How To Be Wise With Your Mouth And Ears

December 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinion. (Proverbs 18:2)

One’s open mouth—and closed ears and mind—says a lot of one’s heart! In this 18th chapter of Proverbs, Solomon draws a pretty stark contrast between the mouth and ears of a fool and of a wise person. Check out the links on each of the verses to Bible Gateway to get a full picture of both the fool and the wise person.

Big MouthThe fool…

  • His lips bring him trouble, a smack on the jaw, and may even cost him his life. And yet he keeps on spouting foolishness. He’s not interested in getting any better (vv. 6, 7).
  • His ears gobble up the latest gossip (v. 8).
  • He fires off an answer before really listening (v. 13).
  • His quick, careless words creates the poison food that he continues to eat (v. 21).

The wise…

  • He is always learning how to use his words in a God-honoring, soul-benefitting way (v. 4).
  • He avoids “cheap candy” gossip (v. 8).
  • He listens fully before trying to respond (v. 13).
  • He asks good, clarifying questions (v. 17).
  • His wise words creates the healthy food that nourishes him (v. 20).

So… are you being wise or foolish with your mouth and ears?

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E.M. Bounds On Prayer

May 7, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

E.M. BoundsSome great quotes from E.M. Bounds on prayer…

“Trouble and prayer are closely related to each other. Prayer is of great value to trouble. Trouble often drives men to God in prayer, while prayer is but the voice of men in trouble.” —E.M. Bounds

“Prayer is the language of a man burdened with a sense of need.” —E.M. Bounds

“The prime need of the church is not men of money nor men of brains, but men of prayer.” —E.M. Bounds

“Other duties become pressing and absorbing and crowd out prayer. ‘Choked to death’ would be the corner’s verdict in many cases of dead praying if an inquest could be secured on this dire, spiritual calamity.” —E.M. Bounds

“Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life.” —E.M. Bounds

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C.S. Lewis On Prayer

January 8, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

C.S. LewisSome great quotes from C.S. Lewis on prayer…

“We must lay before God what is in us, not what we want to be in us.” —C.S. Lewis

“It is quite useless knocking at the door of Heaven for earthly comfort. It’s not the sort of comfort they supply there.” —C.S. Lewis

“Of course you will all remain in my prayers. I think it very wrong to pray for people while they are in distress and then not to continue praying, now with thanksgiving, when they are relieved. Many people think their prayers are never answered because it is the answered ones that they forget.” —C.S. Lewis

“Well, let’s now at any rate come clean. Prayer is irksome. An excuse to omit it is never unwelcome. When it is over, this casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the rest of the day. We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to finish. While we are at prayer, but not while we are reading a novel or solving a crossword puzzle, any trifle is enough to distract us…. Now the disquieting thing is not simply that we skimp and begrudge the duty of prayer. The really disquieting thing is it should be numbered among duties at all. For we believe that we were created ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ And if the few, the very few, minutes we now spend on intercourse with God are a burden to us rather than a delight, what then?… The painful effort which prayer involves is not proof that we are doing something we were not created to do. If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be a delight. Someday, please God, it will be.” —C.S. Lewis

“I think it wise, if possible, to move one’s main prayers from the last-thing-at-night position to some earlier time: give them a better chance to infiltrate one’s other thoughts.” —C.S. Lewis

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Discipline In Faith

November 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Oswald ChambersThis is a periodic 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 Discipline In Faith

     The element of discipline in the life of faith must never be lost sight of, because only by means of the discipline are we taught the difference between the natural interpretation of what we call good and what God means by “good.” …

     At times it appears as if God has not only forsaken His word, but has deliberately deceived us. We asked Him for a particular thing, or related ourselves to Him along a certain line, and expected that it would mean the fullness of blessing, and actually it has meant the opposite—upset, trouble and difficulty all around, and we are staggered, until we learn that by this very discipline God is bringing us to the place of entire abandonment to Himself.

From Not Knowing Where

Probably every follower of God has experienced what Oswald Chambers describes: We follow God wholeheartedly, fully believing He called us to something, only to get knocked around by trouble.

