Is My Boldness Clearly Visible?

February 20, 2023 — 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 people are either afraid to say what they really think, or else they aren’t entirely confident in what they believe. As a result, they tend to take an indirect approach to communicate what they want someone else to hear. 

Some try to imply what they’re really trying to say: “Do you get what I’m saying? Can you read between the lines?” Others hope the other person will infer the right meaning. But bold claims are something completely different—there’s no implying, no hoping the other person will infer the right thing, but just a clear statement. Like Caiaphas’ statement that we looked at last week: “Jesus must die so that the rest of us can keep our cushy positions.” 

You can always tell if the message got through by how the recipients respond. Usually the stronger the reaction, the more clearly the message was received! 

Remember that I talked about the clout that Annas still held, even though he wasn’t officially the high priest anymore? We see it right after the arrest of Jesus. Instead of taking Him directly to the Sanhedrin, He was first taken to Annas. There Jesus was questioned about His followers and His teaching, and He simply replied, “Everything I taught is public knowledge. I’ve boldly and clearly proclaimed Who I am” (John 18:12-14, 19-24). 

All throughout His public ministry, Jesus did make it clear who He was. There are so many places we could read about this in the Gospels, but let me just show you three examples from the Gospel of Luke:

    1. He forgives sins and heals a paralytic to prove that He has the power of God to forgive—Luke 5:20-25 
    2. Demons recognize Him and submit to His power—Luke 8:28-35 
    3. His disciples recognize that Jesus is the Son of God—Luke 9:18-22

(Check out all of the above references by clicking here.) 

Finally, Jesus was asked directly by the Sanhedrin and He made His bold claim that He was indeed the Son of God (Luke 22:66-71). Remember I said earlier that you can tell how clearly the message got through by the response of the people? Well, check out this response—

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered. (Matthew 26:65-66)

What about you and me? Do we have to imply that we believe Jesus is the Son of God? Do we have to hope the other person will infer that we are His disciples? Or can it be said that our verbal and lifestyle testimony is a bold claim of what we believe and Whose we are? 

The Book of Acts records the response of the Sanhedrin to the first Christians, and it appears to be identical to their response when they heard Jesus say, “I am the Son of God.” For instance: 

  • After Peter and John healed a lame man, the Sanhedrin could see “that these men had been with Jesus” but they ordered them not to talk about Jesus anymore. These men said they could not obey that directive (Acts 4:13-14). 
  • When they were called back in for a second appearance, Luke tells us the Sanhedrin “were furious and wanted to put them to death.” But they persisted in boldly proclaiming Jesus to everyone (Acts 5:30-39). 
  • Then there was an early church leader named Stephen. His bold preaching brought him before the Sanhedrin as well, who ended up stoning him to death (Acts 6:8-10, 15; 7:55-56).

(Check out all of the above references by clicking here.)

So let me repeat the question: Can it be said that our verbal and lifestyle testimony is a bold claim of what we believe and Whose we are? Or do we simply speak empty words? 

Jesus made His bold claim and He backed it up. What about us? Do we make the bold claim that we will stand for Jesus even if that means we will be ridiculed, persecuted, or killed? Is our bold claim backed up by a lifestyle of complete trust in our Savior? These are questions every Christian should ask and allow the Holy Spirit to help them answer honestly. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series called Bold Claims, 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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Proof!

February 15, 2023 — 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 of the resources I mention in this video:

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

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When “The End” Is Just The Beginning

February 13, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

We’ve all heard people make some audacious claims. But the real power is in being able to back up those claims. Without any proof, it’s all talk! As things were coming to a conclusion for Christ’s ministry—at least in the world’s eyes—there were some bold claims being made. Some were made by Jesus Himself, some by His rivals, and some by His supporters. 

The first bold claim we’re going to consider was made by the high priest: a man named Joseph Caiaphas. 

The Sanhedrin was the highest court in the land and was made up of 70 + 1 men. This comes from Numbers 11:16-17 (seventy leaders) plus Moses. After Moses, another person was always appointed to serve as the leader, which was usually the high priest. 

By the time of Jesus, this ruling body had become more political than religious. Very frequently, leadership would change because of the whims of the Romans or their puppet leaders (someone like a King Herod). The high priest in Christ’s early years was a man named Annas, who served from AD 6-15. During all of the public ministry of Jesus, the high priesthood had transferred to Caiaphas (AD 18-36), who was Annas’ son-in-law. Yet both of them still shared considerable influence (see Luke 3:2; John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6). 

Caiaphas and his family were Sadducees. They didn’t hold to any beliefs of the supernatural—no angels or demons, no resurrection, no afterlife. Partly because of these unscriptural beliefs, the Jewish Qumran, who safeguarded the careful copying of the Scriptures, called Caiaphas “the wicked priest.”

Annas, Caiaphas, and their family member were the ruling party that wanted to stay in power. So their activities were always a balancing act: Trying to keep the Jewish community happy on one hand, while not offending the Romans or other political leaders on the other hand. 

It’s with this backdrop that we read the story of Lazarus’ resurrection in John 11. Jesus knew this miracle would validate His ministry, and sure enough, after the resurrection of Lazarus, more and more people put their faith in Jesus. So much so that the religious leaders wanted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (11:53; 12:9-11). 

Ironically, these same religious leaders had previously asked Jesus for a sign to prove He was who He made the bold claim to be. To this demand, Jesus said that He would give them “the sign of Jonah” who was considered dead in the belly of the fish before he was “resurrected” to complete his mission (Matthew 12:38-40, 16:1-4). 

Since the religious leaders viewed everything through a political lens, they thought Jesus was also going to instigate a political or military uprising. The following that Jesus would gather would challenge the Sanhedrin’s hold on power, so Caiaphas proposed a political solution disguised as a prophecy (John 11:49-53). 

Caiaphas meant it like this: “We’re trying to keep the balance between the Jewish people and the powerful Romans. If we kill one Man (Jesus) in time, we may be a little out of favor with the Jews but we will save our position with the Romans. Later on, we’ll make things right with the common people.” 

Even to this day, people are trying to balance, juggle, control, appease, and bargain their way to get or keep the life they want to live. They will use religious dressing to do political things, thinking they will “make it right” later on. 

Caiaphas made this bold claim: “If Jesus dies, our position will be saved for us and our children.” But he had no power to back up his bold claim, so it was just talk. 

But Jesus made this bold claim: “I will die so that your souls can be saved for eternity.” He, on the other hand, had the power to back up His bold claim (John 10:17-18). 

God’s plan always prevails! 

Caiaphas’ plan sounded like it would be the end of Jesus and His mission, but “the end” was really just another step in fulfilling what God had already planned! 

Let me say it again: God’s plan always prevails. The bold claims of powerful evil people may make it seem like the end is near, but don’t fret because their “end” is only fulfilling God’s plan! 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series of Bold Claims, you can check them all out 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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Bold Claims

February 8, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

“That’s a pretty bold claim. Are you prepared to back that up?” 

I’ll bet you have heard something like that said to you, and maybe you have even said that yourself to someone else who made a big, audacious statement. 

After Jesus is arrested by the religious leaders—an arrest that will ultimately lead to Jesus being crucified on the Cross—there are some incredibly bold claims spoken by key people in this part of the Story. For the most part, these are claims that we don’t read earlier in any of the Gospels, but as this story is heading toward its most crucial moment, we have these audacious statements pronounced. 

But here’s the most important part: These bold claims weren’t just made, but they were backed up with proof as well. 

As we head toward the remembrance of Christ’s death on the Cross and His resurrection three days later, please join us for this look at these eye-opening bold claims. I would love to have you join us in person, but if you are unable to do that, we will make all of the messages available on Facebook and YouTube. If you’ve missed any of the messages, or simply want to review what we’ve already learned, you can find all of these messages here:

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Preaching To Bring Freedom

February 7, 2023 — 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 biblical references I mention in this video:

If you are a pastor (or if you really want to encourage your pastor), I’ve got a super-special deal on my book Shepherd Leadership. Check it out 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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Well-Worn Paths

February 6, 2023 — 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 don’t think there’s any arguing that Jesus must have been the healthiest Person to ever live. Dr. Luke records His growth in just one succinct verse: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Every word of Scripture is inspired, right down to the order the words are penned. So when Luke says first that “Jesus grew in wisdom,” that is our indication that a healthy mind is the foundation for every other aspect of health. 

I recently received an email from a Christian brother asking for prayer and counseling in overcoming lust and pornography. I naturally agreed to pray with him, but I also said, “Before I offer you any strategies to try, let me ask you a quick question: What have you already tried to get victory over this?” 

He replied, “I’ve tried praying, watching videos on it, and basically saying no to the devil. But the temptation comes when I am weak and I think, ‘I can just try again tomorrow!’ And then I fall into it. I am just tempted at times throughout the day, and sometimes I fight it with prayer, but other times I just fall right into it basically without even trying.” 

What my friend is dealing with here is a natural, unconscious response. Our brains like well-worn paths because it’s very easy and comfortable for our minds to automatically respond as they have responded before. As in the case of my friend, it may be heading down a path of lust that leads to pornography. For others, it may be unhealthy choices made in response to certain triggers, or it may be the anger that flares up into biting words when a certain someone pushes your buttons. 

We head down that well-worn path unconsciously and automatically. Our immediate response might bring some temporary relief, but usually, we’re not very happy with where we’ve ended up once again. 

If we are going to make a new path—or a new, healthier response—we first need to become aware of the well-worn path we automatically go to. So my counsel to my friend who emailed me for help was to start keeping a journal. I wrote back:

Your willpower alone isn’t going to cut it (as you’ve probably realized). Here’s the first step I would suggest: keep a journal of every time you are tempted to lust or porn. Write down what you were feeling, was it day or evening, what was happening just before that, did you have time in prayer and Bible reading that day or not, how did you fight the temptation, were you successful or not? I think as you keep track of these things you will begin to see some triggers and some patterns. Maybe you were physically tired, or lonely, or hungry. Maybe it was a certain person you talked with or a show you watched. Maybe it was after checking your social medias or after a super-hard day at work. When you start to see patterns of what is causing you to go to porn for relief, you can recognize them earlier and head them off before they grip your mind so strongly. 

Psychologists call it metacognition when we think about what we’re thinking about—when we think about why we are taking a certain well-worn path again. 

We don’t think about our thinking very frequently. We keep thinking along those well-worn paths out of habit, not because we want to go down those paths. This is where the Holy Spirit is invaluable: He helps us see those well-worn paths, identify which paths are unhealthy or unproductive, and then help us begin to carve out a new path. 

It’s not just thinking about right things, but thinking rightly about all things—even the painful things or the triggering things. 

In Ephesians 4:22-25, Paul counsels us to take off the “old self” and “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore” (and this is an important conclusion) “each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor.” 

Do you remember that Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-31)? Paul says we are to speak truthfully to our neighbor, so doesn’t that mean that we have to first speak truthfully to ourselves? Yes, we do! If we are going to make new paths for our mind, we are going to have to talk to ourselves differently. 

My cousin Dick Brogden wrote, “A primary theater of spiritual warfare is in our heads and thoughts. The primary weapon of the enemy is deceit. He starts with attractive little lies and half-truths, and works his way up to blatant, ridiculous, perverted nonsense. Winning the battle for truth in the mind is critical to winning the war. If we lose enough of the little skirmishes, we can believe and do any wicked thing. If we daily combat lies with light and truth, we will stand firm.” 

The “little lies and half-truths” will keep us trapped on our old, well-worn paths. But identifying those lies, and speaking the truth to them, will help us travel down new paths that lead to health and freedom. 

Let the Holy Spirit be your Counselor. Let the Holy Spirit help you think about what you’re thinking about when you’re triggered to unconsciously head down the unhealthy well-worn path. Let the Holy Spirit help you see a new path. And then let the Holy Spirit empower you to stick with it—to keep doing the hard work of blazing a new path. 

I am going to build on this series of messages about a Christian’s mental health, but let’s start with this simple prayer: 

Holy Spirit, help me make new paths. 

As you pray this, listen to how the Holy Spirit will guide you away from the unhealthy, unconscious, well-worn paths, and will then lead you into the new, healthy path that brings you freedom. 

If you would like to download the graphic of this prayer for your phone, simply leave me a comment with the model of the phone, and I’ll get the right-sized graphic right out to you. And you can also follow along with all of the messages 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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Links & Quotes

February 4, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

I am really looking forward to a new series of sermons that I am launching this Sunday. This will be a once-per-month series for the remainder of the year and it’s simply called A Christian’s Mental Health. If you don’t have a home church in the west Michigan area, I would love for you to join me in person, but the sermons will also be posted on my YouTube channel.

T.M. Moore has an outstanding post called The Essence of the Lie. In one part, Moore writes, “Thus the lie claims to be the truth, but, at the same time, it insists that truth is personal, relative, pragmatic, and utilitarian. Truth, from this perspective, is not absolute, but dynamic, changeable rather than fixed. It is conditioned by circumstances of time and place. At the end of the day, people are the final arbiters of truth, and truth is whatever they find to be useful for their purposes. Ultimate truth is that which people impose on others by one or another kind of force, whether intellectual, political, or physical.” Check this one out!

Harvard University has been studying a group of individuals since 1938 to try to determine the main factors that contribute to a long and healthy life. The director and assistant director of this study just published an article that sums up what they have learned over all these years—“[If] we had to take all 85 years of the Harvard Study and boil it down to a single principle for living, one life investment that is supported by similar findings across a variety of other studies, it would be this: Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period. If you want to make one decision to ensure your own health and happiness, it should be to cultivate warm relationships of all kinds.”

