levels. To put it another way, a good diet may lower my LDL (bad) cholesterol, but it takes exercise to raise my HDL (good) cholesterol. I need both to be healthy.

So, too, for my heart and mind. If I hear good preaching and think good thoughts (diet), but never put those words or thoughts into action (exercise), I’m not going to grow in a well-balanced, healthy way.

Here’s a couple of things I have learned for body, spirit, and mind exercise.

Set challenging but realistic goals

  • I don’t run without a goal. (1 Corinthians 9:26 CEV)
  • “You must have long-range goals to keep from being frustrated by short-term failures.” —Charles N. Noble

Exercise a little bit when you can

  • There’s no need to jump into lengthy workouts.
  • Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. (1 Timothy 4:7, The Message)
  • “Let him then think of God the most he can; let him accustom himself, by degrees, to this small but holy exercise; nobody perceives it, and nothing is easier than to repeat often in the day these little internal adorations.” —Brother Lawrence, in The Practice Of The Presence Of God

Make exercise a fun habit

  • Remember that you may not feel like exercising, but you will feel better after you exercise.
  • “Life goals are reached by setting annual goals. And annual goals are reached by reaching daily goals. And daily goals are reached by doing things which may be uncomfortable at first but eventually become habits. And habits are powerful things. Habits turn actions into attitudes, and attitudes into lifestyles.” —Charlene Armitage

For a healthy body, a healthy heart, and a healthy thought life, watch the diet you consume and then exercise for maximum benefit. Feel free to share any exercise tips you have learned.

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Heart Food

May 4, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I was running from meeting to meeting, and when I got done I was hungry. So a quick stop into a gas station for a Diet Pepsi and… well, my first impulse was to grab candy or chips. It took no small amount of willpower to make myself grab a healthier alternative.

One of the top rules for healthy dieting: don’t let yourself get too hungry.

Seriously, I know it sounds backward but it works. If you eat three smaller meals with three healthy snacks in between meals you will lose weight. Why? Because keeping the good stuff in you makes the bad stuff less tempting. Try it and let me know how it works for you, but it’s been working well for me.

But what about “heart food” or “thought food”? The Bible says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23, New Living Translation).

If you don’t keep the good stuff in your heart and thoughts, the bad stuff becomes more tempting. And just like the junk food aisle in the convenience store is front-and-center, so are the “junk food headlines.” Swine flu … economic woes … earthquakes … war … these junk food headlines dominate and it’s so easy to snack on them unless you have some healthy stuff in your heart and thoughts.

Health experts say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What about some healthy heart/thought food each morning? How about some healthy conversation time with God: “In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3).

Then you could make sure you have a healthy heart/thought diet throughout the day: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

And then how about a healthy bedtime snack: “I set Your instructions to music and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way. I meditate on Your name all night, God, treasuring your revelation, O God” (Psalm 119:54-55, The Message).

How’s your heart/thought diet doing? Are there any changes you need to make? Best of all, how about sharing with us some heart/thought diet tips that have worked for you.

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God’s Originality

May 1, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever noticed all of the different ways that God reveals Himself to people? He is original with every original person.

I love looking at the Aha! moments that people have. You know, the moments when the light comes on and they understand Who God is to them?

  • When Jethro heard how God delivered Moses and the Israelites from Egypt he said, “Now I know that the true God is greater than all other gods.”
  • When Elijah raised a dead boy back to life the boy’s mother said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that you only speak His words.”
  • When Naaman was healed of leprosy he said to Elisha, “Now I know that there is only one true God.”
  • When David recalled all the ways God has delivered him from certain disaster he sang, “Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed.”
  • When Peter was delivered from prison by an angel he said, “Now I know that God did this.”

(check out the references for these examples by clicking here)

God reveals Himself uniquely to everyone because we’re all unique originals.

“Let God be as original with other people as He is with you.” —Oswald Chambers

Here’s the problem with God’s originality: We try to make our unique experience with God a universal experience for everyone else. We think that because He did it such-and-such a way for us that everyone ought to experience it the same way.

Wrong!

Think about the deliverance from lions in the Bible. In Samson’s case, God gave him supernatural strength to kill a lion with his bare hands; Benaiah went into a pit to kill a lion with his club; Daniel never even touched the lions, and they couldn’t touch him either.

Imagine if Samson was there with Benaiah: “Hey, brother, if you’re going to go after that lion, just wait on God to give you supernatural strength. If you really had faith, you would lose that club!”

