I Can’t Really Know

April 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I Can't Really KnowSolomon wrote, “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3).

Conventional wisdom teaches me to persevere no matter what—keep going! head down and power through! don’t quit! Yet Solomon’s counsel is unconventional—there is a time to stop and take refuge; there is a time that persevering leads to more pain and no gain.

Prior to Solomon’s writings, the other uses of the Hebrew word he uses for “prudent” (aruwm) are always in the negative sense: the serpent was more crafty (Genesis 3:1), God thwarts the shrewd (Job 5:12), to name just a couple. Solomon uses the same word, but in a positive sense.

It comes down to this: I can’t know whether I’m being shrewd or prudent. I can’t know whether I should stop or press on. Only God knows! 

Only the Alpha and Omega knows my end from my beginning. Only the One Who created me with a purpose knows my purpose and my path. Only my Shepherd can tell me when to go forward into green pastures, and when to take refuge beside quiet waters.

My takeaway: I must constantly be in God’s presence, listening for His Voice. I can’t really know when to stay or when to go, but He does know and He is delighted in telling me.

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Maintain Sexual Discretion

April 23, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Sexual discretionI’m always saddened when I hear of Christians who stumble in sexual sin. Whether it’s a real relationship with someone not their spouse or a virtual relationship with pornography, the pain and consequences are heart-wrenching.

King Solomon offers some sage advice to help us have victory in this area, which is summed up in just two words: maintain discretion (Proverbs 5:2). These are among his opening words before he describes the sweeter-than-honey, smoother-than-oil allure of sexual temptation.

This phrase—maintain discretion—emphasizes a strategy that is designed and thought-out prior to the moment of temptation: “maintain” means to keep close at hand and ready to use. This is the complete opposite of deciding in the moment. “The Moment” is usually emotionally-charged, intellectually-lacking, and comes at the most inopportune time when you’re at your most vulnerable point.

Solomon says to have a plan in place ahead of time to “keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house” (v. 8).

An even better plan is to make the relationship with your spouse (or future spouse) something so exciting and fulfilling (vv. 15-19) that any momentary temptation appears puny, shallow, and even abhorrent by contrast.

Wisdom is helpful in “the moment,” but it’s even more effective in keeping you away from “the moment.” You don’t have to be a victim of sexual sin, you CAN maintain discretion.

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10 Blessings From Doing Things God’s Way

April 16, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

10Solomon opens the third chapter of Proverbs with these words, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart.” Then he goes on to list the blessings that come from doing things God’s ways. Here they are—

  1. A prosperous, long life (v. 2)
  2. You will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man (v. 4)
  3. Straight paths (v. 6)
  4. Health to your body (v. 8)
  5. Overflowing success for your work (v. 10)
  6. God’s discipline—yes, His discipline is a blessing (v. 12)
  7. God takes you into His confidence (v. 32)
  8. God blesses your home (v. 33)
  9. He gives you grace (v. 34)
  10. He gives you honor (v. 35)

With a list of blessings like that, why would I ever want to try to do things my way?!

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No Exceptions

April 2, 2014 — 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. 

King David wrote a coronation psalm for his son Solomon as he ascended the throne in Jerusalem. The opening words say, “Endow the king with Your justice, O God, the royal son with Your righteousness. He will judge Your people in righteousness, Your afflicted ones with justice” (Psalm 72:1-2).

David was calling on God’s blessing on his son, but He was also reminding Solomon that he couldn’t rule without God’s help. David’s singular focus was for God to receive all the glory. He closes the coronation psalm like this: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, Who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen” (vv. 18-19).

Solomon started out well. “Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great” (2 Chronicles 1:1). Even when God gave Solomon the option to ask for anything, he choose wisdom “to govern this great people of Yours” (1 Kings 3:7-9).

David strongly impressed on Solomon that obedience to God was the key to God’s blessing on Solomon and on the nation of Israel. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to Him, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go” (1 Kings 2:2-3).

But there is an ominous word that creeps in very early on in Solomon’s reign. Just one word that foreshadows the downfall that is to come—

Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, EXCEPT… (1 Kings 3:3).

As you’ve probably heard, Solomon’s many foreign wives began to lead him astray from “observing what the Lord your God requires” and eventually became his downfall. But it began right here with the EXCEPT.

It’s all or nothing.

I cannot pick and choose which words from God I’m going to follow and which I’m going to “except.” If God says I must do it, then I must do it!

The EXCEPT will lead to my downfall just as surely as it did for Solomon.

Heavenly Father, may I be so sensitive to the prompting of Your Holy Spirit if I’ve let any EXCEPTs creep into my life. Reveal them to me so that I may repent, show myself a man, and follow You wholeheartedly.

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

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What Does It Mean To Fear God?

December 17, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Fear GodWhat does it mean to fear God? Does it mean we cower before Him? That He is utterly unapproachable? Or maybe it means we’re always looking over our shoulder wondering if God is coming after us in anger?

Let me ask the question another way:

  • Are you afraid that you won’t buy the right Christmas gift for someone?
  • Are you afraid that you’ll forget someone?
  • Are you afraid that your response won’t be right when you open a gift?
  • Are you afraid you’ll offend a family member by something you say or do?
  • Do other people’s opinion of you factor into your decisions?

If you answered “Yes” to the above questions, you have a fear problem. That is: you fear letting other people down.

I think this was the issue for Joseph in the Bible (Matthew 1:18-25). When he found out that Mary was pregnant before their marriage, Joseph carefully deliberated his response. Based on the meaning of the words had in mind and considered, and examining the way the angel told Joseph to “Fear not,” it appears that Joseph, too, lived in this same fear of letting others down.

But here’s the issue: Joseph placed greater value on people’s opinions than he did on God’s opinion. And what makes it even worse is that Joseph simply assumed what people would say about him, as he never actually asked anyone.

The angel challenged Joseph to re-evaluate his value system. To give greater weight to God’s opinion than to man’s opinion. In short, to change his fear of man to fear of God.

That’s really what it means to fear God: To give greater weight to His Word and His opinion than to anyone or anything else.

The wise king Solomon explored everything he could to find the meaning of life. He tried money, education, art, travel, women, food, power, and the like. At the end of his exploration, he came to this conclusion—

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

We should be living for the approval of an Audience of One. 

We should be longing to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” from our Creator. 

We should be listening only for the applause from nail-scarred Hands. 

“The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.” —Oswald Chambers

If you have missed any of the messages in our Fear Not! series, you can find them all by clicking here.

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Don’t Play The Fool

September 24, 2012 — 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.

You probably know this already: Once you get boiling mad, it’s hard to see things objectively anymore. You get steamed up—ticked off!—and you are on a no-detours course to “make things right.”

You might say things like…

  • “They need to know what they did wrong!”
  • “He’s got this coming to him!”
  • “She needs to get a taste of her own medicine!”

The unspoken completion of all of those phrases is the dangerous part. What we’re really saying is, “He needs to know what he did wrong, and I’m just the one to tell him!” Or, “She needs to get a taste of her own medicine, and I’m just the one to dispense that prescription to her!”

It’s been said that action has killed its thousands; reaction its tens of thousands.

Did he hurt you? Yes!

Is he a jerk for doing so? Absolutely!

Should he get punished for it? Probably!

Are you the one to do it? No. No! NO!

He played the fool… Don’t sink to his level and play the fool yourself! 

Wise King Solomon said:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. (Proverbs 26:4)

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. (Proverbs 29:11)

So what can you do to the one who injured you?

The best thing you can do is to FORGIVE HIM!

That’s right: leave him in God’s hands. Let the All-Righteous Judge deal with him. Don’t stay wounded, because you are continuing to allow your injurer to keep you trapped, to keep you wounded. Leave him in God’s hands by taking your hands off of him!

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. (Romans 12:17-19)

Don’t play the fool! Forgive him and let God take it from there.

If you want to check out the other messages in our series called Ticked Off! you may click here.

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

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Got Wisdom?

August 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Solomon advised us to pursue wisdom:

  • Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. (Proverbs 4:5)
  • Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)
  • How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver! (Proverbs 16:16)
  • Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23)

I like T.M. Moore’s insight on this…

“Wisdom is that skill in living which comes as Christ is formed in us and lives His Word, in the power of His Spirit, through our lives. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (Psalm 111:10). But we’ll have to work hard and in many different ways to bring wisdom to a higher state in our lives. Solomon prayed for wisdom, but he also applied himself diligently to studying and contemplating a good many subjects in order to acquire that which he was trusting the Lord to give him. So we too, if we would increase in wisdom, must devote ourselves to ‘getting’ it by all the ways God makes available to us.”

