God’s promise | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

November 30, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“That which astonishes, astonishes once; but whatever is admirable become more and more admired.” —Joseph Joubert

“Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.” —Westminster Confession

“Adversity is the first path to trust.” —Lord Byron

“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.” —Victor Hugo

“God’s corrections are our instructions; His lashes our lessons, and His scourges our schoolmasters.” —John H. Aughey

“Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.” —Oswald Chambers

“Press into God’s promises. When fears surface, respond with this thought: But God said … And when doubts arise, but God said… And when guilt overwhelms you, but God said… Search the Scriptures like a miner digging for gold and trust the promises you find.” —Max Lucado

John Hendryx points out several similarities between Islamic and secular fundamentalism.

Josh McDowell reminds us that just teaching someone biblical truth is not enough.

If you would like to check out some devotional readings for Advent, click here.

The importance of belief in God for Issac Newton’s scientific discoveries.

[VIDEO] One of the most beautiful arrangements of Amazing Grace I’ve heard—

Links & Quotes

November 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“No man can murder his brother who has not first murdered God in himself.” —Oswald Chambers

“We love our neighbors when, like Jesus, we seek them out to love them (cf. Luke 19:1-10). Jesus did not wait for lost or hurting people to find their way to Him. He went looking for them. He learned the names of many of them, and used their names freely. He took the initiative in making certain contacts, some of which He repeated many times during His earthly sojourn. Jesus started conversations with people and was doubtless a good listener. And He prayed often for others, seeking their wellbeing before the Father. We can know that we love our neighbors when, like Jesus, we go seeking them, in order to touch them with His love.” —T.M. Moore

“The Word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of His judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies. Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the Word of God.” —John Piper

“If you spend too much time looking for your next big break, you’ll be stealing your opportunity to do your best work. Which is the the most important break of all.” —Seth Godin

“God’s definition of promotion isn’t a move up the ladder, it is a move toward your call. Don’t let someone ‘promote’ you out of your call!” —Max Lucado

“In the parable of Matthew 18:23-27 did the king overlook his servant’s sin? Did he wink at his debt and merely excuse it? No, not at all. The fact is, by forgiving him, the king placed upon this man a weighty responsibility, a responsibility even greater than the burden of his debt. Indeed, this servant now owed his master more than ever. How? He was responsible to forgive and love others, just as the king had done for him.” —David Wilkerson

If you don’t think Planned Parenthood’s business of abortion is a huge money-maker for them, why are they spending $20 million in 2016 to elect pro-abortion candidates?

For Detroit Red Wings fan, here is a nice mini-biography of Mr. Hockey: Gordie Howe.

[VIDEO] Barbabas Piper and Bobby Conway on the difference between knowing and believing—

Links & Quotes

November 17, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“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

“In a very real sense, we are what we love. … What we treasure in our heart will be what we seek in life and what we become in fact. … What we most love, therefore, tells us something about the condition of our hearts. If the best part of our spiritual and physical energies are invested in making a good living—if being materially well-off is the treasure we seek—then this will be evidence of a heart which believes it can only be satisfied by the enjoyment of things and the realization of every whim.” —T.M. Moore

“Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. It is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. So let us turn our eyes fixed on the precious and very great promises of God. Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight—to live by faith in future grace.” —John Piper

“This third Person is called, in technical language, the Holy Ghost or the ‘spirit’ of God. Do not be worried or surprised if you find it (or Him) rather vaguer or more shadowy in your mind than the other two [Father and Son]. I think there is a reason why that must be so. In the Christian life you are not usually looking at Him: He is always acting through you. If you think of the Father as something ‘out there,’ in front of you, and of the Son as someone standing at your side, helping you to pray, trying to turn you into another son, then you have to think of the third Person as something inside you, or behind you. Perhaps some people might find it easier to begin with the third Person and work backwards. God is love, and that love works through men—especially through the whole community of Christians. But this spirit of love is, from all eternity, a love going on between the Father and Son.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Max Lucado reminds us of the original terrorist.

Lenny Esposito shares 3 problems for atheism.

Good reminders: 5 things married couples should do every day.

[VIDEO] George Will explains campaign finance “reform” in a way I haven’t heard anyone else say it—

Links & Quotes

November 9, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“To do an evil action is base; to do a good action, without incurring danger, is common enough; but it is the part of a good man to do great and noble deeds, though he risks everything.” —Plutarch

“A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.” —George Washington

Jon Bloom reminds us that your Bible is a gold mine! “The Bible contains over 31,000 verses—so much gold and so little time. We’ll never exhaust the gold it contains during our brief lives, but we must discover all we can.”

