I Am Doulos

January 8, 2013 — 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.

In this era of LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and the like, we are so concerned about connections, friends, followers, and likes that it consumes our thoughts.

We self-promote and pray for popularity.

Well, I don’t think anyone is actually brazen enough to pray, “God, make me popular.” But we often live as if popularity was the answer to a prayer.

We gain our status by who we know, what we’ve done, what we are doing, the places we’ve worked, and the number of “friends,” “followers” and “connections” we have accumulated.

James wrote a book of the Bible. As he opened the letter he introduced himself. He could have said:

  • I am the half-brother of Jesus
  • I am the leader of the Christian Church
  • I chaired the Jerusalem Council

Instead he simply said, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Not even the servant, as if he were distinguished among others, but the indefinite article a servant. The Greek word here (doulos) means:

  • A slave
  • “One who gives himself up to another’s will for Christ to use his service to advance His cause among men” (Strong’s Greek Dictionary)
  • Devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests

Any connections, friends, followers, skills, talents, or opportunities I have are wholly God’s. He gave them to me so I could serve Him and serve others. I am merely a steward of what He’s given me—I AM DOULOS.

(To see a negative example of this, check out my post Trading Truth for Popularity.)

My desire for my eulogy and my tombstone is for it to simply say: “He was a servant.”

I am living to hear my Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

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I Have Arrived!

October 3, 2012 — 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.

Do you remember when you got your first job that came with your name on a business card? What about when you were promoted to an office with your name on the door? Even better: what if you became so influential that your name is now on the stationary, or even becomes a part of the organization’s official name?!?

Look at you! You’ve arrived!

At least that’s how a lot of people see it. The more their name is plastered all over something, the more powerful they feel.

On Sunday evenings our Next Level Bible study is looking at the Book of James. In the first week of our study, we barely got past the first word: James. Who was this guy that has his name attached to a book in the Bible?

  • James was the half-brother of Jesus. In fact, since his name is listed first, he probably was the next oldest sibling after Jesus. Isn’t this the carpenter’s Son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? (Matthew 13:55).
  • Since Joseph (the earthly father of Jesus) is not mentioned again in the New Testament, many feel he died while Jesus was a teenager. As a result, after Jesus began His public ministry, the head-of-the-household responsibilities would have passed to James.
  • James met with Jesus one-on-one after His resurrection. Then [Jesus] appeared to James, then to all the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:7).
  • James was recognized by others as the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars… (Galatians 2:9). He was also the chairman of the Council in Acts 15, and his decision was the final decision at that meeting.

From all appearances, it looks as though James has arrived! He’s got his name in all the right places, and is one of the most influential people in the early Church.

Yet look at how James referred to himself: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1).

If James thought he had “arrived,” it was only to arrive as a servant. His name may have been on the business card, or the church door, or the church letterhead. But he was only there to serve!

History gives us two other names for this great man: James The Just and Old Camel Knees (because of how much time he spent kneeling in prayer, and kneeling in service to Jesus and His followers).

If I ever “arrive,” I pray that like James I’ve only arrived to serve!

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THAT Kind Of Church

September 28, 2012 — 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.

The book of James is written to a bunch of Christians. James knew his audience was the Church (see James 1:1).

Keep that firmly in mind when you read these words from James 3:2—

We all stumble in many ways. (New International Version)

For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. (Amplified Bible)

Indeed, we all make many mistakes. (New Living Translation)

I hate to break the news to you, but that means:

  • Your pastor’s not perfect
  • Your church isn’t perfect
  • You’re not perfect

You attend a church with people who stumble, and offend, and mess it up. Your pastor stumbles, and offends, and messes up. And so do you!

Isn’t that wonderful?! We all make mistakes! So we all need to give and receive the same forgiveness. We all need to extend grace to others and receive grace from others. You need to help others back up when they stumble, and you need to admit when you’ve stumbled, and let others help you get back up.

Abraham Kuyper wrote—

“Sin is a destroyer that creeps in everywhere. Therefore we must expect an imperfect church. In fact, we church members carry the sin of the world with us into the church, too often hiding it under a veil of spirituality. If the church were not the Bride of His Son, surely God would in holy wrath destroy not first of all the church, but rather first of all the wretched sin-ridden church.”

To these beautifully imperfect Christians, James concludes his teaching with these words:

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. … My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:16, 19-20)

Yeah, let’s be THAT kind of church!!

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Next Level: James

September 27, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

It was a time of explosive growth. And with that growth came challenges, questions, problems, and opportunities! I’m talking about the Church in its earliest days in Jerusalem.

The Bible tells us that God prepares people in advance (Colossians 2:10) to do the works that He has equipped them to do. Into this environment of rapid growth and previously unheard-of opportunities stepped a man named James. His leadership and wisdom were just what the church needed then.

And his leadership and wisdom are just what the church needs now.

That’s why I’m leading our Next Level study group into an in-depth look at the book James wrote. The wisdom that is found in the Book of James has been called “the proverbs of the New Testament,” and we’ll be learning how to apply those proverbs to our lives and our church.

Please join me for this fascinating and informative study at 5pm each Sunday afternoon.

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Faith Is Always Doing

January 31, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

The apostle James said it this way:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

And I love Martin Luther’s commentary on this:

“Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.”

A question for us to ponder: Can people see my faith by what I am doing?

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Work Out

August 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In order to grow muscle, it has to be stretched beyond what we usually use. Muscles don’t grow unless they are worked out.

The same is true for us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. If we only do easy things—if everything is rosy all the time—we’ll never grow. In fact it’s worse than that: if we’re not challenged, we will actually atrophy and shrink back.

So with that in mind, here are some encouraging words for your spiritual work out.

“By affliction God teaches us many precious lessons, which without it we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world and makes us long for heaven.” —J.C. Ryle

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. …Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. —Apostle James

“God does not give us overcoming life—He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength.” —Oswald Chambers

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, 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. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. —Apostle Paul

I pray that you will gain strength in your spiritual work out today.

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The Big Ask

October 14, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Tonight in our Impact! Youth service we are wrapping up a great series called Bigger Than Me. We’ve been challenging our youth to look out from themselves and see the big world around them. This has been an amazing series and I’ve been so excited to see so many students step out in a big way. You can read more here and here.

But tonight is the big ask. Tonight I’m going to challenge our students to make a commitment that’s going to hit them in a really sensitive area—their wallets. We’re going to present the opportunity to confront a real need in a very practical way: by giving money. Not just once, but every month.

Here’s the way the apostle James laid it on the line:

Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

Here’s how you can be involved:

  1. Pray for me that I can present the big ask in a compelling way.
  2. Pray for our students that they’ll be moved to respond.
  3. Check out my blog tomorrow for an update on tonight’s response, and to see how you can help too.

I can hardly wait!

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A Silly Dream World Or The Real Deal?

June 23, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“What is ‘real’? How do you define ‘real’? If real is what you can feel, smell, taste, and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. … Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?” —“Morpheus” in The Matrix

We are created in God’s image. God is eternal and unrestricted, yet we are contained in finite bodies and constrained to the time-space dimension of our universe. That hardly seems “real.” Yet our souls—the “real” part of us—were made to be timeless and unbound. It seems like a dream, and yet sounds real.

To help humanity navigate the dream-real state in which we find ourselves, God gave us incredible insights into His Word: the Bible. The answers to our dream-real questions are there if we’re willing to search for them.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “What we see when we think we are looking into the depths of Scripture may sometimes be only the reflection of our own silly faces.” The Apostle James talks about God’s Word as a mirror in his letter to the church (1:22-25). In this, I see three people.

(1) One who never looks in the mirror; one who simply accepts what’s presented to him. Again “Morpheus” comes close: “You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up.” James says this is a man who attends church regularly, but never applies what he hears. In fact, he probably never even hears anything other than what he thinks the pastor said. That man is silly, shallow, and stunted in his spiritual growth (if there is even any growth at all!).

(2) One who looks in the mirror but doesn’t do anything about what he sees. He hears the Word of God at church and perhaps even reads his Bible often at home; he knows all the stories and how everything should be. But he, too, never makes any changes in his spiritual “appearance.” He is content with where he is. If he ever feels the pull of desire that there could be more real to his dream-real world, he quickly explains it away. He is at the same spiritual maturity level today as he was years ago.

(3) One who looks into the mirror, recognizes that he is silly-looking, and then does something about it. It’s hard work and often this man feels like he’s not growing because he continues to see his silly face reflected back to him. As Albert Einstein noted, “As a sphere of light increases, so does the circumference of darkness around it.”

James says only this third man has been freed from his dream-real constraints and is called blessed by God. Only he is beginning to understand how to make the dream real.

In which category are you? Are you brave enough to look into the depths of God’s Word and see your silly face? Are you willing to make the changes the Bible shows you to free your soul?

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