The Price Of Divorce

May 29, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

There is a toll for divorce, and I think the price is higher than we want to pay. There is a price…

  • Michigan divorce rates…economically
  • …emotionally
  • …physically
  • …relationally
  • …spiritually

Wait, spiritually? Here’s what God says—

Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because He pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.

Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are His. And what does He want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” (Malachi 2:13-16, New Living Translation)

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Thursdays With Oswald—Mirror

August 23, 2012 — 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.

Mirror

    It is a wonderful thing that God can cleanse and purify the thinking of our hearts. That is why our Lord says, “Of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). The Bible says that words are born in the heart, not in the head. …

     Jesus Christ said He always spoke as His Father wished Him to. Did His Father write out the words and tell Him to learn them by heart? No, the mainspring of the heart of Jesus Christ was the mainspring of the heart of God the Father, consequently the words Jesus Christ spoke were the exact expression of God’s thoughts. In our Lord the tongue was in its right place; He never spoke from His head, but always from His heart. 

From Biblical Psychology

Have you ever noticed how friends begin to talk like each other? They laugh at the punchline without the joke being told any longer, because they know it so well.

Or how about married couples who can finish each other’s sentences, because they are so in tune with each other.

Biblical scholars have pointed out the similarity of the writing styles of Luke and the Apostle Paul, probably due to the huge amount of time they spent with each other.

We begin to mirror those with whom we spend the most time.

Jesus Christ had His heart filled with God’s presence, so His words mirrored the thoughts of His Father (John 12:49).

What about me? Whom do I mirror? My vocabulary will tell me who fascinates me most, who has my attention, and who has my heart.

I pray that more and more my words reveal that I mirror my Savior Jesus Christ. May my heart be fascinated and attentive to Him, and then may I never speak from my head, but always from my heart.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Seeing And Hearing “Holy”

June 14, 2012 — 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.

Seeing And Hearing “Holy” 

     The Bible places in the heart everything that the modern psychologist places in the head. … 

     God does alter the desire to look at the things we used to look at; and we find our eyes are guarded because He has altered the disposition of our soul life. …I will always hear what I listen for, and the ruling disposition of the soul determines what I listen for, just as the ruling disposition either keeps the eyes from beholding vanity or makes them behold nothing else. 

From Biblical Psychology

Solomon wrote, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). This is where Chambers gets the thought about our hearts doing what psychologists want our heads to do.

The more I fill my heart with God’s Word (Psalm 119:11), the more the Holy Spirit can remind me of that Word (John 14:26). The more I am tuned in to that sanctifying instruction of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:26), the more holy I will live (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:7).

This “tuning in” in the spiritual realm (the heart) absolutely affects the physical realm (the head). I have written before about the reticular activating system (RAS) in our brains (you can read about this here and here). The combination of the Word and the Spirit reprograms our RAS so that our eyes and ears are looking and listening for what pleases and glorifies God.

Do you want to live a holy life? Start by guarding your heart. You do this by filling your heart with the Word of God.

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Enemies Of The Heart (book review)

August 1, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Andy Stanley has a God-given talent to explain things in ways that not only help them “stick,” but in ways that are easily applicable too. In Enemies Of The Heart, Andy helps identify and confront four things that could derail anyone’s life.

Guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy are the four enemies Andy confronts. In a theme that runs throughout the book, Andy describes how each of these can be viewed as a debt-to-debtor relationship. This dynamic is a huge growth impediment to any relationship — whether with God or mankind.

Andy points out:

  • Guilt says, “I owe you.”
  • Anger says, “You owe me.”
  • Greed says, “I owe me.”
  • Jealousy says, “God owes me.”

In the first half of the book, Andy teaches the reader not only how to diagnose these heart problems, but also the danger in allowing these enemies to stay lodged in our hearts. In the second half of the book, Andy shares how to rid our hearts of these enemies, and how to improve the long-term health of our heart.

Since all four of these enemies are relationship killers, and tend to isolate us from other people, the study guide at the back of the book is especially helpful. Because this study guide is designed to be used in discussions with one or more people, there is an instant accountability process built in to rooting out these heart enemies.

Just as our physical heart health affects the rest of our lives, so too does our spiritual/emotional heart health. Don’t wait until it’s too late! This book can help you live a much, much healthier life.

I am a Multnomah book reviewer.

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Heart Healthy

October 9, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Heart Matters

It’s amazing how many parallels there are between the health of our physical heart that pumps life-carrying blood and the health of our spiritual heart that circulates life to our inner man. I’m going to be exploring what makes a healthy heart (both kinds of heart) as we launch a new 6-part series this Sunday called Heart Matters.

Whether you are having heart trouble now, or you want to maintain a healthy heart for the years to come, this will be valuable insight for you. Join us at Calvary Assembly of God at 10:30am on Sunday mornings. It will be a great investment in your heart’s future.

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Diet + Exercise = Healthy Growth

May 5, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The right diet will start you on the road to excellent health, but to keep growing in a healthy way you will need to incorporate some regular exercise too. This is true physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

If I just eat the right foods but don’t exercise, my physical metabolism will not be stoked to the proper levels. To put it another way, a good diet may lower my LDL (bad) cholesterol, but it takes exercise to raise my HDL (good) cholesterol. I need both to be healthy.

So, too, for my heart and mind. If I hear good preaching and think good thoughts (diet), but never put those words or thoughts into action (exercise), I’m not going to grow in a well-balanced, healthy way.

Here’s a couple of things I have learned for body, spirit, and mind exercise.

Set challenging but realistic goals

  • I don’t run without a goal. (1 Corinthians 9:26 CEV)
  • “You must have long-range goals to keep from being frustrated by short-term failures.” —Charles N. Noble

Exercise a little bit when you can

  • There’s no need to jump into lengthy workouts.
  • Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. (1 Timothy 4:7, The Message)
  • “Let him then think of God the most he can; let him accustom himself, by degrees, to this small but holy exercise; nobody perceives it, and nothing is easier than to repeat often in the day these little internal adorations.” —Brother Lawrence, in The Practice Of The Presence Of God

Make exercise a fun habit

  • Remember that you may not feel like exercising, but you will feel better after you exercise.
  • “Life goals are reached by setting annual goals. And annual goals are reached by reaching daily goals. And daily goals are reached by doing things which may be uncomfortable at first but eventually become habits. And habits are powerful things. Habits turn actions into attitudes, and attitudes into lifestyles.” —Charlene Armitage

For a healthy body, a healthy heart, and a healthy thought life, watch the diet you consume and then exercise for maximum benefit. Feel free to share any exercise tips you have learned.

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