Miserable Strategizing

July 29, 2025 — 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. 

Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, are strategizing a battle plan against Syria when they call for God’s prophet to share with them God’s counsel in this matter. 

Then Micaiah said, “I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ … Now, you see, the Lord put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets; and the Lord has spoken evil concerning you. … If you return at all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me” (2 Chronicles 18:16, 22, 27).

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post here.)

You would think this would cause these kings to scrap their battle plans and keep their armies at home. But the next verse says they utterly rejected the prophet’s warning. “So Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead” (v. 28). 

What in the world is Jehoshaphat doing?!

He asked for a prophet from God and then when he hears from God that this combined army will be defeated, Jehoshaphat still goes with Ahab?!

But let’s back up: Why was Jehoshaphat even here hanging out with Ahab? And before even hearing from Micaiah, why does he commit his army and cavalry to this joint-venture (v. 3)? 

I think the clue is in v. 1: Jehoshaphat “was allied by marriage to Ahab.” Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram is married to Ahab’s daughter Athaliah (2 Kings 8:18). 

Jehoshaphat thought this was a strategic move. Like a chess master moving his pieces on the board, he calculated that this alliance would give him an advantage. But instead this move resulted in years of heartache and destruction.

First, Jehoshaphat feels trapped into allying with Ahab in this ill-fated battle against the Syrians. Ahab is killed in this battle, and Jehoshaphat barely escapes with his life, although his army is embarrassed in defeat. 

As he is returning to Jerusalem, another prophet meets him and pronounces this heartbreaking message, “Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord” (2 Chronicles 19:2). 

Later on, Jehoshaphat again partners with Ahab’s son, “After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly” (20:35). 

After Jehoshaphat died, his son Jehoram ascends the throne. 

His reign as king is only eight years long, and is noted for him walking “in the ways of the kings of Israel” by doing evil in God’s sight (2 Kings 8:15). Jehoram was killed in battle. 

Ahaziah his son then sits on the throne in Jerusalem for only a year, manipulated by his mother Athaliah. “He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab, for his father was son-in-law of Ahab” (2 Kings 8:27). This alliance led to another disastrous joint military campaign with Israel. Ahaziah was killed by Jehu shortly after this. 

Look what happens next: “When Athaliah the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal descendants (2 Kings 11:1). This began a six-year reign of terror in which Athaliah assumed the throne. 

Where did all of this mayhem begin? When Jehoshaphat calculated his own destiny. 

We have such a limited view; whereas, God is timeless, all-knowing, all-powerful. It is the highest form or arrogance to think we can out-maneuver God’s plan, or that we can even begin to know what’s best for our lives. 

The One who has all of our days written in His book is also the One who tells us that we can call to Him to learn things we don’t know and access the wisdom we don’t have (Psalm 139:16; Jeremiah 33:3; James 1:5). 

Think of the misery that could have been avoided if Jehoshaphat would have heeded the counsel of his forefather Solomon: “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 AMPC). 

What a miserable strategist I am when I make plans that I think are clever! Instead, I’m trying my best to follow Solomon’s counsel, and I pray you are too. 

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The Benefits Of Humility

July 11, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

(1) God allows the humble to know Him more intimately. For though the Lord is high, yet has He respect to the lowly—bringing them into fellowship with Him—but the proud and haughty He knows and recognizes only at a distance (Psalm 138:6). 

(2) God gives the humble help to overcome evil. But He gives us more and more grace—power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully. That is why He says, “God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace continually to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it)” (James 4:6). 

(3) God gives His favor to the humble. …Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility—as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you…. For God sets Himself against the proud—the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful—and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them, but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). 

The bottom line—God mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed (Proverbs 3:34).

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Refuge From The Shoving

July 7, 2025 — 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 don’t know when the last was that you may have tried to get a dozen little kids lined up, but it’s quite an experience! Everyone is vying for their spot. Someone gets mad and yells out, “He cut!” And then the reply is yelled back, “No, I didn’t. She was saving my spot!” This usually results in lots of pushing and shoving as each person tries to reclaim their rightful place in line. 

This is the backdrop for Psalm 7. The introduction tells us that Cush is causing David grief. Maybe because Cush is from the tribe of Benjamin like King Saul, and he doesn’t want David cutting in line so he is shoving him back to his proper place. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

There’s a musical term David uses, which isn’t used in any other psalm: shiggaion. This means a rhythm that isn’t normal—it’s a freewheeling, irregular, impassioned beat. This also helps set the atmosphere for what’s happening in David’s life. The root word for shiggaion implies a shakeup (or a shoving and pushing) that could lead to someone losing their way. 

David tries to do the right thing. He asks for God’s help (v. 1) so that he doesn’t get ripped to shreds (v. 2). He even takes time to ask himself if he has done anything that led to Cush’s shoving (vv. 3-5). But notice these are all David’s attempts to make things right. 

Remember that this is a Royal Psalm, but we haven’t heard anything about God as King yet. But now we come to the end of v. 5, which is also the end of David’s own striving. It’s marked by the word Selah. 

My little friends push and shove to try to get their place. But all of that stops when I say, “Johnny is my line leader, and this is the way the rest of you are going to line up behind him.” David’s Selah pause was a call to switch from doing things on his own to yielding to the King to sort things out. He was saying, “The King of kings is the Leader and He knows my place in line.” 

It’s only after the Selah that we see the royal terms for the Undisputed Leader:

  • He is the One who will decree justice (v. 6) 
  • He will rule…from on high (v. 7) 
  • He is the Supreme Judge (vv. 8, 11) so David yields his introspection to Him (vv. 3-4, 8-9) 
  • He is God Most High (vv. 10, 17) 

Our King has no rival. No one can shove Him. No one can contradict Him. No one can hide anything from Him (vv. 11-16). 

We must bow only to the King of kings (Philippians 2:10-11). 

We mistakenly bow our knee to man when…

  • …we aren’t willing to own our mistakes 
  • …we try to administer our own “shove” of justice 
  • …we make our own refuge 

So we bow to the King when…

  • …we acknowledge, confess, and repent of our sins (vv. 3-5; Psalm 19:12, 69:5)
  • …we follow the example of Jesus when we’re shoved around (1 Peter 2:21-23)
  • …find our refuge solely in God (v. 1; c.f. 2:12; Ephesians 6:12; James 4:7)

Our best response in troublesome times—when you feel like you are being shoved around—is to fall to your knees in reverence to the King of kings (v. 17)! The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; He covers him all the day long, and makes His dwelling between his shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12 AMPC). 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series looking at the royal psalms, you can catch up by clicking here. 

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Sanctified Experiences

June 2, 2025 — 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. 

Even with the Voice of the Holy Spirit in our ear and the Mind of God giving us insight, we still “miss it” sometimes. Maybe it’s fear or impatience or immaturity, but we try something on our own and the results are painful. 

I like the maxim, “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.” It’s true, but in order to learn I need a proper lens or a wise tutor to help discover those lessons from my experiences. This is what the Holy Spirit does for us: He helps us make senses of our “misses.” Otherwise, if I don’t learn from these painful experiences I will become either arrogant and God opposes this kind of pride (Proverbs 14:7; James 4:6a), or I remain ignorant (Proverbs 15:32; James 4:6b). 

(Check out all of the biblical references in this post by clicking here.) 

Peter heard from Jesus that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was intended to empower the Christians to take the Good News of Jesus to all people—including Gentiles. Peter struggled with this part, as would all good Jews. In their minds, Gentiles weren’t eligible for the blessings of God, especially not the gift of eternal life which would allow them to be in God’s presence forever! 

Before we look at Peter, we need to remember what was happening with Saul/Paul at the same time. Saul met Jesus (Acts 9:3-15), and he then went to Jerusalem (vv. 26-28; Galatians 1:13-19). 

Now let’s go back to Peter. He had just seen a vision from God and heard the Voice of the Spirit (Acts 10:9-16, 19-20). In obedience to this Voice, he went to Cornelius’ house and was given the Mind of God to preach to them. These Gentiles not only accepted Jesus as their Savior but were baptized in the Holy Spirit (vv. 44-48). 

Now let’s switch back to Paul for a moment. Antioch became the home base for Paul and Barnabas (where the believers were first called Christians), and apparently there was a large Gentile population there. At one point, Peter came to visit and struggled with whether or not the Gentile Christians must then convert to Judaism. Peter was struggling with obedience to the vision that God had shown him, his disobedience was beginning to affect others (including Barnabas), and Paul called Peter out on this (Galatians 2:1, 7-14). 

Back in Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians were insisting that the Gentile Christians become Jews. It was this controversy that prompted the Jerusalem Council. At this Council, Peter responded like one who had throughly learned a lesson from his previous “miss” (Acts 15:5-11). 

I like this verse in the Amplified Bible, particularly one phrase: I will praise and give thanks to You with uprightness of heart when I learn by sanctified experiences Your righteous judgments (Psalm 119:7 AMPC). 

Sanctified experiences. A “miss” that the Holy Spirit uses to teach us. The “miss” has been sanctified to become a learning experience. This is what Jesus said the Spirit of Truth would do for us (John 16:13). 

There are things we simply experience, and then there are “sanctified experiences” where the Holy Spirit teaches us an invaluable lesson. These sanctified experiences are what the Holy Spirit uses to bring our thought and conduct into alignment with the perfect standard of God’s Word. 

The Holy Spirit never condemns us for our missteps (Romans 8:1), but uses them for God’s glory (v. 28). 

Just as Paul had to help Peter learn to pay attention to the Voice of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit wants to make us learner-teachers as well. In Psalm 119:7 the Hebrew word for “learn” is lamad which is also the word for “teach.” In other words, I’ve learned it well enough to teach it to another person. Even David with his sinful behavior—a really big “miss”—learned from the lesson from the Spirit of God so well that he could teach others (Psalm 51:10-13). 

Spirit-baptized Christians can lean into the Spirit of Truth to help them learn sanctified experiences from even the difficult things that have happened to them. 

If you’ve missed any of the other lessons in this series, you can find them all here. 

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A.I. Bots And Temptation

May 27, 2025 — 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. 

Believe it or not, an article about A.I. bots got me thinking about temptation.

Check out this episode of The Podcast. 

The Scriptures I reference in this episode—Genesis 3:1-6; Luke 4:1-13; 1 Peter 5:8; James 4:7; Hebrews 12:2. 

And some other blog posts you could read to go deeper on this topic:

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Good Grief From A Friend

May 5, 2025 — 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. 

After God created Adam, He said, “It’s not good for you to be alone.” That’s just as true today: God didn’t intend for us to journey on our own, but He gives us companions along the way. 

Last week we saw that God has to sometimes cause us grief to get our attention when we are straying from His path. He sometimes puts people in our lives to do the same thing. 

There’s a reason God puts the people in our lives that He does. We are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). But that sometimes means people will get upset with us (Galatians 4:16). “Real friends hurt each other. … Truth is the primary way faithful friends should wound each other—it is the help that hurts.” —Dick Brogden 

(Check out all of the verses in this post by clicking here.) 

The Corinthians thought they were super-spiritual, but Paul had to call them out on their foolishness (1 Corinthians 3:3; 5:1-2). Before Pauls’ letter, the Corinthians seemed happy. His letter caused them grief, but it was good grief that led to repentance and true joy (2 Corinthians 7:8-10). 

To keep silent when a brother or sister is straying is not God-honoring. We are not to be the sin police, but we are to address sinful issues (James 5:19-20). 

As King David flirted with the idea of how he could get something that he thought would make him happy, an anonymous attendant tried to get his attention. David ignored this and then tried to sweep it under the rug. In fact, he thought he got away with his sin (2 Samuel 11:1–12:7). 

But God sent Nathan to speak a hard word to David. We don’t know when Psalm 141 was written, but we know that David did write it. Perhaps it was penned at the time of Nathan’s loving confrontation. He said, “Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head” (Psalm 141:5). 

We do know that David wrote Psalm 51 after Nathan’s loving hard word, and in this prayer we see David’s confession, repentance, and a request for God’s joy to replace David’s grief. 

So how do New Testament-era Christians use good grief to help fellow saints? 

  1. Examine yourself first (Matthew 7:1-5). Make sure you aren’t plagued by the same sin you have noticed in a brother or sister. 
  2. Cry before you confront, just as the prophet Samuel did before he had to deliver a hard word to King Saul (1 Samuel 15:10-11). 
  3. Confront in love with the goal of restoration, but make sure you are confronting someone who know you love them and who will receive your loving word  (Proverbs 27:5; 9:8). 
  4. Pray that their grief will be turned to joy (Luke 22:31-32; Galatians 6:1; Psalm 51:12). 

Friendships with fellow saints are precious and they are vital. We need iron to sharpen iron (Proverbs 27:17) so that we will all stand before the throne together for eternity. 

This is the final message in our series Grief Into Joy. If you missed any of the messages, you can check them all out by clicking here. 

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Never Invulnerable

April 30, 2025 — 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. 

Before beginning His public ministry, Jesus resisted the fierce onslaught of the devil in the wilderness. After using the Word of God to defeat all three of the devil’s temptations, Luke records, “the devil…left [Jesus] until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). 

The verb Luke uses here is suggestive of a time when the devil may think he has an advantage over his intended victim. The KJV says the devil departed for “a season.” Just like farmers know the proper season to plant, to weed, to harvest, and to rest, so does our adversary. 

