Finding Peace Amid Chaos July 24, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
Rudyard Kipling in If, which I believe is the best poem ever written begins, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” setting the stage for a recitation for the human qualities needed to rise above circumstances. These are the types of mature actions and reactions visible when the shifting tides of daily life don’t toss us about like a piece of driftwood in the surf. Maturity provides stability and confidence not shaken by the ebb and flow of change marking the boundaries of life.
Reading these traits often exposes the arrested development of those of us who may have grown up but have failed to mature.
This poem illuminates human wisdom as brilliantly as a bright light on a dark night reveals all within its circle of radiance. It’s a work of brilliance by a man who was more than a journeyman wordsmith, a true master of the English language. And like other works of genius, it exposes timeless truth that can change the life of anyone who assimilates its message and lives out its guidance. Other works such as How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie, or The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell are examples of this wisdom that can help us mature into successful people in a world filled with more obstacles than opportunities.
However, while wisdom, if it’s accepted and acted upon can help us succeed and prosper it cannot by itself bring us to the peace which passes all understanding. Happiness is the world’s substitute for joy causing immature people to waste their lives tickling themselves to death for a smile. In the same way the tranquility flowing from success and prosperity is the world’s substitute for peace. True peace can only come from God for humanity needs peace with God to have peace within themselves.
You see when humanity decided to follow Satan instead of God, we immediately found an unbridgeable gulf between us and God. This left a God shaped hole in our hearts and nothing can fill it except the God who created us. On our own we can’t think our way to God. We can’t follow enough rules, laws, or pious regulations to reach God. Someone had to pay the price for all the sin from Adam to eternity and no one could do it except an eternal being.
We were guilty and in need of a mediator, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” In the court of heaven, we needed an attorney to represent us before the throne of justice, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” You see He has paid the price and is ever ready to show the proof of His sacrifice since, “He solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.”
Jesus pointed the way to peace with God. Telling us, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Salvation is easy for, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Having done that it flows from the reborn spirit with in us that we will follow Him, doing the works that He did as He leads us into all peace. And in His living word He gives the formula for peace, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
There is an ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” In America today we find ourselves in the most interesting of times. So as the endless pre-election winds down to its inevitable conclusion, whether we face the resistance, riots, and impeachment that will greet a Trump victory or the shabby world of Progressive authoritarianism devolving from another Chicago-style Biden/anyone the Democrats nominate win, don’t let it steal your peace.
As He prepared to pay the ultimate price to ransom our lives Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” And no matter how confusing, challenging, or frustrating it may become remember Jesus also said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Let us bear up under these interesting times knowing that our faith in Christ makes us not just followers of God but children of God, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Don’t be discouraged, instead hang on to your faith. Don’t forget that the blinding lights and roaring furry of this crisis is but a blink of the eye for, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” And, “we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times; the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
Keep the faith. Keep the peace. We shall overcome.
This is an excerpt from the book Love by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon.
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens July 23, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
Courage is what it takes to start something when there is no promise of success.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens July 22, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
It is only by risking it all and going too far that we can discover how far we can go.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens July 21, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
It takes courage to begin, it takes courage to continue, it takes courage to succeed.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens July 20, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
We can only get where we’re going by leaving where we are.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon
Season Two Episode Seven of I Took a Right Turn July 19, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
In Season Two Episode Seven of I Took a Right Turn Robert + Rosalie continue their talk about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. They look at John 20:18-23 and Acts 1:8. They share their home-grown song “Jesus the Lord” and Robert reads chapter seven in his fiction series America’s Trojan War.
Fear is the Opposite of Faith July 17, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
As we wandered through the wilderness of the late great pandemic it was a perfect opportunity to realize that God is in control. We may think we’re the masters of the universe but in fact we aren’t. God is.
Humanity has built a planet wide civilization. Our machines transform deserts, harness the wind, and connect everyone in an ever-growing web of communication and information. Our planes fill the skies. Our ships fill the seas. We’ve walked on the moon, sent robot ships to Mars and the other planets, flung satellites out of the solar system, touched the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and built permanent habitations in Antarctica. Humanity stands proudly at the apex of life on earth as we cower before an unseen enemy and wage a war against a virus. Our leaders tell us we’ll win this war while in the back of everyone’s mind dwells the thought, “Someday we may face another virus or germ that will wipe us out.”
