Scripture | Craig T. Owens

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Money & Hammers

May 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Hammers are very similar to money. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at some of the things they have in common. They both…

…are tools.
…can be used to build up or destroy.
…are amoral.
…don’t have any power until they’re in a person’s hand.

I realize in church circles it can make people uncomfortable to talk about money, but it shouldn’t be that way. The Bible is very clear in saying wealth comes from God, as well as how to use that wealth, so why should that be uncomfortable? Here are some of the things the Bible says about wealth:

If we honor God, He blesses our work (Proverbs 3:9-10).
If we take the glory for our success, God calls us “foolish” (Luke 12:16-21).
Money can be used to build God’s kingdom (Acts 4:34-37) or to build our own reputations (Acts 5:1-11).
Making the pursuit of money our priority becomes an idol (Luke 16:10-13).
The anxiety over money can choke our spiritual life (Matthew 13:22).
God gives us the ability to work, to make money, and to enjoy both the work and the rewards of work (Ecclesiastes 5:19).
God alone judges our attitude toward money (Luke 16:15).

It’s not money that is immoral, but our pursuit of Money (with a capital “M” or what the Bible calls Mammon) that is immoral.

It’s not money that will ruin us, but our trust in money that will ruin us.

It’s not money that gives us a secure future, but God Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17).

Don’t envy people with more money than you. Don’t look down on people with less money than you. Don’t—as Jesus said to the Pharisees—justify your opinions and attitudes about money.

Only an honest listening to the Holy Spirit about your attitude and lifestyle concerning money is what can keep us from letting money rob us of God’s blessing.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Timothy, amoral, anxiety, attitude, Bible, blessing, Book of Acts, counter-cultural, Ecclesiastes, God's Word, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Holy Spirit, idolatry, immoral, Jesus Christ, lifestyle, mammon, money, proverbs, Scripture, success, tool, video, wealth. 1 Comment »

5 More Quotes From “The Ministry Of God’s Word”

May 16, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

There was simply too many passages I highlighted in The Ministry Of God’s Word by Watchman Nee to share in just one post. Pastor, you must read this book! You can read my full book review by clicking here.

“Each man’s special characteristic is brought out only when he is subject to the Holy Spirit.”

“No one today can have God’s Word extraneous to the Bible; even the New Testament cannot exist alone, nor can the words of Paul. You cannot cut the Old Testament away and retain much of the New Testament; neither can you excise the four Gospels and keep the letters of Paul. … All the ministries in the Bible are interdependent; none possesses an unconnected revelation totally unrelated to the others and entirely disconnected.”

“How does God interpreted the Bible? How does He explain the words of the Old Testament to the New Testament minister? There are at least three distinct ways of interpretation in the New Testament: (1) prophetic interpretation, (2) historical interpretation, and (3) comprehensive interpretation. When New Testament ministers study the Old Testament words, they will approach the Scriptures from these different angles: they look to the Holy Spirit for interpretation of prophetic words, historical records, or comprehensive messages.”

“Let us remember that ministry of the Word in our day ought to be richer than that of those who wrote the New Testament. … How, then, do we say that today’s ministry of the Word should be richer? Because Paul had in his hand only the Old Testament as the basis of his speaking, but we have in our hand the writings of Paul and Peter and others in addition to the Old Testament. Paul had only 39 books in his hand, but we have 66 books. Hence our ministry should be richer in Word. We have more materials at the disposal of the Spirit of God, more opportunities for God’s Spirit to explain. Our ministry therefore ought not be poorer but richer.”

“One should never deceive himself by thinking he can be a minister of God’s Word if he simply reads the Bible. The question is not whether he has read the Bible: it is instead, how has he read it?”

You can read other quotes from this book by clicking here and here.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: Bible, book review, God's Word, Gospel, Holy Spirit, interdependent, New Testament, Old Testament, pastoring, pastors, preaching, prophesy, quotes, Scripture, Watchman Nee. Leave a Comment »

But Power!

May 14, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

It’s not quite a League Of Justice superhero power … but it’s pretty close! Beginning in the first verse of Proverbs 10, King Solomon introduces a small, but powerful, conjunction—

The wise son brings joy to his father, BUT a foolish son grief to his mother (10:1).

Starting here and in nearly every following verse for the next 12 chapters(!) you will find this powerful little 3-letter word.

