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10 Steps To Help Someone Through A Tragedy
September 5, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
Christians should be the best at loving others and supporting them through a tragedy. When someone’s world is rocked by an unexpected heartache like a miscarriage, a suicide, a difficult medical diagnosis, or even a hurricane, here is my list of 10 steps to help someone through this trying time. You may watch this short video, or see the list of 10 items below…
- Just be there for them.
- Listen.
- Listen.
- Listen to them some more.
- Don’t try to “fix” their problem.
- “Weep with those who weep.”
- Don’t defend God (like Job’s friends tried to do).
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you insight.
- Remind them of their responsibility now—your choices to go forward, how will you honor their memory, how can you help others in a similar situation, what does this make you think about your eternity?
- Stay in touch for the long haul. Remember the birthday of their dead loved one; be there for the anniversary date of a marriage, the day their loved one died; go to those doctor’s appointments with them; roll up your sleeves and work alongside them. Use your creativity to proactively be there for them.
What Is The Church Supposed To Be Doing?
September 4, 2017 — Craig T. OwensListen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Before ascending back to Heaven, Jesus commissioned His followers. He gave them a mission that Christians often refer to as The Great Commission.
Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”
There are several pictures in the New Testament of how the Church could live out this Great Commission, but one of the pictures that I find the most helpful is that of a Body.
The human body is an amazing creation! Just to accomplish the simple task of picking up something between our thumb and forefinger is a miracle in itself. The structure of bones and ligaments and tendons, the interaction of nerves in the fingers coordinating with the optical nerve, not to mention the enzymes and blood vessels that are all doing their part.
Yet if any part is not functioning properly, that simple action becomes more difficult. Maybe it even becomes impossible.
The Church is the same way. Every part of the Church Body has to be functioning in healthy order for the whole Body to be effective.
Here are four aspects of a healthy Church Body that the Apostle Paul lists in Ephesians 4:
- Caring for one another
- Mobilizing for evangelism
- Making disciple-makers
- Helping organize for more meaningful ministry
If every part of the Body is doing its part, we’re Living out the Great Commission.
If some parts are missing or unhealthy, we’re Wallowing in the Great Omission.
It’s not about your church (small “c”) or my church. It’s about all Christian disciples being a part of one Church—one Body—going into all the world and making disciples of all peoples. That’s what the Church is supposed to be doing!
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Can A Christian Lose Their Salvation?
August 28, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
Shortcut To Second Mile
August 21, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
Tim Elmore is always suggesting ways to help those who work with students—parents, teachers, coaches, youth workers—to more effectively interact with young people.
Many of us (adults and students) struggle with wanting things to happen NOW! As a result, we tend to look for shortcuts. Dr. Elmore suggests that a “second mile” mindset will serve us all better. Check this out:
“In order to move from the ‘shortcut’ mindset to the ‘second mile’ mindset, let me suggest these shifts:
Stop Asking Shortcut Questions…
- What can I get by with?
- What meets ‘expectations’?
- How little can I study and still pass?
- What can I get out of this job?
- Is my behavior justifiable?
- Is there an easier way to do this?
Start Asking Second Mile Questions…
- What would surprise my supervisor?
- What would ‘excellent’ look like?
- How much can I study to improve?
- What can I give to this job?
- Is my behavior helpful to others?
- Is there a better way to reach the goal?”
If you are leading students today, I would highly recommend you check out Dr. Elmore’s latest book Marching Off The Map.
The Q Series—The Bible
August 14, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
Our annual Q Series is where folks send their questions to me on a variety of subjects and we do our best to answer them. This week many of the questions were about the Bible. Questions like:
- What books should be included in the Bible?
- What about Bible translations?
- Is it okay for the Bible to have pictures in it?
Here’s what we discussed, along with the time this discussion appears on the video:
- How was it decided what books would be included in the New Testament? [5:38] **Be sure to check out this post: How We Got The Bible on Biblegateway.
- J. Warner Wallace’s list of criteria for New Testament books [9:45]
- Did contemporary sources support or refute the New Testament authors? [11:45]
- How did the final 27 books of the New Testament make the list? [15:02]
- How was it decided what books would be included in the Old Testament? [18:22]
- Evidence presented by the Apostle Paul [20:31]
- How do we know the Scriptures were accurately transcribed? [22:50] **Be sure to check out this post: Why Trust The Bible? on Biblegateway.
- The history surrounding the complete Latin Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls [23:45]
- What are Bible translations and paraphrases (with references to the Wycliffe Bible and the discovery of the Rosetta Stone)? [25:45]
- Some cautions about Bible paraphrases [33:23]
- Is it okay for a Bible to have pictures in it? [35:16]
- Are icons of the Cross acceptable or a blasphemy? [37:42]
- How can someone better understand the Bible when they read it for themselves? [41:32]
- Why ask questions? [48:39]
We’ll be discussing more questions this upcoming Sunday, so be sure to send them my way. For all of the ways you can send questions, please click here.
One-And-Done? Ongoing? Later?
August 7, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
If I were to ask five different Christians to give me a definition of sanctification, I just might get five different definitions!
Part of this comes from incorrect either-or thinking. However, Jesus seems to tell us that sanctification requires a both-and thinking.
In Christ’s prayer for His followers in John 17, He uses the word sanctified three times (see verses 17-19). Although He is using the same Greek word each time, He uses a different “flavor” of the word to make it really clear what He means.
