Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
One of the amazing things about the Bible is that it has practical application for every aspect of our lives—including the business world! Today Greg and I are excited to announce that for the first time in our long friendship we are writing collaborators on a new series of books entitled Business By The Book. In today’s episode we preview the first book in this series about a CEO’s vision.
[0:56] Some new and exciting news on a great new project—a book that we have co-written. The first book in our series called Business by the Book.
[2:20] Vision cannot be delegated to a committee, but the CEO must be the chief vision-caster.
[2:54] Greg and I first met on a basketball court, but there was an important lesson in that game that teaches CEOs about vision-casting.
[4:40] Why does a CEO need to have a personal vision statement before they lay out a vision for their organization?
[7:23] We layout how the book is organized and share insights on the first two chapters.
[9:17] CEOs would do well to show the way to the vision before they tell others the way to the vision.
[11:00] Greg uses a concept from “Alice in Wonderland” to talk about minimizing the things that distract leaders from pursuing their vision.
[16:45] Here’s what we hope you will takeaway from this series of books.
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 first ten verses of Ephesians 2 Paul talks about the amazing transformation from who we WERE before we met Jesus to who we ARE now with Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Before Jesus we…
were dead
used to live in sin
used to follow the world
were living to gratify fleshly cravings
were following only earthly desires
The result of this lifestyle is quite clear: We WERE deserving of God’s wrath (see vv. 1-3).
Verse 4 opens with an amazing word: “But” here is what our new life looks like. We are…
made alive with Christ
rescued from death
raised up with Christ
seated with Jesus in heavenly realms
benefitting from God’s kindness
The bottom line: We ARE saved by God’s grace from God’s wrath (vv. 4-8)!
It’s only now that we can realize that we ARE God’s handiwork, created to be in Jesus, to do good works, and to bring God glory. Our lives now ARE a display of the “incomparable riches of His grace” (v. 7)—we ARE a living testimony of His love for lost people.
Being transformed from what we WERE to who we ARE allows us to echo the words of the psalmist—Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people! (Psalm 66:5 NLT).
Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked. (Proverbs 24:17, 19 NLT)
We don’t rejoice when evildoers stumble, nor do we fret when evildoers succeed. Why? Because our attention should be captivated by our Savior.
God’s peace shall be yours—that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is—that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 AMPC)
God’s transcendent peace comes into our heart like an elite special forces team to guard our heart from enemies. We are the ones who welcome in this special force by being content with all God is for us in Jesus. That means we can dismiss this special force by being discontent.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week I challenged all of us to ask the Holy Spirit to check our attitude to ensure we indeed have the attitude of a secure servant. This is especially true when we remember that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle and that Jude writes this letter to us to encourage us to “contend for the faith.”
When Jesus told His parable about the sower, here’s what He said about the seed that fell on the hard path (Mark 4:15 AMPC). Jesus said the forces of evil want to try to bring down the Kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12).
Are we willing to engage in this intense battle? Will we strive with the forces of darkness for the sake of seeing lost people saved? God told Isaiah that it was so easy to give in—to throw our hands up (Isaiah 64:5-7). Paul extolled a Christian brother named Epaphras for his willingness to wrestle in prayer for the saints (Colossians 4:12).
Indeed wrestling for the saints is what Jude had in mind.
I like the phrase “contend for the faith” in the Message paraphrase: “Fight with everything you have in you.”
The Greek word Jude uses here is the only time it’s used in the New Testament. It means:
To enter a contest—1 Corinthians 9:24-26
Contend with adversaries—Colossians 4:12; Ephesians 6:12
Struggle through difficulties—Colossians 1:28-29
Endeavor with strenuous zeal to obtain victory—1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7
The root word is agonizimai which sounds a lot like our English word “agonize.” This is an all-in mentality. Sitting on the sidelines, casually interacting, dabbling in it every once in a while won’t lead to victory.
The stakes are too high, our enemy is cunning and desperate, so nothing less than agonizing training that will not quit no-matter-what will do!
What exactly are we training to do?
Too many view salvation as just saved from Hell. That’s part of it, but not all of it. We’re also saved to display the glory of God. The first part is accepting Jesus as Savior; the second part is accepting Jesus as Lord. The salvation we share is not either-or, but it is both-and: Jesus is both our Savior and Lord.
We need to strive to obtain the fullness of Christ’s nature in us. People should be able to see and feel a difference in our lives without us even opening our mouths. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach always; if necessary, use words.” To that end, he offered this prayer—
“Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace, that
where there is hatred, I may bring love;
where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
where there is error, I may bring truth;
where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
where there is despair, I may bring hope;
where there are shadows, I may bring light;
where there is sadness, I may bring joy.”
Will you be all-in?
Will you wrestle in prayer?
Will you let go of earthly things so you can cling to Jesus?
Will you display His light through your life?
Will you be ready to use words, if necessary?
Let’s make sure we are ready to contend for the faith the right way!
P.S. Speaking of prayer, my new book Amen Indeed is a prayer guide for pastors. Please consider giving a copy of this book to your pastor!
G.K. Chesterton penned these words over a century ago. If they were true then, imagine how much more so they are now: “These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” —Steve Jobs
Epaphras literally put his life on the line to tell others about Jesus (Colossians 1:7; Philemon 23) and then tenaciously wrestled in prayer for the saints he led to the Lord (Colossians 4:12). That is a life worth emulating!
Sarah Young uses passages of Scripture and writes in the first-person voice as though Jesus Himself was speaking to us. “When you bring Me prayer requests, lay out your concerns before Me. Speak to Me candidly; pour out your heart. Then thank Me for the answers that I have set into motion long before you can discern results. When your requests come to mind again, continue to thank Me for the answers that are on the way. If you keep on stating your concerns to Me, you will live in a state of tension. When you thank Me for how I am answering your prayers, your mind-set becomes much more positive. Thankful prayers keep your focus on My Presence and My promises.”
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Christians need to be known more for what is good than for what is bad. Jesus hasn’t called us to point out what’s bad, but to point out how good Jesus is.
G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists, as the mother can love the unborn child.”
God loved you before you were born. He had a plan in mind for your life before you were conceived.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Even as God formed you in your mother’s womb, He implanted in you all that you would need to live for His glory.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)
God couldn’t love you any more than He already does because His love for you is infinite and eternal❣️
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The second-to-last book of the New Testament is a short letter to the Church in which Jude felt urged by the Holy Spirit to challenge Christians to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Does contend mean Christians are supposed to be combative about sharing their faith? We can learn a lot from the way Jude opens this letter.
First, let’s look at who wrote this book.
The names of the brothers of Jesus are listed twice (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55), and Jude is either the youngest or second youngest of these male siblings. He was a part of the family delegation that went to bring Jesus home because they thought He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21, 31). Later on, Jude would also mockingly taunt Jesus (John 7:5).
James is the oldest brother after Jesus. When Paul writes that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7), it’s possible that it means Jesus appeared to all of his brothers, because Paul also mentions that the brothers of Jesus had become evangelists (9:5). It’s not surprising that Jude calls himself a brother of James, but it is quite shocking that he calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ.
In fact, he calls Jesus:
our only Sovereign and Lord (v. 4)
the One who gives us eternal life (v. 21)
the only One who is our entrance into Heaven (vv. 24- 25)
We need to adopt this servant’s mindset as we interact with others.
Second, let’s notice who Jude’s audience is.
Jude writes to people who are called, sanctified, preserved (NKJV).
called = invited to the banquet
sanctified = hagiazo = holy ones or saints
preserved / kept = carefully attended to
Finally, let’s consider how Jude expects saints to be living each day.
Jude says in verse 2 that we are to live…
mercifully = not wanting people to get the punishment they deserve
peacefully = having our soul so secure that we fear nothing from God
lovingly = agape love like Jesus (John 3:16, 13:1) and like us (13:35, 15:9)
And all of these things are to be in abundance—ever multiplying!
After all of this, we are now in a place to consider how to live contending for the faith (v. 3).
We are servants of Jesus, called to His banquet, set apart and preserved for His glory; we are intimately aware of His mercy, peace, and love, which we want others to know for themselves.
Before we learn how to contend, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to check our attitude to ensure we indeed have the attitude of a secure servant.
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
Have you felt under attack spiritually lately? Especially when things are going well, we need to stay on guard because the enemy of our soul is always looking for an opening. Don’t give him any opening at all—stay vigilant!
“All men are ordinary men; the extraordinary men are those who know it.” —G.K. Chesterton
I thoroughly enjoy reading the words of Oswald Chambers (check out my lengthy Thursdays with Oswald feature). Dr. Steve Nichols shared a mini-biography about this extraordinary pastor on his 5 Minutes In Church History podcast.
Over a week before the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Abdu Murray had a chilling prediction in his commentary From Cancel Culture to Assassination Culture.
“Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.” —Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Using a question about the recreational uses of marijuana, John Piper notes something deeper: “The church for a long time has leaned too heavily on the overlap between the state and the church for the strength of our conviction concerning what is right and wrong.” This post is a call for Christians to dig into the Scriptures for what we believe, and not just follow what society says.
“The man who thinks he can live without others is mistaken; the one who thinks others can’t live without him is even more deluded.” —Hasidic Proverb
This 12-minute video from Daniel Pink has some solid insights on higher productivity.
One of the amazing things about the Bible is that it has practical application for every aspect of our lives—including the business world! Today Greg and I are excited to announce that for the first time in our long friendship we are writing collaborators on a new series of books entitled Business By The Book. In today’s episode we preview the first book in this series about a CEO’s vision.
Craig T. Owens 