Craig T. Owens

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Leadership And Grumbling

September 3, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

It seems like these two things go together: leadership and grumbling. Sadly, it is usually an ugly, downward spiral: people grumble against those in leadership, the leaders feel the need to defend themselves and typically respond angrily, which causes even more grumbling against those in leadership. And down goes the spiral!

It doesn’t have to be this way. And it should never be this way among Christians!

Moses reminded those who grumbled against him that they were really grumbling against God. Moses didn’t have to respond, but he let God take care of it.

Grumbling can be deadly for grumblers, but it doesn’t have to be for godly leaders.

(What does it mean to be a “godly leader”? I have an ongoing series of posts with the consistent theme “A mark of a godly leader is…” catalogued here.)

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: encouragement, Exodus, grumble, leadership, Moses, warning. 1 Comment »

Thursdays With Spurgeon—Getting Into The Truth

September 3, 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.

Getting Into The Truth

The difficulty is the truth is not so easy to discover. There is no man born in this world by nature who has the truth in his heart. … Then since we are not born with the truth, we have the task of searching for it. … But here is the difficulty, that we cannot follow without a guide the winding path of truth. Why is this?

First, because of the very great intricacy of truth itself. Truth itself is no easy thing to discover. … The most earnest student of Scripture will find things in the Bible that puzzle him. However earnestly he reads it, he will see some mysteries too deep for him to understand. He will cry out, ‘Truth! I cannot find you.’ … But we bless God it is said, ‘When the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth’ [John 16:13]. …

We also need a guide because we are so prone to go astray. … David says, ‘I have gone astray like a lost sheep’ (Psalm 119:176). … If grace did not guide a man, he would go astray though there were hand-posts all the way to heaven.

The ‘Spirit of truth’ [is] not an influence or an emanation but actually a Person. ‘When the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth.’ … He is infallible. … He is ever-present. …

Man can guide us to a truth, but it is only the Holy Spirit who can guide us into a truth. ‘When He, the Spirit of trying has come, He will guide you into’—mark that word—‘truth.’ … You may be brought to a chamber where there is an abundance of gold and silver, but you will be no richer unless you effect an entrance. It is the Holy Spirit’s work to unbar the two-leaved gates and bring us into a truth so we may get inside it.

From The Holy Spirit: The Great Teacher

I have often said that the greatest Expositor of Scripture is the Holy Spirit. He is the One who inspired the biblical authors, and He is also the One living in a Christian to illuminate the biblical texts.

Before you open your Bible, pray this prayer from the psalms, “Open my eyes to see wonderful things in Your Word” (Psalm 119:18). And then listen to the Spirit’s voice as He takes you into the truth that will enrich your life and bring God greater glory. Just like those first Christians who were baptized in the Holy Spirit became skilled in their understanding of Scripture, you can experience the exact same thing today!

I have a whole series of messages on the power of Pentecostal Christians that you can read by clicking here and here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: application, baptism, Bible study, biblical truth, Charles Spurgeon, Gospel of John, Holy Spirit, illumination, Jesus Christ, lifelong learner, Pentecost, Psalm, truth. 3 Comments »

Never Overruled, Never Overwhelmed

September 2, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

…Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army … [King Joram said] “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today” (2 Kings 6:24, 31).

Two kings who both think that their overwhelming force can override God’s plan.

Ben-Hadad had already experienced God’s power when his previous plans were disclosed by God to Elisha, and when his “strong force” has been thwarted by God’s power (vv. 8-10, 14-20). As a result, Ben-Hadad temporarily stopped sending his small raiding parties into Israel. Now, he somehow believes that sending his “entire army” can overwhelm God’s plan?!

King Joram also had first-hand experience is of God’s power. Not only in the above incident with King Ben-Hadad, but also in the desert when God miraculously provided water for his army. Now, he somehow thinks “this disaster is from the Lord” and Elisha is the cause. He thinks that killing Elisha will somehow intimidate God into lifting the Aramean siege?!

Here are the facts:

God brought the Aramaeans together to demonstrate His power.
God left Israel without any resources on their own to demonstrate His power.
God foretold events yet to come through Elisha to demonstrate His power.

And then God fully demonstrated His power!

God’s plans can never be overruled. That means that when I place my trust in God, I can never be overwhelmed by the enemy’s plans.

No matter the circumstances, God is in control. Let me say that again: GOD IS IN CONTROL.

God will demonstrate His unequaled love and His unmatched power at just the right moment. He will bring about “a day of good news” and superabundance for all who fear and trust Him (7:9, 16).

Don’t ever despair, no matter how dark the battle is. Don’t ever try to coerce God into doing something you want Him to do. Don’t ever become frustrated with God’s timing. Only wait in eager expectation for His answer: His all-loving, all-powerful answer.

God is never overruled so you are never overwhelmed!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Kings, Ben-Hadad, Elisha, God's love, God's plan, God's power, God's purpose, Joram, spiritual warfare. 1 Comment »

The Craig And Greg Show

September 1, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

I have been friends with Greg Heeres for nearly 30 years. During that time we have truly lived out the truism from wise King Solomon, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

Greg and I have partnered together on both for-profit and non-profit ventures. We learned together, sharpened each other, and are both better off because of our close friendship.

Now it’s time for us to give back to others.

I’m so excited to announce a new podcast series we are launching on YouTube in just a couple of weeks. It’s called “The Craig And Greg Show.” We are passionate about investing in emerging leaders so each podcast is a short conversation designed to help sharpen leaders.

Check out the Maximize Leadership channel—both our website and our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe and click the bell on YouTube so that you are notified when each episode posts.

You can also get in touch with us through Twitter and Facebook.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Craig And Greg Show, Greg Heeres, investment, leadership, podcast, video, YouTube. Leave a Comment »

Halley’s Study Bible (book review)

September 1, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

I believe Halley’s Bible Handbook may have been the first Bible study resource I got my hands on when I was a pre-teen. It was a slender book but packed with insights that even this third-generation Pentecostal boy hadn’t heard before. So I was quite intrigued when I heard about Halley’s Study Bible.

Let me get something out of the way right upfront. I’m a blogger for the BibleGateway Blogger Grid (sometimes called #bgbg2 on Twitter), so I’m occasionally offered a free book in exchange for my honest book review. However, there are more books that I pass on than books I agree to review. Since I am already working my way through the Faithlife Illustrated Study Bible, I wasn’t too eager to dive into another study Bible just yet. But I’m so glad I did!

Reading Henry Halley’s concise overview of each book of the Bible was nostalgic for me, reminding me of what initially intrigued about his handbook: taking voluminous information and giving such a clear, concise overview.

The study notes on each page offer fascinating insights, and the unique perspective Halley offers of the people, places, and practices chronicled in the pages of Scripture are unparalleled. And what I especially appreciate is Halley’s whole-Bible approach. By that, I mean his ability to show you a theme that originates in the Old Testament and finds its fulfillment in the New Testament, showing how all of the Bible is interconnected.

If you are looking for a new way to study your Bible, I highly recommend Halley’s Study Bible to you.

I am a HarperCollins book reviewer.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Bible study, biblical history, book review, Henry Halley, historicity, New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture, world history. 27 Comments »

The Legacy Of Worship

August 31, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

As my friend Josh Schram led us through Psalm 66 in our Selah series, I was reminded how our worship of God—especially in our trials—can leave a godly legacy that crosses generations and continents.

There are three Selahs in this psalm. Remember that Selah is a call to pause to consider the impact of what the inspired biblical text just said to us. The Selahs in this psalm are surrounded by praise to God, as well as the impact of that praise.

“We don’t praise God because our circumstances are good. We praise God because our God is awesome!” —Josh Schram

Psalm 66 could be briefly outlined like this:

We say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!”
Selah—pause to ponder how awesome God is.
We say to others, “Come and see the awesome things God has done!”
Selah—pause to let our worship of God impact others.
Others join with us in saying, “God is worthy to be praised!”
Selah—pause and rejoice as their praise to God reverberates.
Now we can say to an even larger audience, “Come and listen to the awesome things God has done!”

Notice that our praise of God—despite the circumstances we’re in—makes all of the other steps possible.

“Come and see my life of praise” (v. 3) precedes the opportunity to say, “Come and listen to my testimony” (v. 5). In other words, we live out our love for God and earn the right to speak out to others about our love for God.

Look at the same pattern in Paul and Silas:

They are thrown in prison on sham charges and they still are about to sing through their physical pain, “How awesome is our God!”
God sends an earthquake that breaks off their shackles and opens the prison doors.
The jailer asks how he also can have this kind of relationship with Jesus.
Paul and Silas have the opportunity to say to him and his family, “Come and listen.”
The jailer and his family accept Jesus as their Savior.

But it’s not just this jailer. Luke wrote that the other prisoners were also listening to Paul and Silas sing about their awesome God. Through the jailer and perhaps some of these prisoners, a church was started in Philippi.

Later on, Paul would write to this church about their partnership in ministry, and he would write to the Corinthian church about the amazing missions generosity of the Philippian church (see Philippians 1:3-5; 2 Corinthians 8:1-2). That’s what I mean about leaving a godly legacy that crosses generations and continents.

God is worthy to be praised! Let others hear you saying, “God is awesome” even in the midst of your painful trials, and you, too, will earn the opportunity to say to them, “Come and listen as I tell you how awesome it is to be in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus!” You can be a part of this godly legacy in your community.

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our Selah series, you can find the full list of messages by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Corinthians, apostle Paul, Book of Acts, Josh Schram, legacy, Philippians, praise, Psalm, Selah, Silas, testimony, worship. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Epitaphium Meum

August 29, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

From my years young in days of youth,

God did make known to me His truth,

And call’d me from my native place

For to enjoy the means of grace

In wilderness He did me guide,

And in strange lands for me provide.

In fears and wants, through weal and woe,

As pilgrim passed I to and fro:

Oft left of them whom I did trust;

How vain it is to rest on dust!

A man of sorrows I have been,

And many changes I have seen.

Wars, wants, peace, plenty have I known;

And some advanc’d, others thrown down.

The humble, poor, cheerful and glad;

Rich, discontent, sower and sad:

When fears with sorrows have been mixed,

Consolations came betwixt.

Faint not, poor soul, in God still trust,

Fear not the things thou suffer must;

For, whom He loves He doth chastise,

And then all tears wipes from their eyes.

Farewell, dear children, whom I love,

Your better Father is above:

When I am gone, He can supply;

To Him I leave you when I die.

Fear Him in truth, walk in His ways,

And He will bless you all your days.

My days are spent, old age is come,

My strength it fails, my glass near run:

Now I will wait when work is done,

Until my happy change shall come,

When from my labors I shall rest

With Christ above for to be blest. —William Bradford

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christianity, death, eternal life, God's help, Heaven, Jesus Christ, legacy, poem, poetry, William Bradford. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Spurgeon—In Pursuit Of Truth

August 27, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

In Pursuit Of Truth

The disciples had been instructed concerning certain elementary doctrines by Christ, but He did not teach His disciples more than what we should call the ABCs of religion. He gives His reasons for this in the twelfth verse: ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now’ [John 16:12]. His disciples were not possessors of the Spirit. They had the Spirit so far as the work of conversion was concerned, but not as to the matters of bright illumination, profound instruction, prophecy, and inspiration. Jesus says, ‘I am now about to depart, and when I go from you, I will send the Comforter to you. You cannot bear these things now. Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth’ [John 16:13]. The same promise that He made to His apostles stands good to all His children. …

We think it is right that the Christian ministry should be not only arousing but instructing, not merely awakening but enlightening, that it should appeal not only to the passions but to the understanding. We are far from thinking doctrinal knowledge to be of secondary importance. We believe it to be one of the first things in the Christian life, to know the truth and then to practice it. …

What we call curiosity is something given us of God impelling us to search into the knowledge of natural things. That curiosity, sanctified by the Spirit, is also brought to bear in matters of heavenly science and celestial wisdom. … A true Christian is always intently reading and searching the Scriptures that he may be able to certify himself as to its main and cardinal truths. …

Depend on this: The more you know of God’s truth, all things being equal, the more comfortable you will be as a Christian. …

Knowledge of truth will make us very serviceable in this world. We will be skillful physicians who know how to take the poor distressed soul aside, to put the finger on his eye and take the scale off for him that heaven’s light may comfort him. … There is nothing like the real truth and the whole truth to make a man useful.

From The Holy Spirit: The Great Teacher

Throughout the public ministry of Jesus, the Gospels tell us of His apostles simply not understanding that Jesus was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy in all that He was doing. But all of that changed after the Day of Pentecost when then followers of Jesus were baptized in the Holy Spirit!

Beginning with Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost and throughout the rest of the New Testament, we see how the Christians took Old Testament Scriptures and applied them in the new understanding the Holy Spirit gave them of the work of Jesus. As a result, radical changes began to take place not only within the Church but throughout society as well.

As Spurgeon noted, “The same promise that He made to His apostles stands good to all His children.” That promise of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, illumination, creativity, and application of Scripture is still available for all Christians today!

Don’t limit your Christian testimony or your effectiveness in the world by keeping the Holy Spirit relegated to some unknowable, mysterious work. Allow Him to be the driving force in all that you think and do!

I have a whole series of messages on the power of Pentecostal Christians you can read by clicking here and here.

Think On This…

August 26, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

Here’s the seed thought for this episode of Think On This…

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

Think on this: God has forgotten every sin of mine that He has ever forgiven!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: commentary, forgiveness, Psalm, thought life, video, YouTube, YouVersion. Leave a Comment »

The Old Testament Affirmed In The New Testament

August 26, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

Sometimes, instead of referring to the two major divisions of the Bible as the Old Testament and the New Testament, I prefer to use the First Testament and the Second Testament. This helps me remember that “Old” doesn’t mean outdated and “New” doesn’t mean forgetting what came before it.

I love how B.B. Warfield describes the First Testament as being like a mansion with richly-decorated, beautifully-ornate rooms, but which are dimly lit. With Christ’s Advent described in the Second Testament, the light is turned on and we can now appreciate the beauty that was always there!

Sadly, there are far too many people who see the two divisions of the Bible as separate. In reality, the First Testament is affirmed over and over again in the Second Testament. In fulfilled prophesy alone, there is an abundance of evidence!

But let’s get even more obvious: In just the four Gospels there are at least 100 direct mentions or quotations of passages from the Old Testament. Clearly, both Jesus and the Gospel writers saw the First Testament as an integral part of Christ’s ministry.

Check out this list that I compiled and look up the references for yourself (a great place to look up Scriptures is on BibleGateway.com).

If you would like to download a PDF version of this list, click here → Old Testament affirmed in the New Testament ← If you would like to use this document in a teaching session, just be sure to mention that you downloaded it from craigtowens.com. Thanks!

More resource for your Bible study: