A Checklist For Growth

March 5, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

Take just a moment to read these words from the apostle Peter—

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. … Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…. (2 Peter 3:14, 17-18)

How do I know I’m looking forward and growing? Here’s a checklist that needs to be reviewed regularly:

  • Am I spending more time preparing for my future than I am repairing my past?
  • Do I know that growth is both hard and rewarding work?
  • Do even the littlest of sins disturb me, rob me of peace, and send me quickly to confession and repentance?
  • Do I filter all my reading, studying, and learning through the standard of Scripture?
  • Is my faith stronger now than it was a year ago?
  • Am I exhibiting more Christ-like characteristics—grace, forgiveness, patience—now than I was last year?
  • Am I thrilled every time I get to learn more about Jesus?
  • Am I more reliant on the Holy Spirit now than I have been in the past, and do I converse with Him more frequently?
  • Would those closest to me say that I am becoming more like Jesus?

I hope we can all answer “Yes” to more and more of these items!

Growth is not automatic—this is especially true for spiritual growth. Growth must be intentional or it will not happen. I want to keep going forward in Christ!

May we add our “Amen” to Peter’s prayer: May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:2).

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Thursdays With Oswald—Helping Me Do What God Desires

January 31, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

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

Helping Me Do What God Desires

     My spirit has no power in itself to lay hold of God; but when the Spirit of God comes into my spirit, He energizes my spirit, then the rest depends upon me. If I do not obey the Spirit of God and bring into the light the wrong things He reveals and let Him deal with them, I shall grieve Him, and may grieve Him away. 

     …That is a most wonderful thing in Christian psychology, viz., that a saint chooses exactly what God pre-determined he should choose. If you have never received the Spirit of God this will be one of the things which is “foolishness” to you; but if you have received the Spirit and are obeying Him, you find He brings your spirit into complete harmony with God. … 

     When God’s Spirit comes into our spirit, we can will to do what God wants us to do. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). … 

     We cannot give ourselves the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is God Almighty’s gift if we will simply become poor enough to ask for Him. … But when the Holy Spirit has come in, there is something we can do and God cannot do, we can obey Him. If we do not obey Him, we shall grieve Him. “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30). 

From Biblical Psychology

Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would be our constant Companion in helping us come into one-ness with the Father and Son. The key question is this: Am I obeying the Spirit’s promptings?

I will never progress in my spiritual development unless I am readily obeying what the Spirit is revealing. 

Father, I need your Holy Spirit! As I feel the Spirit working in me, may I never grieve Him, but instead fully deal with whatever He reveals to me.

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More And More

October 10, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

There’s a popular cliché that many motivators use to challenge people to go beyond where they are. They will cheer them on by saying, “C’mon, let’s raise the bar!” The only problem is, once someone clears the bar’s next height, they usually celebrate and then stop trying to go any higher.

Christians should be especially on guard against this mindset. It’s not a one-time thing. I don’t simply invite Jesus into my life and then set Him on a shelf. If I’m going to live a life that pleases God, I must learn how to do so more and more.

…We instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

The KJV says, “abound more and more.” This means that there is no set level I’m trying to reach, but that the level is always higher—there’s always more, my capacity is always increasing.

More and more is a single word in the Greek language. It means:

  • More willingly
  • More readily
  • Sooner

When the Holy Spirit speaks to me, do I respond and obey more willingly? more readily? sooner? If I do, then I am truly abounding more and more.

The mark of my maturity is a more willing, faster obedience.

This relentless focus on pleasing God more and more then overflows in the way I cheer on and encourage my brothers and sisters. Paul uses the exact same Greek word for more and more when he says a few verses later: “We urge you, brothers, to [express brotherly love] more and more” (vv. 9-10).

My increasing capacity and willingness to love and obey God more and more overflows into my increasing capacity and willingness to love and serve others more and more.

My prayer for you and for me: Holy Spirit, help us to hear Your voice, to abound more and more in our obedience to Your direction, and to express our love more and more to others.

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GrowING

September 12, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

A few checklist items for a growING Christian (from Philippians 4:4-9):

  • Learning to rejoice in the Lord. Always.
  • Maturing in gentleness.
  • Becoming more consciously aware of God’s omnipresence.
  • Decreasing in anxiety.
  • Constantly praying.
  • Increasingly thankful.
  • Learning to remain peaceful.
  • Becoming more discerning of what goes into my mind.
  • Learning and relearning biblical principles.

I observe four things about this list:

  1. None of the verbs in the Greek are past tense. These are all on-goING processes.
  2. If this list is changed from in-process to fully-completed, it sounds like Jesus.
  3. I have to decide daily to be growING.
  4. I cannot grow through this list without help: I need the Holy Spirit.

This is a rather short list, but it’s filled with a lifetime of growING opportunities.

If I decide today that I want to be growING, my Heavenly Father will bring me into more opportunities where the Holy Spirit will help me develop and exhibit the qualities of Jesus Christ.

Are you ready to do some growING today? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to take you into your next growING lesson.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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From A Frustrating Life To An Exciting Life

August 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

In our P119 Spiritual Workout series, we’ve looked at the similarities between an exercise program for our physical bodies, and spiritual growth for our souls. There are so many parallels for us to look at, but one of them that rings true for everyone is the up-and-down, on-and-off cycles that so many of us experience.

You know how it goes…

  • Your diet is going great and you are dropping some pounds (yea!), and then you go on vacation and all of your gains are lost (boo!).
  • You are doing really well at sticking with your new exercise routine (yea!), and then a head cold and some rainy weather knock you off your plan and it’s really hard to start back up again (boo!).
  • You are reading your Bible, and praying, and feeling so close to God (yea!), and then relationship issues, trouble at work, and a leaky hot water tank send you reeling (boo!).

We all hope our spiritual growth (or diet or exercise routine) would take us to new heights, but this up-and-down again cycle makes it feel like we aren’t getting anywhere:

In Psalm 119:49-56 the psalmist experienced this exact same up-and-down cycle:

  • He’s tight with God (v. 49)
  • Then he experiences suffering (v. 50a)
  • Only to recall God’s promises (v. 50b)
  • And then he’s getting mocked for this faith (v. 51)
  • But he’s quick to remember God and find comfort in Him (v. 52)
  • Only to get his eyes off of God and onto the godless, which causes him trouble (v. 53)
  • But he remembers God’s ways again and is comforted by singing songs about God (vv. 54-55)

Sound familiar? Up-and-down. Close-to-God-and-far-away. On-and-off. Yea!-and-Boo!

HOW DO WE BREAK OUT OF THIS?!?

The key is found in the final verse—This has been my practice: I obey Your precepts (v. 56, NIV). Look how some other translations render this verse:

  • This I had, because I kept Thy precepts (KJV).
  • This is how I spend my life: obeying Your commandments (NLT).
  • This I have had [as the gift of Your grace and as my reward]: that I have kept Your precepts… (AMP).

When we put this all together we get the solution that helps us break free from the up-and-down again cycle—

It’s ONLY by focusing on God’s GRACE everyday!

When we focus on God and His gift of grace to us, we minimize the ups-and-downs. How? Because the focus is not on what I’m doing or what others aren’t doing, but on God, His faithfulness, and His grace to us.

When God’s grace becomes our focus, we can break free from the up-and-down cycle—

If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.

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No Puffiness, Please

June 12, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Here’s a quick fill-in-the-blank statement:

Now about ______________________: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1)

Fill in this blank with something you consider (as Dr. Charles Ryrie calls them) a “morally indifferent” practice. In other words, something that is not a black-in-white, do-it-and-you’re-sinning issue. What goes in your blank?

  • …skipping church?
  • …drinking alcohol?
  • …smoking a cigar?
  • …dancing?

We all have knowledge about such things, but where’s the love?

Love builds up. Knowledge only benefits me; love benefits all. The Amplified Bible says it this way, “love edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow to his full stature.”

The Greek word for builds up means “to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness; to grow in wisdom and piety.”

The question, “Does this fill-in-the-blank item hinder a weaker brother?” is too puffy. The better question is, “Does this help my weaker brother grow?”

That’s the question love asks.

Love avoids the negative-growth items and even the neutral-growth items. Love seeks only those things which promote positive growth.

It’s too puffy to ask, “Does this hurt someone.”

It’s too puffy to say, “This is no big deal!”

We need to ask, “Does this help everyone?” If we can’t answer “yes,” leave it alone!

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On The Record

March 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

When Jesus is getting ready to feed the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak, Jesus asked Philip a question: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5). It seems like a fair question, but the next verse gives us insight into Christ’s motivation behind the question:

Jesus asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.

Jesus had something in mind, but He wanted to know what Philip had in mind. If Jesus had not asked Philip to be on the record up front, Jesus could have multiplied the loaves and fish, and then Philip could have said, “I knew You could do it! I knew it all the time!”

But to test us, Jesus needs to get us on the record. The word test means to know the value of something; to know its strength; to know what it’s capable of.

My faith cannot be grown if it’s not tested. It cannot be accurately tested if I’m not on the record first. Jesus knows what He’s going to do: Glorify the Father. I can say that’s what I wanted all along after the miracle is done, but then my faith hasn’t grown one iota.

I can only see my faith grow when I am on the record (as Philip was) in saying, “How in the world could we get enough money to fix this problem?” Especially when Jesus isn’t even going to use money to fix that problem!

Here’s the principle:

NO testing = NO growth

It’s only when I see that my faith is not as big as it should be that I can say, “Lord, I believe You, but help my unbelief.” He will bring me into a test so that I can grow, and the Father can be glorified. It’s scary being on the record, because only then can I see how much more growth I need!

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God Wants Deeper Growth

February 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

“After a soul has been converted by God, that soul is nurtured and caressed by the Spirit. Like a loving mother, God cares for and comforts the infant soul by feeding it spiritual milk. Such souls will find great delight in this stage. They will begin praying with great urgency and perseverance; they will engage in all kinds of religious activities because of the joy they experience in them. But there will come a time when God will bid them to grow deeper. He will remove the previous consolation from the soul in order to teach it virtue and prevent it from developing vice.” —John of the Cross

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Growing Faith = Growing Praise

February 15, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)

 

The mark of a Christian who is growing and maturing in faith is one who is always increasing their praise level.

The more knowledge we have of Him,

the more we realize the grace He’s lavished on us,

the more glory we should be giving Him…

now AND forever!

Amen.

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Again?!

February 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I heard a pastor say once, “You’re either in a trial right now, just coming out of a trial, or will soon be going through a trial.” And I thought to myself, “Wow! What a cheery thought… not!”

Do you ever feel that way? Like you just get through one challenging time, only to be greeted by another challenging time? If you just focus on the challenging times, you will miss the point. The point is: God is doing something wonderful in you.

Check out what Jesus says in John 15—

…God cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. (Amplified Bible)

Did you catch that phrase: every branch that continues to bear fruit? Does it feel like God is constantly working on you? That’s good! That means you are already bearing fruit, but God desires for you to be even more fruitful (or as the Amplified Bible says, even more rich and excellent!).

The writer of Hebrews says it this way—

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child He loves that He disciplines; the child He embraces, He also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. (Hebrews 12:5-6 The Message)

So the next time you feel like saying, “Again?!” change it to “Yes, again! This must mean God wants to bring even more excellent and rich fruit out of my life!” God love you, my friend!

Here’s to more fruit!

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