This short film presents a powerful pro-life message!
Links & Quotes
October 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
Our First Amendment rights are under assault like never before! In Idaho the state government has told pastors to either perform same-sex “weddings” or go to jail.
“When men have to do with their estates, they are very careful; they fee a lawyer to go back over the title-deeds perhaps for two or three hundred years. In trade they will hurry hither and thither to attend to their commercial engagements; they would not launch into speculations, nor would they run great risks; but the soul, the poor soul, how men play with it as a toy, and despise it as if it were worthless earth. Two or three minutes in the morning when they first roll out of bed, two or three odd minutes in the evening, when they are nearly asleep—the fag-ends of the day given to their souls, and all the best part given to the body!” —Charles Spurgeon
“We’ve found that sleep may actually be a kind of elegant design solution to some of the brain’s most basic needs, a unique way that the brain meets the high demands and the narrow margins that set it apart from all the other organs of the body.” Read more about the rejuvenating power of sleep for the human brain.
“God will allow His servant to succeed when he has learned that success does not make him dearer to God nor more valuable in the total scheme of things.” —A.W. Tozer
[VIDEO] This story from Ken Davis is hilarious!
“Prayers aren’t graded according to style. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, then I have hope.” Read more thoughts on prayer from Max Lucado.
“Desire can’t be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we’ve failed, because desire is the state we seek. We’ve expanded our desire for ever more human connection into a never-ceasing parade of physical and social desires as well. Amplified by marketers and enabled by commerce, we race down the endless road faster and faster, at greater and greater expense. The worst thing of all would be if we actually arrived at perfect, because if we did, we would extinguish the very thing that drives us. We want the wanting.” —Seth Godin
Links & Quotes
October 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
“The amount of loafing practiced by the average Christian in spiritual things would ruin a concert pianist if he allowed himself to do the same thing in the field of music. The idle puttering around that we see in church circles would end the career of a big league pitcher in one week. No scientist could solve his exacting problem if he took as little interest in it as the rank and file of Christians take in the art of being holy. The nation whose soldiers were as soft and undisciplined as the soldiers of the churches would be conquered by the first enemy that attacked it. Triumphs are not won by men in easy chairs. Success is costly.” —A.W. Tozer
Ron Edmondson shares 7 ways I protect my ministry and marriage from an affair. Good reading even for those not in the pastorate.
“Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no end. And man, being a part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee,—man, who bears about with him his mortality, the witness of his sin, even the witness that Thou ‘resistest the proud,’—yet man, this part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee. Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” —Augustine
[VIDEO] “Prayer is a statement about my dependence on God.” Check out this quick video from John Maxwell on prayer.
Links & Quotes
October 17, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading and watching from today…
[VIDEO] John Maxwell has a great word for leaders: Don’t.
“God is very careful to whom He speaks. It is only to those who value His voice so much that they shut out the whole world to get alone and wait for Him.” Read more from David Wilkerson on prayer in his post It’s Time To Close The Door.
This girl responded to bullying in a unique way.
If someone asks Planned Parenthood for help, they respond, “Sure, we’ll help you have an abortion.”
Eric Metaxas has a great post on the situation in Houston: Hand Over Your Sermon, Or Else.
“We who follow Christ are men and women of eternity. We must put no confidence in the passing scenes of the disappearing world. We must resist every attempt of satan to palm off upon us the values that belong to mortality. Nothing less than forever is long enough for us.” —A.W. Tozer
“Because divorce runs so rampant even in the church, it makes sense that we tend to overcompensate by emphasizing marriage more than Scripture does. But by doing so, we may be hurting marriages rather than mending them.” See what Francis Chan has to say about Marriage On The Edge Of Eternity.
“He will be the best Christian who has Christ for his Master, and truly follows Him. Some are disciples of the church, others are disciples of the minister, and a third sort are disciples of their own thoughts; he is the wise man who sits at Jesus’ feet and learns of Him, with the resolve to follow His teaching and imitate His example. He who tries to learn of Jesus Himself, taking the very words from the Lord’s own lips, binding himself to believe whatsoever the Lord hath taught and to do whatsoever He hath commanded—he I say, is the stable Christian.” —Charles Spurgeon
[INFOGRAPHIC] Ebola facts.
Links & Quotes
October 13, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
“What can we say then when Christian men vie with one another for place and position? What can we answer when we see them hungrily seeking for praise and honor? How can we excuse that passion for publicity which is so glaringly evident among Christian leaders? What about political ambition in Church circles? What about the fevered palm that is stretched out for more and bigger ‘love offerings’? What about the shameless egotism among Christians? How can we explain the gross man-worship that habitually blows up one and another popular leader to the size of a colossus? What about the obsequious hand kissing of moneyed men by those purporting to be sound preachers of the gospel? There is only one answer to these questions; it is simply that in these manifestations we see the world and nothing but the world. No passionate profession of love for ‘souls’ can change evil into good. These are the very sins that crucified Jesus.” —A.W. Tozer
“There is more true eloquence in ‘God be merciful to me a sinner,’ than in all the books of devotion which bishops, and archbishops, and divines ever compiled.” —Charles Spurgeon
[VIDEO] John Maxwell on the power of conviction.
