pornography | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

March 14, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Today is pi day (3.1415), and Seth Godin has a great look at this day in his post Magical and Irrational.

Sadly, religious persecution is alive and well … IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?!? This Navy chaplain has been removed from his unit for―gasp!―preaching from the Bible!

Some very good pro-life news. Scientists have called on their peers to agree not to modify human embryos — even for research. Just because scientists can do something doesn’t mean it should be done.

“Cancer research disagrees with the assumptions of beneficial mutations, millions of years, and junk DNA.” Read more in Cancer Research Inadvertently Refutes Evolution.

“Yes, I know one doesn’t even want to be cured of one’s pride because it gives pleasure. But the pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching. If there is an itch one does want to scratch: but it is much nicer to have neither the itch nor the scratch. As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval; but the happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither, but have everything else (God, our fellow-humans, animals, the garden and the sky) instead.” ―C.S. Lewis

Who Needs Sex? An insightful post from Pastor Dave Barringer.

Jim Cymbala asks, “Does anyone really think that America today is lacking preachers, books, Bible translations, and neat doctrinal statements? What we really lack is the passion to call upon the Lord until He opens the heavens and shows Himself powerful.” Read more in Prayer Revival.

“Let me say that for comfort, there is no thought more full of sweetness than that of an eternal God engaged in Christ Jesus to His people; to love, and bless, and save them all. One Who has made them the distinguished objects of His discriminating regard from all eternity, it is the eternal God.” —Charles Spurgeon

Links & Quotes

March 7, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Puffery in doctrine leads to its dishonor.” —Charles Spurgeon

“In love’s service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.” —Dr. James Stewart

“Don’t bother about the idea that God ‘has known for millions of years exactly what you are about to pray.’ That isn’t what it’s like. God is hearing you now, just as simply as a mother hears a child. The difference His timelessness makes is that this now (which slips away from you even as you say the word now) is for Him infinite. If you must think of His timelessness at all, don’t think of Him having looked forward to this moment for millions of years: think that to Him you are always praying this prayer. But there’s really no need to bring it in. You have gone into the Temple (‘one day in Thy court is better than a thousand’) and found Him, as always, there. That is all you need to bother about.” ―C.S. Lewis

“The itch of self-regard craves the scratch of self-approval. That is, if we are getting our pleasure from feeling self-sufficient, we will not be satisfied without others seeing and applauding our self-sufficiency.” —John Piper

Some godly women on the front lines of the war against the sex industry.

Russell Brand Talks Porn

February 27, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Wow! Russell Brand uses the movie Fifty Shades Of Grey as a launching point to discuss the dangers of pornography. Warning: strong language in this video…

Russell says, “Our attitudes toward sex have become warped and perverted, and deviated from its true function. … Pornography reduces the spectacle of sex to a kinda of extracted physical act.” How do we know this is wrong? Notice he says he knew porn was wrong that there was a feeling at the core of his being about its wrongness.

Perhaps Russell and others feel this way because pornography is in direct conflict to God’s design for sexuality. What do you think?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: marriage, pornography, Russell Brand, sexuality, video. Leave a Comment »

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

February 16, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Long-term studies have measured the substantial impact of marriage on financial stability, as well as relationship longevity and health outcomes.” Read more in 5 Facts About Cohabitation You May Not Know.

“Since the beginning of the war on poverty, marriage has declined sharply. In 1964, 7 percent of U.S. children were born outside marriage. Today, the number is 41 percent. Society is dividing into two castes. In the top half, children are raised by married couples with college education; in the bottom half, children are raised by single mothers with a high-school degree or less. When compared to children in intact married homes, children raised by single parents are more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems; be physically abused; smoke, drink, and use drugs; be aggressive; engage in violent, delinquent, and criminal behavior; have poor school performance; be expelled from school; and drop out of high school.” Read more in How The Welfare State Penalizes Parents Who Marry.

Parents, check this out: A Letter To My Children About Fifty Shades Of Grey.

“Do you desire God and His way and His promises more than anything, and do you believe that He can and will honor your faith and obedience by being unashamed to call Himself your God, and to use all His wisdom and power and love to turn the path of obedience into the path of life and joy? That is the crisis you face now: Do you desire Him? Will you trust Him? The Word of God to you is: God is worthy and God is able.” —John Piper

“But this is the badge of a true child of God: that a man endures to the end.” —Charles Spurgeon

Kids with Down Syndrome aren’t likely to be singers, as the strain on vocal chords and fine motor skills to move their mouth isn’t usually possible. But Madison defies the odds. And the song she picked to memorize and sing is perfect. Click this link to read more behind-the-scenes information, and then watch this―

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: beauty, Bible, Charles Spurgeon, disability, Down Syndrome, finishing well, God's power, God's promise, God's Word, government, home, John Piper, kids, marriage, parenting, perseverance, pornography, pro-family, pro-life, quotes, relationships, singing, statistics, video, welfare. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

February 12, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“How much owest thou unto my Lord? Has He ever done anything for thee? Has He forgiven thy sins? Has He covered thee with a robe of righteousness? Has He set thy feet upon a rock? Has He established thy goings? Has He prepared heaven for thee? Has He prepared thee for heaven? Has He written thy name in His book of life? Has He given thee countless blessings? Has He a store of mercies which eye hath not seen nor ear heard? Then do something for Christ worthy of His love. Wake up from natural sleepiness, and this very day, before the sun goes down, do something in some way by which you shall prove that you feel the power of that divine motive, ‘for Christ’s sake.’” —Charles Spurgeon

“Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us.” —C.S. Lewis

Jesus showed us the most loving thing we can do for our friends. Check out David Wilkerson’s post I Have Prayed For You.

“Not all sexual desire is lust. God made sexual desire. It has its good place and it can, in fact, become an act of worship in the temple of marriage. But lust is sexual desire gone wrong.” Read more from John Piper in You Can Say No To Porn.

Speaking of pornography, here’s another powerful reason to NOT SEE Fifty Shades Of Grey. “Amy Bonomi, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Human Development and Family studies, has made some disturbing findings. A thorough 2013 study of the book concludes that ‘emotional and sexual abuse is pervasive in the novel,’ appearing in almost every interaction between the protagonists…. Far from ‘empowering,’ Fifty Shades seeks to remove agency. Even though it’s supposed to seem ‘sexy,’ the book even includes several instances of rape, where Ana is coerced into or outright forced to have sex.” Read more in The Real Abuse At The Heart Of Fifty Shades Of Grey.

Links & Quotes

February 7, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Because Jesus died in our place, He guaranteed that every good deed prospers in the end. ‘Blessed are you when others revile you. . . . Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven’ (Matthew 5:11-12). Reviled here. Rewarded there.” —John Piper

“‘For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river’ (Jeremiah 17:8). An amazing Hebrew word is used here for ‘planted’—it actually means ‘transplanted.’ Faith uproots the dry, fruitless desert-shrub that is scorched, lonely and ugly and transplants it by the living stream of the waters flowing from Lebanon.” —David Wilkerson

“So long as you are content with the world, and with the prince who governs it, you will go on, on, on, to your own destruction. satan does with men as the sirens are fabled to have done with mariners.” —Charles Spurgeon

Pornographers are so deceived and deceptive. Check out the most common word found in comments on porn websites.

Dave Barringer has some good counsel for couples about “brownie points.”

Daughter of a homosexual parent writes a letter promoting traditional marriage.

Seth Godin has some fabulous insight about getting and giving constructive feedback.

Links & Quotes

February 6, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Are you subscribed to The Overview Bible Project’s summary of each book of the Bible? Check out this summary of Genesis and then subscribe.

“On this planet, there are about 7,000 living languages. 1,860 of them do not have a single word of Scripture. 4,500 languages do not have a full Bible. That’s more than 1 billion Bibleless people.” Read more in There Is No Good Bible For Over A Billion People.

My friend Jeff Bonzelaar has a thoughtful post called To Drink Or Not To Drink.

“Worry is anti-trust. If you’re worried, you don’t trust something: your kids, their friends, strangers, the church, even God. Can He take care of your children? Certainly. Jesus says, ‘I tell you, stop being anxious and worried about your life.’ Pretty blunt. Stop it! Easier said than done, huh? Worry tests your trust, so hand your children to God and let Him babysit your babies when you’re not around. He’s pretty good at it!” —Max Lucado

Planned Parenthood continues to disgust me. Read 5 Little Known Facts About Planned Parenthood and tell me why we taxpayers are helping subsidize their operations.

DON’T SEE THIS MOVIE! Why Fifty Shades Of Grey sends the wrong message.

“Hell is at stake here, not just the loss of a few extra rewards. … So we warn each other: Don’t drift away. Don’t love the world. Don’t start thinking nothing huge is at stake. Fear the terrible prospect of not cherishing the promises of God above the promises of sin. But mainly we must focus on the preciousness of the promises and help each other value above all things how great the reward is that Christ has purchased for us.” —John Piper

[VIDEO] President Obama is finally making Pastor Saeed Abedini’s captivity in Iran more of a public issue. Check out this video, and go here to sign this petition.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: anxiety, Barak Obama, Bible, Bible study, Genesis, Jeff Bonzelaar, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Max Lucado, persecution, Planned Parenthood, pornography, pro-life, quotes, religious freedom, Saeed Abedini, Scripture, The Overview Bible Project, trust, video, worry, ]. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

January 29, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

How do you define “healing”? Check out this comprehensive list of Scriptures posted by Eurasia Northwest that may expand your definition.

Parents, beware of the book-turned-movie Fifty Shades Of Grey! Dr. Miriam Grossman has four blog posts about the dangers of seeing this movie or letting your kids see it. Check out the posts here.

“Unceasing prayer may sound complicated, but it needn’t be that way. Do this. Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. As you stand in line to register your car, think, ‘Thank you, Lord, for being here.’ In the grocery store as you shop, think, ‘Your presence, my King, I welcome.’ As you wash the dishes, worship your Maker.” ―Max Lucado

Tim Elmore reminds us that the next time a young leader approaches you with a “zany idea,” you might do well to listen to him/her. After all, he lists some really smart people who totally missed the future!

“If there be any deed of kindness or love that we can do for the very meanest and most obscure of God’s people, we ought to be willing to do it—to be servants to God’s servants.” —Charles Spurgeon

John Piper and the Desiring God crew have a list of 24 free ebooks. Good stuff!

[VIDEO]

A beautiful stories about a sister’s love for her brother―

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Charles Spurgeon, children, creativity, Down Syndrome, Dr. Tim Elmore, ebook, future, healing, ideas, inspiration, John Piper, kindness, Max Lucado, parenting, pornography, prayer, quotes, Scripture, servant, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes―Sanctity Of Human Life Special Edition

January 17, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Tomorrow (January 18) is Sanctity Of Human Life Sunday. Life is the most valuable thing we have!

In the West Michigan area, please support Alpha Family Centers’ efforts to promote life.

Live Action shares 10 reasons why you should march for life.

[VIDEO] One of the biggest perpetrators of the degrading of life is the pornography industry. There is a direct link between porn and human trafficking. Please watch this video all the way to the end―