And one [angel] called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.” (Isaiah 6:3-5)
The literal translation of the phrase “the whole part is full of His glory” is, “The fullness of the whole earth IS His glory.”
Paul says it this way, “All things have been created through Him [Jesus] and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). God spoke all things into existence—we literally live today in His breath, we breathe His breath, we eat His breath. All that exists is the fullness of His glory.
Isaiah got a small glimpse of this glory, and the weightiness of God’s awesome glory brought him to his knees (Isaiah 6:4-5).
How many trivial things would fall to the side when we realize how unimportant they are in comparison to the eternal importance of God’s glory!
How differently we would live each day if we were aware of God’s presence in and around us!
How fearful we would be to even contemplate sinning in His presence!
How quick we would be to repent of sin when we are aware of just how present He is!
How unafraid we would be to boldly stand for God and proclaim His love and power if we were aware of His ever-present Spirit equipping and supporting us!
Oh, that “the Father of glory may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17)!
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.
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).
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!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I’ve noticed how quick some people are to give up when things don’t get them the results they thought they should get, or the results don’t come as soon as they expected.
Anytime we try something new, there is always the potential for failure. Even later on, those who appear to be an expert at something rarely do it perfectly. But in either case, there are three things we need to do if we don’t get the results we expected: (1) reflect, (2) evaluate possible improvements, (3) re-engage.
Even before Jesus commissioned us to take His message of Good News to every street everywhere, He told us not to expect perfect results. In one of His best-known parables, Jesus talked about the farmer sowing seed (see Luke 8:5-8).
Jesus didn’t say, “All of your efforts at sharing the Gospel will be successful.” In fact, He said some efforts would totally fail (falling on the hard path), and some would have only temporary success (falling on the weedy and stony ground). But we keep on sowing the seed because some will fall on good soil and yield a harvest a hundred times more than was sown!
So, as John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings dynamic, life-changing power (Acts 1:8). The life that is changed first is our own. Everything about us begins to change.
When people heard Jesus speak, they said, “How did this Man get such learning without having been taught?” (John 7:15). The same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus to speak is the same Holy Spirit who will empower our words.
When our words are Spirit-empowered words, people can feel it. When our words are matched by our lifestyle, people can’t ignore it (John 7:46; Acts 2:37, 4:13, 6:10)!
Just like salt that influences effortlessly, silently, and irreversibly, we never know what part the salt of our lives is playing in someone else’s life, even if it appears that nothing substantial is happening at all. But God said His word always accomplishes its purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11), which is why we keep on living and speaking as Spirit-empowered witnesses.
And we live expecting that something is happening—Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).
How do we take this message of Jesus to every street?
Stay yielded to the influence of the Holy Spirit
Regularly and consistently read and apply God’s Word to your own life
Keep sowing in expectation
If your efforts appear to fail: reflect, evaluate, re-engage in expectation
We can be salt without being salty; we can be light without being annoying.
We have been empowered to take the Good News to every street, so let us not become weary in doing this.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus sent us and the Holy Spirit empowers us to take the Good News to all nations—all the streets (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8)—even the streets of Samaria where we will have more differences than similarities.
There is one street that has infiltrated and affected every other street more profoundly than any other: Hollywood Boulevard. The constant bombardment of messages through movies, television programs, music, literature, and the arts is almost immeasurable.
I think Christians rarely stop to ponder how much of the culture on Main Street is influenced by the content from Hollywood Boulevard. Probably because so few Christians are involved in the artistic or creative communities.
Here’s what we need to remember: All of this creativity is God-given. The opening words in the Bible say, “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1).
We specific examples of God-given creative skills in:
Bezalel—Exodus 31:1-5
Oholiab—Exodus 31:6, 35:34
craftsmen and craftswomen—Exodus 31:6; 35:10, 22, 25
In more modern times, we see notable creative people giving credit to God for their abilities.
