Spiritual Sword Play

September 14, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, consider these words from Charles Spurgeon—

“We pastors depend entirely upon the Spirit of God to produce actual effect from the gospel, and at this effect we must always aim. We do not stand up in our pulpits to display our skill in spiritual sword play, but we come to actual fighting: our object is to drive the sword of the Spirit through men’s hearts.”

In order to effectively drive the sword of the Spirit through men’s hearts we must be well-trained in spiritual warfare. That training takes place in the secret chamber alone with God. Eugene Peterson gives this warning to pastors—

“Three pastoral acts—praying, reading Scripture and giving spiritual direction—are so basic, so critical, that they determine the shape of everything else in ministry. Besides being basic, these three acts are quiet and done mostly out of the spotlight of public ministry. Because they do not call attention to themselves, they are so often neglected. …Because almost never does anyone notice whether we do these things or not, and only occasionally does someone ask if we do them, these real acts of ministry suffer widespread neglect.”

You cannot give to others what you do not possess yourself!

Pastor, get alone with God. Everyday. Sharpen your sword through private prayer and personal devotion. Everyday!

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Thursdays With Oswald—Melt My Prejudices

September 13, 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.

Melt My Prejudices

     Until the Holy Spirit comes in we see only along the line of our prejudices. When we let the Holy Spirit come in, He will blow away the lines of our prejudices with His dynamic power, and we can begin to “go” in God’s light. 

     A darkened heart is a terrible thing, because a darkened heart may make a man peaceful. A man says—“My heart is not bad, I am not convicted of sin; all this talk about being born again and filled with the Holy Spirit is so much absurdity.” The natural heart needs the Gospel of Jesus, but it does not want it, it will fight against it, and it takes the convicting Spirit of God to make men and women know they need to experience a radical work of grace in their hearts. …

     The only way to alter the hardened heart is to melt it, and the only power that can melt it is the fire of the Holy Ghost. 

From Biblical Psychology

It’s scary to think that my darkened heart can make me numb to the convicting of the Holy Spirit. All the more reason that I need to pray the prayers of the psalmist:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. (Psalm 51:10-11)

O, Holy Spirit, melt my prejudices! Keep my heart tender before You!

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Prayer Focus: Outreaches

September 7, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As this week marks the beginning of a “new year,” (as students are heading back to school and we’re all settling in to our fall routines), we are taking time to focus our prayers.

Today’s pray focus is for our fall outreaches.

“Sometimes I’m asked to list the most important steps in preparing for an evangelistic mission, and my reply is always the same: prayer . . . prayer . . . prayer.” —Billy Graham

How true this is! If we try to take on any kind of project in our own ingenuity or our own strength, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. The greatest example of prayer … prayer … prayer is Jesus. Throughout His public ministry, you will see prayer preceding all of the major ministry activities.

Not only that, but we see Jesus praying for us just prior to His crucifixion (see John 17) that we would spread the news about Him in God’s strength. And then just before His ascension, Jesus told His followers,

Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. …But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:4, 5, 8)

We have several local ministries in which we are involved throughout the year, and we have some special ministry opportunities we will be undertaking this fall. In addition, there are many, many missionaries which have counting on our prayer support.

Please pray for our involvement with:

Please pray for the missionaries that we know and love so much:

  • Kirk & Jayne Flanagan
  • David & Kristen Speer
  • Craig & Sharon Metzner
  • Ray & Deborah Miller
  • Bob & Rhonda Thomas
  • Dianne Eklund
  • Bob & Bette Sue MacIsaac
  • Joshua & Amber Payne
  • Matt & Carrie Love
  • Scott & Rachel Shank
  • Jon Fredrickson
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Pastor And People Interceding

September 7, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Prayer is the lifeblood of any church.

Look in the New Testament letters and notice how often the apostles wrote out their prayers for their congregations. Such loving, heartfelt prayers! And notice as well how many times the apostles thanked the churches for their prayers, and even requested more prayers from them.

Robert Murray McCheyne wrote to a friend who was just being ordained as a pastor—

“Give yourself to prayer and the ministry of the Word. If you do not pray, God will probably lay you aside from your ministry, as He did me, to teach you to pray. Remember Luther’s maxim, ‘To have prayed well is to have studied well.’ Get your texts from God, your thoughts, your words. Carry the names of the little flock upon your breast like the High Priest. Wrestle for the unconverted.”

And to the congregation which would be shepherded by this newly ordained pastor, McCheyne wrote—

“Pray for your pastor. Pray for his body, that he may be kept strong and spared for many years. Pray for his soul, that he may be kept humble and holy, a burning and shining light. Pray for his ministry, that it may be abundantly blessed, that he may be anointed to preach good tidings.”

Pastor, learn to pray for your congregation, and for your ministry to your flock. And then teach your congregation to pray for you. For the whole church will be strengthened when both pastor and people are interceding for each other.

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Prayer Focus: Families

September 6, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As this week marks the beginning of a “new year,” (as students are heading back to school and we’re all settling in to our fall routines), we are taking time to focus our prayers.

Today’s pray focus is for our families.

The Bible uses the picture of a family frequently to portray the type of relationship that fellow followers of God should have with each other. So if satan can escalate divorce rates, and cause friction between parents and children, and create tension between siblings, the family doesn’t look so appealing any longer. As a result, it’s hard for people to feel like the family of God is something that they would enjoy being a part of.

But I believe that prayer can combat—and reverse—the alarming trends of divorce, estrangement, abandonment, and tension!

Charles Spurgeon said,

Let us set apart special seasons for extraordinary prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world. 

Even modern-day sociologist Paul Amato found “that if divorce rates and other family disruptions today were as low as they were fifty years ago, we would have 70,000 fewer suicides, 500,000 fewer acts of teen delinquency, 600,000 fewer children receiving therapy, and 750,000 fewer children repeating a grade.” What a compelling reason for us to pray for our families!

Billy Graham noted: “When brothers and sisters in Christ unite in the common bond of the Word of God and prayer, they are strengthened in their faith and witness.”

The Bible tells us the dangers of a divided home (Proverbs 21:19; Matthew 12:25). On the other side, we see the Bible talk frequently about entire households coming to the Lord together (see John 4:53; Acts 11:13-14; Acts 16:14-15; Acts 18:8), and how much joy there is when everyone serves God together (Proverbs 23:24; Psalm 133:1; 3 John 4).

Please pray with us throughout the day for our families. And if you can join us tonight, the church will be open for prayer from 5:30-6:30pm.

UPDATE: You can download the PowerPoint of our prayer points for today by clicking here → Week of prayer – families

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Prayer Focus: Our Youth

September 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As this week marks the beginning of a “new year,” (as students are heading back to school and we’re all settling in to our fall routines), we are taking time to focus our prayers.

Today’s pray focus is on our youth.

Our future is not “somewhere around the corner”; it’s now! Our future is in the lives of the children in our homes and schools at this very moment. Because the enemy knows how important our kids are, satan is doing all he can to try to thwart their plans, discourage them about their prospects, and get them thinking that their lives are not very valuable.

An American College Health Association survey found:

  • 94% of students feel overwhelmed by their lifestyles.
  • 44% feel so depressed it was almost difficult to function.
  • 10% considered suicide in the past year.

As a result, many of our youth have begun to “check out” of life. This can be deadly for our future. Noted author and researcher Dr. Tim Elmore said of this generation, “In cultures where males stop setting a healthy example, there is trouble. Crime rates rise, the percentage of teen pregnancies and unwed mothers go up, the number of gangs increase, unemployment swells, and depression and delinquency rise.”

Yet Jesus made it clear that the way children received the Kingdom of God in faith is to be the pacesetting example for all of us (see Mark 10:15-16). With this in mind, the Apostle Paul challenged his young protege Timothy to be the example for all others to follow. His charge to Timothy is a part of our prayer focus today:

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. …Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. (1 Timothy 4:12, 15)

Please pray with us throughout the day for our youth. And if you can join us tonight, the church will be open for prayer from 5:30-6:30pm.

UPDATE: You can download the PowerPoint of our prayer points for today by clicking here → Week of prayer – students.

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Respecting Elected Officials

September 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

During our prayer time yesterday, I was contemplating the Apostle Peter’s instruction to, “Fear God, and respect the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

  • How do I respect the king (or the other elected officials in my city, state, and country)?
  • Does respect mean saying “yes” to every law that’s passed?
  • Can I be respectful and still disagree with those in elected office? How?

During our hour of prayer at the church last night, I was really wrestling with how I as a Christian should show respect to those in authority in our governments. Here are the nine things the Holy Spirit showed me.

I can show respect to those in authority by:

  1. Not forgetting that God placed them in their office (Daniel 4:25).
  2. Praying for them regularly (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
  3. Obeying all laws that aren’t immoral (Luke 20:25; Acts 5:29).
  4. Disobeying laws that are immoral (Esther 4:16; Acts 4:19).
  5. Holding them to biblical standards (Proverbs 8:15).
  6. Insisting they uphold the United States Constitution (Ecclesiastes 8:2).
  7. Reminding them that God’s wisdom is the ultimate standard (Proverbs 8:22-23).
  8. Requiring them to honor their promises, unless those promises conflict with God’s Word or the Constitution (Esther 1:13; 8:8).
  9. Speak to and about them without complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:14-15).

(Check out all of the above passages by clicking here.)

I’m working on living these out. What do you think?

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Prayer Focus: Elections

September 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As this week marks the beginning of a “new year,” (as students are heading back to school and we’re all settling in to our fall routines), we are taking time to focus our prayers.

Today’s pray focus is on our governmental elections. 

Election day in the United States is just two months away. As Christians we have a responsibility to pray for those who are in authority over us. We have a responsibility to know where political candidates stand on the issues. And we have a responsibility to vote. We can also pray that God will raise up leaders who call on His help and honor His Word in their decisions.

I love praying Scriptures. Here is an important passage related to today’s prayer focus—

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. (1 Peters 2:13-17)

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Mark Driscoll has an excellent post called Pray For Our Leaders. He says,

We should be informed citizens who take our privilege of voting seriously. Our involvement with the political process is what makes the form of government in the United States work. But God has something much more in mind for us when it comes to our political involvement.

When it comes to politics, there is one thing in particular that pleases God. What pleases God is that we pray for our leaders, regardless of who they are and what political party they represent.

I encourage you to read the rest of Pastor Mark’s post by clicking here.

UPDATE: Here are the things we prayed for today…

Week of prayer – government

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Myopia

September 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Myopia is also known as nearsightedness. It occurs when light entering the eye is focused incorrectly, making distant objects appear blurred. Nearsightedness is a type of refractive error of the eye. If you are nearsighted, you have trouble seeing things that are far away.

Myopia is a problem physically and spiritually.

Consider the Apostle Paul. He was in prison, and yet he wrote:

Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly. (Philippians 1:14)

The definition of nearsightedness says that an incorrect refracting of the light makes far object blurry, so we tend to focus only on what’s near to us.

How many of us would have blamed Paul if from his prison cell he cried out, “Why me, O God? What have I done wrong? Please get me out of here!”

This would have been a very myopic view, where Paul was only concerned about what was close; namely, himself and his needs! But Paul allowed the light of God to be properly refracted in his spiritual sight, and he could see the big picture.

As a result of his imprisonment, many other brothers were now encouraged to speak out more boldly than before. 

If you’re going through some trying times, don’t give in to myopia. Lift up your spiritual eyes to your loving Heavenly Father. He can shine the light of His Holy Spirit in a way that just may help you to see what He is accomplishing. Through this you will be encouraged AND be an encouragements to others.

As Billy Graham noted, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

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Prayer Before Words, Prayer After Words

August 31, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, as you are putting the finishing touches on your message for Sunday, even as you are getting ready to begin the service, consider this counsel from Augustine of Hippo—

“He should be in no doubt that any ability he has and however much he has derives more from his devotion to prayer than his dedication to oratory; and so, by praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he must become a man of prayer before becoming a man of words. As the hour of his address approaches, before he opens his thrusting lips he should lift his thirsting soul to God so that he may utter what he has drunk in and pour out what has filled him.”

Pray for yourself—that you would be a living example of what you preach.

Pray for your vocabulary—that the Holy Spirit would direct your words.

Pray for your ego—that you would not be puffed up nor brought down by the people’s response.

Pray for your congregation—that they would receive and apply the Word of God.

Pray for your community—that they would desire the life of Christ that is evident in you and your congregation.

And on Monday morning perhaps you will pray this prayer of commitment from Augustine—

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. 

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. 

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. 

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. 

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. 

Amen.

I’m praying for you this weekend!

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