“Many things—such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly—are done worst when we try hardest to do them.” —C.S. Lewis
Thanks to Obamacare, health care costs are skyrocketing.
Links & Quotes
October 7, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
Stephen Miller reminds us that we don’t have to act differently when we pray: Be Yourself In Prayer.
Ken Davis is always hilarious. Check out The Confused Stage Of Life.
The American College of Pediatrics debunks the myth of “safe sex.”
Tim Dilena nails it: Why Worship Is Disappearing From Our Church Services.
“Christians have fallen into the habit of accepting the noisiest and most notorious among them as the best and the greatest. They too have learned to equate popularity with excellence, and in open defiance of the Sermon on the Mount they have given their approval not to the meek but to the self-assertive; not to the mourner but to the self-assured; not to the pure in heart who see God but to the publicity hunter who seeks headlines.” —A.W. Tozer
Parents and teachers, check out Tim Elmore’s post: How To Avoid Ruining A Kid’s Future.
As the Heritage Foundation’s Katrina Trinko says, “This isn’t okay”: States that voted against gay “marriage” now have it forced upon them.
Links & Quotes
October 4, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from this weekend…
“A leader’s role is to raise people’s aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.” —David Gergen
A powerful reminder about noticing the overlooked people: My Grocery Store Stripper.
This is so repulsive! 10 quotes that reveal how profitable abortion is.
I am a big believer in studying history. Here are 7 ways Christian history benefits you.
A great post for married couples and parents from Pastor Dave Barringer—Too Busy: The Art Of Abusing With Neglect.
I love this life-affirming message in OneRepublic’s song I Lived—
Rappin’ For Love
September 28, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
I love the message in this video from MattyB, as he stands up for Sarah Grace, his sister with Down Syndrome.
Read more of MattyB’s thoughts by opening up the video in YouTube.
You can also read some behind-the-scenes info by clicking here.
Links & Quotes
September 27, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from this weekend…
Eric Metaxas has a thought-provoking commentary: What Chuck [Colson] Would Say About The US and ISIS.
Ouch! What Gossip Says About God.
This isn’t a problem in far-away places: Forced Abortion In America.
“It was always meant to be more about marshalling enthusiasm for a cause than making firm pledges.” Yep, they even admit that so-called global warming is more hype than substance.
“Do not dilute the power of this new day with the hardship of yesterday. Greet this day with endless possibility.” —Steve Maraboli
This would give further evidence to why the Bible refers to a married couple as “one flesh”: How Your Spouse’s Personality Affects Your Success At Work.
“We are emotional people, but we don’t have to be controlled by our emotions.” Watch John Maxwell talk about anger.
“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” —John Quincy Adams
Links & Quotes
September 22, 2014 — Craig T. Owens
Some good reading & watching from today…
[VIDEO] John Maxwell on the importance of follow-through.
Tim Dilena’s post—Pay For The Salsa & Chips—is a great reminder of the power of honesty.
Quite intriguing: Are We Evolving Stupidity?
Another reason to stand-up and speak out for the true definition of marriage—Incest: Another Disordered Image Of Worship.
“Soul love is the soul of all love. To pet and pamper and indulge your child, as if this world was all he had to look forward to, and this life the only season for happiness—to do this is not true love, but cruelty. It is treating him like some beast of the earth, which has but only one world to look to, and nothing after death. It is hiding from him that grand truth, which he ought to be made to learn from his very infancy,—that the chief end of his life is the salvation of his soul.” Read more from J.C. Ryle in True Love For The Child’s Soul.
Charles Spurgeon: No One Can Believe For Me.
“Pain is terrible, but surely you need not have fear as well? Can you not see death as the friend and deliverer? It means stripping off that body which is tormenting you: like taking off a hair-shirt or getting out of a dungeon. What is there to be afraid of? You have long attempted (and none of us does more) a Christian life. Your sins are confessed and absolved. Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind. Remember, though we struggle against things because we are afraid of them, it is often the other way round—we get afraid because we struggle. Are you struggling, resisting? Don’t you think Our Lord says to you ‘Peace, child, peace. Relax. Let go. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Let go, I will catch you. Do you trust Me so little?’” —C.S. Lewis
[VIDEO] Sesame Street parodies Star Wars to teach us about self-control.
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