Thursdays With Oswald—Venting In Prayer

February 28, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Venting In Prayer 

     When you are worked up to a pitch emotionally, read some of the Psalms, and the Spirit of God will gradually teach you how to form a spiritual nous*, a mind whereby you will not only understand but will slowly and surely get to the place where you can express your spirit, you will have a totally new language. 

* To read what Chambers means by the Greek word nous, click here. 

From Biblical Psychology 

Sometimes we’re too timid in our prayers. We think we need to hold back, or not really say what’s on our mind. We probably think that some of the language we use might be too offensive for God’s ears.

Have you ever read some of the Psalms? As Oswald Chambers suggests, this is a great place to form your prayer vocabulary. David really “lets loose” in some of his prayers, calling his enemies all sorts of names, and basically saying, “Get ‘em, God!”

So you don’t want to say those kinds of things to God? Don’t you think He already knows what you’re thinking? Wouldn’t it be much more effective to “vent” in prayer—in the safe presence of your loving Heavenly Father? It’s really only after you “get it out” that the Holy Spirit can help you work it out.

Express yourself—vent in God’s presence instead of the presence of those who are troubling you—and then listen to how God’s Spirit will help you slowly and surely get a brand new perspective on your situation.

UPDATE: I have a whole chapter called ‘Your Emergency Release Valve’ about these types of prayers in my book When Sheep Bite.

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Thursdays With Oswald—My Standard Of Conduct

October 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

My Standard Of Conduct

     Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

     The practical outcome of these words is astonishing; it means that my standard of moral conduct must exceed the standards of the most moral, upright man I know who lives apart from the grace of God. … Instead of our Lord lowering the standards of our moral conduct, He pushes it to a tremendous extreme. We have not only to do right things, but our motives have to be right, the springs of our thinking have to be right; we have to be so unblameable that God Himself can see nothing to censure in us. 

From Biblical Psychology

There are some very moral people in the world, but their morality is of their own design, and not the morality that comes from a relationship in God’s grace (i.e. just like the first-century Pharisees). I cannot try to match their moral lifestyle, because my morality will not be God-centered.

My thoughts have to be perfectly moral. My thoughts about how I’m going to behave must be God-pleasing. This prayer of David needs to be my prayer as well if my thoughts and conduct are to be unblameable in God’s sight—

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep Your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:12-14)

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Courageous Enough To Interfere

June 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

King David was brilliant as a king, and a disaster as a father. One of the things that is very telling is what is not written when his kids mess up. The Bible tells us that David felt strong emotions, but he simply didn’t act on them. In fact, one of the most telling verses of inaction comes when his son Adonijah is trying to put himself on David’s throne—

His father had never interfered with him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” (1 Kings 1:6)

It takes courage to interfere with our kids when they are misbehaving.

So why don’t some dads interfere? I can think of a few reasons…

  • They didn’t have a good relationship with their own father. In David’s case, his father Jesse didn’t think too highly of David. In fact, David was the overlooked, almost-forgotten son (1 Samuel 16:8-11).
  • They’re too tired. David was so focused on building up Israel’s defenses, and defeating the bad guys, that he had nothing left emotionally and physically to interact with his kids. We need to make it our priority! John wrote: I have no greater joy than knowing my children all walk in the truth (3 John 4). Now that’s a great priority!
  • Their past sins haunt them. David sinned against Bathsheba (like Amnon did against Tamar); David murdered Uriah (like Adonijah did Amnon). So perhaps he felt like he didn’t have the moral authority to interfere with his sons. But if you read some of the wise sayings in Proverbs 6:20-29 and 7:1-5, they sound like a man who has had experience. Let your hindsight (good or bad) be your kids’ foresight.
  • They think it’s too late. It’s never too late! Never! Apparently, David learned this lesson in time and taught his son Solomon (read Proverbs 1:1 and 4:3-4). As long as there is breath in your lungs, you should be your kids’ dad!

Dads, will you be courageous enough to lovingly interfere with your kids if they are getting off track?

Will you be courageous enough to make some changes in your schedule so that you can invest the time and energy and creativity necessary to raise them up?

Will you be courageous enough to confess your past sins, and not let them hold you back from speaking into your kids’ lives?

Will you be courageous enough to start today?

Dad, you kids need you to be involved! Be courageous enough to step into their lives.

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Here Comes Trouble!

April 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Do you see it on the horizon? Storm clouds building, blowing in fast; wind picking up; something ominous in the air. Here comes trouble!

