Craig T. Owens

April 2026
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Praying To Hallow God’s Name

January 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.

We said our protocol in approaching Almighty God in prayer is found in just two words: Our Father.

Notice the transition: your Father (3x in Matthew 6:6, 8) to Our Father (6:9). How does this happen? Jesus makes it possible and the Holy Spirit continually reminds us of Christ’s completed work (Hebrews 2:11; John 14:13-14; Romans 8:15-16).

It’s not just “our Father” but “our Father in Heaven.” Let’s remember that our Father is both All-loving and All-powerful. The phrase in Heaven reminds us of His absolute sovereignty. “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him” (Psalm 115:3). What pleases Him? To give us His kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Then there’s another phrase that is vital: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Hallowed means both to acknowledge His greatness and to keep Him separate from any profane things. What is profane? The dictionary says it is irreverence or contempt for God. The opposite of profane is holiness—something set apart exclusively for God. This is not something better than something else, but something exclusively that will bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

The root word for hallowed is “holy.” We see this literally translated in the name Holy Spirit. It is a word also referring to Jesus when He is called “the Holy One of God” (see Mark 1:24). The angel uses the word twice when he says, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

And that same word translated hallowed and holy is also translated saints. Literally that means “holy ones” or set apart people.

Jesus is teaching us that our prayer is BOTH an acknowledgment of how God’s name is to be hallowed AND a request that He would empower us to pray and live in ways that makes that happen.

This means our attitude needs to be focused on God’s reputation not my reputation (as in Matthew 6:5, 7:21-23).

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name” is both an attitude of prayer and a lifestyle.

We hallow God’s name when our prayer and daily lifestyle bring Him the supreme glory that is due exclusively to His awesome name! When we keep our eyes and hearts on Him, He will provide everything else we need (see Matthew 6:32-33).

To follow along with all of the message in this prayer series called Kingdom Praying, please click here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this exceptional Bible study tool to help with Creation apologetics. ◀︎◀︎

Links & Quotes

January 13, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

We have added a lot of “stuff” to our prayer language, almost like God wouldn’t know that we were praying to Him unless we used these special words! Jesus made it simple by giving us two words: “Our Father.” I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Immersing ourselves in the Psalms and turning them into prayers teaches our hearts the ‘grammar’ of prayer and gives us the most formative instruction in how to pray in accord with God’s character and will.” —Tim Keller, in Prayer

New sequencing of the Y chromosomes are creating problems for evolutions. When looking at the genetic code for the larger primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan), not only are they found to be not nearly as close to human DNA as previously claimed, but even these primates are not as related as was thought. This is just more scientific evidence pointing to an All-wise Creator.

“We best take care of others when we are judicious about self-care. We only pour our lives out for others well over time if we have taken care of our own bodies and souls well in time. … Folly neglects soul care and leaves us empty, powerless to effectively serve others. We only have resources to constantly give out if we have been diligent to constantly receive in.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied

Issac is an amazing foreshadowing of Jesus. Consider these aspects:

the wood for the sacrifice is on his back
the father placed the wood on his son’s back
the son was to be the lamb offered in sacrifice as God commanded

John Stonestreet and Dr. Glenn Sunshine write, “Constantine has been a controversial figure throughout Church history. Both the genuineness of his conversion and his impact on the Church have been consistently questioned and scrutinized. Many think that Constantine’s actions to tie the Church to the empire compromised the Gospel. Often, these arguments are based on a misunderstanding of what Constantine did and fail to consider what followed from the legalization of Christianity.” Check out more of the history and the impact of Emperor Constantine.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Christianity, church history, Constantine, Creation, Creator, Dick Brogden, DNA, evolution, foreshadowing, Genesis, genetics, God's Word, Isaac, John Stonestreet, prayer, Psalm, quotes, Tim Keller, video, world history. Leave a Comment »

The Craig And Greg Show: The Responsibility Of Power

January 11, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

It goes without saying, but leadership positions confer a level of power to the people who occupy them. This power is necessary for us as leaders to do our job effectively, but if we’re not very careful it can begin to corrupt us and poison our leadership. Tune in as Greg and I tackle this tricky issue.