Check out how some other translations of the Bible render Luke 4:13—

  • another more opportune and favorable time (AMPC) 
  • until the next opportunity came (NLT) 
  • lying in wait for another opportunity (the Message paraphrase) 

Jesus warned Peter that the devil wanted to sift him as wheat (Luke 22:31-32). Although Peter knew the “opportune time” was coming, he was unprepared when it did come and he failed in his initial time of temptation. Jesus restored Peter and told him that he was going to be the one to help prepare others to be victorious when the devil attacked them. 

Peter may have had this in mind when he warned us to be alert for our prowling enemy (1 Peter 5:8). The apostle Paul also tells us to be aware of the devil’s schemes, and to never be without our spiritual armor (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11). 

There is never a time when I am invulnerable to a spiritual attack. 

The moment I think I am self-secure is an opportune season for the devil to unleash his attack on me. “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). 

Peter tells us to “resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9). In the preceding three verses, Peter tells us just how to do this:

  • humble yourself before God—no feelings of self-sufficiency 
  • don’t be anxious about an impending attack 
  • remain alert and sober minded (1 Peter 5:6-9) 

Don’t be caught off-guard by giving the devil “an opportune time,” but stay utterly dependent on God. As James says, we have to first submit ourselves to God and then we will be prepared to resist the devil and watch him flee from us (James 4:7). 

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Grief From God

April 28, 2025 — 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. 

The insidious thing about leprosy is that it kills the body’s pain receptors. Lepers may walk on a broken ankle, utterly mangling their foot. Or they may stick their hand in the first without realizing it.  

Pain is important to us—it tells us that something isn’t right and that we should seek help. Just as there is a danger if we ignore physical pain, there is a greater danger if we ignore spiritual pain. It’s a greater danger because eternal separation from God is far more deadly than mere physical death. 

Moses warned the Israelites of the danger of spiritual complacency, or we could call it spiritual leprosy. Check out the warning in Deuteronomy 8:10-14, 17. It didn’t take too long for this spiritual numbness to set it (see the fulfillment of Moses’ words in Judges 2:10-15). 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.) 

When we read in Judges 2, “The hand of the Lord was against them,” this is actually a very loving statement. Think about it: What would happen if God continued to give them success in their sinful endeavors? 

We can see this a little more clearly in Isaiah 63:7-10 where we see that God’s love is both redemptive and corrective. His fighting against His people caused them to recall God’s ways and wait on Him once again (63:11; 64:4-5). Notice the last question of verse 5, “How can we be saved?” 

It starts with remembering—that’s what Moses said at the beginning of this journey, and it’s also what Jesus says at the end (Revelation 2:5). 

We have to meditate on God’s Word because it…

  • …is a mirror (James 1:22-25) 
  • …is a bright, revealing light (Psalm 90:8 AMPC) 
  • …surgically brings healing (Hebrews 4:12-13; Psalm 119:67, 70) 
  • …prompts godly sorrow without condemnation (Romans 8:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:8-9) 

Only when this grief is turned to joy again can God use us to minister to others. We are able to comfort and redirect others because God has comforted and redirected us back onto His path. 

David became enamored with his spiritual success and forgot God’s laws. His sin caused God to turn and fight against him. In his deep grief, David cried out to God (Psalm 51:7-13). It was only after David repented that his grief was lifted and he was able to teach others about our loving God. 

Let’s not ignore our grief, but instead let’s ask God what He is trying to tell us through that grief. Remember, in our distress He is distressed and will carry us. But if our spiritual leprosy has taken us away from God, He will lovingly fight against us to get us to return to Him! 

You can check out all of the other messages in this series 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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Our Gigantic Problems

April 1, 2025 — 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. 

Listen to these words of instruction Moses gave the Israelites— 

     A people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?” Know therefore this day that the Lord your God is He Who goes over before you as a devouring fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall dispossess them and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you. (Deuteronomy 9:2-3 AMPC) 

With those encouraging words, Moses readied the Israelites to go into the Promised Land for a second time. The first time ended disastrously, as the people ran away in fear of these giants. 

What gigantic problems might you be facing? Maybe you’re facing them again and again? 

  • that addiction that’s always there? 
  • that temptation that always seems to pull you down? 
  • that depression that turns your whole world dark? 
  • that satanic attack at the most inopportune times? 
  • that relationship that seems to wreck every family get-together? 
  • that monstrous financial debt that overshadows everything? 

There’s no doubt about it: Those problems are gigantic! 

It feels like they’re crushing you. It feels like they’re undefeatable. 

That’s because they are. 

