God’s blessing | Craig T. Owens

January 2026
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God Takes Care Of You

August 17, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

“When God pardoned you He gave you His Son. And ‘how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’ (Romans 8:32). When a father gives his son the whole orchard, it is absurd for the child to ask for one apple. …

“On the other hand, a wise father may bequeath a huge estate to his child—but not let him control anymore of this inheritance than he can manage properly. In the same way, God gives believers a right to all the comforts of life, but His infinite wisdom proportions out smaller amounts for their actual use according to the needs of each soul. Thus if you should have much less than someone else, this does not mean God loves that person more, but that He cares enough to supply according to your ability to profitably use.” —William Gurnall, in The Christian In Complete Armor

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: forgiveness, God's blessing, God's provision, God's wisdom, Jesus Christ, quotes, Romans, William Gurnall. 2 Comments »

Paths To Power (book review)

July 25, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

As I read A.W. Tozer’s words I find myself saying two things: (1) “Ouch!” and (2) “Amen!” Tozer’s Paths To Power is a continuation in those responses as he outlines what robs the Church and individual Christians of the power God wants them to have.

Right at the outset, Tozer identifies a key element robbing the Church of power: a lack of obedience in the things God has commanded us. “A knowledge of the truth is not enough,” he writes. “The truth must be followed if we would realize in actual experience the blessedness which is here described.”

Another power-blocker is an unwillingness to let God confront us and help us change. We get stuck in a this-is-how-it’s-always-been rut and then shut our eyes to the times of refreshing God wants to send to us. Other blockers include poor doctrine, putting the Holy Spirit in a box, justifying our sin, and not unleashing our faith, to name just a few.

Thankfully, Tozer also points us to the straightforward cures for all of the blockages to power. If we are willing to open our eyes, ears, and hearts to God’s voice, His unlimited blessings could flow uninterrupted into our lives and churches.

Paths To Power contains only seven short chapters, but the digestion, contemplation, and implementation of Tozer’s cures will be something that will involve a lifetime commitment for those ready for God’s fresh power to be poured into their lives.

I am a Moody Publishers book reviewer.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Bible study, book review, Christian, Christianity, church, devotions, disobedience, God's blessing, God's power, Holy Spirit, obedience, revival, sin. 3 Comments »

Man—The Dwelling Place Of God (book review)

July 18, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

It’s an awesome thing to ponder that Almighty God wants to live and commune with you and me! I can think of no better person to illuminate this amazing thought than the prophetic voice of A.W. Tozer in his book Man—The Dwelling Place Of God.

Although this book is 50 years old, the message still rings true for this generation. Tozer points out that God wants to dwell with man, to reveal Himself to us in powerful and personal ways, but this comes at a price. That price is not trying to control God, but letting Him be in charge.

The book is made up of 39 chapters, the majority of which are fairly short and can be read in just a few minutes. But the application of the truths in these short chapters will be something that you will need to ponder for quite awhile. God is Lord and Master; He is not a genie in a bottle that grants us our wishes if we rub the bottle the right way. God has laid out for us how He will bless us in His Word and, Tozer says, it’s time for us to take God’s Word more seriously.

Tozer makes it clear that we cannot live however we want to live and then ask God to bless our life with His presence. Instead, God has already shown us in His Word, in the life of His Son Jesus, and in the ongoing witness of the Holy Spirit the kind of life He longs to bless. It’s now up to us to place our lives in that place where God’s blessings and presence will flow.

A.W. Tozer speaks with the authority of a prophet of God, and for those who are willing to listen and apply his words, God’s presence and blessing can be expected.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Bible, book review, Christian, God's blessing, God's presence, God's Word, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, prophet. 11 Comments »

Godly Leaders Must Do Hard Things

July 11, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

“Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it” (Ezra 10:4).

Leaders have to do hard things. The responsibility is theirs, and the team is imploring their leader to take the responsibility to lead!

Ezra had to deal with a difficult issue. The issue was intermarriage between the Israelites and pagan nations. To complicate matters, Ezra discovered that “the hand of the leaders and rulers had been foremost in this trespass” (Ezra 9:2). I would guess these leaders had committed the sin of commission (intermarrying themselves or allowing their children to do so), and of omission (not speaking out against trespassers).

But those “who trembled at the words of the God of Israel” were greatly grieved at this national sin (v. 4).

Ezra’s first response was a good one: he fasted and prayed, confessing the sins of the people and identifying himself with them (notice the use of “we” in his prayer). Ezra knew there was a window of opportunity for revival that was about to close, so he must act quickly (vv. 5-15).

Prayer is a great start, but after prayer there must be action: “Arise … and do it”!

I am sure looking transgressors in the eye—especially those who were leading men and women in the community—and calling out their sin wasn’t an easy thing nor a pleasant thing for Ezra to do, but it had to be done.