[0:22] Leaders need both enough power to get things done, but not too much that they crush people.
[1:44] Power can corrupt us if we are unaccountable in the use of our power.
[3:12] We should always be thinking in terms of how our use of power can empower others.
[5:16] A leader’s power should always be linked to responsibility.
[6:27] We earn our power—we don’t grab it form others—to better serve.
[9:32] Greg says, “Leadership should be dangerous!”
[12:40] Sometimes we must use our power to protect those around us.
[16:00] Greg steps into “you know what”!
[16:27] Are power and serving compatible?
[18:25] What do powerful leaders not want to do?
[20:26] When it comes right down to it, the use of leadership really comes down to influence.
[22:02] Our coaching services can help you use your power more effectively.

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.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accountability, Craig And Greg Show, Greg Heeres, leadership, podcast, power, responsibility, video. 2 Comments »

“God Said”

January 10, 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.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3).

“God said.” His words literally became substance!

Those who deny a Creator claim that this whole universe came into being by chance. But they still cannot get away from the fact that there was “something” there—some basic elements—that interacted to start the process. The Bible tells us that the “something” was actually Someone—Jehovah God!

The New Defender’s Study Bible notes:

“No other cosmogony, whether in ancient paganism or modern naturalism, even mentions the absolute origin of the universe. All begin with the space/time/matter universe, already existing in a primeval state of chaos, then attempt to speculate how it might have ‘evolved’ into its present form. Modern evolutionism begins with elementary particles of matter evolving out of nothing in a ‘big bang’ and then developing through natural forces into complex systems.”

Which requires more faith? To believe that all of the order and perfection in our universe—from the astronomical to the sub-atomic—came to be by mere chance? Or that the perfect design we see came into being by a Perfect Designer? It seems to me that it takes tremendously more faith to be an atheist.

Check out this recent post from the Institute for Creation Research:

“It is appropriate for Christians to begin the New Year by referring back to the beginning of the very first year. The first verse of God’s Word is also its most important verse, since it is the foundation on which everything else is built. Even God’s great work of salvation is irrelevant and futile without His prior work of creation, for only the Creator of all things could ever become the Savior of all things. If a person really believes Genesis 1:1, he or she should have no difficulty believing anything else in the Bible.”

I trust the God revealed to us in His Word and in His Creation. He has proven Himself faithful over and over again, never giving me a reason to doubt that He is who He says He is.

“God said” is the encouraging, faith-building promise I cling to!

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like a first look at the cover of my brand new book. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Big Bang, cosmology, Creation, Creator, evolution, Genesis, God's promise, God's Word, Institute for Creation Research. 1 Comment »

Making Better Resolutions

January 9, 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.

Is New Year’s Day really the best time to make a resolution? Well, maybe! Here are some thoughts to help you be more successful whenever you resolve to make some healthy changes in your life.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

If you would like to go a little deeper on this, check out these posts I previously shared:

Here are a bunch of ways to get in touch with me and follow along with other projects on which I am involved

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: attitude, goal setting, goals, motivation, New Year, perseverance, resolution, stick-to-it-iveness, success, video. 1 Comment »

The Prayer Protocol

January 8, 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.

Every monarch or president on the planet has certain protocols for anyone who interacts with them. There are requirements on how to walk into the room, titles that have to be used, the way you have to act, things you can or can’t say, and the list goes on and on.

So it’s natural to think that this is how we also have to approach the Sovereign King of the Universe. But this King so desires intimate conversation with His people that Jesus gave us this simple protocol: “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13).

Jesus told us that He wanted us to dispense with the world’s expected protocols. He said that when we approach God, those protocols are gone. In the preceding verses, He told us that we pray…

…NOT for show or else we are called hypocrites—putting on an act or performance to earn applause or approval.
…NOT with “alien” vocabulary or else we are pagans—adopting manners that aren’t our own as a means to be accepted.

The prayers of Jesus seldom sound like our modern idea of “prayer.” Instead, they sound more like an everyday conversation when He’s talking to His Father, and the sound like commands when He’s casting out demons or healing diseases (see examples in Matthew 8:3, 13, 26, 32; John 11:40-44).

