poem | Craig T. Owens

April 2026
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Poetry Saturday—The 23 Psalme

April 4, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

The God of love my shepherd is,

And He that doth me feed:

While He is mine, and I am His,

What can I want or need?

He leads me to the tender grasse,

Where I both feed and rest;

Then to the streams that gently passe:

In both I have the best.

Or if I stray, He doth convert

And bring my minde in frame:

And all this not for my desert,

But for His holy name.

Yea, in death’s shadie black abode

Well may I walk, not fear:

For Thou art with me; and Thy rod

To guide, Thy staff to bear.

Nay, Thou dost make me sit and dine,

Ev’n in my enemies sight:

My head with oyl, my cup with wine

Runnes over day and night.

Surely Thy sweet and wondrous love

Shall measure all my dayes;

And as it never shall remove,

So neither shall my praise. —George Herbert

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: George Herbert, Good Shepherd, poem, poetry, prayer, Psalm 23, shepherd. Leave a Comment »

The Artisan Collection Bible (book review)

March 31, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

How do “Bible” and “artisan” belong in the same title? They’re more connected than you may have previously thought, and The Artisan Collection Bible is the perfect place to explore this connection.

If you were to ask someone what occupation Jesus had while He was on earth, it would be a safe bet that most people would say He was a carpenter. Indeed, the Greek word tekton is translated as “carpenter” for both Joseph and Jesus (see Matthew 13:54-56 and Mark 6:2-3). However, the consensus among Greek scholars today is that the word tekton is more likely to mean an artisan than just merely a wood-working carpenter.

That makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, you would expect boundless creativity from the Creator. The One who fashioned our beautiful universe would certainly still be interested in expressing Himself in creative and beautiful ways.

For myself, reading the Bible sparks in me a desire to be creative with words, and images, and colors, and designs. This is exactly what The Artisan Collection Bible gives you the space to do. And I literally mean “space.”

One of the most attractive features to me about this Bible is the extra-wide margins along every single page. As you read God’s Word and the beauty of the Creator is illuminated in your heart and mind, you have readily available space to express your own creativity as worship to the Creator. Try crafting a poem, or turning the passage into a personal prayer, or drawing a picture that captures the vibrancy of God’s love letter written to you. The design of this Bible helps you to do more than just read the Word of God, it invites you to interact with the God of the Word.

The Artisan Collection Bible would make an excellent gift for your creative friend or loved one.

I am a Zondervan book reviewer and a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid. As a book reviewer I received a free copy of this book from the book publisher. I am not compensated for my review. Although I may have received the book free of charge, I am under no obligation to write a favorable review. I am free to express my honest opinion about the book’s content. If I say it’s a good book, it’s because I think it’s a good book!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: art, artisan, artist, Bible study, book review, creativity, Creator, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Greek, Jesus Christ, poem, poetry, prayer, Scripture. 2 Comments »

Poetry Saturday—O God Of Bethel

March 28, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

O God of Bethel, by whose hand

Thy people still are fed,

who through this weary pilgrimage

hast all our fathers led;

Our vows, our prayers, we now present

before Thy throne of grace;

God of our fathers, be the God

of their succeeding race.

Through each perplexing path of life

our wandering footsteps guide;

give us each day our daily bread,

and raiment fit provide.

O spread Thy covering wings around

till all our wanderings cease,

and at our Father’s loved abode

our souls arrive in peace. —Philip Doddridge

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's direction, God's love, God's provision, peace, Philip Doddridge, poem, poetry, prayer. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—On Another’s Sorrow

March 21, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

Can I see another’s woe,

And not be in sorrow too?

Can I see another’s grief,

And not seek for kind relief?

Can I see a falling tear,

And not feel my sorrow’s share?

Can a father see his child

Weep, nor be with sorrow filled?

Can a mother sit and hear

An infant groan, an infant fear?

No, no! never can it be!

Never, never can it be!

And can He who smiles on all

Hear the wren with sorrows small,

Hear the small bird’s grief and care,

Hear the woes that infants bear—

And not sit beside the next,

Pouring pity in their breast,

And not sit the cradle near,

Weeping tear on infant’s tear?

And not sit both night and day,

Wiping all our tears away?

Oh no! never can it be!

Never, never can it be!

He doth give His joy to all:

He becomes an infant small,

He becomes a man of woe,

He doth feel the sorrow too.

Think not thou canst sigh a sigh,

And thy Maker is not by:

Think not thou canst weep a tear,

And thy Maker is not near.

Oh He gives to us His joy,

That our grief He may destroy:

Till our grief is fled an gone

He doth sit by us and moan. —William Blake

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Creator, empathy, God's joy, grief, Jesus Christ, poem, poetry, sorrow, sympathy, tears, William Blake. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—One God

March 14, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

One God! one Majesty!

There is no God but Thee!

Unbounded, unextended Unity!

Awful in unity,

O God! we worship Thee,

More simply one, because supremely Three!

Dread, unbeginning One!

Single, yet not alone,

Creation hath not set Thee on a higher throne.

Unfathomable Sea!

All life is out of Thee,

And Thy life is Thy blissful Unity.

All things that from Thee run,

All works that Thou hast done,

Thou didst in honor of Thy being One.

And by Thy being One,

Ever by that alone,

Couldst Thou do, and doest, what Thou hast done.

We from Thy oneness come,

Beyond it cannot roam,

And in Thy oneness find our one eternal home.

Blest be Thy Unity!

All joys are one to me—

The joy that there can be no other God than Thee! —Frederick Faber

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Creator, Frederick William Faber, God's blessing, God's Sovereignty, Godhead, joy, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, poem, poetry, Trinity, worship. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Lord Of All Being

March 7, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

Lord of all being, throned afar,

Thy glory flames from sun and star;

Center and soul of every sphere,

Yet to each loving heart how near!

Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray,

Sheds on our path the glow of day;

Star of our hope, Thy softened light

Cheers the long watches of the night.

Our midnight is Thy smile withdrawn;

Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn;

Our rainbow arch, Thy mercy’s sign;

All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.

Lord of all life, below, above,

Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love,

Before Thy ever blazing throne

We ask no luster of our own.

Grant us Thy truth to make us free,

And kindling hearts that burn for Thee,

Till all Thy living altars claim

One holy light, one heavenly flame. —Oliver Wendell Holmes

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Creator, God's glory, God's love, God's power, God's presence, hope, Oliver Wendell Holmes, poem, poetry, truth, worship. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—Of Hidden Uses

February 29, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

All things being are essential to the vast ubiquity of God;

Neither is there one thing overmuch, nor freed from honorable servitude.

Were there not a need be of wisdom, nothing would be as it is;

For essence without necessity argueth a moral weakness.

We look through a glass darkly, we catch but glimpses of truth;

But, doubtless, the sailing of a cloud hath Providence to its pilot,

Doubtless, the root of an oak is gnarled for a special purpose,

The foreknown station of a rush is as fixed as the station of a king,

And chaff from the hand of a winnower, steered as the stars in their courses.

Man liveth only in himself, but the Lord liveth in all things;

And His pervading unity quickeneth the whole creation.

Man doeth one thing at once, nor can he think two thoughts together;

But God compasseth all things, mantling the globe like air;

And we render homage to His wisdom, seeing use in all His creatures,

For, perchance, the universe would die, were not all things as they are. —Martin Fraquhar Tupper

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Creator, God's plan, God's purpose, God's Sovereignty, Martin Fraquhar Tupper, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, poem, poetry. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—God Is The Name My Soul Adores

February 22, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

God is the Name my soul adores,

The almighty Three, the eternal One;

Nature and grace, with all their powers,

Confess the Infinite unknown.

Thy voice produced the sea and spheres,

Bade the waves roar, the planets shine;

But nothing like Thyself appears

Through all these spacious works of Thine.

Still restless nature dies and grows;

From change to change the creatures run:

Thy being no succession knows,

And all Thy vast designs are one.

A glance of Thine runs through the globe,

Rules the bright worlds, and moves their frame;

Of light Thou formist Thy dazzling robe;

Thy ministers are living flame.

How shall polluted mortals dare

To sing Thy glory or Thy grace?

Beneath Thy feet we lie afar,

And see but shadows of Thy face.

Who can behold the blazing light?

Who can approach the consuming flame?

None but Thy wisdom knows Thy might

None but Thy Word can speak Thy Name. —Isaac Watts

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: adoration, God's power, God's wisdom, hymn, Isaac Watts, poem, poetry, worship. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Spurgeon—Why Bethlehem?

February 20, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Charles Spurgeon. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Spurgeon” in the search box to read more entries.

Why Bethlehem?

There [in Bethlehem] cleaved to [Naomi] Ruth the Moabitess, whose Gentile blood should unite with the pure untainted stream of the Jew and should thus bring forth the Lord our Savior, the great King both of Jews and Gentiles. … And in the streets of Bethlehem did Boaz and Ruth receive a blessing that made them fruitful, so that Boaz became the father of Obed and Obed the father of Jesse—and Jesse the father of David. …

There is something in the name of the place. Bethlehem Ephrathah. The word Bethlehem has a double meeting. It signifies ‘the house of bread’ and ‘the house of war.’ …

Bethlehem, you house of bread, rightly were you called, for there the Bread of life was first handed down for man to eat.

And it is called ‘the house of war,’ because Christ is to a man either ‘the house of bread’ or else ‘the house of war.’ While He is food to the righteous, He causes war to the wicked, according to His own words: ‘Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword…’ (Matthew 10:34–36).

Sinner, if you do not know Bethlehem as ‘the house of bread,’ it will be to you a ‘house of war.’ If from the lips of Jesus you never drink sweet honey—if you were not like the bee, which sips sweet luscious liquor from the Rose of Sharon, then out of the selfsame mouth there will go forth against you a two-edged sword! And that mouth from which the righteous draw their bread will be to you the mouth of destruction and the cause of your ill. …

Ephrathah … the meaning of it is ‘fruitfulness’ or ‘abundance.’ …

If we are like trees planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth our fruit in our season, it is not because we were naturally fruitful, but because of the rivers of water by which we were planted. It is Jesus who makes us fruitful. ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you’ (John 15:7). Glorious Bethlehem Ephrathah! Rightly named! Fruitful house of bread—the house of abundant provision for the people of God!

From The Incarnation And Birth Of Christ

Bethlehem wasn’t just a random place for Jesus Christ to be born. God doesn’t do anything randomly. Everything He does has a plan and a purpose. We may have difficulty seeing what the purpose is. As Martin Tupper noted in one of his poems—

We look through a glass darkly, we catch but glimpses of truth;

But, doubtless, the sailing of a cloud hath Providence to its pilot…

Man doeth one thing at once, nor can he think two thoughts together;

But God compasseth all things, mantling the globe like air…

Not only was the birthplace of Jesus purposely chosen by God, so was your birthplace. And your birth parents. And, indeed, everything about you. You are not an accident or some chance encounter. You have been created by God on purpose and for a purpose.

Let the birthplace of Jesus—all the rich meaning of Bethlehem Ephrathah—be an encouragement to you that God knows and loves you dearly. Your life has meaning and purpose, which you can discover through a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.