Temporary Sorrow For Eternal Joy

April 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. 

On Sunday we looked at the thought that our grief often comes because our current situation isn’t what we expected it to be. Notice that we say, “what we expected,” as though we can control anything!  

Today we remember the horrific death of Jesus on the Cross and we call it Good Friday. We can only call it “good” now because we see the results on the other side. If we were to go back in time to the weeks, days, and even moments before Jesus was arrested and so cruelly treated, those around Him would call that time anything but good. 

Look how the disciples responded to this coming event (Matthew 16:21-22). Grief can also come when we give more weight to today’s pain than we do to eternity’s joy. 

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

This has always been a strategy of the devil to get people to look at now and not consider eternity. That’s how he tempted Adam and Eve, who gave in to this ploy. And then he tried the same strategy on Jesus, but failed (see Genesis 3:1-5; Matthew 4:1-10). 

Jesus knew why He came to earth (Matthew 20:28). And as He got closer and closer to the day of His crucifixion, the weight began to build (John 12:27). 

Look at how Jesus fought grief by making sure He gave more weight to eternity. He turned His pain into prayer so His Father could exchange His grief for His joy (Matthew 26:36-44).

Jesus prepared His disciples by trying to give them an eternal focus (Luke 22:14-20). He told them to pray that they wouldn’t give in to this temptation to trade eternal joy for momentary pain, but they didn’t understand. This is what focusing on the pain of now does—the weight of it exhausts us emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

But look at the eternal focus in vv. 17-19:

  • The crushed grape gives us wine 
  • The bruised wheat gives us bread 
  • The crushed, bruised, crucified Savior gives us eternal life  

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

Remember the devil’s strategy: get us so focused on the pain of now that we forget about the far greater joy that lasts forever. 

Jesus wants us to “do this in remembrance of Me”—to see the crushed grape and the bruised wheat and the crucified Savior in the light of eternity. 

Check out the other messages in this series called Grief Into Joy by clicking here.

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Let Others Have The First Pancakes

April 16, 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. 

If you’re a leader, I have a very interesting challenge for you. I would like to challenge you to let other people eat the first pancakes. 

A mark of a godly leader is one who lets others eat the pancakes first!

The Scriptures I reference in this video are Mark 10:45; Romans 15:1-2; John 13:1-17. 

I elaborate on the example Jesus gave us in John 13 in my posts Only One Kind of Leader Can Serve Well and Are You Healthy Enough to Love Serving Others? 

If you would like to hone your leadership to be more Christ-like, check out my book Shepherd Leadership and When Sheep Bite. 

This is part 83 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

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Links & Quotes

March 15, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Why do you love the power? Servant leaders love what their leadership role allows them to do for other people.

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.

“Friendship is a path that leads very close to the perfection which consists of the enjoyment and knowledge of God, such that a man who is a friend of man is made into a friend of God, according to what the Savior said in the gospel: ‘Now I will not call you servants, but My friends [John 15:15].’” —Aelred of Rievaulx

In studying the intense volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon Io, the ICR concludes, “Since 2013, evidence of a youthful solar system has only gotten stronger. Scientists have been forced to acknowledge that Saturn’s rings are indeed young, and belief in deep time continues to pose real problems for conventional scientists.” The prestigious Nature concurs, saying, “Some such proposals make planetary researchers uncomfortable, because it is statistically unlikely that humans would catch any one object engaged in unusual activity—let alone several.”

Parents and teachers trying to keep up with the ever-changing lexicon of today’s youth will really appreciate this list of slang from Axis.

“Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation.” —Susan B. Anthony 

The story of Esther in the Bible is one of my all-time favorites. “While Esther herself has not been identified, nor has the plot to destroy the Jewish people been confirmed, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” To that point, here are 10 pieces of archeological evidence related to this amazing story. 

Charisse Compton asks, “When was the last time meditating on your body elicited worship?” She goes on to make this case from Psalm 139: “Your body, as much as your soul, is one of God’s glorious works. It bears the unmistakable signature of the divine Artist so that, like creation, your body ‘declare[s] the glory of God’ (Psalm 19:1).”

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The Glorious Gospel

March 5, 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. 

Paul opens his letter to the saints at Rome with two powerful words: the gospel (Romans 1:1).

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

The word gospel simply means the good news about the salvation that comes only through Jesus.

Paul loves this word! 

Interestingly, although we refer to the first four books of the New Testament as “The Gospels,” the word itself barely appears: 

  • Matthew—4 times 
  • Mark—8 times 
  • Luke—0 times 
  • John—0 times

And even though these four opening books are the Gospels about Jesus, He Himself only uses the word nine times, with the other three times attributed to someone else mentioning what Jesus was doing. 

Peter only uses this word twice (Acts 15:7; 1 Peter 4:17). And John uses it just once (Revelation 14:6). 

Paul, however, uses this word 64 times! 

It becomes such a part of who he is and how he thinks, that he calls it “my gospel” twice (Romans 2:16, 16:25) and “our gospel” three times (2 Corinthians 4:3; Colossians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:14). 

For Paul and for us this Good News is—

  • God’s promises fulfilled 
  • salvation power 
  • the fullness of God’s blessing 
  • the opening of mysteries 
  • the guide for godly living 
  • glorious light 
  • the expression of God’s grace 
  • the standard of all truth 
  • a key part of the Christian’s spiritual armor 
  • the empowerment for ministry 
  • the anchor of unshakable hope 
  • the means by which we experience Christ’s glory 
  • the only door to life and immortality 

For those of us who have been called to preach this Gospel, these thoughts should both humble and empower. 

For those of us who have been saved by believing this Gospel, these thoughts should cause us to desire to know more, and more, and more about our Savior. 

What a glorious Gospel this is! 

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Never Self-Sufficient

February 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. 

There is a cliche people love to quote: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” 

Is this how Christians should live? 

It sounds like the experienced fisherman may be annoyed at having to catch a fish every day just to give it to someone else. If you want to put a noble spin on the cliche, you could say that the wise and patient fisherman invested his time to teach someone else to provide for themselves, never needing to return to their teacher. 

This certainly wouldn’t be the example of Jesus. 

As He was teaching the large crowd of people, whom He thought of as sheep without a shepherd, they became hungry. Jesus directed His disciples to feed them. He didn’t tell them to teach the crowd to provide for themselves. 

As Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people, notice that He kept on giving until they were all satisfied—

     And taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and, praising God, gave thanks and broke the loaves and kept on giving them to the disciples to set before the people; and He also divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. (Mark 6:41-42 AMPC)

The example in the Old Testament was to look to God for a supply of manna every single day. In the New Testament, Jesus taught us to pray for our daily supply of bread every single day (Exodus 16:14-17; Matthew 6:11; John 6:35).

Jesus never wants us to become self-sufficient. Instead, He wants us to remain steadfastly connected to Himself—as surely as a branch is connected to the vine. 

Far from teaching us to provide for ourselves, Jesus says, “If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

Jesus is never wearied by our continually coming to Him; rather, He is delighted when we do! He wants to be our supply each and every day for all of eternity! 

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Praying For Our Fellow Saints

February 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. 

We tend to be pretty self-centered creatures, filtering everything through our lens. This becomes especially true when we are going though a difficult time. 

When I walked through a dark valley, I battled both physical and spiritual forces. People attacked me, but so did my own thoughts. “Why me?” and “I didn’t do anything to deserve this!” led to prayers like, “God, why didn’t You protect me from this? Why won’t you get me out of this?” 

Do you hear a common theme? I didn’t while I was in the midst of the battle, but perhaps you hear it—“Why me? I didn’t do anything to deserve this! God, why didn’t You protect me from this? Why won’t You get me out of this?” 

In his book Winning With People, John Maxwell shared ‘The Big Picture Principle’: “The entire population of the world, with one minor exception, is composed of others.” 

On the other side of my dark valley I learned something about my time in the dark valley—I had grown:

  • I could help others diagnose depression 
  • I could empathize with others
  • I could share helpful strategies to those who were struggling 
  • I could intercede for them in prayer 

My definition for intercede is to pray for people in a meaningful way because they are too beat up to pray for themselves. 

In order to pray for them, I have to know what and how to pray. I can’t know what and how to pray unless I have firsthand experience. So perhaps my dark valley wasn’t for me, but for someone else (see Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). 

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

As Christians, we’re in this life together. 

I have talked and blogged so many times about the phrases “one another” and “each other” throughout Scripture. That means that Christian faith is best seen when we are with each other, supporting one another. 

Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). The “our” signifies we are praying…

  • …with Jesus—John 14:13-14 
  • …with other saints—Matthew 18:18-20 

Even more than praying with us, Jesus intercedes for us (Hebrews 4:15-16). And Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) who also intercedes for us and with us (Romans 8:26-27). 

We join with our High Priest, helped by our Advocate, as we pray to our Heavenly Father on behalf of our brothers and sisters.  

Listen to the interceding and expectation of a joyful answer that David writes in Psalm 20, and also notice how the saints are together—

    May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May He send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May He remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to His anointed. He answers him from His heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of His right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. LORD, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call!

My cousin Dick Brogden wrote, “Jesus never intended us to suffer alone. We may not physically be able to cross oceans or deserts and sit in lonely cells with colleagues—but we are intended to traverse that distance spiritually and to bear the burdens of our brothers in prayer. Followers of Jesus under duress are empowered to bear unimaginable suffering when they know that they do not agonize alone.” 

In your prayer time, I encourage you to ask the Spirit to show you lessons you have learned in your dark valleys, and then begin to intercede for your fellow brothers and sisters with the help you have already received. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this prayer series, 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. ◀︎◀︎

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T-I-M-E

February 20, 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. 

My podcast partner Greg Heeres asked me if I had found one thing that really worked in developing or deepening relationships. My answer is short and to the point. 

Check out the full episode of The Craig and Greg Show where we use my book Shepherd Leadership to talk about the all-around healthiness of leaders. 

The Scriptures I reference in this video are John 13:1-4 and Proverbs 27:6. 

Here is a poem from one of my children that keeps me aware of the value of my presence in their lives. It’s called He’s Here To Keep. 

You might also be interested in these related posts:

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How Do We Wait Expectantly?

February 3, 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. 

Last week I asked, “How long do we keep praying?” Answer: Until God answers or until He lifts our burden. In the meantime, the Bible encourages us to…

  1. Keep asking with full confidence that God hears you 
  2. Keep expecting an answer 
  3. Keep worshiping God for Who He is 
  4. Keep trusting that your Heavenly Father wants to give you the very best! 

With that in mind, let me ask you another question: What does this look like? How do we wait expectantly for God to answer? I’ve got three thoughts from the Scripture.

(1) Keep walking

Eliezer had a 300-mile journey which would have taken him about 10 days. Abraham prayed for him before he left and Eliezer prayed when he arrived (Genesis 24:7, 12, 15). His expectation that God would answer him kept him walking. The answer came after 10 days—before he even finished praying! 

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

Nehemiah prayed for God’s favor with King Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 1:11) but then he had to keep walking to work every single day for at least 4 months (2:4). All the while he was praying, expecting, and planning, so when the king asked him what he wanted, Nehemiah was ready to answer. 

A royal official met Jesus in Cana and asked Him to heal his son who was was sick in Capernaum. Jesus said, “Go! Your son will live,” and that father began walking his 20-mile journey home. Along the way, his servants met him to deliver the good news of the boy’s full recovery. When the father asked, he found out it was at the very moment Jesus had said, “Go” (John 4:46-53). 

Faith takes Jesus at His word and starts walking toward the approaching miracle! 

(2) Keep waiting

There are two Hebrew words in the Old Testament that frequently are translated “wait”: 

  • qava = expecting in hope 
  • yahal = guarding that hope    

Check out how one psalmist linked hoping and waiting—

Out of the depths I cry to You, LORD; Lord, hear my voice. Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. … I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. (Psalm 130:1-2, 5-6) 

And David wrote how he had learned to quiet himself in God’s loving presence: But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content (Psalm 131:2). 

Then listen to the wait-hope-quiet link in Jeremiah’s prayer—

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentation 3:24-26) 

In the New Testament, the idea is patience for an expected result is like a farmer who had prepared his field, planted good seed, watered it with his prayers, and is now assured of an abundant harvest (James 5:7-8; Galatians 6:9). 

(3) Keep smiling

We put on a smile, not a show! 

