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I am proud of my Pentecostal heritage. Both my parents and grandparents grew up in the Assemblies of God, and saw firsthand powerful moves of God. This year (2014) marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the A/G fellowship. Check out this video from 1964 when the A/G was celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Like A River
July 31, 2014 — Craig T. OwensLinks & Quotes
July 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading (and watching) from today…
This year will mark the centennial celebration of the Assemblies of God fellowship. I am so blessed to have this as not only my heritage, but my current affiliation as well. This video was made at the 50th anniversary … what a rich history!
“The part of wisdom is to accept our Christian brothers and sisters for what they are rather than for what they should be. … An old Italian proverb says, ‘He that will have none but a perfect brother must resign himself to remain brotherless.’ However earnestly we may desire that our Christian brother go on toward perfection, we must accept him as he is and learn to get along with him. To treat an imperfect brother impatiently is to advertise our own imperfections.” —A.W. Tozer
“The wise man does nothing but what can be done openly and without falseness, nor does he do anything whereby he may involve himself in any wrong-doing, even where he may escape notice. For he is guilty in his own eyes before being so in the eyes of others; and the publicity of his crime does not bring him more shame than his own consciousness of it.” —Ambrose
Mark Atteberry says he is hopelessly uncool. I pray I am too!
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is so out of touch! And to think, our taxes dollars fund this sort of nonsense!
When I read this article about dinosaur extinction, all I could think of was: “If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas!”
“The Centre for the Study of Global Christianity in the United States estimates that 100,000 Christians now die every year, targeted because of their faith—that is 11 every hour. The Pew Research Center says that hostility to religion reached a new high in 2012, when Christians faced some form of discrimination in 139 countries, almost three-quarters of the world’s nations.” Read more of this eye-opening article.
Links & Quotes
July 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading from this weekend…
“What most Americans—and the world—hear about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas goes something like this: ‘125 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza. No Israelis have yet been killed.’ This may be true, but there is absolutely no context to it. One must look at the methodologies of the two sides.” Read more in this post: The Moral Difference Between Israel And Hamas.
If Planned Parenthood did so much work to prevent women from needing abortions, then why are they the nationwide leaders in performing abortions?! Read how Planned Parenthood responded to their certificate of death award.
“Christianity at any given time is strong or weak depending upon her concept of God. … Our religion is little because our god is little. Our religion is weak because our god is weak. Our religion is ignoble because the god we serve is ignoble. We do not see God as He is…. A local church will only be as great as its conception of God. An individual Christian will be a success or a failure depending upon what he or she thinks of God.” —A.W. Tozer
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
“Give us a pure heart, that we may see Thee, a humble heart, that we may hear Thee, a heart of love, that we may serve Thee, a heart of faith, that we may live Thee, Thou, Whom I do not know, but Whose I am.” —Dag Hammarskjöld
“Whether we call ourselves classical evangelicals, traditionalists, fundamentalists, Pentecostals, or charismatics, we all have to face our lack of real power and call out for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. We need the fresh wind of God to awaken us from our lethargy. We must not hide any longer behind some theological argument. The days are too dark and dangerous.” —Jim Cymbala
Links & Quotes
July 14, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
[VIDEO] Derek Jeter has been a classy baseball player (even if he does play for the Yankees!). This Nike video tribute to The Captain is also very classy and well deserved. #Re2pect
[VIDEO] This is a lot of fun: Toy Wars.
I have to agree with this: Israel’s ‘Reasonable’ Response To Hamas.
“For real business at the mercy seat give me a homemade prayer, a prayer that comes out of the depths of your heart, not because you invented it, but because the Holy Spirit put it there. Though your words are broken and your sentences disconnected, God will hear you. Perhaps you can pray better without words than with them. There are prayers that break the backs of words; they are too heavy for any human language to carry.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Generous pastors lead generous churches, and generous churches embody the true Spirit of Christ, Who gave Himself a ransom for all.” —T.M. Moore
“Dr. Horton was a giant, not because of his impressive achievements, but because he embodied what it meant to have a servant’s heart. I pray that his legacy of godliness and servanthood live on in future generations of Pentecostal scholars.” Read more about the life of Dr. Stanley Horton.
This is a hard-hitting piece, but it is definitely on-target. Too many churches are selling out on the pro-life message. Read Faith & Forceps.
