Jesus Christ | Craig T. Owens

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The Holiest Moment

October 2, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

The holiest moment of my week shouldn’t be singing songs.

It shouldn’t be listening to a profound sermon.

Not even partaking of Communion.

My holiest moment should be my going out to show Christ’s love to a hurting world.

“The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God’s people—strengthened by preaching and sacrament—go out of the church door into the world to be the Church.” —Ernest Southcott

“To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred. He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to Him. He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament. He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood. His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice. He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence. … You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you ploughmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors, your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, by living unto Him as you ought to live. The sacred has absorbed the secular.” —Charles Spurgeon

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Charles Spurgeon, church, Ernest Southcott, God's love, Jesus Christ, sacred, secular, work. 2 Comments »

Unpopular Preaching?

September 27, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Walter Russell Bowie

“The Christian church does not need more popular preaching, but more unpopular preaching.”

—Walter Russell Bowie

What do you think this means? Is Bowie right?

The Apostle Paul said preaching about Christ would be a stumbling block (unpopular) to some. Even Jesus didn’t preach a popular message.

In my opinion, we preach the Word of God. Period. Not our opinion, not a message to gather a crowd, not a message to entertain. Just preach the Word. It will be unpopular with the self-satisfied and sanctimonious, but it will be a welcome message to the lost and desperate.

What do you think?

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: apostle Paul, Bible, Jesus Christ, popularity, preaching, sermon, Walter Russell Bowie. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Time To Get Active

September 26, 2013 — 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.

Time To Get Active

We must take heed that in the present calamities, when war and devastation and heart-break are abroad in the world, we do not shut ourselves up in a world of our own and ignore the demand made on us by our Lord and our fellow-man for the service of intercessory prayer and hospitality and care.

From Christian Disciplines

Instead when times are tough, Christians ought to be at their best! Open your eyes and you will see opportunities all around you to pray, to open your home, and to open your arms.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

It’s time to open your eyes and get active!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christianity, faith in action, good deeds, hard times, heartache, hospitality, intercession, Jesus Christ, love, Oswald Chambers, prayer, war. 1 Comment »

Distinguishing

September 25, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

A week ago I blogged about why some people avoid reading some of the Old Testament books because they seem tedious, or even out-of-date. But if you look at the Old Testament through the light of Jesus, you will find a rich beauty in its pages.

In Leviticus 11 God lists all kinds of food that is considered clean or unclean, and the proper ways to prepare and eat certain foods so as to not become unclean.

I believe one of the reasons God gave the commands for clean and unclean food was to cause His people to pause. Instead of just gobbling up what was in front of them, without any thought as to what it was, they would have to slow down to distinguish. God even said, “You must distinguish” (Leviticus 11:47).

Slowing down gives time for thankfulness too. How many times do I grab whatever is close by when I’m hungry? I shove anything in my mouth just to satisfy an immediate hunger, but there is no distinguishing, no thought, and no gratitude.

If I were to pause long enough to distinguish, how much healthier and grateful might I be?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: distinguish, eat healthy, food, gratitude, Jesus Christ, Leviticus, Old Testament, slow down, thankfulness. Leave a Comment »

Keep Your Love Up-To-Date

September 23, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

It’s possible to be so busy doing good things that we forget why we are doing those good things. Worse than that: our busyness can actually kill what’s most important.

When Jesus addressed the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7), He addressed a problem we in the West face today as well. Jesus said, “You are hard workers. You keep pressing on despite the obstacles. You are ministering to others, you’re making sure no wolves in sheep’s clothing infiltrate the church, and you even stand strong under persecution for your faith.”

But then Jesus drops a hard word on them: “Yet I have this against you: You have forsaken your first love.”

The Ephesians were fighting the good fight. Yet this intense work and ministry detracted from what is most important: Love for God. The New Living Translation says verse four this way: You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first.

Busyness can kill love.
Fighting evil can kill love.
Standing for truth can kill love.
Ministering to others can kill love.

Ministering to others is not love. It can only come from the overflow of love. But if the love is not kept full, there’s nothing there to overflow, and we’re only “doing our duty.”

So Jesus challenges the Ephesians (and us) with these two steps: Remember and Repent.

The verb tense for remember is the present tense. That means it’s something we need to do now. I cannot tell my wife “I love you” nine times on Monday morning and expect that I’m covered for the next 10 days. In the same way, we cannot tell Jesus we love Him on Sunday morning, and then go off to do our own thing for the rest of the week. That choice will not allow us to overflow with love; in fact, it will be just the opposite: we’ll be running on empty, just doing our duty.

We must keep our love up-to-date. Remember often how much God loves you, and express your love to Him. And if you find something in your life that is more of a focus that Christ, repent. Turn from that and turn back to your first love.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: busyness, Great Commandment, hard work, Jesus Christ, love, ministry, remember, repentance. Leave a Comment »

Sacrifice

September 18, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Sometimes people get bogged down in some of the Old Testament books because it seems so tedious. And, honestly, some of it can seem irrelevant to today’s Christian. B.B. Warfield described the Old Testament as a richly furnished but dimly lit house. Only when the lights are turned on can we appreciate the beauty that was there all along. In Jesus Christ the light is on, and we can see the beauty of the Old Testament!

In the first seven chapters of Leviticus the sacrifices are described in detail. There are some repeating phrases that we should note: without defect … without yeast … of the proper value. The sacrifices were to be of the best quality, without any “strings attached,” and well thought-out.

