astronomy | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

June 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“It is the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether we are manifesting the life of the Son of God, or living a life which is antagonistic to Him. When disagreeable things happen, do we manifest the essential sweetness of the Son of God or the essential irritation of ourselves apart from Him?” —Oswald Chambers

“Without the Holy Spirit no good thing ever did or ever can come into any of your hearts—no sigh of penitence, no cry of faith, no glance of love, no tear of hallowed sorrow. Your heart can never beat with life divine, except through the Spirit; you are not capable of the smallest degree of spiritual emotion, much less spiritual action, apart from the Holy Spirit. Dead you lie, living only for evil, but absolutely dead for God until the Holy Spirit comes and raises you.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Man was created ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ Whether that is best pictured as being in love, or like being one of an orchestra who are playing a great work with perfect success, or like surf bathing, or like endlessly exploring a wonderful country or endlessly reading a glorious story—who knows? Dante says Heaven ‘grew drunken with its universal laughter.’” —C.S. Lewis

“Our Lord will come! This is one of the great certainties of the unknown future. He may tarry, but He will come at last. Many obstacles may seem to rise up, but He will come. Men may not desire Him, but He will come. The Church may be cold, but He will come. Earth may think she has no need of Him, but He will come! The scoffer may say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’ but He will come. satan may do his utmost to oppose, but He will come. This is the great future certainty which Christ and His apostles have proclaimed to us. Our Lord will come!” —Horatius Bonar

“[God] does not bless us begrudgingly. There is a kind of eagerness about the beneficence of God. He does not wait for us to come to Him. He seeks us out, because it is His pleasure to do us good. God is not waiting for us, He is pursuing us. That, in fact, is the literal translation of Psalm 23:6, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.’ … God is never irritable or edgy. His anger never has a short fuse. Instead He is infinitely energetic with absolutely unbounded and unending enthusiasm for the fulfillment of His delights.” —John Piper

“When it comes to spiritual matters, you and I will never know our potential under God until we step out and take risks on the front line of battle. … Sitting safely in the shelter of Bible discussions among ourselves, or complaining to one another about the horrible state of today’s society, does nothing to unleash the power of God.” Read more of this post from Jim Cymbala.

Putting a probe on a moving comet is just too cool! Check out the latest news from the Philae lander.

Alan Trammell has always been one of my all-time favorite Detroit Tigers. Here’s proof that he is just as classy off the field as he was on it.

Links & Quotes

April 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“You cannot have seen much of the Savior, unless you desire to let others see Him. Your piety is a mere sham if it does not lead to practical service.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill

“Real security is in Heaven and thus earth affords only imitations.” —C.S. Lewis

“One thing I know, if you are free, then you are thinking about setting others free; and if you have no zeal for the emancipation of other men, you are a slave yourself. If you are free you hate all sorts of chains, all sorts of sin, and you will never willingly put on the fetters any more. You live each day, crying unto Him Who made you free at first, to hold you up that you fall not into the snare. If you are free, this is not the world for you; this is the land of slaves; this is the world of bondage. If you are free, your heart has gone to heaven, the land of the free. If you are free today, your spirit is longing for the time when you shall see the Great Liberator face to face.” —Charles Spurgeon

The Hubble Telescope is turning 25 years old. Here are some break-taking pictures that it has captured so far.

Seth Godin has a very intriguing question: What if you stopped doing what you are doing?

Antony Van Leeuwenhoek is the father of microbiology. Here is a very cool short biography about his work.

Parents and grandparents, Mark Merrill has a cool way to use technology to encourage your (grand)kids.

Links & Quotes

March 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“May we have none of our own-manufactured graces about us. May we have nothing but that which is minted in Heaven, and is therefore made of the pure metal. May we have no grace, pray no prayer, do no works, serve God in nothing except as we depend upon His strength and receive His Spirit.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Above God, there are no higher courts. If God is the One Who acquits you—declares you righteous in His sight—no one can appeal, no one can call for a mistrial, no one can look for other counts against you. God’s sentence is final and total. So hear this, all who will believe on Jesus, and become united to Christ, and show yourself among the elect: God is the One who justifies you. Not a human judge. Not a great prophet. Not an archangel from heaven. But God, the Creator of the world and Owner of all things and Ruler of the universe and every molecule and person in it, God is the One Who justifies you [Romans 8:33].” —John Piper

Here is a very nice article about the En Gedi Youth Center, the organization for which I have the privilege of serving as the director.

“It is very possible that if we were more thoroughly Christians the world would more heartily detest us, and if we would cleave more closely to Christ we might expect to receive more slander, more abuse, less tolerance, and less favor from men.” —Charles Spurgeon

[VIDEO] Amazing time-lapse pictures of solar activity from NASA—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: astronomy, Bible, Charles Spurgeon, Christianity, Creation, Creator, En Gedi Youth Center, forgiveness, grace, Holy Spirit, John Piper, justification, NASA, prayer, quotes, slander, Sun, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

February 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis has one demon giving advice to his young protege demon. This is profound wisdom: “You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” —C.S. Lewis

Two surveys seem to be related: First, “Fifty-four percent of U.S. teens 15-to-17-years-old do not live in a home with their married mother and father.” Read more in this post. (2) Lee Strobel reports on some findings from a Barna Group survey he commissioned: “Two findings emerged in a new national poll that I commissioned on fatherhood and faith: the younger the generation, the more people report having difficult relationships with their fathers. At the same time, the younger generation reports the highest percentage of people who are struggling with belief in God.” You can read Lee’s thoughts on this in Fathers & Faith.

Frank Viola shared this great story—In light of their doctrinal disagreements, someone once asked George Whitefield if he thought he’d see John Wesley in heaven. Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.”

“Grace is simply another word for God’s tumbling, rumbling reservoir of strength and protection. Grace comes to us not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave. We’ve barely regained our balance from one breaker, and then, bam, here comes another.” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Grace—A Never Ending Supply.

Astronomers are perplexed by the size of a black hole. Apparently it is challenging their views on the origins of the universe. Perhaps there is a better explanation….

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, astronomy, Barna Group, Bible, C.S. Lewis, Creation, Creator, evolution, faith, father, Frank Viola, George Whitefield, grace, John Wesley, kids, Lee Strobel, marriage, Max Lucado, pro-life, quotes, science, survey, temptation, The Screwtape Letters, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

February 13, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

[PHOTOS] This is amazing! Womb-Selfies: 5 Amazing Photos Of Preborn Life.

“The enemy of creativity is fear. We’re all born creative, it takes a little while to become afraid. A surprising insight: an enemy of fear is creativity. Acting in a creative way generates action, and action persuades the fear to lighten up.” —Seth Godin

Super Vision: scientists are creating technologies to allow doctors to see inside you better. “It is already possible to peer inside the body with X-rays and ultrasound. But the images produced by such tools are crude compared with those that should be possible with visible light.”

Men’s Health magazine surveyed people on cheating. The results are eye-opening, and sad. It’s far better to do things God’s way!

“All that stuff you have now? You don’t get to keep it. In fact, you never had it. You’re simply a steward of what God has given you. Psalm 24:1 reminds us, ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ Your stuff is not yours. Ever since you grabbed that toy and yelled, ‘Mine!’ you’ve been lying. Everything is God’s!” —Max Lucado

“In March 2014, the BICEP2 radio astronomy team announced purported direct evidence of cosmic inflation, an important part of the modern Big Bang model for the universe’s creation. This announcement was front-page news all over the world. However, these scientists recently submitted a paper for publication that effectively retracts their breakthrough claim, acknowledging that their earlier results were spurious. They admitted their ‘evidence’ was actually an artifact from dust within our own galaxy.” Read more in Big Bang Evidence Retracted.

Nicholas Herman took the name Brother Lawrence after his conversion to Christianity, and he wrote some amazing thoughts about prayer. Here are a few of his quotes.

“The real heart of integrity stays in place whether the test in adversity or prosperity.” —Chuck Swindoll

[VIDEO] A heartwarming story with dogs. What could be better than that?!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: astronomy, Brother Lawrence, cheating, Chuck Swindoll, Creation, creativity, Creator, dogs, fear, infidelity, integrity, Live Action, marriage, Max Lucado, medical science, photography, prayer, pregnancy, pro-life, quotes, relationships, science, selfishness, Seth Godin, stewardship, survey, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

November 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from today…

15 good quotes from Soren Kierkegaard.

For the singles, here is 10 guys you should never date and 8 types of women you should never date.

“I can neither teach nor live by the faith of others. I must live by my own faith as the Spirit of the Lord has taught me through His Word.” —Menno Simons

Pretty cool! We just landed a robot on a comet!

Coaches & Parents, Tim Elmore tells us how athletes hide behind their talent and what we can do about it.

Human touch is just as nutritious as the food we eat. So go hug someone!

“The notion that the careless sinner is the smart fellow and the serious-minded Christian, though well-intentioned, is a stupid dolt altogether out of touch with life will not stand up under scrutiny. Sin is basically an act of moral folly, and the greater the folly the greater the fool.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, astronomy, coaching, dating, Dr. Tim Elmore, faith, God's Word, Holy Spirit, Menno Simons, mental health, parenting, physical health, quotes, relationships, science, sin, Soren Kierkegaard, students, theology. Leave a Comment »

Laniakea

September 7, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

This is an amazing view of our universe, which puts me even more in awe of our Creator!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: astronomy, Creator, Milky Way, planet, praise, Psalm, stars, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

September 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading & watching from this weekend…

“Our mistake is that we want God to send revival on our terms. We want to get the power of God into our hands, to call it to us that it may work for us in promoting and furthering our kind of Christianity. We want still to be in charge, guiding the chariot through the religious sky in the direction we want it to go, shouting ‘Glory to God,’ it is true, but modestly accepting a share of the glory for ourselves in a nice inoffensive sort of way. We are calling on God to send fire on our altars, completely ignoring the fact that they are our altars and not God’s.” —A.W. Tozer

Eric Metaxas has a great take on depression in his post Depression And Black Dog Beliefs.

[VIDEO] I’m not a huge Duck Dynasty fan, but this short quote from Phil Robertson is pure gold!

Paleontologists has found the bones of a huge dinosaur called Dreadnoughtus, that was bigger than a 737 airplane! It sounds a lot like what God described to Job.

Earth has a new address. Our home supercluster is called Laniakea (for the Hawaiian word meaning immeasurable heaven).

Whether you are a Detroit Tigers fan or not, this is a great story about teammates and friends.

“We are atheists in this matter of prayer compared to the early church. Many today look upon secret prayer as hard work and boring, so they do it only occasionally. Can you imagine a husband and wife living in the same house, hardly ever speaking and yet in public speaking as if they were intimate? So some treat our blessed Lord! Prayer, hidden secret prayer, is the mightiest weapon God has given His people; yet it is neglected, disdained, and seldom used.” —David Wilkerson

“Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return.” —Emmanuel Swedenborg

“Now if God be wisdom, as truth and Scripture testify, then a true philosopher is a lover of God.” —Augustine

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, astronomy, atheist, Augustine, baseball, Bible, Creation, David Wilkerson, depression, Detroit Tigers, dinosaurs, Eric Metaxas, friends, God's wisdom, kindness, paleontology, Phil Robertson, philosophy, prayer, quotes, revival, science, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading from today…

“The reason fraudulent religious leaders are such a sensation is because the religion they profess has taught millions of people not to steal or kill or commit adultery or lie or covet, but to love others as they love themselves. They make news because they don’t make sense. Ten thousand honest, self-sacrificing, care-giving pastors are not news, precisely because it is simply expected that they will be that way. Why? Because we take for granted that their faith produces good behavior. The justified media outrage is an indirect testimony to long patterns of uprightness that Christianity has produced.” —John Piper

The Hobby Lobby case that the Supreme Court ruled on continues to have positive outcomes for other businesses as well. “A religious person should not be forced to choose between their faith and their ability to participate in the private sector. Operating a business does not mean that someone’s religious beliefs cease to matter, and thankfully, the Supreme Court is acknowledging that truth as well.” Read more in Supreme Court rules in favor of another corporation challenging the HHS mandate just one day after the Hobby Lobby ruling.

This post—Planets In Chaos—is a fascinating piece of astronomy. But the overall conclusion is even a more amazing admission from scientists: “The discovery of thousands of star systems wildly different from our own has demolished ideas about how planets form. Astronomers are searching for a whole new theory.” Perhaps a theory they might consider is one that has a Creator at the center.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has already spent $3 billion (yes, billion) trying to find medical benefits for embryonic stem cells. Now they are poised to ask for another $5 billion in funding. For this expenditure, how many medical processes are now in place using embryonic stem cells: None! The CEO of CIRM made this astounding claim, “We have to protect science’s access to the full range of cellular types now. And in doing that, we will protect the freedom of science to ethically pursue knowledge in this country outside of religious ideology” (emphasis mine). Meanwhile, research facilities using adult stem cells (which do not destroy life) have actual life-saving procedures in place for far less money. So I guess there’s something to be said for those religious ideologies guiding scientific research.

The Overview Bible Project has a cool [INFOGRAPHIC] on all the songs in the Bible.

“Income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf.” —Will Rogers

“Beware of the young doctor and the old barber.” —Benjamin Franklin

The Path Of Least Resistance

June 16, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

It’s a concept that is observed in almost every discipline of science: in biology, physics, astronomy and other areas things naturally flow in the path of least resistance. What is true in the physical sciences is also true in the social sciences, especially in the relationship between a father and his children.

There’s a story tucked away in the records of the kings of Israel (see 1 Kings 15:33-16:3) in which Baasha comes to the throne, and immediately kills all of the descendants of Jeroboam, a previous king. Baasha is not only removing potential rivals to his kingship, but he is also bringing punishment on a family which had caused Israel to sin. But then Baasha walks in the exact same sinful path as Jeroboam!

A prophet was sent to confront Baasha. His name was Jehu son of Hanani. Hanani was the prophet God sent to Asa, king of Judah. In other words, Jehu is following in the same path of his father Hanani.

Two sons, both with free wills to choose their own path, and yet both of them chose the path their fathers set for them.

Children can choose their own path, but the path of least resistance is the path the father walks.

Notice I said “walks” (present tense). I’ve seen in both the Bible and in the lives of people around me, that a Dad who starts out well but finishes poorly, sets a path for his children that is away from God. But those Dads who start out poorly, but turn to God later in life, set a path for their children to pursue God.

Dad, the best time for you to set the path for your children is now … today!

The good news is that you don’t have to do this on your own. Jesus said that even us Dads who are sinful have figured out how to give our children the best that we can. If we sinful Dads have figured that out, Jesus said, “How much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (see Luke 11:11-13).

Your Heavenly Father wants to give You His Holy Spirit to help you set the right path for your kids. And He wants to give His Holy Spirit to your children to help them choose—and stay in—that right path.

Why does God want you and your kids in the right path? So He can pour out the best gifts on you! For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right (Psalm 84:11).

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you set a righteous path for your kids today!