God-Sent Enemies

February 4, 2025 — 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.

It could be that the enemies that are dogging your footsteps—harassing you and closing in on you—are doing so because God incited them to do this. 

Why? 

So that you will grow stronger in your dependence on His keeping power. God says He will gain the honor and glory when He does what no earthly power can do. 

Check out this part of the story about the Egyptians pursuing the Israelites—

     “For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ I will harden (make stubborn, strong) Pharaoh’s heart, that he will pursue them, and I will gain honor and glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. … The Lord made hard and strong the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, for they left proudly and defiantly. … Moses told the people, “Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.” … Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people reverently feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses. (Exodus 14:3-4, 8, 13-14, 30-31 AMPC) 

God allowed the enemies to pursue the Israelites. Actually, God Himself stirred up these enemies to go after His people. 

So let me ask again: Why would God do this?

Two things happened as the Israelites remained at rest: 

  1. The Egyptians were defeated, which caused God’s name to be revered 
  2. The Israelites were delivered, which caused them to place their trust more firmly in God. 

Instead of complaining about your foes—or even trying to defend yourself or fight back against them—keep your eyes on your Savior. He will be glorified as He cares for you as only He can! And when God does unleash His power on your behalf, you will have a testimony that will reverberate through the ages—

     Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider or its chariot has He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my Strength and my Song, and He has become my Salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. … Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:1-2, 11)

God will be glorified in your difficult situation. Stand still and watch your awesome God work in awesome ways!

I wrote about this story from a different angle in my post Between a Rock and a Hard Place. And check out my video clip Different Thinking in Difficult Places. 

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How Do We Wait Expectantly?

February 3, 2025 — 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. 

Last week I asked, “How long do we keep praying?” Answer: Until God answers or until He lifts our burden. In the meantime, the Bible encourages us to…

  1. Keep asking with full confidence that God hears you 
  2. Keep expecting an answer 
  3. Keep worshiping God for Who He is 
  4. Keep trusting that your Heavenly Father wants to give you the very best! 

With that in mind, let me ask you another question: What does this look like? How do we wait expectantly for God to answer? I’ve got three thoughts from the Scripture.

(1) Keep walking

Eliezer had a 300-mile journey which would have taken him about 10 days. Abraham prayed for him before he left and Eliezer prayed when he arrived (Genesis 24:7, 12, 15). His expectation that God would answer him kept him walking. The answer came after 10 days—before he even finished praying! 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Nehemiah prayed for God’s favor with King Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 1:11) but then he had to keep walking to work every single day for at least 4 months (2:4). All the while he was praying, expecting, and planning, so when the king asked him what he wanted, Nehemiah was ready to answer. 

A royal official met Jesus in Cana and asked Him to heal his son who was was sick in Capernaum. Jesus said, “Go! Your son will live,” and that father began walking his 20-mile journey home. Along the way, his servants met him to deliver the good news of the boy’s full recovery. When the father asked, he found out it was at the very moment Jesus had said, “Go” (John 4:46-53). 

Faith takes Jesus at His word and starts walking toward the approaching miracle! 

(2) Keep waiting

There are two Hebrew words in the Old Testament that frequently are translated “wait”: 

  • qava = expecting in hope 
  • yahal = guarding that hope    

Check out how one psalmist linked hoping and waiting—

Out of the depths I cry to You, LORD; Lord, hear my voice. Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. … I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. (Psalm 130:1-2, 5-6) 

And David wrote how he had learned to quiet himself in God’s loving presence: But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content (Psalm 131:2). 

Then listen to the wait-hope-quiet link in Jeremiah’s prayer—

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentation 3:24-26) 

In the New Testament, the idea is patience for an expected result is like a farmer who had prepared his field, planted good seed, watered it with his prayers, and is now assured of an abundant harvest (James 5:7-8; Galatians 6:9). 

(3) Keep smiling

We put on a smile, not a show! 

Contrast what Jesus said about the wrong way to pray and fast…

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. … And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans … When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting… (Matthew 6:5, 7, 16) 

…with the God-honoring, God-trusting way—

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen … But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face. (Matthew 6:6, 17) 

It’s not a fake smile, but a smile that comes from the joy in our rock-solid expectation in God’s reply to our prayer (Psalm 28:6-7; 38:15) 

Pray—then keep walking, keep waiting, and keep smiling in anticipation of what your Heavenly Father is doing on your behalf. 

