Scripture | Craig T. Owens

March 2026
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Links & Quotes

August 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading & watching from today…

“The nearer our souls draw to God the larger our love will grow, and the greater our love the more unselfish we shall become and the greater our care for the souls of others. Hence increased spiritual experience, so far as it is genuine, brings with it a strong desire that others may know the same grace that we ourselves enjoy. This leads quite naturally to an increased effort to lead others to a closer and more satisfying fellowship with God.” —A.W. Tozer

[VIDEO] What a good sport! Assembly of God General Superintendent Dr. George O. Wood is “interviewed” by comedian Michael Jr.

“There is in the life and teachings of Jesus a relentless tendency toward simplicity. There is a steady impulse toward living at risk, and with a kind of abandon to the Father’s care that looks foolish to the well-off world. There is an unsettling otherworldliness that made Jesus and His first followers radically useful in this dead-end world. There is a freedom from things and for the Kingdom that thrills the heart of His disciples. Lord, give us this freedom.” —John Piper

“Jesus asks you not to lead; He Himself has gone before; He calls you to no labor which He has not Himself already accomplished. … I know the proud flesh wants to serve Christ, by striking out new paths. Proud man has a desire to preach new doctrine, to set up a new Church, to be an original thinker, to judge, and consider, and do anything but obey. This is no service to Christ. He that would serve Christ must follow Him; he must be content to tread only in the old footsteps, and go only where Christ has led the way.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Preserve, then, my sons, that friendship ye have begun with your brethren, for nothing in the world is more beautiful than that. It is indeed a comfort in this life to have one to whom thou canst open thy heart, with whom thou canst share confidences, and to whom thou canst entrust the secrets of thy heart. It is a comfort to have a trusty man by thy side, who will rejoice with thee in prosperity, sympathize in troubles, encourage in persecution.” —Ambrose

Don’t be deceived: Fifty Shades Of Gray is pornography! Here’s how to fight it.

[VIDEO] The Bible Project has these helpful, artistic videos that give you a big-picture-view of a book of the Bible. Check out what they have already done with Genesis.

Ask & Act

August 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor Josh and Pastor Tom kicked off a 3-week series yesterday with Pastor Tom sharing part one in Boating Lessons. I loved his message! Here are my “raw notes” just as I took them during Pastor Tom’s message.

Boating Lessons—part 1 (Matthew 14:22-33)

When Jesus spoke to the disciples in the boat He literally said, “Don’t be afraid. I AM” (Matthew 14:27; also see Exodus 3:14, 6:12).

Peter replies, “If You are the I AM, command me to come out on the water to You” (v. 28). Peter counts on the Word of God and experiences the supernatural.

The 11 other disciples in the boat didn’t have Jesus speak directly to them at all. They were content with their boat, so He let them have their boat.

All 12 could have walked on water. The two differences:

(1) ASK—Peter asked for it.

(2) ACT—Peter obeyed when Jesus said, “Come.” [The word ‘come’ used here only occurs in the Greek in the present imperfect tense … Peter has to complete the action now.]

The supernatural with Jesus wasn’t just for Peter; it can be for me as well…

Very truly I tell you, WHOEVER believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do WHATEVER you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask Me for ANYTHING in My name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14)

“Christians are more afraid of messing up than they are of missing out.” —Mark Batterson

I don’t want to miss out on what God has for me! So I am going to ask Jesus to let me be used for Him, and I am going to be quickly obedient when He says, “Come.”

Join us next Sunday as Pastor Josh continues this series.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Calvary Assembly of God, faith in action, I AM, Jesus Christ, Mark Batterson, obedience, prayer, Scripture, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Most Audacious Verse

July 31, 2014 — 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 Most Audacious Verse

The faith that does not react in the flesh is very immature. Paul was so identified with Jesus Christ that he had the audacity to say that what men saw in his life in the flesh was the very faith of the Son of God. Galatians 2:20 is the most audacious verse in the Bible! Paul is not referring to his own elementary faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior, but to the faith of the Son of God, and he says that that identical faith is now in him.

From Conformed To His Image

Do you think that Paul is being audacious?

If so, do you think that Chambers is right that we can have that sort of faith?

