Failure To Recognize

April 1, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

The Apostle John opens his gospel account with these sobering words:

[Jesus] was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. (John 1:10)

Commenting on this verse, A.W. Tozer wrote:

My fellow man, do you not know that your great sin is this: the all-pervading and eternal Presence is here, and you cannot feel Him? Are you not aware that there is a great and true Light which brightly shines—and you cannot see it? Have you not heard within your being a tender Voice whispering of the eternal value of your soul—and yet you have said, “I have heard nothing”? This is, in essence, the charge that John levels at human kind: Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was in the world, and the world failed to recognize Him.

I never want to be guilty of failing to recognize Jesus! Sometimes in the busyness of life—even the busyness of the ministry of the church—I can become guilty of being focused on the activity, instead of focusing on Christ, Who is supposed to be the focus of my activity.

So we’re taking a “time out” today. As a church we are fasting and praying for 24-hours to cleanse our hearts to recognize Jesus, and to recognize what He wants to accomplish as we commemorate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday later this month.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Deliver Me

March 23, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

My prayer based on Psalm 91—

Almighty God, I resolve to live in Your shelter because it’s the only place I will find rest.
I declare this about You, Lord: You alone are my refuge, my place of safety; my surest trust.
You will rescue me from every trap and protect me from every disease.
You will cover me and shelter me with Your wings.
Your faithful promises are my armor and protection.
I will not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
I will not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though everyone else may give in and give up, I will cling to You for complete victory.
I have chosen to make the Lord my refuge, my shelter, my victory, my total protection.
You have ordered Your  angels to protect me wherever I go.
They will hold me up with their hands so I won’t stumble.
In Your power I will defeat every foe that comes against me.

You, O Lord, have said, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name.
When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation.”

I take You at Your word, my God. Deliver me!

I love turning God’s Word into prayers! Check out this post where I elaborate on this idea.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , . 1 Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Stronger

March 10, 2011 — 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.

Stronger

       If we believe in a state of mind He produces in us, we will be disappointed, because circumstances will come in our lives when these works of Jesus Christ are shadowed over; but if we believe in Him, no matter how dark the passage is we shall be carried right through, and when the crisis is passed our souls will have been built into a stronger attitude towards Him.

From Facing Reality

Job certainly went through a “dark passage”! Yet in the midst of it he said, “But principled people hold tight, keep a firm grip on life, sure that their clean, pure hands will get stronger and stronger” (Job 17:9).

And as David passed through his “dark passage” he confidently stated—

I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me.
      He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy;
      no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
      He saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
      He surrounds and defends all who fear Him….

The righteous person faces many troubles,
      but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. (Psalm 34:4-7, 19)

My friend, hold on to Jesus. Hold on! He will carry you through, and you will build a stronger faith.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

AND

March 2, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

It’s a small conjunction that can have enormous impact on your life. Everyone loves it when you can have your cake AND eat it too. Isn’t that way better than having a cake but not getting to eat any of it? For God followers, AND takes on an added power.

Look at this verse:

We prayed to our God AND posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Of course Christians would never say, “We posted a guard but didn’t pray to God.”

But far too often Christians live this way: “We prayed to God but didn’t post a guard.”

Sometimes God provides supernaturally, and sometimes God provides through our efforts. In either case, God is still the provider. How sad that we often limit what God can do because we replace AND with but.

How about this instead…

  • Pray to God for healing AND see a doctor.
  • Pray to God for provision AND get a job.
  • Pray to God for a successful marriage AND learn to love your spouse better.
  • Pray to God for your church to grow AND invite your neighbor to a service.
  • Pray to God to protect your kids AND stay involved in their lives.
  • Pray to God to strengthen you against temptation AND get an accountability partner.

Start with prayer, then add AND.

Where will you add AND to your prayers today?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , . 1 Comment »

Don’t Fake It

February 24, 2011 — 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.

Have you ever had someone tell you, “Fake it until you make it”? In other words, you may not feel happy, but just start smiling and soon you will feel happy. Sadly, I’ve heard this type of so-called wisdom given by Christians to other Christians. Phrases like…

  • Don’t let anyone know that you feel scared, doubtful, or angry.
  • Never let ‘em see you sweat.
  • Even if you’re down, put on a happy face.

Turns out that this is not only bad advice, but harmful advice too. A study done by Michigan State University found:

     “Pretending to smile when you’re feeling bad makes you feel worse and be less productive. … [You] can’t just fake a smile and expect to feel good about it or negative feelings intensify.”

If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you should never fake it. Take a quick glance through the Psalms and you’ll see raw, real emotions: anger … depression … anxiety … vengeance … sadness … envy … spite … and many others. 

Here’s the deal: You may wear a {fake} smile on the outside, but God knows the {real} emotions in your heart. You’re not fooling Him. And, as it’s been revealed in this study, you’re not fooling anyone else either.

So go ahead and vent those negative emotions when you’re alone with God. Tell Him how you really feel (He already knows, but it’s good for you to hear you say it). And then let the Holy Spirit show you how to deal with those emotions in a healthy way.

