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This Sunday, November 8, is the International Day of Prayer for persecuted Christians around the world. We will be praying at Calvary Assembly of God, and I hope wherever you are you will be praying too.
Persecuted Christians
November 6, 2015 — Craig T. OwensLinks & Quotes
November 5, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“The experience of being married and bringing up a family cannot have the old bittersweet of first falling in love. But it is futile (and, I think, wicked) to go on trying to get the old thrill again: you must go forward and not backward. Any real advance will in its turn be ushered in by a new thrill, different from the old: doomed in its turn to disappear and to become in its turn a temptation to retrogression.” —C.S. Lewis
“We who trust in Jesus are the happiest of people, not constitutionally, for some of us are much tried and are brought to the utter depths of poverty, but inwardly, truly, our heart’s joy is not to be excelled.” —Charles Spurgeon
Good word: Purity is more than saving sex for marriage.
Live Action shares 10 reasons why women should be pro-life.
John Knight writes very movingly about The Blind Eyes of Abortion. His concluding sentence is brilliant: “The killing ends when heart-eyes are opened and stony hearts, which champion abortion, are turned to flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) and find the practice unthinkable.”
[VIDEO] A very cool look at the authors of the Gospels—
Links & Quotes
November 4, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“With such prayer [‘Praying in the Holy Sprit’ (Jude 20)] it is an absolute certainty that I must succeed with God in prayer. If my prayer were my own prayer, I might not be so sure of it, but if the prayer which I utter be God’s own prayer written on my soul, God is always one with Himself, and what He writes on the heart is only written there because it is written in His purposes.” —Charles Spurgeon
“In the passage where the New Testament says that every one must work [Acts 20:34-35], it gives as a reason ‘in order that he may have something to give to those in need.’ Charity—giving to the poor—is an essential part of Christian morality.” —C.S. Lewis
“Security comes as we put God’s precepts into practice. We’re only as strong as our obedience.” —Max Lucado
Dan Reiland shares 6 things God says to church leaders.
“Mountain lions detect vulnerabilities in their prey and attack the weakest—the young, the sick, the injured. Studies have confirmed this instinctive cruelty. It’s how the mountain lion lives, following the scent of suffering and feasting on whatever he finds. The enemy of your hope and happiness hunts with that same instinct, with a cold-hearted and ruthless hunger for the weak or hurting. satan prowls like a roaring lion.” Read how to overcome the prowlings of the devil.
For anyone struggling with pornography, here is a great source of help: MyPilgrimage.com. Watch the introductory video, and then subscribe!
Here is some good advice for students who are addicted to pornography—
Links & Quotes—Pro-life Edition
November 3, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Planned Parenthood continues to lie about their work, claiming they don’t modify abortion procedures at all. Here they are—yet again!—caught on video telling us how they treat living human beings!
Here is a great video from Stand To Reason explaining why abortion is unjust discrimination—
Murray Vassar shares 4 pro-abortion arguments that sound like historic pro-slavery arguments.
This undercover video shows that abortion providers know that they are killing a human being, but they just don’t want us to know that they know.
Misbehaving Government
November 2, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Christians are to have an “alien” response to earthly governments. Simply stated: the Bible says we should not rail against governing authorities the way Earthlings do. Christians should respond with proper submission (check this out).
But what if those earthly governors are misbehaving? What then?
We can still be in God-honoring submission to them in the way we call out their misbehavior.
Look at some examples—
- Daniel asked permission to go against the king’s wishes (Daniel 1:8), proposed an alternative plan (v. 12), but ultimately agreed to submit to the authority’s decision (v. 13).
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t argue with King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:16-18), but respectfully took their stance for God (notice the use of the phrase “O king” as a title of respect).
- Peter and John simply stated, “We must obey God rather than human authority” (Acts 5:29).
This is exactly what Jesus told us to do when He said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Luke 20:25). Jesus said something very similar to Pilate, when that governor said, “Don’t you realize I have the power to set You free?” Jesus said, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10-11).
So how do we respond to misbehaving governors?
[1] With respect to their office.
[2] With reverent fear of God (see 1 Peter 2:17). “Because we reverence God as the Lord of history, we see beyond the fear and intimidation of the moment.” —James W. Thompson
[3] Leaving the results to God—Daniel 3:26-29, 6:16-27; Acts 5:40-42.