If so, what’s it going to take?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, Bible, faith, faith in action, Galatians, Jesus Christ, maturity, Oswald Chambers, Savior, Scripture. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some interesting reading from today…

“A gracious Hand leads us in ways we know not, and blesses us not only without, but even against, our plans and inclinations.” —William Wilberforce

A cool article about George MacDonald’s influence on C.S. Lewis.

Ken Davis uses an optical illusion to make a fantastic point in his post Perception Or Reality?

The son of a Hamas founder confirms that this terrorist group targets civilians.

[INFOGRAPHIC] This is a win-win: Benaiah featured on The Overview Bible Project.

Praise God!! Millions of Muslims converting to Jesus Christ!

“Commend me to the Christian who says, ‘I bless God I am saved; now what can I do for others?’ The first thing in the morning he prays, ‘God help me to say a word to some soul this day.’ During the day, wherever he may be, he is watching his opportunity, and will do good if he can.” —Charles Spurgeon

“There’s a great deal of trust in the love of God, and a great deal of love in the trust of God.” —John Piper

13 Quotes From “Yawning At Tigers”

July 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Yawning At Tigers by Drew Dyck is a wake-up call to any who view God as tame or Christianity as boring. As I read this book I found myself frequently saying, “Yes!” out loud to the truths Drew has shared. I loved this book! You can read my full book review by clicking here. Below are a few of the quotes I highlighted (unless otherwise noted, the quotes are from the author).

“We can’t truly appreciate God’s grace until we glimpse His greatness. We won’t be lifted by His love until we are humbled by His holiness.”

“Here, the contrast between God and an idol couldn’t be clearer. We are told that after offering sacrifices to the golden calf, the Israelites ‘sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry’ (Exodus 32:6). But when God descended on Mount Sinai, ‘everyone in the camp trembled’ (Exodus 19:16). You don’t tremble before an idol. … An idol is safe. It never challenges you. It isn’t threatening. It doesn’t judge sin or demand loyalty. But the Holy One of Israel is a jealous God—passionate and loving, yes, but unspeakably dangerous too.”

“The language we use reveals an awful lot about how we think about God. A cursory examination of the way we speak exposes how pervasive this Jesus-as-my-nonjudgmental-buddy attitude is in the church.”

“While we know enough about God to receive salvation and enter into a relationship with Him, our knowledge of Him is still far from complete. Our intelligence is too small, our languages too limited. When it comes to God, we are all beginners.”

“So soon as we become satisfied with any picture of God, we are in danger of idolatry.” —Victor White

“Unfortunately, in our efforts to make the Bible interesting and relevant, we try to normalize God. We become experts at taking something lofty, so unfathomable and incomprehensible, and dragging it down to the lowest shelf. We failed to account for the fact that God is neither completely knowable nor remotely manageable.”

“We lack a practice of personal holiness because we’ve lost a theology of divine holiness. When we neglect a part of God’s nature, we shouldn’t be surprised when that same attribute goes missing in our lives. … The Bible repeatedly makes explicit the connection between God’s holiness and ours. ‘Be holy,’ God says, ‘because I… am holy’ (Leviticus 19:2). The New Testament echoes this theme. ‘Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do’ (1 Peter 1:15).”

“Only a God who punishes evil and rights wrongs is ultimately a God of love. … To fear the Lord is not to suggest God is callous or cool. Just the opposite, in fact. It is God’s consuming love that makes Him so dangerous. Because He cares deeply for His creation, He will not tolerate evil and injustice forever.”

“The evidence of the Christian’s zeal and piety was made clear to all the pagans. For example, they alone in such a catastrophic state of affairs gave practical evidence of their sympathy and philanthropy works. All day long some of them would diligently persevere in performing the last offices for the dying and burying them (for there were countless numbers, and no one to look after them). While others gathered together in a single assemblage all who were afflicted by famine throughout the whole city, and would distribute bread to them all. When this became known, people glorified the God of the Christians, and, convinced by the deeds themselves, confessed the Christians alone were truly pious and God-fearing.” —Eusebius

“When we root our sense of identity in God, everything changes. Once our vertical connection is healthy, the horizontal ones tend to thrive. However, a cruel irony comes into play when we seek validation from others that only God can provide. When we lean too heavily on human relationships, we actually end up sabotaging them. We become clingy, controlling. We find ourselves piling expectations on people they were never meant to bear.”