Don’t bottle it up—don’t fake-it-until-you-make-it—be real and let God heal you.

UPDATE: I talk a lot about dealing with our strong, negative emotions in my book When Sheep Bite.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments »

Flash Prayers

February 23, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Many people have a lot of misconceptions about prayer. Some people think that prayer has to be long, or that it has to include certain “spiritual” phrases, or that you have to address God by one of His Hebrew titles, or that you have to pray in King James English (using words like Thou knowest…).

I’m not knocking any of these things, but neither am I saying any or all of them have to be included.

  • Some prayers recorded in the Bible are very short, and some prayer times last for days or even weeks.
  • Some prayers include very formal language, and some are just the street language of the day.
  • Some prayers address God with a specific title, and some don’t.

Here’s the key thing: they are all very personal. Each prayer reflecting the unique personality and the unique circumstance of the one doing the praying.

Nehemiah was a confidant of King Artaxerxes of Persia. One day the king noticed something he hadn’t seen before: Nehemiah was frowning. The king asked, “What’s up, Nehemiah?” Look what Nehemiah wrote:

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.

Nehemiah’s prayer was silent and extremely quick. It was a flash prayer.

But here’s what makes this prayer so powerful and effective. Nehemiah started praying for an opportunity to talk to the king about an important issue four months earlier. Nehemiah even took time to fast during his prayer time. His initial prayer to God is very formal sounding, and somewhat long. This prayer was rolling around in his heart and mind for quite awhile.

Then when the opportunity came to talk to the king, Nehemiah could quickly breathe a prayer to God, “Help me!”

I think is exactly what Paul had in mind when he told us to pray without ceasing.

Pray out loud … pray quietly … pray long … pray short … pray formally … pray casually … pray personalized prayers all the time.

I’m working on this.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Our Greatest Sin

February 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. (John 1:10)

“My fellow man, do you not know that your greatest sin is this: the all-pervading and eternal Presence is here, and you cannot feel Him?

Are you not aware that there is a great and true Light which brightly shines—and you cannot see it?

Have you not heard within your being a tender Voice whispering of the eternal value of your soul—and yet you have said, ‘I heard nothing’?

This is, in essence, the charge that John levels at human kind: Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was in the world, and the world failed to recognize Him.” (A.W. Tozer)

O God, I pray my eyes may see Your beauty in Your world around me every day.

I pray that my ears may hear Your unmistakable voice speaking to me every day.

I pray that my mind may glimpse more of Your majesty every day.

I pray that all of my senses may be enlivened to perceive Your presence surrounding me every day.

O God, may it never be said of me that I failed to recognize You each and every day.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , . 1 Comment »

Intentional Blessing

February 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

As many of my regular readers know, I often wake up with a distinct song in my mind. Many times these songs—which I believe are God-given—prepare me for my day. (I know it may seem like an unusual way for the Holy Spirit to speak to someone, but, hey, it works for me!)

Today’s song is an old hymn. One part of it goes like this…

Out in the highways and byways of life,
many are weary and sad;  
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
making the sorrowing glad.
Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

I want to be a blessing to others, but I don’t want to be an “accidental” blessing.

I think it’s a good habit to pray through my day before the day even gets started. I can then begin to think about my coworkers, my breakfast appointments, my board meetings, my classmates, my friends, even my family. I can begin to pray specifically for those interactions that God will give me the specific words to say in that moment that will bring the greatest blessing.

Of course, there will often be those unplanned interactions where you can bless someone. But let’s make sure we’ve done our part to be ready for those planned interactions.

I pray that you are letting Jesus shine out of your life and that you are being an intentional blessing to someone today!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , . 2 Comments »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Test Of A Preacher

February 3, 2011 — 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.

The Test Of A Preacher

       The test of an instructor in the Christian Church is that he is able to build me up in my intimacy with Jesus Christ, not that he gives me new ideas, but I come away feeling I know a bit more about Jesus Christ. Today the preacher is tested, not by the building up of saints but on the ground of his personality.

From Facing Reality

It’s natural to want to be popular. To that end, we often choose charisma over character, style over substance, entertainment over intimacy. Even those who are called to preach the Gospel can fall prey to this.

My prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to know You more; I want to become more intimate with You. As I do, may I always preach out of the overflow of that relationship. Never preaching just to please people, but merely sharing with others how much I love You. Search my heart, Holy Spirit, for any shred of envy that I’m not as popular as the-other-guy. The only applause I live for is that from the nail-scarred hands of my Savior Jesus Christ.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Be Thou Exalted

January 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Love this prayer from A.W. Tozer (in his book The Pursuit After God):

O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth’s treasures shall seem dear to me if only Thou art glorified in my life.

Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shall be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth.

Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it may mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee.

Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream.

Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, above my health and even my life itself.

Let me decrease that Thou mayest increase, let me sink that Thou mayest rise above.

I love it, and yet it is a true challenge to pray it.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »