10 | May | 2016 | Craig T. Owens

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The Safe Walk Of Faith

May 10, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

“We sometimes think that when God commands us to do something and we obey, everything will be smooth sailing. We think He’ll be grateful for our obedience so He will place us on a four-lane freeway to blessing. Abraham obeyed God’s Word, but the fact is, one act of obedience doesn’t add up to a walk of obedience.

“Abraham had a promise from God, but along the way he had to go through the Negev desert, over snow-covered mountains, through another desert, and past the warring people of Canaan. Then he ended up in the midst of a famine in Egypt. I’m glad God didn’t tell Abraham about the path he would be walking!

“This particular path was like no other Abraham had walked. Yet, through it all, he was never in any danger. Nobody could touch him. God was his shield and protector every day. And because of his faith, Abraham was becoming a friend to God.” —David Wilkerson

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Abraham, David Wilkerson, faith, friend, God's protection, obedience, quotes. Leave a Comment »

Praying For Your Congregation

May 10, 2016 — Craig T. Owens

Pastors often ask for their congregation to pray for them. This is a good thing! But the Apostle Paul gives pastors a model for praying for their congregation.

In his letter to the Church at Philippi, Paul says, “And this is my prayer…” (Philippians 1:9).

First, notice the motivation for Paul’s prayer: thankfulness. He’s not skeptical nor cynical. He doesn’t browbeat them for any shortcomings. He doesn’t think, “Ministry would be great if it weren’t for these people.” No! He was full of thanks that bubbled up in joyful prayer for these precious people (vv. 3, 4).

Paul also had an attitude of confidence for this congregation. He believed they could carry out ministry responsibilities, and that in the process they could continue to mature in Christ (vv. 5, 6).

Paul had affection for this church: he really liked these people! It’s one thing to love someone (after all, Jesus commanded us to do that), but something entirely different when we like being around people. The King James Version says Paul greatly longed after these folks. The Greek is even better—it says he doted on them (v. 8).

With this in mind, look how Paul prayed for these precious folks on whom he doted. He prayed that…