God’s promise | Craig T. Owens

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You Are God’s Favorite Place On Earth

April 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Undoubtedly you have a favorite place. It might be a special friend’s house, or a summer cabin. Perhaps it’s your favorite wooded path around a lake, or even a comfy chair in your home where you find rest.

In our favorite places we might hear from God or reconnect with friends. Maybe in our favorite place we de-stress and get re-energized for life’s challenges. Wherever the place is, and whatever happens there, one thing is certain: We cannot stay there forever. At some point we’ll have to leave that favorite place.

But we can take that favorite place with us. That energizing, affirming, consoling, encouraging feeling we gained in our favorite place can go with us in our hearts and minds.

The people of Bethany and the disciples had a favorite Person in Jesus Himself. Jesus, too, had a favorite place—the village of Bethany—and favorite people—a special family in Bethany and His disciples—but He said, “It is for your good that I go away, so that I can send the promised Holy Spirit to you” (see John 16:7). Just before He ascended to Heaven, Jesus took His followers with Him to Bethany and instructed them to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4-8). This time of waiting was the only time that Jesus instructed His followers to wait, after this we were to GO!

Indeed, this empowerment of the Holy Spirit was for us to go into all the world with the message of Jesus; it was not for us to hunker down in our favorite place. So the empowerment of the Holy Spirit helps us take our favorite place and Person with us. When we GO, we GO with a message of hope for the world.

We become God’s favorite place on earth, as we GO with an invitation for others to know this favorite relationship as well!

Being baptized in the Holy Spirit means that you’ve given Him unlimited access to your thoughts, your talents, your personality, your opportunities—your all—so that He can show the love of Jesus to others through you.

If you haven’t experienced this empowerment of the Holy Spirit, remember that it is a promised gift God wants to pour out on you (see Luke 11:11-13; 24:49; and Acts 1:4). All that is needed is for your willing heart to wait on Him to pour out this gift on you. What are you waiting for?!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: baptism, Bethany, empowerment, God's promise, Great Commission, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, witness. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

April 21, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some great reading I found today.

“God has sought us out: let us have good hope for those who are laid upon our hearts in prayer, for He will find them out also. … It is a point of honor with Jesus to seek and to save all the flock, without a single exception. What a promise to plead!” —Charles Spurgeon

Where is the outrage?! Christian Girls Abducted & Raped In Egypt.

[INFOGRAPHI] Right on the heels of Easter, Bible Overview has a great infographic of everyone in the Bible who was raised from the dead.

“The apostles had this instinct: When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray!” —Jim Cymbala. Read more from Pastor Cymbala’s great post on prayer.

“Throughout our history Americans have put their faith in God and no one can doubt that we have been blessed for it. The earliest settlers of this land came in search of religious freedom. Landing on a desolate shoreline, they established a spiritual foundation that has served us ever since.” —Ronald Reagan

“Nobody ever got anything from God on the grounds that he deserved it. Having fallen, man deserves only punishment and death. So if God answers prayer it’s because God is good.” —A.W. Tozer

“Sacrifice is not giving up things, but giving to God with joy the best we have.” —Oswald Chambers

Such Confidence!

February 12, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“May God give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” (Psalm 20:4)

How confident David is! How bold! And yet through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David says exactly what Our Lord taught—

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. (John 15:7)

I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. (John 16:23)

This assurance to ask largely of our loving Heavenly Father looks to His provision alone. It believes and it asks. It knows that God can answer—“now I know” (Psalm 20:6)—and that He does answer—“You have granted all the desires of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips” (Psalm 21:2).

Oh, for faith to believe You and ask You for more!

How would your prayers change if you had the confident assurance of David?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: assurance, boldness, confidence, David, faith, God's promise, God's provision, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, prayer, psalms. Leave a Comment »

The Scriptures Foresaw

July 31, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Check out this passage from Galatians 3:8-9—

The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

God’s Word is a living Word. They are not merely ink on a page. They are the very words of God.

God’s Word never stops working. God made a promise to Abraham 3000 years before Paul saw it being fulfilled in the Galatian believers. And now, another 2000 years after that, it’s still being fulfilled in ALL who come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

These words are not past tense—those who have faith ARE blessed. They apply to me, today, now, just as much as the day they were spoken by God 5000 years ago! And they apply to you too.

Let this soak in…

Not one promise in the Bible will expire.

Not one command will become irrelevant.

Not one precept will ever be out-of-date.

Living. Active. Personal. Real. Present tense. Now!

Do you believe it?

Do you live like you believe it?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Abraham, apostle Paul, Bible study, fulfilment, Galatians, Genesis, God's promise, promise, prophesy, salvation. Leave a Comment »

Getting Out Of A Pit

July 28, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This guy was having a bad day (or maybe a bad week, a bad month, a bad year…). The bottom line: he was in a pit, and it appears he had been in it for some time.

Nothing was going right.

And it didn’t appear things would turn around anytime soon.

He cried out, “My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:3)

Ever been there?

Are you there now?

If so, follow the example of this psalmist as he began to talk to himself…

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again—my Savior and my God! (v. 5)

Why could he put his hope in God at such a dark time in his life? Consider these wise words from Charles Spurgeon—

“Speak to thy soul thus, ‘If I were dealing with a man’s promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the promise of God; my eye must not be so much fixed upon the greatness of the mercy—that may stagger me; as upon the greatness of the Promiser—that will cheer me. My soul, it is God, even thy God, God that cannot lie, Who speaks to thee. This word of His which thou art now considering is as true as His own existence. He is a God unchangeable. He has not altered the thing which has gone out of His mouth, nor called back one single consolatory sentence. Nor doth He lack any power; it is the God that made the heavens and the earth who has spoken thus. Nor can He fail in wisdom as to the time when He will bestow the favors, for He knoweth when it is best to give and when better to withhold. Therefore, seeing that it is the word of a God so true, so immutable, so powerful, so wise, I will and must believe the promise.’ If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfillment.”

If you are in a pit, begin to recall the promises listed in God’s Word.

Pray them.

Meditate on them.

Speak them out loud.

Hang on to them.

“If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfillment.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Charles Spurgeon, depression, God's promise, hope, prayer, Psalm, quote, self-talk, suicidal. Leave a Comment »

A Powerful Prayer

June 9, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Bible study is love reading its Lover’s letters. Prayer is love keeping tryst.” —S.D. Gordon

The Bible is God’s love letter to humanity; more specifically, to you and me. But did you know that the Bible can also be used as our love letter to God?

If you’re a parent, you know how powerful it is when one of your children quote you back to you. Like when my daughter reminds me, “Dad, you said that you would….” Even if I haven’t forgotten what I said, it’s still so nice to know that she was listening to me and remembered what I promised her.

God has never, ever forgotten His word to us. But as our Heavenly Father, He loves to know that we hear His words, that we remember His promises, and that we love Him. So one of the most powerful prayers you can pray is when you pray God’s own words back to Him.

Personalized prayer based on God’s Word is a powerful prayer.

Let me give you an example. Here’s a prayer I wrote out the other day from 1 Chronicles 22:19—

Now…

There is no time to wait, I have to begin now. I cannot put it off a moment longer. It’s never an interruption of my day for me to draw closer to You, my God. Now I come to You in love.

devote…

This is not a partial commitment. I’m giving You my all. I’m laying all of me on Your altar. I’m not holding anything back. It’s all Yours, God, all of me.

your…

This is mine to give, and I’m choosing to give it to You. I’m not living for someone else; I’m not riding anyone’s coattails. I’m giving You what is mine to give. I’m giving you me.

heart…

My dreams, my passions, my desires. They’re all Yours, Heavenly Father. I reserve no passions for my own selfish pursuits, but I only have passion for You.

soul…

My inmost being—who I really am—the part of me that’s truly me is all Yours. My mind, my will, my emotions, my personality is only alive because of You.

seeking…

My longing, my soul’s craving is for You. I look for You’re everywhere and in everything. I seek You in the bird’s song, in the ocean’s roar, in the mountain’s majesty, in the midnight’s silence, in the bee’s buzz, in my children’s laughter, in my wife’s kiss, in my friend’s counsel, in Your love letter to me.

the Lord…

You are Lord over all. There is not now, nor ever will there be, anyone to take Your place in my heart.

your God…

You are mine and I am Yours. Forever. Because You loved me I love You, my God.

Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God (1 Chronicles 22:19).

Use your Bible to form your own powerfully intimate prayers to the Lover of your soul.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Chronicles, Bible study, God's love, God's promise, intimacy, passion, prayer, quotes, S.D. Gordon. 3 Comments »

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!