Contrast what Jesus said about the wrong way to pray and fast…

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. … And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans … When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting… (Matthew 6:5, 7, 16) 

…with the God-honoring, God-trusting way—

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen … But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face. (Matthew 6:6, 17) 

It’s not a fake smile, but a smile that comes from the joy in our rock-solid expectation in God’s reply to our prayer (Psalm 28:6-7; 38:15) 

Pray—then keep walking, keep waiting, and keep smiling in anticipation of what your Heavenly Father is doing on your behalf. 

If you want to check out the other messages in this prayer series, please click here. 

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

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Lessons From The Playground

January 22, 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.

Some time on the playground with some little kids taught me some great lessons about leadership.

The Scriptures I mentioned in this episode—1 Corinthians 1:14-17; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45.

Please check out the full post from T.M. Moore here, but these are the three criterion he gives us to consider:

“First, they teach the Word of God faithfully (Hebrews 13:7). They aren’t trying to impress anyone with how clever, witty, or visionary they are personally. Their desire is that the Word of Christ might dwell in people richly, and all their teaching is based on that holy and inspired Word (Colossians 3:16).

“Second, their lives exemplify the things they teach (Hebrews 13:7). True leaders are people whom, as you follow them, you begin to become like in ways that reflect full faith in Jesus Christ (John 13:1-15). 

“Third, true leaders care for our souls (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). They are interested in us, want to get to know us, do everything they can to serve and build us up; and they will go the extra mile when necessary to help us become people of full faith in Jesus.”

(Check out all of the biblical references in T.M. Moore’s quote here.)

A mark of a godly leader is one who is NOT trying to grow a personal following.

This is part 81 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. ◀︎◀︎

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Prayer That Opens Our Eyes

January 20, 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. 

Charles Spurgeon said, “We too often rush into the presence of God without forethought or humility. We are like people who present themselves before a king without a petition, and what wonder is it that we often miss the end of prayer?” I hope you are starting to…

Spurgeon also asked an important question: “Do we not miss very much of the sweetness and efficacy of prayer by a want of careful meditation before it, and hopeful expectation after it?” 

We talked about competing priorities, but also how Jesus made prayer the priority for His life. This means that some things we call important may have to temporarily be set aside. 

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

Let’s look at the example of Jesus. He prioritized prayer over:

  1. Training. In Luke 5:16 and 9:18 we see Jesus praying in private even though His disciples were right there with Him. This was so revolutionary to the disciples that it prompted them to ask Jesus how they could pray like He did (Luke 11:1-13). 
  1. Sleep. Mark 1:32-35 tells us Jesus was up after sunset ministering to the needs of people, and that He was up and praying while it was still dark. And Luke 6:12 tells us Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before making a big decision. 
  1. Strategizing. The big decision Jesus had to make was choosing the twelve men who would be His apostles—the ones He would spend the most time training and preparing. He didn’t hold strategizing sessions or interviews with the perspective candidates, but He spent the night praying for wisdom (Luke 6:12-13). 
  1. Ministering. People were looking for Jesus, but He guarded His prayer time so the Holy Spirit could guide Him into His ministry time (Mark 1:37). 

Why did He treat prayer this way? Because He knew that God knows our day better than we do. He knows the people will encounter, the conversations that we need to have, the decisions that await us. So we must prayerfully entrust our days to Him (Proverbs 16:9, 3:5-6). 

Remember that Spurgeon said “careful meditation” before prayer and then “hopeful expectation after it.” This is exactly what David said in Psalm 5:1-3 where he was expectant of God’s answers throughout the day.

We see this example throughout the Bible, but let me give you three quick examples: 

  • Hagar’s eyes were opened to see the supply of water that was already there (Genesis 21:14-19) 
  • Eliezer had success in finding a wife for Isaac by seeing a woman that was already at the well (Genesis 24:7, 12-15, 21, 27) 
  • Nehemiah prayed for 4 months so he could pray in the moment that the king asked him what he needed to be successful (Nehemiah 1:4, 11; 2:1-4, 8) 

I think this is what Paul meant when he told us to “pray continually “ (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 

Jesus could announce that everything He did (John 5:19) and everything He said (John 12:49) was directed by the Father. 

We can live like this too, if we will only make prayer the priority that sets the order for any other thing that we call a priority. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

If you have missed any of the messages in our series called Our Prayer Book, you can find them all 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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