30 | October | 2019 | Craig T. Owens

October 2019
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Fading Gratitude

October 30, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

Looking back at the history of God’s people in the Bible, there is a distinct up-and-down cycle. The Israelites would be worshiping God and enjoying His blessings, and then we see them turning their back on God and needing Him to rescue them from oppressors. After God rescues them the people praise Him, only to slip right back into the same downward slide again.

I believe their slipping away from God can be directly linked to their forgetfulness.

If any of us allows our gratitude for all of God’s blessings to fade, we will experience the same slipping away.

However, there is good news! If there is a peril in our forgetfulness, there is also a power in our thankfulness!

If you missed any of the messages in this series, please check them out here:

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, Calvary Assembly of God, forgetfulness, gratitude, sermon, thankfulness, thanksgiving. 5 Comments »

The Christian Leadership Cycle

October 30, 2019 — Craig T. Owens

…an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God… (2 Timothy 1:1).

Paul tells his protegé Timothy that he didn’t choose apostleship, but that God chose him for it. The same should be true for all Christian leaders. To use a personal example: I didn’t choose to be a pastor, but God chose me for the pastorate.

A mark of a godly leader is one who knows that God chose him to be a leader.

Knowing that, there are now choices that all leaders can—and should—make to steward their calling in a way that glorifies God.

Paul tells Timothy that a pure conscience and a genuine faith allowed him to maximally use the gift of apostleship that God gave him. With these, Paul could use God’s gift without fear, but lovingly and with a sound mind (see vv. 3-7).

This clear direction allows all Christian leaders to never be ashamed of their calling or of the fruits that come as a result of their leadership. This clear direction and sincere belief that I am doing what God has called me to do keeps me committed to an utter reliance on God’s supply all the way until the end (vv. 8-12).

Finally, my commitment to effectively stewarding my God-ordained leadership is reinforced by holding fast to sound doctrine and remaining sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit (vv. 13, 14).

It looks something like this—

This is part 41 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.