joy | Craig T. Owens

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Hidden Treasure And One Valuable Pearl

June 3, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

I am always blessed to sit under the ministry of Jeff Hlavin! These are some of my notes from his message Calvary Assembly of God on Sunday, but you really should watch the whole message.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46)

There are at least two possible perspectives about the meaning and the application of these two parables:

First Perspective: Jesus is the One who finds and seeks.

The field is the world, and Jesus paid the price for the whole field/world to be His.

Second Perspective: We are the ones doing the discovering.

Jesus provides Himself as the Treasure of treasures. So taking up our cross to follow Him is not a morbid thing. There is overwhelming joy because of the extravagant treasure that is ours when we do so!

1. It’s about our response to discovering His Kingdom.

2. It’s about our appropriate response to His Kingdom.

3. It’s about the whole-hearted appropriate response which the Kingdom of God requires.

4. It’s about the value of His Kingdom.

5. It’s about the primacy of His Kingdom.

Three Observations:

Both individuals are alike in that…

Both of them know there is more to life than what they have. Neither one of them considers what they’re doing as a sacrifice because of what they’re gaining!
Both of them recognize what is missing when they find it.
Both of them recognize that what they have found is of far more inestimable value than everything else they have.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Christianity, God's Kingdom, Gospel of Matthew, Jeff Hlavin, joy, parable, quote, salvation, treasure, value. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—The Course Of Prayer

May 25, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

Even so, the course of prayer who knows?
   It springs in silence where it will,
      Springs out of sight, and flows
         At first a lonely rill:

But streams shall meet it by and by
   From thousand sympathetic hearts,
      Together swelling high
         Their chant of many parts.

Unheard by all but angel ears
   The good Cornelius knelt alone,
      Nor dream’d his prayers and tears
         Would help a world undone.

The while upon his terrac’d roof
   The lov’d Apostle to his Lord
      In silent thought aloof
         For Heavenly vision soar’d.

Far o’er the glowing western main
   His wistful brow was upward rais’d,
      Where, like an angel’s train,
         The burnish’d water blaz’d.

The saint beside the ocean pray’d,
   The soldier in his chosen bower,
      Where all his eye survey’d
         Seem’d sacred in that hour.

To each unknown his brother’s prayer,
   Yet brethren true in dearest love
      Were they—and now they share
         Fraternal joys above. —John Keble

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Heaven, John Keble, joy, poem, poetry, prayer, saints, tears. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—O My Soul What Means This Sadness

May 18, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

O my soul! what means this sadness?

Wherefore art thou thus cast down?

Let thy griefs be turned to gladness,

Bid thy restless fears be gone;

Look to Jesus, look to Jesus,

And rejoice in His dear name.

What though satan’s strong temptations

Vex and grieve thee day by day,

And thy sinful inclinations

Often fill thee with dismay;

Thou shalt conquer,

Through the Lamb’s redeeming blood.

Though ten thousand ills beset thee

From without and from within,

Jesus saith He’ll ne’er forget thee,

But will save from hell and sin.

He is faithful

To perform His gracious Word.

Though distresses now attend thee,

And thou tread’st the thorny road,

His right hand shall still defend thee;

Soon He’ll bring thee home to God.

Therefore praise Him,

Praise the great Redeemer’s name.

Oh that I could now adore Him

Like the heavenly host above,

Who forever bow before Him,

And unceasing sing His love.

Happy songsters!

When shall I your chorus join? —W.B. Bradbury

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: adoration, assurance, fear, God's faithfulness, Heaven, hymn, Jesus Christ, joy, poem, poetry, praise, W.B. Bradbury, worship. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Spurgeon—Blessed Assurance

May 16, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Charles Spurgeon. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Spurgeon” in the search box to read more entries.

