Pastors can only fulfill their calling as shepherd leaders with the vitalizing power of prayer, and must pray for themselves first. A healthy, prayer-full pastor is an effective pastor. My newest book is to help pastors in this vital discipline of prayer.
Amen Indeed fuels growth by providing more than 100 prayers for pastors to pray for their own mental, physical, spiritual, and relational growth. Each is sourced from Scripture and rings with the “Amen” that Jesus promised to add (2 Corinthians 1:20).
“There is one assured way for our prayers to be answered: It is to pray the will of God.
“There is one assured way to pray the will of God: It is to pray Scripture.
“As ministers of the Gospel we would be wise then to primarily pray Scripture, for ‘the word of our God stands forever’ (Isaiah 40:8).” —Dick Brogden, Founder of the Live Dead Movement
“When it comes to prayer, we need some help. And in Amen Indeed, help is at hand. Whatever is keeping us from prayer, Craig Owens can help us push through to a more consistent and more consistently joyful and fruitful life of prayer.” —T.M. Moore, Principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
The words we use are important and can be quite revealing of what’s going on in our heart and mind. I often find it quite funny listening to some of our students and their choice of words. For instance, I heard this exchange the other day between some guys:
“Do you like her?”
“Yeah, I like her.”
“But do you like her like her?”
“No way! I like her as a friend. I don’t like her that way!”
This may be both cute and confusing for adults relating to young men and women. But I have learned that these young people are setting some clear boundaries about what their relationship with that other person entails. They’re really saying, “I don’t dislike her, but I’m not ready to say that I love her yet either.”
However, this kind of language and this kind of mindset should never be said about Christians! We are coming to the pinnacle of this progression of virtues that Peter is listing for saints, so let me remind you of what built up to this point (see 2 Peter 1:1-7).
I read the words brotherly kindness in v. 7 because nearly every English translation has it rendered that way, and it’s probably the closest to the Greek word philadelphia.
The root word (adelphos) is used over 300 times in the New Testament.
Adelphos can be literally translated as a biological sibling (Matthew 1:2), but it is most often used in the NT as a spiritual brother or sister (2 Peter 3:15, 1:10). The first Christians recognized that their faith in Jesus—a faith as precious as ours—adopted us all into the same family of God.
The prefix philos means the most straightforward, uncomplicated definition of “friend” that come readily to your mind.
So when we are talking about the precious faith of precious friends, we are talking about something distinctively Christian.
Last week we saw how Jesus taught us the importance of abiding in Him (see John 15:4-11). Our abiding produces a fruitful harvest. In the next verses, Jesus goes on tell us what this harvest looks like (John 15:12-17).
Notice the word command (v. 12, 17) is singular. Jesus said the same thing in John 13:34-35, and John again highlights this in 1 John 3:23.
The word for love is agape, which Peter uses in 2 Peter 1:7. He says philos grows into agape. But now Jesus says, when we are abiding in His agape, something amazing happens: We are called friends (philos) of Jesus (John 15:13-15). Unlike my young friends, it appears that Jesus sees no difference between liking (philos) and loving (agape) for those who are called His saints. Lovers of Jesus will love their friends so much that they will like their friends too!
Solomon describes friendship like this:
Always loving—Proverbs 17:17, 18:24
Speaking truthful, loving words—Proverbs 27:6
Giving helpful counsel—Proverbs 27:9
This growth of philadelphia to agape, which then demonstrates itself by looking like philadephia has some powerful benefits.
It sharpens all of us (Proverbs 27:17).
It adds power to our prayers, which also benefits everyone (John 15:7, 16; James 5:16). D.L. Moody expressed it the opposite way: “If we do not love one another, we certainly shall not have much power with God in prayer.”
It enhances our witness (John 13:35, 17:21).
My friend T.M. Moore wrote this about a healthy, growing family of saints—
“Oh look: ‘the Lord added to the church daily…’ [Acts 2:42-47]. Now we’re talking. Let’s get those numbers up, shall we? Let’s do, but let’s remember that adding people to our church is the Lord’s work, and He does it His way. And His way is to cause people to respond to the lived and spoken witness of a body of believers who love one another, encourage one another, build one another up, share with one another, and present a united voice, speaking truth in love to their community. When they see our oneness, Jesus insisted, they will believe the Father has sent Him.”
This whole progression we have seen in 2 Peter becomes a continually growing, continually God-glorifying, Christ-revealing, Spirit-led testimony! Your part in this is invaluable and indispensable!
So we must ask ourselves: How would Jesus be a friend? Am I friending like Jesus?
Pete Marra from Breakpoint shared this on a podcast: ”What we have at our disposal through business, the ability to organize, to solve problems, to create value, to deploy capital, to steward the things that God has given us, is something that’s very unique to enterprise itself. … I believe not only has God brought you to this place and called you to this space, but he’s equipped you for it.” My podcast cohost and I have co-authored a series of books called “Business by the Book.” They are designed to help equip you with God’s wisdom for each department of your organization. Check them out here.
“To say any man is a real Christian is undeniably the highest honor we can confer upon him.” —Wilfred Grenfell
“A friend of mine said, ‘We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it’s there for emergencies but he hopes he’ll never have to use it.’ Now God, who has made us, knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. Yet we will not seek it in Him as long as he leaves us any other resort where it can even plausibly be looked for. While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible source of false happiness?” —C.S. Lewis, in The Problem of Pain
“Sometimes you fall apart on the inside while you look put together on the outside. Your private and public worlds don’t connect at all. Others cannot perceive the trauma you feel, the despair and loneliness. Only God knows that.
“The danger in success is dishonesty with self, others, or God. You will substitute eternal accomplishment for internal peace. What happens to you becomes more important than what happens in you. David alerts us to face this problem. Our successes may be happening despite God’s displeasure. Our concern must be more upon, ‘Is God pleased with me? than ‘Is God pleased with what I am doing?’” —Dr. George O. Wood, in A Psalm in My Heart, commenting on Psalm 60
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Being the new leader of an organization is a difficult task. It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time leader or have decades of leadership experience, you’re still “the new guy” to everyone else in the organization. So when you step into your new role and have to begin making changes you will most likely encounter areas of resistance.
In this episode, Greg and I have a thought-provoking discussion on how to mitigate and confront resistance to change, as well as laying out why we think patience can often be your most important trait during a transition.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The first church Jesus addresses in the Book of Revelation are the saints in Ephesus. He says to them—
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. (Revelation 2:1-4)
The Ephesians were known for a very admirable list of qualities:
good deeds
hard work
perseverance
not tolerating evil people to remain in the church
weeding out false apostles
enduring hardship without growing weary
But it appears that like the Israelites in Isaiah’s day, these qualities had ceased being delights and had now become mere duties—items to simply check off their spiritual To Do list.
Listen to what God said through the prophet Isaiah—
“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.When you come to worship Me, who asked you to parade through My courts with all your ceremony?Stop bringing Me your meaningless gifts…. Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about Me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. (Isaiah 1:11-13; 58:2)
Just like the people of Ephesus, the people in Isaiah’s day were dutifully checking all of the boxes that they thought religious people were supposed to check, but their heart was no longer into it.
Love for Jesus—our First Love—is seen not in what we think we have to do, but in delighting in what we get to do.
Jesus calls us to show mercy in following God’s commands (see Matthew 9:9-13; 12:1-8). But when we have a “Have to” attitude, we can easily become judgmental of anyone who is not checking off the boxes the way that we are. Judgmental people don’t love others and serve them, but they condemn them for doing the “Have tos” the wrong way.
Jesus calls us to closely monitor our attitude about our motivation to do what we do. We need to have a loving “I get to do this” attitude, not a “I have to do this and so does everyone else” attitude.
