Trading Rights For Responsibilities

June 28, 2022 — 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. 

“When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.” —Gerald Brooks 

Sadly, I encounter far too many “leaders” (at least they are leaders in title only) who think being a leader means they have more rights. It might be the right to a better parking place, or to be first in line, or to ignore some of the rules that others have to follow. 

That certainly wasn’t the attitude of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9, a chapter which the NIV gives the heading ‘Paul Gives Up His Rights’:

Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:11-12 NLT) 

Paul said the natural thing was for those in leadership to feel entitled to certain rights, but the spiritual thing is to turn those rights into responsibilities toward the people around us. 

Spiritual leadership is not about gaining more rights, it’s about fulfilling God-given responsibilities. In fact, the higher you progress in a leadership role, the fewer rights you have. Godly servant leaders gladly trade rights for responsibilities. 

A mark of a godly leader is one who has stopped demanding his “rights.”

To trade our rights for responsibilities is a sacrifice. But I don’t mean a sacrifice that comes with a “Woe is me!” feeling. God will only ask us to sacrifice what is holding us back. God wants to use His leaders to minister to His people. He will not give us a larger position if we are only going to use that for our own benefit.

Consider the rights Jesus had because He was fully God. Yet He made the ultimate rights-for-responsibilities sacrifice by going to the Cross in our place. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 

Leaders, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you may be clinging to your rights, and how you can exchange those rights for responsibilities to the people God has placed under your care.

This is part 65 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here. 

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

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

Poetry Saturday—They Stand

May 28, 2022 — 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.

They stand at attention saluting our flag,
or they place a hand over their heart.
They’ve stood together on foreign lands,
each one has done their part.
They’ve defended this nation and some have died
to ensure that you’ve kept your rights.
They’ve watched as their buddies fell to the ground,
and they’ve slept in the jungle some nights.
They’ve crawled in the mud while covered with blood,
our children, our daughters, and sons,
and never, not once did they go on strike,
saying they did not get enough funds.
Many days they have gone without sleep
as they fought for this country we love.
Thousands of them have lost their lives
and went with our God up above.
To us, they are heroes, but to them it’s their job,
they do what needs to be done,
defending this country that we so love,
even down to the last one.
We give them a day to memorialize them,
to honor them for all that they do,
but a year would not be honor enough
for the service they give that is true.
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,
men and women that are so grand.
They serve this nation of America,
and forever, together they stand. —Barney Fritcher


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






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



	



Podcast: A Salute To Veterans

November 11, 2020 — Craig T. Owens 




On this episode of “The Craig And Greg Show” we talk about: 


    

  • a question from a viewer about job interviewing 
    • 

  • how to get in the drawing for a special monthly prize 
    • 

  • helping wounded veterans stay on the move through the Oscar Mike organization 
    • 

  • some astounding stats about our veterans 
    • 

  • how we can best show gratitude to our veterans 
    • 

  • Greg and I share some cool stories of our interactions with veterans 
    • 

  • some insights into true sacrifice
    • 





Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and iTunes.






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



	



7 Quotes From David Livingstone

June 10, 2020 — Craig T. Owens 




The Daring Heart Of David Livingstone by Jay Milbrandt is an amazing account of this man’s heroic and history-altering life. Check out my full book review by clicking here. Below are a few quotes that Milbrandt shared in his biography. 


“It is something to be a follower, however feeble, in the wake of the great Teacher and only model missionary that ever appeared among men.” —David Livingstone 


“People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.” —David Livingstone 


“I shall hold myself in readiness to go anywhere, provided it be forward. … Our duty is to go forward … I have observed that people who have sat long waiting have sat long enough before they saw any indication to go.” —David Livingstone 


“As they are experts with the spear I don’t know how it missed, except that he was too sure of his aim and the good hand of God was upon me.” —David Livingstone, after surviving two spears thrown at him during an ambush 


“The Gospels reveal Jesus, the manifestation of the blessed God over all as minute in His care of all. He exercises a vigilance more constant, complete, and comprehensive, every hour and every minute, over each of His people than their utmost selflove could ever attain. His tender love is more exquisite than a mother’s heart can feel.” —David Livingstone 


“If the good Lord permits me to put a stop to the enormous evils of the inland slave-trade, I shall not grudge my hunger and toils. I shall bless His name with all my heart. The Nile sources are valuable to me only as a means of enabling me to open my mouth with power among men. It is this power I hope to apply to remedy an enormous evil [in the East African slave trade]. Men may think I covet fame, but I make it a rule never to read aught written in my praise.” —David Livingstone 


“I am a missionary, heart and soul. God had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician. A poor, poor imitation I am or wish to be. In this service I hope to live, in it I wish to die.” —David Livingstone 






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



	



Thursdays With Spurgeon—Nothing Left Undone

May 7, 2020 — Craig T. Owens 




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


Nothing Left Undone


Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool. (Hebrews 10:11-13) 


     You see the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice rests in this: that the priest offered continually, and after he had slaughtered one lamb, another was needed. After one scapegoat was driven into the wilderness, a scapegoat was needed the next year, but this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, did what thousands of scapegoats never did and what hundreds of thousands of lambs could never effect. He perfected our salvation and worked out an entire atonement for the sins of all His chosen ones.


