More Spirit-Filled Leaders

November 1, 2013 — 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.

Moses was so right on the mark when he cried out, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me!” (Numbers 11:14)

It takes a confidently humble man to ask for help (Numbers 12:3). But God gives more grace to that humble person, while He stands aloof from those know-it-alls and those I-can-do-it-all-by-myselfs.

God anointed leaders to assist Moses. He took the same Spirit that was on Moses and imparted it to those 70 leaders. But—note this carefully—the Spirit on Moses was not at all diminished!

Moses’ responsibility was to pick the 70 “who are known to you as leaders” and then the Lord placed His Spirit on them. There were 70 who prophesied but Moses correctly desired “that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them” (Numbers 11:16-17, 25, 29).

Leadership is necessary, and it is meant to be shared. From the senior leader, this requires:

  1. Humility
  2. Responsibility
  3. Willingness

Oh Lord, raise up more Spirit-empowered leaders!

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No Casualties

May 27, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

The Israelites had just returned from a huge military victory over the Midianites and the military commanders brought this report to Moses:

Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.

When God is with the soldiers, they have zero causalities. Zero.

Throughout the Bible, the only time casualties are mentioned is: (1) when the battle is of their own undertaking, or (2) the people have sinned and God allows an enemy to attack them.

God’s battle

in God’s timing

with God’s help

= No casualties!

If you are in a battle that you started, or if you are in a battle because you walked away from God, your best defense is to run to God in repentance.

But if God brought you to this fight, don’t run. Stand firm. He will bring you the victory with no casualties.

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Necessary Or Additional?

May 25, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

In listing the sacrifices that the Israelites were to bring to the tabernacle, a repeated phrase kept jumping out at me:

…in addition to the regular burnt offering…

There was one daily offering that was necessary every day, then there were other offerings that were additional.

Here’s the principle:

The additional should never take the place of the necessary if the additional is crowding out the necessary.

There are some things that are necessary for me every day: my devotional time, my personal prayer life, time with my wife, time with my kids, and a few other necessaries.

There are some things that are additional for me: a church project, a community event, a committee or club. You get the idea.

There is nothing wrong with the additional UNLESS the additional is crowding out the necessary.

What is necessary for you? What are the additional things you have added?

Always remember: The additional should never take the place of the necessary. If your additional is crowding out your necessary, it’s time to make some changes.

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Imagine Attending 86 Funerals A Day

May 24, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Right after the Israelites came out of Egypt, God told Moses to count everyone (not coincidentally, this is recorded in the book of Numbers… get it?).

I’m sure you know the story well of the ten scouts who by their negative report turned everyone against Moses. They all believed that they couldn’t go into the Promised Land because of the big giants. So God said everyone in that generation (except Joshua and Caleb) would die before they entered the Promised Land.

Fast forward 38 years and God has Moses count the people again (can you guess where this is recorded in the Bible?). If you compare the two lists, you will see that 1.2 million Israelites had died.

Let that sink in: 1.2 million dead in 38 years.

That’s 31,579 funerals per year.

Or 86 funerals per day.

Talk about mixed emotions! With every funeral the younger Israelites attended, they were sad for their loss but they also knew they were one step closer to getting out of the desert and into the Promised Land.

Every day they heard about deaths—86 of them every day.

What did these deaths remind them of? Maybe these two thoughts:

  • Sin causes death.
  • I’m just as capable of sinning as they were.

Every death should have been a reminder to them to stay as close to God as possible.

Every day I hear about divorce. This should be my reminder to cherish my wife every day.

Every day I hear about a pastor’s moral failing. This should be my reminder to pursue holiness passionately every day.

Every day I hear about pornography addictions. This should be my reminder to take every precaution I can every day.

When the Israelites heard about 86 deaths every day, they had to do something positive with that.

When I hear about divorce and sin and addiction, I cannot just shake my head and say, ‘Tisk, tisk,” but I must do something positive with it.

I must use every “death” as a reminder to move closer to God.

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Is Today Your Last Day With Us?

May 20, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Okay, this seems a bit bizarre: God tells Moses, “Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them with you up to Mount Hor. I want you to transfer the office of high priest from Aaron to Eleazer. And then Aaron is going to die on the mountain.”

Seriously!

Anyone reading this post knows their birth date, but none of us knows his or her death date.

Aaron did.

What do you think he did with his last few hours?

  • Did he need to apologize to someone? Ask their forgiveness?
  • Did he need to make amends?
  • Pass along some vital information to Eleazer?
  • Say “I love you” to someone dear to him?
  • Give one last kiss? One last embrace?

James wrote, “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone” (James 4:14).

You and I don’t know what our death date will be, so our best bet is to live today like it’s our last day. What do you need to do with your last few hours?

  • Are you ready to meet God?
  • Do you need to ask Christ to forgive your sins?
  • Is there someone who needs your forgiveness?
  • Do you need to make something right somewhere?
  • Is there vital information you need to share?
  • Does someone need to hear “I love you”?
  • Who do you need to hug or kiss?

Don’t wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow may never arrive. Live today like it’s your last day. Because it may very well be your last day with us.

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Liberal Forgiveness

May 18, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I was reading about how Moses and God responded to the grumbling of the Israelites. After the twelve spies came back from sniffing around Canaan, only two of the spies said, “It’s all good. Let’s go!” The other ten said, “Yeah, it’s good, but there are too many giants for us to be successful.” These ten were able to persuade all of the Israelites to say to Moses, “We don’t want to go any further with you. Take us back to Egypt!”

God spoke out and said, “Stand aside, Moses. I’m going to destroy all of these ungrateful, rebellious people and begin again with you.”

But Moses stepped forward to intervene. He reminded God that He was slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.

And then comes this amazing response from God: “I have forgiven them, as you have asked.”

Did you catch that?

The depth of forgiveness was exactly as Moses had asked!

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that the consequences for sin are removed. God said, “I have forgiven them, nevertheless they are still not going to be able to enter the Promised Land.”

Being forgiven doesn’t mean going unpunished. There is a price to be paid. But forgiveness means the price is only paid here on earth, not over an eternity.

How liberally and deeply and completely do YOU want to be forgiven? Whatever that level is, ask God to just as liberally and deeply and completely forgive OTHERS. Hear Him say, “I have forgiven them, just as you have asked.”

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You See What You’re Looking For

May 14, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

It’s a pretty simple concept: you only see what you want to see. For example, if you are looking for your car keys, you won’t really see anything else that you are picking up or looking behind to find your keys. Your brain is locked in on keys, so that’s all you will see.

In a well-known Bible story, Moses sends twelve men into the Promised Land to check things out. He tells them to explore the land and bring back a report. The men went to several locations, and there is no mention of who or what they saw except…

  • …in the valley of Eschol, they found grapes of extraordinary size.
  • …in Hebron, they found people of extraordinary size.

They went in looking for big things, and that’s all they saw.

With the exception of Caleb and Joshua who said, “So what? Our God is bigger than those giants,” all the other men saw defeat. In the end, all the other men saw death in the desert; only Caleb and Joshua saw God’s victory in the Promised Land.

You see what you want to see—

What do you see?

What are you looking for?

Are you looking for giants? If so, you’ll find them. And they will seem even bigger in your eyes than they really are.

Are you looking for God’s victory? If so, you’ll find Him. And His deliverance will seem even more incredible than you could have imagined!

Prayer trains your eyes to see differently. Prayer trains your brain to look for victory. Prayer keeps you alert to what God is doing.

If all you see are giants, if all you hear is bad news, if all you feel is fear, perhaps you’re looking for giants and bad news and the fearful things.

Friend, God wants you to see Him on the move. Pray!

  • Prayer changes giants to dwarfs.
  • Prayer changes defeat to victory.
  • Prayer changes gloom to sunshine.
  • Prayer changes the way you see the world.
  • Prayer changes you.

“The prayer of the morning will determine the day.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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The Blessing

May 6, 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.

Just some personal musings on a well-known blessing.

The Lord bless you…

  • May you find nothing missing, nothing lacking.
  • May you be full and complete.
  • Then you will be better able to bless others.

…and keep you;

  • Safe and secure.
  • As a priceless heirloom.
  • As the apple of His eye.

…the Lord make His face to shine upon you,

  • So you are basking in His presence.
  • Reflecting His glory.
  • Distinguished from all others.

…and be gracious to you;

  • As He renews His mercies to you every morning.
  • Lavishing you with His blessings.
  • Not treating you as your sins deserve.

…the Lord turn His face toward you,

  • Knowing that you have His full notice.
  • Enjoying His full approval.
  • Living in His abundant favor.

…and give you peace 

  • All your anxieties banished.
  • Your confidence renewed.
  • Your direction assured.

When you say, “May God bless you” to someone, you are saying one of the most powerful, loving things that you could ever utter. There is nothing like God’s blessing: nothing compares to it, and nothing can detract from it.

May I encourage you to more regularly ask for God’s blessing to be on your life, and may you be lavish with your request for God’s blessings on others’ lives too.

GOD BLESS YOU!

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Mmmm, You Smell Good

April 16, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Smell is one of the most potent of our five senses. It is strongly tied to memory and emotion. Maybe that’s why a “smelly phrase” appears so often in God’s requirements for the sacrifices the Israelites would offer Him:

An offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord….

As a New Testament follower of Christ, instead of bulls or sheep or goats or birds, I have something more valuable to sacrifice to God: myself.

When I offer myself to God, it’s a powerful aroma that is pleasing to the Lord. Check this out:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ…. (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

Offer your entire self to God and you’ll smell really good to Him.

WARNING: In order for a sacrifice to release its full fragrance it has to go through the fire. It’s especially true in the tough times that you can release the best aroma of Christ. So don’t run away from the challenging times—stay in them and release your God-pleasing aroma.

You are the pleasing aroma, so go smell good today!

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Higher Standards For Greater Rewards

April 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Most people think of the Ten Commandments as God’s law given through Moses. Actually the Ten Commandments are just the beginning of the laws, practices, and regulations that God gives to His people. The rest of the book of Exodus, the entire book of Leviticus, and the first ten chapters of Numbers compromise the bulk of the law.

For those of you keeping track, that’s nearly 60 chapters of rules and regulations.

Why so many? I think the answer is found in the lead-up to the Ten Commandments:

Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

God wants people who are treasured. A people who are priests. A people who are holy. In short: He wants pacesetting leaders.

Priests have intimate access to God, and they are people who set an example for others to follow. In order to enjoy these special privileges, priests must be held to higher standards.

These are not standards just for those of Jewish ancestry, but for anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. Look what John recorded in the last book of the Bible:

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

…With Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.

Yes, the standards to be a priest—to be a holy leader—are higher. But the rewards are immeasurable!

Are you ready to bring greater glory to God? Do you want to be a pacesetting leader for the Kingdom of heaven? Then ask the Holy Spirit to sanctify you as you take on the discipline of greater responsibility. Live up to higher standards, and you won’t be disappointed by the rewards!

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