Likeminded

September 11, 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. 

How many friends do you have? I don’t mean your “friend count” on Facebook, because you and I both know that some of your “friends” aren’t really those people with whom you would share confidential information.

No, I mean real friends.

There were few people as well-known in his day as the apostle Paul. His missionary journeys took him all over the place. The stories he could tell about his adventures would keep an audience glued to their seats. He knew church leaders and governmental officials. He planted churches and trained pastors. If ever there was someone that would have had a full list of friends on Facebook, it would have been Paul.

Yet here’s what he writes to the church at Philippi:

I have no one else like Timothy, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 2:20-21)

Among other things, Paul says Timothy is:

  • A servant (Philippians 1:1)
  • Trustworthy (2:19)
  • Faithful (2:20)
  • Christ-focused (2:21)
  • A hard worker (2:22)

Yet when Paul says. “I have no one like him,” he uses a Greek word only used once in all of Scripture. The King James Version translates this word likeminded. This word means equal in quality and quantity of soul.

In other words, of all of the people that would be considered a “friend” of Paul, only one—Timothy—did Paul call likeminded: someone who was Paul’s equal in soul.

If that type of friendship was rare for Paul, how much more so for you and me?

God may only bring one likeminded friend into your life (as He did with Paul). If you have that one likeminded friend, cherish that relationship and give God thanks for it! How blessed we are when we have a friend we can call likeminded!

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Love Dance

September 10, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I sat enthralled yesterday morning at the ministry of Pastor Bill Leach! He opened my eyes to a well-known passage in Philippians 2:5-11 as I had never before seen it.

In verse 7 the Scripture says that Jesus emptied Himself. Pastor Leach pointed out that this was not by laying something aside, but by taking on the human form. The Divine One became a doulos (the Greek word which means a bondslave with no rights of his own).

“Jesus is truly Man, but not merely Man.”

Jesus understood that being God is not getting, but giving. By taking on the human form, Jesus was showing us that He identified with us and therefore knew what to give us.

“For God so loved the world that He GAVE His One and Only Son.”

When we love someone, we enter into their orbit. We are focused on them and their desires. In the Trinity, each part of the Godhead is orbiting (or dancing) around each other.

In order for us to love God, God had to enter our orbit. We were self-absorbed: we danced only around ourselves. When Jesus took on human form He could enter our orbit—He could dance around us. It’s only then that we could understand how to join the love dance with Him.

Pastor Leach’s message called to my remembrance something I learned from another great pastor, Dave Williams, from 2 Peter 1:

His divine power has given us everything we needfor life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. (v. 3)

This verse sets the stage for what comes next (verses 5-7). The Apostle Peter then tells us to begin to add to our faith and our love dance with God. Add is a compound word that means a lavish dance with no expenses spared!

Because Jesus chose to step into our humanity, He chose to step into our self-centered dance. And now that we have seen Him—the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)—it’s time to leave our self-centered dance behind and join with a new Dance Partner who loves us like no one else ever has or ever will!

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Respecting Elected Officials

September 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

During our prayer time yesterday, I was contemplating the Apostle Peter’s instruction to, “Fear God, and respect the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

  • How do I respect the king (or the other elected officials in my city, state, and country)?
  • Does respect mean saying “yes” to every law that’s passed?
  • Can I be respectful and still disagree with those in elected office? How?

During our hour of prayer at the church last night, I was really wrestling with how I as a Christian should show respect to those in authority in our governments. Here are the nine things the Holy Spirit showed me.

I can show respect to those in authority by:

  1. Not forgetting that God placed them in their office (Daniel 4:25).
  2. Praying for them regularly (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
  3. Obeying all laws that aren’t immoral (Luke 20:25; Acts 5:29).
  4. Disobeying laws that are immoral (Esther 4:16; Acts 4:19).
  5. Holding them to biblical standards (Proverbs 8:15).
  6. Insisting they uphold the United States Constitution (Ecclesiastes 8:2).
  7. Reminding them that God’s wisdom is the ultimate standard (Proverbs 8:22-23).
  8. Requiring them to honor their promises, unless those promises conflict with God’s Word or the Constitution (Esther 1:13; 8:8).
  9. Speak to and about them without complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:14-15).

(Check out all of the above passages by clicking here.)

I’m working on living these out. What do you think?

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Live Like A Star

September 5, 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.

Do you want to influence people?

The first step may sound simple, but it takes a lot of work: People have to want to be around you.

Think about it—it’s hard to influence anyone who doesn’t even want to be in the same room with you, let alone get up-close-and-personal! Here are some wise words:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life… (Philippians 2:14-16)

Here’s what the Bible says we can do to be the kind of person others want to be around:

  • Don’t be a complainer when things don’t go your way.
  • Stop arguing about everything. There is a time to stand up, and there’s a time to quiet down. Learn the difference between the two.
  • Live above reproach. Simply stated: do the right thing all the time.
  • Live a life that pleases God.
  • Set an example worth following and people will want to follow you!
  • Use the Bible as the infallible standard for all of your life choices.

Living this way makes you shine like a star. Not a rock star or a superstar, but a powerful influencer.

Want to see something cool? The dictionary gives this amazing bit of information about the origin of the word influence—

An astrological term which meant the streaming ethereal power from the stars acting upon the character or destiny of men.

If you live the way the Bible says in these three verses, you will not only shine like a star, you will be positively affecting the character and destiny of those in your circle of influence. How cool is that?!

And that is a great reason to live a God-pleasing life!

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What Is Happening Is God Is Happening

August 28, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

The Apostle Paul is in prison and on trial for his life, and yet he pens these words: 

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. (Philippians 1:12) 

Huh?! How can being in prison be a good thing?

First of all, the word know here means experiential knowledge; the kind of insight you only get from personal, intimate, hands-on experience. No one can teach you this, you just have to know it through experience. In essence, Paul is saying, “It might look like a setback from where you’re seated, but I know personally that this is a good thing!” 

Then notice the phrase has happened (I also like this in the King James Version: has fallen out). This isn’t the best translation of this phrase from Greek to English. It’s what is called the middle voice, so that means it’s in the present and imperfect tense. My translation:

It’s happening right now AND it’s not done yet!

  • IF I mean it when I pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven…”
  • IF I truly understand that God is working all things together for His glory…
  • IF I really believe that God is directing my steps…
  • THEN I can know that what IS happening IS a God-thing! 

God is up to something that will glorify His name!

And I’m a part of what IS happening to fulfill God’s plan!

So if things aren’t looking too good (even if you’re in prison or on trial for your life!), take note—GOD IS STILL UP TO SOMETHING AND IT’S A GOOD GOD-THING!

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Working It Out

May 22, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Ah, yes, Oswald Chambers always gets me thinking…

“You must ‘work out your own salvation’ which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it ‘out’? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.”

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Flame Award

May 21, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This award is recognition from our fellowship that Calvary Assembly of God is growing up. The award says that we have achieved the highest level of recognition in our fellowship.

While we are extremely honored to have come this far, we recognize that we haven’t “arrived” yet. Not by a long shot! If we could paraphrase what Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, we would say,

Brothers, we do not consider ourselves yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing we do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, we press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14).

So we humbly accepted this recognition, but we are pressing on for all that God has for Calvary Assembly of God!

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Thursdays With Oswald—In Christ I Can

May 17, 2012 — 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.

In Christ I Can

     We are made sons and daughters of God through the Atonement and we have a tremendous dignity to maintain; we have no business to bow our necks to any yoke saving the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ [Matthew 11:28-30]. …

     Every detail of our physical life is to be absolutely under the control of the new disposition which God planted in us by means of identification with Jesus Christ, and we shall no longer be allowed to murmur ‘can’t.’ There is no such word as ‘can’t’ in a Christian’s vocabulary if he is rightly related to God; there is only one word and that is ‘can.’

From Biblical Psychology

Sometimes Christians are known more for what we’re against than what we’re for. I think Oswald Chambers would say that is because we don’t really understand the full power of the Atonement.

We can better understand that word by saying it “at one-ment.” We have been made one with Christ. You hear this in Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17, “I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and definitely recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them even as You have loved Me.”

When we are in this sort of relationship, we don’t even say can’t to sin. Instead, we say I can live a holy life because of Christ in me!

As Paul said, we can say:

I CAN do everything through Christ Who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

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Harmless

April 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

When a story from the past is so well known, we can easily insert ourselves into it with a certain bias. When we do this, we read things into the story because of the facts we know now.

For instance, we know Judas betrays Jesus. So when we see his name in any story in the Bible, we immediately associate the word traitor with him, and we can only view him through that lens. Therefore, it’s easy for us to put ourselves in the place of one of the other eleven disciples of Jesus, and assume that they too knew Judas was a traitor.

Except they didn’t.

Look at this verse after Jesus says, “One of you will betray Me”—

His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them He meant. (John 13:22)

The Eleven were not suspicious of Judas. They didn’t say, “Well, I just knew it was him,” or “I kinda expected that from Judas.”

One of the things Jesus taught His followers was for them to be gentle as doves. I like how the King James Version says it: harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).

Pastor, I know you especially have been hurt by people in your church. They have betrayed you, gossiped about you, turned on you. If people did that to Jesus, why would you expect anything less? And yet we are still to remain harmless as doves.

The Eleven never suspected a traitor. They were innocent. I think they were so focused on Jesus, they didn’t have time to be cynical about others. We view Judas cynically; they didn’t.

What a testimony to others when we are harmless:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and depraved nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:15)

You may have been hurt many (many, many, many…) times in the past. But being harmless means that, like the disciples, we are “at a loss” as to whom it could be when someone tells us there is a traitor in our midst.

  • Stay focused on Jesus, so you may love others as He loves them.
  • Allow God to heal the wounds others have inflicted on you.
  • Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any cynicism in your heart.
  • Repent of your suspicion of people.
  • Be harmless toward everyone.
  • Grieve over the traitor.
  • Then stay focused on Jesus, not the traitor and not your wound.
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Thursdays With Oswald—Not Self-Conscious, But God-Conscious

March 29, 2012 — 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.

Not Self-Conscious, But God-Conscious

     When I am lifted by the Atonement into oneness with God I do not lose my personal identity, my identity becomes that of conscious union with God. Man’s relationship with God in the beginning was such that the consciousness of union with Him was a delight: as soon as sin entered that went and man became self-conscious: he realized he was no longer in union with God and tried to hide himself from His presence.

From Biblical Ethics

For to me, to live is Christ… I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20)

A great way to remember the meaning of the word Atonement is like this: At one-ment. Jesus paid the price for me to be at one-ment with the Father. He did not die so I could become more aware of myself, but so I could become more aware of God.

Christ’s Atonement makes me dead to me, and alive to Him; dead to trying to figure out myself, and alive to learn more of Him; dead to self-consciousness, and alive to God-consciousness.

And I would much rather be more aware of Him than I am of me!

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