Pray Now

July 7, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

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The Gibeonites had a great strategy. They had heard about the advancing Israelite army, they knew how God had given them victory at every step of the way, and they knew that the Israelites weren’t going to make a peace treaty with anyone living even remotely close to them. So the Bible says the Gibeonites resorted to a ruse (v. 4).

They put on worn-out shoes and clothes and packed moldy bread. That way they would have all of the appearances of a delegation that traveled a long, long distance. And it worked. The Israelites examined their clothing and food and said, “Yep, it sure looks like you made a long journey to get here. We’re convinced.”

The Bible records an important footnote—

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord (v. 14).

How many times do I do this…

  • …I use my five senses, but not the wisdom of the Holy Spirit?
  • …I use my logical brain, but not the supernatural resources of God?
  • …I use my experiences, but not the insight of an All-Knowing God?

I have to make it a habit to pray about EVERY decision. It might only be a 5-second prayer, but I must inquire of the Lord.

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Says Who?

July 6, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

The book of Joshua is full of military campaigns, but there are two battles that are given significant “ink”—where we get an insight into the strategy, the battle itself, and the final outcome. They are the first two battles: Jericho and Ai.

They both ultimately ended in total victory for the Israelites, but the path to victory was starkly different.

Length

  • Jericho: a week-long campaign
  • Ai: a 3-day campaign

Strategy

  • Jericho: the Israelites surrounded the city
  • Ai: the Israelites made a direct frontal assault, followed by a feint and a rear ambush

Casualties

  • Jericho: 0
  • Ai: 36

I believe the difference can be traced to the planning stage:

Planning

  • Jericho: the Lord said to Joshua…
  • Ai: when the spies returned to Joshua, they said…

I know that someone will say, “Hold on, Craig! It was Achan’s sin that caused the initial defeat at Ai.” And I wouldn’t disagree with you. But perhaps if Joshua had heard from the Lord before attacking Ai, God would have told him about Achan’s sin.

NO OTHER CASUALTIES are mentioned in the entire book! Thirty-six people died because Joshua listened to other men instead of God.

So that leads me to ask… Who am I listening to? Who are you listening to?

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Celebrating Freedom

July 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday at Calvary Assembly of God we celebrated our country’s birthday with an outdoor service and picnic. I talked about the biblical roots and godly heritage of our great nation. In telling this story, I used quite a few quotes from key historical people. Several people have asked me to make these quotes available, and I’m happy to do so. (Any text in bold was added by me.)

“It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures.” —Christopher Columbus writing about the motivation for his journey

“In the name of God, amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign, King James…. Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together in a civil body politic ….” —The Mayflower Compact

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them….

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. …

“…And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” —Preamble and closing sentence of the Declaration of Independence

“I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth, That God governs in the Affairs of Men! And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without His Notice, is it probable than an Empire can rise without His Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring Aid we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel…. I therefore beg leave to move, That henceforth Prayers, imploring the Assistance of Heaven, and its Blessing on our Deliberations, be held in this Assembly every Morning before we proceed to Business.” —Benjamin Franklin, at Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787

“Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.” —Proclamation of a nation day of prayer and fasting, March 30, 1863

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.  To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. … No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.  They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God….” —Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of thanksgiving in October 1863

“I recognize we must be cautious in claiming God is on our side. But I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.” —Ronald Reagan

I believe God will continue to bless America IF we make sure we are on His side.

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Who’s Your Promoter?

July 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Check out this verse where God speaks to Joshua:

Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know I am with you as I was with Moses.

Self-promoted leadership requires that I know what the current whims of the people are, and then I cater to those special-interest whims. But people are fickle, so I have to be constantly reinventing myself. I have to wear the right mask for the right group. I have to become a slick politician, giving the right speech to the right special interest group, promising them what they want to hear. I have to pander for votes to stay in leadership.

God-promoted leadership requires that I have faith in God alone. No focus groups to find out what people want. No advisors whispering in my ear. No masks, no special interest speeches, no pandering for votes. God knows the hearts of the people, and if He has called me to be a leader, He will equip me to be His leader.

Joshua was a God-promoted leader. When he was on the eve of his first major campaign as the new leader of Israel, he gave just one speech: “Let’s get ready to go.” A self-promoting leader would have given one motivational speech to the priests, one pep talk to the generals, one persuasive speech to the troops, an encouraging speech to the stay-at-home moms, and possibly one more convincing speech to those who wanted to pursue an alternative strategy.

The results of God-promoted leadership?

  1. So the Israelites did just as Joshua commanded them (Joshua 4:8).
  2. That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life (Joshua 4:14).

Who’s your promoter?

My prayer is that I always allow God to be my promoter and that the Holy Spirit will convict me anytime I try to promote myself.

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4 Leadership Requirements

June 30, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I love studying leadership—leadership principles, leadership practices, and leadership people. There’s a great leadership case study in the Bible in the life of Joshua that always intrigues me.

Joshua had been through extensive preparation to become Moses’ successor. He was a recognized leader in his tribe, the general of the army, and an aide-de-camp to Moses for a number of years. But his most important leadership qualification: He was called by God.

As the story of his leadership opens in the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, God gives four requirements for Joshua (and you and me) to be effective in our leadership roles.

1.  Be yourself. God didn’t say, “Be like Moses.” In fact, the only time God talks about Moses to Joshua is to reassure him, “I will be with you like I was with Moses.” But never once does God uses a “Moses Grading Scale” for Joshua. God simply says, “You will lead these people.”

2.  Have an objective measuring stick. Feelings may change, but God’s Word never does. So God counsels Joshua to always rely on the Book of the Law.

3.  Guard your thoughts. Leaders have so many people “in their ear” wanting to lobby for their way. So God tells Joshua to not only read the Bible but meditate on it as well. One definition of meditation is to hum God’s Word. In other words, humming God’s Word will help a leader know which lobbying voice is in harmony with God’s Voice, and which lobbying voice is off-key.

4.  Guard your attitude. God repeats this to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Even doing everything they are supposed to be doing, leaders can become afraid to make a change, or discouraged because people aren’t following along. These feelings must be driven out with one firm declaration: “I know the Lord has called to this leadership position, so I know the Lord is with me. He will enable me to complete what He has called me to do.”

God’s direction to Joshua is still great counsel for leaders today.

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The Christian Atheist (book review)

June 29, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Every time I read a Craig Groeschel book, I know I’m going to read words that cut right across all of my excuses for not changing. And I was not disappointed to find this pattern continued with his latest book The Christian Atheist.

If the title sounds like an oxymoron (you can read the definition of this funny-sounding word here), that’s because it is. Or is it? The subtitle of the book gives the right-on-target definition of a Christian atheist: believing in God but living as if He doesn’t exist.

So every chapter is titled, “When you believe in God, but…

  • …you don’t really know Him.”
  • …you are ashamed of your past.”
  • …you aren’t sure He loves you.”
  • …you don’t think you can change.”
  • …you don’t share your faith.”
  • and many more!

It reminds me of what James wrote in his letter to the church, where he called them out for being Christian atheists: “You believe in God? Good for you! Even the demons believe in Him. But you’re not living like you believe in Him.”

Brennan Manning wrote,

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

But Craig doesn’t just identify the symptoms, he gives his readers the prescriptions too. In easy-to-apply concepts, Craig tells those who believe in God how they can make the changes that won’t deny God by their atheistic lifestyle.

I highly recommend this book to you.

I am a Zondervan book reviewer.

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Devilish Scheming

June 28, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

If you’ve ever locked horns with the devil in spiritual warfare, you know that he’s a schemer. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to remind them that we shouldn’t be unaware of his scheming. And Peter said that the devil is always on the prowl, like a scheming lion looking for a place to attack.

So it should come as no surprise that since my message was about unity in the Body of Christ that the devil’s scheming would be to bring about disunity. There was just a weird mood happening yesterday. In fact, in our pre-service prayer time, I felt prompted to pray out loud that God would knock down any distractions to what the Holy Spirit wanted to do.

I saw it coming … I prayed hard against it … and my prayers knocked down the enemy before he could fully implement his devilish scheme.

Well, not exactly.

Yes, I did feel prompted to pray against distractions, but I should have been praying against disunity too. As a result, I could feel the fight all morning. It would be more accurate to say that I could feel something all morning. It wasn’t until I got home and commented to Betsy about what I had been feeling that I got clued in. She said, “What did you expect? You were talking about unity today, so obviously the devil is going to attack that very thing.”

Duh! Why didn’t I see that? I’m so grateful for a godly wife who catches these things for me.

But I learned something yesterday. I learned that my prayers need to be more specifically-targeted prayers. Sort of like the “smart bombs” our military uses that are laser-guided right on target. Like Paul said, I’m not going to be unaware of the devilish scheming.

Spiritual warfare is always hard work, which is why in Paul’s teaching on spiritual warfare he told us to keep on praying for each other.

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Judge Or Father?

June 25, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’m still thinking about the powerful worship time we had in our Impact youth service on Wednesday night. I can’t think of another way to describe it, except to say that it was intimate.

We sang a song written by Michael Gungor called Wrap Me In Your Arms. The lyrics are simple:

There is a God who loves me
Who wraps me in His arms
And that is the place where I’m changed
And that’s where I belong

Take me to that place, Lord,
To that secret place where
I can be with You
You can make me like You
Wrap me in Your arms
Wrap me in Your arms
Wrap me in Your arms

Far too many people view God as a Judge. Make no mistake, God will judge all of humanity at the end of the age, but in the meantime, Scripture portrays God as a loving Father who wants to wrap us in His arms.

I love the picture in the story Jesus tells of the prodigal son: The young man who ran away from his father and squandered all of the wealth he had taken with him. When he reached the end of his rope, the wayward son turned toward home. If you were thinking of returning home after embarrassing your father and throwing away his money, would you want to return to a judge or a father?

The young man did turn toward home, and his father ran to him and wrapped him in his arms! How amazing!

On Wednesday night I encouraged our youth group to simply stretch their arms out toward their Heavenly Father and feel Him wrap them in His arms. It was so special to see tear-streaked cheeks and outstretched arms in the loving embrace of a God who loves anyone who turns to Him. Awesome!

I encourage you to do the same.

If you’ve blown it … if you feel distant from God … if you feel like you’ve let Him down … if you feel like you’ve embarrassed Him … see Him as a Father who is longing for you to return to Him. He will not judge you, but He will wrap you in His arms and make everything new.

If you wait until your life here is over without ever turning to God, then you will have to face God the Judge. Don’t wait! Embrace God your Father today.

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More Than Worship, It’s Worthship

June 24, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Church has often been called a “house of worship.” But I struggle with what that means exactly. Sometimes it’s a house of singing, or a house of preaching, or a house of socializing, but not too often is the primary focus of the gathering people worship.

It seems most of the time worship is something we do at some point during the singing.

Now I will be the first to admit that the atmosphere most conducive to worship is usually created when meaningful—“worshipful”—songs are being played sung. But is that it? Shouldn’t there be something more?

The definition of worship includes:

…a condition of being worthy of honor or renown.

In fact, the Old English spelling was worthship. In other words, the greater the worth something had, the greater the honor or renown that something should be given.

In my case, the Something should have a capital “S.” The Person worthy of greatest honor and highest renown is my God and Savior Jesus Christ.

So why do I have to wait to go to a certain building to express His worth?

Why do I have to wait until the atmosphere is right?

Shouldn’t I be expressing my adoration and honor to Him always?

What does it mean to always be in a place of expressing my worthship?

I’ve been mulling over this quote from Brother Lawrence:

I know that for the right practice of it, the heart must be empty of all other things; because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone, without emptying it of all besides, so neither can He act there, and do in it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.

As the Apostle Paul wrote I’m trying to capture every thought during the day and ask myself, “Is this thought taking up space in my heart that should be God’s space? Does this thought draw me closer to my Savior, or further away.” I’m trying to express His worth to me in the way I think about Him throughout the day.

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Worrywart

June 22, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

“Worry indicates we’re not willing to let God handle certain things—at least not in His way, and certainly not in His time.” —Craig Groeschel, in The Christian Atheist

Worry is a control issue…

…that is, I want to be in control.

Worry is a sovereignty issue…

…that is, I think I know best how things should work out.

Worry is a trust issue…

…that is, I trust God only when things are happening on my timeframe.

Bottom line: Worry is sin when…

  • …I allow something else to be bigger than God.
  • …I allow something else to be more important than God.
  • …I allow something to limit God.
  • …I look more to myself for solutions than I look to God.

Any worry should be a call to prayer: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Any extended worry should be a call to repentance: Jesus commands us four times, “Do not worry” (Matthew 6:25-34).

Worry can be disguised in a lot of different forms, but it’s still worry. And it’s still sin. I’m working on this.  

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