Mark Driscoll | Craig T. Owens

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Prayer Focus: Elections

September 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As this week marks the beginning of a “new year,” (as students are heading back to school and we’re all settling in to our fall routines), we are taking time to focus our prayers.

Today’s pray focus is on our governmental elections.

Election day in the United States is just two months away. As Christians we have a responsibility to pray for those who are in authority over us. We have a responsibility to know where political candidates stand on the issues. And we have a responsibility to vote. We can also pray that God will raise up leaders who call on His help and honor His Word in their decisions.

I love praying Scriptures. Here is an important passage related to today’s prayer focus—

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. (1 Peters 2:13-17)

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Mark Driscoll has an excellent post called Pray For Our Leaders. He says,

We should be informed citizens who take our privilege of voting seriously. Our involvement with the political process is what makes the form of government in the United States work. But God has something much more in mind for us when it comes to our political involvement.

When it comes to politics, there is one thing in particular that pleases God. What pleases God is that we pray for our leaders, regardless of who they are and what political party they represent.

I encourage you to read the rest of Pastor Mark’s post by clicking here.

UPDATE: Here are the things we prayed for today…

Week of prayer – government

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: government, Mark Driscoll, politics, prayer. Leave a Comment »

6 Quotes from “Porn-Again Christian”

May 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Earlier today I posted a review of Porn-Again Christian: A Frank Discussion on Pornography and Masturbation. Here are some of the quotes from this book that really caught my eye

“Simply, according to God, marriage and sex are related, connected, and exclusive.”

“The cold hard truth is that most guys’ struggles are only known by their fellow Christian buddies and unless Christian dudes man up and stop arguing about stupid secondary theological issues and spend their energies holding one another accountable to get dominion over their underwear, then Christian friendship is nothing more than Christian fakery.”

“The act of lusting after the unclothed body of a woman is not a sin. The issue is which woman’s unclothed body you are lusting after. If she is your bride, then you are simply making the Song of Songs sing again to God’s glory and your joy. If she is not your bride, then you are simply sinning. It was God who clothed our mother Eve after her sin, and it is Eve’s daughters who undress themselves for themselves for the camera in violation of God’s desire that the female bodies he formed be seen only in their full glory by their husbands.”

“Pornography has the sad effect of objectifying people into objects with parts, thereby divorcing a person from their body and consequently diminishing their dignity.”

“The Bible is emphatically clear that God’s men should abstain from certain sins that war against their souls. First, God’s men should not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Second, God’s men should not covet their neighbor’s wife, even if her clothes leave little to the imagination (Exodus 20:17). Third, God’s men should not participate with prostitutes who use their bodies as a commodity to be rented for a good time or a good photo (Proverbs 23:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:15-16). Fourth, God’s men should not be polygamous, because their father Adam and Head Jesus each had one bride (Eve and the Church). Fifth, God’s men should not be fornicators who slide their hands, which God made to lift up in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8), up the shirt of their girlfriend, even if she asks (1 Corinthians 6:9-13).”

“Eve may or may not have been beautiful, but to Adam she was glorious because she was all he had ever known. Practically, he had no standard of beauty to compare his bride to—she was his only standard of beauty. In creation, we see the wise pattern that for every man his standard of beauty is not to be objectified, but rather it should simply be his wife. This means that if a man has a tall, skinny red-headed wife then that is sexy for him, and if his neighbor has a short, curvy brunette wife than that is sexy for him. Pornographic lust exists to elicit coveting and dissatisfaction that no woman can satisfy because she cannot be tall and short, endowed and waifish, black and white, young and old, like the harem laid out in pornography.”

Christian men, you MUST read this book!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, Adam & Eve, book review, Exodus, Mark Driscoll, marriage, masturbation, pornography, proverbs, sexual purity. Leave a Comment »

Porn-Again Christian (book review)

May 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

The title of this book should let you know that it’s a PG-13 topic. And by that, I mean that Dads should be discussing these topics with their sons by the time they are 13 years old. Mark Driscoll is simply brilliant in Porn-Again Christian: A Frank Discussion on Pornography and Masturbation.

The Bible has the best ideas for not only safe sex, but for the most enjoyable sex. In fact, as Pastor Mark points out, the Bible is more explicit on the topic of married sexual relations than most pastors are!

God is the Creator. He only creates what is good. satan is a counterfeiter and a plagiarist. Anything that is good and will bring glory to God (like a marriage that is sexually satisfying), satan will pervert and distort and mar in his attempt to keep people from glorifying God and finding their fullest satisfaction in Him. This book uncovers the lies and calls biblical truth to the forefront.

Porn-Again Christian is written directly to Christian men. It is a wake-up call for these men to become real men and take the biblical lead in maintaining purity, in increasing the level of intimacy in their marriage, and in teaching their children the difference between God’s truth and the devil’s lies.

Guys, there is no excuse for you to not read this book. You can click here to get the ebook version for FREE. The book is not very long, and you should be able to read it rather quickly. Look up the Scriptures Pastor Mark shares in this book, and then be the man God created you to be: the man who will say “No!” to the lies this culture has bought into about sex and pornography, and who will say “Yes!” to the fulfilling, satisfying relationship God intended your marriage to be.

Dads, this would be a great resource for you to use with your teenage son (and perhaps even your pre-teen son, if you deem it necessary).

C’mon men, let’s do it God’s way!

P.S. To whet your appetite for this book, I have shared some quotes that really caught my attention.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, Mark Driscoll, marriage, masturbation, pornography, sexual purity, sexuality. 1 Comment »

Thanksgiving Leftovers

November 25, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I read a couple of blog posts yesterday, and I wanted to share some great Thanksgiving reminders with you. After all, yesterday wasn’t the only day of the year to give thanks, right?

Dr. Tim Elmore offers a great question for determining what we’re really thankful for: What have I been talking about recently that expresses my gratitude?

“Pause for a moment and think about it. You would likely never talk to a stranger downtown in a big city—unless you lost your child and can’t find them anywhere. Suddenly, you’ll talk to anyone who will listen and help.

“You probably wouldn’t talk to a person who lived in another neighborhood that you’ve never met, unless you saw their house on fire. Suddenly, it changes everything. You would gladly find a way to intrude and warn them.

“The reason you would talk to those people is because you feel strongly about your child and about the safety of people. That is a conviction in your life. Convictions are deeper than ideas or opinions. They are strongly held beliefs that you take action for, and perhaps would even die for.”

Seth Godin suggests that the best way to show how thankful we are is to do good work.

“For every person reading this there are a thousand people (literally a thousand) in underprivileged nations and situations that would love to have your slot. Don’t waste it.”

And Mark Driscoll shares “some verses from the Bible on thankfulness for you to digest on this day of feasting.”