Faith To Forgive

February 12, 2024 — 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. 

I shared this in my forthcoming book When Sheep Bite—

In January 1647, Oliver Cromwell captured King Charles I during the British Revolution. Within just a few months, Charles escaped and was able to raise another army. A year later, in August 1648, Cromwell’s forces once again defeated the army Charles had raised, and once again Charles was taken prisoner. 

Oliver Cromwell put Charles on trial for his crimes, and after the guilty verdict was pronounced, Charles I was executed. A total of 59 people signed the former king’s death warrant. 

Fast forward eleven years and Oliver Cromwell had died and his son Richard had taken his place as Lord Protector of England. Unlike his father, there was great discontent with Richard’s leadership. As a result, the Loyalists were able to sweep Charles II into power. 

After assuming the throne of England, Charles II wanted the 59 death warrant signers put on trial, but fifteen of them had already died. That little fact didn’t stop King Charles II. He ordered that their bodies be exhumed, placed on trial, convicted of their crimes, and then hung. 

I’m no psychologist, but I think it’s safe to say that Charles II might have had a slight problem with unforgiveness!  

This is from a chapter I entitled “The ties that no longer bind.” The insidious nature of unforgiveness is that it ties us to the one who injured or offended us. 

Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). The word He uses for “debts” means something justly or legally due, or an offense or sin that has been committed. So a debtor is one who morally or legally owes another for the wrong committed. 

So for these debts, we are taught to ask for forgiveness of God and to give that same forgiveness to others. Jesus uses the same root word for both “forgive” and “forgiven,” but there are nuances that make the picture quite clear. 

  • When we ask God to forgive our debts, it is the active voice (I have to ask for it) and it is stated in the second person (I have to receive it). When I ask my Heavenly Father for this, my offense has been paid-in-full because the legal and moral requirements aren’t due any longer. I couldn’t pay this debt on my own, but Jesus paid it for me (2 Corinthians 5:21).  
  • When I forgive someone who has wronged me, it is again the active voice (I have to give it), but it is now in the first person (I don’t wait around for the other person to ask for forgiveness). I let it go. I don’t hinder the other person or myself with waiting for the penalty to be paid any longer. 

This is the only part of this model prayer for which Jesus gives a commentary afterwards (in Matthew 6:14-15). With this, Jesus is teaching us that to say, “I’m forgiven” is also to say, “I’m forgiving.” 

Unlike Charles II, when we are forgiven and forgiving, the inevitable result is freedom for both ourselves and our offenders. 

If we practice this relentlessly, we are both freed ourselves and freeing others! 

When we ask God to forgive us, He forgives us immediately and completely (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18). We are to forgive our debtors just as quickly. 

When we pray, “Forgive as we also have forgiven,” we are both acknowledging His power to forgive us and requesting the faith need to be forgiving people. As C.S. Lewis noted, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” 

The Bible describes satan’s activity as stealing, killing, and destroying. He’s called the father of lies, so he uses slander to try to steal, kill, and destroy. His slander is: “God can’t forgive that” and “You shouldn’t let them off the hook for what they did to you.” 

These two thoughts are linked, just as “I’m forgiven” and “I’m forgiving” are linked. If I begin to  think that what someone did to me was too big for me to forgive, then I can also believe that there is a sin I have committed that is too big for God to forgive. But when I live both receiving and giving forgiveness, I can tune out this lie from hell. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series called Kingdom Praying, you can find all of them here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments »

The Path Ahead Of Me

February 6, 2024 — 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. 

I think it’s safe to say that most of us would feel much more secure if we knew exactly where life was taking us. That way, perhaps we could be ready for what lies ahead. It would certainly help to decrease our anxiety if we knew we were ready for what was coming next. 

In Luke 19, Jesus is on the path toward Jerusalem and Calvary. And in just a 5-verse section, the word “ahead” is used three times.

First, we read that Jesus “went on ahead” toward Jerusalem (v. 28). He knew exactly what was awaiting Him there; in fact, He had told His disciples numerous times the precise details of what was ahead. Even though His experience was going to be excruciating, for the joy that was even further ahead (see Hebrews 12:2), Jesus persevered. 

Next we read that Jesus sent two of His disciples “to the village ahead of you” to retrieve the donkey colt that was awaiting Him (v. 30). What is unspoken here is that Jesus had obviously spoken to the colt’s owners ahead of time about what He would require.

Finally, we read that those two disciples “who were sent ahead” found everything just as Jesus had said it would be (v. 32). 

I find this to be so comforting! What all of this means is:

I never walk an unknown path! 