William Shakespeare’s use of biblical themes—and even exact phrases—throughout his work is easy to spot. In the opening line of his last will and testament, he wrote, “I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, believing through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Savior, to be made a partaker of life everlasting.”
Johan Sebastian Bach, considered by many to be the greatest composer to ever live, placed “S.D.G.” on every one of his musical compositions, which stands for Sola Deo Gloria: only for the glory of God.
The apostle James tells us that every good and beautiful gift has come to us from God our Creator (James 1:17). And then this is my paraphrase of a similar thought the apostle Peter—
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks [writes, paints, composes, sculpts], they should do so as one who speaks [writes, paints, composes, sculpts] the very words of God. (1 Peter 4:10-11)
So, here are four thoughts about how we can take the Good News of Jesus to Hollywood Boulevard.
Create a beautiful culture in your home, your Main Street, your workplace, your school. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you answer the question, “What can I do so that the love and beauty of Jesus will be felt here?”
Use your creative skills—write poems, compose music, paint a picture, sew clothing, bring innovation to your job.
Support beautiful authors, musicians, moviemakers, painters, etc. Hollywood produces what they think will make money, so if you are supporting creators of beautiful things, they will produce more of those things.
Leverage Hollywood’s culture to talk to others about heavenly culture. Point out biblical themes, challenge the rationale behind unbiblical lyrics, etc.
“Christians need to ask themselves a few key questions to help us respond to the society around us. First, what is good in our culture that we can promote, protect, and celebrate? Second, what’s missing in our culture that we can creatively contribute? Third, what’s evil in our culture that we can stop? And fourth, what’s broken in our culture that we can restore?” —John Stonestreet
Don’t complain—create something better.
Don’t compromise—promote what is beautiful and edifying.
The Holy Spirit can empower us to take the Good News of Jesus even to Hollywood Boulevard!
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series Takin’ Him to the Streets, you can find them all here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I would like to take you behind the scenes to the origin of my second book. In this video, you will hear how I first came up with the idea for When Sheep Bite, and how the Holy Spirit redirected my original book design.
Check out this episode of The Podcast.
I wrote this in the Introduction to Section One of When Sheep Bite—
I know that when you are in distress you are looking for immediate relief. You may be tempted to jump right to Section 2 of this book where I outline specific thoughts and strategies for handling the ways your sheep are biting and kicking, but I invite you to hold off. … It may appear from your perspective that the fault lies entirely with the attacking sheep—and that you feel that you haven’t done anything to provoke them. But these attacks can open our eyes to things we haven’t noticed before and teach us invaluable lessons, if we are willing to quiet ourselves before the Holy Spirit’s counsel. …
If we don’t have the heart of a shepherd leader, we will not only treat every bite and kick as if it is completely their fault, but we will never be looking for ways to bring healthy correction and restoration to that wayward sheep. Let me remind you that all of us were those wayward sheep—biting God’s hand, running away from Him—when Jesus put His very life on the line to bring us into the sheepfold (Romans 5:6-8). This kind of shepherding doesn’t come just because we outwardly try to do the right thing, but because we have a right heart attitude (Philippians 2:5).
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. If you are a pastor—or if you love your pastor—please pick up a copy today!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus sent us and the Holy Spirit empowers us to take the Good News to all nations—all the streets (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8). As we move away from Jerusalem and into Judea, we should expect to see more differences with our audience. And then as we move into Samaria, there will probably be more differences than similarities. Regardless of how little we may have in common with those on other streets, the Holy Spirit still empowers us to witness there.
When we don’t live on someone else’s street, we tend to make some pretty big assumptions about them. For example, until I married a school teacher, I thought, “How nice it must be to be done with work by 3:00 every afternoon and have three months off in the summer!”
Mistakenly, we think we can so easily fix the problems people on other streets have—we think we can show them how simple it is to correct anything out of balance on their street. These are natural thought patterns when so little of our circles overlap.