Imagine if Benaiah and Samson were giving lion-killing advice to Daniel: “My friend,” Benaiah might say, “Please use my club.” And Samson would interrupt, “How many times do I have to tell you? No clubs!” Yet in Daniel’s case, God wanted the lions alive.

Perhaps you had your “Now I know” moment after a prolonged struggle in a particular area. Your tendency would be to tell others, “Get on your knees and pray and pray and pray. Pray really hard! It might take years, but God will eventually help you breakthrough.” Perhaps God wants to deliver someone else instantly.

Perhaps your “Now I know moment” came while reading from the King James Version of the Bible. Your tendency is going to be to hand out KJVs to everyone. Perhaps God is going to speak to someone through the New Century Version.

Let God be original with you. Let Him uniquely work with others too. Don’t make your “Now I know” experience the theology which rules everyone around you.

I’m so glad God is unique with every unique individual because each of us is a one-of-a-kind original!

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Poetry

April 30, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Just finished a nice book of poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson and I thought I’d share a few maxims with you—

  • “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
  • “Happy is the house that shelters a friend.”
  • “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
  • “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.”
  • “Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait.”
  • “Life is not so short but there is time for courtesy.”
  • “Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk.”
  • “No man thoroughly understands a truth until he has contended against it.”
  • “In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.”

If you haven’t read any poetry lately, I encourage you to give it a try. It sounds/reads differently, but the rhythm and pace sort of sings to your mind and heart as you read it. For Americans I recommend starting out with some American poets like Emerson or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; for you Brits, try some Robert Browning.

Happy reading!

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Give It Away To Have More

April 30, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

It seems like we never have enough. Enough time. Enough money. Enough food. Enough friends.

As weird as it sounds—the cure to have enough is to give what you have away.

Imagine a drought … famine … despair. Lakes drying up and wells running dry. The dairy cows aren’t producing as much milk as usual, and the beef cows don’t have as much meat on them as they used to. The wheat fields aren’t growing as abundantly, and the corn is dry and mealy. Men don’t work as much, their wives don’t visit as much, and the kids don’t play as much.

Now, what if you found out you were going to be fortunate enough to host a VIP at your home? How do you prepare a decent meal? How do you think this VIP is going to react to the meager meal set before him? What if someone came from a distance away and brought you 20 loaves of freshly-baked bread?

Do you know how Elisha responded in these settings? He said, “Give it to the people to eat” (2 Kings 4).

Elisha shows up at his guests’ home and says, “Put the large pot on the stove and make some stew.” The large pot?!? Don’t you know we’re in a famine? Don’t you realize that we don’t have very much to spare?

“Put the large pot on the stove and make some stew, then serve it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. He didn’t ask for the food to be prepared for himself, but for others. And not just a little stew either—he said make stew in the large pot. It’s interesting to me, too, that the householders had all the ingredients for a stew, but they were trying to stretch it out and make it last longer. They were hoarding what they had.

Then a friend arrives from a distant land bringing Elisha 20 loaves of bread.

Do you know how Elisha responded to this gift? “Give it to the people to eat.” Give it to the people?!? There are over 100 people here and we only have 20 loaves! That seems a bit cruel to just whet people’s appetites with so little; why don’t we just keep it for ourselves.

But Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat. Not only will they all eat, but there will be leftovers too.”

When we hoard what we have, we rob others. We rob ourselves too because we miss out on the blessing of seeing others satisfied, and we miss out on the miracles that God wants to do right before our eyes.

“Why does God bless us with abundance? So we can have enough to live on and then use the rest for all manner of good works that alleviate spiritual and physical misery. Enough for us; abundance for others.” —John Piper

So, when you think about it, don’t you really have enough time to help someone in need?

Don’t you really have enough money to alleviate someone’s suffering?

Don’t you really have enough food to satisfy someone’s hunger?

Don’t you really have enough love to make a new friend?

Don’t rob yourself by hoarding. Don’t buy into the scarcity mindset that looks away from others. The more you give away, the more you will have. Try it, it works!

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Fill ’Er Up!

April 29, 2009 — 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.

I sort of remember the days of full-service gas stations. My Dad would drive in and say, “Fill ’er up!” and the gas station attendant would jump into action. Filling up the gas tank, cleaning the windshield, checking the oil level, and even checking the air pressure in the tires.

But, alas, those days of full service seem to be long gone, replaced by highly-efficient, less-personal self-serve stations. And I’m not necessarily talking just about gasoline stations either.

