We have added a lot of “stuff” to our prayer language, almost like God wouldn’t know that we were praying to Him unless we used these special words! Jesus made it simple by giving us two words: “Our Father.” I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Immersing ourselves in the Psalms and turning them into prayers teaches our hearts the ‘grammar’ of prayer and gives us the most formative instruction in how to pray in accord with God’s character and will.” —Tim Keller, in Prayer
“We best take care of others when we are judicious about self-care. We only pour our lives out for others well over time if we have taken care of our own bodies and souls well in time. … Folly neglects soul care and leaves us empty, powerless to effectively serve others. We only have resources to constantly give out if we have been diligent to constantly receive in.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied
Issac is an amazing foreshadowing of Jesus. Consider these aspects:
the wood for the sacrifice is on his back
the father placed the wood on his son’s back
the son was to be the lamb offered in sacrifice as God commanded
John Stonestreet and Dr. Glenn Sunshine write, “Constantine has been a controversial figure throughout Church history. Both the genuineness of his conversion and his impact on the Church have been consistently questioned and scrutinized. Many think that Constantine’s actions to tie the Church to the empire compromised the Gospel. Often, these arguments are based on a misunderstanding of what Constantine did and fail to consider what followed from the legalization of Christianity.” Check out more of the history and the impact of Emperor Constantine.
I love reading, and I love sharing my love of good books with others! Here is a list of the books I read and reviewed in 2023. Click on a title to be taken to that review.
“When we are foolish and young, we need more rules. As we mature, we can be trusted with extended boundaries. The wiser we are, the more we appreciate those boundaries and the less they offend us. Offense at law, accountability, hedges, and boundaries is an indicator of immaturity. The wiser we are, the more unafraid and appreciative we are of those who hold us to account.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied
“When public policy begins to encroach on the Christian’s freedom and duty to proclaim the Good News, or to bring the benefits of the Gospel to the community, believers must continue our mission nonetheless and be ready to bear whatever punishments those in authority may choose to inflict. Christians do not seek suffering, but we must not shun it, particularly when by our suffering we can work for public policies more in line with the centrality of the Gospel for the wellbeing of all people.” —T.M. Moore
The Golden Rule—treat others as you would want to be treated—applies to the way you treat yourself too. Stop beating yourself up when you make a mistake. You probably don’t beat up others when they stumble, so extend the same grace to yourself. Practice healthy, affirming self-talk. Check out this full conversation from episode 68 of The Craig And Greg Show.
“A thought, a sword, and a spade should never be allowed to rust.” —Irish Proverb
Dr. C. John “Jack” Collins uses some thoughts from C.S. Lewis to help us learn a little better how to read Genesis 1-11. He writes, “We should approach any biblical passage with the conviction that God inspired the Bible to be the right tool for its job. If we can get a good idea of what kind of tool our passage is, we can discern what job God intended it to perform. And that means we need to be willing to adjust what we’re looking for and be willing to find other ways of addressing some questions.”
“Failure to pray is simple unbelief. We must repent of our unbelief and take up the work of prayer with greater devotion and dedication. We shall not be able to realize progress in Christ’s Kingdom, or in returning our nation to a greater experience of justice and goodness, apart from prayer. Prayer is the starting point for public policy. Prayer must be the sustaining power of public policy. And prayer in the form of worship will be the outcome of public policies, forged in prayer, which lead to a peaceful, godly, dignified, true, and Gospel-friendly society.” —T.M. Moore
This is just one example of the power of a leader’s storytelling. Check the full conversation Greg and I had on The Craig And Greg Show. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” —Benjamin Franklin
George Jeffreys was born with a limiting speech impediment, but with the empowering of the Holy Spirit, George and his brother Stephen led incredible Pentecostal revivals in England and Wales. They were said to be the greatest evangelists since George Whitefield and John Wesley. Someone asked Jeffreys how long a revival should last, and he responded, “Thank God, a revival started in my heart 30 years ago, and it has never stopped; it will never end.” He continued by saying, “As long as Jesus is kept in the front, and made the center of fellowship and blessing and unity, the revival will never end.” Check out this mini biography about his life.
