Next Sunday, November 8, 2015, is a day of prayer for the persecuted church around the world. We should be praying for our Christian brothers and sisters all the time, but let’s especially join our prayers with others next Sunday.
![Persecuted Christians [2]](https://craigtowens.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/persecuted-christians-2.png)
Links & Quotes
September 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Paul says ‘whatever you do’—even down to such everyday things as taking a meal—do it in order to glorify God [1 Corinthians 10:31]. Apparently there are ways of using culture—our table manners, language, style of dress, way of working, how we drive our car and care for our homes, the use we make of TV and films, the emails we write, the phone calls in which we become involved, and all the rest of our culture—there are ways of using such everyday things that will allow us to signal to the world around us that we are aware of an obligation in such cultural activities that extends beyond our own puny selfish interests. We seek the glory of God in our use of culture.” —T.M. Moore
“To be fully free, we must have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make us happy forever. No regrets. And only Jesus, the Son of God Who died and rose for us, can make that possible. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed [John 8:31-32].” —John Piper
Here is what is sad to me, many people buy into what George Lord Byron wrote, speaking of Socrates: “Well didst thou speak, Athena’s wisest son, ‘All we know is nothing can be known.’” We can know through our relationship with Jesus Christ.
“Heaven will solve our problems, but not, I think, by showing us subtle reconciliations between all our apparently contradictory notions. The notions will all be knocked from under our feet. We shall see that there never was any problem.” —C.S. Lewis
“Pleasure is not a quick fix, it can be a thief, it will undermine happiness. Eventually, pleasure loses its pleasure and becomes a prison.” —Andy Stanley
If you have ever been hurt by your church, first of all: my heart breaks with yours … that should never have happened. But if it did, this post may help you in overcoming your hurt.
We must be in prayer! Every five minutes, a Christian is martyred for their faith somewhere in the world.
[VIDEO] J. Warner Wallace, a cold case detective, talks about how he uses his investigative skills to explain the origin of life from non-life—
Links & Quotes
August 6, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called ‘being in love’ usually does not last.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
“There must be nothing about our religion of our own inventing; it is for us to lay thought, and judgment, and opinion at the feet of Christ, and do what He bids us, simply because He gives the command.” —Charles Spurgeon
“The storms of life are no longer our point of reference when Jesus is our focal point.” —Dutch Sheets
Murray Vassar reminds Christians to speak up for morality!
“Policy, however, Sir, is not my principle, and I am not ashamed to say it. There is a principle above everything is political . . . And, Sir, when we think of eternity, and of the future consequences of all human conduct, what is there in this life that should make any man contradict the dictates of his conscience, the principles of justice, the laws of religion, and of God.” —William Wilberforce
Two imprisoned Christian pastors have been released from their prison sentence in Sudan. Kudos to the ACLJ!
J.Warner Wallace asks a great question: Can naturalism/evolution account for human dignity?
John Piper has a weighty post that is worth your time to read: satan and sodomy.
Links & Quotes
February 24, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Open Door USA reports that Christian persecution around the world has never been worse than it is now. We must pray!!
Here is a cool story about how God used some praying Christians to save a young girl from sex trafficking.
J. Warner Wallace says, “When [Richard] Dawkins and [Sam] Harris say we, as Christians, believe in something for which there is no supporting evidence, they simply betray their ignorance about the nature of evidence and the way in which detectives and prosecutors build cases.” Check out his post on the evidence that supports the Christian worldview.
Frank Viola has an encouraging word. He says, “If God has called you to a specific work, there is a time in which that work will find its greatest fulfillment and its widest impact.” Please read Your Time Has Not Yet Come.
“Angels might have wept as they saw the folly of men who sought anything except the Lord, Who alone can make a house His temple; Who alone can make a ministry to be a ministration of mercy; without Whose presence the most solemn congregation is but as the herding of men in the market, and the most melodious songs but as the shoutings of those who make merry at a marriage. Without the Lord, our solemn days, our new moons, and our appointed feasts, are an abomination such as His soul hates.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Remember always that religious emotion is only a servant.” ―C.S. Lewis
I love this! Like an experience from the Book of Acts is Pastor Saeed Abedini in his Iranian prison.
Craig Gross writes this about Fifty Shades Of Grey, “This is not a love story. This is not even an erotic story. This is a story of broken people continuing a cycle of dysfunction in their lives rather than dealing with their issues.” Read the rest of his post.
Links & Quotes
January 23, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
The Overview Bible Project has a great weekly email study to help you to learn more about each book of the Bible. Check this one out on the book of Jeremiah, and then subscribe.
This post really got me thinking: Islam & The First Amendment.
John Stonestreet says, “While…the days of throwing Christians to wild beasts in the arena may be behind us, the persecution of Christians around the world isn’t. In fact, the number of our brothers and sisters subjected to imprisonment, torture, and death for their faith in just the last twelve months dwarfs the number who suffered during the entire tenure of Nero” (emphasis mine). Read more about The War On Christians.
For anyone who works with youth, check out Tim Elmore’s post 6 Habits Of Lasting Leaders.
Did you know that that some 44,000 people have survived attempts to kill them through abortion?! Check out Eric Metaxas’ thoughts in Surviving Roe v. Wade.
Book Reviews From 2014
December 31, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Here are the books I read and reviewed in 2014. Click a title to read the review…
12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid
How Do You Kill 11 Million People?
