Gospel of Luke | Craig T. Owens

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Jesus Tweets

December 22, 2009 — 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.

I began using 𝕏 (formerly known as Twitter) in 2009. There is something challenging about conveying what I’m doing or thinking or encouraging others in 280 characters or less. I also love the bite-sized flow of comments from others that keep me informed and entertained.

As with anything I commit myself to, it always has to pass the “Would Jesus Do This” test. So, would Jesus use 𝕏? Would we be reading @JesusChrist tweets if He were on earth today?

I think so!

Just a quick survey of the Gospels will show you how many of His profound statements were in the 𝕏-ready 280-characters-or-less format…

In refuting the temptations of satan, all three Old Testament passages Jesus quoted are 𝕏-length.

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.

In His famous Sermon on the Mount, all of the “blessed are” beatitudes are tweetable.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Each sentence of Jesus’ model prayer fits in the 𝕏 dialogue box.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

All of Christ’s powerful “I AM” declarations in the Gospel of John are less than 140 characters.

I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.
I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.
I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.
I am the vine; you are the branches.

Even the most well-known verse of all fits into the 𝕏 dialogue box:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The words of Jesus are just as timely and relevant today as they were the day He first spoke them, so let’s use our social media platforms to rebroadcast (or retweet) these life-changing truths.

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Beatitudes, Bible study, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, leadership, learning, Old Testament, Sermon on the Mount, social media, thinking, Twitter, WWJD, X. 2 Comments »

4 x 4

June 25, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard the statement, “He’s so thick-headed you have to hit him over the head with a 4-by-4 to get his attention”? Sometimes I’m that guy.

Okay, I’m not that dense (or maybe you should check with Betsy on that), but sometimes I do need some help. Especially in the area of setting and accomplishing goals.

So Betsy and I are working on something new. We picked four goals to accomplish in the next four weeks (4 goals x 4 weeks = 4×4).

We took one verse of Scripture about the life of Jesus as our guide: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). This one verse shows the balanced way in which Jesus grew, so we have set our four goals in these areas:

Wisdom—a mental goal
Stature—a physical goal
Favor with God—a spiritual goal
Favor with men—an emotional/social goal

Even though we’re only four days into our first week, having this 4×4 is really keeping me motivated and on task. I’ll give you an update when we’ve finished our four weeks.

Another thought that’s keeping me focused during this is what’s happening in me during the process of pursuing these 4×4 goals. Zig Ziglar said it this way, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Do you have any big goals you’re working on? What do you do to keep yourself motivated and focused on your goals?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: focus, goal setting, goals, Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ, motivation, quote, Zig Ziglar. Leave a Comment »

Still Learning

May 26, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I live by the axiom, “If you’re through learning, you’re through.” So I try to learn something new every day.

I just finished a class called New Testament Survey: a quick overview of the 27 books that compromise the New Testament of the Bible. Here’s a couple of interesting factoids I picked up from my studies:

The earliest-written book was James. Interesting, because at one point James thought Jesus (his half-brother) was nuts.
Only Matthew uses the term kingdom of heaven; all of the other writers use kingdom of God.
Mark uses the word immediately more times than anyone else. Perhaps because his source (Peter) was always doing things so quickly… sort of a ready, FIRE!, aim kinda guy.
Luke wrote what is called “the global gospel” for everyone, so he included 45 teachings/events that no one else records.
John doesn’t record any of Jesus’ parables.
John uses the word believe nearly 100 times— way more than any other writer.
Luke talks about the Holy Spirit nearly 60 times in the 28 chapters of Acts.
Romans is the longest of Paul’s epistles with 7101 words; Philemon is the shortest with just 355 words.
With the exception of the pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus) Paul’s letters are arranged in the Bible from longest to shortest.
In 1 & 2 Thessalonians (only 136 verses) Paul refers to God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, or a combination thereof more than 150 times.
Paul gives Timothy seven word pictures to describe the kind of pastor he should be: son, soldier, athlete, farmer, workman, instrument, and servant.
Hebrews is called “the book of better things” so better is used 13 times. This word is used only six times in the remaining 26 books of the New Testament.
James wrote 108 verses but issues 50+ direct commands.
In John’s three short epistles he uses the word know 33 times, and the word dear ten times.

Keep on learning! There’s a lot of good stuff out there. What have you learned lately?

What Jesus Didn’t Say

April 10, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

All throughout the first four books of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—there are lots of “red letters” (words spoken by Jesus). But as each of these gospel writers begins to recount the arrest and sham trial of Jesus, I’m struck by how many “black letters” there are. This fulfilled an Old Testament prophesy—

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth (Isaiah 53:7).

The chief priests and the Sanhedrin brought out a string of witnesses to falsely accuse Jesus, but even then these witnesses couldn’t get their stories to jive, so Jesus remained silent. In exasperation the chief priest Caiaphas lashed out at Jesus, “Aren’t You going to answer these charges? Don’t You hear what they’re saying about You? Why won’t You defend Yourself?”