[4] With lots of prayer—1 Timothy 2:1-4.
Throughout history, Christians have always had the opportunity to confront ungodly governors. HOW they did it is what set them apart from the Earthling response, and what brought glory to God.
Here’s the video of my full message on this topic—
Next Sunday, November 8, is a day of prayer for those facing persecution for their Christian faith around the world. Join us in a time of prayer for them. If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here.
Links & Quotes
October 31, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Most men are not satisfied with the permanent output of their lives. Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ within His followers except the adoption of Christ’s purpose toward the world He came to redeem. Fame, pleasure and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of His eternal plans. The men who are putting everything into Christ’s undertaking are getting out of life its sweetest and most priceless rewards.” —J. Campbell White
“When we are confronted with temptation, we need to remember that others are looking at us, taking their cues from us. If we take sin into our souls it will affect not only us, but them as well. The demands of neighbor-love should help us to resist temptation and, thus, continue our pursuit of the righteousness of God’s Kingdom in our lives.” —T.M. Moore
“The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.” —C.S. Lewis
“Do little things as if they were great, because of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ who dwells in thee: and do great things as if they were little and easy, because of His omnipotence.” —Blaise Pascal
“In light of Revelation 1-3, every believer must ask himself: ‘Have my good works—my Bible studies and my service—robbed me of time with Jesus? Do I still hunger for Him as I once did? Or have I lost something?’” —David Wilkerson
Can you feel the heartache? “Watching porn with my husband did the complete opposite of ‘spice things up.’”
[VIDEO] How does the Bible get passed down?
Links & Quotes
October 29, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“How may I tell when satan hinders me? I think you may tell thus: first by the object. satan’s object in hindering us is to prevent our glorifying God. If anything has happened to you which has prevented your growing holy, useful, humble, and sanctified, then you may trace that to satan. If the distinct object of the interference to the general current of your life has been that you may be turned from righteousness into sin, then from the object you may guess the author.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Every step on satan’s ground deprives us of the security of the promises of God. Often has ruin followed by not refraining from the first step (cp. Mark 14:54, 71). The only safety is in flight (Genesis 39:10, 12). Run then into ’thy hiding-place, and behind thy shield,’ and boldly bid thy tempter ‘depart from thee’ (Psalm 119:114, 115; cp. Matthew 4:10).” —Charles Bridges
“The corruption of the first sinner consists not in choosing some evil thing (there are no evil things for him to choose) but in preferring a lesser good (himself) before a greater (God).” —C.S. Lewis
“We may think we’re living in dark days, that things are going from bad to worse, and there’s no end in sight. But the truth is just the opposite. satan is back on his heels, bound and reeling; the rulers of this world are deceived and deceiving; the Church is complacent, at least in the West, but always a spiritual tinder box, ready for a new spark of the Spirit; and the Kingdom of God is advancing wherever men and women cling to Jesus’ compelling vision and seek the Kingdom of God as their highest priority in life.” —T.M. Moore
“Science and research are proving that porn harms the brain, damages relationships, and is also linked to prostitution and sex trafficking. Porn is a fantasy that is proven to make it harder for users to have real loving relationships.” Read more reasons why pornography is harmful.
Pastors, check out Rev. Dave Barringer’s spot-on post: confronting the diva pastor.
Sheriff David Clarke has some facts that refute the “Black Lives Matter” chatter.
[VIDEO] Ted Cruz is exactly right. The media doesn’t care about substance, but about style—
Links & Quotes
October 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Suppose you talk about depending on God and how wonderful it is, and then others see that in your own immediate concerns you do not depend on Him a bit, but on your own wits, it makes them say, ‘Well, after all, it’s a big pretense, there is no Almighty Christ to depend on anywhere, it is all mere sentiment.’ The impression left is that Jesus Christ is not real to you.” —Oswald Chambers
“The law is meant to lead the sinner to faith in Christ by showing the impossibility of any other way.” —Charles Spurgeon
“The truth is that evil is not a real thing at all, like God. It is simply good spoiled. That is why I say there can be good without evil, but no evil without good. You know what the biologists mean by a parasite—an animal that lives on another animal. Evil is a parasite. It is there only because good is there for it to spoil and confuse.” —C.S. Lewis
“The great missionary hope is that when the gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, God Himself does what man cannot do—He creates the faith that saves.” —John Piper
“Men do less than they ought unless they do all that they can.” —Thomas Carlyle
“Pastors—and not just pastors—avoid confronting issues such as cohabitation, divorce, consumerism, materialism, and greed rather than risk negative outcomes if we confront. But we do each other no favors by assiduously avoiding conflicts over faith and morality. When we do, individuals suffer, the Church suffers, and the culture has a heyday pointing out our hypocrisy.” Read more from Jim Tonkowich’s devotional here.
Dan Reiland speaks mostly to church leaders in his post Desperate Leaders. He writes, “Desperate leaders need people more than they lead people. When you are under pressure, lack confidence, and not sure how to make things work, it’s easy to want more from your people than for your people.”
[VIDEO] Tim Dilena tells us how God helps us when we are people of integrity.
Alien Government
October 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Perhaps you can relate to one or more of these quotes about our government:
- “Government is like a baby: …a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” —Ronald Reagan
- “If you ever injected truth into politics you have no politics.” —Will Rogers
- “The word ‘politics’ is derived from the word ‘poly,’ meaning ‘many,’ and the word ‘ticks,’ meaning ‘blood sucking parasites.’” —Larry Hardiman
- “Politics have no relation to morals.” —Nicolo Machiavelli
But if you are a Christian, the Bible calls you to not give in to the cynicism that many feel toward our government. As aliens and strangers on Earth, we are called to to interact with government officials in a peculiar way.
In a single word, the Bible calls us to submit. The Greek word that both Peter (1 Peter 2:13) and Paul use (Romans 13:1, 5) has a couple of definitions. On the one hand it carries a military meaning to arrange troops under the command of a leader. On the other hand, it’s also a voluntary attitude of cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden for the common good.
No where does submission imply letting leaders abuse us, or remaining silent and uninvolved if their activities are immoral or unbiblical. Instead submission recognizes that government officials have been placed in their positions by God (Daniel 4:25, 32—the Most High is sovereign over all the kingdoms of men, and gives them to anyone He wishes), and that they are God’s servants (Romans 13:4, 6) who have to give an accounting to God for their actions.
Our alien response of properly submitting is our way of supporting them in their God-given responsibilities. How do we do this?
- Treat them with respect (Romans 13:7; 1 Peter 2:17).
- Separate the person [loved by God] from the policy [may or may not line up biblically], then disagree with the policy, not with the person.
- Pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
This way of interacting with them will bring glory to God (1 Timothy 2:3; 1 Peter 2:15).
Here’s a good question to ask ourselves: Are we submitting like servants of the King of kings?
If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here.
You may also be interested in my video The Church should be pre-political.
Links & Quotes
October 24, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Any fixing of the mind on old evils beyond what is absolutely necessary for repenting our own sins and forgiving those of others is certainly useless and usually bad for us.” —C.S. Lewis
“If I pay my debts in gold, no man can blame me because I do not pay them in silver; and if God gives you spiritual mercies in abundance, instead of temporal ones, He has heard your prayer.” —Charles Spurgeon
“We cannot manipulate God. He makes Himself and His glory known when He will, to whom He will, and in the measure He chooses according to His own pleasure and timing. He is not capricious, and He is not cruel. He waits to make His glory known to those who hope for it when the ‘dosage’ He applies will be precisely appropriate to the need in which we know it. So we must endure at the work of waiting on the Lord, because He knows better than we when and to what extent to bring us into His glory and love.” —T.M. Moore
J. Warner Wallace answers an important question: Would a loving God allow anything bad to happen?
4 reasons women cannot trust Planned Parenthood: (1) They lie to and manipulate women; (2) their business is death (abortion) not health care; (3) they cover-up rape, incest, and sex trafficking; and (4) they want to sell your aborted baby for profit.
GREAT NEWS—the Ohio Senate votes to defund Planned Parenthood!
Dave Barringer shares 6 actions that can turn your marriage around.
If you are battling an addiction, here are 2 underused strategies.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell has good counsel on overcoming barriers—
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