All of our lives seem to have become more efficient and less personal. We are a more do-it-yourself, leverage-technology kind of society today. And I wonder if the result is that many people aren’t getting filled up like they used to.

There is a well-known Bible story in 2 Kings 4. A widow is facing what would amount to foreclosure today. Except this foreclosure was on her sons. Her husband, a God-fearing man, had died and left her with debts she could not pay. The practice in that society was for her sons to be “sold” to pay off the debts. These boys would have to work all day long for someone else, and whatever money they would have earned for their labors would go to the creditors.

In her desperation, the widow turned to the prophet Elisha. He asked her if she had anything of value in her house, and she replied, “Just a little oil. But not enough to pay off my debts.” The counsel Elisha gave her is applicable for our self-serve society today—

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few” (v. 3).

Elisha asked the woman and her family to humble themselves—ask all your neighbors. Sometimes this is one of our biggest hindrances: pride which keeps us from admitting we have a need. And this was no small task because she had to ask ALL her neighbors to, “Fill ’er up!”

Elisha asked them to be persistent—don’t ask for just a few. Not just a jar here and there, but ask for every available jar to, “Fill ’er up!”

The principles in this story shouldn’t just apply to times of desperation in our lives. Because maybe if we worked on being around our neighbors and asking what needs they have, and sharing our needs as well, maybe we wouldn’t get into such desperate situations.

In the story in 2 Kings, the oil stopped flowing only after every available jar had been filled. If I want God to continue to pour His oil of blessing into my life, He has to have room in which to pour. That means that I need to be pouring into others’ lives as often as I can. Listen to the blessings when we, “Fill ’er up!”—

     I want you to know how delighted I am to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus here with me. They partially make up for your absence! They’ve refreshed me by keeping me in touch with you. (1 Corinthians 16:17-18, The Message paraphrase)

     In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. (2 Corinthians 7:13)

     God bless Onesiphorus and his family! Many’s the time I’ve been refreshed in that house. And he wasn’t embarrassed a bit that I was in jail. The first thing he did when he got to Rome was look me up. May God on the Last Day treat him as well as he treated me. (2 Timothy 1:16-18, The Message paraphrase)

     Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people. (Philemon 7 NLT)

Get around other “full” people and let them fill you up.

Seek out “empty” people and pour abundantly into them.

The more you pour out into others, the more room there is for God to pour into you.

God is always pleased when our lifestyle is one of “Fill ’er up!”

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Ditch Digging

April 28, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

In 2 Kings 3 the combined armies of Judah, Israel and Edom set out to attack the country of Moab. To try to take Moab by surprise the armies marched for seven days through the desert.

But there’s a problem with deserts: no water! And when you have three combined armies with all of their soldiers and horses and cattle, no small amount of water is needed. So on the verge of battle, this massive army is unable to fight because they are parched. To find a solution to this problem, the prophet Elisha is consulted, and he gives some very unusual counsel—

Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink (verses 16-17).

Dig ditches in the desert? Yeah, right, sounds like a great strategy… NOT! But—

In the morning—it was at the hour of morning sacrifice—the water had arrived, water pouring in from the west, from Edom, a flash flood filling the valley with water (v. 20, The Message).

The story goes on to tell us that when the Moabites looked out into the desert the water looked to them like blood. They assumed that the armies had a disagreement between themselves during the night and their partnership dissolved into civil war. The Moabites rushed out to the battlefield—thinking they would now have an easy victory—only to walk right into the newly-invigorated and still-unified armies!

Many times the way God provides for us is contingent upon the level of our faith-filled obedience. Imagine this scenario: The army captains instruct their men, “Start digging ditches! Dig lots of them because we have lots of men and livestock to water.” The obedient soldiers jump to their work and begin digging. Out in the hot desert sun, digging through sifting sands, imagine how cynical the soldiers could have become.

“This is stupid! We’re in a desert, for crying out loud! There’s no water anywhere and not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can see. I’m already parched and now I’m breaking my back digging ditches?!? I don’t think so! This is pointless: I quit!”

But catch this—God could only send as much water as they were willing to dig ditches. If they didn’t have the ditches ready when the water started flowing in, none of the men nor livestock could have contained the water to be able to quench their thirst. The floodwaters would have been useless to them!