Let me be more clear: YOU cannot defeat them on your own. 

But listen again to what God said through Moses, “I will defeat them, I will subdue them, so that you can finish them off.” 

James says it this way, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). 

The devil isn’t scared of you. The gigantic problems looming over you don’t tremble at your name. But every knee must bow to the King of kings. Every problem must crumble and give way before the Lord of lords! 

Don’t try to tackle these giants on your own. Instead, submit to God. What plan does He have for this battle? What has He already spoken to you in the Scripture that will give you assurance of His victory? 

I love this photo from We Lost Kings. The caption says—

“To defeat the obstacles before us requires more than mere strength—it demands a deliberate strategy. A man must approach his trials with discernment, understanding that raw power alone rarely conquers what lies ahead. Strategy calls us not to rush headlong, but to see clearly, to step wisely, and to strike with purpose. Every obstacle is a lesson in mastery, and every victory a testimony to the power of wisdom applied.” 

It’s not your muscle or smarts or sheer determination that will overcome your gigantic problems. But your invincible, undefeated, and undefeatable God will knock every giant down to size, setting you up for the inevitable victory. 

Kneel before God. Listen to His voice. Feel His power. Then—and only then—can you step forward in assured victory! 

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The Malicious Attack

March 31, 2025 — 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 noticed that the intensity of the pain of these sheep bites has been escalating—from flattery, to criticism, to gossip. Now we come to probably the most painful of bites: slander. This is the bite that will have the strongest pull toward the natural response, which will require our greatest reliance on the Holy Spirit to respond supernaturally. 

Remember that gossip has a veneer of truth on it; slander has no truth at all. They are outright lies. They are flimsy lies. They are malicious lies. One of the Hebrew words translated slander means scandal-monger: someone who trades in lies (Jeremiah 6:28 NLT; Leviticus 19:16).

(Check out all of the biblical references in this post by clicking here.) 

The natural response to slander is, “I have to respond to them!” The supernatural response to slander is, “I have to yield to God!” 

The natural response, however, is fueled by my wounded pride. On the other hand, the supernatural response is fueled by humility toward God. 

Slanderers are arrogant people too (remember Jeremiah said “they are as hard as bronze and iron” [Jeremiah 6:28]). God’s people are learning to humble themselves to wait for God (Psalm 38:12-15). These humble people are the ones who get God’s help, and not His laughter (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34 NLT). 

Look at how Jesus dealt with the very natural urge to respond to those who slandered Him. After Jesus was arrested by the temple guards, He was hauled before one group after another and each time the slanderous lies were spitefully spit at Him. In front of the Sanhedrin, before Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and in the throne room of King Herod Antipas, angry men unleashed their venomous claims—none of which were true.  

There are two common themes we can notice in all of these settings.

  1. The lies were seen for what they were: complete fabrications without any truth behind them—Mark 14:55. Governor Pilate said “I find no basis for a charge against Him” (Luke 23:4), and he added, “Herod came to the same conclusion and sent Him back to us” (v. 15). 
  2. The silence of Jesus: “Jesus remained silent and gave no answer” (Matthew 27:13-14; Mark 14:61, 15:5). The only red letters in this interaction with both the Sanhedrin and Pilate are when Jesus is asked a direct question. Jesus quickly answers the questions, “Are You the Messiah,” “Are You a King,” and “Don’t You know the power I have?” (Mark 14:61, 15:2; John 19:10), but He never responds to the slander. 

Let me repeat: Our supernatural response can only come from yielding to the Holy Spirit’s influence. 

  1. We cannot treat slanderers as anything less than people created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 15:1, 3). 
  1. We must take our pain into God’s presence. This is what Jesus did (1 Peter 2:21-23). We can help ourselves by praying imprecatory prayers. These are words for God’s ears only (Jude 1:9; Psalm 58:6-8). 
  1. We have to learn to pray for our slanderers. We have to mature from praying against them to praying for them. Look at how Jesus interceded for His slanderers (Luke 23:34), which He calls us to as well (Luke 6:28). 
  1. We have to live as overcomers. We overcome by NOT responding to slander in the natural way (Romans 12:21). But we allow our supernatural response to be used as a powerful testimony (2 Corinthians 6:3-10; Colossians 3:1-2, 8, 12-14). 

We can do this—the Holy Spirit is empowering us to do this. Let’s not get down in the mud with those who slander us, but let’s yield to God and allow Him to handle this painful situation far better than we ever could. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series, you can find them all here. And if you are a pastor, please check out my book When Sheep Bite, which will help you both respond to sheep bites and teach others how to respond as well. 

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

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