C.S. Lewis | Craig T. Owens

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C.S. Lewis On The Holy Spirit

June 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

I have been studying for my series on the Holy Spirit, and I came across this gem from C.S. Lewis.

“It is quite right that you should feel that ‘something terrific’ has happened to you (it has) and be ‘all glowy.’ Accept these sensations with thankfulness as birthday cards from God, but remember that they are only greetings, not the real gift. I mean, it is not the sensations that are the real thing. The real thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit which can’t usually be—perhaps not ever—experienced as a sensation or emotion. The sensations are merely the response of your nervous system. Don’t depend on them. Otherwise when they go and you are once more emotionally flat (as you certainly will be quite soon), you might think that the real thing had gone too. But it won’t. It will be there when you can’t feel it. May even be most operative when you can feel it least.” —C.S. Lewis

...Ever be filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18, AMP).

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, C.S. Lewis, emotions, Ephesians, Holy Spirit, quotes, thankfulness. 3 Comments »

Links & Quotes

May 10, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of His presence.” —C.S. Lewis

“Loving God will include obeying all His commands; it will include believing all His Word; it will include thanking Him for all His gifts; but the essence of loving God is enjoying all He is.” —John Piper

[VIDEO] This is a fascinating TedTalk from Susan Cain on the power of introverts…

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: C.S. Lewis, education, faith, God's love, John Piper, perseverance, quotes, Susan Cain, TEDTalk, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 6, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Building the Church is the Lord Jesus’ primary agenda before He returns. However, for many of the followers of Christ, working to build the Church is just another thing on their ‘to-do list’ which they may or may not get to during the course of any given week. We can become so distracted by work, family, diversions, and avocations that we have precious little time or strength left for the work Jesus is most interested in pursuing. So, as long as the devil can distract us from the work of building Christ’s Church, he doesn’t need to employ more spectacular or drastic measures.” —T.M. Moore

“‘Why has sex become man’s chief stumbling block?’ But has it? Or is it only the most recognizable of the stumbling blocks? I mean, we can mistake pride for a good conscience, and cruelty for zeal, and idleness for the peace of God et cetera. But when lust is upon us, then, owing to the obvious physical symptoms, we can’t pretend it is anything else. Is it perhaps only the least disguisable of our dangers.” —C.S. Lewis

“The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to us, not gradually, but instantly, when by faith we enter into the realization that Christ is made unto us sanctification. … It is not power to live like Jesus; it is Christ living in us, and it is His life that is seen.” —Oswald Chambers

“Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves—to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not.” —C.S. Lewis

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, C.S. Lewis, church, conscience, enemies, forgiveness, Jesus Christ, lust, Oswald Chambers, perfection, pride, quotes, sanctification, sexual sin, T.M. Moore, temptation, vocation, work. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

April 28, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“We must be much alone with God, if we would have a clear sense of His love! Let your cries cease, and your eyes will grow dim. Much in prayer, much in heaven; slow in prayer, slow in progress.” —Charles Spurgeon

“There is no doctrine [Hell] which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason. If a game is played, it must be possible to lose it. If the happiness of a creature lies in self-surrender, no one can make that surrender but himself (though many can help him to make it) and he may refuse. I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully ‘All will be saved.’ But my reason retorts, ‘Without their will, or with it?’ If I say ‘Without their will’ I at once perceive a contradiction; how can the supreme voluntary act of self-surrender be involuntary? If I say ‘With their will,’ my reason replies ‘How if they will not give in?’” —C.S. Lewis

Here are 8 reasons why the Supreme Court should let the states decide their own marriage policy.

The Daily Signal has other good arguments for this marriage issue as well, including the infographic to the left.

“The nation that forgot God has never been allowed to endure.” —George Washington

“It is not our duty to leave wealth to our children, but it is our duty to leave liberty to them.” — John Dickinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Dr. Tim Elmore uses former NFL player Chris Borland as a case study for the benefits of long-term thinking. He writes, “When making a decision… (1) Choosing short-term benefits often leads to long-term consequences. (2) Choosing short-term consequences often leads to long-term benefits.”

Links & Quotes

April 20, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Bios has, to be sure, a certain shadowy or symbolic resemblance to Zoe: but only the sort of resemblance there is between a photo and a place, or a statue and a man. A man who changed from having Bios to having Zoe would have gone through as big a change as a statue which changed from being a carved stone to being a real man.” ―C.S. Lewis

“True faith embraces Christ in whatever ways the Scriptures hold Him out to poor sinners.” —Jonathan Edwards

Going through difficult times might be beneficial for Christians, says Trevin Wax in his post How Social Ostracism Could Increase Our Love.

