kindness | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

November 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from the last couple of days …

“The blood of Jesus can cover your sins, but it does not make you dependent on Him. Miracles can deliver you from satan’s power, but they can’t make you dependent. You can be led by God and still not lean wholly upon the Lord. God has to strip us of all self-assurance and destroy all that remains of self-righteousness, spiritual pride and boasting. He must (and He does) humiliate all who are destined to inherit His great spiritual blessings.” —David Wilkerson

Fast Company shares why thankful people are happier and healthier. And Dr. Tim Elmore shares 5 ways leaders can show gratitude.

“May God grant that no doctrinal belief may ever dry up the milk of human kindness in our souls! … May we feel that no dogma can be scriptural which is not consistent with a sincere love to men.” —Charles Spurgeon

“The enemy never quite knows how to deal with a humble man; he is so used to dealing with proud, stubborn people that a meek man upsets his timetable. And furthermore, the man of true humility has God fighting on his side—who can win against God?” —A.W. Tozer

“The problem with problems is that they always keep us from focusing on opportunities.” Read more of Seth Godin’s post The Problem With Problems.

Links & Quotes

October 27, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from today…

“The book of Romans in a sentence: Because you were condemned (1:1 – 3:20) and God justified you (3:21-5:21), empowered you to be distinct (6-8), and explained His plan to keep His promises to Abraham (9-11), it is right for you to submit your life for Divine inspection (12:1-2), and live the life of a real believer (12:2-16:27).” —Dr. Randall D. Smith

[INFOGRAPHIC] I love the Bible study tools from The Overview Bible Project! Check out this one on the main characters in Genesis.

A great story about a marathon runner who intentionally loses the race.

The co-founder of The Weather Channel blasts the “global warming” crowd.

“It is too bad that anything so obvious should need to be said at this late date, but from all appearances, we Christians have about forgotten the lesson so carefully taught by Paul: God’s servants are not to be competitors, but co-workers.” —A.W. Tozer

“The truth is that evil is not a real thing at all, like God. It is simply good spoiled. That is why I say there can be good without evil, but no evil without good. You know what the biologists mean by a parasite—an animal that lives on another animal. Evil is a parasite. It is there only because good is there for it to spoil and confuse.” —C.S. Lewis

“Love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.” —C.S. Lewis

“In our time we have all kinds of status symbols in the Christian church—membership, attendance, pastoral staff, missionary offerings. But there is only one status symbol that should make a Christian congregation genuinely glad. That is to know that our Lord is present, walking in our midst!” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Bible, Bible study, C.S. Lewis, Christian, church, emotion, evil, Genesis, God's presence, infographic, kindness, love, marathon, parasite, quotes, Romans, science, sportsmanship, The Overview Bible Project. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

September 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading & watching from this weekend…

“Our mistake is that we want God to send revival on our terms. We want to get the power of God into our hands, to call it to us that it may work for us in promoting and furthering our kind of Christianity. We want still to be in charge, guiding the chariot through the religious sky in the direction we want it to go, shouting ‘Glory to God,’ it is true, but modestly accepting a share of the glory for ourselves in a nice inoffensive sort of way. We are calling on God to send fire on our altars, completely ignoring the fact that they are our altars and not God’s.” —A.W. Tozer

Eric Metaxas has a great take on depression in his post Depression And Black Dog Beliefs.

[VIDEO] I’m not a huge Duck Dynasty fan, but this short quote from Phil Robertson is pure gold!

Paleontologists has found the bones of a huge dinosaur called Dreadnoughtus, that was bigger than a 737 airplane! It sounds a lot like what God described to Job.

Earth has a new address. Our home supercluster is called Laniakea (for the Hawaiian word meaning immeasurable heaven).

Whether you are a Detroit Tigers fan or not, this is a great story about teammates and friends.

“We are atheists in this matter of prayer compared to the early church. Many today look upon secret prayer as hard work and boring, so they do it only occasionally. Can you imagine a husband and wife living in the same house, hardly ever speaking and yet in public speaking as if they were intimate? So some treat our blessed Lord! Prayer, hidden secret prayer, is the mightiest weapon God has given His people; yet it is neglected, disdained, and seldom used.” —David Wilkerson

“Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return.” —Emmanuel Swedenborg

“Now if God be wisdom, as truth and Scripture testify, then a true philosopher is a lover of God.” —Augustine

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, astronomy, atheist, Augustine, baseball, Bible, Creation, David Wilkerson, depression, Detroit Tigers, dinosaurs, Eric Metaxas, friends, God's wisdom, kindness, paleontology, Phil Robertson, philosophy, prayer, quotes, revival, science, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some interesting reading from this weekend…

A very informative piece on the history of Israel.

“Some ministers today preach only a positive message. To hear them tell it, every Christian is getting instant answers to prayer and receiving miracles; everybody is feeling good, living well; and the whole world is bright and rosy. I like to hear that kind of preaching because I really desire all those good and healthy things for God’s people. But that is not the way things are for a great number of very honest, sincere Christians.” Read more in David Wilkerson’s post At The Breaking Point.

[PHOTO] 100 random acts of kindness almost anyone could do.

“Judgment is God’s job. To assume otherwise is to assume God can’t do it. God has not asked us to settle the score or get even. Ever!” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Judgment Is God’s Job.

Pretty cool: researchers are discovering ways to restore brain function after an injury.

You may have seen the headlines that claimed children with same-sex parents fared better than children in traditional homes. Hold on a second: the research was flawed.

Regis Nicoll asks a great question: How Should Churches Receive Same-Sex Couples?

These kinds of atrocious reports about Planned Parenthood’s irresponsibility make me angry! Any why are my tax dollars funding this?!?

One of the basic propositions that supposedly makes evolution work is that things remain relatively the same over long periods of time. Yet here is another scientific study telling us that things haven’t remained the same.

“The people with the calculators have seen the problem, but they have not seen God. They have figured things out, but they have not figured God in.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, abortion, Bible, brain, children, Christianity, church, Creator, David Wilkerson, evolution, exploited children, faith, family, history, homosexuality, Israel, judgement, kindness, love, marriage, Max Lucado, medical science, miracles, parenting, pastors, Planned Parenthood, prayer, pro-life, quotes, research, revenge. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Pass It On

June 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Have you had a kindness shown?

Pass it on;

‘Twas not giv’n for thee alone,

Pass it on;

Let it travel down the years,

Let it wipe another’s tears;

Till in Heav’n the deed appears,

Pass it on.

Pass it on, pass it on!

Cheerful word of loving deed,

Pass it on,

Live for self, you live in vain;

Live for Christ, you live again,

Live for Him, with Him you reign.

Pass it on.

Did you hear the loving word?

Pass it on;

Like the singing of a bird?

Pass it on;

Let its music live and grow,

Let it cheer another’s woe;

You have reaped what others sow,

Pass it on.

Have you found the heav’nly light?

Pass it on;

Souls are groping in the night,

Daylight gone, daylight gone!

Hold your lighted lamp on high,

Be a star in someone’s sky,

He may live who else would die,

Pass it on. —Henry Burton

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: encouragement, Heaven, Henry Burton, Jesus Christ, kindness, love, music, poetry. Leave a Comment »

Adopted By God

March 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

We have been working through our series on the Book of Ephesians, and I am so excited to share the speaking responsibilities with Tom Kaastra. Tom pastored a church in the Detroit area for nearly 40 years, and he is bringing such a richness of knowledge to this series!

“If you had one son in whom you found unspeakable delight, would it not be normal as a father to want many more? It is exactly so with the Eternal Father, Who by nature and choice, has desired and purposed to have a vast family of human-divine sons who are just like His Only Begotten Son.” —DeVern Fromke

The opening section of Ephesians 1 is just loaded with words of God’s delight:

…it gave Him great pleasure… (v. 5)
…the glorious grace He has poured out on us… (v. 6)
…He is so rich in kindness and grace… (v. 7)
…He has showered His kindness on us… (v. 8)
…His own good pleasure… (v. 9)

Not only is God’s delight so ample in this section, but so is be the praise toward God which should be bursting out from us:

…all praise to God… (v. 3)
…so we praise God… (v. 6)
…we bring praise and glory to God… (v. 12)
…we would praise and glorify Him… (v. 14)

What is this thing in which God is so delighted, and for which we should be so filled with praise?

It is quite simply this: God has revealed Himself to us as a loving Father, His Son has made it possible for us to come into God’s family, and the Holy Spirit has given us the assurance that we have been adopted by our Heavenly Father.

That’s right … God’s plan was to adopt you into His family. When did He come up with this idea?