A mark of a godly leader is one who does the hard good things that must be done.

Ezra doing the hard good thing opened the door for God’s blessing to fall on the people. This is still true for godly leaders today.

My prayer—Lord, strengthen me to “arise and do it” when the hard good things must be done.

This is Part 2 in my series on godly leadership. To read my other posts, please click here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: action, boldness, courage, Ezra, faith in action, God's blessing, initiative, leadership, prayer, responsibility, revival, servant-leadership. 8 Comments »

God Isn’t Trying To Cast People Into Hell

July 6, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

“God isn’t trying to cast people into hell; He’s trying to bring them into heaven. He wants people to be with Him and to have everything His sons and daughters should have. So it’s odd to focus on the question of whether people need to hear the name Jesus to go to heaven, as if knowing Him in this life were an annoyance people would prefer to avoid.

“It’s just the opposite. Knowing Jesus and knowing all about Him are meant to be monumental blessings in this life. So we should be tripping over ourselves to get to know Him rather than trying to figure out ways people might get to heaven without Him. Peoples lives here and now will be infinitely better if they know Jesus and the freedom He wants them to have.” —Eric Metaxas, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About God

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Eric Metaxas, freedom, God's blessing, Heaven, Heavenly Father, Hell, Jesus Christ, quote. Leave a Comment »

Is The Christian Life Difficult?

June 15, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

“We find the Christian life so difficult because we seek for God’s blessing while we live in our own will. … We make our own plans and choose our own work, and then we ask the Lord Jesus to come in and take care that sin shall not conquer us too much, that we shall not go too far wrong; we ask Him to come in and give us so much of His blessing. But our relationship to Jesus ought to be such that we are entirely at His disposal.” —Andrew Murray, in Absolute Surrender

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Andrew Murray, Christianity, discipleship, God's blessing, ignorance, Jesus Christ, pride, quotes, surrender. Leave a Comment »

Born After Midnight (book review)

May 2, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

A.W. Tozer spoke and wrote with a prophet’s voice. Though many of his books are nearly a half-century old, they ring with a timely message to which the church today must take heed. Tozer’s Born After Midnight is one of his most hard-hitting, but needed messages.

Tozer notes that many revivals in church history were born after midnight. Not that there is anything super-spiritual that takes place in the wee hours of the morning, but really this is a call to perseverance. Tozer spoke out strongly against cushy Christianity, against those who thought becoming a Christian was their key to an easy life, or those who expected God to work for them.

Those Christians who are ready to roll up their sleeves and go to work for Christ, Tozer preached, were those who were more in line with the very first Christians of the Bible. Tozer reminds us that “taking up a cross” to follow Jesus isn’t popular, nor is it a road to accolades from the world. But those who will persevere with Christ—even working late into the hours after midnight—will reap the blessings of God’s presence.

A.W. Tozer pulls no punches, but he doesn’t purposefully go out of his way to wound people either. His tone is both confident and humble. Listen to his words as he opens this book:

“To sit even for a moment in the chair of the teacher and write that which may affect the life and character of numerous persons is not only a lofty privilege but a grave responsibility as well.

“The only qualifications I bring to the writing of these pages are love for the Triune Godhead and a sorrowful concern for the spiritual welfare of the church, which our Lord purchased with His own blood.

“If there is anything here good or helpful to the children of God, it must be attributed to the operation of the Holy Spirit who often condescends to work through unworthy instruments. Whatever else may be found here is due to human weakness and is better forgotten.”

This is a fantastic book for our age, and I urge all Christians to read it.

I am a Moody Press book reviewer.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, book review, Christianity, church, Cross, God's blessing, God's presence, hard work, perseverance, revival. 2 Comments »

Your Nothing Is Really Something!

April 18, 2017 — Craig T. Owens

I love the story in 2 Kings about the widow who comes to Elisha for help. Elisha tells her to borrow as many empty jars as she can, and then begin to pour the little oil she has remaining in her own jar into all the empty jars.

Miraculously, her one little jar fills all of the empty jars she had borrowed! It was only after the empty jars had been filled that her jar of oil stopped pouring. When she sold the full jars of oil, she was able to pay off her debts and have enough left over to take care of her and her sons.

We always have something.

In our eyes our something may appear as nothing. The widow originally told Elisha, “I don’t have a thing. Except a tiny bit of oil.”

But if God has given you something, that something is everything you need.

Your something is everything to you, and it’s a blessing to others too.

What do you have to do with your something? Pour it out on those who have nothing.

For how long? Until all the places of nothing are full. Once all the nothing is filled with something, you can stop.

And then what? Then you will find that your something with God’s blessing is everything you need!

God has given you something that those with nothing need. So perhaps a good prayer for all of us is—God, show me today what something You have given to me, and where You want me to pour my something into someone’s nothing.