The “Have to” attitude, Jesus says, forsakes His love for our way of doing things. But the “Get to” attitude is fueled by our devotion to our First Love. Let’s all check our attitude to make sure our “Get tos” never becomes our “Have tos.”
From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. (John 1:16 NLT)
“God’s grace is so amazing—it keeps coming in like waves on a shore. God’s grace is unearned by our efforts, undeserved despite our sins, and unending for all of eternity!” —Craig T. Owens
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Peter is giving us an important progression of virtues that supercharge our Christian testimony in the world and our ability to encourage fellow saints. We’ve looked at the first four (faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control) and now I see a place for a warning.
A saint that is growing in their faith, in their goodness that shows itself as a Christian gentleman or gentlewomen, increasing in their knowledge of the things of God, and staying within the guardrails of self-control is probably starting to get noticed. They are seeing their own growth in maturity, and their old friends are also seeing it. This is a place to be on guard!
I think this is what Jesus described in Mark 4:3-7, 14-19.
A little knowledge can make us proud of what we’ve accomplished and tempt us to run too far ahead before we’re ready. This is the people with shallow roots.
The worries of life can be giving too much attention to what others say or think about us, or how they begin to treat us. We become unfruitful when we pay attention to those things.
Look at our progression in 2 Peter 1:2-6. The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to list perseverance in the perfect place in this progression!
This is called patient endurance in the NLT and steadfastness in the AMPC, but I like to call it stick-to-it-iveness. The Greek word is interesting: hypomone = by (hypo-) + abiding (-meno).
This word for remain or abide appears 11x in John 15:4-11!
Scripture teaches us, but hypomone turns truth into hope (Romans 15:4)
Hypomone keeps me living obediently to God’s Word (Hebrews 10:36; Revelation 14:12)
Hypomone turns the seed of God’s Word into a bountiful harvest (Mark 4:8, 20)
Hypomone keeps me peaceful—and therefore focused on God—during trials (Luke 21:19 AMPC)
When Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin, those leaders could tell they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13b), so too with Stephen (6:15). The virtue that follows perseverance is godliness. Peter has already used this word to describe Jesus (2 Peter 1:3) and so does the Septuagint in Isaiah 11:2.
The Greek word literally means “good worship” because godliness is a lifestyle—a lifestyle of worshipping God and magnifying the immeasurable worth of our Savior!
To fully describe this word, godliness in the NT is typically linked with another attribute:
Remember that make every effort is not my ability to supply myself, but my choice to ask, receive, and apply.
I must make every effort to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to persevere. I must make every effort to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit to display more Christlikeness.
As I add goodness to my faith, and add knowledge to my goodness, and add self-control to my knowledge, and add perseverance to my self-control, and add godliness to my perseverance, people should see in me what John the Baptists desired: He must increase, but I must decrease.
My growth in godliness is best seen by an attitude to persevere to see even more godliness in me.
Check out all of the other messages in this series from 2 Peter called Friends of the Faith.
Fight The New Drug shares, “Young people don’t have to go looking for harmful content online anymore—it can find them through social media, gaming platforms, algorithms, or even someone they trust. And sometimes, what begins as an ordinary online interaction can escalate into something much more serious.”
“God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.” —C.S. Lewis, in A Grief Observed
“Temptation feeds on curiosity. It tells me what I don’t have and what I should have by giving me comparisons. … Sin is so shortsighted. It only lives in the moment. It never bothers to ask if it’s worth it. Sin doesn’t think that far ahead. It makes you think only as far as forgiveness. Sin says, ‘Go ahead, God will forgive you,’ but it leaves out some very important facts: You can be forgiven and still pay the consequences of breaking trust, losing your marriage, and even devastating your children. You can be forgiven of sin, but not free of the consequences.” —Tim Dilena, in Chapter by Chapter on 2 Samuel 11
Wow, is this a powerful and important message for anyone struggling with temptation. Succinctly put: we never sin alone. In this post, T.M. Moore writes, “The first step along the way of escape is to remember that we never sin alone. We might think we can ‘get away’ with some little secret sin, but we are part of a community of the faithful; we are members of the Body of Christ. If I introduce infection to one of my fingers, or poison to my tongue, sooner or later my whole body is going to feel the consequences. It’s the same thing with sin. Any time we rebel against the Lord we plant a seed of disobedience and corruption in our own souls. Like dandelions, the seeds of rebellion can waft through all our thoughts, feelings, priorities, words, and deeds and take root in ways we cannot predict, and may not be able to control. Sooner or later, someone will feel the impact of our sinfulness, whether by some sin of commission or omission on our part.”
“The nearer your communion with Christ is, the more will you be permitted to know of Him. Our perceptions of Christ, if they are true, will be spiritual; and in proportion as our spiritual life is in a right condition, shall we be able to know more and more of Him.” —Charles Spurgeon
John Piper writes, “All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.” Then he shares the encouraging truth in this posts: Justice will be done.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Greg and I were discussing how to keep your top talent from leaving your organization to find “greener pastures.” Here’s one strategy that can help you keep your superstars from leaving.
Speaking of the “boxes” on the corporate flowchart, Greg and I have a series of books calls Business by the Book. Check those out here.
If you would like to watch the full episode about retaining your top talent, you can find that here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56)
Stephen saw the majestic glory of God and Jesus standing at His Father’s right hand.
Four times the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus completed all of His work and “sat down“ (Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2). Jesus Himself affirms that sitting at His Father’s right hand was the designated place of the Victorious One (Revelation 3:21).
Yet, Stephen sees Him standing at the right hand of the throne.
The Majesty of Heaven stood!
Perhaps the words of Stephen sounded so much like His own, that Jesus stood to listen to him (v. 60; Luke 23:34).
Perhaps the death of this saint was so precious that Jesus stood to welcome himhome (Psalm 116:15).
Perhaps Stephen lived and died so victoriously that Jesus stood so He could give him a place on His throne—
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)
Jesus has prepared a place for me where He is in heavenly realms (John 14:3; Ephesians 1:20, 2:6). He longs to welcome me into His happiness forever and ever (Matthew 25:21, 23).
I want to live every moment with my mind and heart on Jesus—with my thoughts and my eyes on Him. I want to run my race so well (Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 12:2), that even if my “finish line” is as gruesome as Stephen’s or Paul’s or Jesus’ that I will cross that line into the waiting arms of my Savior’s royal welcome!
How about you? It is possible to live and run and die in a way that you, too, will receive your royal welcome.
Not too long ago, a friend noted, “You seem to read a lot of John Maxwell’s books.” I smiled and said, “As long as he continues writing content that I can apply to my life, I’ll keep on reading.” And that’s just what I got from The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.
John writes in the introduction of this book, “To reach your potential you must grow. And to grow, you must be highly intentional about it.” These 15 laws are indeed designed for those who want to intentionally grow, as none of them will come to fruition automatically or easily. The application of all of these laws will take time and intentional effort.
But what I appreciate about John Maxwell’s insights is their realism. He doesn’t write fluffy platitudes that sound nice yet really don’t change anything, but neither does he share thoughts that are unobtainable. Each of these 15 laws required me to confront myself, consider the potential for growth, and then make an intentional and specific plan to implement the principles he shared.
If you have read other John Maxwell books, you will discover many places where these laws overlap and are supported by principles from those books. But if haven’t read anything from this prolific author yet, 15 Laws is an excellent starting place to begin a new phase of leadership growth in your life.
Pastors can only fulfill their calling as shepherd leaders with the vitalizing power of prayer, and must pray for themselves first. A healthy, prayer-full pastor is an effective pastor. My newest book is to help pastors in this vital discipline of prayer.
