Pray Long

December 13, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

How long is a long prayer? Do you get tired (or bored!) after just a few minutes? Do you start to nod off to sleep if the prayer goes longer than expected? Does your mind wander? Are you too busy to pray more than just bullet-point prayers?

Jesus was about to make a huge decision. Of all of the people who called themselves His disciples (there were a lot of them), Jesus was going to choose twelve to be His apostles (Luke 6:13, 17). These were the men who would spend the most time with Jesus; the ones who would hear His most explicit instructions; the ones who would be called upon to take the gospel to the four points of the globe after Christ’s ascension into Heaven.

How did Jesus choose The Twelve from the huge multitude?

“He spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12).

This Greek word for spent the night is unique in all of Scripture. Only Luke uses it here to describe how Jesus prayed. Doctor Luke—who would know better than most how the body craves sleep—uses this unique word. In essence Jesus was going to cease from all activity AND avoid any inactivity (like sleep) to pray about this important decision.

Principle: The bigger the issue = the longer the prayer.

  • How many times do I pray just one-and-done prayers?
  • How many times am I too distracted/tired/busy to pray more than a few minutes?
  • What wisdom am I robbing myself of by my short prayers?

Don’t get me wrong, God does answer the one word prayers (like HELP!). But there is something powerful about praying long.

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Still So Much More To Learn

November 22, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I was thinking about the disciples of Jesus. Can you imagine the things they heard and saw! With their own eyes they saw those jaw-dropping miracles. With their own ears they heard His profound teaching. They watched and heard Him pray. No one ever had the kind of access to Jesus than these men.

And yet, they were still so spiritually dull…

  • They couldn’t grasp what Jesus was teaching, even when He explained it to them privately.
  • Their faith was sorely lacking.
  • They argued among themselves over such petty things.

If these men—with their almost limitless access to Jesus—were still struggling in their faith, what would make me think I have ever “arrived”?

There is still so much more for me to learn about Jesus.

And I do want to learn more! I want to press in—closer and closer, deeper and deeper! I never want to stop learning my Savior’s heart and will!

What about you? Do you want more?

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Salt & Light

March 30, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus called His followers to be salt and light in the world. He said:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

We have been placed in this world to season it and to illuminate it. What does that mean? How do we do that in a way that glorifies your Father in heaven?

I’m really excited to kickoff our new series Salt & Light this Sunday morning. I hope you can join me at 10:30am to learn more about being seasoning and illumination.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Your Greatest Stumbling Block

October 28, 2010 — 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.

Your Greatest Stumbling Block

The greatest stumbling block that prevents some people from being simple disciples of Jesus is that they are gifted—so gifted that they won’t trust in the Lord with all their hearts.

From Approved Unto God

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth…

But to us who are personally called by God Himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.”

In my weakness, let Christ be strong!

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Outlive Your Life (book review)

September 10, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

When I hear “Max Lucado has a new book coming out,” I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas! And just like those kids on Christmas morning, when I received Outlive Your Life, I tore into this book, and scarcely put it down until I devoured it.

I love the concept: The impact your life makes can live on far after your physical life has ended here. To make his case, Max uses the example of Jesus’ first disciples whose dedication to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ has far outlived their first-century lives. Specifically, Max uses the first twelve chapters of Acts as the disciples begin this work right after Jesus has ascended back into heaven.

Max uses examples from 33 AD to show us a 2010 AD life application. What the original disciples did then, we 21st-century disciples can do now. As always, Max digs such timely truths out of the Scripture that makes it seem so relevant for today. For right now!

At the back of the book is a discussion and action guide which opens with the words, “Max wants you to do more than read about the book of Acts. He wants you to live out the twenty-ninth chapter, writing the story of the church for your generation.” I found both the discussion questions and action ideas personally challenging, and great conversation-starts for a small group or a Bible study.

It’s almost automatic that I give Max Lucado’s books an unreserved five-out-of-five stars, and this book is no exception. You’ll find so much in this book to apply to your life, your church, your ministry. And here’s another bonus: Max Lucado is giving 100% of his royalties to charities such as World Vision who are helping to make a life-changing difference in our world.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

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Primal (book review)

December 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

It’s been quite a while since I have been this excited about a book. Mark Batterson has given us a winner with the release of this third book entitled Primal. I highly recommend that you add this to your 2010 reading list, as this would be a great way to start your new year.

One of the knocks I hear non-churched people level at Christians is, “You have too many rules to follow. It seems like being a Christian is too restrictive.” Unfortunately, far too many people who call themselves Christian live like this. Their definition of Christianity boils down to We can’t do that or We don’t do that or These are the rules.

In Primal, Batterson takes us back to the life Jesus intended for His followers to live. Jesus is asked what it takes to be a follower of God, and He answers with this primal phrase, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is primal Christianity.

Mark then leads us through a reawakening of what it really means to love God fully in these four areas:

  1. Passionate, God-directed, and others-focused love
  2. Wide-eyed, awe-struck, transcendent wonder
  3. A searching, engaged, holy curiosity
  4. Energetic, all-encompassing, servant-hearted work

It’s so simple. It’s so primal. And it’s so liberating to be reminded of the raw essence of living a Spirit-empowered life which is so God-glorifying and Christ-magnifying.

This book gets all five stars from me.

I am a Multnomah book review blogger.

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