Loose Him and Let Him Go September 17, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: born again, born of the Spirit, Dr. Robert Owens, freedom in Christ, legalism, religious systems, The law, the Spirit of Truth
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There’s a story in the Bible about Jesus raising a man from the dead. The man’s name was Lazarus and he was one of Jesus’ good friends. When the moment came for the great miracle Jesus stood before the open tomb and, “cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
We who believe the Bible is God’s Word accept this as a true story of actual events. It can also be seen as an illustration of what happens when we step out of the smothering embrace of the religious systems humans create to reach God and thus accept what God has done to reach us. When we reject the bewildering straightjacket of rules and regulations humans inevitably devise, and accept that Jesus paid the price, finished the work and welcomes us home He stands at the tomb of our self-help religion and says, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Once we’ve confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believed in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead we’re made right with God. And though Jesus has ascended to heaven He didn’t leave us alone. Just before He left He said, “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!” Embracing that and allowing the Spirit of Truth to guide us is the ideal for those who follow Christ.
Christ’s final command was to take this light to the world. Instead we built thousands of competing lamps betraying the unity of the Gospel and confusing unbelievers with our multiplicity of slightly different presentations. But then again it’s easier to make rules than it is to be sensitive to the Spirit of God. Laws and regulations can appear to bring order out of chaos relieving the pressure of walking by faith in a faithless world. But these endless rules cannot change us from the inside out. To paraphrase Ben Franklin: if we seek order and security from religion we’ll never find either one of them.
When following rules defines the state of our spiritual life we walk in constant fear of crossing the lines, of veering off even if it’s by mistake into the deception of sin. This fear of deception won’t keep us from deception. It’ll lead us into it. We’re called to walk in faith not in fear. So if we’re walking in fear we’ve already fallen for deception. The Bible tells us that the only way we can avoid falling for deception is to embrace the Spirit of Truth.
Think about it. When we open the blinds at night does darkness come rushing in? No. When we throw open the blinds light rushes out into the darkness. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can’t overcome it. If we’ll immerse ourselves in what God is calling us to, the unearned grace that flows from the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, we’ll find the order and security we long for.
Following God which is walking forward in the light can at first feel like walking backwards in the dark because we’re surrounded by and have been raised in a world that’s in revolt against its creator. We must dedicate ourselves to following the voice of the Spirit of Truth who lives within us. It’s vitally important that we learn to recognize His voice so we can recognize it out of all the voices in the world. When the whole of creation is shaking He’s the rock solid foundation giving us the security of our salvation.
Does this mean we should abandon all restraint and follow the voice in our head? First we must know whose voice we’re following, than we must acknowledge that God wrote us a book to explain it all from beginning to end. His voice will never contradict His Word and His Word shows us exactly how to live moment-by-moment.
Paul put it this way, “It’s true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. It’s obvious, isn’t it, that the law code isn’t primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth, whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I’ve been put in charge of by this great God.”
Because we live in a fallen and evil world some laws and regulations must be imposed to maintain people’s safety to provide external order. However, rules and regulations must never be imposed to bring about spiritual purposes because only the Spirit can birth spirit.
The Bible is the operator’s manual for life on earth. In it God has shared with us the greatest wisdom and the deepest insights. In it we receive not only the instructions on how to live in this world but also how to be born-again as a glorious Spirit-birthed child of God. It’s not possible to put a price on God’s gift of His revelation. But even the Bible can be used to weave a web of soul-strangling regulations keeping us imprisoned in the law.
We must always remember the Bible was given to us to lead us to Christ not to take His place. The tyranny of the law seeks to confine us in a prison of our own making. But Christ stands at the door to our cell and says, “Loose him, and let him go.”
One last thing: Having a Bible we can understand really helps us to understand the Bible. In the New Testament where Christ quotes the Old Testament He quotes from the Septuagint, a translation in the common language of the day and not from the traditional Hebrew texts. The New Testament itself was written in the Koine dialect of Greek. This was the supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written by the people. I’m not trying to share a lecture on biblical languages. What I’m getting at is that Jesus and the Apostles used the language of the day so that everyone could understand what they were saying. They didn’t use the fifty cent words and nuanced meanings of the intellectuals or the technical jargon of theologians. They didn’t use a language that was no longer spoken or a dialect that was from another era.