If you want to check out the other messages in this prayer series, please 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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Links & Quotes

February 1, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Christian parents often experience both a weight and a wait as they pray for their children. Biblical waiting is always active, calling us to continue to pray for our kids—not matter how old they are!

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

The Institute for Creation Research reported: “Perhaps one of the top evidences for creation are the subcellular and incredibly efficient molecular protein machines that clearly function by known engineering principles. They are hardly simple. Determining just a part of their function requires the best science has in twenty-first-century technology: ‘While belonging to the nanoscale, protein machines are so complex that tracing even a small fraction of their cycle requires weeks of calculations on supercomputers.’”

Dr. Thaddeus Williams said, “What do you think is the most repeated phrase in the entire Bible? It’s, ‘Thus says the Lord…’ which clocks in at over 400 occurrences. The God of the Bible is not the stone-cold silent god of the ancient Greeks. Nor is He the stone-cold silent god of the ancient Stoics or Epicureans, too busy enjoying the amenities of divine bliss to bother with humanity. No. The God who exists is a God who speaks.” What does this mean for us? Dr. Williams talks about what happens to people who make time to regularly hear what God has to say to them through His Word.

“Work is the outcome of effort; fruit, of life. A bad man may do good work, but a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” —Hudson Taylor 

I love studying my Bible, and I also enjoy passing along things that encourage others to begin studying their own Bibles. This is a really cool infographic from Wesley Huff, giving a great overview of the Bible.

Dr. Steve Nichols has an interesting mini-biography of King Louis IX, whom some have called “the greatest king of the Middle Ages.”

J. Warner Wallace leads us all along “the fuse” that led up to the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah, the One to whom the Old Testament prophets predicted.

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The Craig And Greg Show: The Silent Killers

January 30, 2025 — 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.

To you the term “silent killer” might conjure visions of a lone assassin from a spy movie, or perhaps more mundane but equally deadly things like high blood pressure or carbon monoxide leaks. In today’s episode Greg and I are discussing toxic behaviors that creep into the workplace. They aren’t quite as deadly as the ones listed above, but can still cause massive anger, frustration, and discord in your organization. Join us as we discuss some of the most prevalent toxins we’ve seen, and highlight how you as the leader are responsible for being the safeguard against them.

  • [0:20] Toxic things can sneak into our workplace unless we proactively look for them.
  • [1:35] Leaders need to be honest with their team so their team feels they can be honest with them in return.
  • [3:43] Greg and I discuss some of the toxic behaviors we have seen that create problems in the workplace.
  • [3:54] -Gossip
  • [4:51] -Office Politics
  • [6:42] -Negative Competition
  • [8:37] -Negativity
  • [10:20] -Bureaucracy
  • [12:46] -Braggadocio
  • [14:12] -Bashing
  • [14:46] Toxicity will come to every organization. We as leaders shine in the way we deal with it.
  • [17:47] When I wrote Shepherd Leadership, I spent two chapters discussing the balance between confidence and humility because of how important it is.
  • [19:08] One of our main jobs as leaders is to develop others, but toxicity squashes that.
  • [20:26] A coach can come alongside you to be the “detector” for the silent killers that might be lurking in your organization.

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 Apple.

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How Long?

January 27, 2025 — 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. 

Last week we saw that if we make prayer our priority, we can expect that our eyes will be opened to the answers that God has for us. Hagar and Eliezer seemed to get pretty quick answers. Nehemiah had to wait four months for the answer to his prayer. 

We saw in Psalm 5 that David laid his requests before God first thing in the morning, and then he went out of his prayer closet in expectation of an answer (Psalm 5:1-3). But how long did he wait? 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.) 

Psalm 6 may not happen historically right after Psalm 5, but listen to David’s heart, “Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint; heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long? (Psalm 6:2-3). And then again in Psalm 13:1-3, David asks, “How long?” four times in the first two verses! 

When we read the training Jesus gave His disciples about prayer in Luke 11:9-10, we see how He implores them (and us) to keep on praying. It becomes even more emphatic in the Amplified Bible—

So I say to you, ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened. 

But once again we have to ask: how long are we to continue asking, seeking, and knocking? This is what Job asked in the middle of his trial (Job 6:8, 11-13). 

Charles Spurgeon said, “God has measured the crosses of all His children: Israel in Egypt, 430 years; Joseph in prison, 3 years; Judah in Babylon, 70 years.” That means that God knows what He is doing, God knows His timing for answering, and that our part is to simply to continue to ask, seek, and knock as we throw our total trust on Him! 

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” (Lamentations 3:19-24) 

During these times of waiting, we need to keep recalling what we know:

  1. God’s love is unfathomable—Romans 5:5, 8:38-39 
  2. God’s timing is perfect—Deuteronomy 32:4 
  3. God’s method is flawless—Romans 8:28 
  4. God’s gifts are good—Luke 11:11-13, 12:32  

In Psalms 6 & 13, David doesn’t record any answers from God, but listen to this assurance from Jesus, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). 

Jesus doesn’t tell us how or when God will bring us comfort, but He does assure us that we will be comforted! 

In a couple of the examples from David, you can see this assurance as he continues his prayers (Psalm 6:2-4, 8-10; 13:1-6). Paul also experienced this confidence (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), and so did Jesus (Matthew 26:38-39, 50-54). 

The writer of Hebrews assures us that Jesus was heard in His, “How long?” cries, and therefore He knows exactly how to intercede for us today as we lift up the same cry (Hebrews 5:7-8; 2:10, 14, 17-18)! 

How long? Quite simply stated: Until God answers or until He lifts our burden. 

In the meantime, the examples in Scripture and the assurance of Christ’s intercession for us us encourages us to…

  1. Keep asking with full confidence that God hears you 
  2. Keep expecting an answer 
  3. Keep worshiping God for Who He is 
  4. Keep trusting that your Heavenly Father wants to give you the very best!  

If you have missed any of the other messages in our prayer series, you can find them all here. 

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

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Links & Quotes

January 25, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Whether you call it grit or stick-to-it-iveness, those who don’t give up easily are the ones who will become leaders by their example. Check out the conversation we had on The Craig and Greg Show.

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

I was thrilled to be asked to write an article for Influence Magazine about the biting sheep that every pastor has experienced. I am praying that this article will help pastors recover and thrive in their shepherding ministry.

“Knowing our lowliness and Christ’s worthiness, we neither grovel nor saunter into the presence of God. And we do not go home flippant or weeping. In Christ, we will receive what we ask or what we should have asked.” —David Mathis

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, the apostle Paul warns us not to quench the Holy Spirit. T.M. Moore asks, “How do we quench the Spirit?” and then gives Christians seven warning signs to avoid this quenching. Check out his post Joy In His Spirit.

I really enjoy these archeological biographies of biblical people and places. The Bible Archeology Report writes, “The Neo-Babylonian king, Amēl-Marduk (biblical Evil-Merodach) is only mentioned twice in Scripture (in 2 Kings 25:27–30 and the parallel passage, Jeremiah 52:31–34), both times in connection with the restoration of Jehoiachin, king of Judah.” In a separate post, John Stonestreet shares an archeological discovery in a Roman cemetery in Frankfurt of an amulet that shows that “the Gospel spread farther and faster than historians thought.”

Kenneth Blanchard shares his novel way of setting personal and business goals for the year in a post ‘Look forward to looking back at your goal success in 2025.’

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The Testimony Of Our Unified Worship

January 23, 2025 — 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 Christians put aside some of their minor differences and are unified in their worship, it becomes a testimony to a watching world.

This whole series of looking at the Songs of Ascent comes from Psalms 120-134, but I especially notice the unity in Psalm 133.

This unity is seen during the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. But unity is not the same thing as conformity, as I shared in this message.

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

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Lessons From The Playground

January 22, 2025 — 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.

Some time on the playground with some little kids taught me some great lessons about leadership.

The Scriptures I mentioned in this episode—1 Corinthians 1:14-17; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45.

Please check out the full post from T.M. Moore here, but these are the three criterion he gives us to consider:

“First, they teach the Word of God faithfully (Hebrews 13:7). They aren’t trying to impress anyone with how clever, witty, or visionary they are personally. Their desire is that the Word of Christ might dwell in people richly, and all their teaching is based on that holy and inspired Word (Colossians 3:16).

“Second, their lives exemplify the things they teach (Hebrews 13:7). True leaders are people whom, as you follow them, you begin to become like in ways that reflect full faith in Jesus Christ (John 13:1-15). 

“Third, true leaders care for our souls (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). They are interested in us, want to get to know us, do everything they can to serve and build us up; and they will go the extra mile when necessary to help us become people of full faith in Jesus.”

