Blessing The Blesser

August 19, 2024 — 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. 

We’ve made it to the top step after a long climb. We’ve arrived! But arrived for what? Not for taking it easy, but for serving.  

Jesus was at the top, and consider what He did with that position:

  • He laid aside His prerogatives as God to serve us—Philippians 2:6-8 
  • He demonstrated this by becoming a servant of the servants—John 13:3-5 
  • He said, “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as One who serves.” (Luke 22:27) 

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

We strive for the top not to be served, but to serve. This is why the final Song of Ascent addresses those at the top as “servants of the Lord” (Psalm 134:1). 

The first duty of the servants is to praise (2x in vv. 1, 2). The KJV actually renders this word “bless,” which I believe is a good way for us to think about this. The word means: 

  1. praise God with a reverential mind and 
  2. celebrate God on bended knee 

In other words, both our heart and our body need to be in a posture of a praising servant. In the Septuagint, the word used for praise / bless is eulogeo, which means to say good words. In putting the two parts of the definition together, it mean we aren’t grumbling about our service (like “I have to do this”), but we are thankfully and worshipfully serving (as in “I get to do this!”). 

These servants are called to “minister…in the house of the Lord [and] in the sanctuary” (134:1-2), just as the priests in the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 9:33; Leviticus 6:13; 24:2, 4). 

This blessing and serving is itself a blessing which unlocks even more blessing. The final words of the final Song of Ascent is a prayer request (notice the word “may” in v. 3). 

The word bless in this final is the same word translated praise in vv. 1-2, except here the form of the verb means “to be shown divine favor”! 

We don’t get blessed by God because we have blessed God, but we bless God because He has already blessed us. I don’t command His blessing, but I bless Him in recognition of the blessing that continually flows from Him to me. 

To word minister as in v. 1 means to: 

  • endure all hardships 
  • continue until the task is done 
  • cause or help others to stand too 

God loves to bless people who love to bless people! 

As long as we’re here, keep blessing and serving others as your act of worship to God. Say good words to people about God and say good words to God about people. Lift up your hands, fall on your knees, sing out loud, or worship quietly in your heart. But keep on serving like Jesus. All of this blesses God. 

Your final and eternal reward in the Heavenly Zion is coming and it is beyond compare—

It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them watching when He comes. Truly I tell you, He will dress Himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them ready, even if He comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. (Luke 12:37-38) 

In blessing others, we are blessing the God who has already blessed us and who longs to bless us for all of eternity! 

If you’ve missed any of the messages looking at the fifteen Songs of Ascent, 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. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Links & Quotes

August 17, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

It’s easy to get along with those we like. But God calls on Christians to do the hard—but rewarding—work of getting along with everyone! Check out this full sermon about the strength in Christian unity.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Dad always said you could fall off the same ladder you climbed up.” —Hank Aaron

Paleontologists have noted that what Creationists would call pre-Flood mammals lived longer than similar mammals today. “This research should be of interest to Bible-believing Christians because, as chronicled in Genesis 5, humans in the pre-Flood world were experiencing much greater lifespans. Moreover, the advanced ages of the Genesis 5 patriarchs at the births of their sons strongly suggest delayed sexual maturation and possible delayed skeletal maturation, too. The Bible gives no hint that this amazing longevity was in any way supernatural.”

“If we leave our failure, we don’t learn from our failure. If we learn from our failure, we seldom have to leave because of our failure.” —John Maxwell 

Dr. Steve Nichols hosts a great podcast called 5 Minutes In Church History. In the episode this week, he talked about the church politics Jonathan Edwards had to confront when he first arrived in Stockbridge. It came to a head in a letter Edwards received: “All it did was go into, again, politics, accusing Edwards of mis-running the school, which wasn’t true, and deflecting the blame and the focus away from the Williams family. And now Edwards needs to vindicate himself. Well, all that to say, we think of these church history figures, and we see their portraits, we sometimes forget that they’re actually people, and they had to deal with challenges too.” These types of faultfinding accusations are what I address in my book When Sheep Bite.

If God would say this (Ezekiel 5:7-9) about His chosen people Israel, how much more so should other nations take notice, repent of their egregious sins, and plead with God for mercy!

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

Testing In Love

August 15, 2024 — 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. 

God wants us to progress to the next level in our Christian walk, but we need to know what we’re ready for that. Just as a teacher in school prepares us for a test, administers the test, and then gives us the result of the test in order to promote us to the next level, so does our loving Heavenly Father. 

This clip is from a message called Prepared to Pass the Test. All of the messages in this series were an in-depth look at the model prayer Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. 

