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I read something which is really challenging my leadership paradigm. It’s a challenge to look at successful organizations through the lens of both a servant-hearted leader and a servant-hearted follower.
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The main point in Hebrew literature is usually found in the middle. In Psalm 122 that would be verse 5 where we seethe keyword in this verse is thrones—“thrones for judgment” and “thrones of the house of David.” Before this, we have the call to go up to Jerusalem (the City of Peace) in the first four verses, and after this, we have overwhelming, saturating peace in the last four verses.
But I wonder: How do thrones—especially a throne of judgment—bring about peace?
Remember that these are songs of ascent: we are called upward. I think “up” implicitly appears in verse 1—“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go UP to the house of the Lord,’—and “up” explicitly appears in verse 4—“That is where the tribes go UP, the tribes of the Lord, to praise the name of the Lord.”
There is clearly a longing to go up to meet with God, but I also detect a note of uncertainty. Let me show you what I see. First of all, verse 3 in the New Living Translation says about Jerusalem that “its seamless walls cannot be breached.” And yet the walls were breached in 586 BC when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. So anyone singing this song of ascent after the time of exile would have known that the walls weren’t as secure as David hoped they would be.
Second, verse 4 in the Contemporary English Version says that “every tribe of the Lord obeys Him.” And yet it was the disobedience of every tribe of the Lord that led to their defeat and then their 70-year exile. So, again, anyone singing this song of ascent after the time of exile would know about the punishment for disobedience.
In an earlier Psalm, David asked God who could go up to the Holy City, and then he answered his own question like this—
The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. (Psalm 15:1-5)
That description also sounds a bit unachievable to me, because who has ever fulfilled all of the items on that list perfectly?
So we get to verse 5 and read about the thrones. The word “throne” means the seat of honor, authority, and power. It represents the place where the final and unchallengeable word is spoken. There is a final day of judgment before God’s throne, which John records in Revelation 20:11-15.
And yet, that day of judgment is not here yet. Jesus quoted the prophecy from Isaiah about Himself in His first sermon, but He purposely left off the last phrase about the day of judgment. He, instead, ended with the phrase where He had come to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:17-21). We see this thought again in John’s Gospel—
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17)
If we try to earn our own way into the Eternal Jerusalem, we will find that the walls can be breached, our obedience is not consistent, and that we are unable to keep that full list in Psalm 15. As a result, we face a throne of judgment.
But when we place our faith in what Jesus did for us on the Cross, where He paid the price for our sin, took away our unrighteousness, and gave us His righteousness in its place, then we will stand before the throne of shalom.
In the second half of Psalm 122, the words we read are peace, secure, peace, security, brothers and friends, peace, prosperity. That word “peace” is the Hebrew word shalom, which means nothing lost, nothing missing. Jesus wants us to be in the Eternal Jerusalem with Him for ever and ever.
Christ’s desire is that none should be separated from Him (see 2 Peter 3:9-14), so we could also say that shalom means no one lost, no one missing. We should want everyone—every tribe, nation, and people—to be with us in the Eternal Jerusalem forever!
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go UP to the house of Lord.” Let’s not go alone. Let’s bring as many people with us as we can to enjoy the eternal shalom of God’s Holy City!
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our look at the Psalms of Ascent, you can find them all here.
One of the things that contributes to “quiet quitting” is a lack of passion. But when the leader has conveyed a compelling vision for all that the organization is doing, that vision fuels the passion to work excellently. Vision can change a “have to” attitude into a “get to” attitude. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had about quiet quitting on the Craig And Greg Show. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” —Arthur Ashe
“Strange as it may seem, the first rule of gracious speech is sincere listening: ‘So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath’ (James 1:19). Being an attentive and sincere listener is like cutting a swath through the jungle. It creates a path along which conversations can develop and people can journey together.” —T.M. Moore
J. Warner Wallace discusses how scientists who were Christians used their biblical worldview to drive their scientific pursuits. As a result, Christian scientists have been awarded more Nobel Prizes than any other group of scientific contributors!
