Fickle Crowds

June 24, 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. 

One day, the Lyaconians hailed Barnabas and Paul as gods and tried to offer sacrifices to them, and the next day they attempted to murder Paul. 

     Even in the light of these words [Barnabas and Paul] with difficulty prevented the people from offering sacrifice to them. But some Jews arrived there from Antioch and Iconium; and having persuaded the people and won them over, they stoned Paul and afterward dragged him out of the town, thinking that he was dead. (Acts 14:18-19) 

Crowds have always been fickle—quickly changing their allegiance from one person or idea to another one. Think about Jesus: they went from “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord” to “Crucify Him” in less than a week! 

Jesus wasn’t surprised by this. He knew what was in men’s hearts and never built His hopes or His ministry on them (John 2:23-25). 

So why do we? 

Why do we equate a large church attendance or lots of views of our online content as “successful” and anything less as “failure”? 

Jesus didn’t want or need the approval of a large crowd. Instead, He heard, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, 17:5). 

Paul didn’t want or need the approval of a large crowd. Instead, in his final letter he noted that with the exception of Luke, everyone else had abandoned him. And still some of his last words were, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). 

If we are measuring success or failure by merely humans standards, we are bound to go from elated to crushed over and over again. 

There is only one metric of success we should ever give weight to: 

We should only desire to hear our Master say, “Well done” because we faithfully stewarded the gifts and opportunities He gave to us. 

Let’s stop this thrilled-disappointed-thrilled-disappointed cycle by taking our eyes and hearts off of numbers, and resolving to keep our eyes and hearts solely on our Savior.

P.S. If this topic intrigues you, please consider checking out my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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

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Inspiration, Illumination, And Boldness

June 10, 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. 

David declared that the Holy Spirit inspired the words he penned. “The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). 

Both Jesus and Peter affirm this in the New Testament as well when they make mention that David’s words were given to him by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:43; Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16, 4:25). 

It’s not just the words of David, but all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)! This is why we would be wise to pray before reading our Bibles to ask the One Who inspired the Scripture to illuminate our minds to understand it and guide us into its daily application (John 14:26, 16:13). 

Jesus desired that we go even farther than this. His directive to His followers was for them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This initial baptism took place on the first Pentecost celebration after Jesus had ascended to Heaven. Luke records it this way—

And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression in each tongue in appropriate words. (Acts 2:4 AMPC) 

And in the subsequent verses Luke makes it clear that these were intelligible languages and intelligent words that served as a testimony to the worldwide visitors that were in Jerusalem—

And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them—the apostles—speaking in his own particular dialect. And they were beside themselves with amazement, saying, “Are not all these who are talking Galileans? Then how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own (particular) dialect to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the transient residents from Rome, both Jews and the proselytes to Judaism from other religions, Cretans and Arabians too—we all hear them speaking in our own native tongues and telling of the mighty works of God!” (vv. 6-11 AMPC) 

In his sermon that followed this event, Peter states that the baptism in the Holy Spirit—with the physical evidence of speaking in tongues—is an evidence of Christ’s resurrection. “Being therefore lifted high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised blessing which is the Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear” (v. 33). 

Later on, when the Christians were facing the threat of persecution from the Jewish leadership, they prayed. In their prayer, they noted again the Spirit-inspired words that David penned and the desire of Jesus for them to be His missionaries (see Acts 4:24-30). 

God answers their prayer powerfully! “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the word of God with freedom and boldness and courage” (v. 31). 

The Holy Spirit gave us the Scripture, and He illuminates the Scripture to us. 

The Holy Spirit assures us of our salvation, and He empowers us to share this Good News with others. 

The Holy Spirit gives us words to speak, and He gives us the boldness and courage to speak them. 

He speaks, He illuminates, He empowers, He emboldens! If your theology limits the work of the Holy Spirit to some obscure corner of your world, you are robbing yourself of the power to live a God-glorifying, Jesus-promoting life. 

You may be interested in some additional posts and sermons where I discuss more about the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit empowers Christians—

You may also be interested in an extensive series of messages I have shared called We Are: Pentecostal. 

►► 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

May 31, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

When there is a misunderstanding between the leader and a team member, insecure leaders want the other person to change. Secure leaders, however, take ownership and ask, “What do I need to do differently?” Check out more 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.

In elaborating on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 about Christians being the salt of the earth, T.M. Moore wrote, “In Jesus’ day, salt had three primary functions. Most people would have understood two of these, but only those raised in an Old Testament framework would have known about the third.” Read more about what churches should be considering about how they season the community around them.

In his “Look at the Book” series, John Piper expounds on the many ways Paul refers to Jesus in his second letter to Timothy. There are several ways, but Paul’s preferred way is “Christ Jesus.” Pastor John unpacks the Hebrew and Greek origins of these words and titles, and why he thinks Paul especially gravitated toward this title.

“Aerosols from penguin excrement may help trigger cloud formation, reducing solar heating and helping stabilize local areas of the Antarctic climate, study finds.” Hmmm, it’s almost like God designed His creation to take care of itself—because He did!

And an article in Science says, “According to secular models of Solar System formation, Earth, as an inner Solar System planet, should have little to no water.” And yet more than 70% of Earth is covered with water!

Aelred of Rievaulx wrote, “In friendship there is nothing more outstanding than faithfulness, which seems to be both the nurse and guardian of friendship. In all of life’s turns, in adversity and prosperity, in joy and sadness, in delightful and bitter circumstances, it reveals itself to be comparable to friendship, holding in the same regard both the humble and the exalted, the poor and the rich, the strong and the weak, the well and the infirm.”

Commenting on Aelred’s words, T.M. Moore observed, “Don’t we all want friends like that, who not only will provoke and prod us to grow in the Lord, but will stand by us in good times and bad, when we’re up and when we’re down? But if we would have such friends, we must be good stewards of their trust. This, again, is why spiritual friendships must be grounded in the Lord and focused on Jesus if they are going to bear the fruit of His indwelling Spirit.”

Evolutionary scientists claim to have made some steps forward in their understanding of the origins of life by using “the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).” But creationists like those at ICR observe that, “This mysterious LUCA is an unknown entity that existed from an unknown time ago at an unknown place by an unknown chain of unknown processes.” Clearly, the hypothesis that is the most straightforward and explainable is that God created the life in our universe just as the Bible states.

Along the same lines, Glenn Schrivener asks, “What do you think was there ‘in the beginning’—before peoples, planets, and protons? If you could hit rewind on the history of the universe and go back as far as possible, what would you find?” Then he gives us four possible things we may consider.

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The Voice In Your Ear

May 19, 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. 

I would like you to think about a wise, loving friend. One who has years of godly wisdom, empathy, loads of patience, and loving boldness. When you talk with them, you know that you will always get good counsel—even if you may not like exactly what they have shared with you, deep down you know it is still sound wisdom. This is what the Holy Spirit—as our Counselor—does for us. 

The Holy Spirit is not merely a force, but He is a Person. Jesus Himself give the Spirit the pronouns “He / Him / His.” 

Then take a look at just the beginning of the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit does things a person does—

  • He speaks God’s Word (1:16; 4:25) 
  • He empowers (2:4) 
  • He can be lied to (5:3, 9) 
  • He can witness events (5:32) 
  • He can be resisted (7:51) 
  • He can encourage (9:31) 
  • He gives wisdom (6:10) 
  • He gives direction (8:29, 10:19) 

I especially want to key in on those last two attributes where the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. 

Samuel grew up during the time of the judges, where everyone did whatever they thought best. This is a time that is described like this, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Samuel 3:1). Visions in the Hebrew language is two words: open communication. In other words, people just weren’t listening for God’s voice. 

Samuel had to learn to hear God’s voice as well (see this passage and all of the other biblical references in this post by clicking here). 

God doesn’t reveal His heart to those who are unwilling to obey. His persistent call is for obedience to His Word and reliance on His provision. So the word of the Lord had to be revealed to Samuel (v. 7). When Samuel said he was listening (v. 10), that was a posture of readiness to obey. 

God wants to reveal His heart to His obedient people. I love how God does this later for Samuel, “Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came…” (1 Samuel 9:15). 

This is how Jesus described the Holy Spirit in John 7:37-39, as streams that flow continuously out of our being. And Jesus also calls Him Counselor (John 14:16). 

Isaiah described our Counselor like this, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21). 

Let’s call this GPS = God’s Personal Spirit in us! 

Those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit—utterly yielded to His wisdom—will experience:

  1. More insight into God’s Word—Psalm 119:18 
  2. More timely application of God’s Word—2 Timothy 3:16-17 
  3. More boldness in prayer—2 Samuel 7:27 (same word for in his ear as Samuel experienced) 

All Christians have a deposit of the Holy Spirit in their lives at the moment of salvation. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a completed yielding to the Counselor’s influence. So don’t stop at salvation, but ask Jesus to send you what the Father has promised (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:33). 

Check out all of the messages in our series leading up to Pentecost Sunday 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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The Blessing Of Being There

March 26, 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. 

Luke had previously spent a little time with the apostle Paul (Acts 16:10-18), but near the end of the historical record in the Book of Acts, we see Luke with Paul almost continually. 

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

The reason we can tell this is because of the pronouns “us” and “we.” From Acts 20:5—21:18, 27:1—28:16, these two pronouns are used over 80 times! 

Luke probably joined Paul in Greece (20:2) and was with him when they arrived in Jerusalem. After Paul’s arrest, transport to Caesarea, and being bound over for his hearing before Caesar, Luke is still there (27:1). Luke remains with Paul throughout the entire journey to Rome, and is still with him as the Book of Acts closes. 

Paul calls Luke a faithful friend (2 Timothy 4:11). Today, people know this man who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts as a preeminent historian. It is God’s perfect provision and timing that links together the lives of Paul and Luke at such a pivotal time. 

Quite simply stated: Paul is blessed by Luke just being with him. 

Not only does Luke preserve the accurate historical record of Paul’s missionary journeys, but it appears that Luke is actively involved in Paul’s letter writing to the churches. Luke uses more unique Greek words in the New Testament than any other writer. But many of the words that appear more than once are found only in the historical works of Luke and the letters of Paul. I can almost imagine Paul dictating a letter, and then pausing to ask his educated friend Luke, “What is the Greek word that means such-and-such?” Luke’s thoughtful, Spirit-inspired reply is then included in these important letters for the early churches. 

This should be a great encouragement to us still today that God has us where we need to be, and with the people that need us in their lives. 

What skills do you have? Who has God put in your life? How can your talents be a blessing to those people? 

Simply doing what God has gifted you to do with those whom He has placed in your life is both a blessing to your companions and is pleasing to your God. 

I pray that you will find a way to use your God-given talents to be a blessing to those around you. Perhaps the blessing will simply be you being there for your friends as they journey through their life. 

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

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Exposing The Bitterness Of Gossip

March 24, 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. 

A bite we have all experienced is gossip. We called flattery the sneaky bite, but I think gossips believe they are actually being sneaky—that somehow they are getting away with their gossip.  I think gossip is also sneaky because we can be pulled into a gossipy conversation almost without realizing what is happening. 

That’s because gossip usually has a veneer of truth on it. That thin coating of truth may be sugary sweet, but the words hide a bitter poison that is intended to undermine the one that is being talked about. Twice Solomon says, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels” (Proverbs 18:8, 26:22). The Contemporary English Version translates this verse even more graphically: “There’s nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.” But Solomon also warns, “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28). 

Consider the story in Numbers 12:1-9. 

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

Moses had married a Cushite woman, a marriage that was neither morally nor legally wrong. If someone simply said, “Moses married a woman from Cush” they would have been speaking the truth. The gossips (Miriam and Aaron) want to use a truthful statement for the purpose of making a case to prove their point. These siblings crossed the line when they stopped talking about the idea and start talking about Moses. This is especially true when their conversation about Moses was to make him look inferior or to make themselves look superior. 

I think a label that is very apropos for this is “character assassination.” An assassin gets close enough to strike, but also has an alibi to cover themselves. So, too, the gossip can inject their poison to denigrate someone’s character, but then use the alibi of saying, “What? Did I say something untruthful?” 

There is truth in their questions that God has used all three of them to delver messages and to sing worship songs, but in light of their statement in verse 1 they are clearly asking these questions with poisonous intent. You can especially spot gossip by this characteristic sign: They talk about a person, but they won’t talk to that person. We are not told to whom Miriam and Aaron may have been speaking to in verse 2, but it certainly wasn’t Moses. That means they were trying to get other people to rally to their side. 

When we have been the target of a gossip’s words, we should follow the example that Moses gave us.  

  1. Remember that God has heard the gossip (Numbers 12:2b, 4-8). 
  2. Check your pride (v. 3). If you feel you must address the gossip, you must address the topic without attacking the gossiper (see Romans 12:17-18). 
  3. Be careful of who you are correcting. It’s best to let God do the correcting (Numbers 12:8-9), but if do need to speak to the person, be cautious of adding fuel to the fire (Proverbs 9:7-9). 
  4. Desire restoration. Moses interceded for Miriam’s healing (Numbers 12:13), and Jesus has the idea of restoration and unity in the Church in mind in Matthew 18:15-16. 
  5. Stay away from the unrepentant gossiper. If the gossiper doesn’t acknowledge their sin, we have to limit our interaction with that sheep (Matthew 18:17) . After Miriam was healed of her leprosy, there is no other mention of her until she died which is probably an indication that Moses didn’t have any additional conversations with her. Paul gave Timothy similar counsel about Alexander (1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 4:14-15).

The natural response to gossip spoken about you is fight or flight. The supernatural response is faithfulness to the Bible’s counsel about a gossiper. 

And one final word to all of us: Don’t become a gossip yourself! 

Just as God hears those gossiping about you, He hears you gossiping about others! 

Don’t…

  • …talk about people who aren’t in the room. Remember the Golden Rule of treating others the way you want to be treated (Luke 6:31). 
  • …share information that isn’t yours to share (Proverbs 25:9). 
  • …listen to a gossip. If they gossip to you about others, they will gossip about you to others! 

Gossip, as Solomon warned us, separates even the closest of friends. We must identify it and deal with both the gossip and the gossiper in a God-honoring, biblically-sound way. And we must avoid becoming a gossip ourselves. 

If you’ve missed any of the other sheep bites we’ve talked about in this series, you can find them all by clicking here. And if you are a pastor, check out my book When Sheep Bite, where I address the bites of sheep from a leadership paradigm. 

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

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Leaders Lift Up Or Push Down

February 25, 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. 

As both a consultant and in one-on-one conversations with colleagues, I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard leaders tell me how incompetent their teammates are. When I have gently asked how they could help their teammates improve, the response is usually something like, “I think they are giving me all they have right now.” 

There is an age-old leadership principle that goes something like this—

A poor leader doesn’t believe his people can achieve more than they already are, so he stops training them and stops expecting great things from them. His people soon discover the level of performance their leader will settle for, and then gravitate to that level. 

The leader then assumes that’s all that his people are capable of achieving, so he accepts it as fact and quits challenging his people to get better. 

So both reinforce what the other believes, and the vicious downward cycle continues. 

How sad! 

But I have found that exemplary leaders believe the best is still to come. They challenge their teammates to strive for greatness. They take time to train, resource, and encourage them to strive for the next level. They don’t beat them up or give up on them when they stumble, but they treat stumbles as learning opportunities. They always believe their teammates can achieve more. 

If you were on a team with a leader like that, wouldn’t you want to live up to those expectations? Of course you would! So instead of the vicious downward cycle I just outlined, an environment like this creates a virtuous cycle that keeps pulling people upward. 

The apostle Paul talked in virtuous terms about his teammates. He wrote publicly about Timothy (I have no one else like him—Philippians 2:20), Epaphroditus (my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier—Philippians 2:25), Mark (he is helpful to me in my ministry—2 Timothy 4:11), and Luke (the beloved physician and faithful comrade—Colossians 4:14), to name just a few.

Even when he had to speak a challenging, correcting word to the saints in Corinth, he still believed the best for them—

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. … I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you. (2 Corinthians 7:8-9, 16 NLT) 

I love that phrase: I have complete confidence in you! 

A mark of a godly leader is his supreme confidence in his people to grow and improve. 

If you feel like your teammates just aren’t measuring up, can I suggest that you take a look in the mirror? It may be that your expectations of them are too low, that your attitude toward them has been squelched, and that your words and actions are perpetuating a downward cycle.

By changing your attitude toward your teammates, you can put the brakes on that downward pull, and begin a brand new virtuous cycle that pulls your entire team—and your whole organization—up to heights where they have never gone before! 

This is part 82 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

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Wolf Deterrent

January 21, 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. 

As Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, he makes time to meet with the leaders of the Church in Ephesus. An important reminder Paul gives them comes from the example he lived out while he was in Ephesus: “For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27). 

Some translations say “the whole counsel of God,” but I like the simple, straightforward wording in the KJV: “all the counsel of God.” In other words, Paul’s textbook was everything in the Scriptures. 

One of Paul’s traveling companions was Luke, who made frequent use of the Greek word boulē, which is translated “counsel.” He is the only Gospel writer to use this word, and then he uses it seven more times in the Book of Acts. Putting together Luke’s usage of boulē with the three other appearances in the New Testament, we can come up with a good overview of what Paul meant by “the whole will of God.” 

Boulē tells us that…

  • God’s purpose always prevails (Acts 2:23, 4:28, 5:38, 13:36; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 1:11) 
  • Man’s counsel can be flawed (Luke 23:51; Acts 27:12, 42) 
  • God’s counsel if immutable (Hebrews 6:17) 
  • Men who mutate God’s counsel are the wolves that seek to destroy the flock (Luke 7:29-30; Acts 20:27-31)

(Check out all of these Scriptures by clicking here.)

Paul warned these Ephesians leaders: 

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!… (Acts 20:28-31, emphasis added) 

In my book When Sheep Bite I have a chapter called’ Driving Away the Wolves.’ In that chapter I point out—

  There is a phrase that is often associated with the behavior of wolves: a lone wolf. Normally, wolves travel and live in packs. The phrase “lone wolf” is associated with those who leave in order to find a mate, carve out their own territory, and then form their own pack. 

   Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Lone wolves hear the shepherd’s voice but ignore it to follow their own pursuit of forming their own pack. Remember that these lone wolves don’t want to stay alone: they want to build their own following.

Jesus said we could spot imposters—wolves in sheep’s clothing—by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). Two evident fruits are: 

  1. Mutating the immutable counsel of God’s Word to suit their own needs 
  2. Ignoring or criticizing the whole counsel of God’s Word that godly shepherd leaders faithfully teach and preach

For shepherd leaders and their flocks, the whole counsel of God’s Word is the best wolf deterrent you can find! Another passage from my book says—

   David’s beautiful description of the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 has a phrase that sounds unusual to my ears. He writes, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” How can such wooden instruments bring comfort to sheep? When the sheep know their shepherd has the rod of God’s Word in his hand and is skilled at using it, the sheep are far more relaxed around the shepherd. This is because a shepherd’s rod is not used against the sheep, but only against the enemies of the sheep. 

