video | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

September 5, 2026 — Craig T. Owens

The terms used in the New Testament for followers of Jesus aren’t typically the same terms we use today. As Christians, we need to ask ourselves, “Is my life showing the biblical definition of what it means to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior?”

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.

“The trouble is that what we call ‘asking God’s forgiveness’ very often really consists in asking God to accept our excuses. What leads us into this mistake is the fact that there usually is some amount of excuse, some ‘extenuating circumstances.’ We are so very anxious to point these out to God (and to ourselves) that we are apt to forget the really important thing; that is, the bit left over, the bit which the excuses don’t cover, the bit which is inexcusable but not, thank God, unforgivable. And if we forget this, we shall go away imagining that we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves with our own excuses.” —C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory

“There is a place for anger. Without it, we would become passive against injustice. Anger helps us turn away from accepting blame that does not belong to us. It allows us to gain needed emotional distance from the one who hurt us. But anger requires safeguards. In this psalm, David had two: (1) He told his anger to God. … (2) He let God handle the execution of anger.” —Dr. George O. Wood, in A Psalm in my Heart

T.M. Moore speaks to the church in this post called Equipped For Good Works. A couple of comments that especially caught my attention: “A local church grows as it increases in the likeness of Jesus Christ” and “Churches grow as individual church members grow in zeal for good works, and do good to others at every opportunity, beginning within the household of faith.”

“I believe that the prophesies in the Revelation, and in the books of Daniel and Ezekiel are very much of this character, and that, while it is quite right to watch for and expect the coming of the Lord, we shall spend our time more profitably in preaching the doctrines of the gospel than in meditating upon the mysterious prophecies of the Word. They will be understood when they are fulfilled, but we do not think they will be fully understood before that time.” —Charles Spurgeon

The name of God is an important topic. Dr. Kaspars Ozolins writes, “What, then, is the actual name of Israel’s God? In biblical Hebrew it is represented by a sequence of four consonants, the famous tetragrammaton: YHWH. This name occurs a total of 6,828 times in the Old Testament.” Learn more about this name in this post.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the printing of the Tyndale Bible. This is an important event in Christian and world history. Check out this short overview of how this Bible came to be, and its impact that is still being felt today.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: anger, biblical history, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Christianity, church, end times, forgiveness, George O. Wood, good works, prophecy, quotes, T.M. Moore, video, William Tyndale, Yahweh. Leave a Comment »

With Friends Like These

August 31, 2026 — 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. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.

How do most people finish this phrase: “With friends like these…”? You probably said, “…who needs any enemies!”

But isn’t that rather sad? If this cliche is so well-known, it must be because so many people have experienced false or fickle friends. Maybe a lot of people have experienced what Christian Bovee noted: “False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade.”

I much prefer the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

I think the apostle Peter would agree with Emerson.

Peter wrote his first general epistle to Christians who are interacting with worldlings. Peter calls Christians “aliens and strangers” because of citizenship is heavenly—we are simply sojourners on earth as we make our way to our home in Heaven. Along this journey, 1 Peter gives us invaluable wisdom on how to behave ourselves as citizens of Heaven.

Peter probably has this journey in mind when he addresses his second epistle: “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours” (2 Peter 1:1).

(All of the Scriptures in this post can be read by clicking here.)

“Precious” is defined here as highly esteemed. And when he says, “as ours” he is saying the saints in the Kingdom of God have equal honor with anyone who may have a title or a position of leadership in the Church. Paul would agree with Peter (see 1 Corinthians 3:5, 21-23; 12:27).

Peter emphasizes this point by using the phrase “dear friends” four times in this letter (2 Peter 3:1, 8, 14, 17). Let me give you another quote from Emerson: “God evidently does not intend us all to be rich, or powerful or great, but He does intend us all to be friends.”

Peter uses the Greek word agapetos—with the root word for servant-hearted love at the root. This makes me think about our precious faith that we defined as highly esteemed, because agapetos also means esteemed, highly valued, beloved.

Precious friends encourage us in our precious faith on our long journey as we travel toward Heaven.

(1) They encourage us to think wholesomely (3:1).

They pray for our minds, as Paul did for his friends at Philippi (Philippians 1:9-10), and they practice—or live out—what they preach (Philippians 4:8-9).

(2) They encourage us to have informed perseverance (vv. 8-11).

They help us look backward see how faithful God has been in past times and how trustworthy God is now, and then ask us, “What kind of man or woman ought you to be in this moment? How can you continue to persevere in holiness and godliness until the very end?”

(3) They encourage us to remain pure (vv. 11-14).

They prompt us to be looking forward in hopeful expectation, and they encourage us to make every effort to be pure. These things require the development of habits. Andrew Murray said the habits that keep us pure are formed over the long haul: “The entrance of divine truth into the mind and heart, the formation of habits and the training of character—these are not attained by sudden and isolated efforts, but by regular and unceasing repetition.”

Sometimes our precious friends have to speak a lovingly hard word to us (see Proverbs 27:6).

(4) They encourage us to remain on guard (v. 17)

They don’t want us to be disqualified in our race (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), so they come to our rescue if we do stumble (James 5:19-20).

Let’s make this something new:

With friends like these I can live a victorious, God-honoring, Christ-glorifying life!

Let’s be those precious friends to others who share in the same precious faith.

Check out all of the message in this series from the book of 2 Peter by clicking here.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, 2 Peter, Book of James, Calvary Assembly of God, friendship, Philippians, quotes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, sermon, video. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

August 29, 2026 — Craig T. Owens

For Christians, there is no sacred-secular divide. We need the mind of Christ for literally everything that we do! Spirit-baptized Christians receive extraordinary insight from the Holy Spirit.

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.

“Our prayers can go where we cannot. There are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.” —Brother Andrew

The historicity of the Bible is well documented. Here is another archeological biography from The Bible Archeology Report, this one of Ben-Hadad III.

“I do not want the walls of separation between different orders of Christians to be destroyed, but only lowered, that we may shake hands a little easier over them.” —Rowland Hill (1744-1833)

“Those who are seriously attempting chastity are more conscious, and soon know a great deal more about their own sexuality than anyone else. They come to know their desires as Wellington knew Napoleon, or as Sherlock Holmes knew Moriarty; as a rat-catcher knows rats or a plumber knows about leaky pipes. Virtue—even attempted virtue—brings light; indulgence brings fog.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity

Marvin Olasky begins this informative article, “The war against abortion did not begin with the now-overturned 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.” He then gives us a comprehensive history of women of science who have stood on the front lines of the pro-life movement. Check out The Women Who Guarded the Womb.

J. Warner Wallace debunks that myth that Christianity is anti-science. Wallace actually makes that case the Christianity is the reason behind science’s remarkable growth.

The Craig And Greg Show: Business by the Book (part 2)

August 27, 2026 — 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. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.

It seems like many people put business and faith in two separate boxes, considering them entirely different topics of discussion. Greg and I completely disagree—the Bible is a resource for all areas of our lives, from the board room to the living room. That’s why we wrote our Business By The Book series. This is a guide to help you apply biblical principles to the corporate world. In today’s episode we preview the first book in this series: Business by the Book: What the Bible says about a CEO’s vision-casting.

[0:00] Introduction
[2:10] What does it mean for the leader to cast vision for his or her organization?
[3:07] Here’s what you can expect from Business by the Book—What the Bible says about a CEO’s vision-casting
[4:13] After a leader has cast a vision, that leader then needs to empower his or her entire team to help them achieve the vision.
[6:46] Leaders must be self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and help their teammates learn about themselves as well.
[9:06] Organization chart maneuvering can help empower teammates to accomplish great things. And I also share a teaser about a new project on which Greg is working.
[10:26] Greg talks about two vastly different roles: Commander and Includer.
[12:27] I share an excerpt from a chapter that Greg wrote in this book, and then Greg elaborates on how this helps a team pursue the vision.
[16:37] Leaders can move from doing to facilitating, which will help others set up into new roles.
[18:21] Some counsel for leaders who are first time vision-casters.
[19:26] Greg shares a tip for facilitating meetings to get more people involved.
[21:44] “Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”
[24:18] HERE’S HOW TO WIN A FREE COPY OF OUR NEW BOOK!

Order your copy today!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Business by the Book, Craig And Greg Show, leadership, team building, teamwork, video, vision casting. Leave a Comment »

No Fear Of God’s Holy Mountain

August 24, 2026 — 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. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.

Looking at King David, we can see an imperfect picture of our perfect King Jesus.

Let’s be honest: Coming into the king’s presence can be a fearful activity. Does he know something about you that you don’t know? Is he in a good mood? For the law-abiding citizen of Israel, coming before King David was without fear or punishment, but with a healthy respect of who he was. But with King David, we see a healthy, loving attitude that the people had.

David and all Israel celebrated when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:5).
And the way David blessed all the people following this would have raised the level of esteem they had for him.
God was pleased with David too: The Lord gave David victory wherever he went (8:6).
David continued to do the right thing (8:15).
At the end of David’s life the eyes of all Israel were on David to see who he would select to sit on his throne after him.

(All of the Scriptures in this post may be viewed by clicking here.)

Psalm 99 appears to be one that was written during the reign of King David. This royal psalm looks at the limited reign of David to see a better picture of the throne room of King Jesus.

The opening words tell us “the LORD reigns” (v. 1a). The word tremble can have two definitions. The first is to be perturbed or disquieted. This is addressed to the nations who don’t bow their knee to Yahweh, as a result they shake in fear. Second, this word tremble can also mean to be excited about coming before the King.

King Jesus is called “great, exalted over all the nations” (not just Israel), and He is said to have a “great and awesome name.”

“He IS holy,” which means He is the undisputed standard of all that is right and wrong, and no one can question His ruling. The nations that don’t know the King as their King tremble and shake, but those who do know Him as their King praise His awesome name (Revelation 5:13).

In many translations the word King is capitalized in v. 4, but we don’t know if this is referring to God or David. Since v. 2 refers to the “LORD in Zion,” that would appear to be a capital “K” King. But v. 4 mentions Jacob (not Zion), so I believe this is a lower case “k” referring to David. Let me restate verse 4 this way: “David is mighty, David loves justice—David has established equity; in Jacob David has done what is just and right.”

David’s own prayers also bear out this interpretation (see Psalm 20:6-9; 21:1-7). This is what the royal psalms do: Point us to David to show us a better picture in Jesus.

This is the end of stanza 1 which ends with this call to worship (v. 5).

Verses 6-7 give us another example (prior to the era of the kings) of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. These priests could call on God’s name and expect to receive an answer from Him. They lived obediently to all God spoke to them (v. 7b). Then v. 8 reminds us that God still speaks and forgives, but He is also the final Judge who will punish “misdeeds.” These verses clearly speak to Jesus who is both King and Priest before God’s throne.

This is the end of stanza 2, which has a similar call to worship as stanza 1 (v. 9).

I want you to also notice some places of worship:

between the cherubim (v. 1)—God’s mercyseat. This is where sin was atoned every year under the old system of David’s era, but where Jesus has has presented the once-for-all atonement for all who will believe on Him.
His footstool (v. 5)—another name for the ark of the covenant of the LORD (1 Chronicles 28:2).
the pillar of cloud (v. 7)—the covering of God’s presence and the reminder of His protection.
His holy mountain (v. 9)—see Hebrews 12:18-29.

Remember Psalm 99:4 in the AMPC—The strength of the king who loves righteousness and equity You establish in uprightness; You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).

King Jesus is the perfect King of justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:7; Revelation 5:12).

One day every knee will bow at the footstool of God’s holy mountain. They will either bow in despair and shaking because they did not put their faith in Jesus, or they will bow in humble adoration for the atonement that King Jesus made for them.

For those who don’t know Jesus—Away from Me, all you evildoers! There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. (Luke 13:27-28)

For those who know King Jesus, there is no fear (Luke 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57)!

Christians must live every day exalting and worship God, bowing gratefully at His footstool. This lifestyle of adoration of the great and awesome King is our testimony to a skeptical and searching world.

If you’ve missed any of the other Royal Psalms we’ve discussed in this series, you can check them all out here.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, 2 Samuel, atonement, Calvary Assembly of God, eternity, Gospel of Luke, Heaven, Hebrews, Hell, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Judgment Day, King David, King of kings, psalms, Revelation, royal psalms, sermon, video. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

August 22, 2026 — Craig T. Owens

Leaders must go first:

Set challenging goals
Share those goals with a friend
Stick with it no matter what—no excuses!

Check out the full episode “Resilience over Resignation” where Greg and I talk about the resilience of leadership.

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.

“Expect great things from God: Attempt great things for God.” —William Carey

“God gave us a self, not so that we would have something to exult in, but something to exult with. He gave us a self, not to be the object of our joy, but the subject of joy. That is, not to be the focus of happiness in front of the mirror or the selfie, but the furnace of happiness in front of Jesus. He gave us a self, not as an instrument of self-worth but as an instrument of worship.” —John Piper

“In reference to this command [Leviticus 19:17], the rabbis teach that if we feel offended by someone, we must go to him, tell him how we feel, give him a chance to explain and possibly apologize, and then forget and forgive.” —Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider

“Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.” —Jonathan Edwards

“The struggle itself is not proof that something is wrong with your faith. Rather, it is evidence that something is alive in you that now opposes sin. Before Christ, there was no real fight. Now there is tension, resistance, even grief over sin.” —Dr. Mike Paalz, commenting on Romans 7:14-23

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accountability, John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, leadership, Leviticus, quotes, resilience, Romans, Torah, video, William Carey, worship. Leave a Comment »

3 Vital Attributes For Healthy Leaders

August 20, 2026 — 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. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.