Blessed Assurance

The Holy Spirit, who enabled me to believe, gave me peace through believing. I felt as sure that I was forgiven as before I felt sure of condemnation. I had been certain of my condemnation because the Word of God declared it, and my conscience bore witness to it; but when the Lord Jesus justified me, the same witnesses made me equally certain. The Word of the Lord in the Scripture says, “He who believes in Him is not condemned” (John 3:18), and my conscience bore witness that I believed, and that God in pardoning me was just. Thus I had the witness of the Holy Spirit and also of my own conscience, and these two agreed in one. …

I find the apostle Paul speaking by the Holy Spirit and saying, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1). If I know that my trust is fixed on Jesus only, and that I have faith in Him, were it not ten thousand times more absurd for me not to be at peace than for me to be filled with joy unspeakable? It is but taking God at His Word, when the soul knows as a necessary consequence of its faith that it is saved. …

Has Jesus saved me? I dare not speak with any hesitation here; I know He has. His word is true; therefore I am saved. My evidence that I am saved does not lie in the fact that I preach, or that I do this or that. All my hope lies in this, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. I am a sinner, I trust Him, then He came to save me, and I am saved. I live habitually in the enjoyment of this blessed fact, and it is long since I have doubted the truth of it, for I have His own Word to sustain my faith.

From The Autobiography Of Charles Spurgeon

The joy that Spurgeon recounts in his conversion is the same joy that is available to all who call on Jesus in faith. As Spurgeon was prone to quoting passages of hymns in his sermons and books, these words of his remind me of a favorite hymn as well—

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, assurance, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, conscience, Cross, faith, Gospel of John, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, Romans, salvation, Savior, Scripture, sin, sinner, testimony. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Thanksgiving

May 4, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

We walk on story fields of white

And do not see the daisies,

For blessings common in our sight

We rarely offer praises.

We sigh for some supreme delight

To crown our lives with splendor,

And quite ignore our daily store

Of pleasures sweet and tender.

Our cares are bold and push their way

Upon our thought and feeling;

They hang about us all the day,

Our time from pleasure stealing.

So unobtrusive many a joy

We pass by and forget it,

But worry strives to own our lives,

And conquers if we let it.

There’s not a day in all the year

But holds some hidden pleasure,

And, looking back, joys oft appear

To brim the past’s wide measure.

But blessings are like friends, I hold,

Who love and labor near us.

We ought to raise our notes of praise

While living hearts can hear us.

Full many a blessing wears the guise

Of worry or of trouble;

Far-seeing is the soul, and wise,

Who knows the mask is double.

But he who has the faith and strength

To thank his God for sorrow

Has found a joy without alloy

To gladden every morrow.

We ought to make the moments notes

Of happy, glad thanksgiving;

The hours and days a silent phrase

Of music we are living.

And so the theme should swell and grow

As weeks and months pass o’er us,

And rise sublime at this good time,

A grand thanksgiving chorus. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, faith, friends, God's blessing, gratitude, joy, poem, poetry, thanks, thanksgiving. Leave a Comment »

7 More Quotes From “Defiant Joy”

January 30, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

It may sound like an oxymoron—defiant joy—but it’s a powerful combination that Stasi Eldredge unpacks in her book. Check out my full review of Defiant Joy by clicking here.

“Times of testing can also be times of refining and growth. The counterintuitive truth is that suffering can deepen our hope. It enlarges our hearts so that we can know the love and presence of Jesus in ways that we would not if we did not go through the stretching the process.”

“The waiting can be hard when you are hungry, but when you know a feast is coming, you know that the waiting won’t last forever. Dear ones, the waiting is not going to last. But there is no shame in being hungry while you wait. … In our waiting God often deepens our hunger as well.”

“We are alive. And to be alive means that we will feel. We don’t need to deny it, and we don’t need to have it rule us. We dare not marry it to cynicism, and we must not fuel it with fatalism. It is not the end of our reality. It is instead a clue that we are strangers in a strange land. And we are passing through. Sadness touches us all, but God can use it to enhance the beauty and joy of the lives we are living. Sadness can fuel our hope. It can arouse our expectancy.”

“God displayed His fierce, constant love for us once and for all on the Cross of Calvary. The essence of His heart is no longer up for question. Because of all that Jesus won for us and our choice to receive it, God promises that we actually have nothing to fear.”

“satan comes to rob us of our joy, our peace, and our connection to and faith in God. He whispers lies to us when we are vulnerable and does his best to warp our perception of our lives with his depressing and evil spin. His endless attacks can wear a person down if they are aware that the perceptions being suggested are coming straight from hell.

“satan is very good at stealing. He’s devoted all his malice to separating us from intimacy with our good Father and the experience of deep joy that comes straight from Jesus’ heart. The evil one uses the circumstances of our lives and of the world to bring discouragement and despair. That is why we must remember that though happiness is rooted in our circumstances, joy is rooted in eternity.”

“Depth of character doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t come at all to those who refuse to admit the difficulties in their lives are painful. It comes when we fix our gaze on Jesus and the reality that this life is only part of the grand scheme of things.”

“There is something forged in all of us that can only be forged through fire. Perhaps intense periods of struggle, pain, betrayal, persecution, and rejection are the times when the baptism by fire that Jesus talks about occurs. When we cling to Jesus and proclaim He is good in the midst of the licking flames, our spirits rise in a strength that is proven unshakable, and God is glorified beyond reckoning. Our pain becomes the terrain of God. It becomes sacred.”

Check out some more quotes I shared from Defiant Joy here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary, character development, Cross, difficulties, God's glory, God's love, God's promise, hunger, intimacy, Jesus Christ, joy, no fear, pain, quotes, satan, spiritual warfare, Stasi Eldredge, testing, trials, waiting. Leave a Comment »

9 More Quotes From “Jesus Always”

January 24, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

Sarah Young does a masterful job of weaving Scriptures together and presenting them to us as though Jesus Himself were speaking to us in first person. You can check out my full book review of Jesus Always by clicking here.

“The problem arises when you gaze too long into the future, trying to visualize and take control of those not-yet events. A future-focus can easily deteriorate into a problem-focus. Weeds of worry and fear spring up quickly in this sort of ‘soil.’ When you realize this has happened, turn away from your worries and back to the One Who is lovingly present with you. Rejoice that I will still be with you when you arrive at each coming stage of your journey.”

“When My followers are joyful, unbelievers are more likely to be drawn to Me. Joy shines in stark contrast to your ever-darkening world, and some people will ask you about it. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for your hope.”

“Treasure Me above all else. … To treasure something is to hold or keep it, esteeming it as precious. I am training you to hold securely onto Me, your Savior-God and constant Companion. … When you prize Me above all else, other things lose their grip on you.”

“Thank Me for all the challenges in your life. They are gifts from Me—opportunities to grow stronger and more dependent on Me. Most people think that the stronger they get, the less dependent they will be. But in My kingdom, strength and dependence go hand in hand.”

“For Christians, aloneness is an illusion—a dangerous one that can lead to depression or self-pity. The devil and his underlings work hard to cloud your awareness of My presence. It’s crucial for you to recognize and resist their attacks. Fight back with My powerful Word, which is living and active. Read it; ponder it; memorize it; speak it.”

“My followers often fail to see the many blessings I shower on them. They’re so busy looking for other things that they miss what is before them—or is on the way. They forget I am sovereign God and the timing of events is My prerogative.”

“Do not be frightened by world events or news reports. These reports are biased—presented as if I do not exist. News clips show tiny bits of world events from which the most important factor has been carefully removed: My presence in the world.”

“It’s important for you to grow not only more trusting but more thankful. A grateful attitude is essential for living near Me. Ingratitude is offensive to Me, and drags you down both spiritually and emotionally.”

“Stillness is a rare commodity in this world. Many people judge themselves and their day by how much they have accomplished. Resting in My presence is usually not one of those accomplishments. Yet how much blessing can be found in this holy rest!”

You can check out other questions I’ve shared from Jesus Always by clicking here and here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Christian, depression, God's blessing, God's presence, God's Word, gratitude, Jesus Christ, joy, problems, quotes, Sarah Young, Savior, Scripture, self-pity, spiritual warfare, thankfulness, trust, worry. 2 Comments »

8 Quotes From “Defiant Joy”

January 16, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

For anyone going through a trying time, Stasi Eldredge has given us a timely reminder of how we can tenaciously and defiantly cling to the joy the God gives us. Check out my full book review by clicking here.