Sacrifices were not only physically given, but given emotionally and mentally too. They shouldn’t be given begrudgingly as a “have to” sacrifice, but joyfully as a “get to” sacrifice.

The Archeological Study Bible has an interesting commentary on the sacrifices: “The sacrificial system was not magical. Its efficacy depended not upon the offering of a particular animal… but on God Himself, Who ordained these sacrifices. Fully as important, without an attitude of repentance, perfunctory observation of sacrificial rituals was meaningless.”

Jesus was the once-for-all sacrifice. And if you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, the Bible says Christ is now in you and you are new creation. You are blameless in God’s sight!

So today the best sacrifice you can give God is: YOU. When you joyfully give God your life and talents as a living sacrifice with a grateful attitude, God sees Christ’s sacrifice in you as perfect—no defect, no hypocrisy, a sacrifice of inestimable value!

If Jesus Christ is in you, you are a perfect sacrifice, so don’t hesitate to give yourself to God.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: atonement, B.B. Warfield, Jesus Christ, joy, justification, New Testament, Old Testament, perfection, sacrifice, salvation. Leave a Comment »

The 7-Star Church

September 17, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Seven times in just two chapters of the book of Revelation, Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” That same Spirit is still speaking to the churches today.

As you may know, the number seven in the Bible stands for completion. Although there were many more churches in Asia minor, Jesus delivered a message to seven of them. In other words, He delivered a complete, well-rounded message to all churches by speaking to those seven. Those messages are still speaking to us today.

This Sunday I’m beginning a new series of messages called The 7-Star Church—Becoming The Church That Pleases Christ from this text in Revelation. It’s going to be a challenging word, but an encouraging word at the same time.

If you are near Cedar Springs, please join me at Calvary Assembly of God on Sunday morning at 10:30am. Come with an ear to hear what the Spirit is still saying to us today.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, church, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Revelation, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Teach Compassion

September 13, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Compassion means to not only feel what someone else is feeling, but then to make a move toward that person to help. In the life of Jesus you will often see the phrase “He was moved with compassion” and then Jesus taught or healed or acted to alleviate someone’s discomfort.

Pastors, we need to teach our congregations to be people of compassion: to feel the needs of those around them and then move to act in the love of Christ.

A.W. Tozer

“The multitudes that were so dear to Christ shall not be less dear to me. If I cannot prevent their moral suicide, I shall at least baptize them with my human tears. I want no blessing that I cannot share. I seek no spirituality that I must win at the cost of forgetting that men and women are lost and without hope. If in spite of all I can do they will sin against light and bring upon themselves the displeasure of a holy God, then I must not let them go their sad way unwept. I scorn a happiness that I must purchase with ignorance. I reject a heaven that I must enter by shutting my eyes to the sufferings of my fellow men. I choose a broken heart rather than any happiness that ignores the tragedy of human life and human death. Though I, through the grace of God in Christ, no longer lie under Adam’s sin, I would still feel a bond of compassion for all of Adam’s tragic race, and I am determined that I shall go down to the grave or up into God’s heaven mourning for the lost and the perishing.” —A.W. Tozer (emphasis added)

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: A.W. Tozer, compassion, empathy, faith in action, grace, heart cry, Jesus Christ, pastors, tears. 1 Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Production Of A Saint

September 12, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

The Production Of A Saint

The production of a saint is the grandest thing earth can give to Heaven. A saint is not a person with a saintly character: a saint is a saintly character….

A saint is a living epistle written by the finger of God, known and read of all men. A saint may be any man… who discovering himself at Calvary, with the nature of sin uncloaked to him, lies in despair; then discerning Jesus Christ as the Substitute for sin and rising in the glamour of amazement, he cries out—“Jesus, I should be there.” And to his astonished spirit, he receives justification from all his sinfulness by that wonderful Atonement.

Then, standing in that great light, and placing his hands, as it were, over his Savior’s crucified hands, his feet over His crucified feet, he crucifies forever his right to himself, and He baptizes him with the Holy Spirit and fire, substituting in his a new principle of live, and identity of holiness with Himself, until he bears unmistakably a family likeness to Jesus Christ.

From Christian Disciplines

YES!!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: atonement, baptism, Calvary, forgiveness, holiness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, justification, Oswald Chambers, repentance, saints, substitution. Leave a Comment »

Keep The Questions Coming

September 9, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Every year I look forward to our Q Series, where I field questions folks have about spiritual matters. Not that I’m an expert, but I’m following the example of The Expert.

Jesus never tired of answering people’s longing questions. Sometimes He gave them a direct answer; sometimes He asked them a question in reply to their question; sometimes He answered their question with a story or parable. But one thing was always consistent: Jesus answered every question in a way that pointed people to His Heavenly Father.

That’s what I am attempting to do in our Q Series.

Yesterday I fielded questions about creation/evolution; Christ’s passion week and His death, burial, and resurrection; the names given to God; and even suicide. I pray each answer created a desire for others to dig deeper in Scripture and learn more about God.

In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom is personified as one calling out to those who want help to come to her with their questions. In the New Testament, James writes, “If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God for help.” So we need to keep asking The One who is The Truth.

If you would like to participate in our Q Series, please join us next Sunday at Calvary Assembly of God, or submit your question in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer it. But even if I can’t, you know where to go!