First of all, the Greek word for sanctified means the process of being made into a saint. So sometimes I like to say the word this way: SAINT-ified.
Check out Christ’s prayer. First He says, “I sanctify Myself,” and then He says, “that they too may be truly sanctified.” Same Greek word, but each time is slightly tweaked.
Jesus uses a “flavor” of Greek which means sanctification is something that He has done completely and totally on His own once and for all. In other words, Christians are completely and totally sanctified at the very moment they surrender their life to Him.
But when He talks about His followers, the “flavor” of Greek means sanctification is something that is an ongoing process. In other words, we are being SAINT-ified.
So which is it? Sanctified once, or sanctified through an ongoing process?
It’s not either-or. It’s both-and!
Think about a married couple. From the moment the pastor says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife” they are married. It is done; fully completed. There is nothing the bride or groom can do to become more married.
However, the groom can begin to look at the marriage through his bride’s eyes. Then he can serve her in a way that helps her feel more joy, more satisfaction, and more fulfillment within the marriage. Neither of them becomes more married, but they can get more enjoyment within the marriage.
The same thing for Christians. At the moment we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior we are saved from the penalty of our sins. We can’t be more saved. But through the process of SANIT-ificiation we can experience more joy, more satisfaction, and more fulfillment within our relationship with Jesus.
My paraphrase of 1 Peter 1:15-16—But just as He who called you has paid for your once-for-all saint-ification, so keep on being saint-ified in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
What about you? Are you satisfied with just being saved, or are you striving for a joy-filled, more fulfilling, increasingly satisfied relationship with Jesus Christ? It can truly be a wonderful both-and relationship!
10 Great Reasons To Go To Church Regularly
July 31, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
Without exception, all human beings have exactly 168 hours in a week. No one gets any bonus time and no one has any hours taken away. We’re supposed to get 8 hours of sleep a night, and most of us work about 40 hours each week. So let’s do the math…
168 hours per week
– 56 hours for sleeping
– 40 hours for work
=72 discretionary hours
In those 72 hours there must be time for eating and taking care of chores. But what about going to church? The problem for many people is looking at church attendance as just another “chore” or item on their “To Do” list.
But instead of thinking of going to church as “I have to,” how about if you looked at all of the “I get to” benefits?
Here are 10 great reasons for going to church regularly. I get to…
- …draw closer to my Heavenly Father, just like Jesus did (Luke 2:49)
- …be an example to others (1 Timothy 4:12)
- …hang out with some really great people (Hebrews 10:24)
- …get to know Jesus and my brothers and sisters better (1 John 1:3)
- …reaffirm the priority that God is first in my life (Matthew 6:33)
- …learn to better understand Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15)
- …join with a choir of God worshipers (John 4:23-24)
- …grow spiritually (1 Peter 2:2-5)
- …complete the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12)
- …avoid becoming isolated and possibly lost (Proverbs 18:1)
“Sometimes we make it sound like we’re making a sacrifice to go to church, but think about the very real sacrifice Jesus made so that we could meet together as brothers and sisters!” —Scott Troost
How about it? Do you think you could invest an hour or two of your 72 discretionary hours in a local church this week?
My thanks to my brother, Scott Troost, for sharing such a timely message!
That’s What Friends Are For
July 10, 2017 — Craig T. Owens
Take just a minute to get a clear mental picture of your best friend.
Got it?
Now, think of a few adjectives you would use to describe your best friend.
Did you think of words like loyal … trustworthy … honest … loving … faithful … reliable … authentic … funny … patient ….?
What about godly? Would you describe your best friend with that word? After all, if your friend is godly, wouldn’t he or she also be loyal, trustworthy, honest, loving, and so on?
This gives us an idea of how important friendships are to God. If calling someone “godly” sums up the very best attributes of your very best friend, then that means that you can see God in your friend. And hopefully they can see God in you too!
Jesus told His followers that He viewed them as friends. He told them…
- …how close to God He could bring them (John 14:20)
- …how much the Heavenly Father loved them because they loved Jesus
- …how much He was willing to do for them because of His love (John 15:9-13)
- …how the Holy Spirit would continue to keep them close to God (John 16:12-15)
Eugene Peterson said, “Friendship is not a way of accomplishing something but a way of being with another in which we become more authentically ourselves.”
Your best friend is someone you can be completely real around, right? No games, no masks, just come as you are. And your friend still loves you completely. This is how it is with God as our Best Friend too!
There is nothing you could ever do to make God love you any less, so stop worrying!
There is nothing you could ever do to make God love you any more, so stop trying!
Friends love us enough to be totally honest with us. That’s why Solomon said, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy only multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6).
Friends want us to have the very best, and to stay on paths that lead to success. So again Solomon wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (Proverbs 27:17).
Oswald Chambers tells us, “Friendship with God is faith in action in relation to God and to our fellow men.”
So be assured of God’s friendship with you. Then be God’s friend to those in your life, and allow them to be God’s friend right back to you … THAT’S WHAT REAL FRIENDS ARE FOR!
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The Q Series—Parables, End Times, And Prayer
August 21, 2017 — Craig T. OwensHere’s what we discussed, along with the time this discussion appears on the video:
We will be answering your questions one more time next Sunday. Please click here to find all the ways you can submit your questions.
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