Because You Say So

October 25, 2023 — 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. 

It had been a long, fruitless night of fishing for Peter, Andrew, and their fishing partners. They came back to shore and began to wash their nets which had caught nothing all night long. 

As they washed their nets, no doubt contemplating how they were going to make ends meet without any fish to sell in the marketplace, they listened to an itinerant Preacher. This Man was fascinating to listen to as He talked about Scripture in a way none had ever heard. 

The crowds listening to Him swelled in size—almost spellbound by His kindness and wisdom—until the Preacher had no place left to stand on the shore. Turning to Peter, the Preacher said, “Peter, my name is Jesus. Would you allow Me to stand in your boat so I can continue to speak to all of these good people?” 

Peter welcomed Him onto his ship and pushed out a little ways from shore. There he sat and continued to listen with growing amazement at the way this Man taught. It was unlike anything Peter had heard from any other rabbi. 

When Jesus concluded His sermon and dismissed the crowds, He turned to Peter and said, “Thank you for helping Me. I know it’s been a tough night for you. If you will sail back out to deeper waters, you will be able to let down your nets for a huge catch.” 

Peter smiled and said, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught a thing. I doubt we will be able to catch anything now.” For a brief moment, Peter contemplated rowing Jesus back to shore, but those words he had heard Jesus speaking were still resonating in his heart, bringing to life a faith he hadn’t known. 

Almost before he realized he was speaking the words, Peter said, “But because You say so, I will obey.” 

No sooner had Peter and Andrew let their nets down into the deep water, than they caught so many fish that their nets almost began to break. They shouted to their partners for help. Even with their combined efforts, the amount of fish they caught nearly sunk their boats! (See Luke 5:1-11.)

What an example Peter has given me! 

It may seem illogical, unconventional, counter-cultural, scary, or embarrassing. But because You say so, I will obey. 

I may lose friends, lose “face,” lose position, lose money, or lose possessions. But because You say so, I will obey. 

I may feel afraid, uncertain, unclear, confused, or skeptical. But because You say so, I will obey.

It’s only in my obedience that I can see Your power, Your lordship, Your wisdom, Your blessing, and Your glory.  So because You say so, I will obey. 

Jesus, You said, “Anyone who loves Me will obey Me” (John 14:23). I do love You, Jesus. No matter what it is, because You say so, I will obey. 

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Loving Fighters

October 23, 2023 — 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. 

I’ve always loved this stanza from a William Cowper poem:

Restraining prayer, we cease to fight
Prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright
And satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.

Prayer is indispensable in spiritual warfare! Prayer is where we fight best for those we love. 

Have you ever heard the question, “Are you a lover or a fighter?” I don’t believe this is an either-or answer, both both-and. I’m a fighter because I’m a lover. I love Jesus and I am loved by Jesus.  This fuels my passion to fight for His glory to be seen. This drives me to fight against the powers that keep others from knowing this love for themselves. 

T.M. Moore wrote, “If we want God to bring revival and save the world from its many and increasing troubles, we must give ourselves to extraordinary efforts in prayer before we enter the conflict.” Prayer isn’t preparation for the fight; prayer is the fight that has been lovingly empowered. This is why our fifth spiritual discipline of prayer is so vital. 

As we have seen with giving and fasting, Jesus also has some don’ts and dos for us about praying (Matthew 6:5-8):

  • don’t pray publicly for earthly recognition or human applause (v. 5) 
  • do pray privately (v. 6) 
  • don’t pray robotically—And when you pray, do not heap up phrases—multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over—as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking (v. 7 AMP) 
  • do pray intimately (v. 8) 

Jesus practiced what He preached about praying in secret: Jesus was praying in private (Luke 9:18). He must have prayed so differently than anyone else the disciples had ever heard because they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). 

Remember that prayer is the battle—things are happening while I’m praying. 

There is a way I speak to my wife in private that I don’t typically say in public. If I didn’t speak intimately to her in private, others would notice a difference in public. When I do have intimate, private, regular conversations with her, it also shows publicly. 

So too with prayer. The New Testament doesn’t record very many of the prayers of Jesus for us. In fact, many of things we might think of as prayers sound more like commands from Jesus—“Lazarus, come forth,” “Little girl, get up,” “Be clean,” and similar phrases. We see the public display of power because Jesus had been empowered in private by His Father. 

Private prayer is noticed publicly in the lives of the followers of Jesus too (see Acts 4:13; 6:15). 

I don’t pray privately so that I can show off publicly. I pray in intimate privacy so that I can publicly show off Jesus! 

All of our spiritual disciplines are for us individually so that we have something to give corporately. For instance—

As we are built up in private prayer, there is a greater unity in corporate prayer, and Jesus is lifted up for the world to see. We love Jesus and we love others, so we fight for the glory of God and the strengthening of our brothers and sisters. We are loving fighters! 