Pleasure & Profit In Bible Study
Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power & Miracles
The Christian’s Secret Of A Happy Life
The Greatest Words Ever Spoken
The Illustrated Guide To The Authors Of The Bible
The Quick-Start Guide To The Whole Bible
Here are my book reviews for 2011.
Here are my book reviews for 2012.
Here are my book reviews for 2013.
Links & Quotes
November 29, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading from today…
This is tough reading, but very vital: How the normalization of pornography fuels the rape culture.
“What a gracious thing for us that Jesus Christ never thinks about what we have been! He always thinks about what we are going to be.” —A.W. Tozer
“So seldom does God find a Christian whose only goal in life is to know and to do His will—as Jesus did—and who never says, ‘God, where are You?’ but instead prays, ‘God, where am I in this matter of obedience and dependence?’” —David Wilkerson
“Remember Luther, Knox, Calvin, Wycliffe, Bradford, Latimer, and many others! Under God these men owed their liberty of speech and liberty of conscience to the fact that the world thrust them out from all hope of its favor, and so loosed their bonds.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Lay not fast hold upon the things of earth. He who is but a lodger in an inn must not live as though he were at home.” —Charles Spurgeon
Desiring God has released an updated version of The Pilgrim’s Progress with some cool features. If you download the ebook version, it’s free!
Links & Quotes
November 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
“With such prayer it is an absolute certainty that I must succeed with God in prayer. If my prayer were my own prayer, I might not be so sure of it, but if the prayer which I utter be God’s own prayer written on my soul, God is always one with Himself, and what He writes on the heart is only written there because it is written in His purposes.” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Jude 20
“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them.” —C.S. Lewis
Dr. James Dobson has 8 reminders for stressed parents.
“We must stand on every promise and pray in faith, effectually, fervently, without doubt, and then wait and rest, trusting the Lord to do what is right, in His time and His way. Few Christians today wait with patience for God to work in His time. The more it is delayed, the angrier some get. Some finally give up, thinking God doesn’t answer.” —David Wilkerson
A university scientist is fired for publishing a peer-reviewed paper in a respected scientific journal that dares (gasp!) to mention that the biblical Flood might account for a specific finding he had made. The scientific community is becoming more and more touchy about anything that disproves their tenuous beliefs in an Earth that is anything less than billions of years old.
Continue to pray for Asia Bibi, who is appealing her death sentence in Pakistan. Her crime? She is a Christian. Also please consider supporting the American Center for Law & Justice who is helping Asia, and many others like her.
[INFOGRAPHIC] Have I mentioned that I am a huge fan of The Overview Bible Project? I love this infographic and insight into the biblical authors.
Links & Quotes
September 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
“Remember that desires after God will not change you so as to save you. You must find Christ. Remember that to say, ‘I will arise’ is not enough, nor even to arise; you must never rest till your Father has given you the kiss, till He has put on you the best robe. I am afraid lest you should rest satisfied and say, ‘I am in a bad state; the minister tells me that many are brought to such a state before they are saved. I will stop here.’ My dear friend, it is a good state to pass through, but it is a bad state to rest in. I pray you never be content with a sense of sin, never be satisfied with merely knowing that you are not what you ought to be. It never cures the fever for a man to know he has it; his knowledge is in some degree a good sign, for it proves that the fever has not yet driven him to delirium; but it never gives a man perfect health to know that he is sick. It is a good thing for him to know it, for he will not otherwise send for the physician; but unless it leads to that, he will die whether he feels himself to be sick or not.” —Charles Spurgeon
“We live at a fever pitch, and whether we are erecting buildings, laying highways, promoting athletic events, celebrating special days or welcoming returning heroes we always do it with an exaggerated flourish. Our building will be taller, our highway broader, our athletic contest more colorful, our celebration more elaborate and more expensive than would be true anywhere else on earth. We walk faster, drive faster, earn more, spend more and run higher blood pressure than any other people in the world. In only one field of human interest are we slow and apathetic: that is the field of personal religion. There for some strange reason our enthusiasm lags. Church people habitually approach the matter of their personal relation to God in a dull, half-hearted way which is altogether out of keeping with their general temperament and wholly inconsistent with the importance of the subject.” —A.W. Tozer
[VIDEO] John Maxwell says, if you don’t have a hero, be a hero for yourself.
“When the threat of death becomes a door to paradise the final barrier to temporal risk is broken. When a Christian says from the heart, ‘To live is Christ and to die is gain,’ he is free to love no matter what. Some forms of radical Islam may entice martyr-murderers with similar dreams, but Christian hope is the power to love, not kill. Christian hope produces life-givers, not life-takers. The crucified Christ calls His people to live and die for their enemies, as He did. The only risks permitted by Christ are the perils of love. ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you’ (Luke 6:27-28).” —John Piper
Links & Quotes
August 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
Surveys show that Christians who support same-sex “marriage” are also much more open to other unbiblical lifestyles. Read John Stonestreet’s post Package Deal.
“Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, Who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness.” —John Calvin
“God has provided His salvation that we might be, individually and personally, vibrant children of God, loving God with all our hearts and worshiping Him in the beauty of holiness.” —A.W. Tozer
Timely reading: Suicide Prevention Tips From A Survivor.
[VIDEO] Inspiring speech from a Little League coach after his team was eliminated from the Little League World Series.
I never thought I’d read the New York Times ask this question: Who Will Stand Up For The Christians?
Want A Happy Marriage? Here are three important things.
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