(Check out all of the biblical references in T.M. Moore’s quote here.)

A mark of a godly leader is one who is NOT trying to grow a personal following.

This is part 81 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. ◀︎◀︎

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Prayer That Opens Our Eyes

January 20, 2025 — 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. 

Charles Spurgeon said, “We too often rush into the presence of God without forethought or humility. We are like people who present themselves before a king without a petition, and what wonder is it that we often miss the end of prayer?” I hope you are starting to…

Spurgeon also asked an important question: “Do we not miss very much of the sweetness and efficacy of prayer by a want of careful meditation before it, and hopeful expectation after it?” 

We talked about competing priorities, but also how Jesus made prayer the priority for His life. This means that some things we call important may have to temporarily be set aside. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Let’s look at the example of Jesus. He prioritized prayer over:

  1. Training. In Luke 5:16 and 9:18 we see Jesus praying in private even though His disciples were right there with Him. This was so revolutionary to the disciples that it prompted them to ask Jesus how they could pray like He did (Luke 11:1-13). 
  1. Sleep. Mark 1:32-35 tells us Jesus was up after sunset ministering to the needs of people, and that He was up and praying while it was still dark. And Luke 6:12 tells us Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before making a big decision. 
  1. Strategizing. The big decision Jesus had to make was choosing the twelve men who would be His apostles—the ones He would spend the most time training and preparing. He didn’t hold strategizing sessions or interviews with the perspective candidates, but He spent the night praying for wisdom (Luke 6:12-13). 
  1. Ministering. People were looking for Jesus, but He guarded His prayer time so the Holy Spirit could guide Him into His ministry time (Mark 1:37). 

Why did He treat prayer this way? Because He knew that God knows our day better than we do. He knows the people will encounter, the conversations that we need to have, the decisions that await us. So we must prayerfully entrust our days to Him (Proverbs 16:9, 3:5-6). 

Remember that Spurgeon said “careful meditation” before prayer and then “hopeful expectation after it.” This is exactly what David said in Psalm 5:1-3 where he was expectant of God’s answers throughout the day.

We see this example throughout the Bible, but let me give you three quick examples: 

  • Hagar’s eyes were opened to see the supply of water that was already there (Genesis 21:14-19) 
  • Eliezer had success in finding a wife for Isaac by seeing a woman that was already at the well (Genesis 24:7, 12-15, 21, 27) 
  • Nehemiah prayed for 4 months so he could pray in the moment that the king asked him what he needed to be successful (Nehemiah 1:4, 11; 2:1-4, 8) 

I think this is what Paul meant when he told us to “pray continually “ (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 

Jesus could announce that everything He did (John 5:19) and everything He said (John 12:49) was directed by the Father. 

We can live like this too, if we will only make prayer the priority that sets the order for any other thing that we call a priority. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

If you have missed any of the messages in our series called Our Prayer Book, you can find them all by clicking here.

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

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Links & Quotes

January 18, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Leaders are needed for tough times. “Doing difficult creates natural separation” for your leadership, says Eric Thomas. Check out this full conversation from The Craig and Greg Show.

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

“Busier than a businessman, more sought out than a celebrity, wanted as a mother of many toddlers, and bearing a task as big as the world, Jesus prayed.” Check out Scott Hubbard’s post Never Too Busy To Pray.

“This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.” —Sir Francis Bacon

“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” —Hudson Taylor 

There are almost 12,000 species of snakes and lizards, but evolutionists still do not know where they came from. Vertebrate paleontologist Michael Benton stated, “The early history of squamates [snakes, lizards] is patchy,” and the debate of snake origin “is far from resolved.” ICR offers the most straightforward solution to this supposed evolutionary dilemma: “snakes and lizards have been created with the genetic ability to undergo “remarkably varied jaw shapes” that have led to “their extraordinary ecological success” as they move in and fill various niches.”

Seth Porch, in talking about the joy of daily reading the Bible, notes, “By itself, neither habit, shame, nor duty will lead you to open God’s word daily with a heart posture of humble expectation and joy. Such an attitude toward the Bible comes only from the astonished realization that in these pages God actually speaks.” I hope you find the joy in reading God’s Word throughout this new year. I love my YouVersion reading plans that take me through the Bible. You may also like the companion book by Dick Brogden called Missionary God, Missionary Bible. And I shared some Bible studies that may interest you here and here.

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