Recommendations, Comedy, Consumerism, Culture, Technology, Nature, Identity
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. You are no longer invited to dinner: Derek Thompson shares some sad news, “In the last 30 years, Americans have seen double-digit declines in practically every measure of socializing. They are less likely to play cards; attend a sporting event; go to the bar; volunteer; or work on a community project. When it comes to hosting people at home, the declines are particularly stark. Since 1995, the share of Americans who say they’ve hosted guests or attended a dinner party has declined by about 20 percent

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Forgiveness, Identity, Relationships, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
How Do You Forgive Someone Who Is Gone?

“I want to forgive him, but how do I forgive someone who died years ago?”
“I want to forgive her, but I don’t have any way to contact her.”

Do you have someone in your life that you want to forgive, but you don’t know how to because they are no longer in your life or perhaps they have passed away? How do you respond?

The misunderstanding.
Sometimes we confuse or conflate forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is releasing someone of a debt that is owed to us (see the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt 18:23-35).

How Do You Forgive Someone Who Is Gone?
Recommendations, Culture, Family, Sexuality, Social Media
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. I have called you friends: Alastair Roberts says, “Jesus came to make us friends of God, people with the same standing with God that our father Abraham had. As friends of God, we enjoy an intimacy with God and a participation in his work quite exceeding that of servants.”

  2. What draws me back? Three arguments for the faith on the days I doubt: Trevin Wax says, “The reason the problem of evil delivers such an emotional wallop for me is because of the bigger problem of good—the gratuitousness of beauty and goodness in our world, and the consequent ache in our hearts

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Family, Hospitality, Relationships
John Beeson
A Candy Shop Owner, a Customs Officer, and a ...

We stepped into the candy shop and could feel it immediately. We were welcome here. And no, it wasn’t just the aroma of chocolate wafting through the air (although that helped!). It was in the kind eyes of the shop owner, in the smile of her employee as she swept the floor. The sign outside said the shop closed five minutes earlier. “Are you sure it’s okay we come in?” I cautiously asked. “Of course!” she said. And I could feel that she meant it.

The atmosphere in her candy shop stood in stark contrast to the cold, unwelcoming atmosphere of several other shops we had visited

A Candy Shop Owner, a Customs Officer, and a Beloved Family
Family, History, Parenting, Politics, Recommendations
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The Chocolate Lady: Andrea Sanborn shares, “Parents of people with disabilities long for our children to be welcomed and included. Any effort in that direction can quite literally bring us to tears. But those of us who parent the socially challenging ones are especially moved when a person makes a concerted effort to befriend our children. Most people, understandably, back off when they’re rebuffed. But a precious few strive to understand and are willing to persevere to befriend our children in spite of their behavior.”

  2. Learning from King David’s midlife failure: Jim Newheiser says,

This Week's Recommendations

Christian Living

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How Do You Forgive Someone Who Is Gone?

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How Do You Forgive Someone Who Is Gone?

“I want to forgive him, but how do I forgive someone who died years ago?”
“I want to forgive her, but I don’t have any way to contact her.”

Do you have someone in your life that you want to forgive, but you don’t know how to because they are no longer in your life or perhaps they have passed away? How do you respond?

The misunderstanding.
Sometimes we confuse or conflate forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is releasing someone of a debt that is owed to us (see the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt 18:23-35).

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A Candy Shop Owner, a Customs Officer, and a Beloved Family

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A Candy Shop Owner, a Customs Officer, and a Beloved Family

We stepped into the candy shop and could feel it immediately. We were welcome here. And no, it wasn’t just the aroma of chocolate wafting through the air (although that helped!). It was in the kind eyes of the shop owner, in the smile of her employee as she swept the floor. The sign outside said the shop closed five minutes earlier. “Are you sure it’s okay we come in?” I cautiously asked. “Of course!” she said. And I could feel that she meant it.

The atmosphere in her candy shop stood in stark contrast to the cold, unwelcoming atmosphere of several other shops we had visited

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Oatmeal Cookies Don't Make You Healthy

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Oatmeal Cookies Don't Make You Healthy

Trigger warning: I love oatmeal cookies. I don’t just put up with them. I like the average oatmeal cookie better than the average chocolate chip cookie.

If I haven’t lost you yet, I’ll admit that beyond loving the taste and texture of oatmeal cookies, I’ll confess there is also the ancillary benefit of feeling healthy when you eat oatmeal cookies. I mean, you’ve got your whole grains, your dried fruit, your nuts. They’re practically health food, right?

A quick search on the internet proves otherwise: one Costco oatmeal cookie clocks in at 230 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 20 grams of carbs.

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The Spirit's Voice

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The Spirit's Voice

“Pastor, I was really touched when you said…”

One of my favorite parts of pastoral ministry is hearing how Scripture, sermons, Bible studies, and blog posts are shaping the lives of people in the congregation.  

A common occurrence in these conversations is when someone tells me I said something in a sermon that I did not actually say. What happened? Usually, it’s not because the person was inattentive.

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How Can I Excuse Myself

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How Can I Excuse Myself

You’re running a day care center that closes at 5pm. You notice a handful of parents pick up their children late. Every time a parent arrives late it impacts you: you must stay late—family dinners and events are lost. What do you do? Realizing that your honor system isn’t cutting it, you start charging a fine for arriving late.   

And then the unexpected happens: the number of late-arriving parents doubles.

This experiment was run by economists trying to help an Israeli daycare. The results confounded the researchers.

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Can We Choose Our Identity?

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Can We Choose Our Identity?

I was fourteen years old, 5’9” and 130 pounds. My backpack hung loosely over my shoulders and butterflies filled my stomach. It was the first day of high school. I navigated the path from my fourth period class toward the cafeteria in a sea of three thousand mostly new faces. Who would I sit with? I saw the group of guys I had hung around with in middle school: jocks who had made those three years fairly miserable for me.

I scanned the grass and picked out the groups: band kids, several kids playing chess, kids playing pick-up basketball. I saw one gathering playing Dungeons and Dragons.

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The Mark of the Beast and The Mark of God

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The Mark of the Beast and The Mark of God

We are all familiar with the mark of the beast. Fear and confusion surrounding it seem to swirl around it. As a child, I remember hearing a preacher declare that the birthmark on Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s head was the mark of the beast. We were warned that Visa cards or barcodes might be the mark. Today, rumors abound that the mark is a QR code, a vaccine, or something connected to artificial intelligence.

Such speculation dramatically misunderstands John’s explanation of the mark of the beast in the book of Revelation.

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The Millstone of Leadership

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The Millstone of Leadership

As a young man, I dreamed of being called to lead a revival for God. I was inspired by my pastor, who had led a church that had multiplied from a medium-sized congregation to a congregation of over 6,000. I read stories of heroes of the faith who had led revivals: Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, DL Moody, and Billy Graham.

I prayed God would use me to lead. I dreamed of preaching to crowds and seeing many come to faith. I had the opportunity to lead Bible studies on my high school campus and was excited to try to figure out how to lead others in studying the Bible.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The grief we learn to carry: Stacy MacLaren says, “Grief research has given us language for something grieving people have known in their bones forever: losing someone you deeply love isn't like sustaining an injury that eventually disappears once you've healed correctly. Grief is, in part, a massive act of learning.”

  2. Some of the strangest Old Testament laws and what they mean: Christine Palmer explains, ““You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes” (Lev. 19:26). To remain in right standing with the Lord, under no circumstances may the cove­nant people eat meat with its blood,

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Saul, the Witch at En-dor, and the Will of God

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Saul, the Witch at En-dor, and the Will of God

Do ghosts exist? Do we have access to the spirit world? If so, what does that mean for our spiritual life? The bizarre story of Saul and the Medium at En-Dor, while challenging, addresses these questions.

 

At the heart of this text is a critical question: will you obey God?

Here is the story:

The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him,

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