“Are you expecting the Lord? Are you living in this expectation? Is it a deep-seated, abiding, cherished hope? Is it a hope that tells upon your character, your life, your daily actings in public or private, your opinions, your whole man? Does it quicken you? Does it purify you? Does it keep you separate from the world? Does it keep you calm in the midst of earth’s most exciting events, or most untoward changes? Does it give you a new view of history as well as prophecy? …
“Let your expectation of the Lord’s coming be a calm and healthy one; not one that excites, but one that tranquilizes; not one that unfits for duty, but one that nerves you more firmly for it; not one that paralyzes exertion, but one that invigorates you for it; not one that makes you indifferent to present duty, but one that makes you doubly in earnest about everything that your hand findeth to do; not one that stops liberality, and prayer, and work, but one that increases all these a hundred fold; not one that dwells exclusively on the future’s dark side—the judgments that are at hand—but one that realizes the glory and the joy of Messiah’s approaching victory and triumphant reign.” —Horatius Bonar
Are You Expecting The Lord?
March 9, 2016 — Craig T. Owens
Expectation Or Superstition?
January 11, 2016 — Craig T. Owens
What good is it to pray if we don’t expect to receive anything from God? Isn’t that just making “prayer” a superstition? Instead, the Bible tells us that we can have “a remarkable degree of confidence” that when we take something to God in prayer, we can expect something great (1 John 5:14-15)!
Our prayer closet should be the safest place for us to express ourselves. You might have a close friend with whom you can “be yourself.” You can pour everything out to your friend, knowing that they will still love you. And yet, even with that really close, true-blue friend there are still times you hold back.
God doesn’t want that from us.
Check out David’s prayer closet. He had no problems telling God how he felt about the bad guys who were after him (Psalm 56:5-7; 57:3; 58:6-8; 59:13). Here’s the important thing to note: David poured out these words only in God’s presence. We don’t read anywhere in the Bible where David yelled these words at his enemies, or even shared these thoughts with his close friends.
Instead David said, “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8). Pouring out your heart to anyone else can sound like gossiping, picking a fight, or whining!
When David got it all out in God’s presence, he experienced two really cool things:
- His swirling, angry thoughts were quieted—for God alone my soul waits in silence.
- He came away with an expectation of God’s help—my soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
What about you? Are you being honest in prayer? Are you pouring out all of your hurts and doubts and frustrations to your Heavenly Father? Do you expect Him to answer you?
Here’s how you can tell if you aren’t praying with total honesty … you will walk out of your prayer closet still in turmoil. When you truly unload your heart in God’s presence, He will give you a peace that is so beyond anything you could have worked up yourself (Philippians 4:6-7).
Check this out…
Join me next Sunday as we continue our look at Practical Prayer.
Links & Quotes
November 12, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” —C.S. Lewis
“Jesus spilled His blood for you. You can spill your heart before God.” —Max Lucado
“Too often, when issues of sexual abuse come up, the Church simply stays silent. But a Gospel-centered response to sexual violation of anyone at any age begins with understanding that silence is not an option.” Read more in The Scandal Of Silence.
An abortion clinic in Michigan was shut down for numerous health and safety violations, but now it appears it may re-open.
[VIDEO] Here’s the truth of what abortion providers do—
Eric Metaxas shares the really cool story behind the Navy Hymn.
“You can be saved, Spirit-filled, and walking holy before God, yet still be guilty of unbelief. You may think, ‘I don’t have any unbelief.’ But do you get upset when things go wrong? Are you fearful of failing God? Are you restless, afraid of the future? The believer who has unconditional faith in God’s promise enjoys complete rest. What characterizes this rest? A full, complete confidence in God’s Word, and a total dependence on His faithfulness to that Word. Indeed, rest is the evidence of faith.” —David Wilkerson
Seth Godin discusses what starts to happen when our expectations slip.
Links & Quotes
June 24, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Faith does not shirk the fight; she longs for it, because she foresees the victory.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Faith honors Him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard, since it considers Him truthful and trustworthy.” ―Martin Luther
“A rejection, or in Scripture’s strong language, a crucifixion of the natural self is the passport to everlasting life. Nothing that has not died will be resurrected.” ―C.S. Lewis
“You didn’t sign up for this crash course in single parenting or caring for a disabled spouse, did you? No, God enrolled you. Why? So you can teach others what He has taught you. Rather than say, ‘God, why?’ ask, ‘God, what?’ What can I learn from this experience? Your mess can become His message!” —Max Lucado
I have often said that low expectations can sink someone’s future. Seth Godin agrees. Check out his post The Tragedy Of Small Expectations.
