Turn Off The News!

July 23, 2024 — 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. 

Anti-anxiety medications are prescribed at a higher rate than any other medication. As a nation, we have become—literally—a nervous wreck!

I think much of our handwringing and stomach churning is from our obsession with keeping up with “current events.” We have alerts endlessly dinging, screaming at us, “Look at this! Can you believe he said that?! Did you hear about this? We must do something about that!” 

Christian, where is your hope? In what are you trusting for relief?

God says through Isaiah that sinners are terrified and godless people tremble at the news—

Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?” (Isaiah 33:14)

As these anxiety-plagued people are wondering how they can survive the latest deluge of terrible news, God answers the burning question of real security. He says it is…

…One who walks righteously and speaks with integrity, one who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; one who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking at evil; he will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure. (Isaiah 33:15-16)

Did you catch what was in the middle of that list? Stop listening to the reports of bloodshed and stop watching all the news reports of evil people doing evil things. 

Instead, God says that we should be watching our own lives closely so that we are:

  • walking righteously 
  • speaking with integrity 
  • not falling for the latest fads 
  • not being “bribed” by so-called influencers to see things their way 

When we are focused on God and on living our lives according to His righteous standards, we won’t have any time or mental energy to give to the evil and bloodshed in the headlines. Rather, we will live securely—protected and blessed by our loving Savior and Lord! 

Isaiah 33 goes on to describe what we will notice when we turn off the world’s news and gaze at God: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” (v. 17), you will no longer be shaken by “fierce people” (v. 19), but you will know that “the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us…and will save us” (vv. 21-22). 

Turn off the world’s news and dive into God’s Good News instead. You will immediately feel God’s peace replacing any fearful trembling in your heart and mind. 

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How Long Will This Last?

March 23, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

Chaos is all around us! There’s infighting both politically and religiously. Government officials are imposing new laws and regulations and restrictions. Lots of rival voices are clamoring to be heard. Loss of personal freedoms, civil liberties, and even the freedom of worship. Uncertainty about the future. Fear in the present. 

Although this may sound like current conditions in the USA, I’m actually describing life in Israel around 31 BC. 

The people of Israel were frustrated beyond words with the restrictions they faced. They thought they were living in their land and that they should be able to govern themselves as they saw best. 

Have you ever been in that place of utter frustration? Are you there now? “What’s happening? Why is this not going according to plan? Isn’t there anything I can do? How long is this going to last? God, where are You in all of this?!” 

We humans like to think we are in control. Or at least we like to think that we know God’s timetable. Throughout the Bible—and still today—the questions persist: 

  • How long will this last? 
  • When will this take place? 
  • What about him? 
  • Is this the right time? 

(see Psalm 13:1-2; Matthew 24:3; John 21:21; Acts 1:6; Revelation 6:9-10) 

When we ask God, “How long?” He never answers us by pointing to the calendar or the clock, but He points us to principles in His Word.

Here are four principles that we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us grasp: 

  1. God’s timing was determined before Time even started. 
  2. God is using this “How long?” time to perfect us for His service.
  3. God is using this “How long?” time to empower us to point others to Him.
  4. God is calling us to trust Him alone during our “How long?” times. 

(see Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 46:10; Psalm 13:5-6; Romans 5:3-4; Matthew 24:13-14; Acts 1:7-8; John 21:21) 

Those Israelites I described earlier were so frustrated with asking “How long?” and apparently getting no answer, that they frequently took matters into their own hands. This never turned out well for them. But God’s perfect timing was heading toward His perfect fulfillment.  

We may not perceive it, but God IS doing more than we will ever know during our “How long?” times. 

God’s perfect timing for His people couldn’t be until Caesar Augustus came on the scene and brought an end to the political uncertainty that kept everything in chaos. Nearly 30 years before Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, Augustus was launching the pax Romana—the peace of Rome—all over the world. Pax Romana was creating the perfect environment in which Jesus could be born and minister, as well in which His followers could then take the Good News all over the world. 

