Wolf Deterrent

January 21, 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. 

As Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, he makes time to meet with the leaders of the Church in Ephesus. An important reminder Paul gives them comes from the example he lived out while he was in Ephesus: “For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27). 

Some translations say “the whole counsel of God,” but I like the simple, straightforward wording in the KJV: “all the counsel of God.” In other words, Paul’s textbook was everything in the Scriptures. 

One of Paul’s traveling companions was Luke, who made frequent use of the Greek word boulē, which is translated “counsel.” He is the only Gospel writer to use this word, and then he uses it seven more times in the Book of Acts. Putting together Luke’s usage of boulē with the three other appearances in the New Testament, we can come up with a good overview of what Paul meant by “the whole will of God.” 

Boulē tells us that…

  • God’s purpose always prevails (Acts 2:23, 4:28, 5:38, 13:36; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 1:11) 
  • Man’s counsel can be flawed (Luke 23:51; Acts 27:12, 42) 
  • God’s counsel if immutable (Hebrews 6:17) 
  • Men who mutate God’s counsel are the wolves that seek to destroy the flock (Luke 7:29-30; Acts 20:27-31)

(Check out all of these Scriptures by clicking here.)

Paul warned these Ephesians leaders: 

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!… (Acts 20:28-31, emphasis added) 

In my book When Sheep Bite I have a chapter called’ Driving Away the Wolves.’ In that chapter I point out—

  There is a phrase that is often associated with the behavior of wolves: a lone wolf. Normally, wolves travel and live in packs. The phrase “lone wolf” is associated with those who leave in order to find a mate, carve out their own territory, and then form their own pack. 

   Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Lone wolves hear the shepherd’s voice but ignore it to follow their own pursuit of forming their own pack. Remember that these lone wolves don’t want to stay alone: they want to build their own following.

Jesus said we could spot imposters—wolves in sheep’s clothing—by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). Two evident fruits are: 

  1. Mutating the immutable counsel of God’s Word to suit their own needs 
  2. Ignoring or criticizing the whole counsel of God’s Word that godly shepherd leaders faithfully teach and preach

For shepherd leaders and their flocks, the whole counsel of God’s Word is the best wolf deterrent you can find! Another passage from my book says—

   David’s beautiful description of the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 has a phrase that sounds unusual to my ears. He writes, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” How can such wooden instruments bring comfort to sheep? When the sheep know their shepherd has the rod of God’s Word in his hand and is skilled at using it, the sheep are far more relaxed around the shepherd. This is because a shepherd’s rod is not used against the sheep, but only against the enemies of the sheep. 

   Throughout the Old Testament, the rods in the hands of leaders were the symbol of their God-appointed authority (think of the staffs of Moses and Aaron). Those rods were symbolic of the words God had spoken to these shepherds to empower them to lead His sheep. In the New Testament setting, the Bible is described in similar terms. Shepherds are directed to correctly handle the rod of God’s Word, knowing that His Word is the only thing that can reliably care for the sheep by teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training (2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16). The sheep will welcome this; the wolves will fight against this. 

Pastors, immerse yourself in the whole counsel of God’s Word. Not just the parts that are comfortable for you or pleasant to preach about, but all of God’s Word! This will strengthen the rod of leadership God has given you, it will bring health and comfort to the sheep in your flock, and it will be a strong deterrent against the wolves that would seek to infiltrate your pasture. 

I would also humbly recommend that you pick up a copy of my book When Sheep Bite to help resource you to heal from old or ongoing injuries, and to fortify you to remain faithful to the call God has on your ministry. 

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

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Prayer That Opens Our Eyes

January 20, 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. 

Charles Spurgeon said, “We too often rush into the presence of God without forethought or humility. We are like people who present themselves before a king without a petition, and what wonder is it that we often miss the end of prayer?” I hope you are starting to…

Spurgeon also asked an important question: “Do we not miss very much of the sweetness and efficacy of prayer by a want of careful meditation before it, and hopeful expectation after it?” 

We talked about competing priorities, but also how Jesus made prayer the priority for His life. This means that some things we call important may have to temporarily be set aside. 

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

Let’s look at the example of Jesus. He prioritized prayer over:

  1. Training. In Luke 5:16 and 9:18 we see Jesus praying in private even though His disciples were right there with Him. This was so revolutionary to the disciples that it prompted them to ask Jesus how they could pray like He did (Luke 11:1-13). 
  1. Sleep. Mark 1:32-35 tells us Jesus was up after sunset ministering to the needs of people, and that He was up and praying while it was still dark. And Luke 6:12 tells us Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before making a big decision. 
  1. Strategizing. The big decision Jesus had to make was choosing the twelve men who would be His apostles—the ones He would spend the most time training and preparing. He didn’t hold strategizing sessions or interviews with the perspective candidates, but He spent the night praying for wisdom (Luke 6:12-13). 
  1. Ministering. People were looking for Jesus, but He guarded His prayer time so the Holy Spirit could guide Him into His ministry time (Mark 1:37). 

Why did He treat prayer this way? Because He knew that God knows our day better than we do. He knows the people will encounter, the conversations that we need to have, the decisions that await us. So we must prayerfully entrust our days to Him (Proverbs 16:9, 3:5-6). 

Remember that Spurgeon said “careful meditation” before prayer and then “hopeful expectation after it.” This is exactly what David said in Psalm 5:1-3 where he was expectant of God’s answers throughout the day.

We see this example throughout the Bible, but let me give you three quick examples: 

  • Hagar’s eyes were opened to see the supply of water that was already there (Genesis 21:14-19) 
  • Eliezer had success in finding a wife for Isaac by seeing a woman that was already at the well (Genesis 24:7, 12-15, 21, 27) 
  • Nehemiah prayed for 4 months so he could pray in the moment that the king asked him what he needed to be successful (Nehemiah 1:4, 11; 2:1-4, 8) 

I think this is what Paul meant when he told us to “pray continually “ (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 

Jesus could announce that everything He did (John 5:19) and everything He said (John 12:49) was directed by the Father. 

We can live like this too, if we will only make prayer the priority that sets the order for any other thing that we call a priority. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

If you have missed any of the messages in our series called Our Prayer Book, you can find them all 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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“The Days of Noah”

January 15, 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.

Jesus said His Second Coming would occur at a time in history that was just like the behaviors during “the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:36-39; Luke 17:26-27). 

What exactly did those days look like? 

   The earth was depraved and putrid in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence (desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power). And God looked upon the world and saw how degenerate, debased, and vicious it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction. (Genesis 6:11-12 AMPC) 

Paul describes this same environment to his friend Timothy—

   For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. (2 Timothy 3:2-4 AMPC) 

It seems to me that we are now living in “the days of Noah” and “the last days.” For Christians, I think this means two things:

(1) Be diligent to keep yourself devoted to living for God. Noah stood out in stark contrast to everyone else because of his righteousness and blamelessness “in his evil generation” (Genesis 6:9). Peter wrote, 

   So, beloved, since you are expecting these things, be eager to be found by Him [at His coming] without spot or blemish and at peace [in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts]. (2 Peter 3:14 AMPC) 

(2) Be active in telling people about the Second Coming of Jesus and that the only door to salvation from God’s judgment is Jesus Christ. Jude wrote this—

   Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)–[which will bring you] unto life eternal. And refute [so as to] convict some who dispute with you, and on some have mercy who waver and doubt. [Strive to] save others, snatching [them] out of [the] fire; on others take pity [but] with fear, loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality. (Jude 1:21-23 AMPC) 

The time is short. Let’s stay righteous and let’s stay active in proclaiming the Good News that Jesus is coming as the All-Righteous Judge, but He has already paid for our forgiveness so that we can “stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy” (Jude 1:24).

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

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The Benefits Of The Right Kind Of Pastoral Stress

January 14, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

I was very honored to be asked to share these thoughts on KarlVaters.com. I was able to interview Karl about his latest book De-Sizing The Church.

(Photo by Official Presidio of Monterey | Flickr)

Jesus was “made like His brothers in every way” (Hebrews 2:17), which means He was not immune to the ravages of stress, yet He never let that stress overwhelm Him.

No one wants more stress. But attempting to avoid all stress can carry negative results that we seldom take into account.

In this guest article, Craig T. Owens (whom I interviewed in The Church Lobby, Episodes 43 and 82 ) writes about how managing the right type of stress (called eustress) can be a benefit, especially in positions of responsibility, like pastoring.

— Karl Vaters

As a pastor, I’m sure your life is practically stress-free. I mean, what do we have to do with our days except commune with God in our quiet study time, and then descend from the mountain to share the words God has given us? Then we can bask in the approval of our congregations as we watch them seamlessly integrate our sermons into their daily lives.

What’s that you’re saying? It’s not like that for you?

Anyone who has been a pastor for any length of time knows how demanding a job it is to be a shepherd of the flock God has placed under our care. And then frequently our shepherding work becomes even more challenging when we have to attend to the needs of obstinate sheep, or heal from the bites of angry sheep.

At times, we may dream about a more stress-free pasture.

But we actually do ourselves, our flock, and the world around us a huge disservice if we are striving for a stress-free life.

The Power To Persevere

First, I don’t think that is even possible. Adam and Eve in the perfection of the Garden of Eden faced a stressful decision. And Jesus, the Perfect Man, was constantly dealing with the stressors that pushed in on Him.

But more importantly, stress is vital for our healthy growth. Recent studies have shown that moderate levels of stress keep our brain sharp. In fact, the study went on to state that a brain that is striving for zero stress (if that’s even possible) begins to become less adept at problem solving. In our attempts to totally eliminate stress, we are actually squeezing out our ability to adapt, overcome, and soar when we face future problems.

In this case, I am talking about the healthy stress that doctors call eustress. Whenever we face a challenge, our body releases a hormone called cortisol that prepares our mind and body for action. In other words, God designed a way for us to be successful in stressful times.

Eustress is the push against the forces that would ultimately pull down our physical health, our relationships, our mental health, and a host of other things if we simply opt to “go with the flow.”

I read this in a recent article from an organization called Fight The New Drug:

“In a world that often sells ways to avoid stress, it’s crucial to remember that stress can be healthy in moderation. Stress and anxiety can trigger neural and chemical processes in your body designed to help you respond to challenges. Stress researcher Daniela Kaufer explains that ‘some amounts of stress are good to push you to the level of optimal alertness for behavioral and cognitive performance.’ Her research on stress in rats has even demonstrated that intermittent stressful events can create new brain cells in the rats that actually improve their future mental performances.”

I love how modern-day psychology validates what the Bible has already told us! The Bible makes it clear that persevering through the stressors that come against us can make us stronger, healthier, and better equipped for the next challenge. We are also fortified to help others through their times of stress (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

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

The Greek word in the Bible translated “persevere” means keeping focused on the goal despite the struggles that it takes to get there. Jesus used this same Greek word at the conclusion of His parable of the sower: “The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the Word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop,” a crop that Jesus said was a hundred times more than what was sown (see Luke 8:5–15).

The Holy Spirit will push us further than we think we can go to develop the spiritual muscles and endurance we need to shepherd the sheep under our care during their trying times. He knows that persevering produces a huge crop.

Easy Roads Teach Few Lessons

I love riding my bike on the White Pine Trail by my house. My long rides have a really fun stretch where I am flying downhill! But as fun and stress-free as that part is, I’m not really building anything of lasting value. However, when I am coming back uphill and I want to quit because my legs are burning and I can hardly breathe, that becomes a valuable struggle.

I cannot build endurance by any other way than to persevere, to push myself just a little bit more each time. When I want to quit, I pedal just a few more feet. Gradually, the uphill becomes less daunting.

A friend gave me a t-shirt that I like to wear on my rides. When I put the shirt on, the blue-lettered message says, “Do It!” but as I struggle uphill and the sweat begins to pour off my body and drench my shirt, a new message emerges: “Don’t Quit!”

I have learned that easy roads teach very few valuable lessons. But persevering through the stressors not only strengthens me, but it builds an empathy for others that I would have otherwise missed.

The poet Epictetus noted this about the mighty Hercules:

“What would have become of Hercules do you think if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar—and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges?

“Obviously he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort he never would have developed into the mighty Hercules.

“And even if he had, what good would it have done him? What would have been the use of those arms, that physique, and that noble soul, without crises or conditions to stir into him action?”

—Epictetus, The Discourses

So the next time you are thinking about avoiding something that causes stress in your life, why don’t you reframe that thought. Instead, think about how you can become stronger, healthier, and more empathetic toward others because you are committed to successfully navigating that stressful situation.

Don’t ask God to get you out of that stressful situation, but ask Him to help you get something out of that stressful situation.

Eustress, Not Distress

Please notice that I have been talking about the good stress (eustress), but there is also a dangerous stress which doctors call distress. If we are trying to overcome a challenge in our own strength alone, instead of relying on God’s supernatural help, or if we are allowing stress to keep us from our healthy habits, eustress can disintegrate into distress.

The stress hormone cortisol is naturally flushed from the body in two ways: physical exercise and proper sleep. Isn’t it interesting that when we are experiencing higher than usual amounts of stress that two of the areas that seem to disappear from our lives are time for exercise and nights with solid, uninterrupted sleep?

When we allow eustress to become distress, everything suffers. Our physical health is compromised, we have an increasingly difficult time coming up with creative solutions, our patience with difficult people is strained, and we find ourselves fighting irritability.

How Jesus Did It

Earlier I mentioned the stressors that Jesus faced, but notice that we never see Him responding inappropriately, acting in an unhealthy way, or “stressed out” by the needs of the sheep around Him. Keep in mind that Jesus was “made like His brothers in every way” (Hebrews 2:17), which means He was not immune to the ravages of stress, yet He never let that stress overwhelm Him. He never even allowed eustress to cross the line into distress.

How did Jesus keep stress in balance? I see so many healthy habits in His life. For instance, I see not only the regular habit of prayer to start His day (Mark 1:35), but I see Him withdrawing for a time of prayer or even a nap when He completed a stressful time of ministry (Luke 5:16).

Jesus encouraged His disciples in this as well. The disciples were excited to tell Jesus about their latest ministry but the activity around Jesus was so hectic that they couldn’t even find time to get a bite to eat, let alone take a deep breath to recover from their ministry. “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest,” Jesus told them. And then “they went away by themselves to a solitary place” (Mark 6:30-32).

To keep yourself from becoming distressed, be deliberate about maintaining your healthy habits during your times of eustress. Eat healthy, get proper exercise, get a good night’s sleep, spend extra time in your Bible study and prayer time, and schedule time with healthy friends. All of these things will help you leverage all of the benefits of eustress, making you a stronger, more consistent and empathetic leader.

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The Prayer Before The Prayer

January 13, 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. 

Last week I shared this thought with you from Pastor Tim Keller: “Your prayer must be firmly connected to and grounded in your reading of the Word. This wedding of Bible and prayer anchors your life down in the real God. … Without immersion in God’s words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality.” 

“Untethered from reality” means that we determine the manner in which we come to God in prayer, the way prayer works, and the way God must respond to our prayer. But what we read in the Bible is the opposite of this (Isaiah 1:11-15). 

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

I think there are two opposite and equal erroneous thoughts about how we approach prayer:

  1. I’m not worthy to come into the presence of an all-holy God 
  2. I can waltz right into God’s presence whenever and however I please 

Both are wrong and both are strategies the devil has used to keep us prayerless. Either we don’t go to God at all or our prayers are unheard because the Bible says that our arrogance has made our prayer ineffectual. 

Our Prayer Book—the Bible—helps us find the balance. George Whitefield noted, “Reading the Bible is a good preparative for prayer, as prayer is an excellent means to render reading effectual.” So here’s what we read about those two errors. 

  1. I’m not worthy. God is unapproachable in His holiness, but Jesus has made it possible for us to enter in through His righteousness (1 Timothy 6:15-16; Isaiah 6:1-5; Hebrews 4:1, 14, 16; John 16:23-24). 
  2. I can come anyway I want to. Passages like Psalm 15:1-5 and Isaiah 58:2-4 make it clear that we cannot simply approach God in a way of our choosing. 

Let’s unpack that second error a little more. We have to be clothed in righteousness in order to come into God’s presence, but we cannot be clothed in a righteousness that is apart from Jesus. When we say that we are praying in the name of Jesus, it means we are praying in the nature of Jesus and through the righteousness of Jesus. We must be wearing His righteous robe (Romans 3:22-24; Isaiah 61:10). 

So I think we need to pray before we pray. Let’s try these actions which are tethered to the reality of our Prayer Book. 

  1. Worship. This is a deep pondering of who God is; it is humbly assigning Him the highest worth. In face, the Old English spelling of this word (“worthship”) gives us insight into what worship does. It is this kind of humility that God responds to (Isaiah 6:5-7; 57:15; Luke 18:9-14).
  1. Confession. As we are worshiping, we will see our inadequacies (much like Isaiah did in Isaiah 6, or the tax collector did in Luke 18). We then need to confession these shortcomings. Dick Brogden wrote, “Confessed sin opens the portals of heaven into our darkness, and light and glory overwhelm shame. Confession is our glory for it lifts our heads and eradicates shame.” We see this so vividly lived out in the prayers of David (Psalm 139:23-24; 51:1-2; 19:12-14). 
  1. Repentance. I think we could also call this Repair. After confession where we have fallen short, we resolve now to both take a different path and repair what was damaged (Matthew 5:23-24; Mark 11:25-26; 1 Peter 3:7). 
  1. Petition. After worship, confession, and repentance / repair, our heart’s attitude is now in the place for God to heed our cries for His help (1 Peter 3:12). 

Let’s learn to pray before we pray. Don’t just rush in and rush out of God’s presence. Take time to worship, confession any sins the Holy Spirit reveals, make things right, and then present your petitions. 

Our hearts need to be prepared to present our petitions. This is how we know that God will hear our voice. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our prayer series, you can find them all here. 

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

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3 Hindrances To Prayer

January 6, 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 am sometimes amazed at how much Jesus accomplished in just a little over three years of public ministry. What I would have expected to see is a Man burning the candle at both ends—up early, working hard without any breaks each day, very little (if any) leisure time, and then burning the midnight oil.  But instead we see Jesus never seeming to be rushed or exhausted. He takes time for meals with friends, time away from the crowds, and still in just a short period of time He fulfilled hundreds of ancient prophecies and trained His followers to take the Gospel around the globe!  One of the keys is His priority. Notice that I said priority and not prioritieS. Jesus was singularly focused on His Father’s glory and He showed total dependence on Him. I think one of the most telling verses is Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.”  If Jesus needed prayer to start His day, how much more do we need this!  Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in his journal, “Rose early to seek God, and found Him whom my soul loveth. Who would not rise early to meet such company?” 

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

So why don’t we treat prayer like this? I think there are three main hindrances to keep us from making prayer a priority.  (1) Self-reliance. A common phrase we use is, “I need to get to work.” But this puts the emphasis on me—my plans, my abilities, my work ethic. I believe I can do more than pray, but I also believe that I shouldn’t do anything until I have prayed.  Prayer, therefore, is a reminder of my utter God-reliance.  God has a better plan than we do. God has more wisdom than we do. God has more strength than we do. So wouldn’t it be better to ask Him what we should be doing, how we should be doing it, and then ask Him for the strength to do it?  When we have this focus, our prayer time will keep us aligned with His plans and empowered with His wisdom and strength. Look at a couple of examples.
  • Sarah knew how to believe God because He showed how He kept His promise in His perfect timing (Genesis 21:1-2). 
  • Mary knew how to pray and behave in alignment with God’s word (Luke 1:31-38). Her prayer shortly after this is sautéed in Scripture, showing how she relied on God to keep His Word (vv. 46-55). 
  • Saul of Tarsus (who became Paul the apostle) had assurances of God’s direction for his life at almost every turn (Acts 9:15-16, 20:22-24, 21:10-14, 23:11, 27:21-25). Then he writes to his friends at Philippi how God received the glory throughout this whole process (Philippians 1:12-14, 25-26). 
We can live and pray with the same assurance that God is completely in control (Isaiah 55:8-11; Romans 8:26-28).   (2) Distractions. When Martin Luther was asked about his plans for the next day he said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” That sounds unrealistic to most of us, but that is because we call too many things “priorities.” We need a singular priority: The knowledge of God’s will and the help that only God can give.  Stephen Covey has a very helpful tool that I use regularly: the urgent/important grid. Bible reading and prayer time is most decidedly a Quadrant II activity. We make time for these important activities by removing unimportant activities from Quadrant IV. The Bible frequently couples a “take off” with a “put on” (see 1 Corinthians 13:11; 2 Timothy 2:4; Ephesians 6:11-18), which should prompt us to ask, “What’s one thing I can take off of my Quadrant IV and put on that time for prayer in Quadrant II?”  (3) Uncertainty. Sometimes we may wonder if our prayers are doing anything. Maybe we think we are not praying the “right way” or perhaps we wonder if we are praying for something in alignment with God’s will or only our own selfishness.  The only two things Jesus said were the “wrong ways” to pray were praying to show off, and babbling like pagans (Matthew 6:5-8). As we read in Romans 8, the Holy Spirit will help us pray, if we will let Him.  One way we pray in alignment with God’s will is to pray using the Scripture. The Bible is our Prayer Book. Pastor Timothy Keller wrote, “Your prayer must be firmly connected to and grounded in your reading of the Word. This wedding of Bible and prayer anchors your life down in the real God. … Without immersion in God’s words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality.”  So here are three steps we need to implement to counteract those three hindrances to a consistent, meaningful prayer life: 
  1. Listen to yourself pray—replace the “I have to” with “God, I trust You to direct me and help me.” 
  2. Track your time in each quadrant and identify just one Quadrant IV activity you can replace with prayer. 
  3. Start turning Scripture into prayers. 
I will be elaborating more on the idea of using the words of the Bible to form on our prayers as we continue our series Our Prayer Book.  ►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎
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Christ’s Advents Bring Joy

December 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. 

We have the candles of hope and peace burning brightly. Romans 15:13 tells us that our hope in God’s fulfilled promises and our hope in His fulfilling of His future promises is what brings us not only peace but joy as well. 

(You can read all the Scriptures I reference in this post by clicking here.)

William Gurnall noted, “Joy is the highest testimony which can be given to our peace.” That means that hope bubbles up in peace and joy, but joy then sustains and fuels future hope, which allows us to experience peace all over again!  

The English dictionary has the right definition for joy: the emotion of great delight caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. Unfortunately, all of the examples the dictionary gives for joy are fleeting external things. 

The Bible makes it quite clear that pleasure is not the same thing as joy, but still people try to find what they call joy in things that bring them pleasure. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is.” 

Just ask the wisest and richest man who ever lived: King Solomon. He wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes which is all about his pursuit of pleasure, yet every attempts ends with him crying, “Vanity! Meaningless!” But notice something: every time he says this, the phrase “under the sun” is adjacent to it. In other words, nothing on earth can provide true joy. 

Paul experienced the same thing in the New Testament (see Romans 7:18-20). 

Just like we said about these candles that darkness is not the opposite of light, but it is the absence of light, so too, this wretched state of joylessness is the absence of things that are eternally satisfying. 

That means we need something other-worldly—something higher than the sun—to truly bring light and satisfaction. The prophet Isaiah foretold the light that Jesus would bring from Heaven, and this light would be our eternal joy and salvation (Isaiah 9:1-3, 6-7; Matthew 1:21). 

Notice how the angelic announcement of Christ’s birth ties together the thoughts of joy with Savior (Luke 2:8-11).

Isaiah foretold this First Advent which Jesus fulfilled (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19), and which Paul come to discover as well (Romans 7:24-25).

Another biblical definition for the word joy is delighting in God’s grace in our trials because we understand that these trials enlarge our capacity for even greater joy. This is the joy we can know as we live between the two Advents of Jesus. We see this in the example of Jesus fixing His eyes on the eternal joy even as He walked toward Calvary, and how His Father then exalted Him for that (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 2:9-11). 

In a similar, Jesus prepares us for the joy following our time of grief (John 16:17-24). The writer of Hebrews agreed with this (Hebrews 12:11), as did the writer of the 126th Psalm (notice the word joy being used four times in just six verses here!). 

The Second Advent of Jesus will be eternally satisfying joy beyond anything we can imagine! I love how Isaiah 35 foretells what we can read on the last pages of the Book of Revelation. 

This thought from Charles Spurgeon is spot-on: “We who trust in Jesus are the happiest of people, not constitutionally, for some of us are much tried and are brought to the utter depths of poverty, but inwardly, truly, our heart’s joy is not to be excelled.” 

May we all live in that hope-filled, peace-fueled joy every single day until Christ returns or calls us Home! 

If you missed it, check out the lights of hope and peace in our previous 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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Faithful Service

December 10, 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. 

I couldn’t say it any better than the apostle Paul said it—

   We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 

   We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. 

   We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10 NLT) 

A mark of a godly leader is one who faithfully serves God whether people treat him well or not.

We don’t minister faithfully so we can receive human applause, because cheers can quickly turn to jeers. Just ask Jesus who heard everyone speaking well of Him in one moment, and then in the next moment saw that same group ready to throw Him off a cliff. 

Instead, we minister faithfully so that we can hear applause from nail-scarred Hands, and hear His voice saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

In my book Shepherd Leadership, I talk about these metrics of success. And in my book When Sheep Bite, I talk about how we can respond to the slanders and slings that come our way.

This is part 80 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts 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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Prayer Helpers

December 6, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27) 

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all want us to live in the fullness and freedom of the Kingdom of God. The Father longs to give us the kingdom, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for us! 

Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32) 

Therefore [Jesus] is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

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Gratitude That Reverberates Through The Ages

December 2, 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. 

Last week we learned how our gratitude helps strengthen other saints. I mentioned that one of the saints that may be helped is yourself. Like when King David took care of Mephibosheth “for the sake of your father Jonathan” (2 Samuel 9:7). 

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

But this isn’t quid quo pro—we aren’t grateful people just so we can get something back for ourselves. We should be grateful people because…

(1) …God is good all the time and so we should be thankful to Him continually—1 Thessalonians 5:18

(2) …Jesus was grateful—1 Peter 2:23; Hebrews 12:2 

(3) …God blesses thankful people—1 Peter 3:9; Luke 6:33 

(4) …your thankfulness can benefit people you haven’t even met!  

Near the end of his life, David wrote a hymn of thanksgiving, which he taught to Asaph (his worship leader) who then taught it to all the citizens (1 Chronicles 16:7-35). Throughout this song, notice how many times David sang about not only giving thanks but sharing our thankfulness with those around us. 

In difficult times, people search for what delivered others in the past. A good example is Psalm 106, where the psalmist warns his readers about the dangers of forgetting to be thankful for God’s blessings. This psalm begins and ends with words taken right from David’s hymn of thanksgiving as an added reminder of what our gratitude should sound like (see vv. 1, 47-48).

One hundred years after David wrote this song, King Asa needed to look back to it. His father Abijah had been evil throughout his reign as king, so had his grandfather Rehoboam. His great-grandfather Solomon started off well, but turned away from God near the end of his life. So Asa looked all the way back to the thankful heart of his great-great grandfather David (1 Kings 15:11). 

Jehoshaphat needed this same song 100 years after Asa (200 years after David wrote it) in 2 Chronicles 20. Enemies had surrounded Judah and Jehoshaphat called the people to prayer. Jahaziel, a direct descendant of David’s worship leader Asaph, calls the people to trust God to fight the battle for them. As the army marches out the next morning, they put the worship team at the front who sang David’s 200-year-old song of thanksgiving and God used that to ambush their enemies! 

Your lifestyle of gratitude today—your songs of thanksgiving—could be a blessing to future generations that haven’t even been born yet! 

We would do well to learn the lessons of the past and make sure we are always quickly turning our grumbling into a song of thankfulness. 

As you do, you are… 

  • Emulating the lifestyle of Jesus 
  • Banking up blessings from God 
  • Ambushing the enemy 
  • Bringing a testimony to non-believers 
  • Establishing a standard for future generations 

We bless God and bless others by employing two words: BE THANKFUL! 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our Be Thankful series, you can find them all here. 

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

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