I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled I am when I get to baptize folks in water who have made the decision to follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Today it was even sweeter when I got to baptize a father and son!
Poetry Saturday—The Friends Beside Us
February 20, 2016 — Craig T. Owens
When the powers of hell prevail O’er our weakness and unfitness,
Could we lift the fleshly veil,
Could we for a moment witness
Those unnumbered hosts that stand
Calm and bright on either hand—
Oh! what joyful hope would cheer!
Oh! what faith serene would guide us!
Great may be the danger near,
Greater are the friends beside us. —Anonymous, quoted by Oswald Chambers in Not Knowing Where
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him Who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. —Hebrews 12:1-3
Links & Quotes
November 23, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“A man may be perfected through suffering or be made worse through suffering, it depends on his disposition.” —Oswald Chambers
“The only option for French atheists (among whose ranks I used to count myself), is to maintain that there isn’t really any such thing as evil. When one denies the existence of God as a transcendent Creator of the universe who ordains how humans ought to live their lives, one is left only with conflicting opinions about what individuals like and dislike. If there is no God then there is no objective truth about the good and the bad…. [I]n reality, to be a consistent atheist one must affirm that the Islamic terrorists in Paris didn’t do anything ‘wrong’, as such. They only acted out of line with our personal preferences, (and in line with theirs). If there’s no ultimate arbiter of right and wrong, that’s all we are left with.” —Guillaume Bignon, a former atheist, after the ISIS attacks in Paris. Read more here.
Josh McDowell answers the question: “If my friends and I have a disagreement, what’s the right way to handle it?”
Planned Parenthood asked people on Twitter to give them one word that describes what they do. I’m not sure they liked many of the (true) responses they received. What one word would you use? I would say: evil.
Forgive Me (book review)
July 7, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
If you see a book entitled Forgive Me, you might think that it is a book extolling the virtue of asking forgiveness. Although author David Kirkwood is asking forgiveness from his family, friends, and neighbors, this isn’t a book telling us how or why to forgive.
David Kirkwood’s apology is to those he interacts with on an everyday basis. His sin: not telling them the simple truth about how much God loves them!
Forgive Me is an excellent book for Christians to buy in bulk, and then hand out to people they care about. David will lead the reader through a logical progression of why we are here, the futility of trying to find purpose or a lasting legacy on our own, and how God’s love led to Jesus purchasing the forgiveness from our sins.
This isn’t a deep doctrinal book, nor is it a “preachy” book. It’s loving, and kind, and easy for anyone to read. Please share this book with any of your family or friends who haven’t yet experienced the joy of knowing Jesus as their Savior.
The Kirkwood family graciously provided me with a copy of this book so I could read it and review it for you.
Links & Quotes
June 2, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“People who suffer the loss of a loved one will tell you that your presence is comforting, not your answers. In his first sermon after losing his son to suicide, Pastor Rick Warren advised his congregants that if they were unsure about what to say in a tragedy, say nothing. Just be there. Job’s friends initially did that. It was only after they began to speak that they made matters worse. If you’re hurting right now, I risk making matters worse by giving intellectual answers to emotional pain.” —Frank Turek
“Men may as well build their houses upon the sand and expect to see them stand, when the rains fall, and the winds blow, and the floods come, as to found free institutions upon any other basis than that of morality and virtue, of which the Word of God is the only authoritative rule, and the only adequate sanction. All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet. It may do for other countries and other governments to talk about the state supporting religion. Here, under our own free institutions, it is religion which must support the state.” —Robert Winthrop, speaker of the US House of Representatives (1847–1849)
Some wonderful quotes from Maya Angelou.
“Anything which you have in this world, which you do not consecrate to Christ’s cause, you do rob the Lord of.” —Charles Spurgeon
“If we don’t kill every hint of immorality, we’ll be captured by our tendency as males to draw sexual gratification and chemical highs through our eyes. But we can’t deal with our maleness until we first reject our right to mix standards. As we ask ‘How holy can I be?’ we must pray and commit to a new relationship with God, fully aligned with His call to obedience.” —Steve Arterburn
[VIDEO] So are Christian scientists biased in their research? Yes! Any scientist is, but that is why there are controls—
Poetry Saturday―Sermons We See
April 18, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;I’d rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear.
And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds.
For to see the good in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in actions, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind.
When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behind
Just to see if he can help him, then the wish grows strong in me
To become as big and thoughtful as I know that friend to be.
And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today
Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.
One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold;
One deed of kindness noticed is worth forty that are told.
Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear,
For right living speaks a language which to every one is clear.