Jesus certainly did as He talked with His followers just before His arrest and crucifixion. Just before the storm hit, here’s what He said…

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

I find something reassuring about Jesus telling me that I will have trouble. Not that trouble is enjoyable (at all!). But what is enjoyable is knowing that He knows. Nothing takes Jesus by surprise!

Jesus said that I would find my peace when I remain IN Him. When I see trouble coming, my natural tendency is to start doing things for myself. I start making plans, giving orders, gathering resources, hunkering down in my foxhole. In reality, all this does nothing but increase my level of anxiety!

Jesus has overcome. So when I stay IN Him, I overcome too.

Here’s what I’ve learned about how to stay IN Him…

  • Stay in the Word every day, but especially when I see trouble coming.
  • Stay in prayer; in fact, I should increase my prayer times.
  • Stay in worship because I don’t want to focus on the storm, but on the Overcomer.
  • Stay in contact with my friends and ask them to join me in prayer.

Check out this prayer David penned when he saw trouble coming. It’s still a great prayer for you and me today:

Keep me safe, O God, for IN You I take refuge. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure. You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy IN your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. (Psalm 16:1, 2, 9, 11)

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Search & Seizure

January 2, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

The beginning of a new year is a time when many people resolve to change things in their lives. They vow to stop smoking, change their diet, exercise, take a class, or do other things that will make them “a better person.”

But my question is: Why wait until January 1 to start something new?

In one of his most intimate psalms, David prayed,

Search me thoroughly, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24 AMP)

Charles Spurgeon added this thought:

“Every man who is wise in the kingdom of heaven, will cry, Search me, O God, and try me; and he will frequently set apart special seasons for self-examination, to discover whether things are right between God and his soul. The God whom we worship is a great heart-searcher; and of old His servants knew Him as the Lord which searches the heart and tries the reins of the children of men. Let me stir you up in His name to make diligent search and solemn trial of your state, lest you come short of the promised rest. That which every wise man does, that which God Himself does with us all, I exhort you to do with yourself….”

This search and seizure of unhealthy thoughts or unhealthy habits should be done alone with God. There in the quietness of God’s presence we can resolve to live differently. Oswald Chambers wrote:

“Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world.”

Today is as good as any day will ever be to allow God to search you, and to seize those thoughts which are keeping you back from the fullness of life He wants for you. Allow His Spirit to help you today.

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Backcasting

July 19, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Psalm 22 is a prayer of raw desperation. I love how transparent David is with his emotions. Many people would hide this sort of thing: never daring to admit that they had doubts. But David freely admits that he’s frustrated by what is happening—or actually not happening—in his life.

I see three points of David’s desperation:

  1. God, why don’t You answer me (vv. 1-2).
  2. God, why don’t You defend my honor (vv. 6-8).
  3. God, why don’t You rescue me (vv. 11-18).

Do you think David had a right to say these things against God? Remember Jesus said them too!

Do you think David was over-reacting when he said these things? Remember Jesus said them too!

David truly, deeply, felt these things. He truly believed that God wasn’t answering him, or defending him, or rescuing him. At least, AS HE THOUGHT GOD SHOULD!

But David says something VITAL after each of his points of desperation. It’s summed up in one conjunction each time…

  • Yet (vv. 3-5).
  • Yet (vv. 9-10).
  • But (vv. 19-21).

In all of these David recalls past history. David looks to the past to help him look to the future.

He BACKCASTS so that he can have a better FORECAST!

Looking back gives David assurance of God’s faithfulness. This assurance gives David hope for the future. So now look how he responds in his present desperate situation:

  • I will declare Your name (v. 22a)
  • I will praise You (v. 22b)
  • He calls others to join him in praise (v. 23)
  • He realizes that God has not hidden His face… but He has listened to his cry for help (v. 24)
  • He decides to praise God in spite of the temporary disappointments, giving all glory to God (vv. 25-31)

This is what is called a typio-prophetic Messianic psalm: what David experienced, Jesus would both experience and fulfill. So although Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me,” He too could backcast to forecast and get the strength He needed to persevere…

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

This is why I’m a big believer in journals: writing things down now will give you ammunition for future trials. Then when you are in those trials, you can backcast to get a better forecast of the hope for God’s deliverance. That will give you joy in the present, just like David. And just like Jesus!

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Empowering The Team

June 22, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In reading Leadership Is Dead, one passage particularly stood out to me:

“The wise leader understands that sharing the burden benefits the entire team over the long term. Empowering others makes tasks manageable while also allowing team members to sharpen their skills and build upon their strengths. When a leader refuses to share the load, he brings disservice to the organization because those on his team are not allowed to develop their own leadership skills, and the next generation of leaders are not developed properly for future organizational success.”