“This doesn’t mean the New Testament is solely about God’s intimacy. Nor does the Old Testament speak strictly about God’s transcendence. The entire Bible speaks of both. All through Scripture we are reminded that God is both great and near.”

“For people in the throes of suffering, the Bible offers something much different than an answer—it offers a Person.”

“We shall never succeed in knowing ourselves unless we seek to know God.” —Teresa of Avila

No Kindas

July 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Amaziah could have been one of Judah’s great kings. His father had cleaned up the Temple and had begun a revival of worship of God. When he came to the throne, Amaziah quickly led his army to an impressive victory over the Edomites.

That’s when things started to unravel.

Actually, things were beginning to come apart right from the start of Amaziah’s reign, but no one seemed to notice.

We get the clues in the language the biblical writers use. Amaziah frequently had a “but” or a “however” attached to what he did. Notice—

Amaziah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, BUT not as his father David had done” (2 Kings 14:3).
He worshiped God “HOWEVER the high places [of pagan worship] were not removed” (14:4).
He rallied his fighting men for battle BUT “he also hired a hundred thousand [mercenary] fighting men from Israel” (2 Chronicles 25:6).
Amaziah led his army to victory over the Edomites with God’s help BUT “he brought back the gods of the people of [Edom] … bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them” (25:14).
The king of Israel warned Amaziah not to attack Israel “HOWEVER Amaziah would not listen” (25:20).

Not only did these BUTS and HOWEVERS take Amaziah farther away from God, they took him farther away from his people too: “From the time Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem” (25:27).

There is no “kinda” following God. It’s all-in or nothing. My heart is either fully devoted to God with no BUTS or HOWEVERS, or am I moving away from God and from others around me.

It should be a huge warning sign when I hear myself say “but” or “however” in regard to anything involved with following my God.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: All In, Amaziah, Bible study, Chronicles, God's Word, King David, Kings, mercenary, Scripture, warning, worship. Leave a Comment »

Yawning At Tigers (book review)

July 29, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve been longing for a book like Yawning At Tigers to be published! For years I have been concerned with the “taming” of God that I see among so many in our culture, so the subtitle of Drew Dyck’s book nails it: You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying!

Drew opens with a real-life story of exotic animals which were set loose in a small town in the midwest. Where people had viewed the animals behind bars and plexiglass before and found them tame, their attitude was completely changed when those same animals were walking down their street! Drew uses this story to draw an analogy to the way people view a “tame God” contained behind stained glass windows, as opposed to the true God set loose in their neighborhoods.

Drew writes, “Even when we see evidence of God in our midst, when we glimpse His holiness, we’re more likely to yawn than yell. Somehow we’ve succeeded in making the strange ordinary.” It’s sad, but true in far too many settings.

Yawning At Tigers is an impassioned call to open the Scriptures up and really see God. He is awesome, He is ferocious, He is a warrior, He is white-hot love! Until we really see God, others will yawn at the thought of Christians or church. Again Drew gets it right when he says, “Only when we gain a proper understanding of God’s identity can we begin to appreciate the implications of His love.”

If you are desirous to see God revealed in all His fullness in your life, in your church, in your community, then you will resonate with the message of Yawning At Tigers.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: awesome, Bible, book review, Christianity, Drew Dyck, God's holiness, God's love, God's power, God's Word, Scripture. Leave a Comment »

Eye Exam

July 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Probably at one time or another everyone has gone through some sort of eye exam where you read an eyechart to get information about your vision. This simple exam gives your doctor a standard by which to measure the visual acuity of your eyes. After all, without an objective standard for your vision, who’s to say whether your eyesight really is good or bad?

After taking the exam, the doctor can determine whether you have…

emmetropia—normal vision where light from your eye’s lens is properly focused on the retina at the back of your eye; or
myopia—also called short-sightedness, where the light is focused in front of the retina; or
hyperopia—or far-sightedness, where the light is focused behind the retina.

Both myopia and hyperopia can be corrected by lenses. Glasses, contact lenses, or even corrective surgery can correct your focal point, restoring emmetropia again. But notice this:

**Lenses don’t change what you see, but how you see it.**

By refocusing the light into the right place, you are now looking at the same object, but the focal point is corrected. You are able to see things that were there all along, but that your out-of-focus vision caused you to miss. For a Christian, the Bible works the same way—

Scripture doesn’t change the events or circumstances in your life, but it does change how you see them.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. (Matthew 6:22-23)

What’s true for an eye exam is also true for a spiritual exam: If you don’t read the eyechart, it’s hard to tell if your vision is out-of-focus.

Far too many people don’t read the Bible for themselves, so they never have given the Holy Spirit a chance to show them where their attitude or lifestyle is out of focus with God’s design. However, if you are reading the Bible, here are three warning signs that you may have blurry spiritual vision that needs to be corrected:

You try to rationalize what the Holy Spirit is saying to you through the Bible, instead of simply obeying what He says.
You discount the wisdom of other God-fearing people who are saying the same thing God’s Spirit is saying.
You frequently find yourself saying, “I know that’s what the Bible says, but….”

You don’t have to live with blurry spiritual vision. Read the Bible for yourself, and let the Holy Spirit point out how your vision can be corrected.

If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, correction, emmetropia, eye, eyechart, God's Word, health, Holy Spirit, hyperopia, Jesus Christ, myopia, paradigm, Scripture. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

July 24, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some good reading from today…

“The upright man must never think of depriving another of anything, nor must he ever wish to increase his own advantage to the disadvantage of another. This rule the Apostle gives thee, saying: ‘All things are lawful, all things are not expedient; all things are lawful, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but each another’s.’ That is: Let no man seek his own advantage, but another’s; let no man seek his own honor, but another’s.” —Ambrose

Frank Viola has a challenging word to Christians in the quote he shares from A.W. Tozer: Recovering The Departed Glory.

Claiming Jesus is not what many think it is, says Chilly Chilton in his post: Name It, Claim It, Proclaim It!

“When we don’t know that life is a war and satan is the enemy, or forget when we need to know it most, we can’t make sense of our struggles, suffering, and strife.” Read more of Mark Driscoll’s post Spiritual Warfare: Who, What & Why.

The Overview Bible Project always uncovers some cool things in Scripture. Like this post about what Beelzebul really means.

Why is it organizations are not allowed to hire a Christian, but at that same time are encouraged (forced?) to hire homosexuals? The story of David Tyree is a case-in-point.

“The fact is, that the same moment which brings the consciousness of sin ought to bring also the confession and the consciousness of forgiveness.” —Hannah Whitall Smith

Both Testaments

July 23, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

This past week I’ve had two conversations that seemed like contradicting thoughts about the Bible, but they’re really exactly the same.

Conversation #1—Since Jesus Christ set us free from the law, there is no longer any need for us to read or study the Old Testament.

Conversation #2—The New Testament is a perversion of the Old Testament, so we should ignore it and stick with the “original” Scripture.

One thing that has helped me see the Scripture in a more correct light is a thought I picked up from Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola in their book Jesus: A Theography. Instead of the titles we’ve given the two divisions of the Bible, it will be better to call them the First and Second Testaments. “Old” and “New” have a tendency to make us think out-dated and updated; First and Second remind us that they go together.

Hosea is one of the first prophets in the First Testament whose words were put into writing. It’s interesting to note how many of the themes from the Pentateuch, Joshua and Judges are linked to Israel’s condition in the last few years before the northern tribes went into exile.

“Hosea’s allusions to Genesis through Judges are highly significant. First, they help to establish the fact that these books had already been written by the time of Hosea, in the eighth century B.C. (Many scholars consider these books to be from the sixth century B.C. and even later.) Second, Hosea’s construal of these books helps us to understand early Biblical interpretation, which in turn gives us a better understanding of how the [Second] Testament interprets the [First].” —Archeological Study Bible

When we move into the Second Testament, we see over 850 First Testament passages are quoted, sometimes entire paragraphs. In every instance, the Second Testament authors see the fulfillment of the First Testament in the life of Jesus Christ.

In fact, Jesus Himself quoted from 22 books of the First Testament, even on the day of His resurrection He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24:27), and He said He would open our minds so that we too could understand all the Scriptures (Luke 24:45-47).

Finally there is the issue of fulfilled prophesy. Not only were First Testament prophesies fulfilled during the First Testament time, but even more were fulfilled during the Second Testament. In Jesus Christ alone about 200 such prophesies were fulfilled.

Both Testaments are equally important, and equally valuable. In fact, either Testament without the other robs God of His glory and robs us of seeing His fullness.