Links & Quotes

July 6, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

link quote

“When we go through the trial of faith we gain so much wealth in our heavenly banking account, and the more we go through the trial of faith the wealthier we become in the heavenly regions.” —Oswald Chambers

“The promise that frees us from an unforgiving, bitter, vengeful spirit is the promise that God will settle our accounts. He will do it more justly and more thoroughly than we ever could. Therefore we can back off and leave room for God to work.” —John Piper, commenting on Romans 12:19

“‘Revenge is sweet;’ but not to the man who has tasted Christ, for he says, ‘How can I have vengeance upon my fellow, when Christ has put away my sin?’ Now, forgiveness is sweet, and he loathes malice, and turns aside from it as from venom itself.” —Charles Spurgeon

The Isaiah 53:5 Project reblogged one of my all-time favorite blog posts: The Parable Of The Lifeguard. Thanks, James!

Melinda Penner reminds us of the dangers of abusing our freedom. “If there is nothing objective to constrain our freedom, then there’s nothing objective to constrain the government. Our rights become whatever we declare them to be and whatever the government at any time and place declares them to be, changing with the fashions of the day.”

I Missed It

Greg Koukl does a good job explaining how the books of the Bible were compiled in this video.

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10 Quotes To Help Celebrate Independence Day

July 4, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

I love the United States of America! As we celebrate our country’s birthday, here are 10 quotes from my files about America.

“Throughout our history Americans have put their faith in God and no one can doubt that we have been blessed for it. The earliest settlers of this land came in search of religious freedom. Landing on a desolate shoreline, they established a spiritual foundation that has served us ever since.” —Ronald Reagan

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” ―Harry Truman

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” —Edward Abbey

“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” —Samuel Adams

“If American democracy is to remain the greatest hope of humanity, it must continue abundantly in the faith of the Bible.” —Calvin Coolidge 

“The strength of a country is the strength of its religious convictions.” —Calvin Coolidge

“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favors. … The Hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.” —George Washington 

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!” —Abraham Lincoln

“We’ve staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future upon the capacity of each and every one of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” —James Madison

“There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire.” —John Witherspoon

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That Grand Old Flag

June 14, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

American flagToday is Flag Day in the United States of America. I proudly fly the stars and stripes outside my home, and I get misty-eyed every time I sing the national anthem or say the pledge of allegiance. These words from Rev. Henry Ward Beecher penned many long years ago still ring true today for me—

“If one asks the meaning of our flag, I say it means just what Concord and Lexington meant, what Bunker Hill meant. It means the whole glorious Revolutionary War. It means all that the Declaration of Independence meant. It means all that the Constitution of our people, organizing for justice, for liberty, and for happiness, meant. Under this banner rode Washington and his armies…. It waved on the highlands at West Point…. This banner streamed in light over the soldiers’ heads at Valley Forge…. It crossed the waters rolling with ice at Trenton…. Our flag carries American ideas, American history, and American feelings. Beginning with the colonies, and coming down to our time, in its sacred heraldry, in its glorious insignia, it has gathered and stored chiefly this supreme idea: Divine right of liberty in man. Every color means liberty. Every thread means liberty. Every form of star and beam or stripe of light means liberty. Not lawlessness, not license, but organized, institutional liberty—liberty through law, and laws for liberty. This American flag was the safeguard of liberty. Not an atom of crown was allowed to go into its insignia. Not a symbol of authority in the ruler was permitted to go into it. It was an ordinance of liberty by the people, for the people. That it meant, that it means, and, by the blessing of God, that it shall mean to the end of time.” —Henry Ward Beecher

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Happy Independence Day

July 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

(John Adams, writing to his wife Abigail about the Declaration of Independence)

I hope you will take time today to celebrate the blessings of liberty that we enjoy in the United States of America. But as you celebrate, do not forget that our freedom relies solely on the grace of God Almighty. If we forget that important fact, we are doomed to lose the precious gift of liberty.

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An Unabashed Appeal To Join Religion And Government

July 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Talk about taking a passing remark out of context! In a personal letter, Thomas Jefferson mentions how church and state should be separate. But I’m convinced where we’ve ended up is no where close to what he intended! I’m so tired of historical revisionists trying to convince us that biblical values and Judeo-Christian ethics had no place in the founding of our nation. Or—worse yet—that they have no place now. Consider these founding remarks…

“…Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia….” —Mayflower Compact

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence….” —Declaration Of Independence

“I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth, That God governs in the Affairs of Men!—And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without His Notice, is it probable than an Empire can rise without His Aid? — We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring Aid we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel…. I therefore beg leave to move, That henceforth Prayers, imploring the Assistance of Heaven, and its Blessing on our Deliberations, be held in this Assembly every Morning before we proceed to Business.” —Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” —George Washington

“Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! What a Utopia, what aParadise would this region be.” —John Adams

And, of course, the quotes could go on and on and on. But one of my favorites:

“Yes, if our religion had more to do with our politics; if, in the pride of our citizenship, we had not forgotten our Christianity; if we had prayed more and wrangled less about the affairs of our country, it would have been infinitely better for us at this day.” —John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829), in his book published in 1800

Happy Birthday, America! May GOD bless you!

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Celebrating Freedom

July 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday at Calvary Assembly of God we celebrated our country’s birthday with an outdoor service and picnic. I talked about the biblical roots and godly heritage of our great nation. In telling this story, I used quite a few quotes from key historical people. Several people have asked me to make these quotes available, and I’m happy to do so. (Any text in bold was added by me.)

“It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures.” —Christopher Columbus writing about the motivation for his journey

“In the name of God, amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign, King James…. Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together in a civil body politic ….” —The Mayflower Compact

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them….

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. …

“…And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” —Preamble and closing sentence of the Declaration of Independence

“I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth, That God governs in the Affairs of Men! And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without His Notice, is it probable than an Empire can rise without His Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring Aid we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel…. I therefore beg leave to move, That henceforth Prayers, imploring the Assistance of Heaven, and its Blessing on our Deliberations, be held in this Assembly every Morning before we proceed to Business.” —Benjamin Franklin, at Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787

“Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.” —Proclamation of a nation day of prayer and fasting, March 30, 1863

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.  To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. … No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.  They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God….” —Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of thanksgiving in October 1863

“I recognize we must be cautious in claiming God is on our side. But I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.” —Ronald Reagan

I believe God will continue to bless America IF we make sure we are on His side.

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Ultimate Devotion

May 25, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Usually I awaken each morning with some song echoing in my mind, but this morning was different. This morning I heard the last lines of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address resounding in my mind—

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

America is still an unfinished work. She is a work which has been nobly advanced by the blood of patriots who believed in the work which had been birthed on this soil. These honored dead gave their last full measure of devotion to this nation “conceived in Liberty” by the guiding hand of God Himself.

Just 87 years earlier the Founding Fathers closed the Declaration of Independence with these words—

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Today is called Memorial Day, and it is right and proper that we memorialize the last full measure of devotion given by our fallen soldiers and patriots. It’s also a day to reflect on why they died—they were willing to shed their blood for this country conceived in Liberty under the watchful care of Divine Providence.

May we continue to honor the memory of our honored dead by upholding the values for which they died to preserve and protect. And may God continue to bless the United States of America as we remember and honor Him!

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home.

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