  1. Jesus has already walked this path, and is fully aware of all that is ahead of me. 
  2. Jesus has prepared me ahead of time to walk this path. He doesn’t prepare the path for me, but He prepares me for the path. 
  3. Jesus has already spoken to others ahead of time to help resource me along this path. 

Phillip Keller pointed out, “Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. … No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detail direction, than do sheep.” So Keller explains how good shepherds visit paths and pasturing areas ahead of time to make sure they know how to lead their sheep. 

David gives us these reassuring words about our Good Shepherd: “He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). 

Let me say it again: You and I never walk an unknown path. But as we obediently and confidently walk ahead with our Good Shepherd, every single step is doing God’s will on earth as it has already been done in Heaven! 

With those thoughts in mind, may you walk confidently today, my friend! 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

The Danger In Plenty

February 5, 2024 — 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. 

Jesus is teaching us to pray as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, and each phrase of this prayer is a reminder of how we interact with the King of Heaven—Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  

We all have a desire to feel secure—to feel our needs are going to be met. In fact, our anxiety level is usually tied directly to how insecure we may feel. The problem for many of us, however, is that we have mistaken wants for needs, and when those aren’t met as we think they should be, we again experience increasing levels of anxiety. 

We see this on full display in Luke 12. First, Jesus addresses a man who is greedily desiring his share of his father’s inheritance. Jesus says, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 

To illustrate this point, Jesus tells a parable of a rich landowner who harvested more crops than he knew what to do with—a harvest which he calls “plenty.” His solution was to build bigger barns for his abundant harvest, to which God announced, “You fool” (Luke 12:13-21). 

This man was not called a fool because he was successful. He was not called a fool because he had plenty. Rather, he was called a fool because his “plenty” caused him to forget his heavenly Father.   

This is an invaluable lesson. Sadly, we tend to be a very forgetful people! 

After God delivered His people from their bondage in Egypt, and they almost immediately start worrying and then complaining about whether their needs will be supplied. God tells them that He will supply every day exactly what they need (Exodus 16:1-35). 

This provision of manna every single morning when they got up was intended to keep them reliant on God and thankful for His provision. But after a while they thought they deserved more—they wanted plenty (Numbers 11:4-6). Later on, Asaph would pinpoints the main culprit of the Israelites’ stumbled throughout their history: forgetfulness (Psalm 78:11, 22-25). 

Jesus taught us to come to God in prayer as Our Father. Just as Jesus was daily dependent on His Father, so He teaches us to have that same level of daily abiding. 

Jesus reminds us what the daily supply of manna really signified; namely, that He would be our Bread from Heaven for all of eternity (John 6:28-40)! 

So that’s why we pray, “Give us today our daily bread.” Once again, this is an acknowledgement that no one else can provide for us, and it is a request that we would stay daily dependent on Him. It’s not, “Give us today our weekly bread.” Or, “Give us today our daily wants.” Or even, “Give us today plenty of things.” 

We need our Father for daily bread so that we never, ever forget or vital, indispensable connection to Him!  

Even when we don’t have plenty, we are told not to worry but instead to look to our Heavenly Father for His daily supply (Luke 12:22; Philippians 4:6-7).

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in this series on prayer, you can check them all out here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like some exclusive quotes from a book I just reviewed. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments »

Becoming Childlike

January 29, 2024 — 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. 

I hope you’ve noticed so far that the parts of Christ’s model prayer that we’ve looked at so far are both an acknowledgement of the holiness of God and the greatness of His Kingdom, and also a request for us to be empowered to live in a way that makes those things known to Earthlings. 

One of the ways we live to make these things seen is found in the next phrase: Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). 

In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens shows us a scene where the Ghost of Christmas Present has taken Scrooge to his nephew’s home. After dinner, these young adults begin playing games. Dickens says, “For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” 

Jesus loved children! Being around “the littles” lately at on our school campus, I have a whole new appreciation for this. Because Jesus loved children, their parents wanted them around Him, and He wanted them around too (see Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:14-16; Luke 18:15-17).

Children are loud, busy, adventurous, and easily distracted. But they are also loving, trusting, curious, innocent, and easily comforted. And Jesus loved to bless them!   

What does this have to do with “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”? Jesus taught us to address our praying to “Our Father.” That means we are to interact with Him as His children.  

Jesus wants us to be childlike not childish. 

  • trusting not posturing—Matthew 6:7-8 
  • honest not hypocritical—Luke 18:9-14 
  • persistent not whining—Luke 11:9-13 
  • humbly dependent not scheming—Matthew 18:1-4 

[Check out these passages here] 

Children love to do the will of their parents. They’re not trying to earn their approval, but joyfully obeying out of innocence. When we obey God as loving children, we are doing His will on earth as it is done in Heaven! 

So once again, this is both an acknowledgement and a request. 

In Psalm 131, David uses this same picture of a contented child for us. 

Childlike is lovingly dependent. Childish is selfishly independent. Childlike is trusting someone wiser. Childish is believing I know best. 

Our prayer request should always be, “Father, may I trust You and obey You as an innocent child.” 

This is part 4 of our series on prayer called Kingdom Praying. You can check out all of the other messages in this series here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like some exclusive quotes from a book I just reviewed. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 7 Comments »

5 Quotes From “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”

January 26, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

After I wrote the best-selling book Shepherd Leadership, I started naturally gravitating toward anything shepherd related. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 was the perfect fit for me! But I think anyone will enjoy these beautiful insights on Psalm 23. Check out my full book review here. 

Here are some quotes that especially caught my eye—

“Sheep do not ‘just take care of themselves’ as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care. … From early dawn until late at night this utterly selfless Shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. … Above all, He is very jealous of His name and high reputation as the Good Shepherd. He is the Owner who delights in His flock. For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very ‘life.’ He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His. He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter feed, and clean water. He will spare Himself no pains to provide shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible.” 

“A flock that is restless, discontented, always agitated and disturbed never does well. … When one startled sheep runs in fright, a dozen others will bolt with it in blind fear, not waiting to see what frightened them.” 

“In the course of time I came to realize that nothing so quieted and reassured the sheep as to see me in the field. The presence of their master and owner and protector put them at ease as nothing else could do, and this applied day and night. … When my eyes are on my Master they are not on those around me. This is the place of peace.”

“Only those intimately acquainted with sheep and their habits understand the significance of a ‘cast’ sheep or a ‘cast down’ sheep. This is an old English shepherd’s term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself.” 

“Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. … No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detail direction, than do sheep.”

My Patreon supporters had early access to these quotes, plus I have shared many more quotes from this book with these friends.

My newest book When Sheep Bite is releasing soon. You can pre-order a copy for yourself here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 (book review)

January 17, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

When I wrote my first book, my publisher asked me to write on “servant leadership,” but the more I dove into the topic, the more I kept coming back to Jesus as the ultimate example. But then I noticed that Jesus not only called Himself a shepherd, but many of the Old Testament prophecies foretelling His arrival also used shepherding terms. It was then that I pivoted to entitle my book Shepherd Leadership. 

Ever since I immersed myself in the research for that book, I’ve been especially attentive to all things related to shepherding. In going through books from my Mom’s library, I stumbled upon A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller. 

Oh my! I wish I would have discovered this amazing little book while I was writing my book! What a depth of insight I have gleaned from someone who looks after actual sheep! 

As the title denotes, Keller uses the well-known Psalm 23 to give us so many eye-opening insights into our Good Shepherd. He goes phrase by phrase—“the Lord is my Shepherd,” “I shall not want,” “He makes me lie down in green pastures,” and so on—with each phrase adding a new level of intimacy with this One who cares for us so profoundly.

Just as Jesus used so many parables to show new facets of the Kingdom of God, Keller uses insights and stories from his own shepherding experience to reveal new facets of our Shepherd’s care for each of His precious sheep. I loved these insights! 

And as an added bonus for me, it was so sweet to see the highlights and notations my Mom had made as she read this book. This made A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 a double blessing for me.

(P.S. Check out some quotes I’ve shared from this book here.)

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this exceptional Bible study tool to help with Creation apologetics. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Walking Intimately

January 17, 2024 — 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. 

There’s an interesting verb used with both Enoch and Noah that denotes intimate fellowship—the word is “walked.”

Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. (Genesis 5:24) 

These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)

David uses this same verb when he prays, “Vindicate me, Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test; refine my mind and my heart. For Your goodness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth” (Psalm 26:1-3). 

And Solomon uses the same verb to say that anyone who walks in righteous integrity leaves a legacy of righteousness for his family: “A righteous person who walks in his integrity—how blessed are his sons after him” (Proverbs 20:7). 

There is something important that is implied in this walking. God tells us what it is in this question: How can two walk together unless they agree to do so? (Amos 3:3). 

But make no mistake, God doesn’t agree with whatever path I choose to walk, but I must agree to walk God’s path. 

I must agree that God’s path is best, despite what everyone else is doing—“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Yet Noah didn’t walk with the wicked, but he was commended because he walked with God. 

In the New Testament, Enoch and Noah are listed as back-to-back examples of faith (Hebrews 11:5, 7). The verse that connects these two men speaks of the faith-filled integrity that kept them walking with God—

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) 

That word “seek” means to diligently crave. Enoch and Noah and David show us examples of men who diligently craved walking with God above all else. Their faithful, diligent walking made them stand out from all those around them. 

What about us? Hebrews 11:6 says we can follow their example. We can choose to walk with God by faith. We can diligently crave Him above all else. When we walk righteously with God, He “rewards those” who do—for ever and ever! 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this exceptional Bible study tool to help with Creation apologetics. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments »

Your Irreplaceable Genealogy

January 16, 2024 — 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. 

Have you ever felt like a nameless face in the crowd? Let me tell you what you should do with those thoughts.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

Some resources from this episode:

Here are a bunch of ways to get in touch with me and follow along with other projects on which I am involved

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like a first look at the cover of my brand new book. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Praying To Hallow God’s Name

January 15, 2024 — 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. 

We said our protocol in approaching Almighty God in prayer is found in just two words: Our Father. 

Notice the transition: your Father (3x in Matthew 6:6, 8) to Our Father (6:9). How does this happen? Jesus makes it possible and the Holy Spirit continually reminds us of Christ’s completed work (Hebrews 2:11; John 14:13-14; Romans 8:15-16). 

It’s not just “our Father” but “our Father in Heaven.” Let’s remember that our Father is both All-loving and All-powerful. The phrase in Heaven reminds us of His absolute sovereignty. “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him” (Psalm 115:3). What pleases Him? To give us His kingdom (Luke 12:32). 

Then there’s another phrase that is vital: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. 

Hallowed means both to acknowledge His greatness and to keep Him separate from any profane things. What is profane? The dictionary says it is irreverence or contempt for God. The opposite of profane is holiness—something set apart exclusively for God. This is not something better than something else, but something exclusively that will bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

The root word for hallowed is “holy.” We see this literally translated in the name Holy Spirit. It is a word also referring to Jesus when He is called “the Holy One of God” (see Mark 1:24). The angel uses the word twice when he says, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). 

And that same word translated hallowed and holy is also translated saints. Literally that means “holy ones” or set apart people. 

Jesus is teaching us that our prayer is BOTH an acknowledgment of how God’s name is to be hallowed AND a request that He would empower us to pray and live in ways that makes that happen. 

This means our attitude needs to be focused on God’s reputation not my reputation (as in Matthew 6:5, 7:21-23). 

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name” is both an attitude of prayer and a lifestyle. 

We hallow God’s name when our prayer and daily lifestyle bring Him the supreme glory that is due exclusively to His awesome name! When we keep our eyes and hearts on Him, He will provide everything else we need (see Matthew 6:32-33). 

To follow along with all of the message in this prayer series called Kingdom Praying, please click here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this exceptional Bible study tool to help with Creation apologetics. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Links & Quotes

January 13, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

We have added a lot of “stuff” to our prayer language, almost like God wouldn’t know that we were praying to Him unless we used these special words! Jesus made it simple by giving us two words: “Our Father.” I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Immersing ourselves in the Psalms and turning them into prayers teaches our hearts the ‘grammar’ of prayer and gives us the most formative instruction in how to pray in accord with God’s character and will.” —Tim Keller, in Prayer 

New sequencing of the Y chromosomes are creating problems for evolutions. When looking at the genetic code for the larger primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan), not only are they found to be not nearly as close to human DNA as previously claimed, but even these primates are not as related as was thought. This is just more scientific evidence pointing to an All-wise Creator.

“We best take care of others when we are judicious about self-care. We only pour our lives out for others well over time if we have taken care of our own bodies and souls well in time. … Folly neglects soul care and leaves us empty, powerless to effectively serve others. We only have resources to constantly give out if we have been diligent to constantly receive in.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied

Issac is an amazing foreshadowing of Jesus. Consider these aspects:

  • the wood for the sacrifice is on his back 
  • the father placed the wood on his son’s back 
  • the son was to be the lamb offered in sacrifice as God commanded

John Stonestreet and Dr. Glenn Sunshine write, “Constantine has been a controversial figure throughout Church history. Both the genuineness of his conversion and his impact on the Church have been consistently questioned and scrutinized. Many think that Constantine’s actions to tie the Church to the empire compromised the Gospel. Often, these arguments are based on a misunderstanding of what Constantine did and fail to consider what followed from the legalization of Christianity.” Check out more of the history and the impact of Emperor Constantine.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »