A.W. Tozer | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

August 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading & viewing from today…

As the fellowship I grew up in celebrates its 100th anniversary, I love reading quotes like this: “Worldwide, 95% of Assemblies of God adherents lived outside the United States in 2013. In the U.S., over 41% of Assemblies of God adherents were non-white. In the U.S., the white constituency has decreased by 34,922 over the past ten years, while the number of non-white constituency has increased by 433,217.”

An excellent post for unmarried people, and the friends who care about them: 4 Lies Single People Need To Stop Believing.

[VIDEO] Millions of dollars in “humanitarian aid” for the Palestinian people has been hijacked by Hamas to build tunnels into Israel for their terrorist schemes.

“God’s sovereignty means that His design for us cannot be frustrated. Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those who love God and are called according to His purpose, except what is for our deepest and highest good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 84:11).” —John Piper

“Since God does in fact address man in His Word, He obviously regards him as addressable in spite of the fact that man as a sinner closes his ears and heart to Him.” —Karl Barth

“Your gift makes you a servant, not a master.” Read more in: Use Your Knowledge To Serve Others.

“In a time when everything in the world seems to be vanity, God is depending on us to proclaim that He is the great Reality, and that only He can give meaning to all other realities.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, apologetic, Assembly of God, Bible, biblical truth, church history, gifting, God's Sovereignty, God's will, Hamas, Israel, John Piper, Karl Barth, marriage, Pentecostal, quotes, servanthood, single life, statistics, video, witnessing. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

August 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading & watching from today…

“The nearer our souls draw to God the larger our love will grow, and the greater our love the more unselfish we shall become and the greater our care for the souls of others. Hence increased spiritual experience, so far as it is genuine, brings with it a strong desire that others may know the same grace that we ourselves enjoy. This leads quite naturally to an increased effort to lead others to a closer and more satisfying fellowship with God.” —A.W. Tozer

[VIDEO] What a good sport! Assembly of God General Superintendent Dr. George O. Wood is “interviewed” by comedian Michael Jr.

“There is in the life and teachings of Jesus a relentless tendency toward simplicity. There is a steady impulse toward living at risk, and with a kind of abandon to the Father’s care that looks foolish to the well-off world. There is an unsettling otherworldliness that made Jesus and His first followers radically useful in this dead-end world. There is a freedom from things and for the Kingdom that thrills the heart of His disciples. Lord, give us this freedom.” —John Piper

“Jesus asks you not to lead; He Himself has gone before; He calls you to no labor which He has not Himself already accomplished. … I know the proud flesh wants to serve Christ, by striking out new paths. Proud man has a desire to preach new doctrine, to set up a new Church, to be an original thinker, to judge, and consider, and do anything but obey. This is no service to Christ. He that would serve Christ must follow Him; he must be content to tread only in the old footsteps, and go only where Christ has led the way.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Preserve, then, my sons, that friendship ye have begun with your brethren, for nothing in the world is more beautiful than that. It is indeed a comfort in this life to have one to whom thou canst open thy heart, with whom thou canst share confidences, and to whom thou canst entrust the secrets of thy heart. It is a comfort to have a trusty man by thy side, who will rejoice with thee in prosperity, sympathize in troubles, encourage in persecution.” —Ambrose

Don’t be deceived: Fifty Shades Of Gray is pornography! Here’s how to fight it.

[VIDEO] The Bible Project has these helpful, artistic videos that give you a big-picture-view of a book of the Bible. Check out what they have already done with Genesis.

Links & Quotes

August 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading (and watching) from this weekend…

This was a bit convicting: 7 Signs You’re Spending Too Much Time Looking At Your Phone (I am trying to improve on this!).

This post from Chilly Chilton was also a bit convicting: My Take On President Obama.

“Jesus builds His Church, not by programs, facilities, budgets, and good ‘branding,’ but by living His life in and through each of the members of His Body, beginning with their shepherds.” —T.M. Moore

[VIDEO] John Maxwell says being growth oriented is better than being goal oriented.

“The popular notion that the first obligation of the church is to spread the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth is false. Her first obligation is to be spiritually worthy to spread it. Our Lord said ‘Go ye,’ but He also said, ‘Tarry ye,’ and the tarrying had to come before the going.” —A.W. Tozer

“I believe that our Lord wants us to learn more of Him in worship before we become busy for Him. He wants us to have a gift of the Spirit, an inner experience of the heart, as our first service, and out of that will grow the profound and deep and divine activities which are necessary.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Barak Obama, Chilly Chilton, Christian, government, Holy Spirit, iPhone, John Maxwell, pastors, Pentecost, personal growth, quotes, relationships, social media, T.M. Moore, video, witness, worship. 2 Comments »

Links & Quotes

July 31, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from today…

William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect show us a successful model for positive social change.

Farshid Fathi is a Christian pastor imprisoned in Iran for his faith. His letter from prison is absolutely amazing!

So some of Lois Lerner’s “lost” emails have been found, and it is clear why she and the IRS wanted them not to be seen. Check out how liberal political agents attack their conservative opponents.

“The solution to life’s problems is spiritual because the essence of life is spiritual. It is astonishing how many difficulties clear up without any effort when the inner life gets straightened out.” —A.W. Tozer

“It’s natural enough in our species, as in others, that the young birds should show off their plumage—in the mating season. But the trouble in the modern world is that there’s a tendency to rush all the birds on to that age as soon as possible and then keep them there as late as possible, thus losing all the real value of the other parts of life in a senseless, pitiful attempt to prolong what, after all, is neither its wisest, its happiest, or most innocent period. I suspect merely commercial motives are behind it all: for it is at the showing-off age that birds of both sexes have least sales resistance!” —C.S. Lewis

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, change, Christianity, faith in action, government scandal, innocence, IRS, martyrs, modesty, persecution, purity, quotes, spiritual growth, William Wilberforce. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading (and watching) from today…

This year will mark the centennial celebration of the Assemblies of God fellowship. I am so blessed to have this as not only my heritage, but my current affiliation as well. This video was made at the 50th anniversary … what a rich history!

“The part of wisdom is to accept our Christian brothers and sisters for what they are rather than for what they should be. … An old Italian proverb says, ‘He that will have none but a perfect brother must resign himself to remain brotherless.’ However earnestly we may desire that our Christian brother go on toward perfection, we must accept him as he is and learn to get along with him. To treat an imperfect brother impatiently is to advertise our own imperfections.” —A.W. Tozer

“The wise man does nothing but what can be done openly and without falseness, nor does he do anything whereby he may involve himself in any wrong-doing, even where he may escape notice. For he is guilty in his own eyes before being so in the eyes of others; and the publicity of his crime does not bring him more shame than his own consciousness of it.” —Ambrose

Mark Atteberry says he is hopelessly uncool. I pray I am too!

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is so out of touch! And to think, our taxes dollars fund this sort of nonsense!

When I read this article about dinosaur extinction, all I could think of was: “If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas!”

“The Centre for the Study of Global Christianity in the United States estimates that 100,000 Christians now die every year, targeted because of their faith—that is 11 every hour. The Pew Research Center says that hostility to religion reached a new high in 2012, when Christians faced some form of discrimination in 139 countries, almost three-quarters of the world’s nations.” Read more of this eye-opening article.

Links & Quotes

July 24, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from today…

“The upright man must never think of depriving another of anything, nor must he ever wish to increase his own advantage to the disadvantage of another. This rule the Apostle gives thee, saying: ‘All things are lawful, all things are not expedient; all things are lawful, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but each another’s.’ That is: Let no man seek his own advantage, but another’s; let no man seek his own honor, but another’s.” —Ambrose

Frank Viola has a challenging word to Christians in the quote he shares from A.W. Tozer: Recovering The Departed Glory.

Claiming Jesus is not what many think it is, says Chilly Chilton in his post: Name It, Claim It, Proclaim It!

“When we don’t know that life is a war and satan is the enemy, or forget when we need to know it most, we can’t make sense of our struggles, suffering, and strife.” Read more of Mark Driscoll’s post Spiritual Warfare: Who, What & Why.

The Overview Bible Project always uncovers some cool things in Scripture. Like this post about what Beelzebul really means.

Why is it organizations are not allowed to hire a Christian, but at that same time are encouraged (forced?) to hire homosexuals? The story of David Tyree is a case-in-point.

“The fact is, that the same moment which brings the consciousness of sin ought to bring also the confession and the consciousness of forgiveness.” —Hannah Whitall Smith

Links & Quotes

July 21, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some interesting reading & watching today…

“The treacherous enemy facing the church of Jesus Christ today is the dictatorship of the routine, when the routine becomes ‘lord’ in the life of the church. Programs are organized and the prevailing conditions are accepted as normal. … That would be perfectly all right and proper for a cemetery. Nobody expects a cemetery to do anything but conform.” —A.W. Tozer

John Stonestreet reminds us that even in the scientific community, Macroevolution Has No Clothes.

“Father, we fear our deadly fondness for floating toward the falls when we ought to be swimming against the current. Oh, God, have mercy to waken us again and again to the perils of drifting in the Christian life. Help us heed Hebrews 2:1, ‘We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.’” —John Piper

I love this story: Communion On The Moon.

“Hamas are terrorists pure and simple. The Egyptians get it. Why doesn’t the Western media get it? Why don’t Western leaders get it? And why don’t Christian leaders get it?” Read more about the Israeli battle against Hamas in Middle-East Meets Middle-Earth.

[VIDEO] Ken Davis has a hilarious take on airplane restrooms.

The Wall Street Journal rightly sees the situation at Gordon College as The Next Religious Liberty Case.

Dr. Tim Elmore lays out The Messages We Must Send To Millennials About Life After College.

Links & Quotes

July 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from this weekend…

“What most Americans—and the world—hear about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas goes something like this: ‘125 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza. No Israelis have yet been killed.’ This may be true, but there is absolutely no context to it. One must look at the methodologies of the two sides.” Read more in this post: The Moral Difference Between Israel And Hamas.

If Planned Parenthood did so much work to prevent women from needing abortions, then why are they the nationwide leaders in performing abortions?! Read how Planned Parenthood responded to their certificate of death award.

“Christianity at any given time is strong or weak depending upon her concept of God. … Our religion is little because our god is little. Our religion is weak because our god is weak. Our religion is ignoble because the god we serve is ignoble. We do not see God as He is…. A local church will only be as great as its conception of God. An individual Christian will be a success or a failure depending upon what he or she thinks of God.” —A.W. Tozer

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

“Give us a pure heart, that we may see Thee, a humble heart, that we may hear Thee, a heart of love, that we may serve Thee, a heart of faith, that we may live Thee, Thou, Whom I do not know, but Whose I am.” —Dag Hammarskjöld

“Whether we call ourselves classical evangelicals, traditionalists, fundamentalists, Pentecostals, or charismatics, we all have to face our lack of real power and call out for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. We need the fresh wind of God to awaken us from our lethargy. We must not hide any longer behind some theological argument. The days are too dark and dangerous.” —Jim Cymbala

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, abortion, Christian, church, courage, Dag Hammarskjöld, Eleanor Roosevelt, fear, God's power, Hamas, Holy Spirit, Israel, Jim Cymbala, Pentecostal, perseverance, Planned Parenthood, prayer, pro-life, quotes, strength. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some interesting reading from this weekend…

A very informative piece on the history of Israel.

“Some ministers today preach only a positive message. To hear them tell it, every Christian is getting instant answers to prayer and receiving miracles; everybody is feeling good, living well; and the whole world is bright and rosy. I like to hear that kind of preaching because I really desire all those good and healthy things for God’s people. But that is not the way things are for a great number of very honest, sincere Christians.” Read more in David Wilkerson’s post At The Breaking Point.

[PHOTO] 100 random acts of kindness almost anyone could do.

“Judgment is God’s job. To assume otherwise is to assume God can’t do it. God has not asked us to settle the score or get even. Ever!” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Judgment Is God’s Job.

Pretty cool: researchers are discovering ways to restore brain function after an injury.

You may have seen the headlines that claimed children with same-sex parents fared better than children in traditional homes. Hold on a second: the research was flawed.

Regis Nicoll asks a great question: How Should Churches Receive Same-Sex Couples?

These kinds of atrocious reports about Planned Parenthood’s irresponsibility make me angry! Any why are my tax dollars funding this?!?

One of the basic propositions that supposedly makes evolution work is that things remain relatively the same over long periods of time. Yet here is another scientific study telling us that things haven’t remained the same.

“The people with the calculators have seen the problem, but they have not seen God. They have figured things out, but they have not figured God in.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, abortion, Bible, brain, children, Christianity, church, Creator, David Wilkerson, evolution, exploited children, faith, family, history, homosexuality, Israel, judgement, kindness, love, marriage, Max Lucado, medical science, miracles, parenting, pastors, Planned Parenthood, prayer, pro-life, quotes, research, revenge. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 2, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading from today…

Very thought-provoking: Can Theology Be True If It’s Self-Contradictory?

“I have never been hurt by what I have not said.” —Calvin Coolidge

“Do you see what God is saying here? ‘If you really want to walk in the Spirit—if you really want My anointing—you need to seek more than direction from Me. You need to come into My presence and get to know My heart, My desires! You see, I want to anoint you—to use you in My kingdom!’” —David Wilkerson

“Where adequate power is present almost any means will suffice, but where the power is absent not all the means in the world can secure the desired end. The Spirit of God may use a song, a sermon, a good deed, a text or the mystery and majesty of nature, but always the final work will be done by the pressure of the inliving Spirit upon the human heart.” —A.W. Tozer

Melinda Penner points out how the Hobby Lobby case has shown how our rights have shifted.

For my pastor friends (and for those who want to bless their pastor:: The Burden Of The Pastor.