When it comes to leaders being hurt by those under their care, it is not a matter of if but when. How leaders respond to these attacks reveal three key attributes that must be addressed.

On the Ailbe Podcast, T.M. Moore and Rusty Rabon asked me what attributes pastors needed to develop to respond to sheep bites in a God-honoring way. I believe the three most important attributes are:

Humility
Vulnerability
Accountability

Humility is the ability of a leader to be open to the possibility that the sheep bite may have been in reaction to something the shepherd did or failed to do. To go a little deeper on this point, check out Pay Attention to the Bites.

Vulnerability is used in the context of bearing our souls to a true friend. T.M. Moore has written extensively about “soul friends,” and we discussed that in more detail in a previous appearance on the Ailbe Podcast which you can check out here. [soul friends]

Accountability is really a direct result of our humility with ourselves and our vulnerability with a soul friend. As the Bible tells us over and over again, we need to remain in relationship with fellow saints that can encourage us, empower us, and sometimes correct us. Check out the blog post and video Accountability to Saints.

If you desire to grow as a godly shepherd leader, please check out my book Shepherd Leadership.

If you want to learn more about how to recover from sheep bites and how to handle future attacks in a biblical, Christ-like way, please pick up a copy of When Sheep Bite.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accountability, Fellowship of Ailbe, humility, interview, pastoring, pastors, shepherd leadership, video, vulnerability, When Sheep Bite. Leave a Comment »

Change Your Conduct Or Change Your Name

August 17, 2026 — 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. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.

Alexander the Great startled a dozing soldier on guard duty and learned that his name was also Alexander. Clearly, this soldier’s conduct was not representative of his leader who had the same name.

Brennan Manning astutely noted: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Whenever I am confronted by the Holy Spirit with something I have read or heard from God’s Word, I need to stop to ask, “Do I need to change my conduct or do I need to change my name?”

If I call myself a CHRISTian, I want to make sure that people see Christ in me.

You can check out the full sermon from which this clip came by clicking here.

You may also want to check out:

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alexander the Great, Brennan Manning, Christian, introspection, quote, sermon, video. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

August 15, 2026 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus is still telling His story, and He wants to tell it through your life! See John 21:25, 14:12 and check out this encouraging sermon.

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.

“The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.” —Timothy Keller

Abdu Murray addressed an audience about what it means to be human, and how modern culture has “began to under-spiritualize and over-psychologize what it meant to be human.” I found his history lesson and applications to be quite fascination.

T.M. Moore is presenting a series of posts about the use of our time. “The only time we ever have is the present moment, supplied as an act of free grace by the eternal God and His Word. He has a purpose for the time He gives us: to know Him, enjoy His Presence and blessings, do His work, express His glory, and spread His grace in every moment of our everyday Christian lives. … Time is precious. We can make better use of it than we do.”

“Remember that you can never be really whole till you are holy, for holiness is spiritual sanity; it is the curing of the mind and heart from the disease which sin brought upon them.” —Charles Spurgeon

“What we call ‘being in love’ is a glorious state, and, in several ways, good for us. It helps to make us generous and courageous, it opens our eyes not only to the beauty of the beloved but to all beauty, and it subordinates (especially at first) our merely animal sexuality; in that sense, love is the great conqueror of lust.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity

“A man is about as big as the things that make him angry.” —Winston Churchill

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Abdu Murray, anger, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, culture, Heavenly Father, human nature, love, lust, personal holiness, prayer, quotes, T.M. Moore, Tim Keller, time, time management, video, Winston Churchill. Leave a Comment »

The Grind To Excellence

August 13, 2026 — 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. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.

When I would be struggling with stick-to-it-iveness, my Mom would say to me, “Anything worth having is worth working for.” From a young age, she was encouraging me to grind through the tough work to get to the payoff on the other side.

This is a great leadership principle, not only for leaders but for the teams they lead as well. Check out this clip where Greg and I talk about the grind necessary to achieve greatness.

You can watch the full Craig and Greg Show episode where we discuss how the leadership builder of resilience can keep at bay the leadership killer of resignation.

My book When Sheep Bite will help pastors who are trying to grind through the painful experience of biting sheep. This book has helped so many pastors see the factors that led up to the bite, the biblical responses to bites, and the resilience we can discover to help these shepherd leaders stay faithful to God’s calling. Check it out!