So let me encourage you to make private, intimate conversation with Jesus a priority in your life. 

If you’ve missed any of the previous spiritual disciplines we’ve covered in this series, you can check them all out here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials, like this recent video where I explain how God reveals previously-unknown truths to us. ◀︎◀︎

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Links & Quotes

October 21, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Put the good stuff from the Bible in your heart and mind regularly. When you do, the Holy Spirit can remind you of what you’ve studied and help you apply it to your daily situations. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“It pays to know the enemy—not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.” —Margaret Thatcher

John Stonestreet and Dr. Glenn Sunshine shared this, “The despicable and horrendous attacks by Hamas against civilians last week, including beheading children and kidnapping the elderly, seems a throwback to some distant, barbaric past of human history. We may have thought the world had long ago outgrown such barbarity, but it hasn’t. In fact, as shocking as it is, the kinds of atrocities carried out by the Hamas terrorists are the norms of warfare, at least throughout most of human history.” What changed this? Quite simply: a Christian worldview of just warfare.

“It is the quiet, steady appeal that moves the heart of kings. So then, the wise find ways to bring their cause visibly before the authority without being annoying. This is subtle art; it is not manipulation. This silent plea communicates to the leader a determination and resolve that appeals deeply to their conscience. Fools make themselves annoyingly heard; the wise make themselves dignifiedly seen.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied

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The Craig And Greg Show: Competitive Leadership

October 19, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

Every good leader is competitive. From dollars earned to patients treated, there isn’t a leader out there who isn’t constantly trying to improve their numbers and outdo the competition. However, the wrong kind of competition can fester and create an unhealthy workplace. In this episode, Greg and I discuss how fostering healthy competition in your organization is vital to your success.

  • [0:14] I am the best host on this show!
  • [1:52] Leaders need to be competitive but also need to keep it at a healthy level.
  • [3:42] Not every team member will have the same competitive drive as you.
  • [4:35] Leaders need to be competitive with themselves.
  • [7:40] Too much internal competition can be detrimental to the organization.
  • [8:32] Greg tells a tee-ball story highlighting how your team members innately wonder, “How are we doing?”
  • [11:50] I have used Six Sigma initiatives to foster positive competition in my organizations.
  • [13:24] Resilience doesn’t show up until adversity appears.
  • [16:26] Make halftime adjustments.
  • [17:32] Cutthroat leaders get short-term results, but their organization suffers in the long run.
  • [19:53] Giving 100% and failing is difficult, but it’s worse to not know what you could have accomplished.
  • [21:04] When you win, act like you’ve won before. When you lose, act like you’ll win again.
  • [22:49] Compete for achievable outcomes.
  • [24:38] Greg likes to win, but he’s learned more from his losses.
  • [25:34] It’s impossible to grow without competition.
  • [28:10] We would love to coach you to help you be a better competitive leader.

Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.

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Trapped By Past Fears

October 18, 2023 — 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. 

On a recent episode of The Craig And Greg Show, Greg and I were sharing with leaders how to reframe their fears. In this clip, I discuss the importance of making sure we aren’t hampering a new situation with an old fear.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this recent post where I shared a map and an app to help with your Bible study time. ◀︎◀︎

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Praying For Our Governments

October 17, 2023 — 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. 

You may have heard it said that Christians are supposed to pray for those who are in governmental leadership positions over them. Is that really true? And if it is, what exactly are we supposed to pray for them?

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

Resources mentioned in this video:

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Fasting Unlocks Feasting

October 16, 2023 — 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. 

I find it interesting how many spiritual disciplines have both a physical and spiritual impact on our lives. Bible study, solitude, and giving all have benefits in both the physical and spiritual realms. This is even more apparent in spiritual discipline #4—fasting. 

As we saw with giving last week, fasting is another one of the spiritual activities that Jesus has a cautionary word for us (Matthew 6:16-18). As with giving and praying, Jesus notes that there are only two categories: true fast-ers and hypocrites. Of course, hypocrite means someone simply playing a role—it’s not who they really are. 

In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus is asked about fasting and He uses some unusual analogies about fabrics and wineskins to teach us two don’ts about fasting:

  1. Don’t fast if you’re not ready for it. Jesus notes that “the unshrunken cloth” will do damage to both the new and old pieces of fabric. This goes back to the get-to vs. have-to attitude we should have about spiritual discipline.
  2. Don’t try to add a new religious practice to a religion-hardened heart. Jesus addresses this using the analogy of new wine ruining old wineskins. 

These fasting thoughts aren’t a teaching that is exclusive to the New Testament, but through the prophet Isaiah, God addressed it in the exact same way (Isaiah 58:5-9). In this passage we can learn the dos about fasting:

  1. Do fast when my heart’s motivation is a hunger for more of God. 
  2. Do fast as the Holy Spirit directs you, not in a formulaic, lifeless ritual. 

I’m not a big fan of diets that are no-no diets because telling people what they cannot eat isn’t a good motivator. But telling people what they can eat brings joy and freedom. 

The insidious nature of junk food is not so much the fat, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients, but the fact that junk food is really empty calories. Your body needs a certain amount of fuel to operate. Junk food contains calories but lacks nutrients. You eat junk food, your body sends a signal to your brain that you’re no longer hungry, and then you never eat the nutrient-rich food. This is why your Mom may have told you something like, “Broccoli first, then dessert.” 

The Hebrew word for “fast” literally means to cover the mouth, but I think fasting is more than that. Just as we said money was one aspect of giving, so food is one aspect of fasting. The idea behind fasting is to be able to identify the “empty calories” of some of our lifestyle choices so that we can feast on the rich “nutrients” that God has for us. 

Just as junk food with its empty calories keeps us from nutrient-rich food, hours of video games or TV binge watching keeps us from mind-enriching learning, endless social media scrolling keeps us from developing real relationships with real people, and obsessive news gathering keeps us from focusing on God’s promises.

Periodically fasting from these things will allow us to spot the junk food we’ve been consuming. Our so that statement for this spiritual discipline says: I fast so that I can identify the junk food that is keeping me from feasting on Jesus. 

Can I give you a brief assignment for this spiritual discipline? After making sure your heart attitude about fasting is God-honoring, add regular fasting to your life so that you can use that time to feast on Jesus. 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in this series on six empowering spiritual disciplines, you can check them out by clicking here. 

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

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Links & Quotes

October 14, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Leaders, you need to determine the coachability factor before you start trying to coach a teammate. Check out our full conversation on The Craig and Greg Show. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

Sextortion is when someone demands money or other favors in exchange for not sharing an explicit photo or video of the targeted victim. The sextortion of minor children runs into the thousands every month. Axis reported, “Most targets of sextortion are teen boys, who seem to be more likely than girls to send an explicit selfie to someone they aren’t having a romantic relationship with. Anonymous scammers will reach out to their target over social media, engaging in a flirtation and eventually asking for nudes.” Axis also shared these helpful resources, “Families can prepare by telling their teens about resources like TakeItDown, a free service which will remove nudes from the internet within two days, and the 24/7 Crisis Text Line, which connects teens with professional counselors via text at any time.”

“First, government is not God; instead, government is God’s servant for the good of those served. And second, the people are not God, and therefore must not be allowed the last word on what defines the terms of ‘good’ public policy. Only God can define what is good for people, for He alone is good (Mark 10:18; Psalm 119:68).” —T.M. Moore

“Since the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision more than 50 years ago, almost 40% of all abortions in America have been in the Black community, resulting in erasing the lives and destinies of an estimated 23 million Black babies.” The National Black Fellowship is aggressively working to change this.

Can New Testament Christians claim Old Testament promises? Yes! John Piper shares 8 “filters” to help us with this application.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

J. Warner Wallace uses forensic evidence to demonstrate why we should believe the New Testament was written much closer to the time of the actual event than most skeptics believe. Check out this video.

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Important Morning Routines

October 12, 2023 — 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. 

On a recent episode of The Craig And Greg Show, Greg and I talked about the importance of leadership habits. In this particular clip, Greg asks me about my most important leadership habits.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this recent post where I shared a map and an app to help with your Bible study time. ◀︎◀︎

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God’s Word Always Prevails

October 11, 2023 — 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. 

I love the simple but utterly profound statement the angel Gabriel leaves with Mary. Listen to it from different biblical translations:

  • For no word from God will ever fail (Luke 1:37 NIV) 
  • For nothing will be impossible with God (NASB)
  • For the word of God will never fail (NLT) 
  • For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment (AMPC)

“No word”—not the single dot of an “i” or the cross of a “t” will be missing. 

The God who never slumbers—the Omnipotent One, the Omniscient One—superintends every single word He has spoken. 

It is His word: “No word from God will ever fail.” It is not the way I desire it to be, or the way culture wants it to be, but it is the way the All-Loving, All-Powerful One has already determined it is going to be. 

The plans God has for me are for His glory. He is working all things out to bring to completion what He has declared. 

God’s words never fail, but they always prevail. It doesn’t matter how dark, hopeless, or even impossible it may seem, His plan always triumphs! 

When I have God’s word on it, I can confidently say, “Worry, be gone! Striving, cease! Doubt, you are a liar! I belong to the One who has spoken His word. I will rest assured in Him until His word prevails. I say as Mary replied to Gabriel, ‘May it be to me as you have said’” (Luke 1:38). 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials, like a map and an app I just shared to help with your personal Bible study time. ◀︎◀︎

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