     I infer that His work is finished from the fact that He is described here [Hebrews 10:12] as sitting down. Christ would not sit down in heaven if He had more work to do. …


     But do you think my Savior would sit still if He had not done all His work? Oh no, beloved. He said once, ‘For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns’ (Isaiah 62:1). …


     Oh, if the last thread had not been woven in the great garment of our righteousness, He would be spinning it now. If the last particle of our debt had not been paid, He would be counting it down now. 


     Oh, glorious doctrine! This Man has done it. This Man has finished it. This Man has completed it. He was the Author. He is the finisher. He was the Alpha. He is the Omega. … You are accepted perfectly in His righteousness.… ‘By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified’ (Hebrews 10:14). 


From Christ Exalted


Friend, Jesus has left nothing undone that would keep you from God’s full favor! 


Christ’s work on the Cross and His resurrection from the grave have removed every impediment that would keep you from God’s presence. Not sin’s condemnation, nor chaotic world affairs, nor the clamoring or godless people, nor anything you can imagine can hinder God’s favor. 


Cling to this: He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)


 






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



	



Thursdays With Spurgeon—Why Did Jesus Suffer?

April 2, 2020 — Craig T. Owens 




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


Why Did Jesus Suffer?


     Think much of all your Lord suffered, but do not overlook the reason for it. If you cannot always understand how this or that grief worked toward the great end of the whole passion, yet believe that it has its share in the grand why. Make a life-study of that bitter but blessed question, ‘Why have You forsaken Me?’ …


     Why, then, did God forsake His Son? I cannot conceive any other answer than this: He stood in our place. There was no reason in Christ why the Father should forsake Him—He was perfect and His life was without spot. God never acts without reason, and since there were no reasons in the character and person of the Lord Jesus why His Father should forsake Him, we must look elsewhere. … 


     He bore the sinner’s sin and He had to be treated, therefore, as though He were a sinner, the sinner He could never be! With His own full consent He suffered as though He had committed the transgressions that were laid on Him. Our sin and His taking it upon Himself are the answer to the question, ‘Why have You forsaken Me?’ …


     So long as the smile of God rests on the man, the law is not afflicting him. The approving look of the great judge cannot fall upon a man who is viewed as standing in the place of the guilty. Christ suffered not only from sin, but for sin. If God will cheer and sustain Him, He is not suffering for sin. The judge is not inflicting suffering for sin if He is manifestly encouraging the smitten one. There could have been no vicarious suffering on the part of Christ for human guilt if He had continued, consciously, to enjoy the full sunshine of the Father’s presence. It was essential to being a victim in our place that He should cry, ‘My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?’ … 


     Beloved, see how marvelously, in the person of Christ, the Lord our God has vindicated His law!


From My God, My God Why Have You Forsaken Me?


The great apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about his singular focus—When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) 


“Think much of all your Lord suffered, but do not overlook the reason for it,” Spurgeon said. 


That earth-quaking, darkness-inducing, temple-rattling, soul-piercing cry of Jesus—My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?—could only have been uttered by someone perfect. I know plenty of reasons why God could have forsaken me, but Jesus knew only a single reason. 


Jesus did not suffer because of something He had done wrong, but because of all I had done wrong. 


That Cross was stained with His blood for my sin. 


Because He was forsaken, I am now accepted in the Beloved Jesus (Ephesians 1:6-7). Think much on this: Jesus was crucified for you and me SO THAT we wouldn’t have to bear the penalty of our sin. Justice was satisfied. Now, by faith in His sacrifice on the Cross, we can come to God not only with our sins forgiven, but we can be accepted by Him as His children. 


My friend, think much on this. Resolve to know the unspeakable value of Christ crucified for you. And then rejoice greatly that you are accepted in the Beloved. If you would like to know more, please contact me.


 






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



	



8 Quotes From “The Jesus Who Surprises”

July 24, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




Dee Brestin has given us an excellent “starter’s guide” to help you discover Jesus on every page of the Old Testament. Be sure to check out my full book review by clicking here. 


“Every time we sin, it is because we do not trust the goodness of God, so we endeavor to meet our needs our way.” 


“The blood of innocent lambs spills throughout the pages of the Old Testament but ceases when John the Baptist heralds Jesus as the Lamb of God. Jesus is the only Lamb who can take away our sins (Hebrews 10:4, 10). All other sacrificial lambs were simply a foreshadowing of the One to come.” 


