Thursdays With Oswald—Guard Your Heart With Your Head

July 5, 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.

Guard Your Heart With Your Head

     The Bible puts the head in the prominent position, not the central position; the head is the “finish off,” the manifestation of what the heart is like; the outward expression of the heart, as a tree is the outward expression of the root. This is the relationship between the head and the heart which the Bible reveals. …

     In dealing with the Bible the danger is to come to it with a preconceived idea, to exploit it, and take out of it only what agrees with that idea. If we try, as has been tried by psychologists, to take out of the Bible something that agrees with modern science, we shall have to omit many things the Bible says about the heart. According to the Bible the heart is the center: the center of physical life, the center of memory, the center of damnation and of salvation, the center of God’s working and the center of the devil’s working, the center from which everything works which molds the human mechanism. 

From Biblical Psychology

Oswald Chambers was a holistic thinker: he knew the role of the Holy Spirit and the role of psychologists; he saw how the mind, spirit, and soul worked interdependently with each other. He never suggested that psychological issues be repaired with spiritual methods, nor that spiritual concerns be addressed by psychology.

But he also saw how easy it was to make heart matters (spiritual) concerns which should be addressed as head matters (psychological). The Bible says, “Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow all of the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

So how do I guard my heart? Part of guarding my heart does start with my head: I need to think about what’s going into my heart. But, as Oswald Chambers says, the head is just the “finish off” of what is happening in the heart. So ultimately, to keep my head in the right place, I need to guard my heart. I need to make my heart exclusively the home of the Holy Spirit, and allow Him free access to all of the concerns in my heart.

This is the only way I can “finish off” the right way.

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From Santa To Sexting (book review)

June 19, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Parenting is not for the faint of heart! If you’re a parent and you feel like you need some help in parenting your tween or teen, From Santa To Sexting by Brenda Hunter and Kristen Blair is a wonderful resource.

From Santa To Sexting makes ample use of comments and emails from other parents. As I read these comments, I found myself feeling like I wasn’t alone in my parenting work. Sometimes parents wonder if they are the only one dealing with a particular issue with their son or daughter, so these notes from other parents help us realize that we all face the same parenting challenges.

Beyond that encouragement, From Santa To Sexting presents some rock-solid research on the current state of the youth culture. These stats help parents see what items are “non-negotiable,” and what items are not ones to get worked up about.

This book is written for parents of middle schoolers, or for those about to enter middle school. Without the details becoming gruesome, topics are dealt with in a very matter-of-fact manner. Topics such as friends, internet/media usage, bullying, and family values. I came away with great assurance that although the battle is tough, it’s not only worth fighting, it’s one we can win!

The writer of Proverbs in the Bible said it well: Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). This book is a great resource in helping parents “train” their children in healthy ways.

I am a Leafwood Publishers book reviewer.

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Courageous Enough To Interfere

June 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

King David was brilliant as a king, and a disaster as a father. One of the things that is very telling is what is not written when his kids mess up. The Bible tells us that David felt strong emotions, but he simply didn’t act on them. In fact, one of the most telling verses of inaction comes when his son Adonijah is trying to put himself on David’s throne—

His father had never interfered with him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” (1 Kings 1:6)

It takes courage to interfere with our kids when they are misbehaving.

So why don’t some dads interfere? I can think of a few reasons…

  • They didn’t have a good relationship with their own father. In David’s case, his father Jesse didn’t think too highly of David. In fact, David was the overlooked, almost-forgotten son (1 Samuel 16:8-11).
  • They’re too tired. David was so focused on building up Israel’s defenses, and defeating the bad guys, that he had nothing left emotionally and physically to interact with his kids. We need to make it our priority! John wrote: I have no greater joy than knowing my children all walk in the truth (3 John 4). Now that’s a great priority!
  • Their past sins haunt them. David sinned against Bathsheba (like Amnon did against Tamar); David murdered Uriah (like Adonijah did Amnon). So perhaps he felt like he didn’t have the moral authority to interfere with his sons. But if you read some of the wise sayings in Proverbs 6:20-29 and 7:1-5, they sound like a man who has had experience. Let your hindsight (good or bad) be your kids’ foresight.
  • They think it’s too late. It’s never too late! Never! Apparently, David learned this lesson in time and taught his son Solomon (read Proverbs 1:1 and 4:3-4). As long as there is breath in your lungs, you should be your kids’ dad!

Dads, will you be courageous enough to lovingly interfere with your kids if they are getting off track?

Will you be courageous enough to make some changes in your schedule so that you can invest the time and energy and creativity necessary to raise them up?

Will you be courageous enough to confess your past sins, and not let them hold you back from speaking into your kids’ lives?

Will you be courageous enough to start today?

Dad, you kids need you to be involved! Be courageous enough to step into their lives.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Seeing And Hearing “Holy”

June 14, 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.

Seeing And Hearing “Holy” 

     The Bible places in the heart everything that the modern psychologist places in the head. … 

     God does alter the desire to look at the things we used to look at; and we find our eyes are guarded because He has altered the disposition of our soul life. …I will always hear what I listen for, and the ruling disposition of the soul determines what I listen for, just as the ruling disposition either keeps the eyes from beholding vanity or makes them behold nothing else. 

From Biblical Psychology

Solomon wrote, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). This is where Chambers gets the thought about our hearts doing what psychologists want our heads to do.

The more I fill my heart with God’s Word (Psalm 119:11), the more the Holy Spirit can remind me of that Word (John 14:26). The more I am tuned in to that sanctifying instruction of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:26), the more holy I will live (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:7).

This “tuning in” in the spiritual realm (the heart) absolutely affects the physical realm (the head). I have written before about the reticular activating system (RAS) in our brains (you can read about this here and here). The combination of the Word and the Spirit reprograms our RAS so that our eyes and ears are looking and listening for what pleases and glorifies God.

Do you want to live a holy life? Start by guarding your heart. You do this by filling your heart with the Word of God.

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FLEE!!

June 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Many times pastors point to passages of Scripture that tell us to fight the enemy. Put on the full armor of God! Take your stand! Storm the gates of Hell! You are more than a conqueror!

Those are all true, but…

There is also a time to run away from a battle. 

Flee from sexual immorality … Flee from idolatry … (1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:14).

These two enemies usually form a two-headed monster. Look throughout the Bible and you will see that when the Israelites worshipped anything other than God, they did it with idols and illicit sexual practices.

The Greek word for “sexual immorality” is porneo. This is where we get our word pornography. And isn’t pornography nothing more than idolatry of the naked human body?

Porneo is defined as:

  • Prostituting one’s body to the lust of another
  • Unlawful sexual activity
  • Being drawn away by another into idolizing something illicit
  • Defiling yourself sexually

What do we do with this? FLEE!!

You cannot fight the two-headed monster of Porneo with your willpower. You must run away! 

Porneo is not something to be tamed or controlled. It’s a monster from which you must flee! 

This is not a temptation you can control. It’s one you must avoid at all costs! 

Look at Joseph: He left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Don’t resist the urge—FLEE!!

Don’t take a cold shower—RUN AWAY!!

Get out. Stay out. Get as far away as possible from this two-headed monster.

You cannot win this fight; you must by all means avoid this battle. 

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6 Quotes from “Porn-Again Christian”

May 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Earlier today I posted a review of Porn-Again Christian: A Frank Discussion on Pornography and Masturbation. Here are some of the quotes from this book that really caught my eye

“Simply, according to God, marriage and sex are related, connected, and exclusive.”

“The cold hard truth is that most guys’ struggles are only known by their fellow Christian buddies and unless Christian dudes man up and stop arguing about stupid secondary theological issues and spend their energies holding one another accountable to get dominion over their underwear, then Christian friendship is nothing more than Christian fakery.”

“The act of lusting after the unclothed body of a woman is not a sin. The issue is which woman’s unclothed body you are lusting after. If she is your bride, then you are simply making the Song of Songs sing again to God’s glory and your joy. If she is not your bride, then you are simply sinning. It was God who clothed our mother Eve after her sin, and it is Eve’s daughters who undress themselves for themselves for the camera in violation of God’s desire that the female bodies he formed be seen only in their full glory by their husbands.”

“Pornography has the sad effect of objectifying people into objects with parts, thereby divorcing a person from their body and consequently diminishing their dignity.”

“The Bible is emphatically clear that God’s men should abstain from certain sins that war against their souls. First, God’s men should not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Second, God’s men should not covet their neighbor’s wife, even if her clothes leave little to the imagination (Exodus 20:17). Third, God’s men should not participate with prostitutes who use their bodies as a commodity to be rented for a good time or a good photo (Proverbs 23:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:15-16). Fourth, God’s men should not be polygamous, because their father Adam and Head Jesus each had one bride (Eve and the Church). Fifth, God’s men should not be fornicators who slide their hands, which God made to lift up in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8), up the shirt of their girlfriend, even if she asks (1 Corinthians 6:9-13).”