So here’s how Jesus responded to His accusers: But Jesus remained silent (Matthew 26:63). His silence resonated louder than any words could have!

How could Jesus do this? How could He stand silently when all of these nasty things were being said about Him?

He looked back—”…He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth…” (Isaiah 53:9). All four Gospels record Jesus saying, “You heard Me speaking in public all the time. My life has been on display for You. If I had said or done anything wrong, you could have arrested Me earlier, but the facts are: I haven’t said or done anything sinful.”

He looked forward—”…Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the Cross, disregarding its shame…” (Hebrews 12:2). He knew that one wrong word could undo all of the good words which He previously spoke, so He looked forward to the joy that would come after this was over.

I just went through a period of my life where people threw incredibly hurtful lies at me, but what was that compared to the horrific abuse heaped upon Jesus? If He could remain silent, how much more should I?

While I was in the midst of this difficult time, a prayerful friend handed me a notecard which I have kept close to me. Perhaps these words will be helpful to you, too—

May kindness be the response in you
where such a response is not expected.
May gentleness have the power
to overrule an offense and the power to heal. (David Teems)

May this Good Friday be a time of reflection in what Jesus didn’t say. And may I, along with you, learn this power of silence when falsely accused.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: crucifixion, example, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Passion Week, patience, perseverance, personal attacks, prophesy, silence, vocabulary. 2 Comments »

Choice Four-Letter Words

April 2, 2009 — 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.

Have you ever been “cursed out” by someone? I mean had a stream of four-letter obscenities hurled at you? What happens inside you? Isn’t your natural reaction to strike back? To begin to a counter-attack with a few choice four-letter words of your own?

It’s natural to feel this way; it’s a very human response.

On the other hand, have you ever been “blessed out” by someone? Had someone shower you with niceties and accolades and compliments? What happens inside you this time? Isn’t your natural reaction the complete opposite? Don’t you want to say, “Well, I think you’re pretty special, too”?

It’s natural to feel this way; it’s a very human response.

But Jesus commanded us to do something counter-cultural, something which requires a spiritual response: “Bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28). Paul amplified this thought: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14).

These words curse and bless are challenging for me. Curse means to hope for someone’s downfall; bless means to say good words to or about someone. Cursing can be done internally or verbally; blessing has to be done verbally. Eugene Peterson captures the essence of this in his paraphrase of Romans 12:14: “Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.”

If my natural response is to match curse for curse, obscenity for obscenity, then to respond in a Christ-like fashion is going to take a change of character. To respond with the right four-letter words, I have to do the opposite of my natural response.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for bless carried the understanding that it all hinged on God—He is the focal point. All of the definitions of this word involve a close relationship with God: (a) bless God; (b) bless men in the name of God; (c) ask for divine favor for persons or things created by God; or (d) salute someone because we know God has saluted us.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for bless makes it clear that this has to be done verbally, out loud. It is impossible to bless under your breath. In the Greek, bless is the compound word eulogeo = eu- (good) + –logos (words): saying good words out loud.

Only God is good, so only a closer relationship with our good God will help us say good words to others. Especially to those who curse us.

The right four-letter words to use—the un-natural words to use—are: Good words.

I’m challenging myself today to bless others, especially those who curse me. I only want to say good to and about others today. I’m attempting to live out Ephesians 4:29—

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up (New International Version)
Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others (Amplified Bible)
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift (The Message)
When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger (New Century Version).

So let me ask you: How will you say the right four-letter words to others today?

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: blessing, Christlike, counter-cultural, cursing, Ephesians, example, Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ, Romans, speech, video, vocabulary, YouTube. 11 Comments »

My Big Three

February 2, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

three1 Busy. Commute. Busy. Lesson prep. Busy. Kids’ schedules. Very busy. Meetings. Extremely busy. Household chores. Hectic busy. Hospital visits. Running-to-catch-myself busy.

In my busyness, something gets squeezed out of my life very easily. I don’t intend for this to happen, in fact it’s the last thing that should ever get squeezed out, but it does. I can tell when it does. Not right away, but soon it catches up with me and I’m running on vapors. I know that when I take the time to put it back into my life, the busyness doesn’t seem so busy anymore.

What is this power source? Consider the life of Jesus.

No one had more to accomplish in such a short period of time than Jesus. He only had three years to find, equip and launch the men who would take His message to all the world. No small task, and not a minute to lose. Yet instead of seeing Jesus run at the frantic pace I so easily slip into, I see these incredible pauses.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. (Mark 1:35)

How long did He pray? The Bible doesn’t say, but I suspect He was in prayer with His Heavenly Father until His conversation was concluded. It may have been a while, or it may have been somewhat shorter.

Then all throughout the day, Jesus was never rushed or pushed or running helter-skelter, but He seemed to move at just the right speed. This is because Jesus was taking His cues from His Father all day long:

For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say. (John 12:49-50)

Sometimes when there were big decisions or momentous occasions facing Him, Jesus would spend an extended time in prayer. For example:

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated apostles. (Luke 6:12-13)

I’m trying to make Jesus’ big three my big three: