On The Record

March 20, 2012 — 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. 

When Jesus is getting ready to feed the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak, Jesus asked Philip a question: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5). It seems like a fair question, but the next verse gives us insight into Christ’s motivation behind the question:

Jesus asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.

Jesus had something in mind, but He wanted to know what Philip had in mind. If Jesus had not asked Philip to be on the record up front, Jesus could have multiplied the loaves and fish, and then Philip could have said, “I knew You could do it! I knew it all the time!”

But to test us, Jesus needs to get us on the record. The word test means to know the value of something; to know its strength; to know what it’s capable of.

My faith cannot be grown if it’s not tested. It cannot be accurately tested if I’m not on the record first. Jesus knows what He’s going to do: Glorify the Father. I can say that’s what I wanted all along after the miracle is done, but then my faith hasn’t grown one iota.

I can only see my faith grow when I am on the record (as Philip was) in saying, “How in the world could we get enough money to fix this problem?” Especially when Jesus isn’t even going to use money to fix that problem!

Here’s the principle:

NO testing = NO growth

It’s only when I see that my faith is not as big as it should be that I can say, “Lord, I believe You, but help my unbelief.” He will bring me into a test so that I can grow, and the Father can be glorified. It’s scary being on the record, because only then can I see how much more growth I need!

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Listen To This!

March 14, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

There are a lot of voices out there. A lot! Facebook, Twitter, email, texts, news reports, conversations with friends, opinions of experts, sermons from pastors.

Jesus said,

I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not accept Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. (John 5:43)

How quickly I tune in to…

…that expert

…this esteemed pastor

…that doctor

…this teacher

…that specialist

…this author

…that friend

But all he or she can share is what he or she knows.

When Jesus speaks, it is with all the wisdom that is known, AND with all the wisdom that hasn’t even been discovered by man yet. He is all-knowing, all-wise, all loving. Jesus should always be my first and final authority.

Am I listening to His words? Or am I tuning in to someone else?

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Every Sunday Is Easter

March 12, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

At most churches, Easter Sunday is the most well-attended service of the year. Perhaps this is appropriate, since the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone event of the Christian faith. Without Christ’s resurrection, what hope would we have?!

The first Christians were so convinced of the life-changing power of this singular event that they began to gather for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday), in honor of the resurrection. For them, every Sunday was resurrection Sunday.

What if we treated every Sunday like Easter?

Would we invite more people to church? I’m sure we would!

Of all the days of the week we could pick to gather together, why Sunday? Because Sunday reminds us of what happened 2000 years ago at a garden tomb in Jerusalem. Jesus arose from the dead!

When I look at the first followers of Jesus (see John 1:35-51), I see something amazingly simple in the lives of Andrew and Philip. It’s as simple as 1-2-3…

  1. They encountered Jesus.
  2. They immediately went to find a friend to tell them about this encounter.
  3. They invited their friend to “Come and see” Jesus for themselves.

Has Jesus changed your life? Then find a friend and say, “Come and see!” Don’t wait for Easter Sunday to invite someone to meet Jesus. Invite them to come this Sunday! (If you don’t have a church home, and you live in West Michigan, I invite you to come join me at Calvary Assembly of God.)

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Who Are You?

March 9, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This is another post especially for pastors (but I think others will find this helpful too).

John the Baptizer had no credentials, and yet people flocked to hear him speak.

He had no formal training, and yet people hung on his every word.

He had no authority from a sanctioning body, and yet he spoke with such power.

This perplexed the religious leadership. After all, they had credentials, training, and authority. So they came to John asking, “Who are you? What do you have to say about yourself?” (John 1:21-22).

If God has called you to the pastorate, He will equip you.

There’s nothing wrong with credentials, training, or sanctioning, per se. But when you think your call to preach has authority because of your title, your training, or your denominational appointment, you have missed the point! John had none of these, and yet Jesus said, “There’s never been a greater prophetic voice!”

So, pastor, who are you?

Are you the one who is credentialed, or trained, or sanctioned?

Or are you the one who has been called and equipped by God?

There’s a huge difference!

Who are you? I hope you can answer, “I am only a servant of the Most High, equipped by the Holy Spirit to make Jesus known in my city.”

UPDATE: I use John the Baptist as a prominent example in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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Again?!

February 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I heard a pastor say once, “You’re either in a trial right now, just coming out of a trial, or will soon be going through a trial.” And I thought to myself, “Wow! What a cheery thought… not!”

Do you ever feel that way? Like you just get through one challenging time, only to be greeted by another challenging time? If you just focus on the challenging times, you will miss the point. The point is: God is doing something wonderful in you.

Check out what Jesus says in John 15—

…God cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. (Amplified Bible)

Did you catch that phrase: every branch that continues to bear fruit? Does it feel like God is constantly working on you? That’s good! That means you are already bearing fruit, but God desires for you to be even more fruitful (or as the Amplified Bible says, even more rich and excellent!).

The writer of Hebrews says it this way—

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child He loves that He disciplines; the child He embraces, He also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. (Hebrews 12:5-6 The Message)

So the next time you feel like saying, “Again?!” change it to “Yes, again! This must mean God wants to bring even more excellent and rich fruit out of my life!” God love you, my friend!

Here’s to more fruit!

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Great Plans!

January 16, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As Jesus was approaching Jerusalem just prior to His passion, He told His disciples, “Everything that is written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled” (Luke 18:31).

Nothing about Jesus Christ’s life was haphazard, or random, or coincidental. Everything was a part of a perfect plan. So in order for everything about His life to fulfill the prophesies, every word He spoke and every action He completed also had to be fulfilling. And they were (see John 12:49-50)!

Sadly, His followers “did not understand any of this” (Luke 18:34).

Sadly, many people today don’t understand their own life’s purpose.

Sadly, often times I don’t either.

But God has a perfect plan for you and me.

All the days ordered for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

I don’t have to lack understanding in this (John 14:16).

I can pray for wisdom (James 1:5).

And Jesus Himself is praying for me to follow the Father’s plans (Hebrews 7:25).

God has great plans for my life—and for your life. Don’t be like the disciples that did not understand any of this. Pray … ask for God’s wisdom … ask for the Holy Spirit’s illumination … and trust in Christ’s interceding prayer for you.

May your words and actions today fulfill the plans God has for you!

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Groaning

November 14, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m a list kinda guy. I love making To Do lists, and shopping lists, and even prayer lists. These seem to work well for my temperament, helping me stay on task and feel like I am accomplishing something.

But I’ve noticed a danger built-in to these lists. I can use the lists to remove all emotion from my activities. I suppose that might be a good thing for my To Do lists and shopping lists, but it’s a bad thing for my prayer lists.

Many times when Jesus was moved to touch someone in need, the Bible says that Jesus groaned. Look at this:

  • Some people brought a man who could neither hear nor speak and asked Jesus to lay a healing hand on him. He took the man off by himself, put His fingers in the man’s ears and some spit on the man’s tongue. Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, “Ephphatha!—Open up!” And it happened. (Mark 7:31-35)
  • When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. (John 11:33)
  • Now Jesus, again sighing repeatedly and deeply disquieted, approached the tomb. (John 11:38)

I love the words of G. Morgan Campbell:

“No man can pray for the world unless the Spirit interpret to him the world’s agony, and the Spirit cannot intercede the world’s agony to any man unless that man live in the midst of the world’s agony. Not by retirement from the world, not by hiding away within a monastic institution, not by seeking to develop my own spiritual life by removing myself from the agony of the world, can I ever pray for the world; but because I live every day in the midst of its busy life, am close to it and know it, and because the Spirit of God in me leads me into the secret deepest meaning of the world’s agony and pain so that I no longer treat it as a superficial disease that can be dealt with by the nostrums of humanity, but as a great heart trouble that needs blood and sacrifice to deal with it, am I able to pray. Out of that revelation of the meaning of the world’s agony created by the Spirit in the hearts of believing men they are able to pray. The Church of God in the economy of God was created an institute of prayer.”

Are you close enough to lost and hurting humanity to hear them groan?

Are you moved by their groans?

Can you groan on their behalf? That’s how we should be praying, and then the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26).

Don’t just pray for the hurting around you; groan for them!

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Love For A Traitor

November 9, 2011 — 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.

Just a couple of hours before He would be arrested and so cruelly mistreated, Jesus had one last meal with His disciples. The meal began after Jesus had assumed the lowest of all positions, and washed all of His disciples’ feet.

Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.” (Matthew 26:27)

Do you realize that this “all of you” included Judas the traitor?

Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, was there. He ate the bread and drank the wine of the first Communion. Jesus washed Judas’ feet. The traitor was right there when Jesus said, “This is My Body broken for you. This is My blood spilled for you.”

But it’s even heavier to think that He also said to me, “Drink of this cup, Craig.”

For Jesus surely saw my sin and my betrayal before He went to the Cross. I was the traitor, and He washed my feet. I betrayed Him by my sin, and He told me to eat and drink the reminders of His suffering for me.

How can I ignore such wondrous love?

How could I ever treat lightly such a sacrifice?

How could I ever hang on to my betraying sins in light of the forgiveness He purchased for me?

Jesus loved me—the traitor, the betrayer—and died for me. What a beautiful Savior!

My friend Dilip has released his debut album The Great Reversal (I hope you will buy this amazing CD), but I love the words of his song Beautiful Jesus:

All my words cannot describe just how beautiful You are
Earthly love cannot compare to the Perfect Love that bled and died
Beautiful Jesus, I stand in awe of You
Beautiful Jesus, I’m captivated by Your wondrous love
So I bow my knee, humbled by this mystery
How can it be? King of Majesty, You rescued me
You gave it all for me
More than I could ask for
All I ever need is You, Jesus, Lover of my soul
 
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Watch Your Prepositions

November 7, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Prepositions are interesting words: they tell us the position of something relative to something else. Changing just one small preposition changes the whole meaning—“I left my wallet in the car” or “I left my wallet on the car.” In the first case, you can probably find your wallet again. In the second case, your wallet could be anywhere along the side of the road!

There’s a well-known story in the Gospels where a woman anoints Jesus with an expensive perfume. Some people are upset that she would “waste” something so valuable. But as Jesus corrects their incorrect view of this, notice the preposition He uses:

She has done a beautiful thing TO Me. (Matthew 26:10)

Most of the time we think we do things for Jesus. But He really doesn’t need us to do anything for Him, does He? After all, He is all-sufficient, all-powerful, all-knowing.

But Jesus loves when we do something beautiful TO Him!

We often praise God because of what He has done; that is, we praise Him for His deeds. But what if we praise God for Who He is; that is, give praise TO Him?

For is good, but TO is best.

I’m going to be watching my prepositions, to make sure I’m not only doing things for Jesus, but to Him as well—not just giving praise for what He’s done, but praise TO Him for Who He is.

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Thursdays With Oswald— Publicly Holy

November 3, 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.

Publicly Holy

     Try and develop a holy life in private, and you find it cannot be done. Individuals can only live the true life when they are dependent on one another. …

     In the early Middle Ages people had the idea that Christianity meant living a holy life apart from the world and its sociability, apart from its work and citizenship. That type of holiness is foreign to the New Testament; it cannot be reconciled with the records of the life of Jesus. The people of His day called Him “the Friend of publicans and sinners” because He spent so much time with them.

From Biblical Ethics

Jesus never told us to stay, but to go.

He didn’t tell us to separate, but to season and shine.

We cannot influence people from a distance. We must live and work and interact where they are.

Jesus taught us: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Jesus prayed for us: “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. … As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:15, 18)

I must be around people who need to see The Light.

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