“The devil will not stand by quietly and watch his realm decline and erode. He counterattacks with rage; his onslaught is fierce. One of the tricks he uses is to preoccupy Christian workers with issues that are detrimental to a healthy relationship with Christ. The scenario is all too familiar: a Christian worker gets busy in the ministry and work takes priority over relationship with God. He no longer has the time to sit at Jesus’ feet in quiet solitude and listen to God’s Word. Spiritual emptiness comes unnoticed and with it vulnerability to satan’s sifting (Luke 22:31-34); dishonest handling of monies or power or an illicit relationship is justified, and whoa! immorality has lured and sent such a Christian worker tumbling. He commits what he has preached against. Sin is dangerous. Sin is destructive. Its price is very costly—separation from God, irreversible stigma, damage to family relations, loss of ministry, loss of reputation, a black mark on God’s work, and the list goes on.” —Sobhi Malek
Our Creator gave us an amazing gift of the human brain! I love the fascinating new discoveries that scientists are continuing to make. Like this one: “To be spatially capable creatures, humans need their brains to tell them 1) where things are in relation to themselves and 2) where everything is in relation to everything else—the so-called allocentric map of space. To navigate an environment, the brain seems to generate a mental representation of its surroundings. This is often called a cognitive map.” Read more about our cognitive map here.
I hope you have had a chance to see the movie “Sound of Freedom.” Thankfully, this has gotten a lot of people talking about how to eliminate sex trafficking. Fight The New Drug has an excellent post on how you can spot and report human trafficking, and you should also check out Operation Underground Railroad, which was founded by Tim Ballard (whom Jim Caviezel portrays in the movie).
“It will be a comfort to me all my life to know that the scientist and the materialist have not the last word, that Darwin and Spencer, undermining ancestral beliefs, stand themselves on a foundation of sand.” —C.S. Lewis
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Words are incredibly powerful! With our tongues, we can elevate others to amazing heights, or tear them down completely. In this episode, Greg and I discuss how, as leaders, it is critical that we are mindful of our everyday words so that we ensure we are taking our team in the right direction.
[0:20] Sometimes leaders can forget how powerful their words can be.
[1:00] Words need to be used strategically and carefully.
[2:05] “Words of affirmation” is one of the love languages, but everyone needs to hear words that affirm and encourage them.
[3:40] Some of the most meaningful words are our apologies and requests for forgiveness. When we do this well, it opens up the door for deeper communication.
[6:00] Leaders should be able to see a visible and immediate difference in their teammates when they are speaking the correct words to them. If not, we need to quickly adjust our words.
[6:50] People don’t care how much their leader knows (or says) until they know how much their leader cares about them.
[8:25] Negative words can sour relationships.
[9:08] Leaders need to pay close attention to what words work best with each teammate.
[10:15] What is the difference between efficient communication and effective communication?
[12:40] We share some insights from two noteworthy books: Leadership Jazz by Max DePree and Ten Powerful Phrases for Positive People by Rich DeVos.
[15:00] One of the most beautiful words anyone will ever hear a leader speak is their teammate’s name.
[19:02] Handwritten notes go the extra mile, but we need to slow down to think about who needs to hear an affirming word from us.
[21:20] Greg shares a memorable quote about the long-term results of our words.
[22:07] A good coach can give you more impactful insights than someone close to you.
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.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I have to be honest with you right up front: It’s nearly impossible for me to be unbiased in this book review. Sage Advice is written by my longtime friend and podcast partner Greg Heeres, and I couldn’t be any more proud of him!
In the 30+ years that I have known Greg, he has become one of my closest confidants. Next to my wife, Greg probably knows more about me than anyone else, and the same can be said for how well I know him. Several years ago, during one of our many heart-storming sessions, he shared a story about something his grandma said to him.
“I love that story,” I told him. “If you’ve got more like that, you should write them down.”
Thankfully, he did!
In fact, he wrote down twenty memorable stories from his grandparents and parents. Each story is intertwined with a practical leadership lesson for all of us. The subtitle of the book is: Listen to wisdom or learn the hard way.
Whether you had parents and grandparents that invested in your life or not, all of us can learn sound wisdom from our elders—from those who have “been there, done that” and care about us enough to share their hard-won wisdom.
Each chapter not only contains the sage advice from Greg’s elders and his leadership lessons that we can all apply, but he also shares interviews with other leaders who have learned the same lesson that each chapter is presenting.
Sage Advice is a delightful read. You will enjoy Greg’s storytelling so much that you may not even realize the leadership lessons that are seeping into your mind. You can pick up a copy of Sage Advice by clicking here.
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 reminded you that the main point in Hebrew literature is usually found in the middle. In Psalm 121 that would be the first phrase of verse 5: The Lord watches over you.
But I notice something that seems contradictory in the New Testament. Whereas the message here is, “God watches over you,” the message in some New Testament verses seems to be, “You watch over yourself” (see for example Matthew 26:41; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Timothy 4:16). Paul even said to the Christians at Corinth, “I worked harder than all of them” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
So which is it: Is God watching over us or are we to watch over ourselves? It’s actually both, but something important has to come first. We cannot watch over ourselves unless we are assured that the Lord is watching over us to sustain us.
Okay, I was being a bit sarcastic when I said those verses seemed contradictory, as I clearly quoted them out of their context. For instance, in that statement from Paul in 1 Corinthians, check out the full verse, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” Paul is clearly saying that he could only work hard because he was empowered by God’s grace. Notice that it is decidedly not the other way around: Paul doesn’t say, “I worked hard to earn the grace of God.”
Remember that these psalms of ascent remind us of our upward look and our upward journey. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, which is God Himself (Psalm 121:1-2). Using the apostle Paul’s life as an example again, he said something very similar—
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)
The middle verse of Psalm 121 foretells what appears six times in just eight verses: the Hebrew word samar. Depending on the translation of the Bible, this word is either “watch over” or “kept.” In either case, the meaning is a concentrated focus, not turning aside to the left or the right, not distracted, eyes on the ultimate prize. And all six of these instances are God’s unwavering, loving focus on us. In this song, we are told:
God never slumbers or is even momentarily distracted (vv. 3-4) as opposed to other deities that were thought to sometimes be unavailable to their worshippers (see 1 Kings 18:27). Instead, our God watches us so closely that He notices if even a single hair falls from our head (Matthew 10:30-31).
God stands beside us to protect our places of vulnerability (vv. 5-6). The Amplified Bible says, “The Lord is your shade on your right hand—the side not carrying a shield.”
God keeps us from the entrapment of evil (v. 7). Jesus told us that He was praying this way for us so we can have confidence to pray this for ourselves (Luke 22:32; Matthew 6:13).
God protects us as His most precious treasure. David uses this same word samar in Psalm 17:8, “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.”
God is our eternal Protector. The last phrase of this psalm says He watches over us “both now and forevermore” (v. 8).
The other places the word samar is used in the Bible is a call for us to keep God’s commands. But just as we saw with Paul that he was committed to running his race well because he was assured of the prize Jesus had secured for him, so for us, we can only keep God’s commands because we are kept secure by God.
Because we are kept by God we can keep His commands. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses applies the word samar to God’s people. We are to..
keep the commands of the Lord (v. 4)
watch ourselves closely so we don’t forget what God has done for us (v. 9)
be careful not to forget the covenant God paid for us (v. 23)
keep God’s decrees and commands as way a way to pass on God’s blessing to future generations (v. 40)
If God is not the One keeping and preserving me, it will be impossible for me to keep His commands on my own. The promise of His watchful keeping and preserving should fuel our prayer to watch over ourselves with all diligence. Read His promises, pray His promises, be assured of His ever-present help so that you can use His help to look out for yourself.
If you’ve missed any of the others messages in our look at the Psalms of Ascent, you can find them all here.
I shared several videos this week while I was on vacation. If you missed any, you can check them out on my YouTube channel.
A good definition of apologetics is found in Acts 17:2-3. We need to share (1) reasons from Scripture, (2) logical explanations, and (3) verifiable evidence. I have written quite a bit on my blog on the topic of apologetics, including several book reviews of apologetics books that you may want to check out.
“The life we speak over others they will pass on. While it is true that hurting people hurt others, it is just as true that healed people heal others, blessed people bless others, loved people love others, and ‘mercied’ people mercy others—if, that is, they have any sense of gratefulness.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied
“The Kingdom of God will be present within us to the extent that we maintain a clean and good conscience. The conscience is the valuing center of the soul. It holds the priorities which serve to clarify and direct both the mind and the heart for Kingdom presence. As thoughts or affections stir in the soul, the conscience reads the Law of God, which is written on the heart and settled in the mind (Romans 2:14-15), and engages the will to act in line with the vision of Christ and the counsel of His Word.” —T.M. Moore
“Value those people who tell you the truth, not just those people who tell you what you want to hear.” —Pat Summitt
Some people claim those with a biblical worldview and lifestyle are “extremists.” I think this chart (I cannot find the author to give credit on this one) explains it well.
“Life without love isn’t worth anything. Justice without love makes you hard. Intelligence without love makes you cruel. Kindness without love makes you a hypocrite. And faith without love makes you a fanatic.” —Mother Teresa
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Happy birthday, USA! 🇺🇸
If we want to keep the freedoms we enjoy, it doesn’t really matter what political party is in power. But it does matter if we are bowing our knees to King Jesus. Psalm 2 tells us how to lose God’s blessing (throwing off our dependence on God) and how to keep God’s blessing (honoring Jesus as Lord).