Sometimes it’s a “yet” and sometimes the semicolon implies the “but,” but it’s there in all of it’s life-changing strength!

**Whatever the scenario, Solomon lists the stark contrast between a life on which God’s blessing can rest, and a foolish life that is immune to God’s blessing.**

There’s almost a year’s worth of BUT POWER in these chapters. Why don’t you contemplate just one contrasting statement everyday and see what God begins to reveal to you.

BUT POWER is here to save the day!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, blessing, God's Word, proverbs, Scripture, Solomon, superhero, wisdom. Leave a Comment »

Fierce Momma Bears

May 12, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

The battle cry of this pragmatic generation boils down to this: “Don’t judge me! Let me live my life my way!” To the pragmatist there is no objective right or wrong, but right or wrong is determined by whatever seems right/wrong to each individual.

But what if your decision adversely impacts my world? Or what if my decision adversely impacts your world?

There is a time to speak up. There is a time to say, “There is an objective right and wrong, and your decision is wrong.” I think that time to speak up is when lives and livelihoods are involved.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Social Security Administration, the Guttmacher Institute, and the National Center for Health Statistics all agree on this—there is a way for us to add revenue to our economy and our future without raising taxes a single penny. There is a way for us to add:

$400 billion of revenue to our economy
$11 billion to Medicare
$47 billion to Social Security

Oops, I take that back. This is actually revenue for the economy and a boost for the Medicare and Social Security programs that we would be seeing now if nearly 57 million babies hadn’t been aborted in the United States since 1973. The additional workers which have been lost before they were even born would have easily added this to our economy.

The Bible challenges us to: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” (Proverbs 31:8).

I believe the time to say, “Enough!” has come. I also believe this call to action needs to come from our moms. Several places in the Scripture the fierceness of warriors is actually compared to the fierceness of moms. Like when talking about King David and his warriors—You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of HER cubs… (2 Samuel 17:8).

Did you catch that? David’s fierceness wasn’t described in masculine terms, but in terms of a Momma Bear that lost her cubs!

Moms, we need you. It’s time for you to say, “Enough destruction of innocent life.” It’s time for you to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. It’s time for you to ensure justice for those pre-born babies being crushed. It’s time for your momma bear instincts to cause you to growl, which will finally motivate other warriors to step into the battle.

C’mon, Momma Bears, we need you to growl fiercely!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, Bible, economy, God's Word, King David, Medicare, pragmatism, pro-life, proverbs, Scripture, Social Security, taxes, warrior, worldview. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 10, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some readable reading from today.

I find the science driving “global warming” or “climate change” to be more philosophy than science. A new report notes, “Even if we were to stop emitting greenhouse gas emissions entirely, we would not moderate the Earth’s temperature more than a few tenths of a degree Celsius by the end of the century.” Read more in this post: Obama Hasn’t Healed The Planet.

I love the Bible Overview Project. Here is a cool infographic on the least popular book of the Bible.

“How could it [the Bible], assailed so strongly from every side, have resisted if it had relied upon human protection alone? Rather, by this very fact it is proved to be from God, because, with all human efforts striving against it, still it has of its own power thus far prevailed. Besides this, it is not one state, not one people, that has agreed to receive and embrace it; but, as far and as wide as the earth extends, it has obtained its authority by the holy concord of divers peoples, who otherwise had nothing in common among themselves. Such agreement of minds, so disparate and otherwise disagreeing in everything among themselves, ought to move us greatly, since it is clear that this agreement is brought about by nothing else than the divine will.” —John Calvin

I don’t agree with everything in this post ‘The Idol Of Church Growth,’ but I definitely agree with this statement: “The question churches should be asking is not ‘How do we grow our church?’ but ‘How do we grow His kingdom?’ Sadly, those interests are often kingdoms apart.”

Ask to summarize his theology, Karl Barth said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

“There must be illumination before revelation can get to a person’s soul. It is not enough that I hold an inspired Book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, apologetic, Barak Obama, Bible, church growth, climate change, God's Kingdom, God's love, illumination, Jesus Christ, John Calvin, Karl Barth, philosophy, Revelation, science, Scripture, The Overview Bible Project. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 9, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some interesting reading I found today.

“The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart—it is a book full of all the greed and glory and violence and tenderness and sex and betrayal that benefits mankind. It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes mouthed by pious little church mice—it does not so much nibble at our shoe leather as it cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from the bone. It does not give us answers fitted to our small-minded questions, but truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.” —Rich Mullins

As I have said before, tolerance is only afforded to those who say “anything goes.” Anyone who says there is a right/wrong, truth/lie is labeled intolerant, as illustrated in this story of the Benham brothers losing their TV show deal…

…and to further prove the point, Yahoo Joins Google In Banning Pro-Life Ads.

“It’s pretty obvious… that the Judeo-Christian concept of God held the key to the rise of the West, and that is the belief in a rational Creator God, because that had the implication, then, that the creation was itself rational—that is to say, it obeys rules” (Rodney Stark). Read more in How Christianity Created Science (And Why Atheism Wouldn’t Have).

Detroit Tiger fans (like me!) will enjoy this: A Numerical Guide To The History Of The Detroit Tigers.

“Has the enemy tried to tell you that God has bypassed you? Have you been tempted to conclude that the Lord isn’t with you? Have you almost given up your faith? Put your hope in the Lord’s Word to you: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). ‘The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Your name will put their trust in You: for You, Lord, have not forsaken them that seek You’ (Psalm 9:9-10).” —David Wilkerson

“… this inscription from Jerusalem may signal widespread—if elementary—literacy during the time of David and Solomon.” Read more about this archeological discovery in Jerusalem.

“Let us meditate on the Lord’s holy name that we may trust Him the better and rejoice the more readily.” —Charles Spurgeon

8 More Quotes From “The Ministry Of God’s Word”

May 9, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I stand by what I said: The Ministry Of God’s Word by Watchman Nee is a must read for anyone who preaches the Bible. You can read my full review of this book by clicking here. Below are some more quotes from this amazing book.

“Should anyone fail to see the necessity of having himself dealt with by God, fail to see how his habits, temperament and life need to be pruned and refined, he is of no use to the Word of God.”

“Never forget what the ministry of the Word is. It is the outflowing of the Spirit of God in man as well as in the Word. One part of it consists of God’s Word and the other part of man’s ministry. The Word of God comes to man, who adds in his ministry, and then the two flow out together. God’s Word is not delivered if it is just the Word without the human ministry.”

“Having been set apart as a minister of God’s Word from our mother’s womb, none of us can afford to be foolish before God.”

“A minister of the Word needs to rise very high before God; only then will His Word come through. The pureness of the Word released depends on the amount of discipline received before God. The more the man is broken, the purer the Word; the less that has been learned, the more corrupt its release. The ministry of the Word is based on the condition of the man before the Lord.”

“When the Holy Spirit finds it possible to put the Word in a person’s mouth because the emotion, thought, will, and spirit of that man are under His control, then there is revelation.”

“Every area of our life must therefore be dealt with by God. Always remember that to be a minister of the Word is not a cheap matter.”

“God does not put His Word in man for him to repeat verbatim. He puts His Word in man for the latter to search out with his mind. He gives light to man that man may grasp it and think on it. He places a burden in man for him to find appropriate words to express that burden. It is man who thinks, searches, and speaks; even so, God is able to acknowledge that it is in truth His very own Word.”

“If you as a person have not been pruned and refined by God, your opinion will not be dependable. Any bit of its projection will spoil the Word of God. How God has trusted you as His minister! He gives you a light and burden, and then allows you to think out and feel His Word, even permitting you to form your own opinion. He trusts you. He still works in you that all your opinion, thought and feeling will be like His. This is New Testament prophesying, New Testament ministry of the Word.”

You can read some previously posted quotes from this book by clicking here.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: anointing, Bible, book review, discipline, God's Word, Holy Spirit, ministry, New Testament, preaching, prophesy, purity, quotes, Revelation, Scripture, Watchman Nee. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

May 8, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Here are the links to some interesting reading I found today.

“A poll of hundred college students about their Facebook habits revealed that those who posted numerous status updates each day actually experienced positive mood swings that a control group did not experience. Those who posted more frequently felt less lonely and more connected to friends. The reason? While sitting behind a computer screen may seem isolating, updating your status keeps friends on the brain when you can’t see them in person. Researchers actually call it ‘social snacking.’” Read more of Tim Elmore’s post How Facebook Affects Your Mental Health.

Interesting: How Many Bible Passages Speak To Homosexuality?

[VIDEO] I liked this part of Kevin Durant’s MVP acceptance speech.

How scientists can see cancer cells in action.

Appalling! Planned Parenthood helps an accused serial rapist cover up his crimes!!

“The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of his mother, is already a human being, and it is a monstrous crime to rob it of life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house then in a field, because a man’s house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.” —John Calvin, commenting on Exodus 21:22-23

[VIDEO] John Maxwell and Nick Vujicic remind you that you are unique.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, Bible, cancer, Dr. Tim Elmore, Exodus, Facebook, family, homosexuality, John Calvin, John Maxwell, Kevin Durant, marriage, medical science, mental health, murder, Nick Vujicic, Planned Parenthood, pro-life, Scripture, social media, unique, video. 1 Comment »

Steppin’ Up

May 5, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Here’s a really simple true-false quiz for you. Anyone who has ever been in church should be able to handle this one simple question. Are you ready? Your one question is—True or False: The Bible contains the Word of God?

The answer is FALSE! The Bible doesn’t contain the Word of God, the Bible IS the Word of God.

It is inerrant = without error.
It is infallible = without mistake.
It is universally applicable regardless of age or culture.

The worldview which dominates today is usually one of pragmatism. That means people do what feels right to them in the moment, and then they determine the rightness or wrongness of their decision based on the outcome. In other words, if they like how things turned out they must have done something right, and if they don’t like the results then they must have done something wrong.

Christians, however, need to see the short-sightedness of this. The Apostle Peter shows the contrast between how accurate God’s Word is and how false teachers want to “exploit you with stories they have made up” (see 2 Peter 1:20-2:3), and how destruction is the end result for those with a pragmatic worldview.

It is by no means an easy thing for Christians to discipline themselves to have a consistent biblical worldview. It’s easy to simply reject something because it doesn’t appear to be “churchy” or receive something because it’s been done in the church for years. The hard work comes in this:

Using the Bible for everything (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Allowing the Holy Spirit to form the mind of Christ in you (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
Then using what you’ve learned to redeem things for God’s glory (2 Corinthians 10:5).

This week I’d like to give you the same challenge I gave my congregation: How can you STEP UP your involvement in the Word this week?

Do you need to read the Bible more?
Do you need to read the Bible better?
Do you need to meditate more on what you’ve read in the Bible?
Do you need to re-look at some things you’ve automatically rejected or received?
Do you need the Holy Spirit to overhaul your worldview?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Peter, Bible, Christian, counter-cultural, culture, God's glory, God's Word, Holy Spirit, inerrant, infallible, pragmatism, Scripture, video, worldview. 2 Comments »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Spirit Of Antichrist

May 1, 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 Spirit Of Antichrist

The spirit of antichrist is that spirit which “dissolves by analysis” the Person of Jesus—“someone unique, but not what the New Testament claims.” To preach the Jesus of the Gospels at the expense of the Christ of the Epistles is a false thing, such a false thing that it is antichrist to the very core, because it is a blow direct at what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do, viz.: expound Him to the disciples, and “through their word” to innumerable lives to the end of Time.

If I say, “Of course God would never convey a right interpretation of Himself through a handful of men like the disciples,” I am casting a slur on what Jesus said, telling Him that His reliance on God’s promise of the Spirit was without justification; that His basis of confidence on the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Himself to the disciples was misplaced.

From Conformed To His Image

The spirit of antichrist is any thought that diminishes God’s Word, or diminishes the Person of Jesus Christ. But I don’t want to spend my time trying to spot the counterfeit, antichrist teachings. I want to know the Original—the Authentic—so well, that I can easily spot the antichrist forgeries.

This means that I must study all of the Bible. I cannot exclude the Old Testament; nor can I choose the Epistles and ignore the Gospels, or vice versa. As I study, I must rely on the Holy Spirit’s help. He breathed on the men that wrote the inspired Word, so He is the only One Who can breathe on my heart and mind the truth of the Word as I study it.

If the spirit of antichrist was already being discussed in the New Testament, and again by Oswald Chambers 100+ years ago, how much more prevalent must it be now! I must know the Authentic Word and the Authentic Christ so well that I can immediately identify the masquerading antichrist.