saints | Craig T. Owens

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Intercession

September 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

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Intercession is prayer for others. How it must please our Heavenly Father when we long for—and pray for—the advancement of others.

Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. (Colossians 1:9)

The apostle Paul prayed that the Colossians would grow in the knowledge of God’s will, in spiritual wisdom, and in godly understanding. He knew that with these tools they would be able to live a life worthy of the Lord and [be able to] please Him in every way (v. 10). The outward signs of this worthy life, Paul explains, are:

Doing good works
Knowing God more intimately
Developing greater endurance, patience, and empathy
Overflowing in thankfulness
Building up other saints (vv. 11-12)

Did you catch that last point: building up other saints. One of the “other saints” would be Paul himself!

So when my prayers shift from petition (praying for what I need) to intercession (praying for what others need), as other people grow in God, they build me up!

What an amazing thought:

The way I get what I need from God is to stop thinking about myself and praying for myself, and to start interceding for others.

That is the power and the blessing of intercessory prayer!

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, Colossians, Heavenly Father, intercession, prayer, saints. Leave a Comment »

Why Would You Go Through It?

June 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

The process we call sanctification is usually not a lot of fun. At least not in the moment the Holy Spirit is doing His work on us.

I like to remember the definition of sanctification by saying it this way: saint-ification. Literally, the Holy Spirit is making us into saints.

So why would you or I want to go through that saint-ification process?

Is it so others will admire us? Is it so we will become the example for everyone else to follow? No!

We go through it because it glorifies God when we become saints.

And notice this: the word is saintS (plural, not singular). If you search through the New Testament you will find that this word is always in the plural. There are no singular saints. The Holy Spirit saint-ifies us to bring unity to the Body of Christ.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)

Think of your physical body. You go through the process of dieting or exercising for the benefit of the entire body. Your tastebuds may really want to savor some junk food, but for the good of the whole body, you go through the discipline of eating the healthy food. Your legs may not want to go for that jog, but for the good of the whole body, you push through your exercise routine.

It’s the same way spiritually: The Holy Spirit helps you become saint-ified for the good of the whole Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit wants you to mature as a saint so that you can help other saintS, and together the unified Body of Christ can glorify God.

So allow the Holy Spirit to take you through the saint-ification process, because other saintS need your help. And God will be glorified as you do!

If you’ve missed any of the messages in the Immersed series, you can find them all here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Body of Christ, Calvary Assembly of God, exercise, God's glory, healthy, Holy Spirit, maturity, Romans, saints, sanctification. 2 Comments »

Thursdays With Oswald—Stop Doing That!

September 15, 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.

Stop Doing That!

Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. … We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory.

From My Utmost For His Highest

I’m usually pretty good at making To-Do lists. But how am I at making Don’t-Do lists?

I need find those things that are holding me back, and deliberately destroy them—totally neglect them, and let them die from starvation. Doing has a certain power in my spiritual growth, but not doing can have an equal power as well.

“The average human being in any line of work could double his productive [or spiritual] capacity overnight if he began right now to do all the things he knows he should do, and to stop doing all the things he knows he should not do.” —Elmer G. Letterman

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: decision, Elmer Letterman, God's glory, Holy Spirit, indecision, Oswald Chambers, quote, saints, to do lists, willpower. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Unconscious Blasphemy

June 16, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Unconscious Blasphemy

For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one.

From My Utmost For His Highest

To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)

God is ABLE to make you His saint.

Jesus is WILLING to make you His saint.

The Holy Spirit is WORKING to make you His saint.

Will you let Him?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's call, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Jude, Oswald Chambers, saints, sanctification, sanctity. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Broken And Crucified

February 24, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Broken

We need to remember that we cannot train ourselves to be Christians; we cannot discipline ourselves to be saints; we cannot bend ourselves to the will of God: we have to be broken to the will of God.

From Facing Reality

Crucified

To “crucify” means to put to death, not counteract, not sit on, not whitewash, but kill. If I do not put to death the things in me which are not of God, they will put to death the things that are of God.

From Biblical Ethics

Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.”

Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

I’m trying to live broken and crucified. Will you join me in this daily pursuit?