Christ’s Advents Bring Love

December 26, 2024 — 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. 

The lights of hope, peace, and joy burn brightly. They drive out the darkness in our own lives and in the lives of others with whom we come in contact. But you and I both know lots of people who are very positive people—always upbeat, seemingly peaceful and joyful. The real question is: What is the source of this light? Or more specifically, how do people know that you are hopeful, peaceful, and joyful because you know Jesus as your Savior and King?  

Jesus said there were two proofs that we are His followers:

  1. That we love others (John 13:35) 
  2. That we are producing God-honoring fruit (John 15:8) 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

God IS love—it’s His very nature. Just like an apple doesn’t have the capacity for apple-ness but is by its nature an apple, so God doesn’t have the capacity for love, or love more than others, but He is by His nature Love. 

Any qualities of hope, peace, and joy in our lives have to originate from God’s love. We cannot manufacture these fruits, but they are a natural result of our being connected with Love Himself. 

Love is what brought Jesus to earth at His First Advent (John 3:16-17; Romans 5:5-8). And we can only love others and produce the fruit of hope, peace, and joy because Jesus went first and became our Source (1 John 4:19; John 15:1). 

Love brought Jesus to earth at His First Advent, and Love is what empowers us to be loving and fruitful between His Advents. 

  1. Love one another means that love serves (John 13:1-5, 15-17, 34-35) 
  2. Bear much fruit means that love grows (John 15:1-12) 

We can only serve and be lovingly fruitful as we stay connected to Love (2 Peter 1:2-7; 1 John 2:28). 

Love brought Jesus to earth at His First Advent, Love is what empowers us to be loving and fruitful between His Advents, and Love is what patiently waits for Christ’s Second Advent (2 Peter 3:3-4, 9). 

We continue to grow in our love and produce fruit by being connected to the Vine of Love (1 Corinthians 13:11-12; 1 John 3:1-2 ; Hebrews 10:23-24). 

This means we live every moment as though the Second Advent is imminent. Because it is! 

We need to let our love be continually supplied by Love Himself so that our fruitfulness can shine as a bright testimony. Jesus said, He was the Light of the world, and then He called us to be the light to our part of the world where He has placed us (John 8:12; Matthew 5:14-16). 

Always remember that we celebrate the First Advent and look forward to the Second Advent by staying connected to Jesus, growing in our love for Him and for others, and allowing the fruit of hope, peace, and joy to shine brightly for God’s glory. 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our Advent series, you can find them all by clicking here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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MVP: Most Valuable Praise

November 26, 2024 — 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. 

In preparing for our Be Thankful series at my church, I have been reading and studying quite a bit about gratitude. For example, my wife and I are reading a devotional on the YouVersion Bible app call “Practicing Gratitude.” 

The other morning, our devotional writer shared this thought: “When the prophet Jonah was having a terrible day at work, he found gratitude by looking at God’s provision through the physical environment. God made a bush for shade and ‘Jonah was very happy about the bush’ (Jonah 4:6).” 

In our shared notes, my wife had an insightful word. She wrote, “Jonah’s gratitude didn’t last long. This is a great reminder to pursue a lifestyle of gratitude. It is sometimes very challenging in the midst of hard days to recognize God’s blessings, but it forces me to take my eyes off myself and place them back on my Lord and Savior!” 

My studies, this devotional plan, and Betsy’s insight got me thinking even more about the most valuable praise we can offer to our God. 

Jonah was indeed happy about the shade. But as soon as the shade was gone because the plant withered, he was back to his sullen complaining all over again! 

Ah, yes, poor Jonah is a microcosm of the whole Old Testament: God’s blessings are only appreciated for a moment until the complaining starts up again. 

Oh, wait! That’s still our story today. All of God’s blessings are so quickly forgotten unless we are intentionally grateful.

Especially in the hard times where it feels like our difficulties are just so unfair. 

Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

“In everything” is not the same thing as “for everything.” This means that I can still be God-focused in my painful circumstances, even though I may not be thankful for those circumstances. 

But as I remain thankfully God-focused, perhaps I may begin to see what He is accomplishing because of my painful circumstances. Just as Jesus saw “the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2) and knew that His Father would triumph even in that horrific time, perhaps as I keep my eyes on Jesus I can begin to get a glimpse of God’s coming glory. 

Isn’t it “the will of God” that I know—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that I am irremovable from my position “in Christ Jesus”? 

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is IN Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NASB)

Shouldn’t my assurance of that truth produce a joy that prompts praise from my lips that brings glory to God? Isn’t that praise of greater value precisely because it comes from a person in a setting where thankfulness seems impossible? 

God is magnified even more when praise comes from a thankful heart that is in a place where humanly there seems to be absolutely nothing praiseworthy. 

It is in this place that my praise is to God simply because He is God and He is worthy to be praised simply because of who He is! 

So I will praise Him no matter what—“in all things”—because I am secure that I am “in Christ Jesus.” That hope produces a reward that is invaluable. That hope produces a praise that is beautiful in God’s ears. 

…And we boast IN the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory IN our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out INTO our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:2-5) 

We give God our MVP—our most valuable praise—when it is lifted to Him in that place and time where the natural response would be grumbling and complaining. In those moments, remind yourself that you are IN Christ Jesus, which means even here in this dark moment you can be thankful IN all things. 

(You may also be interested in my post and video Praising God in the Troughs.) 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Beware Of Boasting

October 16, 2024 — 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. 

Jesus had just healed the sick people that were brought to Him, and then we read:

So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)

Before Jesus ascended back into Heaven, He told His followers that they would do the same things He had done, including preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. The focal point is still to be the same as it was while Jesus was on earth: “They glorified God.” 

We would laugh if an ax boasted about the tree he had cut down. We all know that the power came from the lumberjack. 

It was the lumberjack who chose the ax, sharpened the ax, and skillfully used the ax to chop down the large tree. The felled tree is a testament to the lumberjack’s strength. 

In the same way, God may use one of us as His instrument to display His power. If the blind receive their sight, the lame can walk, and the lost find Jesus as their Savior, we would laugh if the one who prayed or preached boasted about his ability that brought about these miracles. 

These changed lives are a testament to the power and wisdom that flows from God. The one who prays or preaches is merely the instrument that was used by Him. God may pick up that person again and again, or He may lean him against the wall after one use. God determines the best instrument to use for His glory. 

In fact, God Himself says, “Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it?” (Isaiah 10:15). And, “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). 

Be careful if you find yourself thinking, “Look what I have done,” and let your heart quickly change that to, “Look what my merciful God has been please to do through Me!” 

It’s not about our glory, is all about God’s glory! 

Sola Deo gloria! 

(Check out what A.W. Tozer said about a Christian neither boasting nor belittling.)

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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The Irrefutable Evidence

October 2, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. … And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:57-58, 64-66)

When God does what only He can do, our testimony is irrefutable! People will rejoice, reverence God, and ask questions, but they will never be the same after witnessing a miracle. 

Let’s pray for God to do the miraculous in our own lives even now so that we can be living testimonies that draw others to our Savior and Lord! 

You may also be interested in my posts By His Stripes and Argument vs Experience. 

And check out my short video Proof!

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Redeeming Productivity (book review)

September 25, 2024 — 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. 

The other day someone messaged me on LinkedIn to ask about any projects I had in the works. After I got done rattling off several things on which I’m working, he asked, “How did you find the time to get so much done?” I love being productive, and Regan Rose’s book Redeeming Productivity is a huge help. 

I need to start off by stating that getting a lot done is not the same thing as getting the right things done right. My podcast cohost Greg and I recently talked about how too many “To Do” items can negatively impact a leader’s effectiveness. 

Redeeming Productivity is written from a biblical worldview. I really resonated with Reagan’s focus on why Christians should be productive, more so than an emphasis on what things should we be accomplishing. The “what to do” is as important as the “how to do them.” But neither of those are as important as the “why do we do what we do.” 

Reagan unpacks some powerful strategies for effectiveness and efficiency, but what I really appreciated were the principles he shared on why we are to be effective—diving deep into what the Bible say about this important topic. The subtitle of his book is: “Getting more done for the glory of God.” 

So whether you are wanting to make some changes to your productivity, or you desire to improve the current systems you already have in place, I would highly recommend Redeeming Productivity to you. The Bible calls on Christians to work at all we do with excellence, and this book will help you do just that.

(Check out The Craig and Greg Show where we discuss efficient quantity and effective quality.)

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Eternal > Temporal

September 13, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages who were living in all the land: “May your peace be great! I issue a decree that in all the realm of my kingdom people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, snd His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, snd His dominion will be forever. He rescues, saves, and performs signs and miracles in heaven and on earth, He who has also rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:25-27)

In order for God’s glory and fame to be proclaimed “to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages,” Daniel had to spend a single night with ravenous lions. 

When you are facing adversity—even death threats—don’t ask, “God, why is this happening to me?” Instead you can declare, “God, You are going to be highly glorified among all the people! I will remain faithful and steadfast in my trust in You!” 

The extent to which God will reveal His glory is not worthy to be compared to the single night we have to endure. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). 

I talk more about Darius’ change of heart in my post Why We Pray For Government Leaders.

Dr. Henry Halley points out another way the eternal trumps the temporal: “There is no authority apart from God. When human authority rejects God’s authority, it becomes twisted and loses its right to demand compliance (Acts 4:19-20, 5:29). God’s people are responsible to obey the government because it has been set in place by God [Romans 13:1-2; Daniel 4:17], but when government directs against God’s will, the Giver of all authority has the higher claim on our allegiance. We must resist any command that is against God’s will (Exodus 1; Daniel 3; Hebrews 11:23).”

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Living In Your Gift Zone

September 11, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

God created each and every human being uniquely. We all come in different shapes and sizes, but we all share one thing in common: He created each of us with a unique personality and a unique gift package. 

By unique, I truly mean that we are all one-of-a-kind creations that have never existed in all of history! 

Here’s another thing we all have in common: We usually live in a comfort zone that is far smaller than our gift zone. 

Living this way keeps us from soaring through life in the way that God intended. He wants each of us to know our gifts, and to use our gifts in a way that benefits our world and brings Him glory. It starts with believing that we are indeed gifted by our Creator. Then we must have the courage to step out of our comfort zone into the much larger gift zone God has given us. 

I invite you to join me at Calvary Assembly of God as we explore what God has to say about the gifts He has given us, how we recognize and leverage those gifts, and how we soar far beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone!

Check out all of the message in series:

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Knowing What Jesus Knew

July 10, 2024 — 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.

The phrase “Jesus knew” specifically appears twice in John chapter 13 (vv. 1, 3), but the idea appears in multiple places. Jesus was continually and intimately aware of His Father’s plan and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to help Him live out that plan.

Check out some of the things Jesus knew: 

  • He knew His mission—I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness (John 12:46)
  • He knew His role in fulfilling that mission—For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world (12:47)
  • He knew His Father’s voice directing Him in His mission—For I did not speak on My own, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me to say all that I have spoken. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say (12:49–50)
  • He knew His Father’s timing for His mission—Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father (13:1)
  • He knew His Father’s empowerment to complete the mission—Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power (13:3)
  • He knew what He must do to bring glory to His Father as He fulfilled His mission—Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. … So He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him (13:1, 4-5)

Jesus said that He was in His believer’s lives, just as He was in the Father (John 14:20). That means He takes us into His Father, and He also told us that He would impart His Holy Spirit to us. 

That means you and I have all that we need to know all that Jesus knew and to live like Jesus lived.

My question is: Why don’t I live this way?

Why am I not living up to this potential every day?

The simple conclusion must be that I am not operating in the full resources that are mine as a child of God.

I must make sure that I am abiding more and more intimately with my Savior, that I am tuning into the prompting of the Holy Spirit more and more consistently, and that I am increasingly aware of my Father’s will for my life. 

If we strive for this, we can know what Jesus knew and we can live like Jesus lived. This is how we bring glory to God, just as Jesus did! 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Links & Quotes

July 6, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

In what may be the best-known parable that Jesus told, what’s the difference between the hard path where the seeds failed to produce anything and the fertile soil where the seeds produced an abundant harvest? The fertile soil had a plow applied to it. In the same way, God wants to “plow” the hard places in our life so that there can be an abundant harvest! Check out this full sermon here.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“The greatest reason for a loss of reality is that while we say we believe one thing, we allow the spirit of the naturalism of the age to creep into our thinking, unrecognized.” —Francis Schaeffer, in True Spirituality 

“The glory of God is a silver thread, which must run through all our actions.” —Thomas Watson 

“Christianity is not the removal of weakness, nor is it merely the manifestation of divine power. Rather, it is the manifestation of divine power through human weakness.” —Dr. Donald Stamps, Life In The Spirit Study Bible, commenting on 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 12:9-10 

“In our media-rich, secular age, we must be especially vigilant against unbelief finding its way into our hearts [Hebrews 3:12]. The heavenly calling of God is really real, and we can really partake of it. But we’ll need to be continuously on guard against ideas and messages that can undermine our confidence, stifle our boasting, rob us of the reality of our experience of Christ, set us adrift from the Lord, and end up proving us to be someone other than we thought.” —T.M. Moore

“If you don’t want responsibility, don’t sit in the big chair. To be successful, you must accept full responsibility.” —Pat Summitt 

From the 1440 Daily Digest: Congratulations, America—July 4, 2024, marks the 248th commemoration of the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress. Through the centuries, the US has grown from 13 colonies with about 2.5 million people to 50 states and 14 territories with a population of more than 330 million. The economy has swelled to over $27T. Advances in public health have cut the child mortality rate from over 45% to under 1%, while our citizens live over 35 years longer on average. Scientific achievements in the US have delivered everything from the light bulb, modern flight, and the internet to air conditioning, movies, and the polio vaccine. More than 2.7 million miles of power lines electrify the country across over 4 million miles of paved roads, with over 90% of households accessing broadband internet. The US has also been responsible for more than 800 human visits to space—the most of any country.

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The Fullness Of God’s Glory

June 21, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

And one [angel] called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.” (Isaiah 6:3-5) 

The literal translation of the phrase “the whole part is full of His glory” is, “The fullness of the whole earth IS His glory.” 

Paul says it this way, “All things have been created through Him [Jesus] and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). God spoke all things into existence—we literally live today in His breath, we breathe His breath, we eat His breath. All that exists is the fullness of His glory. 

Isaiah got a small glimpse of this glory, and the weightiness of God’s awesome glory brought him to his knees (Isaiah 6:4-5). 

How many trivial things would fall to the side when we realize how unimportant they are in comparison to the eternal importance of God’s glory! 

How differently we would live each day if we were aware of God’s presence in and around us! 

How fearful we would be to even contemplate sinning in His presence! 

How quick we would be to repent of sin when we are aware of just how present He is! 

How unafraid we would be to boldly stand for God and proclaim His love and power if we were aware of His ever-present Spirit equipping and supporting us! 

Oh, that “the Father of glory may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17)! 

You may also want to check out:

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