Dr. Steve Turley on the consequences from families that skip church for sports.

Another good reason to be involved in a local church. “We can’t really experience salvation by ourselves. By its very nature, it reaches out toward others in community,” say Ben Sternke. Read more from his post here.

I am shocked (I type this with great sarcasm!)—Planned Parenthood has donated to (bribed?) several Democrats who are on the committee to investigate Planned Parenthood’s murderous crimes.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, action, Ben Sternke, Bible study, boldness, church, community, family, friendship, George Washington, God's promise, government scandal, Planned Parenthood, Plutarch, priority, quotes, risk, salvation, Steve Turley. Leave a Comment »

Charles Spurgeon On Faith

October 24, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Perhaps your faith is struggling today. If it is, check out these encouraging words…

“Faith studies what the promise is—an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, ‘My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain that this promise will be fulfilled.’ Then faith thinks, ‘Who gave this promise?’ She considers not so much its greatness, as ‘Who is the author of it?’ She remembers that it is God that cannot lie, God omnipotent, God immutable; and therefore she concludes that the promise must be fulfilled; and forward she goes in this firm conviction. Then she remembers, also, why the promise was given, namely, for God’s glory, and she feels perfectly sure that God’s glory is safe, that He will never stain His own character, nor mar the luster of His own crown; and therefore she concludes that the promise must and will stand. Then faith also considers the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father’s intention to fulfill His Word. ‘He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’ [Romans 8:32]. Then faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage.” —Charles Spurgeon

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: BibleGateway, Charles Spurgeon, confidence, faith, God's promise, God's strength, God's Word, quotes. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Beware Of The ‘Yes-but’

October 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

This is a periodic 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.

Beware Of The ‘Yes-but’

Beware of the “yes-but,” of putting your prudence-crutch under the purpose of God when you find His engineering of things has nearly unearthed your own little bag of tricks. Whenever you debate with a promise of God, watch how you begin to maneuver by your own prudence—but you can’t sleep at night. Whenever you maneuver it keeps up a ferment because it indicates a determination not to confess where you know you are wrong, and when we experience misgiving on account of wrong-doing which we do not intend to confess we are always inclined to put a crutch under God’s promise—“Now I see how I can make atonement for my wrong-doing.” Nothing can act as an atonement for wrong saving an absolutely clean confession to God. To walk in the light with nothing folded up is our conscientious part, then God will do the rest.

From Our Portrait In Genesis

I love that phrase, “Beware of the ‘yes-but.’” How many times do we say, “Yes, Lord, I will obey You, but…”? Or we excuse our sin by saying, “Yes, I know this wrong, but…”?

How quickly we can get freedom and experience new joy if we will simply confess: “Yes, Lord, I will obey you” and “Yes, I will repent from this sin.” Not a “yes-but,” but simply a “Yes, Lord” is all that it takes.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: confession, conscience, God's promise, obedience, Oswald Chambers, repentance. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

August 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“There is only one basic reason why we disobey the commands of Jesus: it’s because we don’t have confidence that obeying will bring more blessing than disobeying. We do not hope fully in God’s promise.” —John Piper

“The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his ‘gratitude’, you will probably be disappointed.” —C.S. Lewis

Cedar Springs has annual worship service for all of the churches in the area to come together. We call it UNITED. Check out this post on loving as Christians.

“Hitler was successful not because of the righteousness of his cause, but because of the way it was packaged and sold to the public. Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry are successful for very similar reasons.” Read more about Planned Parenthood’s Big Lie.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, Adolf Hitler, C.S. Lewis, Cedar Springs, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, God's promise, John Piper, lies, love others, Mere Christianity, obedience, Planned Parenthood, pro-life, quotes, United. Leave a Comment »

10 Quotes On Learning From “Brain-Savvy Leaders”

July 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Charles Stone has given us a great resource to understand how our brain works, which gives us tremendous insight into increasing the depth of interpersonal interactions. You can read my review of Brain-Savvy Leaders by clicking here. Below are some quotes from this book about learning. Unless otherwise noted, the quotes are from Charles Stone.

“Science and theology have things to say to each other, since both are concerned with the search for truth attained through motivated belief.” —Dr. John Polkinghorne

“If what we claim about Jesus Christ is true, then evangelical should be among the most active, most serious, and most open minded advocates of general human learning. Evangelical hesitation about scholarship in general or about pursuing learning wholeheartedly is, in other words, antithetical to the Christ-centered basis of evangelical faith.” —Mark Noll

“I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this for that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.” —Albert Einstein

“God gave us a brain not just because our body and needed a command and control center to direct it but because God enjoys seeing us steward our brains for His glory.”

“Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.” —Pope Paul VI

“The light of Christ illuminates the laboratory, His speech is the fountain of communication, He makes possible the study of humans in all their interactions, He is the source of all life, by the wherewithal for every achievement of human civilization, He is the telos of all that is beautiful. He is, among other titles, the Christ of the Academic Road.” —Mark Noll

“What we pay attention to can actually change our brain’s neural pathways—their plasticity. If you regularly read, study, and apply God’s Word, you will create connections in your brain that reinforce a biblical worldview.”

“We can’t separate how our brains work from how the Holy Spirit works in us to create change in our hearts and in our character. Emotional control is not a passive process. It requires our intentional effort to work with the Holy Spirit. … God has wired our brains to support His promises.”

“Coffee, caffeinated drinks (but not too many), exercise, and novelty can increase the amount of these neurotransmitters and get us into a more productive and focused state.”

“Scientists will never fully unpack the brain’s mysteries, because it’s so interwoven with our soul that it transcends complete understanding. Nevertheless, I believe that a thirst for learning points to a healthy leader.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Albert Einstein, brain, Charles Stone, Creator, God's promise, Holy Spirit, Incarnation, Jesus Christ, leadership, learning, Mark Noll, medical science, mind, neuroplasticity, quotes, theology, truth, worldview. 3 Comments »

Links & Quotes

July 22, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Be not satisfied, my dear friends, with being saved; desire to know how you are saved, why you are saved, the method by which you are saved. It is a rock on which you stand, I know, but think upon the questions—how you were put upon that rock, by whose love you came there, and why that love was set on you. I would to God that all the members of this church were not only in Christ Jesus, but understood Him, and knew by the assurance of the understanding whereunto they have attained.” —Charles Spurgeon

“I get the impression that some Christians think there are two kinds of history, two kinds of time. First, there is Bible time, and Bible history. Things happened in the Bible that were unique, and that we don’t expect to see happen in normal time and history, where we live, you know, today. Things like God doing extraordinary acts of deliverance, help, and support, or extraordinary empowerments for witness or service. Like Moses leading the people out of Egypt, or Joshua leading them to subdue the land of promise, or David leading an entire nation to build a glorious temple for the Lord. That was then, many Christians seem to think; this is now. But when we think this way we may be cutting ourselves off from one of the most powerful resources for visionary leadership, and that is the promise of the past … Visionary leaders understand that God has done remarkable, nearly incredible things in the past, and they reach back and recall those mighty works of God in order to encourage His people in the present. They recognize that the straight line of the covenant continues from Scripture through Church history right down to our day.” —T.M. Moore

“The psalmist does not yield. He battles unbelief with counterattack. In essence, he says, ‘In myself I feel very weak and helpless and unable to cope. My body is shot and my heart is almost dead. But whatever the reason for this despondency, I will not yield. I will trust God and not myself. He is my strength and my portion’ [Psalm 73:26]. … God has put these testimonies in the Bible so that we might use them to fight the unbelief of despondency.” —John Piper

Yesterday I posted a book review about our brains. Here is 11 things you need to know to keep your brain healthy.

“If homosexuals are bullied, we need to protect them. If they’re unjustly discriminated against, we need to help them. If they’re treated with contempt, the person hurting them should be stopped. If a family member comes out as gay and then is belittled, harmed, or vilified, then the offending family needs to be corrected. If Christians ridicule people who identify as gay or lesbian, they need to admonished. If a church doesn’t welcome seekers of all stripes (including people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual), then it needs to change. But none of these circumstances are reasons to reinterpret Scripture to affirm homosexuality” (emphasis mine). Read more in Bad Reasons To Adopt Pro-Gay Theology.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: application, assurance, book review, brain, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, God's promise, homosexuality, John Piper, leadership, medical science, physical health, Psalm, questions, quotes, salvation, Scripture, T.M. Moore, theology. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

June 4, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“The faith of Abraham was a faith in the promise of God to make him the father of many nations. This faith glorified God because it called attention to all the resources of God that would be required to fulfill it.” —John Piper

“I rest with my whole soul upon the finished work of Christ, and I have not found anything yet that leads me to suspect I am resting where I shall meet with a failure. No, the older one grows, the more one gets convinced that he who leans by faith on Christ, rests where he never needs to be afraid. He may go and return in peace and confidence, for the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but God shall not change, and His purpose shall not cease to stand. Yes, God is worthy of our confidence. And I think we can say, by way of commending our God to others, that we feel we can rest upon Him for the future.” —Charles Spurgeon

Ryan Bomberger has a dead-on commentary for our culture: A More Genderless, Hopeless, Meaningless Society.