Today there are many translations that render the Bible in the language we use every day at work, at the market, and at home without all the thees and thous which no longer form a part of our daily speech. I’m not saying don’t use a Bible with those words if that’s what suits you I’m just saying use a Bible you can easily understand. Personally my favorite is the Message but there are plenty of others. Find the one you’re comfortable with and let it speak the Words of God into your spirit and breathe the Spirit of God into your life.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Serving Those Who Served US September 11, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics, Politiocal Philosophy, Uncategorized.Tags: Dr. Robert Owens, KAG, MAGA, Mission Act, Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie
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After the rollout of President Trump’s Maintaining Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act (MISSION Act) Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie responded to the previously predicted problems on Military.com. “One story said to ‘expect glitches.’ Another said it was ‘confusing.’ Some lawmakers who supported the bipartisan bill suddenly warned about the possibility of ‘overreach’ by the Trump Administration, while others warned of a ‘ tech nightmare.’ But thanks to thousands of dedicated VA workers around the country and President Donald J. Trump’s support for this historic reform, elements of the MISSION Act took effect on June 6, and veterans immediately began benefitting from the largest transformation in veterans’ health care since the end of World War II.”
Secretary Robert Wilkie went on to clarify what this fundamental change in the services we offer to those who answered the call and fought for our freedom and our interests around the world is. “At its core, the MISSION Act reflects the President’s vision that veterans need to be at the center of their health care decisions. If it’s too long a drive to the VA, if wait times are too long, if we can’t offer the services a veteran needs, or if it’s simply in the best medical interest of a veteran to use non-VA services, they can now seek care in their community.
That change was a long time coming for our rural veterans, many of whom live nowhere close to a VA hospital or clinic. And it’s much more than just an extension of the Choice program enacted under President Obama. That program was temporary, narrow and incomplete, while the MISSION Act is permanent and will put a much broader group of veterans in the driver’s seat when it comes to their health.
The response from those who wore the uniform to defend this great Nation was immediate and sustained. A tool we developed to decide whether veterans are eligible for community care is being used tens of thousands of times each day.
The MISSION Act also created an urgent care benefit that finally gives veterans what others have in their neighborhood; access to nearby care to treat ailments that need immediate attention, like the flu or a sprained ankle. One veteran in Texas said this change is a ‘godsend’ because under the old system, getting a sore throat treated meant a 45-minute ride each way to the VA.
And he’s not alone. Thousands of urgent care visits have been scheduled for veterans under the MISSION Act. By mid-July, we were starting to exceed 500 visits each day, and that number has been growing each week as veterans learn more about this important new benefit.
In the end, the MISSION Act simply gives the VA what all other major healthcare systems have — a way of referring patients to outside care when needed. Community care is one piece of that, as is the new urgent care benefit. We have nearly 5,000 urgent care providers in our network so far, and that number is expanding as we continue to provide veterans with more options to get care when and where they need it.”
After years of neglect a broken system is getting fixed. During his historic campaign in 2016, then candidate Trump called out the VA for its failure to meet the needs of America’s heroes. It was a broken system that no president had been able to cure. Now after two years in office we’re finally on the road to serving those who served US thanks to the vision and leadership of America’s blue-collar billionaire, President Donald J. Trump.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
There’s Power in the Blood September 4, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: Dr. Owens, Jesus’ sacrifice, power in the blood, price of sin, propitiation, Salvation, the blood of Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus
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Long before I was born-again into the reality of my life in Christ someone once told me they could never become a Christian because it was a butcher’s block religion based on a human sacrifice and drenched in blood. At the time I was in the seeker phase on my way to becoming an atheist and this sounded about right. I knew from my parental enforced childhood study of Christianity at a Sunday school and catechism class they used for weekend childcare that Christians referred to Christ’s death on the cross as a sacrifice: they believed they were drinking His blood during communion, and they sang songs like, “There’s Power in the Blood.”
Now that I live each day seeking to be used of God in and through Jesus Christ, I’ve come to realize there’s some basic truth to this butcher’s block talk minus the negative spin. Blood is an important part of Christianity. And there is power in the blood of Jesus.