…before He made the world… (v. 4)
…God decided in advance to adopt us… (v. 5)
…a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure… (v. 9)
…He choose us in advance and He makes everything work out according to His plan… (v. 11)
…He promised long ago… (v. 13)

God loves YOU so much that He had a plan from before the beginning of time to adopt YOU into His family. That’s what Jesus made possible through His death on the Cross, and what the Holy Spirit is constantly trying to reveal to YOU!! WOW!!

Please join us next Sunday as we continue our study on this amazing book in the Bible.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: adoption, Bible, Calvary Assembly of God, Cross, delight, DeVern Fromke, Ephesians, God's glory, God's joy, God's pleasure, God's purpose, grace, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, kindness, praise, salvation, Scripture, sermon. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

February 17, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

What the what? An App To Help You While Out On A Date

“God deserves to be served with all the energy of which we are capable. If the service of God is worth anything, it is worth everything.” —Charles Spurgeon

For you Detroit Tigers fans: When Willie Horton Walked Out On The Tigers

[VIDEO] A cool interaction between a garbage collector and an autistic boy

Interesting: How Millionaires Manage Their Time

Good reminder from Jeff Bonzelaar: satan Serves God

“No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.” —Isaac Newton

“Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power.” —Baron Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), German chemist

[VIDEO] My daughter asks Seth to Swirl: Will You Be My Date?

Links & Quotes

February 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

Christians need to learn church history: 10 Reasons To Know A Little Bit Of Church History

“If I am not so much at ease as I ought to be, because my faith is dim, yet I am equally safe because the Lord’s eye is not dim, and He sees the blood of the great Sacrifice with steady gaze. What a joy is this!” —Charles Spurgeon

“Labels, labels, labels. I’m glad Jesus referred to people as people. He never mentioned His friend being a coward; He simply called him Peter. He never referred to the woman who loved Him deeply as a prostitute; He just called her Mary Magdalene.” —Joni Eareckson Tada

David Wilkerson wrote, “A person’s countenance is the outward expression of what is in his heart.”: More And More Like Jesus

Amazing! Anonymous Customer Leaves Waitresses $15,000 Tip

Planned Parenthood is embarrassed about abortions: Read about their donation appeal letter

[VIDEO] Benedict Cumberbatch On Sesame Street

Danger! How Obamacare Will Drive People Out Of The Workforce

Great news! Missing Children Rescued From Super Bowl Sex Trade In FBI Sting

Love Is… (part 1)

February 11, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

The greatest definition of love in the history of mankind is given to us in 1 Corinthians 13. This is the “gold standard” to which all of us should strive to pattern our lives.

But notice that right at the beginning, Paul says, “Love IS” (verse 4). Not love feels good or even love does; but love is. Love is not love because it makes us feel good. Love is not love because we did something nice. Love is love because it measures up to this standard in 1 Corinthians.

Here are the first five attributes of love.

Love is patient

Patient love doesn’t lose heart, but stays hopeful.
It endures patiently and bravely in enduring misfortune and disappointment.
“It can endure evil, injury, and provocation, without being filled with resentment, indignation, or revenge.” —Matthew Henry

Love is kind

It is pleasant and courteous.
It both seizes opportunities and makes opportunities to show kindness.
…as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)

Love is catching others doing something good

The biblical phrase is love is not envious, but I want to turn the positive into a negative. Far too often we Christians are known more for what we against, not what we’re for. So the positive way of saying this: we rejoice when others succeed. Or, we catch them doing something good.

Love is complementing others

Again, we turn the negative love does not boast into a positive, and say love complements others.
Agape raises the value of the object of its love.

Love is others-focused

Again, turning the negative love is not proud into a positive.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

Here’s where the real test comes in: How will you apply these attributes of love to someone in your life? More specifically: to someone you think is “unloveable”?

I know you have someone in your life that you think is unloveable. With that person’s face clearly in mind, how will you fill in the blanks:

I can show patience by…
I can be kind to them by…
I can rejoice in their success in this area…
I can applaud them in their…
I can see them becoming…

If you would like a downloadable PDF of this worksheet, click here –> Love is… worksheet 1

If you missed any of the messages in our Loving the Unlovable series, you can check them all our here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians 13, agape, Calvary Assembly of God, complement, kindness, love, Matthew Henry, patience, Philippians, Romans, sermon. 2 Comments »

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Craig T. Owens

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Poetry Saturday—Pass It On

Adopted By God

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