Though an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say,
I’d rather see a sermon then to hear one, any day. —Edgar A. Guest
Links & Quotes
December 26, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
“When we meet with our kinsfolk and acquaintances, let it be our prayer to God that our communion may be not only pleasant, but profitable; that we may not merely pass away time and spend a pleasant hour, but may advance a day’s march nearer heaven, and acquire greater fitness for our eternal rest.” —Charles Spurgeon
“When Scripture says that Christ died ‘for’ us, I think the word is usually υπερ (on behalf of), not αντι (instead of). I think the ideas of sacrifice, ransom, championship (over death), substitution et cetera are all images to suggest the reality (not otherwise comprehensible to us) of the atonement. To fix on any one of them as if it contained and limited the truth like a scientific definition would in my opinion be a mistake.” —C.S. Lewis
“Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because it is fatal. It is a deceptive work of the devil and will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.” —John Piper
A really cool timeline of the events surrounding Christ’s birth.
“You will not experience the real presence of Jesus until you have within you a growing hatred for sin—a piercing conviction for your failures and a deepening sense of your exceeding sinfulness. Those without Christ’s presence become less and less convicted by sin. The further they withdraw from His presence, the bolder, more arrogant and more comfortable in compromise they grow.” —David Wilkerson
Have you seen Unbroken or read the book? This post—Unbroken Uncut—is very interesting.
This is a disgusting twist of Scripture that perverts God’s Word to make it sound like those who are pro-abortion are the evildoers.
“You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you.” —Max Lucado
[VIDEO] A sweet video of a 10-year-old boy who finds out he is going to be a big brother—
Links & Quotes
December 22, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Parents, check out what Tim Elmore says about Trends In How Today’s Students Handle Relationships.
“The danger of all dangers would be to lose trust and confidence in the mercy of God… To distrust Him would be a far more terrible thing than any physical evil which all the enemies of God put together could inflict on us, for without God’s permission neither the devils nor their human ministers could hinder us in the slightest degree.” —Francis Xavier
“Chance exists only in the hearts of fools; we believe that everything which happens to us is ordered by the wise and tender will of Him Who is our Father and our Friend; and we see order in the midst of confusion; we see purposes accomplished where others discern fruitless wastes.” —Charles Spurgeon
“We must, if it so happens, give our lives for others: but even while we’re doing it, I think we’re meant to enjoy Our Lord and, in Him, our friends, our food, our sleep, our jokes, and the birds’ song and the frosty sunrise.” —C.S. Lewis
These are indeed: 10 stupid quotes from pro-abortion advocates.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell on the value of being consistent in all we do—
Seth Godin has some wise words on consistency as well in his post Daily.
Links & Quotes
November 17, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading from today…
“Just because no one complains, it doesn’t mean that all parachutes are perfect.” —Anonymous
“I am not young enough to know everything.” —Oscar Wilde
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” —James Thurber
More appalling misery created by the pro-abortion crowd: Planned Parenthood’s Horrible Treatment.
Very good: 7 Things All Great Friends Do.
“I must pray for the strength and courage to be truly obedient to Jesus, even if He calls me to go where I would rather not go.” —Henri Nouwen
“One of the greatest mercies God bestows upon us is His not permitting our inclinations and opportunities to meet. Have you not sometimes noticed that when you had the inclination to a sin there has been no opportunity, and when the opportunity has presented itself you have had no inclination towards it? satan’s principal aim with believers is to bring their appetites and his temptations together….” —Charles Spurgeon
“This is not Predestination: your will is perfectly free: but all physical events are adapted to fit in as God sees best with the free actions He knows we are going to do.” —C.S. Lewis
Links & Quotes
October 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading from today…
“The mind may be compared to a garden, which it is as necessary to cultivate as any plot of earth, if order and beauty are to be manifested through it. … Ideas, as well as flowers, in order to attain their full beauty, must be kept free from encumbering influences, whatever tends to weaken or degrade or detract from planned perfection.” —Joyce Mayhew
“I thank my Master that He does not say to the sinner, ‘Come half way and meet Me,’ but He comes ‘where he is.’” —Charles Spurgeon
“On the basis of grace as taught in the Word of God, when God forgives a man, He trusts him as though he had never sinned. God did not have mental reservations about any of us when we became His children by faith. When God forgives a man, He doesn’t think, ‘I will have to watch this fellow because he has a bad record.’ No, He starts with him again as though he had just been created and as if there had been no past at all! That is the basis of our Christian assurance—and God wants us to be happy in it.” —A.W. Tozer
“Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally.” —Oswald Chambers
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