If you live on Main Street, two streets which are quite different from you are Easy Street and Skid Row. When it comes to finances, there tends to be extremes in our thoughts about the Samaritans that live on those streets—
Those on Easy Street only cares about themselves
Those on Skid Row should work harder
Those on Easy Street have too much—it’s not fair!
Those on Skip Row don’t have enough—it’s not fair!
But here’s the thing: It’s really not about the money but it’s about our attitude about the money.
In Luke 21:1-6, Jesus saw both rich people from Easy Street placing their tithe in the temple treasury, and a poor widow from Skid Row doing the same. Jesus said this widow put in more than anyone else. He was talking in terms of quality, not quantity.
While they were still in the temple, the disciples pointed out how beautifully embellished the temple was. These decorations came from the money those on Easy Street had contributed. Jesus told them not to focus on the temporal temple but on the eternal Kingdom of God.
As I said, Jesus doesn’t have a problem with money, but He does warn us about our ungodly attitude toward money (Luke 8:1-3; Matthew 27:57; Acts 4:32-5:4; Exodus 20:17; Luke 12:13-22).
Even though Easy Street and Skid Row seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum, I think we are effective witnesses for Jesus on these streets in exactly the same way.
(1) Guard your attitude about money. Remember that Gad often provides for us by giving us a skill, and then making a job available that can use our skill. So let’s be thankful for our God-given jobs. Then we guard our attitude about money by tithing regularly, and making sure that when we bless others financially, we do it without expecting any fanfare (Colossians 3:23; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 6:2-3).
(2) Let God be unique as unique with these folks on Easy Street and Skid Row as He is with you on Main Street. Don’t try to be someone else, and don’t expect others to be you—simply obey what God has spoken to your heart, just as you allow others to obey what God has spoken to their hearts.
(3) Don’t tell, but show how you use the resources God has given to you. It’s not our place to “preach” to others about how they should or shouldn’t be handling their finances, but simply live out the biblical principles outlined above, and let your life show your godly attitude.
(4) Always turn the focus to the eternal. Just as Jesus did with His disciples in the temple, He always reminded people that this world with its perks or tragedies is only temporary. What ultimately matters is where we will spend eternity (Luke 13:1-5).
Money is always a touchy subject with people, so let’s make sure we have our own attitude aligned with Scripture before we try to bring the subject up with others.
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our Takin’ Him To The Street series, you can find them all here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus sent us to all nations—to all the streets in all the world (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8). We are to begin in Jerusalem and move outward. As we have seen, Jerusalem is like out Main Street, where there are more similarities than differences between us and the people to whom we are taking the Good News of Jesus. Judea is our Lombard Street & Rodeo Drive, where we are starting to see more differences.
Then we move to Samaria where there are now way more differences than similarities. But still, let’s never forget that Jesus sent us and the Holy Spirit empowers us to be effective in our witness on every street—even those with whom we have very little in common.
Jesus was baptizing in the Judean countryside (John 3:22) and now He is heading back to Galilee. “The shortest route from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north went through Samaria. The journey took three days if one wanted to travel the direct route. The Jews often avoided Samaria by going around it along the Jordan River. The hatred between the Jews and Samaritans went back to the days of the exile” (Dr. Henry Halley).
There were wide differences between Jesus and this woman of Sychar:
Cultural differences—The Jews considered the Samaritans to be no longer “pure” Jews, but half-breeds and traitors (vv. 5-9).
Personal differences—She was female, Jesus was male; she was a divorcée, Jesus was single (vv. 9, 16-18).
Religious differences—The Samaritans only recognized the Pentateuch; the Jews recognized the entire Old Testament Scripture. And the Samaritans saw Mt. Gerizim as the center of worship and the place the Messiah would reign; the Jews believed Jerusalem to be the center of worship (vv. 19-20).