We live on a rock hurtling through space. Even a brief study of geology, paleontology, and astronomy makes it abundantly clear we live in a cosmic pinball machine. Over and over large asteroids have smashed into the earth often bringing an end to most life and signaling the beginning of a new epoch in the planet’s 4.5-billion-year history. It isn’t a question of if. It is a question of when.
And if species eliminating pandemics and globe shattering collisions aren’t enough, there are super volcanoes lurking around the planet waiting like alarm clocks to explode and wake us from our blissful dream of ruling creation.
When we ponder our current situation, it might not be too far off to say, “This may not be the end of the world, but you can see it from here.”
With that thought in mind we might want to meditate on The Living Bible’s rendition of Proverbs 19:1, “Man proposes, But God disposes.”
The pandemic raged all around us. The government had us isolated, locked down, watching infection charts and mortality rates wondering what happens next. As we fixated on survival, wishing we’d been crazy enough to be a prepper before being a prepper was cool, off in the distance our mind’s eye tried to envision the New Normal the media echo-chamber told us was on the other side. Then we learned the new normal was what we used to call abnormal.
With the world rushing at us with ever increasing speed the easiest thing to do is to allow fear a toehold in our lives. Fear of catching a virus. Fear of our loved ones catching a virus. Fear of losing our jobs. Fear of watching our carefully constructed lives wither on the vine. Fear of not having enough money, food, hand sanitizer, or toilet paper to make it through the blast. Fear, fear, fear seems to be all the “If it bleeds it leads” news media offer wall-to-wall 24/7.
A wise woman told me that Fear is the captain of legions of other foul spirits such as greed and selfishness. Look at how many have responded to these ever multiplying crises, and you see those in bondage to Fear and its minions cleaning off shelves, ignoring shelter-in-place orders, and partying like there’s no tomorrow.
Let me show you a better way. Fear is the opposite of faith. Choose faith and live.
We know that most of the things we worry about never happen. Why waste our time worrying when we can instead walk in faith and have peace? God tells us not to worry more times than He tells us not to steal and we all know what stealing is. There’s a formula for peace. It’s like a recipe. We can follow it and bake it into our lives. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
I’m a Christian. I believe Jesus is the divine incarnation who came to pay the penalty for sin. He lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, rose from the dead conquering sin and death for all humanity. I believe He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of our Father the Creator, and that He’s coming again to judge the living and the dead. I believe all that as strongly as I believe I’m typing these words right now. This is the foundation of my reality. This is my faith. Faith banishes fear.
If you’re tired of living your life in fear join me in a walk of faith. To begin a new life in Christ is easy because the sacrifice of Christ has paid the price of admission. All you need to do is confess Jesus as the leader of your life and believe in your heart the God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.
I’m not saying once we confess and believe we’ll skip down the primrose path with never a problem, a challenge, or a defeat until we dance our way through the Pearly Gates. What I’m saying is once we confess and believe we can rest assured no matter what happens we’re in God’s hand and no one and nothing can ever snatch us out. The viruses, asteroids, and volcanoes might come but our future is secure in the everlasting promises of God.
After we confess and believe we’re still facing all the same challenges we faced before, but now we have faith instead of fear. Now we know that when we pray God hears our prayers. In the natural world we look to the government to save us. But the government is of the world and the world is passing away. All things will pass. Only those things done in Christ will last. Reject the transitory dying things of the world and embrace the life that’s in the Spirit of Christ.
Embrace the faith. Defeat the fear. And remember the recipe, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
It may feel like prayer is all we have. Luckily prayer is all we need. Faith is the answer. Prayer is the key. Why worry when you can pray?
This is an excerpt from the book Love by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon.
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens July 16, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
A person crazy enough to think they can change the world is usually the one who does.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon
An excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens July 14, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
The last day of something old is the first day of something new.
This is an excerpt from the book New Old Sayings by Dr. Robert Owens. This and all his books are available from Amazon in paperback or kindle at Amazon
I Took a Right Turn Season Two Episode Six July 11, 2023
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
In Season Two Episode Six Robert + Rosalie look at Acts 1:4-8 and talk about what God wants us to do and the Baptism in the Holy Ghost. They share their original song, “There’s a Reason for Our Breathing,” and Robert reads chapter six of America’s Trojan War. All of Robert’s books are available through Amazon
Dr. Robert Owens Chronicles the History of the Future 