An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens September 20, 2024
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We need to see God as He reveals Himself in His Word, not as we imagine Him to be.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at
We’ve All Had an Apple Out of That Sack September 18, 2024
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When I first gave my life to Christ, I felt so incredibly clean, so new, and fresh it was truly like being born-again. My old life was washed away, and I was a babe in Christ.
Then as I devoured His Word reading, meditating, and praying it into the very fabric of my life it changed me even more. I was miraculously healed of alcoholism. Lifetime habits of chemical abuse and drug addiction were washed away in the life-giving flood of Christ’s love.
I was saved reading and believing in the Gospels. The New Testament starts with the birth of Jesus. It tells the whole story of His sinless life. It reveals His sacrificial death. And it imparts life changing reality of His life-giving resurrection and ascension into heaven. But it doesn’t end there.
After the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the New Testament continues with the story of the spreading of the sin shattering story of Jesus from Jerusalem to Rome in the Acts of the Apostles a God breathed History that is truly His Story.
Secular History tells us that the few followers of Jesus shared the good news of freedom from the curse of sin, the empowerment of holiness, and the joy of salvation and that this message of hope spread like wildfire. It couldn’t be contained by persecution. It couldn’t be squelched by religion. Yes, this secular History tells us that this obscure faith movement birthed in an out-of-the-way corner of a vast empire marched from person-to-person and within 300 years became the official religion of Caesar.
Secular History can tell us what happened; however, it takes the New Testament to tell us why. We’ve all heard it said that the Gospel is good news. As one popular song tells us today, “It’s not good news. It’s the best news ever.”[1]
In the beginning, back in the garden, man chose not to obey God but instead to follow his own lusts and desires chasing into a path that has forever led us away from God. We can blame Satan who the Bible tells us tempted Eve into disobedience, but it was Adam whose willful choice to follow his own desire to be with his wife instead of with God that crossed the threshold and saw a barrier of sin separate us from our sinless God. There was no way back. There was no way to wash the stain from our spirit. We were no longer united with our creator we were instead united with the father of lies.
Now here’s the why: God in His unsearchable love came Himself in the form of Jesus born of a woman to live a sinless life that He willingly sacrificed to pay the price. Now anyone who will confess Jesus as the Lord, the leader, the master of their life and who believes that God raised Jesus from the dead is forgiven of all sin and re-united with God. That’s it. That’s the best news ever.
I was changed by systematic and prolonged study of the Epistles: the letters of the first followers of Jesus to those who believed through their ministry.
After this saturated my life and I began taking my first steps into a world which was now the Kingdom of God I began my study of the Old Testament.
When I read the stories of the two sons of Abraham and then about Jacob and Esau,[2] the children of Isaac and that expands the promise of God[3] to send a Savior which is the essence of the entire Old Testament, I came across the line, “I loved Jacob and hated Esau.”[4] This was a puzzle. Because when you read about these two brothers it soon becomes evident that Jacob was a lying, cheating, deceiving, schemer and Esau was a nice guy who obeyed his parents and seemed to live a godly life. Why would God choose Jacob over Esau?
Esau esteemed his birthright, which was the promise of God flowing into its third generation so lightly he was willing to trade his place as the eldest child and heir for one single bowl of stew. He threw away eternal blessing for instant gratification.
Seeing this I thought what a fool Esau was. How lacking in faith and fortitude it was no wonder God chose Jacob to be the child of promise, the heir whose bloodline would one day produce Jesus.
It was only as the years passed as I began to live out my own version of the Book of Judges I stumbled and fell. God renewed me over and over. It was then that I came to realize how easy it is for the followers of Christ to find themselves in the path of easy-going Esau instead of climbing the ladder of faith with Jacob.[5]
We may not trade our eternal inheritance for a bowl of stew but how many of us choose the things of this world over the things of God? How easy it is to find ourselves drowning in diversions instead of immersed in the Word? Majoring on minors instead of dedicated to doing the works God has called us to do. Perhaps we should ask ourselves, “Are we consumed by the news or devouring the Word?” “Are we serving ourselves at the all-you-can-eat buffet of modern culture or are we helping to seat others at the wedding feast of the King?”
When I first read the Book of Judges and how the Israelites of old after generations of miracles culminating in finding the promised land turned away from God, fell under the heel of oppressors, begged for deliverance, and then after God delivered them forgot about God and wandered off again, and again, and again I felt if I’d been God I would’ve written them off and started over. In the first flush of my regenerated life of joy I couldn’t understand how God could just keep kissing the hand that abused Him.
In time my own book of judges taught me that it’s God’s love that keeps Him constantly ready to accept us back. I also learned that I was happy He never gave up on those Israelites and that He never gives up on me.
Esau gave away an eternal promise for something that looked good, smelled good, and tasted good. But it was also something that perished with the using. He was weak, he was a fool, and we’ve all had an apple out of that sack.
If you’ve wandered off into the dead-end trails of self-indulgence in the trackless waste which is the world as I have time after time don’t despair. We shouldn’t give up on ourselves because God will never give up on us. As many times as we turn away from the world to face God, He’s there ever ready and eager to take us back. Or as a current song tells us, “You can never fall too hard, so fast, so far that you can’t get back when you’re lost. Where you are is never too late, so bad, so much that you can’t change who you are. You can change who you are.”[6]
How do we change who we are? We Let Jesus in and He does all the remodeling for us. That’s the best news ever that you’ve heard about.
[1] Best News Ever by Mercy Me, AZLyrics.com, accessed 12-10-19, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mercyme/bestnewsever.html
[2] Genesis 25:19-34
[3] Knowing Jesus, 25 Verses about God’s promise to Abraham, accessed 12-10-19, https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God~s-Promise-To-Abraham
[4] Malachi 1:2; Romans 9:13
[5] Genesis 28:10-22
[6] Who You Are by Unspoken, AZLyrics, accessed 12-10-19, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/unspoken/whoyouare.html
Season Three Episode Twenty-nine September 17, 2024
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In Episode Twenty-nine / Season Three of I Took a Right Turn: As usual we share some vintage praise songs: I’ve Been Redeemed, Not By Might, and Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man Who Stilled the Waters. And of course, one of our homegrown songs: He Called My Name. Our Bible study this week looks at Genesis 25:19-34; Malachi 1:2, and Romans 9:10-13highlighting the fact that it is the chosen who are the children of God. Robert reads another essay from his series of books on Christian living, (Faith, Hope, and Love) reading Essay # 25 from the book, Hope: “We’ve All Had an Apple Out of That Sack.”
The text of this essay will be posted the day after the release of this episode at www.itookarighturn.com and www.drrobertowens.com All of Robert’s thirty-six books are available in paper back and kindle through Amazon. We also invite everyone to visit our online art store, The Pair a Docs Shop where we offer our original paintings, prints and merchandise.
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens September 16, 2024
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God is the main meal, not a condiment to be added to meet our individual taste.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens September 14, 2024
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God is the sovereign center of all creation.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens September 13, 2024
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The desires God gives us lead to the fulfillment He promised us.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens September 12, 2024
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God wants to remake the mess we’ve made of our lives and give us the lives He has planned for us.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at
Time is of the Essence September 11, 2024
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According to the Business Dictionary the title of this essay is a provision often included in construction, supply, transport, and other types of contracts to stress the punctual completion of the job (or repayment of a loan) as a vital element of the performance of the contract. Any failure to complete the work (or to pay the sums) within stated time limits may constitute breach of the contract.
