Gospel of Luke | Craig T. Owens

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The Serenity Prayer

August 26, 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 am a big fan of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They are founded on biblical principles. I would paraphrase two of the most important ones as: (1) We need a Savior to set us free and (2) We need friends to lean on. James 5:16 says this as succinctly as any verse: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

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

AA says: “Often times, a person with substance use disorder may have a need for control that can prevent them from achieving peace of mind. They may feel frustrated that they cannot control the actions of other people and turn to substances like alcohol to control their feelings, even though the control that alcohol provides is a farce. The Serenity Prayer is a gentle reminder that letting go and accepting a loss of control can help put an end to the substance abuse cycle.”

In light of our series called Is That in the Bible? let’s ask, is the serenity prayer in the Bible.

No, it’s not, but still there are some very important principles we shouldn’t miss from this prayer.

The full prayer is—

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever and ever in the next. Amen.

Should Christians pray a prayer like this? Biblically, there is nothing wrong with Christians praying prayers that have been written by men or women, provided that they don’t contradict the words God has spoken to us.

Remember James 5:16 that we looked at earlier? The Personalized Promise Bible has a prayer for that verse:

If I have stumbled in any way, I do not need to fret over it—I can rest in full confidence that the Lord loves me and forgives all of my shortcomings. I also know that sin is a hindrance to my healing. Therefore, if there is any sin in my life I repent of it. I confess my sins to trusted brothers and sisters in Christ, gaining strength and praying in agreement with them so that I will be healed.

And then they cross-reference about 10 more biblical passages that support this prayer—Psalm 103:1-5; Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 9:22, 29; 18:19, 20; Mark 11:22-26; 16:18; Hebrews 12:1-3; Galatians 6:1-2.

In a similar fashion, I see several passages of Scripture that are woven into the serenity prayer.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” Proverbs 1:2-3 describes the help God’s wisdom gives us for daily living.

“Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time.” Jesus taught us to pray each day for our daily bread (Matthew 6:8, 11).

“Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.” Jesus also taught us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10), and He also prayed a very similar prayer Himself when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).

“Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.” Jesus promised us both trouble in this world and His overcoming power to stand strong in that trouble (John 16:33).

“That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever and ever in the next. Amen.” Jesus promises eternal rewards that vastly outweigh the trouble we may face in this life (Luke 12:32; Matthew 25:21, 34).

The bottom line: The Bible is not just a Book to read through but a Book to pray through. ALL Scripture is for ALL servants of God. ALL Scripture is applicable to ALL the circumstances we will ever face in life.

If something like the serenity prayer—or any other man-made prayer—is based on Scripture and helps give voice to your prayers, use them! But use them as guides to help you begin to form your own prayers from biblical passages you are reading for yourself.

Check out some of the other topics we have covered in this Is That in the Bible? series here.

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Peter, Alcoholics Anonymous, Book of James, Calvary Assembly of God, eternity, Galatians, God's help, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Hebrews, Isaiah, overcome, peace, prayer, proverbs, Psalm, sermon, trouble, video. 1 Comment »

Blessing The Blesser

August 19, 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’ve made it to the top step after a long climb. We’ve arrived! But arrived for what? Not for taking it easy, but for serving.

Jesus was at the top, and consider what He did with that position:

He laid aside His prerogatives as God to serve us—Philippians 2:6-8
He demonstrated this by becoming a servant of the servants—John 13:3-5
He said, “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as One who serves.” (Luke 22:27)

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

We strive for the top not to be served, but to serve. This is why the final Song of Ascent addresses those at the top as “servants of the Lord” (Psalm 134:1).

The first duty of the servants is to praise (2x in vv. 1, 2). The KJV actually renders this word “bless,” which I believe is a good way for us to think about this. The word means:

praise God with a reverential mind and
celebrate God on bended knee

In other words, both our heart and our body need to be in a posture of a praising servant. In the Septuagint, the word used for praise / bless is eulogeo, which means to say good words. In putting the two parts of the definition together, it mean we aren’t grumbling about our service (like “I have to do this”), but we are thankfully and worshipfully serving (as in “I get to do this!”).

These servants are called to “minister…in the house of the Lord [and] in the sanctuary” (134:1-2), just as the priests in the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 9:33; Leviticus 6:13; 24:2, 4).

This blessing and serving is itself a blessing which unlocks even more blessing. The final words of the final Song of Ascent is a prayer request (notice the word “may” in v. 3).

The word bless in this final is the same word translated praise in vv. 1-2, except here the form of the verb means “to be shown divine favor”!

We don’t get blessed by God because we have blessed God, but we bless God because He has already blessed us. I don’t command His blessing, but I bless Him in recognition of the blessing that continually flows from Him to me.

To word minister as in v. 1 means to:

endure all hardships
continue until the task is done
cause or help others to stand too

God loves to bless people who love to bless people!

As long as we’re here, keep blessing and serving others as your act of worship to God. Say good words to people about God and say good words to God about people. Lift up your hands, fall on your knees, sing out loud, or worship quietly in your heart. But keep on serving like Jesus. All of this blesses God.

Your final and eternal reward in the Heavenly Zion is coming and it is beyond compare—

It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them watching when He comes. Truly I tell you, He will dress Himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them ready, even if He comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. (Luke 12:37-38)

In blessing others, we are blessing the God who has already blessed us and who longs to bless us for all of eternity!

If you’ve missed any of the messages looking at the fifteen Songs of Ascent, 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. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Chronicles, Calvary Assembly of God, eternity, God's favor, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ, Leviticus, Philippians, Psalm, Psalms of Ascent, sermon, servant, Songs of Ascent, video. 2 Comments »

Assured Expectation

August 5, 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.

A recent movie set box office records. Many Hollywood commentators are surmising that it is because the unlikely duo in the movie does something so noble at the end of the movie. Throughout the movie one of the main characters takes to calling himself “Jesus.” At the end of this movie, this character and his friend take the full brunt of the evil on them in the hopes of saving the universe.

Of course, this storyline isn’t new to Hollywood or even in ancient literature. This epic quest is longed for in the human heart, looking for a hero to selflessly sacrifice himself to save everyone else around them.

The only problem is that these heroes aren’t sure if their sacrifice is actually going to work.

This, of course, isn’t the case with Jesus. Angels announce before His incarnation that He will save His people. Jesus Himself says, “I will lay down My life for My friends and I will take it up again.” And in the very last book of the Bible we read that before Time even began, Jesus was already seen as the sacrificial Lamb slain for the deliverance of His people.

This story doesn’t start in Bethlehem, but when John 1:1 says, “In the beginning,” the language there is really saying, “From before there was a beginning, Jesus our Hero already knew the outcome of His selfless sacrifice.”

We see hints and foreshadowing of this Most Epic Story all throughout history and throughout Scripture. Like in Psalm 132—the longest of the Songs of Ascent (at 18 verses, the next longest song is only half its length).

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

The key verse (v. 10) is in the middle: it connects David and Jesus. The words “Anointed One” is one word in Hebrew: Masiah which is Messiah. In the New Testament, the word Christ also means Anointed One.

What do we learn in the first half of this song. It opens with the words, “O LORD, remember David…” (v. 1).

Because this psalmist mentions the same incident that we discussed in Psalm 131, this is another reason why I think David had the incident of moving the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem in mind when he wrote the previous song (see Psalm 132:2-5; 2 Samuel 6:17). The people continued to rejoices as David made arrangements and provided building materials for his son Solomon to build the temple (vv. 6-9).

Look at how verse 10 connects David to Jesus the Messiah. In verse 2, David swore an oath to the Lord, but he was physically unable to fulfill his promise. In verse 11 (also see 2 Samuel 7:11-16), “The Lord swore an oath to David.”

God was able to fulfill His promise, which we see in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, and then in the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter declares this in his sermon—connecting the work of Jesus to the prophesy of King David (Acts 2:22-36).

We can sum up the first half of Psalm 132 with the words “Remember David.” And we can sum up the second half of this song of ascent with the words “Remember Jesus.”

Remember Jesus [the] Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David (2 Timothy 2:8).

I like this verse from the Amplified Bible: Constantly keep in mind Jesus Christ (the Messiah) as risen from the dead, as the prophesied King descended from David, according to the good news (the Gospel) that I preach.

David swears an oath (v. 2) but has no power to fulfill it. God swears an oath (v. 11-12) and fulfills it (Luke 1:33; Revelation 11:15).

David longs for blessings for the priests and saints (v. 10) but has no power to make it happen. God says, “I will” bless the priests and saints (vv. 13-18; 1 Peter 2:5-9; Revelation 1:6).

All of our longings for a Hero—for salvation, for purpose, for meaning—are fulfilled in Jesus. All of God’s promises for these things are fulfilled in Jesus. All of our life should be lived in this joyful assurance (Hebrews 10:35-39; Revelation 3:11)!

Not only should we not stumble in the homestretch, but we should live in such joyful assurance of God’s promises that we soar across the finish line!

If you cannot remember anything else, remember David and remember Jesus.

Check out all of the other Songs of Ascent by clicking here.

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Don’t Stumble In The Homestretch

July 29, 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’re up to Psalm 131. After this step, only three more steps to go until we reach the top! We’re almost there. We started in a dark valley surrounded by enemies that wanted to keep us in the valley, but we persevered, we matured, and now the end it almost in sight!

Notice that David wrote this Song of Ascent, and I think he may have had a particular instance from his history in mind when he did.

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

At the height of David’s success, the Bible says that, “David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel” (1 Chronicles 14:2). So David used his position to do something very noble: return the ark of the covenant of the Lord to Jerusalem. This was a popular decision that “seemed right to all the people” (13:3).

But it turned out disastrously!

One of the priests overseeing the transportation of the ark of the covenant was killed, and as a result David became angry at God and fearful of Him.

After a cooling off time, David humbled himself. He admitted that he hadn’t “inquired of the Lord” before undertaking this task and then he looked to the Scriptures to find out how to move the ark the correct way (15:12-15).

It’s quite possible David had this incident in mind when he wrote the Song of Ascent for people coming to worship God in the temple where the ark of the covenant of the Lord would be housed.

The opening words sound the tone of humility—“my heart is not proud” and “my eyes are not haughty.” I think in the context of this opening verse of Psalm 131, pride can be defined as:

trying to handle things on my own
concerning myself with things outside my control

That means that humility is trusting that God is in total control.

Verse 2 starts with an important word: But. Instead of the fretting of pride, David chooses the trusting of childlike humility. David says that he has “stilled and quieted my soul.” He has chosen childlike humility.

This is exactly what Jesus told us: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4).

Just look at the differences between childlike and childish!

The consistent message throughout Scripture—from Creation in Genesis 1 until the realization of our eternal reward in Heaven in Revelation 22—is childlike trust in our Heavenly Father.

We can trust God to handle…

…every care—1 Peter 5:7
…every step—Proverbs 3:5-6
…every reward—Luke 12:32

Don’t let pride cause you to stumble in the homestretch. The closer we get to the end of the journey, the more childlike we should become.

If you’ve missed any of the other messages on the Songs of Ascent, 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. ◀︎◀︎

Rise Above The Storm

July 21, 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.

My friend Tom Kaastra shared an encouraging message at Calvary Assembly of God on Sunday about handling life’s storms.

Just like the disciples of Jesus in a boat on a stormy sea…

…storms make us feel like we’re on water without any sure footing
…and the wind is against us (Mark 4:35-41)

In the Psalms, David used similar language:

the water is up to my neck and I cannot find a foothold (Psalm 69:1-2)
my God, my God, why have You forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1)

Even the well-known hymn The Solid Rock has the line that says, “When all around my soul gives way.”

Isaiah 40:27-30 gives us a helpful example from the eagle of how we can handle life’s storms.

Eagles have huge wingspans and can travel up to 125 miles in a single flight. When they see storms coming, they lock their wings in place and stop flapping on their own. Instead, they sense the warm currents of air and rides those up and over the storm.

So Tom gave us these steps:

Disengage from our own efforts—don’t try to handle the storm on our own.
Perceive the warmth of God’s promises.
Trust the everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28). “Everlasting” means that God is infinite, vigorous, strong, faithful, and capable.
Ride up and over the storm in God. When God says we mount up on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31), it means we are braided together with God.
Live in the renewed strength that only God can give us.

Jesus went through the most unimaginable life storm that any human has ever had to endure, and He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). We need to trust our Heavenly Father just like Jesus did when we face storms!

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, eagle, God's promise, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, psalms, sermon, storms, trials. Leave a Comment »

Shepherds Individualize Their Care

July 16, 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.

Karl Vaters and I share the same passionate belief that pastors—shepherd leaders—need to be in the pastures where God has placed them, faithfully caring for the sheep under their care.

Check out this clip from my interview on The Church Lobby—

In my book Shepherd Leadership, I wrote this—

Jesus said not only that He knew His sheep, but that His sheep knew Him, too. Shepherd leaders get right into the messiness of shepherding. Let’s be honest: pastures are not very neat, tidy places to hang out. But pastures are where the sheep are, so that is where the shepherds need to be. If the only time you interact with others is when you want to make an announcement or someone needs to be corrected, your sheep will begin to either resent you or fear your arrival.

The best way to know the voice of each one of the sheep in your pasture (and the best way for those sheep to know your voice as well) is to be in the pasture as often as you can. This is what Jesus did at the Good Shepherd, and His under-shepherds honor Him when we follow His example.

You can check out more clips from this Church Lobby interview here.

Check out my book Shepherd Leadership for yourself or for a pastor that you love. And also check out my latest book When Sheep Bite, which I think of as the prequel to Shepherd Leadership.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Dick Brogden, Good Shepherd, Gospel of Luke, interview, Jesus Christ, Karl Vaters, pastoring, pastors, shepherd leadership. 2 Comments »

Unique Worshippers

July 3, 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.

How do you know if something is lavishly beautiful or a totally inappropriate wastefulness? Let’s talk about how people worship God.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

The Scriptures I mention in this post: Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8; 1 Samuel 16:7.

The blog post and video I mention in this episode is Awesome God, Awesome Praise.

I talk more about one of the ladies who anointed Jesus in the post and video Grateful for what you have. I also have two blog posts about Mary:

Keep up with everything else I have going on—including my newest book and the cohort I am facilitating— by clicking here.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Samuel, awesome, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, uniqueness, video, worship. Leave a Comment »

Still Maturing

July 1, 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.

Have you ever said to yourself…

…I should have known better?
…why I am going through this again?
…I thought I was over this hurdle?
…you would think I would have matured enough by now to not have to deal with this?

Maybe the author of Psalm 129 felt this way: “Here I am on the 10th step and I’m still having to deal with this! When will I finally arrive at the top and be done with these issues?” (compare Psalm 129:1-2 with 124:1-5).

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

I think those statements—“I should have known better” or “I thought I was over this”—pre-suppose that we will reach a point in our life where we “arrive.” If nothing else, this psalm is a reminder that we are still on the journey, that we are still a work-in-progress, that the saint-ification process is still ongoing. It’s clear from Scripture that we never “arrive” until we arrive in Heaven and hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

While we are ascending up toward our heavenly home, these great oppressions and plowings remind us that there is still work to be done in us and through us to bring glory to God (Romans 5:3-4; James 1:2-4, 12).

Of his Soviet prison, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “I bless you, prison—I bless you for being in my life—for there lying on rotting prison straw, I learned the object of life is not prospering as I had grown up believing, but the maturing of the soul.”

The reality is God is using all of those things for my good and for His glory (Romans 8:28).

What happens as I am oppressed and plowed?

(1) I am refined—Psalm 66:8-12, 16-20. God is removing the impurities from my life.

(2) My prayers are matured. Psalm 129:5-8 is an imprecatory prayer, a prayer that says, “Get ‘em, God!” These have their place, but for us they are to be our emergency release valve (which I discuss in more depth in my book When Sheep Bite). But Jesus calls for our prayers to mature from imprecatory to intercessory (Matthew 5:43-45). In my book I write, “This is the highest level of Christian maturity: To pray like Jesus did for those who insulted Him, slandered Him, and crucified Him, ‘Father, forgive them for they don’t understand what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34)”

(3) I develop more intimate God-dependence—2 Corinthians 1:8-10.

(4) I am better equipped to help others—2 Corinthians 1:3-6.

(5) Others feel more inclined to pray for me—2 Corinthians 1:7, 11.

“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength.” —Vance Havner

Oppressed? Yes! Defeated? No!

Plowed? Yes! Enslaved by the plow’s cords? No!

God uses this to bring us closer and closer to Him until He can eventually say to us face-to-face, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” That’s when we truly arrive! Until then, we keep on ascending.

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series looking at these songs of ascent, you can check them all out here.

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

A Godly Man’s Superpower

June 17, 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.

On Mother’s Day, I mentioned that Proverbs 31 might be an intimidating description for Moms, but it doesn’t need to be that way. This chapter lists what is possible when a woman is fully committed to God, her husband, and her children.

Her faithfulness is her superpower which unleashes so many good things for those around her. Or as we said it: Her nobility helps her be a king maker.

I concluded by saying that men have an important role to play in order to honor the king-making power which the godly women in his life have unlocked. This is a man’s superpower! Together, God-fearing men and women can create a legacy of king makers. But separated or self-focused men and women can create a legacy of king breakers.

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

The Hebrew word for noble is used five times in Proverbs: three times for the godly superwoman (Proverbs 12:4, 31:10, 31:29), and twice for the godly superman (13:22, 31:3).

Remember that this word is also translated in different versions of the Bible as excellent, virtuous, and strong in character.

In Proverbs 31:3 the word vigor for men is attached to that same Hebrew word. In this context, the word can be defined as strength, efficiency, ability, or wealth.

On Mother’s Day, we said that Eve is the “help meet” (as the old King James Version says), which means that she is the key that unlocks Adam’s potential. The teaching throughout Proverbs says that men can squander this unlocked potential by…

…forgetting God’s laws—Proverbs 31:4-5
…not stewarding the unlocked leadership opportunities in our marriage, parenting, work, or community involvement (Proverbs 5:15-20; 2:1-5, 12-17; 22:29; 31:23).

In essence, we cancel the definition of vigor that we saw above, changing strength to weakness, efficiency to inefficiency, ability to inability, and wealth to poverty.

On Mother’s Day we looked at virtuous Ruth who used her godly superpower to unlock the potential for Boaz, the man who would become her husband. Let’s look at his example:

he was called a man of standing because his righteousness was well known in Bethlehem—Ruth 2:1
he was obedient to the smallest details of the law—Ruth 2:3; Leviticus 19:9-10
he honored his father by following his example—Matthew 1:5; Joshua 2:1-24, 6:23
he was an honored employer—Ruth 2:4
he was also (just like Ruth) called a man of noble character—Ruth 3:7-11, 14

A Dad’s superpower looks very similar to a Mom’s superpower. The godly woman unlocks the potential, and when the godly man carefully stewards that potential, he is also using his godly superpower (Luke 12:42-43, 48)!

Guys, when we use our God-given superpower, we honor Him and the godly women in our lives who have made this possible for us. We do this by…

…faithfully loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength—Proverbs 31:4-5; Mark 12:28-31
…caring for our bride like Jesus cares for His bride—Ephesians 5:25
…honoring the legacy of our parents—Ephesians 6:2-3
…passing on a godly heritage to our children—Ruth 4:21-22

This is God’s design. And it is God’s delight when we live this way. So we must make the choice to either carry on the godly heritage that was handed down to us, or reverse the ungodly heritage that we may have inherited.

Godly men and women unlock and perpetuate their God-given superpower by giving their heart, soul, mind, and strength to God. And then God will continue to empower us as the spouses, parents, and leaders in our community that He desires for us to be!

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Boaz, Calvary Assembly of God, father, Father's Day, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, heritage, Joshua, legacy, Leviticus, marriage, parenting, potential, proverbs, Ruth, sermon, stewardship, video, wife. 5 Comments »

Pray For Them?!

June 11, 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.

How exactly should we pray for those who have so badly mistreated us? There’s a natural response, and then there’s a supernatural response that Jesus calls us to.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

In chapter 14 of When Sheep Bite I wrote—

In the New Testament, the Greek word for “bless” is eulogeo. The prefix eu- means “good” and the root logos is “word.” So, in the New Testament context in which we now live, to bless someone literally means to say good words both to them and about them. So when Jesus tells us, “Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you,” He is telling us to say good words to them, and to say good words about them in prayer to our Heavenly Father. …

Commenting on Psalm 109:4, my friend Kevin Berry said, “While they accuse me like satan, I will pray for them like Jesus.” This is the highest level of Christian maturity: To pray like Jesus did for those who insulted Him, slandered Him, and crucified Him, “Father, forgive them for they don’t understand what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

The Scriptures that I reference on this episode of The Podcast are Matthew 5:44; Psalm 109:4; Revelation 12:10; John 10:10; Luke 23:34; Psalm 139:23-24; Romans 12:18-21.

And the blog posts I mention are: Unexpected Response and Choice Four-Letter Words.

I truly believe that When Sheep Bite will be a healing resource for shepherd leaders who are still feeling the pain of their latest sheep bite. Please pick up a copy today!

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