“We do not get at God through Nature, as the poets say, we get at Nature through God when once we are rightly related to Him, and Nature becomes a sacrament of His Presence.” —Oswald Chambers
Links & Quotes
June 18, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading from today…
“The more difficult it becomes for an older person to use the mind and the memory, the more we must fight with him and for him, wielding the sword of the Spirit where his own hand is weak.” —John Piper
A little comedy—Al and Lois go to a counselor after fifteen years of marriage. The counselor asks them what the problem is. Lois goes into a tirade, listing every problem they’ve ever had in their years of marriage. She goes on and on and on. Finally, the counselor gets up, embraces the surprised Lois, and kisses her passionately. Lois shuts up and sits quietly in a daze. The counselor turns to Al and says, “That is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do that?” Al thinks for a moment and replies, “Well, I can get her here Mondays and Wednesdays, but Fridays I play golf.”
Ken Davis reminds us of the value of slowing down in his post Not So Fast.
Digital photography software is allowing archeologists and paleontologists and others to examine artifacts in 3D without damaging the original.
Kevin DeYoung has 5 questions for Christians who believe the Bible supports homosexual “marriage.”
John Maxwell reminds us to make sure we drop the right ball.
Worship Where You Are
June 17, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love as we worship in Your Temple. (Psalm 48:9)
“We can go to church and worship. But if we go to church and worship one day, it is not true worship unless it is followed by continuing worship in the days that follow.” (A.W. Tozer)
It’s easy to say, “O God, I worship You in church on Sunday,” but can I also say…
…I worship You in my office on Monday.
…I worship You in my basketball game on Tuesday.
…I worship You in my commute on Wednesday.
…I worship You in my dinner preparations on Thursday.
…I worship You in my house cleaning on Friday.
…I worship You in my golf game on Saturday.
Worship means making sure what I’m doing is pleasing to God, and glorifying God. It means I am doing my utmost for His highest. It means I am doing what I’m doing so that others see God in it, and are prompted to worship Him too.
Worship wherever you are today, and not just in your church building on Sunday. Let TRUE worship be seen all day, everyday, in everything.
Great Is Your Renown
May 7, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your renown, O Lord, through all generations.
Psalm 135:13
Links & Quotes
May 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Here are the links to some interesting reading I found today.
“It is right and inevitable that we should be much concerned about the salvation of those we love. But we must be careful not to expect or demand that their salvation should conform to some ready-made pattern of our own.” —C.S. Lewis
Well, this is interesting. Follow your tax dollars to the countries that are enemies of America.
[PHOTOS] An accurate recap of the tragedy in Benghazi, and the cover up of that terrorist attack…
…and here’s why the media is now covering up the cover up of Benghazi: [INFOGRAPHIC] The relationship between the media and the Obama administration.
“What we practice, not (save at rare intervals) what we preach, is usually our great contribution to the conversion of others.” —C.S. Lewis
“What a bondage it is when the child of God is sold under sin, held in chains by satan, deprived of his liberty, robbed of his power in prayer and his delight in the Lord! Let us watch that we come not into such bondage; but if this has already happened to us, let us by no means despair. But we cannot be held in slavery forever. The Lord Jesus has paid too high a price for our redemption to leave us in the enemy’s hand. The way to freedom is, ‘Return unto the Lord your God.’” —Charles Spurgeon
[VIDEO] A good reminder from John Maxwell: Find a friend that you can edify today.
Links & Quotes
March 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
[VIDEO] Disgusting!! Planned Parenthood Manager Advises A Pimp How To Make His ‘Business’ Legit.
[INFOGRAPHIC] Everything The Bible Says God Loves.
[PHOTOS] Too cute: A boy and his dog napping.
“The fact is, feeling conviction is not an end in itself. When we are humbled by guilt and sorrow over our sin, we are not supposed to rest in those feelings. They are meant to drive us to the end of ourselves—and to the victory of the Cross.” —David Wilkerson. Read more in Wilkerson’s post The Lord Is Good And Ready To Forgive.
“The Lord may not give gold, but He will give grace: He may not give gain, but He will give grace. He will certainly send us trial, but He will give grace in proportion thereto. We may be called to labor and to suffer, but with the call there will come all the grace required.” —Charles Spurgeon
Rush Limbaugh had a retired 777 pilot call into his show to talk about the missing Malaysian aircraft. Very interesting.
Links & Quotes
March 12, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
“It is better to offend men than to grieve the blessed Spirit of God which dwells in the church.” —A.W. Tozer
A good reminder for pastors, parents, teachers and mentors:
“And just as the helmsman does not always yield to the winds, but sometimes, turning the prow towards them, opposes the whole force of the hurricanes; so the Instructor never yields to the blasts that blow in this world, nor commits the child to them like a vessel to make shipwreck on a wild and licentious course of life; but, wafted on by the favoring breeze of the Spirit of truth, stoutly holds on to the child’s helm—his ears, I mean—until He bring him safe to anchor in the haven of heaven.” —Clement of Alexandria
“Whenever the Lord sees one of His children wrestling with some lust or bondage, He moves in quickly to bring us back to a path of obedience, peace and rest. How does He do this? He brings about conditions in our lives that force us to face our sin!” Read more from David Wilkerson in his post The Arrow Of Truth.
Chilly Chilton says, “Use social media but don’t let social media use you” in his blog post Don’t Pet The Dragon.
The former cofounder of Greenpeace has some startling statements about climate change.
Come On In
March 12, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is constantly calling us to “Come!” He wants to draw us nearer to God’s presence. But sin separates. Let me be more specific and more personal: My sin can make me believe I can’t come closer to God.
In Psalm 99:8, notice how the psalmist focuses first on God’s forgiveness, and then on His punishment. It’s as though he is saying, “Yes, God punishes sin, but He is first and foremost a forgiving God”—
…You were to Israel a forgiving God, though You punished their misdeeds. (Psalm 99:8)
God is slow to anger, but He must punish sin. His punishment is always to encourage reconciliation. He wants to remove the sin that separates us. This has always been His focus since the very first sin.
In fact the next psalm celebrates coming into God’s presence with joy—
- Shout for joy
- Worship with gladness
- Come in with joyful songs
- Remember that God made us and we are His
- Enter with thanksgiving
- Enter with praise
- Come give Him thanks
- Praise Him
- He is good
- His love endures forever
- His faithfulness never diminishes
This should encourage me all the more to quickly confess my sin and repent from it, so that I can once again answer the Holy Spirit’s call to come deeper into God’s presence.
Links & Quotes
February 26, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
“Truth wears well. Time tests it, but it right well endures the trial. … What a poor thing is the temporary triumph of falsehood!” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Proverbs 12:19
The “stimulus” that wasn’t: CBO Again Repeats Faulty Methodology
“The word ‘mercy’ here is extracted from misericordia, the Greek word for ‘misery.’ The full meaning of this word is: ‘to take to heart the misery of another, with the intention of giving him comfort and relief.’ So being merciful means taking on another person’s hurt!” Read more from David Wilkerson.
[PHOTOS] Amazing story captured in Life magazine of a 1950s nurse Maude Callen.
[VIDEO] Largest Lunar Impact Caught By Astronomers
What the IRS is trying now even has the ACLU upset: Stop The Assault
Wow! Check out this tweet from Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov
Listen, O My Soul
February 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
David wraps up the 35th Psalm with a thought that is familiar to him—
My tongue will speak of Your righteousness and of Your praises all day long. (Psalm 35:28)
Praise is good for the soul! But in the midst of enemies gloating over David, hating him without reason, devising false accusations against him, and making plans to do him in (see verses 19-21), where could David get the strength to sing about God’s goodness?
As I said, it’s the last verse where David declares his unending praise. This verse is the result of seeing God move. But much earlier in this psalm David says, “Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation’” (v. 3).
Before David could speak it, he had to hear it! He had to quiet himself in the midst of all the assaults on him to hear God say, “I AM your salvation!”
Not “my ears,” but “my soul”: the very center of my being, my mind, my emotions. I need the I AM to reassure the soul He created that He is still there. Unless I hear that assurance at the core of my being, I can only go through the motions. True worship comes from a real, personal encounter with the I AM.
O, listen my soul! Hear your Savior speak the assurance of His salvation. Only then can I open my lips in endless praises all day long.
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