I’ve been there and done that. It was a whole lot of no-fun while I was in it. And now, looking back on it, I still can’t say that I enjoyed those times. But here’s what I do enjoy now:

  • A closer intimacy with my Savior
  • A greater empathy for others in troubling times
  • An increased sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit
  • A deeper appreciation for God’s Word
  • A strength I wouldn’t have gained without going through that time
  • Discernment and insight I wouldn’t have learned without that trouble

If God calls you, He will not leave you. No matter how painful or difficult your circumstances, if He called you to walk through it, He will do something in it. Discipline yourself to remain totally abandoned to God!

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Links & Quotes

August 27, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

link quote

Some good reading & watching from today…

“James has in his mind a picture of people who use prayer to try to get from God something they desire more than God [James 4:2-4]. He calls these people—men and women—‘adulteresses.’ Why? Because in his mind God is like our Husband who is jealous to be our highest delight. If we then try to make prayer a means of getting from Him something we want more then we want Him, we are like a wife who asks her husband for money to visit another lover.” —John Piper

“The greatest outward troubles and calamities that we meet with…must needs appear very little things to the misery which we have deserved.” —Jonathan Edwards

“Our Enemy is a hedonist at heart. All those fasts and vigils and stakes and crosses are only a facade. Or only like foam on the sea shore. Out at sea, out in His sea, there is pleasure, and more pleasure. He makes no secret of it; at His right hand are ‘pleasures for evermore.’ Ugh! Don’t think He has the least inkling of that high and austere mystery to which we rise in the Miserific Vision. He’s vulgar, Wormwood. He has a bourgeois mind. He has filled His world full of pleasures. There are things for humans to do all day long without His minding in the least—sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working. Everything has to be twisted before it’s any use to us. We fight under cruel disadvantages. Nothing is naturally on our side.” —C.S. Lewis, Screwtape writing to Wormwood in The Screwtape Letters. (In case you didn’t know, The Screwtape Letters are letters from an older demon [Screwtape] to his young apprentice demon [Wormwood]. So the “Enemy” in their correspondence is God.) 

Since I just reviewed Beyond IQ, I have been reading more about the workings of the human brain. This post—How To Rewire Your Brain For Greater Happiness—is interesting. Even though they are quoting scientific findings, everything they have “discovered” was already in the Bible!

Philip Nation has a great list of how God reveals Himself in every book of the Bible.

I love John Piper’s latest project called Look At The Book, which shows Piper teaching the Scripture. Check out this video—

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5 Noteworthy Quotes In “Stand Strong”

July 26, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Stand StrongNick Vujicic does an excellent job in his book Stand Strong in helping students, parents, and teachers learn how to overcome bullies. You can read my full review of Stand Strong by clicking here.

I have already shared some of Nick’s quotes from this book, and some quotes specifically relating to the emotional toll bullying can have on those being picked on. Nick also makes the point that there are some invaluable lessons to be learned by overcoming adversity in our lives. Here are some of the quotes that Nick shared in his excellent book.

“You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” —Epicurus

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. … You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” —Walt Disney

“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.” —Billy Graham

“Most of the verses written about praise in God’s Word were voiced by people who were faced with crushing heartaches, injustice, treachery, slander, and scores of other difficult situations.” —Joni Eareckson Tada

“Friendships provide a context in which children develop, but of course so do negative peer relations. … We should expect that both types of relationships, as different as they are, present opportunities for growth.” — psychologist Maurissa Abecassis

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Sometimes God Fights Me

October 23, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Sometimes God Fights MeSometimes life is hard, and God is walking right alongside me. Sometimes life is hard, and God is the One creating my difficulties.

Why? Because He loves me too much to allow me to head down a dangerous path.

Once a man named Balaam was heading to a meeting that he shouldn’t have been going to. As he trotted along on the back of his donkey, suddenly the donkey pulled up, dug on her hooves and would not move. Balaam beat her and still she wouldn’t budge. This next part is amazing to me: the donkey turned and talked to Balaam! She said, “Why are you beating me? Haven’t I always been faithful to take you where you needed to go?”

But Balaam was so intent on getting to his ill-advised meeting that the fact that his donkey was talking didn’t even phase him! What did get his attention, though, is when he saw what his donkey had seen all along. Jesus was standing in the middle of the road with a drawn sword.

Jesus said to Balaam, “I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before Me” (Numbers 22:32).

You and I should count it as a blessing when God opposes us—when He makes our path difficult—because we are heading somewhere reckless.

When life is hard, when things aren’t going as you had hoped, when your donkey suddenly stops carrying you along, you should ask a question: Why is this happening? Sometimes it just may be that life is hard, but God is still with you. Or it just might be that God is opposing you because your path is a reckless one. Don’t keep beating trying to get your donkey to move, but pause and ask why your donkey has stopped.

God’s opposition to your reckless path is a blessing!

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Weighing The Positives And Negatives*

February 5, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

WeighingDon’t you get annoyed when an overly-religious person spouts off some pie-in-the-sky, feel-goodism that sounds religious, but doesn’t seem to have any grounding in the real world?

Like when a church leader says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” when you are in the midst of a painful situation? This is one of those statements that’s great for church, but not so great for the battlefield of life, right?

Actually that statement was made by the apostle Peter (see 1 Peter 1:3).

He didn’t shout it in a church service, but in a letter to Christians who were on the run from their persecutors. Many of them had lost their homes and businesses, had to leave their hometowns, were separated from their families, and were having their very lives threatened. Peter didn’t just shout this praise, he explained its origin, too.

Over the next few verses he asks us to consider what a relationship with Jesus Christ would bring us, and then to put the positives and negatives on a scale—

The Positives

  • God’s mercy
  • New life
  • Living hope
  • Resurrection from the dead
  • Secure inheritance
  • An eternity with God in Heaven
  • God’s power shielding us

The Negatives*

  • Grief
  • Trials

*

So whether we look at the eternal positives or the temporary “negatives” there is cause for rejoicing. When a Christian is in a difficult situation, he must remember this:

  1. This situation is only temporary
  2. This situation will ultimately bring glory to God

Weigh the positives and negatives and you will see that what you are going through now cannot even begin to compare to the glory of God that is coming! The apostle Paul echoed Peter’s words when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

So keep your eyes on Jesus, and keep shouting your praise to Him.

Holy Spirit, please help me to look away from the temporary and keep my eyes on my eternal God and Savior.

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Here Comes Trouble!

April 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Do you see it on the horizon? Storm clouds building, blowing in fast; wind picking up; something ominous in the air. Here comes trouble!

Jesus certainly did as He talked with His followers just before His arrest and crucifixion. Just before the storm hit, here’s what He said…

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

I find something reassuring about Jesus telling me that I will have trouble. Not that trouble is enjoyable (at all!). But what is enjoyable is knowing that He knows. Nothing takes Jesus by surprise!

Jesus said that I would find my peace when I remain IN Him. When I see trouble coming, my natural tendency is to start doing things for myself. I start making plans, giving orders, gathering resources, hunkering down in my foxhole. In reality, all this does nothing but increase my level of anxiety!

Jesus has overcome. So when I stay IN Him, I overcome too.

Here’s what I’ve learned about how to stay IN Him…

  • Stay in the Word every day, but especially when I see trouble coming.
  • Stay in prayer; in fact, I should increase my prayer times.
  • Stay in worship because I don’t want to focus on the storm, but on the Overcomer.
  • Stay in contact with my friends and ask them to join me in prayer.

Check out this prayer David penned when he saw trouble coming. It’s still a great prayer for you and me today:

Keep me safe, O God, for IN You I take refuge. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure. You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy IN your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. (Psalm 16:1, 2, 9, 11)

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The Blessing Of Adversity (book review)

April 12, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Barry C. Black has lived a full life, and that fullness has been poured into his timely book The Blessing Of Adversity: Finding your God-given purpose in life’s troubles.

A quick show of hands: how many of you have experienced trouble lately? How many of you are experiencing it right now? If you raised your hand in either category, this book could be quite helpful to you.

The Blessing Of Adversity is arranged into 23 chapters, but each chapter is broken down into several “mini chapters.” By that I mean that Chaplain Clark gives us several different ways of viewing the same topic of how to respond to adversity. He might tell you a personal story from his boyhood or his 23-year military career; or perhaps he’ll give you a modern-day example from his current ministry as chaplain to the U.S. Senate; or maybe a story from the pages of history; or a well-timed quote. Whatever his method, he always connects it with an encouraging word from the Bible to help the reader correctly process the times of adversity we all must pass through.

I found this book to be highly practical, and immediately applicable to my life. And for those of you who didn’t raise your hand earlier, there are a couple of chapters for you on how to prepare for the future adversity you are bound to face. This book would work very well as either an individual or small group Bible study.

I am a Tyndale book reviewer.

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