[VIDEO] Pentatonix is a very talented a cappella group! Check out this mash-up of Michael Jackson hits—
More Sex Talk
May 28, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Sex is good. God designed it to be that way! As more and more scientific studies are completed and research papers published there is one thing becoming more and more clear—God’s way of having sex (a married husband and wife) is the best way to do it.
Pornography before or during marriage is a relationship killer. [1] Porn makes you objectify the other person, seeing them as an object to be used and not a person to be loved. [2] Porn creates unrealistic expectations that your spouse cannot live up to. [3] Even so-called “soft” porn is the open door to more destructive viewing habits. [4] Porn erodes the trust that holds a relationship together. [5] Porn isolates marriage partners from each other, because they think they can find satisfaction on a screen.
Having sex before marriage actually rewires your brain, making it so much harder to bond with your spouse after you say “I do.” Check this out:
For over a decade, there have been numerous studies that reveal three different attachment styles in the way people bond sexually: secure, anxious and avoidant. The latter is what’s interesting as it reflects the behavior we see in the statistics above.
According to Dr. [Sue] Johnson: “Those of us who are avoidant, that is, uncomfortable with emotional closeness and dependence on others, are more likely to have what I term ‘sealed-off sex.’ Sex is self-centered and self-affirming, a performance aimed at achieving climax and confirming one’s own sexual skill. Technique is prized; openness and vulnerability shunned. There is little foreplay, such as kissing or tender touching. And no cuddling afterward—once the Big Bang occurs, there’s nothing left … Because pleasure without emotional engagement is shallow and fleeting, this kind of sex needs continual boosting to be thrilling.”
God’s desire is for your sexual relationship with your spouse to be intoxicating! The descriptions in Scripture are of a husband and wife intoxicated with each other, and God pronouncing a blessing over the couple as they are wrapped up in each other! God wants sex in your marriage to be so amazingly good that there is never a shadow of a thought of looking anywhere else.
But if you want this, you must do sex God’s way. One man and one woman who are married to each other, and who have left behind all the entanglements of other partners, whether they’re real or virtual.
Trumped
November 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
Gift finding trumps gap finding.
Finding where people excel trumps finding where people fall short.
Expecting more of others trumps expecting less of others.
People will always live up (or down) to your expectations of them.
People flock to gift finders, but they run away from gap finders.
Expect more.
Believe more.
See more.
Let gifts trump gaps.
My New Year’s Theme
January 1, 2011 — Craig T. Owens
In my daily Bible reading time this morning, I read this psalm/prayer/song from David. It so resonated in me, that I’m making it my declaration for 2011…
I’ve thrown myself headlong into God’s arms—I’m celebrating His rescue. I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I’m so full of answered prayers.
I’m calling my 2011 The Year Of Fully Answered Prayers. That means, of course, I’m going to be spending more time in prayer. And that’s a pretty awesome thing!
What are you going to call your 2011?
The Promised Flower
June 2, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
I just hate waiting! Especially when what I’m waiting for is going to be so good. It’s like already knowing what my birthday or Christmas present is going to be, but still having to wait for that special day to arrive.
It seems like it’s taking forever!
Three years ago our neighbors gave my daughter Samantha some iris bulbs. She carefully planted them in our garden and watered them, and tended them, and protected them from all the traffic through the garden. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. The first year: just small green shoots and nothing else. Last year: taller shoots, but not even a bud. This year: the shoots grew taller and we saw buds appear for the first time.
Then—finally!—yesterday the first purple iris opened. It was a long wait, but it finally happened.
Sounds like what God promised His people:
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)
Samantha’s iris reminds me that God’s promises do not fail, and His timing is perfect. I’m a big proponent of writing down what I sense God has impressed on my heart. Write down His promises, plant those seeds in your heart, water them with prayer, protect them from being trampled, and wait in expectation. Every day, wait in expectation.
God, the One and Only—I’ll wait as long as He says. Everything I hope for comes from Him. (Psalm 62:5, The Message)
Are you waiting for God’s promise? Plant your seeds (write it down). Water them (prayer). And wait in expectation, wait in hope. God will cause your “flower” to bloom at just the right time!
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