When He was instructing Moses in the revelation of the Jewish shadow of things to come God put it this way, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” In the New Testament the writer of Hebrews explains it this way, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
When Adam chose to follow his wife into disobedience instead of rebuking the Devil and throwing him out of the Garden God’s warning to them concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die” came to pass. True, Adam lived another 930 years physically but he died spiritually the moment he disobeyed God. Then everyone descended from Adam was born after his likeness with a spirit alienated from God and in bondage to the Devil.
God could have waved His hand and made everything as it was but that would not be just and God is a just God. He created Adam as the overseer of His creation and only subject to Himself. Man chose to listen to the Devil and follow him instead. In other words, God gave the title-deed to creation to man and man gave it to the Devil.
Just imagine if I bought a new car and gave it to you. It is now your car. I bought it for you. I wanted you to have it and enjoy it. But then you decide to give it to someone else. You sign the title over to them. Now who owns the car? I bought the car for you. I wanted you to have it. But now that you’ve given it to someone else it’s legally their car. If I was to take it back and once again give it to you, would that be fair? Would that be just?
That’s the situation God faced after our betrayal. For the sake of justice a price had to be paid for man’s sin of disobedience. That price is what God foreshadowed through the sacrifice of a lamb without blemish. A spotless sacrifice whose blood when applied to the door posts of the Israelite homes caused the angel of death to Passover.
When John the Baptist looked at Jesus and said, “Behold the lamb that takes away the sins of the world” he announced to the world that the final sacrifice had begun. The old plan for covering sins was passing away and a new plan was beginning. The writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament was speaking to the Jews trying to explain to them how the sacrifice of Jesus did away with their millennia old tradition of animal sacrifices. This explanation as presented in The Message covers the ground very well:
But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.
Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus’ death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way.
Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God’s “will”—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins.
That accounts for the prominence of blood and death in all these secondary practices that point to the realities of heaven. It also accounts for why, when the real thing takes place, these animal sacrifices aren’t needed anymore, having served their purpose. For Christ didn’t enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins. He doesn’t do this every year as the high priests did under the old plan with blood that was not their own; if that had been the case, he would have to sacrifice himself repeatedly throughout the course of history. But instead he sacrificed himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of himself, the final solution of sin.
Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.
Because of that sacrifice we can now pick up the keys, the car is ours again. Jesus paid the price and purchased it back for us. Paul said it clearly in the New Testament book of Romans, “This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God ‘Jesus is my Master’ embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not ‘doing’ anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: God has set everything right between him and me!’”
The best advice I can give is: devour God’s Word and let it lead you into all truth. So if anyone ever says to you, “I could never become a Christian because it’s a butcher’s block religion based on a human sacrifice and drenched in blood” you can answer them confidently, “That’s exactly why I had to become a Christian because you see, there’s power in the blood.”
An old song has it nailed:
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
Sing it. Say it. Believe it. Live it. And watch that power give you the life God designed for you.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event September 3, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
When:
Friday Sept 6 5 PM – 9 PM
Saturday Sept 7 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday Sept 8 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
Hawkeye Downs
4400 6th St SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
Dr. Owens has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
Stand Up for Americans Who Stand Up for America August 27, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics, Politiocal Philosophy, Uncategorized.Tags: 9-11, 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, Dr. Robert Owens, VCF
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On July 29, 2019 President Donald J. Trump signed into law a permanent authorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). This fund provides financial support for families who lost their loved ones as a result of the September 11 attacks.
The VCF was initially created in 2001 and ran through 2004. It was revived in 2011 and went into law in 2015, but it only gave victims the opportunity to make claims until 2020. The new bill signed by the president allows victims to make claims until 2090.
During its first four years, the fund gave out $7 billion to the families of more than 2,880 people who died and to 2,680 people who were injured in the 9/11 attacks. When it was reactivated in 2011, it expanded eligibility and allotted $2.775 billion. The fund was set to end in 2016, but in 2015, Congress and President Obama allowed for the bill to continue another five years, until 2020, with another $4.6 billion. That left the VCF with a total of $7.375 billion. As of May 31, more than $5.174 billion has been given out to 22,500 victims of the attacks.
However, more than 40,000 people have applied to the VCF, which covers illnesses potentially related to being at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, or Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the attacks. There are about 21,000 claims pending. Officials estimated it would take another $5 billion to pay pending claims and the claims that officials anticipate will be submitted before the fund’s previous December 2020 deadline.
VCF’s Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya said, “The plain fact is that we are expending the available funds more quickly than assumed, and there are many more claims than anticipated.” She added, “A total of 835 awards have been reduced as of May 31.” The Justice Department said in February that the fund is being depleted and that benefit payments are being cut by up to 70 percent.
Realizing that the periodic Congressional haggling over funds for VCF was causing added stress to the victims and their families President Trump’s new bill appropriates such funds as may be necessary to pay all approved claims. The new bill also allows claimants to be paid what was reduced from their initial amount and remove the cap on noneconomic damages in specific circumstances.
More than 100 Americans who were personally affected by the devastation of the September 11 attacks joined President Trump at the Rose Garden signing ceremony. These individuals included first responders, survivors, and family members of victims.
In his speech President Trumps said, “Today, we come together as one nation to support our September 11th heroes, to care for their families, and to renew our eternal vow: Never, Ever Forget. Our nation owes each of you a profound debt that no words or deeds will ever repay. But there is something we can do. We can and we will keep our nation’s promise to you.” Honoring those who honor us with their sacrifice and service President Trump continued, “To every 9/11 hero, you poured out your heart, your sweat, your soul, and everything you had for your country. You went back day after day and night after night to save lives and return the fallen to their families, to rebuild and recover, and to show the entire world that nothing will ever break America’s spirit. They fought to rescue every person trapped in the rubble, and then searched for months to find the remains of the fallen. The love and loyalty of our 9/11 responders knew no bounds.”
In the years since we were attacked more than 2,000 first responders and survivors have passed away from illnesses directly related to the toxic fallout from those attacks. Even today, thousands more are battling health problems stemming from that day in American history. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund will now provide them with permanent support.
In an age when people who kneel for our national anthem and burn our flag are called heroes by many including the Corporations Once Known as the Mainstream Media, President Trump continued to stand up for Americans who stand up for America when he made the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund permanent.
May God pour out His blessings upon the surviving victims of 9/11, their families, and the families of the fallen. May God bless President Trump for leading us in honoring their sacrifices. And may God bless the United States of America.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event August 23, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
When:
Saturday August 24 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday August 25 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
5900 Aurora Ave
Des Moines, IA 50322
He has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
Shadows Dancing On A Wall August 20, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: Christ our sacrifice, Dr. Robert Owens, Plato, the Passover Lamb, The Republic
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The idea that everything came out of nothing is an assault upon reason. Since creation is often presented this way as a straw-man argument by the opponents of faith, many thinking people fall for this siren song of secularism.
But that isn’t what the Bible presents. In the beginning, in Genesis we’re told that God called all things in this physical reality into being out of nothing physical. This reality did not exist before God willed it to be here. God said, “Let there be,” and there is.
But this doesn’t mean that everything came out of nothing. In the letter to the Hebrews Paul put it this way, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” It was God’s word and His faith in His word that created everything. And it’s God’s faith that sustains all that we see.
Ponder for a moment the incredibly complex relationship between the physical reality and our perception of it. The computer screen you’re reading this article on is made up of more empty space than matter. As is the table or desk it’s sitting on. As are you and I. From the dark matter and dark energy that scientists theorize makes up the vast majority of the Space-time continuum to the sub-atomic world which goes as far in as the stellar expanse goes out this physical reality is actually tiny bits of matter held together by invisible forces.
Accepting ourselves as the center of the universe because that’s the only point of observation each of us has we look at our macro view of the micro world and see solid things and we accept that this is the totality of reality. However, that’s only how we perceive things. That’s not what they really are. All matter is enveloped in emptiness powered by energy and the fabric of creation is sustained by faith.
Long before modern science revealed the mirage of solid matter or the inability of perception to account for an expanding universe without a preponderance of dark everything, one of the greatest of secular thinkers aptly described the shifting sands upon which our understanding rests.
In his book The Republic Plato used the allegory of the cave to explain the relationship between perception and reality. His story goes like this; prisoners are chained in a cave, only able to look forward at the shadows on the wall. The shadows they see are real to them, but in reality the shadows are just the shadows of real objects in the room and shadows of the prisoners themselves being projected on the cave wall from a fire behind them. The sounds they hear and images they see are real to them, even though they are unaware of the true source. The allegory of the cave is a theory put forward by Plato, concerning human perception. Plato claimed that knowledge gained through the senses is no more than opinion and that, in order to have real knowledge, we must gain it through philosophical reasoning.
