Christian Living, Culture, Death, Fear
John Beeson
What Spooks You?

Across the street from our home is the holiday house. You probably have one in your neighborhood. They go all out for every holiday. On Saturday, cars stacked up on the main road leading into the neighborhood as families drove by slowly, taking in the massive display that must have cost the owners thousands of dollars.

 

Last week I drove by a home whose Halloween decorations weren’t as massive or ostentatious, but the lawn display was undoubtedly the eeriest I’ve ever seen. A life-like severed head hung from a tree limb. A decapitated corpse with a visible spinal cord jutting out between slumped shoulders sat underneath.

What Spooks You?
Christian Living, Culture, Fear, Wisdom
John Beeson
The Temptation of Temptation

In 2023, 46 horror movies were released. 75 million tickets were sold, and the industry made $798 million in domestic revenue alone. It’s been argued that horror movies remain a draw for many in the contemporary West because there is so little actual danger in most of our lives.

 

Atheist Steven Pinker in The Better Angels of Our Nature argues that we live in the most peaceful era of human existence: wars have decreased, human rights have expanded, and rates of starvation and lifespans have improved. Drawn to conflict, we now have access to global news coverage, which gives us the dopamine hit of feeling like we are in conflict.

The Temptation of Temptation
Christian Living, Fear, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
John Beeson
Night

What attracts us so much to the dark?

In the story of Swan Lake, a ballet by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette (who has been cursed by the evil magician, Von Rothbart), after happening upon her at the lake one night during a hunting trip.  As a result of Von Rothbart's curse, Odette is human only at nightfall, for at daybreak she transforms into a swan.  True and faithful love is the only thing that can break the curse, and Siegfried aims to marry Odette, proclaiming such love, at a ball his mother is throwing for his birthday. 

Night
Christian Living, Death, Heaven, Religion, Spiritual Growth, Worship
John Beeson
How Changing Your View of Heaven Transforms the ...

In 2003, Bart Millard still mourning his father’s recent death, penned the lyrics for “I Can Only Imagine,” a song that would go on to be the most-played song in the history of Christian radio.

Can you imagine what heaven is going to be like?

There are lots of different views of heaven out there. A couple of decades ago a cottage industry developed, selling stories of those who said they had been to heaven while on death’s doorstep. We’re told of bright lights, lives re-played, and a warm glow. Others might daydream of harps and clouds, when asked to imagine heaven.

How Changing Your View of Heaven Transforms the Way You Live Today
Identity, Counseling, Culture, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
One Year Old!

On October 17, 2023, we (my wife Angel and I) released our first book, Trading Faces. With around four million books published annually (one for every resident of Oklahoma!), an author can feel as though they’re contributing a grain of sand to a beach. And there is truth to that! As the Preacher wisely reminds us in Ecclesiastes,

Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has been already
    in the ages before us. (Eccl. 1:10)

One Year Old!

2021 Audobon Photography awards

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This Week’s Recommendations

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This Week’s Recommendations

  1. When Jesus Acted Out a Parable to Explain the Gospel: Sinclair Ferguson explains how significant Jesus’ act in the Upper Room was. His chart that lines up the passage with Paul’s interpretation in Philippians in pretty cool. Ferguson says, “Clearly something deeper is going on here than Jesus merely removing dust and dirt. This is a prophetic action—like those performed by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. He is acting out a parable of the gospel, showing them by means of a dramatic sign both who He is and what He has come to do.”

  2. Why Do People Look So Serious in Old Photos? The traditional explanations have been that it is because of the exposure time or poor teeth. Merrill Fabry argues it is a different, cultural reason.

  3. The Cross and Criticism: Alfred Poirier reflects on the danger of pride and yes men in our lives. He says, “In response to my sin, the cross has criticized and judged me more intensely, deeply, pervasively, and truly than anyone else ever could. This knowledge permits us to say to all other criticism of us: ‘This is just a fraction of it.’” And later, “In other words, no one can criticize me more than the cross has. And the most devastating criticism turns out to be the finest mercy.”

  4. The Comfort of Samson: Keith Samson encourages us, “In his infinite wisdom, and in a way that defies human intellect, the Lord sees fit to redeem wretches like you and me. He is pleased to take us from darkness and bring us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. The Omnipotent One overcomes our sinfulness, both past and ongoing odiousness, and uses us for his purposes.”

  5. The 2021 Audobon Photography Awards: It delighted me to see the southwest’s Roadrunner take home top prize. The final shot, with the Eastern Chipmunk looking up at the Red-tailed Hawk while in his grasp is one I won’t quickly forget.

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