Many times I think God is calling us to dig ditches so He can provide for us. What do you need to do to be ready for the flood of blessing He wants to send to you? What blessing would be wasted if you didn’t already have ditches ready? What ditches do you need to dig? Maybe you need to…

  • Get certified
  • Finish your degree
  • Make that phone call
  • Setup that meeting
  • Paint that room
  • Train those teachers

Some of those “ditches” may seem pointless now—as pointless as digging water ditches in the desert!—but when God pours out His blessing, won’t you be glad that your ditches are ready? What ditches do you need to start digging today?

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Routine Weekend Rewind

April 27, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Whoa, this weekend seemed like a whirlwind! Lots of interesting and noteworthy stuff packed into 72 hours.

Great homegoing celebration for John “Jack” Rivers on Saturday morning. What an incredible legacy he left. We celebrated his life with his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. Wow!

I love my extended family. Not just those related to me by blood, but those that call me “brother” because of our mutual relationship with Jesus Christ. It was great to see brothers and sisters comforting the extended Rivers family. There’s just something special about having those that truly love you around in times of loss or crisis.

Driving in the rain is just slightly (!) stressful. We were in torrential rain all the way to West Michigan, and most of the way back home. That kind of rain makes a two-hour trip seem a whole lot longer when the stress level is elevated. I’m grateful that God kept us safe.

Short, but sweet, time with my family. Nice to have some of Mom’s cooking and spend time with my folks, my sister and brother-in-law, and my nephews.

Incredible service at Calvary Assembly of God in Cedar Springs! The worship team loves Jesus and they rock! Loved seeing the enthusiasm for worship and for the Word among both young and old. I look forward to getting back to visit this enthusiastic group again!

Great phrase in Switchfoot’s song Faust, Midas and Myself, “And what was once routine was now the perfect joy.” My life is anything but routine, but the “simple” things around me everyday are truly the perfect joy.

Enjoy your “perfect joys” this week!

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I’ll Take My Roses Today, Please

April 24, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

My Grandfather used to say, “Give me my flowers while I’m still alive.” I think this was his way of restating the cliché, “Dead noses smell no roses.” It’s true: flowers at a gravesite—no matter how beautiful they are—aren’t appreciated by dead noses. Kind and loving words spoken at a funeral—no matter how eloquent they are—aren’t appreciated by dead ears.

The point is: today is special. Today is one-of-a-kind. Today is the best day to tell someone dear to you how truly special they are. Today may be the last day you have to make something right. Today is the day to send those flowers. Don’t put it off until tomorrow.

How many people live with regrets today because of the things they didn’t say before a loved one passed away from this life? How many people feel guilty today because they didn’t make things right in a strained relationship? How much better to live today knowing that we said and did all of the things we could to express our love, to show how valuable the relationship was.

Job said, “My days are swifter than a runner” (Job 9:25).

His friend Bildad agreed that, “Our days on earth are but a shadow” (Job 8:9).

And James wrote, “Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone” (James 4:14).

We never know how much time is left to send those flowers.

Today…

  • Make that phone call.
  • Ask forgiveness.
  • Write that letter.
  • Apologize.
  • Hug.
  • Go to lunch.
  • Say, “I love you.”
  • Send those flowers.

Don’t live your tomorrows with regrets for the things unsaid or undone—say them and do them today.

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God’s Love Song

April 23, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Aaah, amoré… love! Isn’t it wonderful to be in love? When you fell in love with your sweetheart, I’ll bet you had a special “love song” just for the two of you. Betsy and I did, and it’s still our special song today.

There’s something about music and song that seems to fuel the emotions of love. Something about those words and those haunting melodies that speak to our hearts unlike anything else can. A poem set to music.

Yesterday I wrote about God’s strong and loving hands—powerful enough to provide, loving enough to hold just you.

But did you know that God also sings a love song about you? Check it out—

The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Isn’t it amazing to think about God being so delighted with you that He sings you a love song?! I believe it is a song written and sung just for you! And I don’t think God has just one song for you.

Think about how music has impacted you. Maybe you’ve cranked up that special tune when you’re out with friends … or the song you played over and over to help you through a tough time … or the love song that is special just for the two of you … or the ready-for-battle song you used to get pumped up for the big game! Special songs for special moments.

In every season of your life, listen for God’s special song just for you and then join in the song with Him—

But each day the LORD pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God Who gives me life. (Psalm 42:8, New Living Translation)

 Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion upon His afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13, Amplified Bible)

But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 59:16, New International Version)

Are you hearing any of God’s love songs today? Are you singing along?

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