“What satan wants to do is cause attachment disorder between God and us. … satan wants to convince us that God does not love us and does not want the best for us so that we will back away and stop talking to Him, throwing away our only lifeline.” 


“Think about what makes Jesus so angry over and over again—it is the pretense and dishonesty of the Pharisees. He is not angry with Job, Naomi, the prophets, or the psalmists who lament, and indeed He often comes running to them. But He is angry with the Pharisees. They put up a façade, a wall that keeps them from experiencing intimacy with the Lord, and one day He may surprise them by saying, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me’ (Matthew 7:23).” 


“Recording and retelling increases memory—memory that is sorely needed in times of trouble.” 


“God knows the shaking of our world can awaken us to understand what is transitory and what is eternal. If we press into Him, we will discover what can never be shaken.” 


“Prayer is not getting God to give you what you want but dialoguing with Him, listening to Him, submitting to Him, and asking Him to give you what He wants, even if it is costly.” 


“Love is not love if it is only grace. That is enablement.” 






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



	



Love Is Never A Risk

July 31, 2018 — Craig T. Owens 




“Jesus risked Himself on me. How can I not risk my life on you? You may not love me back. You may humble me, humiliate me, reject me, shatter my heart, and drive the shards into my soul—but this is not the part that matters. What matters is that in the act of loving we become more like the givenness of Love Himself. What matters most is not if our love makes other people change, but that in loving, we change. What matters is that in the sacrificing to love someone, we become more like Someone. Regardless of anything or anyone else changing, the success of loving is in how we change because we kept on loving. …


“Love is always worth the risk because the reward of loving is in the joy of loving itself. Love is a risk that’s never a risk. Loving itself is the greatest outcome because loving makes one more beautiful, more like brokenhearted Beauty Himself. 


“No matter what the outcome looks like, if your love has poured out, your life will be success-full.” —Ann Voskamp, in The Way Of Abundance


Please read my review of The Way Of Abudnance by clicking here, and check out some other quotes from this life-changing book here.






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



	



The Way Of Abundance (book review)

July 17, 2018 — Craig T. Owens 




About a year ago I read and reviewed The Broken Way by Ann Voskamp. And now that I share a review of her newest book—The Way Of Abundance—you might be tempted to think that brokenness and abundance sound contradictory, but you would be wrong! 


In The Broken Way, Ann wrote, “Unless we die, unless we surrender, unless we sacrifice, we remain alone. Lonely. But if we die, if we surrender, if we sacrifice, that is when we experience the abundance, that is when we dance in communion. The life that yields the most—yields the most” (emphasis mine). 


Now in The Way Of Abundance, she shares this opening thought, “What would happen if the scars you carry are what God uses to carry Christ to a scarred and broken world? Weak is the real strong. Brokenness is the real abundance” (emphasis mine). 


Brokenness cannot stop meaningfulness. God wants to work through your brokenness to do something abundantly more than you can even imagine. And He can and will do it if only you will yield your pain to Him. 


The Way Of Abundance is given to us in 60 shorter devotional-style chapters. It’s a two-month journey into getting to see our pain, disillusionment, brokenness, and questions in a new light. It’s a journey to get us to change the focus from our brokenness to Christ’s abundance, and in so doing, discovering how Christ can enrich the world through our yieldedness. 


What I wrote a year ago is just as true for this book: “This is a book of healing. A book that will remind you that you are not alone in your pain, in your questions, in your searching for answers. This book is a gift to anyone who feels broken, cut up, cut off, or beaten down.” 


Read this book for yourself. Read this book for other broken people. Read this book with other broken people. And then watch the abundance of Christ’s life explode like you’ve never imagined! 


I am a Zondervan book reviewer. 






Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments »



	



Poetry Saturday—In Christ

March 31, 2018 — Craig T. Owens 




In Christ I feel the heart of God. 


Throbbing from heaven through earth: 


Life stirs again within the clod. 


Renewed in beauteous birth. 


The soul springs up, a flower of prayer, 


Breathing his breath out on the air. 




In Christ I touch the hand of God, 


From His pure height reached down, 


By blessed ways before untrod, 


To lift us to our crown;—


Victory that only perfect is 


Through loving sacrifice, like His. 




Holding His hand, my steadied feet 


May walk the air, the seas; 


On life and death His smile falls sweet,—


Lights up all mysteries: 


Stranger nor exile can I be 


In new worlds where He leadeth me. 




Not my Christ only: He is ours; 


Humanity’s close bond; 


Key to its vast unopened powers, 


Dream of our dreams beyond.—


What yet we shall be, none can tell; 


Now are we His, and all is well. —Lucy Larcom








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








« Older posts 


 




						

						
					

				

			

		
 
		
	



		
		




	

		

	

		
			
	


			
		
		
	
						








		
				
			
	

		

			%d bloggers like this: