Charles Spurgeon | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

May 18, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle. … Idle Christians are not so much tempted of the devil as they are tempting the devil to tempt them. Idleness sets the door of the heart ajar, and asks satan to come in; but if we are occupied from morning till night, if satan shall get in, he must break through the door. Under sovereign grace, and next to faith, there is no better shield against temptation than being ‘Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.’” —Charles Spurgeon

“satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.” —Isaac Watts

“Our God and Father may, for wise ends, which shall ultimately subserve His own glory and our profit, lead us into positions where satan, the world and the flesh may tempt us; and the prayer [Matthew 6:13] to be understood in that sense of a humble self-distrust which shrinks from the conflict. There is courage here, for the suppliant calmly looks the temptation in the face, and dreads only the evil which it may work in him, but there is also a holy fear, a sacred self-suspicion, a dread of contact with sin in any degree. The sentiment is not inconsistent with ‘all joy’ when the divers temptations do come; it is akin to the Savior’s ‘If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me,’ which did not for a moment prevent His drinking the cup even to its dregs.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Meekness loves to learn. And it counts the blows of a friend as precious. And when it must say a critical word to a person caught in sin or error, it speaks from the deep conviction of its own fallibility and its own susceptibility to sin and its utter dependence on the grace of God. The quietness and openness and vulnerability of meekness is a very beautiful and a very painful thing. It goes against all that we are by our sinful nature. It requires supernatural help.” —John Piper

Dads, this is an important article for you to read if you have a daughter.

Did you know that 41,000 people commit suicide each year? Here is a helpful piece on how you can help bring hope to the hopeless.

Seth Godin says, “If your employees can’t answer how something they do helps the customer or the company, you’ve insulated your people from their jobs.” Check out his post Why Do You Do It This Way?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: busyness, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, counseling, Dad, daughter, devil, father, fear of God, grace, hope, humility, Isaac Watts, Jesus Christ, John Piper, lifelong learner, Lord's Prayer, meekness, parenting, quotes, relationships, satan, Seth Godin, spiritual warfare, suicide, temptation. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Most Christians never associate joy with repentance. But repentance is actually the mother of all joy in Jesus. Without it, there can be no joy. Yet, any believer who walks in repentance will be flooded with the joy of the Lord.” —David Wilkerson

“Another way the Scriptures show us that ideas have consequences is by using the word ‘therefore’ (1,039 times in the NASB).” —John Piper

“I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and in the lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers.” —Victor Frankl

“Every sinner must be quickened by the same life, made obedient to the same gospel, washed in the same blood, clothed in the same righteousness, filled with the same divine energy, and eventually taken up to the same heaven, and yet in the conversion of no two sinners will you find matters precisely the same.” —Charles Spurgeon

“While there may not be spiritual oppression involved in your battle [against lust], there’ll always be opposition. The enemy is constantly near your ear. He doesn’t want you to win this fight, and he knows the lies that so often break a man’s confidence and his will to win. Expect to hear lies and plenty of them. satan’s lie: ‘You’re the only one dealing with this problem. If anyone ever finds out, you’ll be the laughingstock of the church!’ The truth: Most men deal with this problem, so no one will laugh.” —Steve Arterburn

The dangers and chaos that comes from boys being raised without a Dad.

Great article: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Give Up On Church.

[VIDEO] Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy does a masterful job in appealing to the House of Representatives to pass the bill which would outlaw abortions after the date that the pre-born baby can feel pain. The House did pass this bill! Sadly, President Obama has stated that he will veto this bill, if it ends up passing the Senate as well. Check this out…

Links & Quotes

May 13, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“What takes away the compulsion of revenge is our deep confidence that this world is not our home, and that God is our utterly sure and all-satisfying reward.” —John Piper

“Though it is clear as noonday in Scripture and in experience that stability is not to be found beneath the moon, yet men are for ever building upon earth’s quicksand as if it were substantial rock, and heaping up its dust, as though it would not all be blown away.” —Charles Spurgeon

[PHOTOS] 50 photos of Moms loving their kids in very trying times.

This post from a Live Dead team member—The Risk Of Security—reminds me to (1) pray for our front-line missionaries, and (2) pray that God will move on people’s hearts to raise up more missionaries!

How to poison your marriage in 3 easy steps: blame, compare, withdraw. Married couple should definitely read this post.

I love the leadership insights from Tim Elmore. He’s got a thoughtful post today on 2 temptations leaders face in turbulent times.

[VIDEO] Frank Turek and Boby Conway discuss the question: Can Science Disprove God?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: atheism, Bobby Conway, Charles Spurgeon, communication, Creation, Dr. Tim Elmore, evangelism, forgiveness, Frank Turek, Heaven, John Piper, leadership, Live Action, Live Dead, marriage, missionary, Mom, mother, One Minute Apologist, photography, prayer, quotes, relationships, revenge, rewards, safety, science, theism, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 12, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“True revival can never take place without this kind of all-consuming hunger for God’s Word. Indeed, when God’s people grow weary of hearing His Word preached, a spiritual death begins—and the joy of the Lord departs.” —David Wilkerson

“The Scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in them. Whoever turns aside from this object, even though he wears himself out all his life in learning, he will never reach the knowledge of the truth.” —John Calvin

“Let men see that the world has changed, not you—that man’s opinions and man’s maxims have veered round to another quarter, but that you are still invincibly strong in the strength which trusting in God alone can confer.” —Charles Spurgeon

“The Missionary Spirit of God is ever restless. Where is it dark? Where is it hopeless? Where is there no church? Where are there no Christians? Where is the Father’s glory not known? Where are their tongues that blaspheme and knees refusing to bow to King Jesus? It is there that we must go, must stay, must live, and must die.” —Dick Brogden

“Have you ever looked up? Have you ever been hugged? Have you ever sat in front of a warm fire? Have you ever walked in the woods, sat by a lake, lain in a summer hammock? Have you ever drunk your favorite drink on a hot day or eaten anything good? Every desire is either a devout or a distorted enticement to the glory of heaven. You say you haven’t tasted God’s glory. I say, you have tasted the appetizers. Go on to the meal.” [Psalm 34:8] —John Piper

“Our Heavenly Father also exhorts us to be men. He wants you to be like Him. When He calls you to ‘be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect,’ He’s asking you to rise above your sinful tendencies to impure eyes, fanciful minds, and wandering hearts. His standard of purity doesn’t come naturally to you. He calls you to rise up, by the power of His indwelling presence, and be the man He created you to be.” —Steve Arterburn

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has great insight into what gives Americans their freedom. Check out this post on the United States Constitution.

[VIDEO] Dr. Bobby Conway answers a good question: Do Christians sin?

Links & Quotes

May 11, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Every time you prefer the pleasures of this world to the joys of heaven, you spit in the face of Christ; every time when to gain in your business, you do an unrighteous thing, you are like Judas selling Him for thirty pieces of silver; every time you make a false profession of religion, you give Him a traitor’s kiss; every word you have spoken against Him, every hard thought you have had of Him, has helped to complete your complicity with the great crowd which gathered around the Cross of Calvary, to mock and jeer the Lord of life and glory.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Unfortunately, seeking the Lord wholeheartedly does not exempt us from outside attack.” Read more from Jim Cymbala in his post about gaining victory.

Heart-breaking: “Babies born as early as 22 weeks may survive if they are treated. Sadly, a number of hospitals refuse to treat infants who are born before 24 weeks.” Read more about what you can do in this Live Action post.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary, Charles Spurgeon, Jesus Christ, Jim Cymbala, Live Action, medical science, pro-life, quotes, sanctity of human life, spiritual warfare, victory. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 9, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“The world has put a little letter before the word ‘musing,’ and these are the days, not for musing, but for a-musing. People will go anywhere for amusement; but to muse is a strange thing to them, and they think it dull and wearisome. … Now there is much virtue in musing, especially if we muse upon the best, the highest, and the noblest of subjects. If we muse upon the things of which we hear and read in sacred Scripture, we shall do wisely. It is well to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. A man who hears many sermons, is not necessarily well-instructed in the faith. We may read so many religious books, that we overload our brains, and they may be unable to work under the weight of the great mass of paper and printer’s ink. The man who reads but one book, and that book his Bible, and then muses much upon it, will be a better scholar in Christ’s school than he who merely reads hundreds of books, and muses not at all.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Patients do not serve their physicians. They trust them for good prescriptions. The Sermon on the Mount is our Doctor’s medical advice, not our Employer’s job description.” —John Piper

“Every time I open my Bible I will read it as the Word of ‘God, that cannot lie;’ and when I get a promise or a threatening, I will either rejoice or tremble because I know that these stand fast.” —Charles Spurgeon

I can use this: 25 habits to get a better night’s sleep.

Rev. Tim Dilena has an amazing reminder of God’s perfect timing in sending Jesus to earth—He Couldn’t Have Timed It Any Better.

“Given the Greek and Roman acceptance of homosexuality, it is difficult to overstate the courage and conviction required by the early Church to write and speak out on behalf of a biblical, sexual ethic.” Read more in the article When Christians Rejected Homosexuality.

Eric Metaxas shares some good news from Baltimore.

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 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“We know that God’s being is perfect, His essence infinite, His dominion absolute, His power unlimited, and His glory transcendent.” —Charles Spurgeon

“A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished from its edges.” —Benjamin Franklin

“We will do most good for this world by keeping a steadfast freedom from its beguiling attractions. We will serve our city best by getting our values from the ‘city which is to come’ (Hebrews 13:14). We will do our city most good by calling as many of its citizens as we can to be citizens of the ‘Jerusalem above’ (Galatians 4:26). Let’s live so that the natives will want to meet our King.” —John Piper

Anyone who works with kids (parents, teachers, coaches) should check out Mark Merrill’s list of 9 things not to say to children.

Matt Chandler says, “sex can be about the Gospel, if we’re mindful enough to make it so.” Read more of his post The ‘Good News’ About Sex.

Eric Metaxas shares an alarming statistic: An astonishing 70,000 children are kidnapped by gangs every year in China! Check out the worldview that contributes to this.

Some amazing pro-life news: doctors have discovered how to counteract the effects of RU-486 (the abortion-inducing drug) and save the lives of unborn babies!

[VIDEO] John Piper’s Look At The Book series is a great in-depth Bible study. Here is part 1 in this series about anxiety—

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