What God Will You Choose?

February 24, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

What God:godMy friend Chuck and I have a sort of shorthand when we talk. We’ve been through so many experiences together, that now just a single word can bring to our minds the fullness of that time, with all of its tears and laughter. Someone listening to one of our conversations might not get the full impact, but we sure do!

It’s the same way when we read one of the Apostle Paul’s letters. He is writing to a church or an individual with whom he had a rich, personal experience. So when he alludes to something, those friends who went through that experience with him recall all of the fullness. When reading the letter to the church at Ephesus, you can experience some of that fullness by reading about Paul’s experience in that city in Acts 19.

In Acts 19 you will meet the followers of Jesus who were already there and see them get baptized in the Holy Spirit … watch Paul teach for three months in the synagogue before the Jewish troublemakers run him out … see Paul lecture for the next three years in the Hall of Tyrannus, so that everyone in that province heard the Word of God … see how God authenticated Paul’s ministry with miracles … experience those who tried to counterfeit what Paul was doing … see many in that city turn from their witchcraft and idol worship … and finally experience the tumult of a near-riot started by the merchants who were losing their income on sales of mythological trinkets because so many were turning to Christ.

With this backdrop, you can then understand why Paul uses such specific language in the opening greeting of his letter to Ephesus (see Ephesians 1:1-3). By doing so he is contrasting the followers of Jesus with the followers of Artemis—

  • Christians for whom God has a specific plan (“by the will of God” [1:1a]; see also 1:4 and 2:10) versus Artemis’ followers who felt like they had no choice (Acts 19:26).
  • Christians who are called saints (set apart for God’s special use) and faithful (trusting Jesus implicitly [1:1b]) versus those followers of Artemis who are self-serving (Acts 19:24, 25).
  • Christians who experience God’s grace and peace (1:2) versus those followers of Artemis who did not even know why they were there (Acts 19:32).

But the most specific language is in Ephesians 1:3—Praise be to THE God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (emphasis added)….

  • Not “a” god, but “THE” God.
  • Not a god that needs to be appeased, but THE loving Father.
  • Not a god that may or may not be able to respond, but OUR Lord Jesus Christ Who overcame death, hell and the grave so that our sins can be forgiven!

The question Paul invites the Ephesians to consider is the same question we must consider:

What God / god will you choose?

We will be continuing our study on the book of Ephesians next Sunday, and I would love to have you join us!

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Vocation Of A Saint

October 10, 2013 — 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.

Oswald Chambers

The Vocation Of A Saint 

     The vocation of a saint is to be in the thick of it “for His sake.” Whenever Jesus Christ refers to discipleship or to suffering, it is always, “for My sake.” The deep relationship of a saint is a personal one, and the reason a saint can be radiant is that he has lost interest in his own individuality and has become absolutely devoted to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

From Christian Disciplines

As the Westminster Catechism states: The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

It is in this glorifying of God and the enjoyment of Him that the saint becomes radiant. And this radiance continues even through suffering or persecution. Am I willing to step into this discipleship relationship, and stay in it? YES!!

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Production Of A Saint

September 12, 2013 — 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.

Oswald Chambers

The Production Of A Saint

     The production of a saint is the grandest thing earth can give to Heaven. A saint is not a person with a saintly character: a saint is a saintly character…. 

    A saint is a living epistle written by the finger of God, known and read of all men. A saint may be any man… who discovering himself at Calvary, with the nature of sin uncloaked to him, lies in despair; then discerning Jesus Christ as the Substitute for sin and rising in the glamour of amazement, he cries out—“Jesus, I should be there.” And to his astonished spirit, he receives justification from all his sinfulness by that wonderful Atonement. 

     Then, standing in that great light, and placing his hands, as it were, over his Savior’s crucified hands, his feet over His crucified feet, he crucifies forever his right to himself, and He baptizes him with the Holy Spirit and fire, substituting in his a new principle of live, and identity of holiness with Himself, until he bears unmistakably a family likeness to Jesus Christ. 

From Christian Disciplines 

YES!!

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Thursdays With Oswald—Are You A Saint?

September 5, 2013 — 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.

Oswald Chambers

Are You A Saint? 

     The New Testament idea of a saint is not a cloistered sentiment gathering around the head of an individual like a halo of glory, but a holy character reacting on life in deeds of holiness. 

From Christian Disciplines

Artists usually depict saints the same way they depicted Jesus: Someone with an angelic face, a heavenly glow around the top of their head, looking longingly up into heaven.

In reality, saints aren’t solitary but are constantly involved with other people. If there’s a glow on their face, it’s probably a glow of glistening sweat. There are callouses on their hands, and dirt under their fingernails from helping others. And if they are looking up to heaven, it’s in a moment of prayer trying to discern what God wants them to do next.

A saint is busy trying to live more and more like Jesus, Who came to feed the hungry, heal the sick, encourage the brokenhearted, bring hope to the hopeless, and show the love of God in touchable ways.

Are you a saint?

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Thursdays With Oswald—A Glorious Opportunity

April 25, 2013 — 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.

Oswald ChambersA Glorious Opportunity

     If you are a saint, you have a glorious opportunity of following the example of Jesus and being strong enough to decline to exercise your rights.

From Bringing Sons Unto Glory

He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. (Philippians 2:7)

“Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matthew 26:53-54)

“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Saints, you have a glorious opportunity to go and live like Jesus.

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Keepin’ It Balanced

October 31, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This has been a very full week for me—and it’s only Wednesday morning! Sometimes when things get busy, I tend to get unbalanced.

No, I don’t mean I’m losing my mind! I mean I tend to hyper-focus on some things and almost lose sight of other things. 

One thing I always make time for is my Bible reading time. So as I was reading Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, I quickly spotted the balance Paul called us to:

  • Watch for God and stay occupied.
  • Be aware of evil but not obsessed with it.
  • Be sensitive but not reactionary.
  • Keep an eye on current events and balance them with Scripture.
  • Pray for yourself and pray for others.
  • Be busy but not a busybody.
  • Work hard and trust God.
  • Warn a brother that’s in error and continue to love him.

Ah, yes, I needed that! I hope it helps you too.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Not A Saint, But Many Saints

October 18, 2012 — 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.

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.

Not A Saint, But Many Saints 

     The Book of God is insistent on this: we cannot develop a holy life alone, it would be a selfish life, without God in it and wrong. …

     Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone, you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts, He alters them. 

From Biblical Psychology 

I’ve got news for you: It’s not about you as an individual.

If you have asked God to forgive you of your sins because you believed that Jesus paid the price for your salvation on the Cross, you haven’t just been saved from death; you’ve also been saved to a fuller life. A key component of this fuller life is your interaction with other Christians.

Search through the New Testament and you will find that the word saint never appears in the singular form—it’s always plural: saintS.

I need other Christians to help form Christlike character in me, and other Christians need me to do the same for them. Don’t ever buy into the lie that you can be a Christian and live an isolated life.

You are a part of the Body of Christ. Don’t rob the Body of your vital role! Together we saintS are so much stronger and more effective than a solitary, isolated saint.

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

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Intercession

September 25, 2012 — 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.

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!

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

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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.

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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

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