►► 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 »

Set Up For Success (Or Failure)

August 14, 2024 — 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. 

Like it or not, your example as a leader is making an impact on all the people around you—including the next generation of leaders who will take their positions after you have passed away. 

So I have a simple question for you: Are you setting them up for success or failure? 

There is no middle ground. 

Consider three generation of kings of Judah—Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Amon. 

Hezekiah had been sick and God miraculously healed him. When Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon, heard about this, he sent envoys to see King Hezekiah. Instead of bragging on God, Hezekiah bragged about all of his riches. 

After the envoys left, the prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah the consequences of his pride—

“Behold, the days are coming when everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,” says the Lord. “And some of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” (Isaiah 39:6-7) 

Sadly, Hezekiah responded, “At least it won’t impact me.” 

A mark of a godly leader is one who desires to set up future leaders for success. 

His son Manasseh became one of the most evil, godless kings that Judah had ever known. And as a result, he experienced the punishment that Isaiah had prophesied. 

Thankfully, Manasseh eventually humbled himself, repented of his sin, and got to experience God’s restoration to a small degree—

When he was in distress, he appeased the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by him and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord alone is God. (2 Chronicles 33:12-13) 

But there is a sad “however” for Manasseh’s son Amon: However, the people still sacrificed on the high places (2 Chronicles 33:17). This mixing of the worship of God with the worship of pagan idols always pulls people away from God. It certainly did that for Amon because “he did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. For he walked entirely in the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them” (2 Kings 21:20-21). “Furthermore, he did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done, but Amon multiplied his guilt” (2 Chronicles 33:23). 

Godly leaders should be just as concerned about the people that come after them as they are about the people around them now. Godly leaders strive to set up future generations for success—so they can receive God’s continued and increased blessings.

This is part 78 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 »

Hellbent

August 13, 2024 — 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. 

Here’s how God describes a wicked nation:

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressive city! She obeyed no voice, she accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the Lord, she did not approach her God. Her leaders within her are roaring lions, her judges are wolves at evening; they have no bones to gnaw in the morning. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law. (Zephaniah 3:1-4)

These are people who were once so passionate for God and are hurtling toward His judgment on their sinful lifestyle—

  • thumbing their noses at their own civil laws 
  • calling their own justice system into question 
  • governed by leaders who are focused on flexing their power for themselves 
  • afflicted by judges ruling by the desires of those who give them “bones to gnaw” 
  • subject to preachers who twist and distort Scripture to suit their own desires 

These things can come from nothing but pride that says, “We know best. We don’t need some out-of-date, behind-the-times god telling us what to do!” 

These prideful people are hellbent on pursuing their sinful lifestyle—rejecting God’s warning of impending and certain judgment—because they have fooled themselves into believing there is no God! 

Our history books are filled with stories of other proud nations that thought this same way, but God both announced and carried out His righteous judgment on them. And still, we foolishly believe we are better than them, that we can avoid the inscrutable eyes of God. 

God is looking for one righteous man or woman who will hold to His righteous standard, and who will stand in the gap to intercede for rebellious, hellbent people (Ezekiel 22:30). 

Will you be that one?

►► 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 »

Strength In Unity

August 12, 2024 — 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. 

The 12th Song of Ascent (Psalm 131) was written by David to remind us to rely on God’s help even more as we progress on the journey (or mature in our faith). In the 13th Song (Psalm 132), the psalmist says, “Remember David” and his passion for God’s people to experience God’s righteousness and joy. In order for us to know that, we have to remember Jesus. 

Those who put this collection of Songs of Ascent together now include David’s fourth song (Psalm 133) in this collection which expresses his desire for unity among God’s people. 

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

Can you imagine the pilgrims starting out from their individual villages? Maybe there’s not very many of them to begin with and traveling is pretty easy, but they do have to be vigilant against dangers on the road. 

As they progress, they begin to join with pilgrims from other villages. Maybe these are from the same tribe, perhaps even distant relatives. The journey may go a bit slower now that there are more people to keep track of, and some complications of personality may start to arise. But the level of safety and assistance also increases. 

Soon the group is getting larger as they now join with pilgrims from other tribes. These aren’t near relatives at this point, so there may be more complications, but there is even greater encouragement, safety, and potential. 

Aha! Potential. 

We’ve gone singing with a small ensemble to singing in a choir. And David is anticipating us singing in an even larger, majestic choir! There will undoubtedly be more problems, but there is also assuredly so much more potential, beauty, and strength in their combined worship. 

My friend Dan Chastain has over 20 years of experience in the United States Army. He points out that the Army did the same things in his day as we read in the Old Testament. 

The unity of a fighting force, Dan said, is a blessing. David was a professional soldier. Many people today join the military because of this professional, unity, and camaraderie. Maintaining this unity is the responsibility of everyone, because disunity leads to mistrust, chaos, and defeat. 

David says this choir paints a picture—“it is like” (v. 2) and “it is as if” (v. 3). He is saying that God desires overflowing blessings on His people (v. 2), and that God desires saturating blessings on His people (v. 3). Why? Because God wants to give us more than enough for our needs so that there is plenty left for those who aren’t brothers and sisters yet. He longs for our choir to include people from every tribe, race, and nation. 

Just as we said last week that a Christian’s joy is a testimony, a choir of Christians is an even more compelling testimony! 

David calls this unity “good” which really means so much better than the alternative. And he calls this unity “pleasant.” The Hebrew word literally means singing a sweet sound! 

The Hebrew word for “unity” here is also instructive. It means to be together in the same place—not just in spirit and desire—but in physical proximity. This is exactly the picture we see in the first Church (Acts 2:44, 46-47), as well as the picture of the choir from every nation, tribe, people, and language singing around God’s throne in Heaven (Revelation 7:9-10). 

In order to navigate all of the differences of personality that could keep us from this unity, we have to work at. We need the attitude of Jesus (Philippians 2:1-5). This requires a daily transformation of our minds (Romans 12:1-3), and this transformed mind is what helps us move from a small ensemble to a majestic choir (Romans 12:4-5, 16-18). 

Remember the word “saints” is always plural in the New Testament. You and I each have a vital part to play in helping other saints! 

If you’ve missed our look at any of the other Songs of Ascent, you can find them all listed here. 

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments »

Links & Quotes

August 10, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

No one wants what the gloomy person has. Joy is a Christian’s testimony—it’s what attracts others to Jesus! Check out this full message from my series on the Songs of Ascent.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“At first glance, people may not see how these different forms of sexual violence connect to each other. But, in fact, experts are increasingly recognizing that they may all stem from one common source—sexual objectification. Sexual objectification occurs when people perceive others as sex objects rather than complex human beings deserving of dignity and respect.” Pornography is a major contributor to the sexual objectification which leads to sexual violence.

Dr. Brian Thomas describes why fossils are found where they are and why land animals may even be found near marine animals: “This fossil discovery [a bone from a South American megaraptor found near Cape Otway, Australia] fits well with a biblical history, which goes something like this: Around 2348 BC, a worldwide flood crushed and reshaped the earth’s surface, breaking up a single landmass (Pangaea) into continents and fossilizing countless living things. Prior to the Flood megaraptors roamed Pangaea, during the Flood they were fossilized, and in the late Flood stages the boundaries of new continents (along with their fossils) were roughly shaped. Unlike the standard story, the outlines of this history have been testified to by reliable eyewitnesses, and this testimony has been faithfully preserved in Genesis.”

“The more we let God take over us, the more truly ourselves we become—because He made us.” —C.S. Lewis

J. Warner Wallace shares two trends in American society that are contributing to the decline of religious adherence in America.

“There is no way around hard work. Embrace it.” —Roger Federer

Shame on my thoughts, how they stray from me!
During the Psalms, they wander on a path that is not right; they run, they distract…
One moment they follow the ways of loveliness, and the next the ways of riotous shame…
Swiftly they leap in one bound from earth to heaven…
O beloved Christ… may the grace of the sevenfold Spirit come to keep them in check!
Rule this heart of mine, O swift God of the elements, that You may be my love, and I may do Your will! —Anonymous, On the Flightiness of Thought, Irish, 8th-9th century






Ungodly leaders become more and more selfish, while shepherd leaders become more and more God-fearing and more and more attentive to the needs of others (Jeremiah 12:10-11). Check out my series of posts for godly leaders and my book Shepherd Leadership.










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



	



Selfish Pragmatism

August 9, 2024 — Craig T. Owens 




Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in continual apostasy? They hold on to deceit, they refuse to return. I have listened and heard, they have spoken what is not right; no one repented of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Everyone turned to his own course, like a horse charging into the battle. (Jeremiah 8:5-6)


“Everyone turned to his own course” is the description of our culture today.


It’s selfish pragmatism—I can determine what’s right for me. This “continual apostasy” will be our undoing as individuals and as a nation unless we repent and turn wholeheartedly back to God and His righteous ways!






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



	



Persecution From Religious Leaders

August 7, 2024 — 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. 



The religious leaders who should have known God’s Word the best were the ones who wanted Jeremiah killed for speaking God’s Word boldly. 


     The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!” … Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!” (Jeremiah 26:7-8, 11) 


They did this to Jesus. The religious leaders shouted louder and louder, “Crucify Him!” 


They will do this to me. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). And He said, “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On My account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:17-18). 


When—not if—this persecution comes, I want to be able to stand before the religious and civil leaders of my time and be able to hear what Jesus heard from Pontius Pilate: “I find no basis for a charge against this Man” (John 18:38; 19:4, 6). 


Holy Spirit, help me to speak only what You tell me to speak and do only what You tell me to do (Matthew 10:19-20). Help me to respond quickly to any wrong thinking, speaking, or action that You point out so that I may just as quickly repent of that. I want my life to point others to Jesus, even as I face persecution. 


(I discuss the persecution flowchart above in more detail in this post.) 


►► 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 »



	



Assured Expectation

August 5, 2024 — 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. 



A recent movie set box office records. Many Hollywood commentators are surmising that it is because the unlikely duo in the movie does something so noble at the end of the movie. Throughout the movie one of the main characters takes to calling himself “Jesus.” At the end of this movie, this character and his friend take the full brunt of the evil on them in the hopes of saving the universe. 


Of course, this storyline isn’t new to Hollywood or even in ancient literature. This epic quest is longed for in the human heart, looking for a hero to selflessly sacrifice himself to save everyone else around them. 


The only problem is that these heroes aren’t sure if their sacrifice is actually going to work. 


This, of course, isn’t the case with Jesus. Angels announce before His incarnation that He will save His people. Jesus Himself says, “I will lay down My life for My friends and I will take it up again.” And in the very last book of the Bible we read that before Time even began, Jesus was already seen as the sacrificial Lamb slain for the deliverance of His people. 


This story doesn’t start in Bethlehem, but when John 1:1 says, “In the beginning,” the language there is really saying, “From before there was a beginning, Jesus our Hero already knew the outcome of His selfless sacrifice.”  


We see hints and foreshadowing of this Most Epic Story all throughout history and throughout Scripture. Like in Psalm 132—the longest of the Songs of Ascent (at 18 verses, the next longest song is only half its length). 


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


The key verse (v. 10) is in the middle: it connects David and Jesus. The words “Anointed One” is one word in Hebrew: Masiah which is Messiah. In the New Testament,  the word Christ also means Anointed One. 


What do we learn in the first half of this song. It opens with the words, “O LORD, remember David…” (v. 1). 


Because this psalmist mentions the same incident that we discussed in Psalm 131, this is another reason why I think David had the incident of moving the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem in mind when he wrote the previous song (see Psalm 132:2-5; 2 Samuel 6:17). The people continued to rejoices as David made arrangements and provided building materials for his son Solomon to build the temple (vv. 6-9). 


Look at how verse 10 connects David to Jesus the Messiah. In verse 2, David swore an oath to the Lord, but he was physically unable to fulfill his promise. In verse 11 (also see 2 Samuel 7:11-16), “The Lord swore an oath to David.” 


God was able to fulfill His promise, which we see in the life, death, resurrection, and  ascension of Jesus, and then in the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter declares this in his sermon—connecting the work of Jesus to the prophesy of King David (Acts 2:22-36). 


We can sum up the first half of Psalm 132 with the words “Remember David.” And we can sum up the second half of this song of ascent with the words “Remember Jesus.”  


Remember Jesus [the] Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David (2 Timothy 2:8). 


I like this verse from the Amplified Bible: Constantly keep in mind Jesus Christ (the Messiah) as risen from the dead, as the prophesied King descended from David, according to the good news (the Gospel) that I preach.  


David swears an oath (v. 2) but has no power to fulfill it. God swears an oath (v. 11-12) and fulfills it (Luke 1:33; Revelation 11:15). 


David longs for blessings for the priests and saints (v. 10) but has no power to make it happen. God says, “I will” bless the priests and saints (vv. 13-18; 1 Peter 2:5-9; Revelation 1:6). 


All of our longings for a Hero—for salvation, for purpose, for meaning—are fulfilled in Jesus. All of God’s promises for these things are fulfilled in Jesus. All of our life should be lived in this joyful assurance (Hebrews 10:35-39; Revelation 3:11)! 


Not only should we not stumble in the homestretch, but we should live in such joyful assurance of God’s promises that we soar across the finish line! 


If you cannot remember anything else, remember David and remember Jesus. 


Check out all of the other Songs of Ascent 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments »








« Older posts 


Newer posts »