“…While man and woman are equally valuable in God’s image, and while both of them have essential and satisfying roles to play in the drama of God-exalting human life, nevertheless men bear a primary (not solitary) responsibility for leadership and protection and provision in the human race. Therefore they bear a representative role when it comes to accountability (Genesis 3:9; Romans 5:12-14). This unique calling is a responsibility to bear in sacrificial love, not a right to seize in dominating power. Where it is embraced with servantlike, Christ-honoring courage, and supported by women with faith-filled, fearless, intelligent joy, the best harmony of man and woman prevails.”—John Piper
Be A Witness
July 7, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Jesus said we have some really, really, REALLY good news to share! It’s news about how much God loves us and wants us to know Him personally.
Jesus wanted us to spread the word far and wide about this really, really, REALLY good news, but He didn’t want us to try to do it in our own power. In fact, the last words He spoke to His disciples before ascending into Heaven were—
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
Did you catch those words: power TO BE witnesses. The Holy Spirit provides us with the resident, miracle-working, moral, influential, and enabling power not to do witnessing, but to be witnesses.
“The Pentecostal believer is to be something, not just experience something. He or she must become a living witness of Christ on earth.” —Charles Crabtree
There are really two ways that we are witnesses for Him. Our witness is:
(1) Strategic
- The New Testament believers strategically met house-to-house and in the Temple (Acts 2:46).
- The church strategically picked leaders to help them be effective in their witness (Acts 6:2-3).
- The Holy Spirit strategically picked missionaries to be witnesses in far-off lands (Acts 13:2-3).
- Those missionaries were strategic in following up on their witnessing work (Acts 15:36).
(2) Spontaneous
- The newly Spirit-baptized believers were able to spontaneously worship God (Acts 2:4) and testify of His power to others (Acts 2:14).
- Peter could spontaneously respond to the crowd’s question after Peter had finished his sermon (Acts 2:37-39).
- Peter and John had a spontaneous reply when the Sanhedrin called them in to testify (Acts 4:8).
- This spontaneous witnessing power was available to them through the Holy Spirit just as Jesus had promised (Matthew 10:17-20).
If we try to just do witnessing, our strategy will be lacking and we’ll quite possibly be caught off-guard in a spontaneous setting. But when we allow the Holy Spirit’s power to transform us TO BE witnesses, our strategies are more effective and our spontaneous moments are too! The Holy Spirit helps us share the really, really, REALLY good news!
4 Quotes About Witnessing Empowerment
July 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
These are the quotes I shared in my message this morning as we wrapped up our series on Pentecost Power. Any of the emphasis in the quotes is mine.
“The strength of the church is not the strength of its institutions but the authenticity of its witness.” —Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola
“The Pentecostal believer is to be something, not just experience something. He or she must become a living witness of Christ on earth.” —Charles Crabtree
“Your very presence should bring such a witness of the Spirit that everyone with whom you come in contact would know that you are a sent one, a light in the world, a manifestation of the Christ, and last of all, a biblical Christian.” —Smith Wigglesworth
“If I may be baptized with the Holy Spirit, I must be. If I am baptized with the Holy Spirit then will souls be saved through my instrumentality who are not so saved if I am not so baptized. If then I am not willing to pay the price of this baptism, and therefore am not so baptized, I am responsible before God for all the souls that might have been saved but were not saved through me because I was not baptized with the Holy Spirit. … There is nothing more deadly than the Gospel without the Spirit’s power. ‘The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.’ It is awfully solemn business [witnessing] either from the pulpit or in quieter ways. It means death or life to those who hear, and whether it means death or life depends very largely on whether we do so without or with the baptism with the Holy Spirit. We must be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” —R.A. Torrey
Links & Quotes
June 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading from today…
“A good mind is also a good possession. And, further, a pure inner life is a valuable possession. Hedge in, then, this possession of thine, enclose it with thought, guard it with thorns, that is, with pious care, lest the fierce passions of the flesh should rush upon it and lead it captive, lest strong emotions should assault it, and, overstepping their bounds, carry off its vintage.” —Ambrose of Milan
“Unlike in physics and chemistry, very few of the findings in the social sciences can be characterized as incontrovertible. But there’s one major exception: the impact of fatherlessness on American children. To name but a few grim examples, 63 percent of teen suicides are from fatherless homes; 90 percent of homeless children and runaways are from fatherless homes; and 71 percent of all high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.” —Eric Metaxas
Great historial article: What Can Pentecostals Learn From John Wesley?
A former abortion worker testifies, “We would find women’s weaknesses and work on them” to convince them to have an abortion.
Joel Osteen says he doesn’t like the term “prosperity preacher” applied to him, and then describes what he believes (which sounds a lot like a prosperity doctrine to me!). John Piper debunks this garbage better than I can in this video.
4 Ways Selfishness Ruins Your Life.
[VIDEO] Ted Cruz blasts the attempt by Democrat Senators to obliterate the First Amendment.
“We only know God in His works, but we are forced by science to admit and to believe with absolute confidence in a Directive Power—in an influence other than physical, or dynamical, or electrical forces.” —William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)
Holy Fire (book review)
June 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
I believe the subtitle of R.T. Kendall’s book Holy Fire is the most apt description of this work: A Balanced, Biblical Look at the Holy Spirit’s Work in Our Lives. Truly this book is both biblical and balanced.
“I am writing this book (1) to introduce the Holy Spirit as if you did not know very much about Him, (2) to show the inconsistency of the teaching of some evangelicals, but (3) also to warn you of strange fire that is about,” says Dr. Kendall.
It seems lately there is a great deal of UNbalance when discussing the Holy Spirit, and much “theology” being preached which doesn’t have a firm biblical foundation. Some want to emphasize the Spirit’s role so much that they almost exclude God the Father and God the Son. Others want to so downplay the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives today that they have almost become binitarians. Kendall stated, “The Holy Spirit does not belong to you. Are you Charismatic? He is bigger than your signs and wonders event. Are you Reformed? He will not be limited by your theology.”
Sticking close to the words of Scripture, R.T. Kendall walks us through the various roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He brings in the insights of other notable thinkers from Martin Luther, to John Calvin, to Jonathan Edwards, to George Whitefield, and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Even for someone like me who grew up in the Pentecostal tradition, I learned so much from this book!
Holy Fire is not written in a scholarly tone, but in a conversational style that made me feel I was talking with R.T. Kendall. This allowed me to drink in what Rev. Kendall was saying, process it, compare it with Scripture, and reach my own conclusions.
An excellent book that is very timely for the Christian era in which we currently live. Whether your background is Pentecostal or Reformed, there is so much to be learned from Holy Fire.
Links & Quotes
April 9, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some great reading from today.
“What satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” —C.S. Lewis
“Leadership requires vision, and whence will vision come except from hours spent in the presence of God in humble and fervent prayer?” —A.W. Tozer
[INFOGRAPHIC] Christ’s activities during the Passion Week.
I am proud of my heritage in the Assemblies of God, which is celebrating its centennial this year. Read the history of the fellowship’s creation here and here.
[VIDEO] Logan finds out he’s going to be a big brother.
Astronomers may have found some dark matter at the center of our galaxy. That’s cool, but if we can accept this science by faith, why can’t we accept the biblical version by faith?
Research says forgiving yourself makes you healthier physically.
“When should a Christian, then, be like Jesus Christ? Is there a time when he may strip off his regimentals—when the warrior may unbuckle his armor, and become like other men? Oh! no; at all times, and in every place let the Christian be what he professes to be.” —Charles Spurgeon
Links & Quotes
February 15, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
May God have mercy! Belgium Parliament Approves Euthanasia For Children
[VIDEO] Nailed it: Jon Stewart Calls Out Obama For Corrupt Ambassador Choices
Watch out! 7 Times Obama Ignored The Law With His Executive Orders
“The Christian who goes out without faith in ‘wonders’ will return without fruit. No one dare be so rash as to seek to do impossible things unless he has first been empowered by the God of the impossible. ‘The power of the Lord was there’ is our guarantee of victory.” —A.W. Tozer
Tim Elmore prepares us: Welcome To Our McCulture
So excited!! The Assembly of God and the United Pentecostal Council of the Assemblies of God Unite
Ronald & Nancy Reagan loved each other deeply: Valentine′s Day Advice From Ronald Reagan
“Our blunder (or shall we frankly say our sin?) has been to neglect the doctrine of the Spirit to a point where we virtually deny Him His place in the Godhead. This denial has not been by open doctrinal statement, for we have clung closely enough to the Biblical position wherever our credal pronouncements are concerned. Our formal creed is sound; the breakdown is in our working creed. This is not a trifling distinction. A doctrine has practical value only as far as it is prominent in our thoughts and makes a difference in our lives. By this test the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as held by evangelical Christians today has almost no practical value at all. In most Christian churches the Spirit is quite entirely overlooked. Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone. Brief reference is made to Him in the Doxology and the Benediction. Further than that He might as well not exist. So completely do we ignore Him that it is only by courtesy that we can be called Trinitarian. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity boldly declares the equality of the Three Persons and the right of the Holy Spirit to be worshipped and glorified. Anything less than this is something less than Trinitarianism.” —A.W. Tozer
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