Our first task is to find common ground with whoever we can. Jesus used the word “whoever” three times in John 3:16, 18, 36, saying that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life. We need to have this same mindset. It’s not His desire that any should perish—not even the Samaritans!—but that all should come to know Him as Savior.
In his book Winning With People, John Maxwell presents The 101% Principle: Find the 1% we can agree upon and give that 100% of your effort.
Jesus found the 1% and gave 100% to it. For He and this Samaritan woman their common connection was water and worship (John 4:9-15, 21-26). Jesus used both of those things to open a conversation about eternal matters.
Who are the Samaritans in my life? They are people…
…I have very little in common with
…I go out of my way to avoid talking to
…I think are never going to “get it”
…who make me angry, defensive, or combative
But they are also people…
…for whom Jesus died
…who are dearly loved by our Heavenly Father
…who need to hear the Gospel
…to whom I have been sent
Our prayer should be this:
Holy Spirit, help me to notice the people to whom I have been blind or whom I have been avoiding. Help me to find the 1% on which we can agree, and then empower me to give 100% of my effort to that 1%. I want my heart to beat with the heart of my Savior: Whoever believes on Him will not perish but will have eternal life.
Christians do a disservice to the Gospel when we’re known more for what we’re against than what we’re for.Check out this full message here. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
The Hebronites faithfully served God and King David without any fanfare or recognition. God shined His light on these “men of outstanding capability” so that they were finally recognized publicly. Note that they didn’t try to promote themselves. They faithfully served and God promoted these humble men in His timing.
I always appreciate the straightforward leadership insights that Ken Blanchard shares. He wrote, “Leadership is not something you do to people, but something you do with people.” And in this post he discusses some strategies when one of your direct reports is struggling.
“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed.” —Thomas Edison
“We are a Christian people, according to one another the equal right of religious freedom, and acknowledging with reverence the duty of obedience to the will of God.” —1931 Supreme Court ruling
The Holy Spirit reminds us of God’s Word. But in order for Him to remind us, we have to study it first! Check out this full message.
“Your real, new self…will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for God.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
“Just because they say it’s impossible doesn’t mean you can’t do it.” —Roger Bannister, who broke the “impossible” barrier of running less than a 4-minute mile on May 6, 1954
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus has sent us on-mission (which means we are missionaries) to every street. We don’t go in our power, but we are empowered by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 24:46-49).
Jesus said our missionary work would take us to every street, starting with Jerusalem—which we have called Main Street. These are people very similar to us. Then our mission will expand into all Judea (Acts 1:8). These are people that have less in common with us. Last week we talked about taking the message of Jesus to Lombard Street: Talking with people who have knowledge of the Bible, but tend to twist and turn with the popular traditions of the day.
Remember that our mission is to be witnesses—share the Scripture and our personal story. It’s not our responsibility to try to open people’s minds so they can repent, but the Holy Spirit opens minds and calls people to repentance.
The apostle Paul reminded us that, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Holy Spirit uses our witness as the catalyst to open minds. This clash of light and darkness creates acceptance and anger. Notice these contrasts in one short segment of Paul and Silas’ missionary journey in Acts 16:13-24 and 17:1-13:
Acceptance—Acts 16:13-15
Anger—16:16-24
Acceptance—17:1-4
Anger—17:5-6
Acceptance—17:10-12
Anger—17:13
The opposition in Philippi brought Paul and Silas to Thessalonica, and the opposition in Thessalonica brought them to Athens.
Athens was named for the goddess Athena, and it has been called “the university city of the Roman world.” Philo (a Jewish historian) called the Athenians “keenest in intellect.” It was the center of art, literature, and philosophy
I’m going to call Athens “Rodeo Drive.”
Rodeo Drive is called “the intersection of luxury, fashion and entertainment.” Kay Monica Rose, the Rodeo Drive Committee President, said, “There is nothing in the world comparable to Rodeo Drive. The legendary street’s magic continues thanks to the exemplary craftsmanship from today’s greatest fashion houses and brands, the architect-designed boutique spaces, the spectacular window displays, artist collaborations and pop ups, and our unrivaled customer service. At the heart of my vision for Rodeo Drive is the preservation and advancement of an unmatched legacy.”