Jesus also reminded us that we pray because…

He told us to
He wants us to seek God’s Kingdom
He wants us to receive God’s Kingdom
He wants us to live in the power of God’s Kingdom every single moment

(Matthew 6:5-7, 6:33-34, 16:16-19, 17:16-21; Mark 9:29; Luke 12:32)

Let me repeat: our protocol for prayer is nothing like the world’s protocols for interacting with rulers. Our protocol is simply coming to our Heavenly Father in simple, childlike love and anticipation.

Kingdom praying should be as natural as talking to the most loving Father you can imagine!

Check out the others messages in our series Kingdom Praying by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, God's Kingdom, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Heavenly Father, hypocrites, intimacy, Jesus Christ, prayer, video. 4 Comments »

Links & Quotes

January 6, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

”

A great mental health strategy: focus on what is happening today. Trying to fix yesterday or worrying about tomorrow robs you of the peace God wants you to have. Check out the full series of mental health strategies I shared here. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Compromise and commitment cannot coincide. … Conviction leads to commitment, but the lack of commitment leads to compromise.” —Dr. Tony Evans

I love reading about the archeological finds that confirm the historicity of the Bible! Here is a post from The Bible Archeology Report on the top ten discoveries related to Christmas.

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.” —G. Michael Hopf

“Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” —Denzel Washington

“Ministers are set to be lights to the souls of men in this respect, as they are to be the means of imparting divine truth to them, and bringing into their view the most glorious and excellent objects, and of leading them to and assisting them in the contemplation of those things that angels desire to look into…by which they may know God and Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.” —Jonathan Edwards

“Scripture the unus sermo Dei—the one sermon of God.” —Augustine

T.M. Moore is presenting another outstanding series of posts, this one about the dignity of work. In one post, he wrote, “A just society requires all members to contribute love for their neighbors, whether they are poor or wealthy. Those who will not work when they can do so should be left to the consequences of their sluggardliness (2 Thessalonians 3:10). It is incumbent on local community leaders to discover ways, analogous to the work of gleaning, of helping to meet the needs of local poor. These might include keeping part-time work available, identifying ‘community work’ opportunities and helping to fund them, offering job counseling and training, and so forth. Churches certainly could pioneer the way in this, creating opportunities for work on their campuses, on behalf of needy members, and for the community at large.”

“The Holy Spirit responds to our walking according to the Word, not merely talking about the Word.” —Dr. Tony Evans

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Thessalonians, archeology, Augustine, Christmas, difficulties, focus, Genesis, God's Word, historicity, Holy Spirit, Jonathan Edwards, mental health, Noah, obedience, opportunity, pastors, poor, preparation, quotes, Scripture, T.M. Moore, Tony Evans, video, work ethic. Leave a Comment »

Find Your New Motivation

January 4, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Whether 2023 was a year to remember or a year you would rather forget, it’s time to move ahead in 2024!

Find your new motivation → Get moving → Love the action → Keep moving forward → Find your new motivation!

If you’re stuck on any step, let me know how I can help.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: carpe diem, motivation, New Year. 1 Comment »

Kingdom Praying

January 3, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus made it clear time and time again that He came to reveal the Kingdom of God to us. He described what the Kingdom was like and told us that He came to be the means by which we could enter God’s Kingdom.

He also told us how God’s children could access the power and privileges of our Heavenly Father through the means of prayer. He assured us with words like, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Jesus said quite simply that we had access to our Father through prayer. And then to make sure we didn’t miss out on this awesome privilege, He instructed us, “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:8).

Please join me this Sunday as we go point-by-point through this Kingdom-accessing model prayer. We will learn just how truly expansive and all-encompassing this short prayer is.

Check out all of the messages:

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, God's Kingdom, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, prayer. 20 Comments »

Self-Talk During Fearful Times

January 3, 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.

When fear seems to be griping a leader’s heart, how can that leader respond in a way that benefits both themself and their team? One important strategy is paying attention to how we talk to ourselves during our battles with fear.

On the Craig And Greg Show, Greg and I discussed this important leadership skill.