Social Justice

October 1, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Scales of social justiceThere is a lot of talk about “social justice”—speaking out and acting on behalf of those who are oppressed, marginalized and disenfranchised. This is close to God’s heart, too, as He describes “pure religion” in terms of caring for orphans and looking after widows (see James 1:27).

But we hinder our attempts at social justice if it’s not tied to God’s righteousness. Because without righteousness, we don’t have God’s unlimited help and are simply operating under our own limited power.

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2, emphasis added)

Justice is mentioned four times in this 59th chapter of Isaiah, but always in close proximity to righteousness—

The opening verse is the perfect conclusion: God has the ability to help us (justice), but our lack of righteousness prevents Him from hearing our pleas and moving to action.

The single-best way to make social justice maximally effective is for each of us to pursue God’s righteousness. 

All efforts at social justice apart from God’s help will bring small, temporary gains at best. But even our smallest attempts at social justice with God’s help will bring lasting results for the greatest number of people.

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Links & Quotes

September 29, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading from today…

“As much as half of the water in Earth’s oceans could be older than the Sun, a study has found.” This report is more evidence of the accuracy of the account of Creation in the Bible. Of course the water has been around longer than the sun: Genesis says that God created water in Day 2, but the sun wasn’t created until Day 4.

“I have little fear that any nation or combination of nations could bring down the United States and Canada by military action from without. But this I do fear—we sin and sin and do nothing about it. There is so little sense of the need of repentance—so little burden for the will of God to be wrought in our national life. I fear that the voice of blood will become so eloquent that God Almighty will have no choice but to speak the word that will bring us down. I do pray often: ‘Oh God, send a revival of repentance and the fear of God that will sweep through the continent that we may be spared and that we may honor Thee!’” —A.W. Tozer

Max Lucado challenges us to invite God in.

Sarah Rainer, a PhD in psychology, shows how Christianity and psychology should be integrated.

It is unconscionable to me how my tax dollars are being diverted by a so-called “health care” program to destroy life. Read how Obamacare funds Planned Parenthood’s heinous, murderous activities.

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Links & Quotes

September 23, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading from today…

A good laugh— 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.”

“It becomes every man who purposes to give himself to the care of others, seriously to consider the four following things: First, that he must one day give an account to the Supreme Judge of all the lives entrusted to his care. Secondly, that all his skill, and knowledge, and energy as they have been given him by God, so they should be exercised for his glory, and the good of mankind, and not for mere gain or ambition. Thirdly, and not more beautifully than truly, let him reflect that he has undertaken the care of no mean creature, for, in order that he may estimate the value, the greatness of the human race, the only begotten Son of God became himself a man, and thus ennobled it with his divine dignity, and far more than this, died to redeem it. And fourthly, that the doctor being himself a mortal man, should be diligent and tender in relieving his suffering patients, inasmuch as he himself must one day be a like sufferer.” —Dr. Thomas Sydenham, known as the father of English medicine

“It is a poor thing to strike our colors to God when the ship is going down under us; a poor thing to come to Him as a last resort, to offer up ‘our own’ when it is no longer worth keeping. If God were proud He would hardly have us on such terms: but He is not proud, He stoops to conquer, He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him.” —C.S. Lewis

“Prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts no offering from His creatures that is not accompanied by obedience. To pray for revival while ignoring or actually flouting the plain precept laid down in the Scriptures is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble.” —A.W. Tozer

These articles aren’t just for coaches, but for anyone who works with youth: Jameis Winston & The Fine Art Of Enabling from Mark Atteberry, and The Secret To Hard Conversations With Today’s Athletes by Tim Elmore.

A great question: Where Do Others Fit In Your Schedule?

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Not A Glory-Stealer

September 23, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Not A Glory-StealerNot to us, Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. (Psalm 115:1)

  • You are Love; I struggle with selfishness.
  • You are Faithful; I can be fickle.
  • You are Just; I am short-sighted.
  • You are Mercy; I can be petty.
  • You are Grace; I keep score.
  • You are Forgiveness; I remember hurts.
  • You are Perfection; I am flawed.
  • You are the Potter; I am a pot.
  • You are God; I am man.

Not to me—not ever to me—be any glory, but all to You. I extol You both now and forever more. Despite my flaws, may no one ever be able to say of me that I tried to steal Your glory.