In other words, we can (and should) pray for wisdom, but then we need to get busy to actually get the wisdom. God won’t simply pour wisdom into our hearts and minds.

Wisdom is earned through experience

Godly wisdom is earned through experiences that the Holy Spirit helps us evaluate and assimilate. The experience might be pleasant, or it might be painful. It might come through reading your Bible, or it might come through prayer. It might come in a pastor’s message, or it might come in a friend’s words. You might get it by going to your job, you might get it while taking a stroll along the beach on your vacation.

God’s wisdom is constantly being revealed to us. Are you getting it?

If not, what are you going to do to get it?

Whatever you do, GET WISDOM!

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If You’re Going To Do It, Then Do It

June 27, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever watched someone attempt something they really didn’t want to do? Like when a parent asks a child to pull weeds in the garden—they go grumbling, dragging their feet, finding excuses to delay starting, pull a couple of weeds, and then complain about the heat. Is it any wonder that the job takes twice as long and is completed half as well as it should have been?!?

Solomon wrote this:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might… (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

In other words, it’s like my Mom used to always remind me: If anything’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!

Don’t go halfway. Put all you’ve got into it and get it done. And done well.

I think Solomon (and my Mom) would have loved Seth Godin’s blog post called Outsmart—

Outsmart

or…

Outlead

Outcare

Outmaneuver

Outinvest

Outlisten

Outconnect

Outgive

Outlearn

Outwork

Outspend

Outrespect

Outinnovate

Outrisk

Outpersevere

Outinspect

Outproduce

Outrisk

Outlove…

In my opinion, no one should work harder, more enthusiastically, better, smarter, and more lovingly than one who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ. Check out my ongoing series of posts on godly leadership.

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Courageous Enough To Interfere

June 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

King David was brilliant as a king, and a disaster as a father. One of the things that is very telling is what is not written when his kids mess up. The Bible tells us that David felt strong emotions, but he simply didn’t act on them. In fact, one of the most telling verses of inaction comes when his son Adonijah is trying to put himself on David’s throne—

His father had never interfered with him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” (1 Kings 1:6)

It takes courage to interfere with our kids when they are misbehaving.

So why don’t some dads interfere? I can think of a few reasons…

  • They didn’t have a good relationship with their own father. In David’s case, his father Jesse didn’t think too highly of David. In fact, David was the overlooked, almost-forgotten son (1 Samuel 16:8-11).
  • They’re too tired. David was so focused on building up Israel’s defenses, and defeating the bad guys, that he had nothing left emotionally and physically to interact with his kids. We need to make it our priority! John wrote: I have no greater joy than knowing my children all walk in the truth (3 John 4). Now that’s a great priority!
  • Their past sins haunt them. David sinned against Bathsheba (like Amnon did against Tamar); David murdered Uriah (like Adonijah did Amnon). So perhaps he felt like he didn’t have the moral authority to interfere with his sons. But if you read some of the wise sayings in Proverbs 6:20-29 and 7:1-5, they sound like a man who has had experience. Let your hindsight (good or bad) be your kids’ foresight.
  • They think it’s too late. It’s never too late! Never! Apparently, David learned this lesson in time and taught his son Solomon (read Proverbs 1:1 and 4:3-4). As long as there is breath in your lungs, you should be your kids’ dad!

Dads, will you be courageous enough to lovingly interfere with your kids if they are getting off track?

Will you be courageous enough to make some changes in your schedule so that you can invest the time and energy and creativity necessary to raise them up?

Will you be courageous enough to confess your past sins, and not let them hold you back from speaking into your kids’ lives?

Will you be courageous enough to start today?

Dad, you kids need you to be involved! Be courageous enough to step into their lives.

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Don’t Become Illiterate

June 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Wise King Solomon:

Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)

Futurist Alvin Toffler:

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot unlearn, learn, and relearn.”

Questions:

  1. What did you unlearn this week?
  2. What did you learn this week?
  3. What did you relearn this week?
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