Salvation is not a transaction based on a contract. It’s a gift. It isn’t earned. It’s based upon the grace of God extended to all and accepted through faith. And while this gift shines from the cross of Christ through the meandering corridors of History, each of us has but a fleeting moment upon the world’s stage. When it’s done it’s done. It’s just the opposite of a concert; when the curtain comes down, we face the music. Or as the Word of God puts it, “Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences.”[1]
The world tells us, “Opportunity only knocks once” meaning if you miss your chance, it won’t come again. Looking at the totality of life that’s true but looking within the fragile bubble of time that is our here-today-gone-today life we have opportunity after opportunity. We had last week, and yesterday, today, and God willing tomorrow. At any moment we can make an altar of our prayers and confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead. If we’ll do those two things the Word of God promises, “You will be saved.”[2] If the curtain comes down before we do so we might not like the sequel.
The whole of the Old Testament points to Christ: the fulcrum of History. And throughout the New Testament God points back to examples and signposts of what was to come. To the Jews there is no more powerful story than their exodus from Egypt. Because they refused to believe God, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. These people who witnessed the miracles of Moses, crossed the Red Sea on dry land, ate the manna from heaven, and drank from the rock which followed them refused to worship God. Instead, they followed the trinket gods of their own imagination. And God left their bodies in the dust as a testimony to their hardheartedness.
Their rebellion and their lack of faith becomes a warning to us when the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us, “Today, please listen; don’t turn a deaf ear as in ‘the bitter uprising,’ that time of wilderness testing! Even though they watched me at work for forty years, your ancestors refused to let me do it my way over and over they tried my patience. And I was provoked, oh, so provoked I said, ‘They’ll never keep their minds on God; they refuse to walk down my road.’ Exasperated, I vowed, ‘They’ll never get where they’re going, never be able to sit down and rest.’”[3]
Today is all we have. No one promised us tomorrow. If we miss our chance, if we refuse to follow God and instead embrace the world, we should be prepared for a hand full of ashes. The Apostle John put it like this, “Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out.”[4]
But John didn’t leave it there. He finished the passage with a promise, “but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”[5]
And when it comes to the promises of God we need to realize, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”[6]
Sometimes life seems like a long time. It always feels like we have hours to kill but not a moment to spare. Our fleeting moment upon this stage is rushing by. Like flowers in the field we sprout, bloom, and fade away. For most of us one or two generations at the most and no one will remember we were here. So, grab the chance and remember time is of the essence and listen to these words ringing in our ears, “Today, please listen; don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.”[7]
It’s never too late. Until it is.
[1] Biblegateway.com, Hebrews 9:27-28, accessed n2-7-20, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+9%3A27&version=MSG
[2] ______________, Romans 9:10, accessed 2-7-20, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+10%3A9&version=NKJV
[3] Biblegateway.com, Hebrews 3:6-11, accessed 2-7-20, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews+3%3A+6-11&version=MSG
[4] ______________, I John 2:15-17, accessed 2-7-20, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+john+2%3A15-17&version=MSG
[5] Ibid.
[6] Biblegateway.com, II Corinthians 1:20, accessed 2-7-20, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A20&version=NKJV
[7] ______________, Hebrews 1:20, accessed 2-7-20, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews+3%3A+14&version=MSG
Season Three Episode Twenty Eight September 10, 2024
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In Episode Twenty-eight / Season Three of I Took a Right Turn: We once again share some vintage praise songs: Listen to Me Devil, He Set Me Free, and Look What the Lord Has Done. We also share another of our homegrown songs: Who Writes the Review. For our Bible study this week we explore Hebrews 9:23-28 and II Corinthians 1:20-22 emphasizing that we need to turn to God while there is still time. Robert reads another essay from his series of books on Christian living, (Faith, Hope, and Love) reading Essay # 23 from the book, Hope: “Time Is Of The Essence.”
The text of this essay will be posted the day after the release of this episode at www.itookarighturn.com and www.drrobertowens.com All of Robert’s thirty-six books are available in paper back and kindle through Amazon. We also invite everyone to visit our online art store, The Pair a Docs Shop where we offer our original paintings, prints and merchandise.
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens September 9, 2024
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
Self-centeredness is the door to deception.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings Volume Two by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at
Dr. Robert Owens Chronicles the History of the Future 