My Hope

June 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who HOPE in Me will not be disappointed. (Isaiah 49:23)

HOPE = to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.

Where can you find “reasonable confidence”?

  • …the economy?
  • …your parents?
  • …your pastor?
  • …your savings account?

God says, “If you place your HOPE in Me [your reasonable confidence], you will never be disappointed.”

My HOPE is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my HOPE and Stay.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

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Safe

May 20, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

There is no safer place to be than in the arms of your Heavenly Father.

I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.  I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. (Isaiah 46:3-4)

So we can pray with confidence as the psalmist did:

Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings. (Psalm 17:8)

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God Summons You

May 19, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I needed this today. Maybe you do too.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. (Isaiah 45:3)

God, I know You have summoned me. You created me to bring You glory. You created me to be a part of Your story. And so I respond,

“Here I am, my King. Use me today as You will.”

You, my friend, have also been set apart by God and summoned by Him. How will you respond?

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You’re Better Than A Star

May 12, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple or Spotify.

Astronomers admit that they cannot observe the entire universe, because it’s simply too vast for any equipment that has been made. In the Milky Way galaxy alone there are something like 10 trillion stars.

But that’s just one galaxy.

Astronomers used to estimate that there are another 10 trillion galaxies, but they have recently admitted that there are likely three times more stars than they originally thought. Which makes the total number in the observable universe 300 sextillion stars.

300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars

But here’s what is more amazing: God knows each of those stars by name!

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

As awesome as the stars are, here’s what God thinks about you…

When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—the moon and the stars You set in place—what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them? Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:3-5)

And most amazingly of all, God not only knows the 300 sextillion stars by name, but He knows you by name too (Exodus 33:17)!

Friend, in God’s eyes you shine brighter than a star! He knows you by name. If not one star is missing from His view, how much more does He see you!

If you’re feeling discouraged or alone or forgotten, step outside tonight and look up at the stars. God knows them all by name, but He knows you too—and He thinks the world of you!

You are not alone—God sees you and He loves you!

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? ◀︎◀︎

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Blessing Of Becoming

May 2, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

“When our Lord looked at us, He saw not only what we were—He was faithful in seeing what we could become! He took away the curse of being and gave us the glorious blessing of becoming.” —A.W. Tozer

The word blessing in the Greek is a compound word made up of good + words. Just as Jesus blessed us—said the good word that He prepared us for something more than a life enslaved to sin—shouldn’t we too say good words to others about what they could become?

There is ZERO excuse for anyone who calls themselves a Christian to ever say anything but good words to others. If God only says good words to you and about you, how much more so should Christians be speaking good words to and about others!

Jesus took away the curse of being trapped as we were, and gave us the blessing of becoming who He truly intends for us to be. Let’s do the same thing for other people.

Make a covenant: I will only use my words to bless others; that is, I will only say good words to them and about them. I will speak only those words that tell them about the masterpiece that they are.

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What Are You Whispering?

April 26, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Wise King Solomon gave us this advice:

Never say anything that isn’t true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. (Proverbs 4:24)

Most decent people don’t have an issue with this one. We would never dream of whispering to someone we care about things like…

  • …you’re a loser.
  • …you can’t seem to do anything right.
  • …hey, stupid, nice job. Not!

But the verse just before says this:

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (v. 23)

I wonder how many times we whisper words like loser, failure, or stupid to ourselves. The things we’d never say to someone else, we seem all too ready to say to ourselves!

What are you whispering to yourself? Listen closely. Are you whispering things to yourself that you would never whisper to someone else? Then it’s time to start whispering something new.

Solomon preceded this with these words of affection that seem to come right from our Heavenly Father’s mouth:

My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. (vv. 20-21)

God’s Spirit will never, ever, EVER speak cutting, hurtful, unkind, or untrue words to you. God loves you as if you were the only person on earth to love! He loves you so much that He sent His Son to rescue you.

Listen closely because He’s saying it right now, “I love you!”

Yeah, whisper that to yourself instead!