“The battle for control and leadership of the world has always been waged most effectively at the idea level. An idea, whether right or wrong, that captures the minds of a nation’s youth will soon work its way into every area of society, especially in our multimedia age. Ideas determine consequences.” — The American Covenant 

“The storms of life are no longer our point of reference when [Jesus] is our focal point.” —Dutch Sheets

John Stonestreet was intrigued by a street reporter asking, “What are men good for?” There were a lot of soft, ambiguous answers given, but John quipped, “Men are good for fathering, protecting, loving, providing, leading, fighting for what’s right with their lives if need be, and obeying, in a masculine way, the creation mandate of the God who made us male and female and declared both ‘very good.’ Was that so hard?” Amen!

Dan Reiland identifies four common mistakes that will cause your church to struggle.

When leaders quit growing, they in essence have “quiet quit” on their team. If the leader’s not growing, what is the incentive for anyone else in the organization to improve themselves or work hard? Leaders quiet quit long before their teammates do! Check out the full conversation Greg Heeres and I had on avoiding quiet quitting by clicking here.

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Immediately!

February 2, 2023 — 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. 

Mark the Gospel writer loves the action! He uses the word immediately eleven times, and the phrase at once seven times.

Jesus loves to respond this way too! Just as soon as we cry to Him for help, His help is on the way. 

Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever. “They immediately told Jesus about her. So He went to her…” (Mark 1:30-31). 

They didn’t call a doctor first, or try a home remedy first, or consult a friend about how they treated a fever first. They immediately went to Jesus. And as soon as they did, Jesus went to the sick woman and healed her.

The old hymn What A Friend We Have In Jesus has a powerful reminder: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit—Oh, what needless pain we bear—all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” 

What are we waiting for? Why do we try to help ourselves first when Jesus is standing right there waiting to help us? 

Let’s respond differently. Let’s make going to Jesus our first—our immediate—response so that Jesus can come to our aid right away. 

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

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A Christian’s Mental Health

January 31, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

I don’t think there is any arguing that Jesus was the healthiest individual who ever walked planet Earth. Some may want to push back with, “Of course He was because He didn’t have any problems to deal with!” 

But the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus experienced everything you and I will ever experience (Hebrews 2:17), so His deity didn’t exclude Him from the stressors that His humanity would have to face. And yet, He handled all of these things successfully. 

Luke the physician observed the growth of Jesus and tells us that it all began with Jesus having a robust mental health. From that foundation, everything else—physical, spiritual, relational—all could develop properly. We must learn from this example and pay careful attention to our own mental health. 

This Sunday we will begin a series that we will be returning to once each month throughout this whole year called A Christian’s Mental Health. I would love to have you join us in person, but if you are unable to do that, we will make all of the messages available on Facebook and YouTube. If you’ve missed any of the messages, or simply want to review what we’ve already learned, you can find them all here:

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Don’t Try To Get Even

January 31, 2023 — 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 I work with students I frequently find that conflicts between them are really one-upmanship. Here’s what I mean: one student intentionally or unintentionally tweaks another student, that student then responds with a decidedly intentional verbal or physical shove, which is responded to by the initial student with a louder and more intentional reprisal. And on and on it escalates until someone steps in to stop it.

I often ask these students who are upset with each other, “What did you think was going to happen when you treated the other person that way?” The quick response is almost always, “I don’t know.” And I believe that because most of us don’t think through the counter-reaction to our reaction. 

So I will ask a follow-up question: “Did you think that by shoving him in response to his insult that he was going to say, ‘Oops, my bad. I’m sorry for that and I won’t do it again’?” 

Usually, the student answers quite honestly, “No, I didn’t think that would happen.” They were just so upset that they wanted to let the other person know that they had been hurt.

This idea of getting even is the longing of so many of the psalms: How long until we see victory? (see Psalms 6, 13, 35, and 94 as examples). It’s the cry of the martyrs before God’s throne: How long until we see justice? It’s the desire of every Christian wrongly accused and condemned: God, how long until Your truth prevails? 

Matthew quotes a passage from Isaiah 42:1-4 that is fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus. Part of that description says, “A bruised read He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, till He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope” (Matthew 12:20-21). Notice this key word: till HE leads justice to victory. 

Jesus is Justice and Truth, and He does ultimately triumph. But notice how Jesus accomplishes this because it is to be our model too: 

  • No quarreling 
  • No shoving back on those who have hurt us
  • No attacking those who have attacked me

Victory comes only through Jesus. I have to relent trying to balance the scales of justice—this is never my place. If I try to make things right on my own, my so-called justice only sets off a one-upmanship shoving match that continues to escalate in very ungodly ways. 

Vengeance is God’s. Justice is God’s. My hope—my immovable hope—is only in what Jesus has accomplished. Remember what Matthew quoted: “In His name the nations” [and all those who have been persecuted, wronged, and martyrd] “will put their hope”! 

Let’s all ask the Holy Spirit to remind us of this the next time we want to shove back the person who just shoved us. 

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

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