Today is a day of celebration, but it should also be a day of reflection. Let’s make sure we are all bowing our hearts to Jesus, and let’s pray for our elected officials, that they will also acknowledge Jesus as their King.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The Bible is not only the inspired Word of God but it is rooted in history too. Every prayer was prayed by a real person in distress, and every song of praise was lifted up by someone who personally experienced God’s deliverance.
The reason why this is so important is that it makes God’s Word relatable and applicable to us. If the Bible merely contained moral stories set in some make-believe world, we may have a hard time seeing how to apply the principles to our daily lives. But, thankfully, this isn’t the case. We can read the real-life experiences of real historical people and then we can allow the Holy Spirit to help us apply this inspired Word to our lives.
There is a collection of 15 songs in the Book of Psalms called “The Songs of Ascent.” Even these songs have an important historical background.
Second Chronicles ends with this proclamation from King Cyrus: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of His people among you—may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up” (2 Chronicles 26:23).
The phrase “let him go up” is both literal (since Jerusalem is 2500 feet above sea level) and spiritual. Listen to these words from King Solomon, “The way of life winds upward for the wise, that he may turn away from hell below” (Proverbs 15:24 NKJV).
The Songs of Ascent were a rallying cry—an encouragement to all pilgrims to keep climbing up.
In Hebrew literature, the main point is usually found in the middle of the poem or story, unlike our Western literature which puts the payoff at the end. In the first Song of Ascent, the middle is verse 4. But the second half of Psalm 120 seems out of place for people ascending up to Jerusalem to worship God. Verse 5 begins with the words, “Woe to me.”
The psalmist is expressing his pain in living among the people of Meshech and Kedar. The people of Meshech were vicious people who traded human lives for money and who conducted themselves as terrorists (Ezekiel 27:13; 32:26). Their name literally means “drawing away.” The people of Kedar were nomadic sons of Ishmael. Being nomadic means they were never at rest. Their name literally means “dark place.” Very noteworthy is that there is no mention of God in verses 5-7.
The middle verse of this song (v. 4) turns the people of Meshech and Kedar over to God. It is a reminder that we are not the ones to dispense justice. If God knew how to overthrow the powerful kingdoms of Judah, Babylon, and the Medes, if He knew to call Cyrus by name at just the right moment, He also knows how to deal with these sinners.
This Song of Ascent shows the stark contrast between keeping our eyes on the dark culture around us versus keeping our eyes on the God who is never weighed down by the darkness. As we go higher up, we focus more on God; as His saints focus on Him, His light shines on them; as His light shines on them, they point sinners living in dark valleys to the God of light and love.
Staying down is easy. Getting up requires intentional effort. Going up requires us to overcome the pull of sin and the frustration of watching for judgment to fall on sinners.
Continually going up glorifies God, has eternal rewards for saints, and creates a compelling testimony for sinners.
Going up is a lot of effort, but the rewards are so worth it! As the apostle Paul reminded his friends in Rome, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Let’s keep climbing up and let’s keep lifting our eyes to the only One who has the eternal light.
Some of our best lessons are learned in difficult places, so let’s not be too quick to rush in and soften the blow for someone who has taken a tumble.Check out the full conversation I had with my podcast partner Greg. And be sure to check out all of my videos on my YouTube channel.
“A champion is one who gets up when he can’t.” —Jack Dempsey
Once again, archeological finds in Israel confirm the historicity of the biblical accounts of the kings of Judah and Israel. John Stonestreet shares some of the most recent finds. Jewish archeologist Nelson Gluek states, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.”
“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” —Jonas Salk
Scott Hubbard writes, “Stepping into leadership means stepping into mistakes, regrets, and many small but stinging failures. And surviving in leadership, I am learning, means stepping upward on those mistakes—owning them, learning from them, and having the stability in Christ to keep leading after them.” Read more about how leaders can fail well.
J. Warner Wallace addresses the claim that all religions are true or are essentially the same.
“The Scriptures represent the Holy Spirit, not only as moving, and occasionally influencing, the saints, but as dwelling in them as His temple, His proper abode, and everlasting dwelling-place. And He is represented as being there so united to the faculties of the soul, that He becomes there a principle or spring of a new nature and life.” —Jonathan Edwards
Craig T. Owens 