October | 2024 | Craig T. Owens

October 2024
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Links & Quotes

October 5, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

When a teammate seems to choke in a pressure-packed situation, good coaches help them learn from their mistake and get right back into the game. This is how leaders help their teammates go from choke to clutch. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had about this.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Most of us who aspire to be tops in our fields don’t really consider the amount of work required to stay tops.” —Althea Gibson, tennis great

“There is only one way forward when vindication is delayed: total forgiveness. And I can give you a motivation to forgive totally greater than any other that could be conceived: you do it for an audience of One. Yes. That’s it. That is how you do it! Total forgiveness comes easily when you realize you are doing it for God and the glory of Jesus Christ!” —R.T. Kendall

More archeological evidence supporting the historicity of the Bible. Here are the top ten discoveries related to the Book of Jeremiah.

ICR reports: “Millions of years of erosion should have toppled all the beautiful sandstone arches out West, yet many hundreds remain.” But following the biblical timeline of Creation and the Flood makes it unsurprising that the arches are still standing.

Dr. Glenn Sunshine offers a beautiful, biblically-centric prayer for our nation, especially during this current election cycle.

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” —John Wooden

October is the month Protestants remember the start of the Reformation. The folks at Desiring God have a wonderful resource available by email every day during October called Here We Stand. Each day you will receive an email with a mini-biography of a key character in the Reformation. I am thoroughly enjoying these each day. Sign up here.

None of us are self-made. God created us on purpose and for a purpose. He gave us the gifts we need to accomplish that purpose. We will only find our fulfillment in life in stewarding those God-given gifts and opportunities in ways that glorify God. Not only fulfillment here, but then eternal satisfaction when we hear our Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into your Master’s happiness!”

A Leader Even Without The Title

October 4, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had gone away, each to his own field. So I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. All Judah then brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. To be in charge of the storehouses, I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered reliable, and it was their task to distribute to their kinsmen. (Nehemiah 13:10-13)

According to the Hebrew definitions:

“considered” = accountable
“reliable” = trustworthy

Both words mean someone who has passed the test and someone who is still passing the test. These men were faithful leaders before they were given this important job, and then they continued to prove themselves faithful even as their work was carefully scrutinized.

A title doesn’t make you a leader, and a title doesn’t sustain you as a leader. Your faithful, God-honoring, trustworthy accountability makes you a leader—even if you never get the title, God sees you and He will reward you.

Check out my whole series on godly leadership.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accountability, faithfulness, leadership, Nehemiah, trustworthy. Leave a Comment »

Watch Out For Wolves

October 3, 2024 — 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.

In my book When Sheep Bite, I not only wrote about biting sheep, but I also wrote about wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, and wolves who aren’t trying to hide themselves at all! How are shepherd leaders to deal with these folks?

That was one of the topics I addressed on the Leading From Alignment podcast with John Opalewski and Jim Wiegand.

In the chapter of my book called ‘Driving Away the Wolves,’ I wrote:

Loving shepherds are constantly among their sheep so that the sheep can know their voice and so the shepherd can know the voice of each individual sheep. This has the two-fold benefit of the sheep knowing which voice is trustworthy, and for you as the shepherd to spot the off-key voice of the “meaningless talk and deception” of those wolves who are hiding out among the sheep.

I have a related blog post that may interest you as well: When Shepherds and Sheep Talk. And you can check out more of this podcast I interview I did here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: interview, Jim Wiegand, John Opalewski, shepherd, shepherd leadership, video, When Sheep Bite, wolf. Leave a Comment »

The Irrefutable Evidence

October 2, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. … And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:57-58, 64-66)

When God does what only He can do, our testimony is irrefutable! People will rejoice, reverence God, and ask questions, but they will never be the same after witnessing a miracle.

Let’s pray for God to do the miraculous in our own lives even now so that we can be living testimonies that draw others to our Savior and Lord!

You may also be interested in my posts By His Stripes and Argument vs Experience.

And check out my short video Proof!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's glory, Gospel of Luke, miracles, supernatural, testimony. 2 Comments »

Empowered For Obedience

October 2, 2024 — 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.

In the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension, we read that Jesus was with His disciples “giving instructions through the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:2).

I think this word “instructions” in the NIV is too soft. The other translations say things like:

commandments (NKJV)
orders (NASB & NET)
instructed and commanded (AMPC)

The Greek word Luke uses in Acts 1:2 is entellomai and it is a word that carries weight. Throughout the New Testament this word is used to identify…

…the words of God (Matthew 4:6, 15:4; Luke 4:10; Acts 13:47; Hebrews 9:20)
…the words of Moses (Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:3; John 8:5)
…the words of Jesus (Matthew 17:9, 28:20; Mark 11:6; John 14:31; 15:14, 17; Acts 1:2, 13:47)
…the words of recognized leaders (Mark 13:34; Hebrews 11:22)

(Check out all of the above Scriptures by clicking here.)

In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) this word is used seven times. Five of these times link together the words “command” and “covenant” (Deuteronomy 4:13; Joshua 23:16; Judges 2:20; Psalm 111:9–10; Jeremiah 11:3–4). The other two times express God’s strong promise-keeping power that is awe-inspiring (Psalm 90:11, 91:11).

In other words, these aren’t just any words, but they carry an awesome authority with them. These are binding commands. They are not merely wise counsel or suggestions for godly living. They are indispensable to the Christian life.

Luke points out that Jesus gave these commands “through the Holy Spirit” because it is only through the Holy Spirit that you and I can understand them, apply them, and be empowered to obey them.

Jesus uses the same word entellomai in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) as well as in Acts 1:2. Clearly, the Scripture is telling us that we are powerless to understand and powerless to obey without the Holy Spirit’s daily empowerment. Jesus would never give us commands that we were unable to carry out, which is why He gives us instructions through the Spirit, and then the Spirit gives us the power to joyfully obey those commands.

Don’t ever think that you are on your own in trying to figure out what Jesus said, and how you are going to live it out.

I discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life in much greater detail in my series called We Are: Pentecostal.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Are You Full Of It?

October 1, 2024 — 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.

Would you like to be known as somebody who’s “full of it”? I know that phrase usually has a negative connotation, but I would like to make the case that this is actually a really good thing.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

The Scriptures I reference in this episode are found in Acts 6:3, 8, 10; 7:54-60; Galatians 5:22-23. We also see this same Greek word for “fullness” used for other New Testament leaders like Peter, Barnabas, and Paul (Acts 4:8; 11:24; 13:9).

I have blogged and talked and written quite a bit about a godly leader’s reactions being a strong indication of what a leader is truly full of. Three notable leadership posts are:

A godly leader’s reactions is a major theme in both of my books—Shepherd Leadership and When Sheep Bite.

You may also be interested in a post in my series about the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life entitled In > On.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