Some great reading (and watching) from today.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell with some great advice for overcoming procrastination. (Don’t put off watching this one!)
[VIDEOS] I love what this digital effects specialist from Dreamworks does with his 3-year-old son!
Here are links to some interesting reading (and watching) from today.
[VIDEO] Funny, but really sad. I’m not sure what is being taught on college campuses anymore.
[VIDEO] Stephen A. Smith on Arsenio Hall’s show about race relations. Right on target!
Great reminder from Jennilee Goodwin: When The Grace Seems Greener.
[VIDEO] Greg Koukl discusses how Christians should debate evolutionists.
Tim Elmore shares a hilarious but helpful story about a woman involved in her own search party.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell reminds us of the importance of generosity.
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting this weekend.
[VIDEO] This is dead-on right! The problems with ObamaCare run much deeper.
Now President Obama is using ObamaCare to hide illegal aliens from the law!
[VIDEO] John Maxwell says, “this isn’t a sexy word,” but it is imperative: Endurance.
“This poor Bible is become an almost obsolete book, even with some Christians. There are so many magazines, periodicals, and such like ephemeral productions, that we are in danger of neglecting to search the Scriptures.” —Charles Spurgeon
4 Reasons Why Friends With Benefits Is A Really Bad Idea
A great reminder about the blessing of being able to relax in God.
Soon scientists will be able to create a ‘mug shot’ from your DNA.
The pro-abortion crowd likes to say legalized abortion makes life safer for women. But these facts show they are dead wrong!
“You may wonder how many times the Lord will forgive you for indulging the same sin again and again. Rest assured, His incredible forgiveness is unlimited. Every time you sin, you can go to Jesus and find deliverance. Yet the Lord’s forgiveness is not unwise or blind. To be sure, our heavenly Father forgives us, but at a certain point He punishes us to keep us from continuing in sin. … What, exactly, does it mean to fear the Lord? It means being able to say, ‘I know my Father loves me. I am safely, forever His, and I know He will never abandon me. He feels my pain whenever I struggle and He is patient with me as I war against sin. He is always ready to forgive me whenever I call on Him, but I also know He is not going to allow me to keep disobeying His Word. My heavenly Father will not spare me—because He loves me deeply.’” —David Wilkerson
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting this weekend.
Read this one prayerfully: Why Christian Supporters Of Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Are Wrong.
Some on-the-go missionaries explain How Technology Helps Our Marriage.
Continue to let your voice be heard to save Pastor Saaed from his wrongful imprisonment in Iran.
Amen! “The minister must experience what he would teach or he will find himself in the impossible position of trying to drive sheep. For this reason he should seek to cultivate his own heart before he attempts to preach to the hearts of others.” —A.W. Tozer
[VIDEO] John Maxwell explains why failure is not fatal.
[VIDEO] HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius proves why so many people don’t trust Washington, D.C.
Scientists show that the 5-Second Rule for food on the floor is legit!
“It is a mistake to think we must feel good before we pray; we need to pray most of all when we feel poor, and empty, and weak.” —Hannah Whitall Smith
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
[VIDEO] Great challenge from John Maxwell about being our best.
It doesn’t matter what you do … Your Job Is More Important Than You Think.
“You see Agape is all giving, not getting. Read what St. Paul says about it in First Corinthians Chap. 13. Then look at a picture of Charity (or Agape) in action in St. Luke, chap 10 v.30-35. And then, better still, look at Matthew chap 25 v.31-46: from which you see that Christ counts all that you do for this baby exactly as if you had done it for Him when He was a baby in the manger at Bethlehem: you are in a sense sharing in the things His mother did for Him. Giving money is only one way of showing charity: to give time and toil is far better and (for most of us) harder. And notice, though it is all giving—you needn’t expect any reward—how you do gets rewarded almost at once.” —C.S. Lewis
Parents and teachers, this is good advice from Tim Elmore on working with ‘difficult’ students: How To Lead An Outlier.
David Wilkerson has a solid word for those in a difficult marriage: Is There Any Hope?
John Stonestreet addresses Generation XXX: Responding To Our Pornified Culture.
Don’t let him get away with it! How Harry Reid Is Trying To End Debate In The Senate.
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
Wise words from John Maxwell: A Leader′s Need For Humility
“Many people preach and teach. Many take part in the music. Certain ones try to administer God’s work. But if the power of God’s Spirit does not have freedom to energize all they do, these workers might just as well stay home. Natural gifts are not enough in God’s work. The mighty Spirit of God must have freedom to animate and quicken with His overtones of creativity and blessing.” —A.W. Tozer
Very thoughtful post from Frank Viola: Rethinking The Second Coming Of Christ. Frank references the book he co-authored with Leonard Sweet entitled Jesus: A Theography; I highly recommend this book!
Max Lucado writes in Like A Child, “Quit looking at life like an adult. See it through the eyes of a child.”
[VIDEO] Greg Koukl on Discussing The Age Of The Earth With Other Christians
5 Reasons To Attend Church Regularly
“To be humble, and, like a little child, afraid of taking a step alone, and so conscious of snares and dangers around us, as to cry to [God] continually to hold us up that we may be safe, is the sure, the infallible, the only secret of walking closely with Him.” —John Newton
“One of principle that today’s intellectuals most passionately disseminate is a vulgar relativism, ‘Nihilism with a happy face.’ For them it is certain that there is no truth, only opinion: my opinion, your opinion. They abandoned the defense of the intellect…. Those who surrender the domain of the intellect make straight the road to fascism. Totalitarianism…is the will-to-power unchecked by any regard for truth. To surrender the claims of truth upon humans is to surrender Earth to thugs…. Vulgar relativism is an invisible gas, odorless, deadly, that is now polluting every free society on earth. It is a gas that attacks the central nervous system of moral striving…. ‘There is no such thing as truth,’ they teach even the little ones. ‘Truth is bondage. Believe what seems right to you. There are as many truths as there are individuals. Follow your feelings. Do as you please. Get in touch with yourself….’ Those who speak in this way prepare the jails of the twenty-first century. They do the work of tyrants.” —Michael Novak
Cool story on how The Detroit Tigers Hired Sparky Anderson
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting this weekend.
Victory! FCC Pulls The Plug On Its Unconstitutional Plans
John Maxwell talks about delegation: Overloaded & Underempowered
“Before I became a Christian I do not think I fully realized that one’s life, after conversion, would inevitably consist in doing most of the same things one had been doing before, one hopes, in a new spirit, but still the same things.” —C.S. Lewis
“The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.” —John E. Southard
“I’m a fool for Christ. Whose fool are you?” —John Wimber
“Holiness is not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation.” —G. Morgan Campbell
Are environmentalists going too far? The War On Humans
[VIDEO] The more I hear Sen. Ted Cruz, the more I like him. “I don′t work for the party bosses.”
Eric Metaxas on a baby′s innate sense of morality: Babies & The Not-So-Blank Slate
“Forget others’ faults by remembering your own.” —John Bunyan
Here are the books I read and reviewed in 2013. Click a title to read the review…
10 People Every Christian Should Know
Did The Resurrection Happen … Really?
I Never Thought I’d See The Day
One Year Book Of Personal Prayer
Pouring Holy Water On Strange Fire
Raising Your Child To Love God
Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn
The Baptism With The Holy Spirit
The Secrets Of Intercessory Prayer
You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader
For my book reviews of 2011 click here, and for 2012’s list click here.
Some folks asked me to share the quotes I used in my message today in our Grateful Heart series. Ask, and you shall receive!
“It is no wonder that the Lord’s people should be satisfied with the goodness of their Lord. Here is goodness without mixture, bounty without stint, mercy without chiding, love without change, favor without reserve. If God’s goodness does not satisfy us, what will? What! are we still groaning? Surely there is a wrong desire within if it be one which God’s goodness does not satisfy.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense out of our past, brings peace for today, and create a vision for tomorrow.” —John Maxwell
I’m looking forward to wrapping up this series next Sunday!
![A Grateful Heart [web]](https://craigtowens.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/a-grateful-heart-web1.jpg)
As we approach Thanksgiving Day, many people begin to get their thanks on! They will start rehearsing for their family gathering when someone might ask them, “What are you thankful for this year?”
But I want to make the case for practicing gratitude all year long!
There are emotional, physical, psychological and relational benefits to being a thanks-filled person. Truly those with grateful hearts have strong, healthy hearts … both physically and emotionally.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense out of our past, brings peace for today, and create a vision for tomorrow.” —John Maxwell
Please join me the next two Sundays at Calvary Assembly of God as I share some of the medical research and biblical truths that will reveal the year-round, whole-person benefits of being grateful.
Craig T. Owens 