crucifixion | Craig T. Owens

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Why Did Jesus Take Your Punishment?

April 14, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

“Christ lived the life we could not live and took the punishment we could not take to offer the hope we cannot resist. Why? Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun-loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids, weary enough to sleep in a storm-bounced boat, poor enough to sleep on dirt, radical enough to get kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for His mother, tempted enough to know the smell of satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood.

“Why? Why would heaven’s finest Son endure earth’s toughest pain? So you would know that ‘He is able…to run to the cry of…those who are being tempted and tested and tried’ (Hebrews 2:18, AMP). Whatever you are facing, He knows how you feel. When you turn to Him for help, He runs to you to help. Why? He knows how you feel. He’s been there. He’s not ashamed of you. Nor is He confused by you. Your actions don’t bewilder Him. Your tilted halo doesn’t trouble Him. So go to Him.” —Max Lucado, in On Calvary’s Hill

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary, crucifixion, God's love, Good Friday, Hebrews, Jesus Christ, Max Lucado. Leave a Comment »

7 Quotes From “On Calvary’s Hill”

April 12, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

Max Lucado has given us a treasure-trove of insights into the Passion Week! Here are a few quotes from On Calvary’s Hill, and also please check out my full review of this book by clicking here.

“Jesus knows what these men are about to do. By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, He wants them to remember how His knees knelt before them and he washed their feet. . . . He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.”

“The next time the fog finds you, remember Jesus in the Garden. The next time you think that no one understands or cares, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark and pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to Him pleading among the twisted trees. The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.”

“How did Jesus endure the terror of the crucifixion? He went first to the Father with His tears. He modeled the words of Psalm 56:3: ‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in You’ (NLT). Do the same with yours. Don’t avoid life’s Gardens of Gethsemane. Enter them. Just don’t enter them alone. And while there, be honest. Pounding the ground is permitted. Tears are allowed. And if you sweat blood, you won’t be the first. Do what Jesus did; open your heart.”

“O Conquering One, I gladly open wide the gates of my life and ask You to enter. You see where the enemy has invaded and done his damage. Come, Lord Jesus, come, and speak Your words of truth and power into my life and cleanse my temple. In Your name, Jesus, amen.”

“The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.”

“What you and I face daily, He never knew. Anxiety? He never worried! Guilt? He was never guilty! Fear? He never left the presence of God! Jesus never knew the fruits of sin . . . until He became sin for us. He did it for you. Just for you.”

“Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for Him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, Calvary, crucifixion, forgiveness, Gethsemane, God's love, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Max Lucado, Passion Week, prayer, quotes, salvation. Leave a Comment »

On Calvary’s Hill (book review)

April 11, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

Max Lucado has written several books concerning the week leading up to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. In On Calvary’s Hill, you will be treated to 40 of the best looks from all of these previous books into what was happening during this pivotal week.

Max Lucado has both a firm grasp of Scripture, and a keen imagination to “read between the lines” of the biblical accounts. God has truly gifted him with the skill to take his readers behind the scenes, and even into the very thoughts of the key characters in the many stories that make up the big story of Christ’s Passion.

These forty entries make excellent reading during the Lent season, to help you appreciate more fully the work Jesus did for us on Calvary. But, honestly, this book could be read at any time during the year and still have immense value to those who want to know more about what Jesus accomplished on the Cross.

Don’t miss this book!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, book review, Calvary, Cross, crucifixion, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Lent, Max Lucado, Passion Week, resurrection, Resurrection Sunday, Scripture. 6 Comments »

Poetry Saturday—The Monster Death

April 8, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell

How high your great Deliverer reigns;

Sing how He spoiled the hosts of hell,

And led the monster death in chains:

Say, Live forever, wondrous King!

Born to redeem, and strong to save;

Then ask the monster, Where’s thy sting?

And, Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? —Isaac Watts

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary, Christianity, crucifixion, death, deliverance, Hell, Isaac Watts, Jesus Christ, poem, poetry, resurrection, victory. Leave a Comment »

What If Jesus Had Been Physically Weak?

February 27, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

We have been exploring the whole health of Jesus, as Dr. Luke recorded it in Luke 2:52. In this verse Luke tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom (mental health), stature (physical health), in favor with God (spiritual health) and in favor with men (emotional/social health). Being unhealthy in any one of these areas will ultimately pull down the health in all of the areas.

The life of Jesus shows us that we, too, must strive to live wholly healthy lives.

Yesterday at Calvary Assembly of God, Scott asked a challenging question: “What if Jesus hadn’t been strong enough to make it to the top of Calvary’s hill?”

Think about the excruciating torture Jesus went through—

He was sleep deprived.
He was dehydrated from His intense prayer time in Gethsemane, where He sweat blood.
He was emotionally depleted from having all of His friends abandon and deny Him.
He was beaten multiple times by temple guards and Roman soldiers.
He was brutally whipped to the point that His back muscles and nerves were exposed.
He had thorns crushed into His scalp.
He had His beard ripped out.
He had to carry a 60- to 90-pound wooden crossbeam nearly 650 yards uphill.

All of this took place before He had metal spikes slammed through His wrists and ankles, and then was hoisted up rudely into the air to be suspended from His Cross.

Jesus went through all of that for you and me. In making it all the way to the point where He said, “It is finished,” He fulfilled every prophesy concerning His death.

The only way Jesus could have made it through this is if He was at optimal physical health.

If Jesus had died from exhaustion or heart attack or loss of blood before He was actually nailed to the Cross, how many of the prophesies would have been left unfinished? He needed to keep His physical body in tip-top shape throughout His entire earthly life in order to be ready for this one crucial moment.

Being physically weak makes it difficult for us to…

…think clearly (mental health)
…concentrate on the things of God (spiritual health)
…control our emotions and respond appropriately to other people (emotional/social health)

So we, like Jesus, must work on our physical health. God has a plan for your life. In order for you to fulfill all God has in mind, you must be wholly healthy. Are you taking care of your physical body? If you’re not, you are slowly robbing all of the other areas of your life of the strength they need.

If you’re not as physically healthy as you could be, what are you willing to do differently?

Check out this 3-minute clip where Scott asks us what physical health changes we’re willing to make for God’s glory…

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary, Calvary Assembly of God, crucifixion, exhaustion, God's plan, Gospel of Luke, healthy, Jesus Christ, physical health, prophesy, Scott Troost, video, YouTube. 2 Comments »

The Resurrection Of Jesus Makes All The Difference

February 14, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

“When Jesus was crucified, His followers were discouraged and depressed. They no longer had confidence that Jesus had been sent by God, because they believed anyone crucified was accursed by God. They also had been taught that God would not let His Messiah suffer death. So they disbursed. The Jesus movement was all but stopped in its tracks. Then, after a short period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, regathering, and committing themselves to spread a very specific message—that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God who died on the Cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them. And they were willing to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming this, without any payoff from a human point of view. It’s not as though there were a mansion awaiting them on the Mediterranean. They faced a life of hardship. They often went without food, slept exposed to the elements, were ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned. And finally, most of them were executed in torturous ways. For what? For good intentions? No, because they were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had seen Jesus Christ alive from the dead. What you can’t explain is how this particular group of men came up with this particular belief without having had an experience of the resurrected Christ. There’s no other adequate explanation.” —J. P. Moreland, quoted in More Than A Carpenter

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: crucifixion, J.P. Moreland, Jesus Christ, quotes, resurrection. 1 Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Begone Unbelief

February 11, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

Begone unbelief, my Savior is near,

And for my relief will surely appear:

By prayer let me wrestle, and He wilt perform,

With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.

Though dark be my way, since He is my guide,

’Tis mine to obey, ’tis His to provide;

Though cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail,

The Word He has spoken shall surely prevail.

His love in time past forbids me to think

He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink;

Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review,

Confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through.

Determined to save, He watched o’er my path,

When satan’s blind slave, I sported with death;

And can He have taught me to trust in His name,

And thus far have brought me, to put me to shame?

Why should I complain of want or distress,

Temptation or pain? He told me no less:

The heirs of salvation, I know from His Word,

Through much tribulation must follow their Lord.

How bitter that cup, no heart can conceive,

Which He drank quite up, that sinners might live!

His way was much rougher, and darker than mine;

Did Jesus thus suffer, and shall I repine?

Since all that I meet shall work for my good,

The bitter is sweet, the medicine is food;

Though painful at present, wilt cease before long,

And then, O! how pleasant, the conqueror’s song! —John Newton

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: crucifixion, difficulties, God's love, God's Word, Jesus Christ, John Newton, poem, poetry, prayer, Savior, temptation, trials. Leave a Comment »

Love Re-members

February 6, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

Christians often talk about God in terms of the “Trinity.” That is, the One True God revealed in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is sometimes a difficult concept to grasp, especially since the word Trinity doesn’t specifically appear in the Bible. But make no mistake, just because the word isn’t there doesn’t mean it’s not true. Consider…

God’s Three-in-One nature is first exhibited when man is created (Genesis 1:26).
When the prophesy is given about Jesus being born in human flesh, He is given all the titles of the three Persons of the Godhead (Isaiah 9:6).
At Christ’s baptism we see Jesus in human form, we see the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, and we hear the Father’s voice announcing His approval of His Son (Matthew 3:16-17).
Jesus Himself said He would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to the Christians (John 14:16).
And just as Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told His followers to baptize people into all three Persons of the Godhead (Matthew 28:19).

But I think the best expression of the Trinity is revealed in three simple words. John talks about how all three Persons of the Trinity are involved in the life of a Christian. And then he sums it all up in three words—

“GOD IS LOVE”

Each Person of the Godhead is encouraging and illuminating and pointing to the other Persons in the Trinity. Love is perpetually being received and given. We humans are created in God’s image … we are created to receive and to give God’s love. That’s why John tells us that we know and rely on the love God has for us (that’s the receiving part), and that whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him (that’s the giving part).

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were dis-membered from God. As a result, every human in their natural state longs for connection with God and others, but feels separated, isolated, unloved, and even unlovable.

Love re-members!

Jesus came to be broken and crushed and to feel the pain of separation from God. It was out of this brokenness that He could do the work of re-membering us to the fullness of the Trinity.

When Jesus shared His last supper with His disciples, He took bread (which is made from broken wheat kernels) and wine (which is made from crushed grapes). He told us as often as we eat the bread and drink the wine we are to remember how He was broken and crushed for us.

Remembering Christ’s work on the Cross re-members us to the fullness of the Trinity.

Sin and satan want to keep us feeling separated, unloved, and unloveable. But when we were the least worthy of His love, God—Who IS love—was broken and crushed to re-member us to Him.

If you feel lonely, separated, isolated, unloved or unloveable, I urge you to remember what Jesus did for you. He loved you enough to be broken and crushed for your re-membering to all of God’s love.

Check out this video where I explain this amazing thought in more detail…

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 John, Calvary, crucifixion, doctrine, Genesis, God's love, Gospel of John, Gospel of Matthew, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, loneliness, love, salvation, theology, Trinity, video, YouTube. 1 Comment »

Book Reviews From 2016

December 27, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

Here are the books I read and reviewed in 2016. Click a title to read the review…

Archeological Study Bible

Chase The Lion

Churchill’s Trial

Culture

Hope … The Best Of All Things

How To Read A Book

I Stand At The Door And Knock

Jesus Always

Letters To A Birmingham Jail

Light & Truth—Acts & The Larger Epistles

Light & Truth—Revelation

Light & Truth—The Lesser Epistles

More Than A Carpenter

Of Antichrist And His Ruin

On This Day

One Of The Few

Our Iceberg Is Melting

Shaken

So, Anyway…

Streams In The Desert

The American Patriot’s Almanac

The Bad Habits Of Jesus

The Beauty Of Intolerance

The Blessing Of Humility

The Dawn Of Indestructible Joy

The Duty Of Pastors

The Gospels Side-By-Side

The Mathematical Proof For Christianity

The Philosophy Of Sin

The Place Of Help

The Porn Circuit

The Psychology Of Redemption

The Seven Laws Of Love

The Shadow Of An Agony

The Tabernacle Of Israel

Think On These Things

Today’s Moment Of Truth

Useful Maxims

Your Sorrow Will Turn To Joy

Here are my book reviews for 2011.

Here are my book reviews for 2012.

Here are my book reviews for 2013.

Here are my book reviews for 2014.

Here are my book reviews for 2015.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Christ’s Incarnation Means Our Freedom

December 8, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Christ’s Incarnation Means Our Freedom

Other religions deal with sins; the Bible alone deals with sin. The first thing Jesus Christ faced in man was this heredity of sin, and it is because we have ignored it in our presentation of the Gospel that the message of the Gospel has lost its sting, its blasting power; we have driveled it into insurance tickets for heaven, and made it deal only with the wastrel element of mankind. …

The revelation is not that Jesus Christ was punished for our sins, but that He was made to be sin. “Him who knew no sin” was made to be sin, that by His identification with it and removal of it, we might become what He was. … Jesus Christ went straight through identification with sin that every man and woman on earth might be freed from sin by His atonement. He went through the depths of damnation and came out more than conqueror; consequently everyone of us who is willing to be identified with Him is freed from the disposition of sin, freed from the connection with the body of sin, and can come out more than a conqueror too because of what Jesus Christ has done. …

The Holy Spirit will take my spirit, soul and body and bring them back into communion with God, and lead me into identification with the death of Jesus Christ, until I know experimentally that my old disposition, my right to myself, is crucified with Him, and my human nature is now free to obey the commands of God.

From The Shadow Of An Agony

As we approach the time of year we celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus, it’s amazing to think that He didn’t come just to identify with our sin, but to be made sin! Without Jesus Christ’s death on a Cross in our place, there is no hope for us.

As we celebrate the First Advent, it’s a good idea to keep in the front our our minds what Christ’s Incarnation means for us. It means we can be freed from sin—free to obey God, and free to look forward to Christ’s Second Advent, where He will take away His saints to be with Him forever!