“Eve may or may not have been beautiful, but to Adam she was glorious because she was all he had ever known. Practically, he had no standard of beauty to compare his bride to—she was his only standard of beauty. In creation, we see the wise pattern that for every man his standard of beauty is not to be objectified, but rather it should simply be his wife. This means that if a man has a tall, skinny red-headed wife then that is sexy for him, and if his neighbor has a short, curvy brunette wife than that is sexy for him. Pornographic lust exists to elicit coveting and dissatisfaction that no woman can satisfy because she cannot be tall and short, endowed and waifish, black and white, young and old, like the harem laid out in pornography.”

Christian men, you MUST read this book!

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Thursdays With Oswald—Heaven & Hell

May 3, 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.

Heaven & Hell

     Hell is the place of angelic condemnation. It has nothing to do primarily with man. God’s Book never says that Hell was made for man, although it is true that it is the only place for the man who rejects God’s salvation. Hell was the result of a distinct condemnation passed by God on celestial beings, and is as eternal as those celestial anarchists. 

From Biblical Psychology

Jesus makes it quite clear that Heaven is my home— “…take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

He makes it equally as clear that Hell was not made for mankind— “…the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

Furthermore, Jesus is completely clear that He is the only way to Heaven, and that the rejection of the forgiveness that is possible by accepting His atonement on the Cross leaves only one destination for the unforgiven: Hell.

This is an important reminder. It reawakens me to be persistent in telling others this truth about Heaven and Hell.

Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and He sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve. (Proverbs 24:11-12)

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. (Jude 22-23)

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A Beautiful Mess

December 12, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m a neat-and-tidy guy. I like everything to be in its place, so clutter drives me crazy.

So you can imagine how this proverb initially stuck me…

Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest. (Proverbs 14:4)

A loose translation goes like this: If you want something to be productive, you sometimes have to put up with a mess.

Oh boy!

I’ve been learning that lately. In my interim role at the En Gedi Youth Center, in our own church’s Impact youth group, even around my house the “messiness” means people are there. I could have everything all spiffed up, but then that would mean no kids … no laughter … no ministry … no life-changing interactions.

So I’m learning that I’ll take the mess to get the interaction with others.

Lord, help me appreciate the beautiful messes in my life!

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Helping Needy Families

September 19, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

The Bible is pretty cut-and-dry on this:

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. (Proverbs 3:27)

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2:14-17)

So here’s an easy way for those of us in Kent County to do something within our power to help the needy among us:

Buy An Extra Bag Or Two Of Groceries

While the County-Wide Food Drive is going on, take an extra grocery bag or two with you, and fill them up. You will be making a huge difference in the lives of some needy families. You can get a list of needed food and staple items from Access Of West Michigan’s website by clicking here.

Food needs to be turned in to a collection site by Saturday, October 8. If you are in the Cedar Springs area, you can drop off your donations at Calvary Assembly of God, and we’ll deliver them for you.

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Love Serving

August 31, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Whenever you are able, do good to people who need help. (Proverbs 3:27)

I’ve found that it is a lot easier to do good to people when I love them. And the more I love them, the more I enjoy helping them. It’s not an imposition or a task. It’s a joy to serve.

Around Calvary Assembly of God, we have a simple statement: We ♥ Cedar Springs!

Because we love our city, we are happy to do good whenever and however we can.

Yesterday we pulled on our waders, took a generous supply of trash bags, and even secured a couple of trash grabbers so we could participate in the Cedar Creek Cleanup. We sloshed through the creek, and up and down the banks on each side, and found all sorts of interesting things. When we were done, we were wet and muddy (and probably didn’t smell too great, since creek water is not usually a favorite cologne/perfume scent!), but we were also happy. No one was complaining, because we were excited to serve.

Not only do we ♥ Cedar Springs, but—as I may have mentioned a few times before—I ♥ My Church! And I ♥ that they ♥ to serve our community. We are always on the look out for more opportunities to show the love of Jesus as we do good to others.

If you’d like to see some more pictures from our fun day of service, click here to go to Flickr.

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