Jesus was born “in the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), around 5 BC, in a land where a Jordanian king (Herod the Great) served an Italian emperor (Caesar Augustus) to a people frustrated with waiting. But God knew exactly when and where and how to send His Son to be our Savior!

So, my friends—Trust God in the “How long?” times! 

God’s perfect plan includes YOU, so guard against any anxious thoughts that would make you bail out of His perfectly-timed plan early. (see Psalm 139:16, 23-24)

Join me this Sunday as we continue our series called Where’s God? 

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Handling Personal Attacks

March 17, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

So the people grumbled against Moses … The people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 15:24; Numbers 20:2). 

People with limited vision have limited faith too. As a result, they frequently grumble when things don’t go their way. Ironically, their grumbling is almost always directed at the leader who does have far-reaching vision and God-honoring faith! 

For most of his tenure as leader, Moses handled the grumbling of the people well. Sometimes, though, the complaints seemed more personal:

  • …in opposition to Moses and Aaron
  • …they quarreled with Moses
  • …“Why did you…?” 

These complaints may seem like a personal attack, but in the end, we find out that these attacks weren’t really against Moses at all—“the Israelites quarreled with the Lord” (Numbers 20:13). 

God tried to help Moses and Aaron see that this was not a personal attack on them. He instructed them to “speak to that rock” so that water would be provided for the grumbling people. But sadly, Moses and Aaron missed this point. They said to the Israelites, “must we bring you water out of this rock?” And then in total frustration with the quarrelsome Israelites, Moses “struck the rock” instead of speaking to it.

Moses made himself the focal point, not God. God responded: “you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites” (v. 12).

A mark of a godly leader is one who doesn’t take personal attacks personally.

Previously, Moses responded to the grumblers better—

  • He “cried out to the Lord” and received directions
  • He obeyed God’s directions to the letter
  • He reminded the people that their grumbling was really “against the Lord” (Exodus 16:6-8)
  • He humbled himself before the people and pleaded with them not to rebel against God
  • He humbled himself before God and interceded for the people

If God has called you to lead, people will bring their quarrels and complaints to you. It will feel like a personal attack, but it’s not. When attacked or when people grumble, you need to humble yourself before the Holy Spirit and ask, “Did I do something wrong?” and then listen attentively for His answer.

If the answer is yes: repent, ask forgiveness, make things right.

If the answer is no: don’t take it personally, stay humble before God and the people, and obey the specific directions God will give you. Don’t get frustrated and cut short your tenure as a leader.

This is part 44 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

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Mouth-To-Mouth

July 22, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Mouth to mouthI’ve notice that when someone feels physically tired, mentally unengaged, spiritually embattled, emotionally dry, or just plain worn out, they have an audible physical sign that is almost universal.

Those people sigh.

A sigh is an involuntary response that signifies frustration and a call for help. It should also be a reminder of the best place to find that help.

In Psalm 119, the chapter is organized in 8-verse segments. I like to look at the “bookend” verses of each section, as it usually gives a good idea of what that section is focusing on. The section called kaph has this bookended statement—

My soul faints with longing for Your salvation … Preserve my life according to Your love, and I will obey the statues of Your mouth (Psalm 119:81, 88).

Follow this progression:

  • When God created man, He breathed a soul into him. So we are created by His breath.
  • Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s Word is inspired, which means it is literally God-breathed. So our soul is sustained by the breath of God.

The psalmist says his soul is sighing and wasting away, but he recognizes that his God-breathed soul can be restored through the God-breathed word. So in verse 88 he is asking God to give him mouth-to-mouth (or perhaps mouth-to-soul) resuscitation! 

The psalmist talks about clinging tenaciously to God’s Word as if it were his only lifeline … because it is! So whenever you find yourself sighing, let that be a reminder that you can get your spiritual resuscitation from the breath of God: His Word. Hold on to it as if your very life depended on it … because it does!

If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.

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