Thus even those who knew nothing of God could see that what we see is not all there is and that what we do see is more a representation of what it is than what it appears to be. However, the wisdom of the wise is foolishness to God and the wisdom of God is foolishness to the wise.
The problem with this thinking past the shadows is that we can’t reason our way to God. He’s outside the bounds of our reality, the source and summit of that reality and therefore, beyond anything we can think or imagine. If He didn’t reveal Himself we could no more reason what He’s like than an ant could reason its way to man.
God used an allegory to teach the Israelites about the death-defeating life-giving nature of the Messiah’s mission.
Since the days when the Jews were slaves in Egypt the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb has been the symbol and the purchase of redemption. Originally Moses ordered the Jews to sacrifice the Passover Lamb and then apply the blood to the door posts of their homes. Seeing the blood of the sacrifice the Angel of Death passed over God’s chosen people. For more than a thousand years the Jews sacrificed the Passover Lamb every year to cover their sins never knowing this was a shadow of things to come.
Christ’s ministry was first announced to a fallen world when John the Baptist said, “Behold the lamb that takes away the sins of the world.” And from that moment on His life brought the true form of reality out of the shadow.
Following the command of Moses as interpreted by the elders every year each Jewish family chose a lamb and took it into their home to live with the family for five days. During this time they examined the lamb for blemishes. Only after it was found to be perfect could it become the Passover Lamb. Then the lamb was sacrificed and the blood poured out on the altar of God to cover the sins of the people.
Jesus, the Lamb of God entered Jerusalem on the same day that the lambs entered the homes of the Jews. For five days He was examined by the Chief Priests, the Scribes, and the Pharisees. After He was found to be without guilt they were forced to bring in false witnesses. Than on the fifth day; the Day of Preparation just as the Jews were sacrificing the Passover Lamb the light of revelation pierced the darkness of a fallen world as thousand year old shadows took on flesh and blood for when Christ was nailed to the cross the shadow became real.
At the time of Christ’s death and resurrection even His Apostles didn’t understand what it was all about. They scattered and hid fearing they would be the next to go. It was only after they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that they boldly proclaimed the Gospel. It was only then that they finally grasped that Jesus came to fulfill the scriptures, to make the shadows real.
We may ask ourselves, “How did they miss it?” But just as the proof is in the pudding so faith is in the living. Do we live consistently in a way that reveals our grasp of God’s revelation? Or do we judge our acceptance with God by how well we’re doing? Do we live each day in the full knowledge that we’ve become eternally acceptable to God only by our faith in Christ? Our ability to walk boldly into our Daddy’s throne room must never be measured by how good we are. If it is we can never enter.
People say that hind sight is 20/20. Yet we all know those who fail to learn the lessons of History are doomed to repeat it, and all around us we watch as History repeats itself over and over. We who’ve confessed Jesus as Lord and who believe in our heart God raised Him from the dead have the benefit of revelation. We’re given insight into the shadows which still lie over this vale of tears like a fog. We can see the forms which to those without Christ are nothing more than shadows dancing on the wall of a cave.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event August 19, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
When:
Saturday August 24 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday August 25 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
5900 Aurora Ave
Des Moines, IA 50322
He has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
Trump Works For US August 13, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics, Politiocal Philosophy, Uncategorized.Tags: Dr. Robert Owens, Ivanka Trump, opportunities for training, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Pledge to America’s Workers, training programs
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While the Theater of the Absurd that is the modern American political scene tries to turn the “swing and a miss” collusion conspiracy into a do-over in the best Congress money can buy, President Donald Trump continues to go quietly about his business of making America great again.
One year ago this past July President Trump inaugurated the Pledge to America’s Workers. This is a program lead by his daughter and Advisor to the President, Ivanka. As the number of job openings soars and the unemployment rate plummets to a near-50-year low, American wages, after hitting a decade long plateau, are starting to rise. That’s great news. But it comes with a daunting challenge. With the tightening labor market American companies are struggling to find enough workers with the right skill sets to fill the open jobs.
And that’s where the Pledge to America’s Workers comes in. Last summer, President Trump inaugurated a new approach in an effort to bring more Americans off welfare rolls and unemployment. He wants to see them reintegrated into the labor force. To do this the President issued a challenge for businesses. He asked them to actively create more opportunities for meaningful career training. He asked that these new opportunities be available for students and workers of all ages.
At a recent meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House to mark the first anniversary of the program Ivanka Trump said “Over the last year, more than 300 businesses and organizations, large and small, have signed our Pledge to America’s Workers, and today we celebrate reaching over 12 million pledges.” Also at this meeting the National Association of Manufacturers announced they’ll become the latest organization to meet the President’s challenge. The members of the Association include American manufacturing giants such as Caterpillar and Boeing. With this addition another 1.2 million blue-collar workers will have a chance to enhance their skills under President Trump’s Pledge to America’s Workers initiative.
Pointing to the expanding program and what it is doing to help every American benefit from the expanding economic boom Ms. Trump said, “Every single pledge is a commitment to the promise of an individual and his or her potential. We are changing the conversation on workforce development, so we can prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”
Thanks to President Trump for 12+ million commitments for meaningful career training and counting! He’s working for US.
Let’s talk about what’s right with America.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Lead Me Not Into Temptation August 8, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: defeat sin, Dr. Robert Owens, Jesus saves, resist temptation, Salvation, the Gospel
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This line from the model prayer Jesus taught us something the Apostle James also points out, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God;’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” Or, as it says in the Message, “Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, ‘God is trying to trip me up.’ God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust.”
It’s us and only us who choose to sin, to turn our backs on the good and embrace evil. “Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.”
Just like everyone else who’s wandered this earth since the fall of man I struggle with temptation. It matters little that I know these struggles come from my own lust. I still have a battle on my hands. And just like everyone else I can stand strong against most temptations but I do have those sins which so easily ensnare me in their web of momentary pleasure and future guilt. These are the things I struggle with. Anyone who’s honest with themselves will admit they have the same situation.
Recently after a service I had a man asked for counsel about this very thing. All I could do is all I can ever do; share my witness.
When I’m faced with the temptation to fall into my pet sins, which I face on a daily basis, I admit I’m not strong enough to resist the temptation. These sins have years, decades even of practice in enticing me to wander from God’s path of obedience. My own lusts have their spiritual hands on all the right levers to pull me away. How can I resist? Who’ll save me from myself?
Christ has come to set us free and when He sets us free we’re free indeed. I know that’s what the word says. But how do I get in on all this freedom when I’ve spent so much of my life as a willing slave to these sins?
The first step is to admit my inability to resist the sin. And to realize that these thorns in my flesh are there to protect me from pride and to shape me into what the Lord intends me to be. It’s the act of surrender, of admitting my inability to resist that makes a way. You see when I get to the end of my rope if I give up my struggle and ask Jesus to use His strength to resist the temptation for me I can walk unscathed through the fires of my lust. When I’m weak then I’m strong because Christ’s strength is perfected in weakness.
We’ll never be tempted by more than we can endure and in every temptation there’s a way of escape. This is one of the many promises we can hang on to when we face our pet sins across the gulf of temptation. Think of how the Lord himself resisted temptation in the wilderness. He used the Word of God to rebuke Satan.
In the same way we need to have the Word of God in us if we want to have the strength to admit our weakness so we can find His strength.
Walking with God can sound and feel like walking backwards to anyone steeped in the wisdom of the world. For the wisdom of God is foolishness to the wise of this world. Just as the weakness of a sinner becomes the strength of the saint as hand in hand with the Man who stilled the sea we give it all to Jesus so He can give it back to us.
Those who seek to keep their lives lose them and those who give their lives away keep them for all eternity.
So how do we resist temptation? We trust Jesus to do it for us since every sin was paid for at the cross. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. And you will be saved. That isn’t pie in the sky. That isn’t a hollow promise for the great by-an-by. That is a constant reality for the here and now.
So when those pesky old sins reach up and try to drag us down remember we aren’t out here all alone. Once we’ve given ourselves to God in and through Jesus it’s no longer just us facing these struggles it’s Christ within us the hope of Glory.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
