Light In The Darkest Of Times

July 14, 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 of the reasons I appreciate the Bible—in fact, one of the main reasons that continually convinces me of the truthfulness of the Bible—is the way it portrays life as it really is. It doesn’t avoid the difficult subjects, nor does it sugarcoat the bitterness of life. The Bible tells it as it is. 

The songs that have us singing praises to God “when the sun’s shining down on me and the world’s all as it should be” are great, but when we can also find hope when we’re “found in the desert place” is the real test. 

Dark times come to all of us. 

David is anointed king of Israel and given a promise by God for a lasting legacy (2 Samuel 7:8-9, 16, 27-29; Psalm 110:1). And yet David cried out one of the most painful phrases ever uttered in Psalm 22:1-2, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”  

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

Despite the promises that God gave David, when any of us are in a dark place, there is a natural human tendency to focus on the darkness around us and second-guess what is happening to us. You know the questions:

  • How did I get here? 
  • How will I get out of here? 
  • When will I get out of here? 
  • Have I offended God and perhaps missed out on His promise? 
  • Has He forgotten me? 

The Bible does tell us, “If You, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” and we also know it’s true that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Psalm 130:3; Romans 3:23). 

That’s for us, not for Jesus. He is the sinless One. He obediently became human to rescue us, knowing full well that He was the fulfillment of the promise God made to David (Matthew 1:1; 22:41-44). Yet He ended up uttering the same painful words David did (Matthew 27:41-46). 

Remember I said that King David was a visible picture to help us see the coming King of kings. David was inspired by the Holy Spirit with this knowledge (Acts 2:29-30, 25-28). 

The old hymn says, “When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace” and “When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.” Look at David’s preaching to himself:

  • I am feeling forsaken (Psalm 22:1-2) … YET You are on Your throne (vv. 3-5) 
  • I am scorned by others (vv. 6-8) … YET You are closer than my scorners (vv. 9-11) 
  • I am completely cut off (vv. 12-18) … BUT You are my rescue (vv. 19-24) 

What did Jesus know:

  • He would sit on the throne of Heaven—Matthew 26:62-64 
  • His Father was completing everything—John 19:30; Psalm 22:25-31 
  • He would conquer every enemy—Revelation 1:8, 18 

Jeremiah cries out about his dark time, and then like David he says, “YET this I call to mind and have hope.” Jeremiah then talks about the never-ending love and mercy of God, and concludes by preaching to himself, “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him’” (Lamentations 3:19-24). 

“The Lord is my portion” means the Lord is my King who declares promises and fulfills promises. 

The help in suffering is not found in focusing on the present darkness—and all the questions—but to focus on God’s promises. Like David’s “yet” and “but” we need to preach to ourselves about God’s past deliverance and then be assured of our future hope. 

Just assuredly as our King of kings said, “I will be resurrected from the dead to sit on the throne of Heaven,” He also said, “I will come to take you where I am”! 

Take your eyes off the present, temporary darkness and put them on the eternal King! 

If you have missed any of the messages in this series on the Royal Psalms, you can find them all here. 

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Resourced Like Jesus

July 1, 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 Jesus needed to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to do His Father’s business, how much more do we need this anointing today? 

You can check out the full sermon from which I took this clip: The Father’s Business.

The Scriptures I reference in this clip—Luke 3:22; Matthew 17:5; Luke 4:1, 18-19; Acts 10:38; John 5:36. 

Like Jesus, when we are full of and led by the Holy Spirit everywhere we walk is holy ground; every moment is a sacred moment; every work is worship to God because we are occupied about the Father’s business.

Check out the full series of messages about the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the series We Are: Pentecostal. 

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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.

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A Lost Culture Of Reverence

June 23, 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 are several psalms that are regal in their focus—talking about the King’s coronation, or the King ruling on His throne, or the ultimate victory of the King that is coming in the future. Although these royal psalms are extolling God as King, many of these psalms use King David as an object lesson. The idea is seeing how a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14) became the standard by which all other kings were measured: 

  • Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done (1 Kings 15:11) 
  • Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done (2 Kings 14:3) 
  • Unlike his father, Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done (2 Chronicles 28:1) 

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

The people followed their king in both righteousness and evil. They were fiercely loyal to their monarch. We don’t really get that loyalty today. “We’re Americans,” we cry, “We live in the land of the free and don’t ever bow our knee to a king!” 

That’s an appropriate response for those living in a democratic republic, but we would do well to learn to bow our knee to a true King. 

After the United States Constitution was adopt adopted, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?“ Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin went on to say, “In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.” 

Because of our defiance as free people in our government, we have become lacking in our loyalty, which shows itself in a lack of proper reverence or respect. Just listen to how people talk so disrespectfully or even hatefully about those in “the other political party.” Benjamin Franklin also said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” 

Where are the days of the armor bearer who said to Prince Jonathan, “Do all you have in mind. I’m with you heart and soul,” even though Jonathan was proposing an impossible task? Or the loyalty of the men around David who heard him sigh about the water in Bethlehem, and they put their lives at risk to bring him a drink? This was even before he was on a throne, and yet they showed their loyalty to him. I fear that our lost culture of reverence for earthly leaders has eroded our reverence for the King of kings, and vice versa. 

The first royal psalm (Psalm 2) practically open the Psalter. This psalm calls us to consider the differences between earthly kings and the King of kings.  

Notice that earthly kings “conspire”—they angrily boast and rage. They plot (v. 1b) and scheme (AMPC). They take their stand together (v. 2). 

Against Whom? Against the LORD (Jehovah) and against His Anointed One (the Messiah)! 

Much like the fiercely independent people I described us as earlier, these earthly rulers want to call their own shots—they don’t want to take directions from anyone else because they think they know best (v. 3). But notice in v. 1 that the peoples have followed their leaders in their plot. 

God doesn’t rage at them, but He laughs, He scoffs, He rebukes, and the people are terrified when they realize that they cannot overcome Him. In v. 1 we see their plots are “in vain.” 

There is nothing men can do—no matter how powerful they may seem or how many of them “take their stand…together”—to thwart or even delay the plans of Jehovah. 

All of History is His Story. Notice the phrase that God speaks, “I have … I will” (in vv. 6-7; c.f. Daniel 4:25). 

In vv. 7-9 God speaks to His Son—the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King of kings. We hear this repeated in Acts 13:32-33 and in God’s own voice in Matthew 3:17. Then we see the fulfillment of this in passages like Philippians 2:9-11 and Revelation 11:17-18. 

This royal psalm ends with an important conclusion: Therefore (vv. 10-12): 

  • Be wise 
  • Be warned 
  • Serve the King with reverential fear 
  • Rejoice with trembling  
  • Kiss the Son with absolute loyalty and joyful reverence 

Check out another “therefore” in Philippians 2:12-16. This is a call for righteous, reverent living for those who have acknowledged Jesus as their King. It’s only those who live this way who will know the blessed refuge in Him that is unshakable for ever and ever! 

Follow along with our look at all of the royal psalms by clicking here. 

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What Would You Ask For?

June 16, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

If God said to you, “Ask for whatever you want,” what would you ask for?

God did ask Solomon that very question in 1 Kings 3:5. Here’s how Solomon replied—

“Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who cannot be counted for multitude. So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people?” (1 Kings 3:8-9 AMPC) 

And how did God respond to this request? “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this” (v. 10).

Solomon didn’t ask for things but for a greater intimacy with God—he wanted to know God’s mind. Sadly, we tend to reverse this, saying, “Because I have things, I bless God for them.” 

Instead, our prayer should echo what Solomon prayed here in 1 Kings 3 and what Jesus taught us in His Sermon on the Mount: My desire is solely for Your glory and Your Kingdom (see Matthew 6:9-10, 33). When you pray this way, it will please that Lord that you had asked that! 

Check out these related blog posts and videos:

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Weighty Words

June 13, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Yet [in spite of the threats] they never ceased for a single day, both in the temple area and at home, to teach and to proclaim the good news (Gospel) of Jesus [as] the Christ (the Messiah). (Acts 5:42 AMPC) 

On the one hand, the apostles were sent by God to proclaim the name of Jesus; on the other hand, the Sanhedrin commanded them not to proclaim the name of Jesus (vv. 20, 28). 

Not only had the Holy Spirit empowered and emboldened these men to testify, but Jesus also said (in John 14:26) that at key moments the Spirit would remind them of His words. One word Jesus had given them, which the Spirit undoubtedly brought to their remembrance, was this: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna)” (Matthew 10:28). 

God is glorified when we give greater weight and reverence to His words than we do to the words of mere humans.

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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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Eyewitnesses And Embarrassment

June 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. 

In his Gospel, John gives eyewitness testimony to the physical death of Jesus. “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe” (John 19:34-35). 

John was at Calvary to report this event as an eyewitness, and so were the women who had been so involved with the public ministry of Jesus. 

Matthew, however, was not there. He ran away when Jesus was arrested. So in his historical account, he shares the eyewitness testimony of those who were there—

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for His needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:54-56)

These details in both Matthew and John’s Gospels are what lends credibility to this whole event. I’m sure it was embarrassing to Matthew for him to admit, “I ran away and hid in fear.” I’m sure it pained him again and again when he heard John, the women, and the Roman centurion recounting their eyewitness testimony. 

But this is what makes the reporting of this account real. 

If Matthew and John were attempting to perpetuate a hoax on the world—if they were concocting a conspiracy to fool people about the resurrection of Jesus—they certainly would have told their stories the same way. Matthew could have inserted himself as personally there on Calvary. John and Mark could have listed the names of the other disciples as eyewitnesses. The disciples could have given falsified information to Luke for his Gospel. And all of them could have left out the part about the female testimony, since in their day women were deemed unreliable witnesses in the courtroom. 

The fact that all four of the Gospels relate their accounts as they do—with the embarrassing details intermingled with the eyewitness accounts—is precisely what gives legitimacy to this historical event. 

Details like these are just another factor in a long, long list of evidences that attest to the historicity of all that is recorded in the Bible. 

Earlier in his Gospel, Matthew tells about the doubts of John the Baptizer (Matthew 11:2-6). John was imprisoned and sent his friends to ask Jesus, “Are You really the One?” Jesus sends John’s friends back with eyewitness testimony, and with these words: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me” (v. 6). 

The testimonies of both eyewitnesses and those who were embarrassed that they couldn’t give eyewitness testimony should bolster your faith in all that the Bible says. If you don’t stumble away from these testimonies, you can know the blessing of your faith in Jesus. 

►► 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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When The World Fears Christians

May 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. 

Here’s an interesting interaction between King Saul and David—

And Saul jealously eyed David from that day forward. … And Saul cast the javelin, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. And David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. (1 Samuel 18:9, 11-12 AMPC)

This exchange in this well-known story got me wondering. I was thinking how Saul had the position of authority over David and he had a javelin in his hand, but the Bible still says that Saul “was afraid of David.” Why would that be? I think even the most atheistic of people intuitively know there is something other-worldly about those in whom the Spirit of God abides, which makes worldly people lash out at them in fear. 

But those who fear God—as David did—don’t fear mortals. Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, Who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28 NLT). This reverent fearlessness is what galls those who fear the unknown, so they try to silence confident God-followers. 

In these attacks, Jesus tells us not to respond naturally, but supernaturally. “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you” (Luke 6:27-28 NLT). 

Peter picked up those words from Jesus and instructed Christians: “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world. … For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:12, 21 NLT). 

Although Saul feared the presence of God in David, he also had to acknowledge the success that came to David because of God’s abiding presence in him, and also, by extension, the success that came to Saul’s kingdom. On the one hand, Saul wanted David dead; on the other hand, he wanted David close by—

So Saul removed David from him and made him his commander over a thousand; and [David] went out and came in before the people. David acted wisely in all his ways and succeeded, and the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how capable and successful David was, he stood in awe of him. (1 Samuel 18:13-15 AMPC) 

When Christians are supernaturally empowered by God, they never have to respond in natural fight-or-flight from those who lash out at them. Let your faithfulness to God be your testimony that points others to Him. 

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Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.” (John 15:18-19)

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