“Yet while a race remembers and relives its sufferings and wrongs, it is often unwittingly transformed, often into the very image of its oppressor. Moreover, bitterness anchors the mind in the past and takes the heart with it. There is no future and no sense of the possible. There is only the incessant churning. Soon it becomes an excuse, a room into which the heart can run to find justification for failure and wrongs of its own. The end comes after the isolation and the rage have run their course. Bitterness is the second sting of the wound, and its fruit is death.” ―Booker T. Washington

“Progress is impossible if you only attempt to do the things you have always done.” —Mike Krzyzewski

[VIDEO] Is there evidence for a literal Adam and Eve? Does it matter?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apologetic, Bible, bios, bitterness, Booker T. Washington, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Creation, Creator, eternal life, faith, forgiveness, Jesus Christ, Jonathan Edwards, love, Mere Christianity, Mike Krzyzewski, persecution, progress, quotes, Scripture, slavery, success, video, zoe. Leave a Comment »

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

April 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“…It will not be possible to compound for my own sins by denouncing those of others. That is a very cheap sort of virtue; bullying other people’s vices. The easiest thing in all the world is to be constantly denouncing popular faults; but to wring the neck of one of my own bosom sins is a harder work by far, and a much better sign of conversion. To be earnest against the sin of others may be praiseworthy, but it is no sign of grace in the heart; for natural men have been some of the greatest leaders in this matter. To loathe my own sin, to humble myself on account of my own personal faults, and to endeavor in the sight of God to renounce every false way, is a work of something more than human nature. … Unless you hate especially the besetting sin which is most congenial to your own nature, you need to be converted.” —Charles Spurgeon

“I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing.” —C.S. Lewis

The valuable role of godly women: It’s Time For Women To Go To War.

Married couples need to remember this: Kids Aren’t The Priority. Marriage Is.

Parents, here are the 5 best gifts you can give your children.

For you science buffs, and for those interested in facts to use when debating Creation versus evolution, check out Myths Dressed As Science.

And here’s another great piece: Why Evolutionary Ethics Fails To Account For Objective Morality.

“We do not really believe in God unless we believe He is the God of the impossible!” —David Wilkerson

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apologetic, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, children, confession, Creation, David Wilkerson, ethics, evolution, forgiveness, hypocritical, marriage, morality, pseudo-science, quotes, repentance, science, sin, spiritual warfare, women. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

April 13, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Today is Thomas Jefferson’s birthday (born April 13, 1743). Inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial are these fitting words from the author of the Declaration of Independence: “I have sworn, upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

“God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it—made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.” —C.S. Lewis

“A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.” —Charles Spurgeon

A very interesting look at demographics in this post: What will world religions look like in 2050?

“But certainly that expression of seeking the Lord, is very commonly used to signify something more; it implies that God Himself is the great good desired and sought after; that the blessings pursued are God’s gracious presence, the blessed manifestations of Him, union and intercourse with Him; or, in short, God’s manifestations and communications of Himself by His Holy Spirit.” —Jonathan Edwards

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: American history, C.S. Lewis, character, Charles Spurgeon, Christianity, demographics, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jonathan Edwards, Judaism, quotes, Thomas Jefferson, world religions. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

April 11, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Prayer for your enemies (Matthew 5:44) is one of the deepest forms of love, because it means that you have to really want that something good happen to them. You might do nice things for your enemy without any genuine desire that things go well with them. But prayer for them is in the presence of God Who knows your heart, and prayer is interceding with God on their behalf.” —John Piper

“The only thing one can usually change in one’s situation is oneself. And yet one can’t change that either—only ask Our Lord to do so….” —C.S. Lewis

“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” —C.S. Lewis

“The world is not looking for more doctrinal proof of the reality of God! It is not looking for greater proof of the resurrection or better arguments about creation. The world is looking for Christians who can stand up to every crisis, fear, trouble and difficulty and remain calm and at rest in the midst of it all. The world needs to see God’s children trusting wholly in their Lord.” —David Wilkerson

“I would then that the quickening Spirit would come down upon me, and upon you, upon every one of us in abundance, to create men valiant for truth and mighty for the Lord.” —Charles Spurgeon

I know I have said this before, but I love the infographics and study tools from the folks at The Overview Bible Project. Here is a sample of their overview of Deuteronomy.

Another great Bible study resource is the work of former cold case detective J. Warner Wallace. Here is a cool article and infographic on the authorship of the Gospel of Mark.

Jim Cymbala says, “The Scriptures are not so much the goal as they are an arrow that points us to the life-changing Christ.” Read more in his post The Limits Of Teaching.

Rosaria Butterfield wrote, “Unbelievers don’t ‘struggle’ with same-sex attraction. I didn’t….” Read more in her post The Dead End Of Sexual Sin.

GREAT NEWS: Kansas passes the nation’s first ban on abortion by dismemberment.

Links & Quotes

April 2, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“How can I maximize my enjoyment of God for all eternity while I am an exile on this earth? And the answer is always the same: by doing the labors of love.” —John Piper

“For if we take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if we believe that God will one day give us the Morning Star and cause us to put on the splendor of the sun, then we may surmise that both the ancient myths and the modern poetry, so false as history, may be very near the truth as prophecy. At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendors we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in.” ―C.S. Lewis