John Stonestreet uses the example of C.S. Lewis’ Aslan to talk about how God can speak to us through our pain. John writes, “Pain is never the point of God’s plans, any more than it is the purpose of physical exercise. Never pushing ourselves to the point that it hurts means never improving our health. On the other hand, seeking pain is more likely to do harm than to aid our wellbeing. In and of itself, pain is not good, but it is meaningful. Pain indicates that something is wrong and needs to be addressed.”
“The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.” —Dame Anna Wintour
Because of the extensive prayer, research, and work I put into my book Shepherd Leadership, I am frequently drawn to passages of Scripture that reinforce the idea of pastors as shepherds. I was meditating on Hebrews 5:2 the other day, and I shared some of my thoughts with some of my pastor friends.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Say the word “confrontation” and many people cringe. “I try to avoid confrontations with others,” people will quickly say.
The origin of the word comes from a derivative of the word for “forehead.” The original intent of confrontation was simply putting the facts in front of someone’s face so that they could acknowledge them.
The problem for most of us (myself included) is two-fold:
I don’t like to be confronted with things I may be doing incorrectly or incompletely.
I don’t like making others defensive when I confront them with the things they may be doing incorrectly or incompletely.
As a result, we usually don’t confront others and they usually don’t confront us. Sadly, this can keep us from maturing in areas where we may be able to soar if we could only make some minor changes.
Christians should be especially open to confrontation from a brother or sister. After all, Solomon told us, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy only multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6). And Jesus warned us, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26 NKJV).
The best confrontation is self-confrontation in the presence of the Holy Spirit. After we have submitted to that loving spotlight, then we can proceed with our loving confrontation with our brothers and sisters.
Remember this:
The goals of Christian confrontation are restoration and maturity.
We want to see wandering saints return to God’s path, and we want those saints who are immature to blossom into Christ-like maturity that brings glory to God.
I have prepared a flowchart that can help you with a biblical framework for the work of confrontation. Please work through this flowchart slowly and prayerfully. Don’t rush any step, but make sure you can answer an honest “yes” to each question. When you get to the last step, keep in mind these three Ms:
Maturity—self-confrontation and confrontation of others should always be moving us toward maturity.
Mutual accountability—agree to stay involved in this process, with each of you remaining accountable to each other.
Healthy leaders look in the mirror first before they confront a teammate on something that needs to change. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on The Craig and Greg Show about defeating the two-headed leadership killer of ignorance and arrogance. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“I am often, I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them. It’s so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him.” —C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” —William James
The most empowered and empowering person is the one who remains in Jesus.
“Whereas three or more incidents of intense stress within a year (say, serious financial trouble, being fired, or a divorce) triple the death rate in socially isolated middle-aged men, they have no impact whatsoever on the death rate of men who cultivate many close relationships.” —Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee, Primal Leadership
T.M. Moore has an outstanding series of posts on how Christians should interact with the governments in the lands in which they live. I highly recommend this series to you. T.M. wrote, “We have seen that justice is a jewel of many facets. In its obligatory facet, justice requires that we love our neighbors simply because they are made in the image of God. We must regard them, and do with them, as we wish to be regarded and done with ourselves. In its preventive facet, justice demands that we use forethought in all our actions to make sure, as far as possible, that our neighbor or his property is not injured by what we do. Distributive justice encourages us to share generously with our neighbors and others in need. Restorative justice comes into play when the balance of neighbor love has become disturbed and the one guilty of disturbing it is required to set things right again. Each of these forms of justice, grounded in the Law of God, is very much a part of life in our society today. It is simply mindless or prejudicial to insist that we should have no input from Scripture or the Law of God, either in the public square or in the making of public policy. Our nation was founded on Biblical principles of justice, and to deny this is to rewrite history past and to put in jeopardy history to come.”