Think back to the first two kings in Israel’s history: Saul and David. Both stood out from everyone around them as a strong leader. But only one of them left behind a lasting leadership legacy.

Both Saul and David had men who were immediately attracted to them. Saul was surrounded by valiant men, while David was surrounded by society’s rejects. But clearly David was an empowering leader, and Saul was not. Want proof?

The Bible gives a lengthy list of David’s mighty men, along with quite a résumé of their heroic accomplishments. The list of Saul’s mighty men is: .

I think David was secure in the fact that God called him to lead, while Saul was constantly second-guessing.

  • This made David generous, and Saul jealous.
  • David liberated his men, and Saul contained his men.
  • David encouraged, and Saul controlled.

In the end: David left a legacy, and Saul did not.

What kind of leader do you want to be?

UPDATE: Being secure to serve is one of the main points I tackle in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter. Check out this short clip—

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Who Are You Talking To?

December 14, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I love team leadership. I really enjoy getting a group of creative thinkers around me to do some serious brainstorming. I find it so beneficial to seek out the counsel of some wise people who have been around for a while.

But, let’s see, who have I left off this list?

Oh, yeah, I remember now—I didn’t consult God!

Be honest: have you ever done that? Have you ever consulted with a lot of wise—even God-fearing—people, but forgotten to consult with God Himself? If you have (and I certainly have), we’re in good company.

When King David got ready to move the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, the Bible says,

David conferred with each of his officers….

How’d that work out for him? Not so good.

  • Uzzah died
  • David got mad at God
  • David got scared of God
  • The ark’s arrival in Jerusalem was delayed another three months

Then David had his “Oh yeah!” moment. When he got ready to try again, David said,

We did not inquire of God about how to do it in the prescribed manner….

So here’s my simple reminder to myself (and to you too): It’s fine to consult with others, but consult with God first.

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What Do You Know About Leadership…

December 10, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

…and what are you doing with it?

I read an interesting verse about King David:

And 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.

“David knew” reminds me of a line from Jesus’ life: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power (John 13:3).

David and Jesus both knew that their positions of leadership were God-granted. And with that knowledge, they both wanted to further expand God’s Kingdom.

They didn’t keep the power for themselves; they didn’t lord it over others; they didn’t hoard the blessings; they didn’t use their leadership for personal gain; they used their God-granted authority to serve others.

They were confidently humble leaders.

If you are in a position of leadership, it’s not for you nor is it because of you. Leadership is from God, through you, to benefit others and to expand His Kingdom.

What do you know about leadership … and what are you doing with it?

UPDATE: This is one of the seed thoughts that went into my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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Manufactured Success

September 22, 2010 — 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.

Does success come from hard work, or does it have another origin? We can certainly manufacture success by doing some public relations, some spin, some creative promotion. And from the outside, it can look very successful. Someone may even do such a good job manufacturing their success that they begin to believe their own press releases.

But humanly manufactured success rarely lasts.

Consider the case of a man named Adonijah. He was the heir-apparent in Israel. As the oldest living son of the famed King David, Adonijah was the odds-on favorite to be the next king. And so Adonijah began to manufacture a successful transfer of power for himself. He invited all the right people and ignored those who he knew wouldn’t go along with his plan. He set up everything just the way a prince ascending the throne should have it. His followers joined him for a party and began to raise their glasses in a toast: Long live King Adonijah!

Except God—and King David—had other plans. Just as God directed, David had his son Solomon anointed king. When the few followers that were toasting Adonijah heard this, they all bailed on him and ran away. Even Adonijah recognized that something else can trump manufactured success. Here’s what he said:

“As you know,  the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD.” (1 Kings 2:15)

“Success has come to him from the Lord.” God’s success always trumps humanly manufactured success.

Manufactured success leads to pride (the kingdom was mine). And pride over-exaggerates our self-worth and obscures reality (all Israel looked to me as their king). God’s success comes to the humble who recognize His lordship and their place in His Kingdom. God’s success lasts.

Although Adonijah eventually recognized this, he didn’t learn from it. In the next scene, he is again trying to manufacture a way to ascend to the throne. And this time he not only loses his position but his life as well.

Here’s what Jesus says: For whoever exalts himself will be humbled [manufactured success], and whoever humbles himself will be exalted [God’s success].

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