   Throughout the Old Testament, the rods in the hands of leaders were the symbol of their God-appointed authority (think of the staffs of Moses and Aaron). Those rods were symbolic of the words God had spoken to these shepherds to empower them to lead His sheep. In the New Testament setting, the Bible is described in similar terms. Shepherds are directed to correctly handle the rod of God’s Word, knowing that His Word is the only thing that can reliably care for the sheep by teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training (2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16). The sheep will welcome this; the wolves will fight against this. 

Pastors, immerse yourself in the whole counsel of God’s Word. Not just the parts that are comfortable for you or pleasant to preach about, but all of God’s Word! This will strengthen the rod of leadership God has given you, it will bring health and comfort to the sheep in your flock, and it will be a strong deterrent against the wolves that would seek to infiltrate your pasture. 

I would also humbly recommend that you pick up a copy of my book When Sheep Bite to help resource you to heal from old or ongoing injuries, and to fortify you to remain faithful to the call God has on your ministry. 

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

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“The Days of Noah”

January 15, 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.

Jesus said His Second Coming would occur at a time in history that was just like the behaviors during “the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:36-39; Luke 17:26-27). 

What exactly did those days look like? 

   The earth was depraved and putrid in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence (desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power). And God looked upon the world and saw how degenerate, debased, and vicious it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction. (Genesis 6:11-12 AMPC) 

Paul describes this same environment to his friend Timothy—

   For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. (2 Timothy 3:2-4 AMPC) 

It seems to me that we are now living in “the days of Noah” and “the last days.” For Christians, I think this means two things:

(1) Be diligent to keep yourself devoted to living for God. Noah stood out in stark contrast to everyone else because of his righteousness and blamelessness “in his evil generation” (Genesis 6:9). Peter wrote, 

   So, beloved, since you are expecting these things, be eager to be found by Him [at His coming] without spot or blemish and at peace [in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts]. (2 Peter 3:14 AMPC) 

(2) Be active in telling people about the Second Coming of Jesus and that the only door to salvation from God’s judgment is Jesus Christ. Jude wrote this—

   Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)–[which will bring you] unto life eternal. And refute [so as to] convict some who dispute with you, and on some have mercy who waver and doubt. [Strive to] save others, snatching [them] out of [the] fire; on others take pity [but] with fear, loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality. (Jude 1:21-23 AMPC) 

The time is short. Let’s stay righteous and let’s stay active in proclaiming the Good News that Jesus is coming as the All-Righteous Judge, but He has already paid for our forgiveness so that we can “stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy” (Jude 1:24).

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Grumbling People

January 8, 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. 

The Israelites were barely out of Egypt, freed from 400 years of captivity, and they begin grumbling against Moses, their God-appointed leader—

     Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.” (Exodus 32:1)

Then later, on the borders of their promised land, they were again doubtful that Moses truly had heard from God. “So they said to one another, ‘Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!’” (Numbers 14:4). 

Have you ever wondered why these disgruntled people didn’t just leave on their own? If they truly thought that going to their Promised Land was impossible, why not just pack up their possessions and leave? 

Instead, they said, “We need a leader to help us leave.” In reality, they are really saying, “We need a leader that will help us do what we want to do.” 

Human nature is always looking for someone to validate their evil desires—to assure them that they are okay. 

Except they’re not okay. They are rebelling against God!

⛔️ There is a warning here for all of us. When we are looking for a leader to validate our feelings instead of looking to God for an unchangeable, objective standard to obey, we are in a dangerous place! 

Paul warned his friend Timothy, ”For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:3). 

⛔️ There is also a warning here for leaders. Watch out when people come to you, asking you to lead or teach in a way that sanctions the way they want to live. You are in a dangerous place if you give in to the rabble’s demands! 

Paul also warned Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). 

Leaders, always remember that it doesn’t matter how many people follow you or tell you how wonderful you are. The only thing that matters is hearing the Judge say to you either, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” or “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (see Matthew 7:21-23; 25:14-23). 

Godly leaders don’t live for the momentary approval of fickle people, but they live focused on the eternal pleasure that only comes when they stay singularly attuned to our unchangeable God. 

If you are a leader, you may also want to check out these two related posts: 

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

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