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I Am Drowned

April 13, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love this thought from John Bunyan:

God is the chief good—good so as nothing but Himself. He is in Himself most happy; yes, all good and all true happiness are only to be found in God, as that which is essential to His nature; nor is there any good or any happiness in or with any creature or thing but which is communicated to it by God. God is the only desirable good; nothing without Him is worthy of our hearts. Right thoughts of God are able to ravish the heart; how much more happy is the man that has interest in God. God alone is able by himself to put the soul into a more blessed, comfortable, and happy condition that can the whole world; yes, and more than if all created happiness of all the angels of heaven did dwell on one man’s bosom. I cannot tell what to say. I am drowned. The life, the glory, the blessedness, the soul-satisfying goodness that is in God are beyond all expression. (emphasis added)

I love drowning in God’s glorious, blessed, soul-satisfying, beyond-all-expression love!

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Intentional Blessing

February 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

As many of my regular readers know, I often wake up with a distinct song in my mind. Many times these songs—which I believe are God-given—prepare me for my day. (I know it may seem like an unusual way for the Holy Spirit to speak to someone, but, hey, it works for me!)

Today’s song is an old hymn. One part of it goes like this…

Out in the highways and byways of life,
many are weary and sad;  
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
making the sorrowing glad.
Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

I want to be a blessing to others, but I don’t want to be an “accidental” blessing.

I think it’s a good habit to pray through my day before the day even gets started. I can then begin to think about my coworkers, my breakfast appointments, my board meetings, my classmates, my friends, even my family. I can begin to pray specifically for those interactions that God will give me the specific words to say in that moment that will bring the greatest blessing.

Of course, there will often be those unplanned interactions where you can bless someone. But let’s make sure we’ve done our part to be ready for those planned interactions.

I pray that you are letting Jesus shine out of your life and that you are being an intentional blessing to someone today!

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Thursdays With Oswald—A Passion For Christ, Not Souls

January 6, 2011 — 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.

A Passion For Christ, Not Souls

       The reason some of us have no power in our preaching, no sense of awe, is that we have no passion for God, but only a passion for Humanity….

       It is not a passion for men that saves men; a passion for men breaks human hearts. The passion for Christ inwrought by the Holy Spirit goes deeper down than the deepest agony the world, the flesh and the devil can produce. It goes straight down to where Our Lord went, and the Holy Spirit works out, not in thinking, but in living, this passion for Christ.

From Approved Unto God

Wow, tough word. But it’s true: If I love Christ more than my loved ones, I will love my loved ones even better. A passion for Christ will win others to Christ; a passion for souls will only lead to building my ministry.

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Unhappiness Makes Me Happy

December 28, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’m not a sadist. Nor am I a pessimist.

But I am a child that is still learning that I cannot always get my way.

We’re getting ready to start 2011 with a week of prayer, and I’m going to open 2011 with a series of Sunday messages on prayer: The Perfect Prayer. But in studying more about prayer, I’m always confronted by this: Why are some prayers unanswered.

As I pondered that today, I thought about saying “No” to my kids. I love my children and I want them to be happy. They love pop (or “soda” for some of you, or “Coke” for others), and would drink it all the time if I said “Yes.”

Saying “Yes” to this beverage choice may make them happy now, but it would make them very unhappy later in life when they developed osteoporosis (from a lack of calcium), or had skin and eye disease (from a lack of vitamin D), or were losing teeth (from too much carbonation), or had developed diabetes (from too much sugar).

Our Heavenly Father sees my future even more clearly than I can see it for my children. He wants me to be blessed, which is why He must say “No” at times. I’m a child who doesn’t know what is best for me.

“Getting all you want would bring incalculable damage and grief to you. Be thankful for unanswered prayer. It may be a sign of God’s favor.” —R.T. Kendall

So as I’m growing in God I can say, “Father, I’m willing to trust you with the ‘No’ now, because I believe you have a better ‘Yes’ for me in the future.”

My temporary unhappiness with unanswered prayer makes me happy because I know God has something better for me. I’m going to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking, but I’m also going to keep on trusting my Heavenly Father for His very best.

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