“Ignoring reality does not breed joy. Pretending that what is true does not exist is not holy defiance. The seeds of joy can only be firmly planted in the pungent soil of the here and now while at the same time being tethered to eternity. Joy is fully rooted in the truth. Joy embraces all the senses and is fully awake to the laughter, the wonder, and the beauty present in the moment as well as the sorrow, the angst, and the fear. Joy says, ‘Even so, I have a reason to celebrate.’”

“Defiant may not be a word we would normally associate with the living God, but it can actually be quite fitting. Defiance means resistance, opposition, noncompliance, disobedience, dissent, and rebellion. And when it comes to things that would destroy our souls, that is exactly the right response.”

“Joy is not happiness on steroids. It is not happiness squared. … Joy is connected to God and reserved for those who are tapping into His reservoir, who are connected to His life. Joy is rooted in God and His kingdom, in the surety of His goodness, His love for us. It is immovable. Unshakable. Joy is available at all times, day and night, because God and His kingdom are always available to us. … Joy is the heartbeat of heaven, the very light that emanates from Jesus’ heart, so as we grow closer in relationship with God, we’ll also grow in joy.”

“Joy and breakthrough are not opposed to suffering But are available in the midst of it. Suffering is not a failure of faith on our part; its presence does not mean the absence of the presence of God. We can live with suffering and joy simultaneously.”

“Joy is deeply rooted in the availability of God and His kingdom right here, right now. Sometimes we find breakthrough. Sometimes we find a deeper knowing of God in our suffering.”

“Here is the truth we must remember in the middle of this sometimes painful healing process: we matter to the heart of God. He hasn’t taken His eyes off us. He thinks of us constantly. He has hopes and dreams for us. God planned on us before He made the stars, and He planned on us being His. He planned on us sharing our lives with Him on this wild adventure. And His plans are good.”

“God drops things in our laps at just the right time. He puts barriers in our paths that look like roadblocks but are really gifts in disguise, beckoning us to take a closer look at what’s going on inside of us. We can either step over them or choose to pick them up and examine them for the potential they may hold.”

“When the sadness refuses to be silenced and the feelings arise that this is not the life we had signed up for, we can either go to shame or go to God.”

I’ll be sharing more quotes in the near future, so stay tuned…

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: breakthrough, difficulties, God's love, happiness, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, no fear, potential, quotes, relationship, Stasi Eldredge, suffering, trials. 3 Comments »

Defiant Joy (book review)

January 15, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

I’m always intrigued by oxymorons. You probably know what these are—when two seemingly opposite things are put together to make something memorable. Like a fine mess, or deafening silence, or seriously funny. Or defiant joy.

Usually “joy” is paired with descriptives like pleasurable, or bubbly, or uncontainable. But “defiant”? Stasi Eldredge makes the case that we need to fight to hang on to joy—that our pursuit of joy against all odds should be, as her book is entitled, Defiant Joy.

Stasi shares many of her painful life lessons that led her to the conclusion that joy has to be clung to tenaciously or it can be stripped away quickly. Defiantly clinging to joy doesn’t mean a bury-your-head-in-the-sand denial view of life. It is facing the challenges squarely and honestly, and still recognizing that the joy Jesus gives is greater than those circumstances.

In fact, one of the first quotes Stasi shares in her book is this truism from C.S. Lewis: “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” Talk about a powerful oxymoron!

I so appreciate the transparency and candor Stasi exhibits as she pulls back the curtains of her own battles for joy. She honestly shares her darker moments with us, tells us where she’s still working, where’s she had breakthroughs, and the applicable lessons we can all use.

I’m sure everyone one of us will have to face joy-threatening circumstances. The principles in Defiant Joy will help you overcome those circumstances while still tenaciously clinging to joy. Read this book for yourself or read it with a friend going through a difficult time. You’ll be glad you did.

I’m a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.