“The God who is our salvation” is on each side of this sacred pause. What can we consider from this?
God is my salvation
God is for me
God is my daily provision
God is my light and my life
God is my escape from death
God is worthy of all my worship
Let’s take time to slow down and truly savor the inspired thoughts when the Holy Spirit moved the biblical author to pause. There are powerful, encouraging, life-changing truths just waiting to burst into our heart and mind!
Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer. … But know that the Lord has set apart the godly person for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:1, 3)
I can’t come into God’s presence in my own strength. But when I am clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, the distress of my sin is relieved and I am joyfully welcomed into the awesome presence of my Heavenly Father! He longs to hear my voice, and He loves to be gracious to me!
Every historical mention of Obed-Edom shows him serving God: as the guardian of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as a gatekeeper, and as a worship leader. Here in this genealogy we learn that he faithfully served his family in a God-honoring way as well.
“God had indeed blessed him” so that his future generations were also known as valiant men of service before the Lord.
Obed-Edom demonstrates something I unpack in my book Shepherd Leadership. I wrote—
Humility is often misunderstood as allowing others to advance, and in so doing, I am completely overlooked. Others get the accolades and I get nothing. As a result, humility has gotten a bad reputation. People begin to think of a humble person as someone who never speaks up for himself, someone who can be taken advantage of, someone who becomes a doormat for everyone else. But the picture of a humble person in the Bible couldn’t be more different!
We all have to bow to someone or something. The humble shepherd leader has chosen to bow to God and to follow God’s righteous standards. One name for God is Jehovah Tsidkenu, which means God is righteous (see Psalm 119:137). The Hebrew letter tsadhe is a part of God’s righteous title, and it’s how we are called to live. Tsadhe means the humble, faithful servant. …
When you zoom in on the Hebrew letter tsadhe, you will see that the faithful, humble, kneeling servant is depicted with a crown. Far from being pushed down, left behind, or left unrewarded, the humble person is the one God delights to exalt!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
David was hiding from Saul in a cave when Saul walked into the same cave, totally oblivious to the danger that awaited him! David’s men tried to spur him to action by whispering, “Isn’t this what God said, that He would hand your enemy over to you?” (see 1 Samuel 24).
David momentarily listened to his men and then acted on their words. He crept forward to cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. But then the Holy Spirit pricked his conscience.
Why?
Because God never said those words!
From what David has learned, he now speaks this same lesson to Saul. He in essence asks Saul, “Are you listening to men or to God?” (vv. 9-11).
David learned that without God as his Guide, he could easily be persuaded to act in a way that seemed right to men but was wrong before God.
It’s still true for all of us today: Men may give you logical-sounding counsel, but you must always make sure that advice aligns with God’s omniscient wisdom. That means you need to be reading, studying, meditating on, and thinking about God’s Word.
✔️ Keep God always before you
✔️ Know His voice intimately
✔️ Compare every word of man with God’s infallible Word
🙏🏻 “Hear my prayer for help, O God, for I look to You alone as my Helper and the Sustainer of my soul. You will deal with my enemies as You know best, and You will deliver me from my troubles” (see David’s prayer in Psalm 54).
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Just as assuredly as Jesus fulfilled God’s promise of His crucifixion and resurrection, we Christians are fulfilling God’s promise that we would take the message of forgiveness of sins to the whole world (Luke 24:45-48). We are taking Him to every street where God sends us. There is a song written by Michael McDonald called “Takin’ it to the streets.” One verse says—
Take this message to my brother
You will find him everywhere
Wherever people live together
Tied in poverty’s despair
We know what the “it” is. He is a Savior, a God, a Redeemer, a Father who has made it possible for everyone everywhere to be in a personal relationship with Him for all of eternity!
When anyone talks about taking the Good News of Jesus to people, our minds typically think “missionary.”
What is a missionary? What comes to mind when you think of a missionary?
Quite simply, a missionary is a person sent on a mission (see Luke 24:47; Matthew 28:19-20).
We are not sent on our mission unprepared, but Jesus promised us both His authority and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). In both Luke and Acts, Jesus says that our witness is to begin in Jerusalem.
I recently looked up a list of the most common street names in America. I found that the most common street name is “Main Street.” But Main Street is also used as a way for people to describe the average setting in the USA.
Going to “Jerusalem” or “Main Street” first is foretold in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 3:4-5). We’re not first sent to people with an unknown language or obscure customs, but to people we know and understand. These are people to whom we can easily find common interests.
There are two simple steps when we take Jesus to our Main Street.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you today and every day.
You cannot give to others what you do not first have yourself, so you need to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you first. Pray before reading the Bible to ask the Spirit to give you insight (Psalm 119:18).
Find a friend and tell them what was revealed to you.
After Jesus was revealed to Andrew, he found Peter and told him what he had discovered. And after Philip met Jesus, he found Nathanael and brought him to Jesus (John 1:35-46).
Every person with whom you interact today is precious to God. Our mission is to help them realize that awesome truth.
So get filled up with the wisdom from the Spirit and then find a friend on Main Street and bring them to Jesus!
Follow along with all of the messages in this series Takin’ Him To The Streets by clicking here.
I cry out with my voice to the Lord; with my voice I implore the Lord for compassion. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him. (Psalm 142:2)
David knew the release and healing that would come after he poured out his complaint in God’s presence. The injuries others have done to us afflict our thoughts and emotions, and we need a safe place to get that poison out of our mind and heart.
God’s presence is that safe place, that healing place.
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 over the years that some people get quite nervous—even fearful—with the thought of God coming close to then. Some people have told me, “I can’t go to church—the roof will fall in on me!”
If I’m honest, I had a time in my life when I feared God’s approach. I didn’t want to pray, “God, use me however You want to” because I just knew He was going to send me somewhere I didn’t want to go, or ask me to give up something that was special to me.
But from the the birth of Jesus until His ascension, the consistent message is: Fear not! and Rejoice!
Matthew 21:4 says that Christ’s arrival on a donkey was “to fulfill” another one of the jots and tittles. And John adds, “Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt’” (John 12:14-15).
Typically, conquerors came with a show of overwhelming force, not a show of humility. But Jesus came to Jerusalem with the same message repeated at His birth, “Fear not.”
This is elaborated on in the original prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9-14, where the opening word is, “Rejoice!” We rejoice because He is coming to take away the instruments of war that the occupying forces used to keep the citizens in bondage. He is coming to bring freedom He is coming to announce hope and restoration.
With all of these jot-and-tittle prophecies, we have been asking three questions.
(1) What did it mean then? Quite simply, on that first Palm Sunday it meant that this was not the time for judgment.
(2) What does it mean now? Since the final judgment has not taken place, it must mean it still is not a time of judgment, but a time of favor. God is still drawing people to Himself by His kindness (Romans 2:4).
Zechariah 9:14 makes it clear that there will be a day of judgment. And Peter says that God’s not being slow about this, but He is demonstrating His patience so that none will have to perish without Him (2 Peter 3:9-10).
(3) What does it mean for me? It means that I don’t have to fear the approach of God.
First, there is no fear when God calls me to stand before Him because my sins have been forgiven (Romans 8:1).
Second, there is no fear when God asks me to give something to Him because God has equipped me ahead of time to respond obediently. When Jesus sent His disciples ahead of Him to bring back the donkey that He would ride into Jerusalem, Jesus must have already informed the donkey’s owners that this would be coming. The disciples were simply to say, “The Master needs the donkey now.”
God has already prepared me to say, “Yes” to whatever He calls me to do (Psalm 139:16).
Finally, there is no fear when God asks me to give something to Him because I’m only giving back to Him what is already His. You and I are just stewards of what God has given us. When the disciples talked to the steward of the donkey, they assured him, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly” (Mark 3:11). And the prophecy in Zechariah, God says, “Now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you” (Zechariah 9:12). Maybe not here on earth, but the rewards in Heaven will be incalculable for His faithful servants!
Those who know Jesus as their Master can live as fearless stewards.
We don’t fear the requests of our King, but we rejoice to allow Him access. We don’t fear the approach of our Judge, but we rejoice to stand before Him forgiven and rejoicing!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I was reading the results of a survey which said one of the top traits for exemplary leaders was: They keep their word.
But don’t we really mean, “They keep their word most of the time”? After all, we do allow those who have a track record of integrity an “out” for unusual or unexpected circumstances. And we would still say that leader had honesty and integrity.
God always keeps His word. He never needs an “out” because nothing is ever unexpected for Him! He is always the Promise Maker and the Promise Fulfiller (Isaiah 42:9, 46:10, 55:10-11; Jeremiah 1:12).
I like the way Jesus sums up these statement from His Father: For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18 NKJV).
Ajot is the smallest Hebrew letter (yodh). In Greek the word is iota. This tells us that God is concerned about the smallest of details.
A tittle is the precise difference between Hebrew letters like cheth and he, between daleth and resh, and between beth and kaph.
All of these are fulfilled—brought to their perfect completion (Luke 1:37, 22:37)!
When we see any of God’s promises made and kept, we need to ask ourselves three questions:
What did it mean then?
What does it mean now?
What does it mean for me today?
For example, look at the promise that was made about people living in a very dark place seeing the Light of God. The prophecy is first made in Isaiah 8:19-9:7 that the people of Zebulun and Naphtali would get to see and experience the light of the Messiah.
Matthew 4:11-17 tells us that after Jesus endured the temptation of the devil for 40 days, He went to Capernaum—the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. But before He arrived there, He was first rejected by the folks in His hometown of Nazareth (see Luke 4:14-31).
Our God who knows the end from the beginning never makes a mistake; nothing is ever random or inconsequential. We should develop the habit of praying, “Now that this is happened, what would You have me do?” As Jesus was rejected by the people who should have been so excited to see His ministry flourish, He wasn’t dismayed or discouraged, but He directed His steps toward Capernaum.
In my heart, I may plan a course for my life, but I must trust God to direct my steps. My life has a purpose. Just as the Holy Spirit directed the movements of Jesus, He is directing my steps.
Even when God seems to have directed my steps into a dark place, He has sent me there as His light. I am sent on purpose. I walk a path Jesus has already walked, and a path that He is still walking with me—He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Psalm 23:3-4).
I don’t walk into the darkness in my own strength or as a way to fulfill my own plans but instead I trust that “the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7)!
Because Jesus is fulfilling every jot and every tittle, I can live confidently in Him!
If you would like to follow along with all of the messages in this series called Jots and Tittles, you can find them all here.
We’ve added things that we think should be in our prayer vocabulary. But kingdom praying should be as natural as talking to the most loving Father you can imagine! Check out more thoughts in my series of posts called Kingdom Praying. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” —Michael Jordan
In the post-Flood rock layers, fossils are often found of animals that were much larger than are currently observed. This has been called giantism. “Evolutionists claim that adaption occurs as random mutations make some organisms better fitted for their environment, and the less-fit organisms then die off. … This supposed, random, trial-and-error process requires long periods of time waiting for the ‘right’ random mutation to occur. In contrast, ICR gives credit to Jesus. He designed organisms with built-in sensors that enable them to detect changes in their environment. Internal genetic programming then allows these organisms to rapidly adapt to these changes in predictable ways. Such adaptation is often too rapid for natural selection to be the correct explanation. This design-based paradigm of adaptation is called continuous environmental tracking (CET).” This is an excellent article.
“If the stone falls on the pot, alas, for the pot; if the pot falls on the stone, alas for the pot.” —Jewish proverb, based on Psalm 118:22 and Luke 20:17-18
…ears consecrated to hear God’s voice and the voice of the people
…hands dedicated to ministering in love and obedience
…feet that only walk in God-directed paths
Godly leaders don’t minister to please people, but to lead people to God. So godly leaders are ever aware that in all they do, they must hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Selah means to pause and carefully consider. 
Craig T. Owens 
Links & Quotes
February 24, 2024 — Craig T. OwensWe’ve added things that we think should be in our prayer vocabulary. But kingdom praying should be as natural as talking to the most loving Father you can imagine! Check out more thoughts in my series of posts called Kingdom Praying. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” —Michael Jordan
In the post-Flood rock layers, fossils are often found of animals that were much larger than are currently observed. This has been called giantism. “Evolutionists claim that adaption occurs as random mutations make some organisms better fitted for their environment, and the less-fit organisms then die off. … This supposed, random, trial-and-error process requires long periods of time waiting for the ‘right’ random mutation to occur. In contrast, ICR gives credit to Jesus. He designed organisms with built-in sensors that enable them to detect changes in their environment. Internal genetic programming then allows these organisms to rapidly adapt to these changes in predictable ways. Such adaptation is often too rapid for natural selection to be the correct explanation. This design-based paradigm of adaptation is called continuous environmental tracking (CET).” This is an excellent article.
“If the stone falls on the pot, alas, for the pot; if the pot falls on the stone, alas for the pot.” —Jewish proverb, based on Psalm 118:22 and Luke 20:17-18
Godly leaders don’t minister to please people, but to lead people to God. So godly leaders are ever aware that in all they do, they must hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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