The Greek word translated as “consider” in Hebrews 3:1 means to observe closely, to consider attentively, to fix your eyes or mind upon it. In its context, this verb is usually directing us to the end result of being in awe, kindling a renewed faith, and being rejuvenated with a new resolve to move forward.This is what happens especially when we consider Jesus❣️
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
God made you uniquely YOU! You have been made on purpose and for a purpose. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“The wise recognize before the fight that adversity will come and therefore are not surprised by it. The wise recognize in the fight that adversity is a formidable foe and thus steel themselves for a long, hard struggle to the death. The wise recognize after winning a fight that the war is not over and so never let down their guard nor release their weapons.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied
Astronomers have discovered planet-sized objects that are puzzling the best minds. In fact, they have had to create a new category for these objects: Jupiter Mass Binary Objects (JuMBOs). What is baffling the brightest minds is that these planets don’t orbit a star but appear to be gravitationally bound to other JuMBOs. My favorite line is this one: “The new phenomenon challenges current frameworks explaining how stars and planets form within nebula, with astrophysicists claiming such objects should not exist.” There is at least one who isn’t baffled: The One who created JuMBOs along with everything else in our universe.
T.M. Moore is in the midst of a series of posts about the Christian and the government. They are excellent! Here is just a short sample—“The Christian understands that government is a servant of God for good, and that God, therefore, must define the terms of goodness by which a government fulfills its appointed task. As Paul reminds us, the Law of God is holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12). It is important, therefore, that Christians understand the Law of God and consider the best ways of bringing its influence to bear in the arena of public policy. … Public policy is not about what governments can do, but what they should do, that is, if they are to fulfill their callings as God’s servants for good. When it comes to applying the Law of God to public policy, Christians must make this first principle foundational in the logic with which they approach the work of influencing and shaping public policy.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” —Mahatma Gandhi
Leaders are naturally wired to be either confident or humble. Both kinds of leaders need to remain coachable. Greg and I unpacked this idea on this episode of The Craig And Greg Show, and I also discuss it in greater depth in my book Shepherd Leadership.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Let’s keep in mind why we are learning and working on these spiritual disciplines. The key phrase is “so that”—I get stronger so that we can get stronger.
Today we are looking at spiritual discipline #2—Solitude. We will need discipline to abide with Jesus in our time of solitude—removing all distractions—so that we can respond better to our circumstances, and help other saints respond better too.
Part of the dictionary definition of solitude is “a place absent of human activity.” Note that important word human activity. Solitude is a time for stepping back from all our human striving to get a heavenly perspective. Solitude is a proactive pause in difficult times so that we can respond with a God-honoring reaction.
Let me give you five ideal situations to discipline ourselves to find solitude.
(1) After ministry exertion. I’m sure there have been times when an interaction with another person or a group of people has exhausted you. It’s at these times we should find a place of solitude to be refreshed, just as Jesus did (Luke 5:16).
(2) In stormy times. When everything around us seems to be unstable, proactively pausing in a time of solitude is saying with the psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,” and then hearing God say to our anxious hearts, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:1, 10). These are the same words Jesus said to both the stormy seas and the disquieted hearts of His disciples (see Mark 4:35-39).
(3) When we’re between a rock and a hard place. This is when we feel like neither option before us is a pleasant one. Like when the Israelites were caught between the onrushing Egyptian army and the uncrossable Red Sea. Listen to how similar the words of Moses sound, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (see Exodus 14:1-14).
(4) When we have a big decision ahead. We may gather all of the information and do our our research and still feel inadequate to make a good decision. Jesus had hundreds of disciples, but He needed to choose just twelve to serve as His apostles. Before making this decision, Jesus spent the night in solitude with His Father (Luke 6:12-13).
(5) When we get angry. There are other strong emotions that sometimes seem to overwhelm us, but I’ve noticed that anger causes more people to fly off the handle than most of the other emotions. When Jesus saw the shameful way the temple was being used, He got so angry that His disciples recalled the Psalm that said zeal was burning Him up (Psalm 69:9; John 2:17). Instead of reacting in the heat of the moment, Jesus spent all night in solitude with His Father (Mark 11:11, 19).
Then keep in mind that solitude is not retreating and staying away from others, but solitude is so that I can effectively respond to pressing situations. Christian solitude is not me-time, it’s us-time (where the “us” is me + Jesus) so that I’m ready for we-time (where the “we” is me + others).
This is such an important discipline for Christians so that we don’t respond inappropriately in an intense situation, but we respond in a Christ-like way that brings glory to God. Pay attention to your strong emotions, listen to the Holy Spirit, and proactively find a place of solitude.
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 Shepherd Leadership I talk about some strong, godly men who gave into temptation at a moment of weakness—David who behaved so poorly toward Bathsheba and Uriah, Elijah who got depressed and suicidal, and Peter who denied knowing Jesus.
One common factor for all of these guys is that their moment of giving in came when they were alone. They were isolated from others who may have been able to help them overcome the temptations that tripped them up.
Have you ever heard of the law of the weakest link?
If I have a chain with links that can handle 400, 300, 250, 175, and 500 pounds, how much weight can the chain hold? You don’t really need a calculator for this one because the answer is the capacity of the weakest link: 175 pounds. This is why it’s to my advantage to not only strengthen myself, but to help others grow their strength as well.
In Galatians 6:2-5, the apostle Paul talks about the strength we need for ourselves and our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. First, he says that each of us should test our own actions. I can only know my breaking point if I’m tested, and the Holy Spirit knows how to do this perfectly. After this testing, Paul says then I can take pride in myself without saying, “Well, at least I’m better than him!”
Quite simply, Paul tells each of us that we must be able to carry our own loads. Why? Because only a strong Christian can help someone else with their load. We each have to get stronger individually so that we have strength for others!
This is just like what we’ve been learning in our look at the Songs of Ascent: the goal is for all of the pilgrims to get to Zion together!
In this series, we are going to learn about six spiritual disciplines. Much like a physical workout, the Holy Spirit will start with us where we are. Not everyone will be at the same level nor will everyone progress at the same rate. But all of us will need these four things.
(1) Discipline. This is saying no to the easy thing or the thing that brings only fleeting happiness so that I can say yes to the things that bring eternal joy.
(2) Stick-to-it-iveness. I have to be committed to this process for a lifetime.
(3) Grace for yourself. There are going to be moments of struggles, plateaus, and even stumbles. Those are all a part of the journey, so we must extend grace to ourselves to learn, repent, and move forward.
(4) Patience for others. As I just mentioned, we are all on our own journey and we all progress at different rates. Let’s be patient with each other.
All of these spiritual disciplines are to strengthen us individually so that we have something to share with other saints (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).
These spiritual disciplines shouldn’t become legalistic. Don’t make the way you do it the way everyone has to do it. After all, a 175-pound link will be different than a 250-pound link.
What I am calling spiritual disciplines, C.S. Lewis called religious practices. In a letter to a friend, he wrote about the safety and beauty that result from these pursuits—
“I think about the practices what a wise old priest said to me about a ‘rule of life’ in general—‘It is not a stair but a bannister’…i.e. it is, not the thing you ascend by but it is a protective against falling off and a help-up. I think thus we ascend. The stair is God’s grace. One’s climb from step to step is obedience. Many different kinds of bannisters exist, all legitimate. It is possible to get up without any bannisters, if need be: but no one would willingly build a staircase without them because it would be less safe, more laborious, and a little lacking in beauty.” (C.S. Lewis)
Issac is an amazing foreshadowing of Jesus. Consider these aspects:
Craig T. Owens 