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Links & Quotes

September 18, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading from today…

“If evangelical Christianity is to stay alive it must have men again—the right kind of men. It must repudiate the weaklings who dare not speak out, and it must seek in prayer and much humility the coming again of men of the stuff of which prophets and martyrs are made.” —A.W. Tozer

“Heaven will solve our problems, but not, I think, by showing us subtle reconciliations between all our apparently contradictory notions. The notions will all be knocked from under our feet. We shall see that there never was any problem.” —C.S. Lewis

“I believe the biggest reason why families are being redefined today is not because of liberal vs. conservative ideology. It’s because we had to embrace a new ‘community’ when the nuclear family exploded. Traditional families have been broken, yet people still want to be in a ‘family,’ even if it’s temporary. Sadly, this family thing often fails. Whether in a home, a team, a dorm, a company, a gym or a church, we tend to walk away rather than work at difficult relationships. We’re like porcupines—we tend to hurt each other when we get close.” Read more of the outstanding post from Tim Elmore: How Eating Alone Costs More Than You Think.

A great post to cut through the mis-information: Myths About Roe v. Wade.

“According to some research, over half of women who have abortions do so under pressure, while those who resist can face violence and death. …The Center for Disease Control lists homicide as a leading cause of death among pregnant women.” Here are more facts contradicting the pro-abortion crowd’s rhetoric.

Good stuff: 8 Things Every Healthy Marriage Has.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Ten Evidences For Creation.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Facts on illegal immigrants.

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Links & Quotes

September 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading from this weekend…

“I do not agree with a big way of doing things. What matters is the individual. If we wait till we get numbers, then we will be lost in the numbers and we will never be able to show that love and respect for the person.” —Mother Teresa

For anyone struggling with an addiction to pornography, this sounds like a helpful book: 10 Lies Men Believe About Pornography.

According to Cosmopolitan magazine, if you are pro-life political candidate you are automatically disqualified from getting support from any “enlightened” woman.

Obama & ISIS[INFOGRAPHIC] This is scary … do you know how much money ISIS makes every day from selling the oil they have captured?

“It is right to pour out our whole soul before Him that careth for us. But it is good, likewise, to unbosom ourselves to a friend, in whom we can confide.” —John Wesley

“That is always the way with a truly healthy Christian; God’s grace is externally manifested. There is the inner life within, it is active, and by and by when it is in a right state, it saturates everything. You talk with the gracious man, he cannot help talking about Christ; you go into his house, you will soon see that a Christian lives there; you notice his actions and you will soon see he has been with Jesus. He is so full of sap [Psalm 104:16] that the sap must come out. He has so much of the divine life within, that the holy oil and divine balsam must flow from him.” —Charles Spurgeon

“O God, of Thy goodness give me Thyself, for Thou art enough for me, and I may ask nothing that is less and find any full honors to Thee. God give me Thyself!” —Lady Julian

“Yes—at first one is sort of concussed and ‘life has no taste and no direction.’ One soon discovers, however, that grief is not a state but a process—like a walk in a winding valley with a new prospect at every bend.” —C.S. Lewis

A great post from Dave Barringer for married couples: Faking Your Death.

“Christianity is the only world religion whose primary source documents are in a language other than the founder of the religion. In other words, the New Testament texts are not in Aramaic, but in Koine Greek. … This makes a vitally important theological statement which so dramatically contrasts, for example, with Muslims who maintain that the Qur’an is untranslatable and that the Word of Allah can be conveyed truly and fully only in Arabic. For, at the very outset of the Christian message, the translatability of the gospel is enshrined in our primary source documents.” —Dr. Timothy C. Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary, The Translatability Of The Gospel

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Links & Quotes

September 9, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading from today…

“One doesn’t realize in early life that the price of freedom is loneliness. To be happy one must be tied.” —C.S. Lewis

“The Savior looks at sin through the glass of compassion; we often look upon it through the lens of Pharisaic pride.” —Charles Spurgeon

“The longer the answer is delayed and the more effectually you pray, the more important He becomes and the less important the answer becomes.” Read more from David Wilkerson in his post Power In Prayer.

I always enjoy Tim Elmore’s insights into the youth mindset. Check out his post 4 Meta-Beliefs of Generation iY.

I think it is quite comical that so-called serious scientist says that a certain level of CO2 gas is “symbolic,” and how they extrapolate data with no regard to past data nor any mitigating future events. All in all, “climate change” proponents are more philosopher than they are scientist.

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Links & Quotes

September 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading & watching from this weekend…

“Our mistake is that we want God to send revival on our terms. We want to get the power of God into our hands, to call it to us that it may work for us in promoting and furthering our kind of Christianity. We want still to be in charge, guiding the chariot through the religious sky in the direction we want it to go, shouting ‘Glory to God,’ it is true, but modestly accepting a share of the glory for ourselves in a nice inoffensive sort of way. We are calling on God to send fire on our altars, completely ignoring the fact that they are our altars and not God’s.” —A.W. Tozer

Eric Metaxas has a great take on depression in his post Depression And Black Dog Beliefs.

[VIDEO] I’m not a huge Duck Dynasty fan, but this short quote from Phil Robertson is pure gold!

Paleontologists has found the bones of a huge dinosaur called Dreadnoughtus, that was bigger than a 737 airplane! It sounds a lot like what God described to Job.

Earth has a new address. Our home supercluster is called Laniakea (for the Hawaiian word meaning immeasurable heaven).

Whether you are a Detroit Tigers fan or not, this is a great story about teammates and friends.

“We are atheists in this matter of prayer compared to the early church. Many today look upon secret prayer as hard work and boring, so they do it only occasionally. Can you imagine a husband and wife living in the same house, hardly ever speaking and yet in public speaking as if they were intimate? So some treat our blessed Lord! Prayer, hidden secret prayer, is the mightiest weapon God has given His people; yet it is neglected, disdained, and seldom used.” —David Wilkerson

“Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return.” —Emmanuel Swedenborg

“Now if God be wisdom, as truth and Scripture testify, then a true philosopher is a lover of God.” —Augustine

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God’s Longing

September 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

God's LongingHere’s what God says about you and me: “I long to redeem them” (Hosea 7:13). The prophet Hosea has a front row seat, watching God pursue and woo His people, and Hosea records for us God’s longing passion.

The placement of God’s declaration—I long to redeem them—is a wonder to me. It’s right in the middle of a catalogue of His people’s sins. God says:

  • Your kings fall because they don’t call on Me (Hosea 7:7).
  • You don’t realize how weak and powerless you’ve become because you won’t pray to Me (7:9-10).
  • You try to rule yourselves without consulting Me (8:4).
  • You disregard My laws as if they were irrelevant (8:12).
  • You no longer pay attention to My prophets who are calling you back to Me (9:7).

And still in the midst of all this comes, “I long to redeem them.” Astounding!

God tells us what we need to do—

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you. (10:12)

The alternative?

BUT you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors…you will be completely destroyed. (10:13-15)

What will you choose: To seek God OR to depend on your own strength?

God LONGS to redeem you, but you have to ask Him to do so.

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Links & Quotes

September 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

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Some good reading from today…

“The book of Acts is the account of holy men and women seeking the Lord’s face. From beginning to end, it tells of how prayer moves God. Whether in the Upper Room, in prisons, in some secret house hiding from authorities, or in Simon’s house on a street called Straight— they prayed! In the morning and sometimes all night, they prayed without ceasing. Cornelius prayed always and Peter prayed on rooftops. By the seashore, in the temple, or in the desert, they called upon the Lord continually. They spent hours and days shut in with God, until they received dear, detailed guidance. And what incredible specifics God gave them.”  Read more of David Wilkerson’s post Seeking The Face Of The Lord.

Chuck Colson on the value and testimony in doing good work.

“For of Him, besides these benefits whereof we have spoken partly such as are left to the administration of nature and bestowed both upon good and bad, we have a particular bounty of His love peculiar only to the good. For although we can never yield Him sufficient thanks for our being, life, sense, and understanding of Him, yet for that He has not forsaken us when we were involved in sin, when we turned away from His contemplation, and were blinded with love of black iniquity; for that He has sent us His Word, His only Son, by whose incarnation and passion for us we might conceive how dearly God esteemed us, and by that singular sacrifice be purged from our guilt, and by the illumination of His Holy Spirit in our hearts, tread down all difficulties, and ascend to that eternal rest, and ineffable sweetness of His contemplation—what heart, how many tongues, can suffice to return sufficient thanks for this last benefit.” —Augustine

“Self-righteousness is terrible among God’s people. If we feel that we are what we ought to be, then we will remain what we are. We will not look for any change or improvement in our lives. This will quite naturally lead us to judge everyone by what we are. This is the judgment of which we must be careful. To judge others by ourselves is to create havoc in the local assembly.” —A.W. Tozer

Tim Elmore on this generation’s Nomophobia. And check out his newest book 12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid.

Read this (even if you don’t think you need to): 4 Signs You May Be Addicted To Busyness.

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