A marketing professor once told me, “When advertising, you have to remember that everyone has radio station WIFM playing in their head—What’s in it for me?” The people on Rodeo Drive are self-focused and self-assured.
How do we take the message of Jesus to those Judeans on Rodeo Drive? Let’s learn from Paul’s time there (Acts 17:16-34).
Control your anger. Even though Paul was “greatly distressed,” he didn’t let his anger control him, but he kept his distress under control.
Use measured words. Paul “reasoned” with the people there, which means he engaged in meaningful dialogue with them.
Don’t argue. Some to the Athenians “disputed with him [Paul]” but he didn’t dispute back. Instead he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Start where they are. Paul noted that the Athenians were “very religious.”He doesn’t condone their idolatry, but he simply uses it as a conversation starter.
Move to the eternal issue. He then proceeds to point them to Jesus as the “unknown god” that they are worshiping, bringing everything back to His resurrection from the dead.
Be ready for acceptance and anger. As in Philippi and Thessalonica, there were some who accepted the Gospel message and some who got angry when they heard it.
Remember: We don’t change minds—the Holy Spirit does by using our words as a catalyst.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
As missionaries, we are people sent on a mission. We are sent to everyone everywhere. We are to take Him to every street where God sends us.
“Main Street” (or Jerusalem) is a great place to start, and probably a place where we will always have work to do. These will typically be the people that are most like us—people with whom we will have the most in common.
There are others that need to hear the Good news of forgiveness that Jesus has made available. As our circle of witness widens, we may have less in common with those with whom we are interacting. This may take us out of our comfort zone, but since the Holy Spirit is in us we will never be out of our empowerment zone!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea… (Acts 1:8).
We need to ask two questions:
What did it mean then? Judea was still compromised of Jewish people, but it was the area slightly outside the neighborhood of Jerusalem.
What does it mean now? These are people very similar to people on Main Street, but we are starting to see more differences. These differences often become the source of controversies.
I’m going to describe some people in our Judea as cultural Christians but not biblical Christians. In the time of Jesus we could think of the Pharisees: People who would call themselves godly because they have set their own standards.
Lombard Street in San Francisco is a short, curvy street. This is a one-way street and motorists are only supposed to drive 5 mph, and still there are frequent controversies on the right-of-way between homeowners, motorists, work crews, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Everyone thinks their way is the right way.
How do we take the message of Jesus to those on our “Lombard Street”?
(1) Distinguish the biblical from the non-biblical.
Both the Pharisees that interacted with Jesus and today’s cultural Christians seem to quote more from their own traditions than they do from the Scripture, so we need to distinguish that the source of our beliefs is from God’s inspired Word. (I share more about the concept of biblical, unbiblical, and non-biblical in this post.)
A great example for us is how Jesus answered two questions from an expert in the Mosaic law: How do I earn eternal life? Who is my neighbor? See Luke 10:25-37.
(2) Stick to Scripture and your personal story.
Remember that the person with an experience is never at the mercy of the person with an argument. When the Sanhedrin questioned the legitimacy of the healing of a lame man, Luke wrote, “But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them [Peter and John], there was nothing they could say” (Acts 4:14)!
Love the personal story of the healed blind man in John 9!
Judea can be translated “he shall be praised.” We glorify Jesus not by arguing with those on Lombard Street, but by simply proclaiming biblical truth and our personal testimony.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. (1 Chronicles 16:23-24)
As we stick with the Scripture and our personal testimony, the Holy Spirit will use our witness to open minds to the Good News of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18-4:5).
Follow along with all of the streets we are looking at in our series Takin’ Him to the streets by clicking here.
And one [angel] called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.” (Isaiah 6:3-5) 
Craig T. Owens 