Christmas, Theology, Advent, Church, Hospitality
John Beeson
The Faithfulness of God of the Manger

Recently we had someone over and as the night came to a close Angel warmly offered, “Let’s do this again soon!” I wilted as I processed just how many things were on our calendar in the coming month. Just like Angel did, I wanted to be with them again and soon, but her invitation made me flinch.

 

My wife Angel and I are very different people. Angel brings light and life everywhere. People are drawn to her, and she is drawn to people. One of the many things I love about Angel is how she gets caught up in a moment with people. In that space, it’s not unusual that she shares hopes with those we are with of spending more time together. And she means it: there is no doubt of her genuineness.

The Faithfulness of God of the Manger
Advent, Christmas, Theology
John Beeson
A Humble God?

“I don’t compare myself with anybody, but nobody is better.” Michael Jordan

“They say the sky’s the limit, but I think my potential is beyond it.” Jay-Z

“I won’t be happy until I’m as famous as God” Madonna

“I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend.” Freddie Mercury

“We’re more popular than Jesus now.” John Lennon

We tend to expect that greatest among us are also some of the most arrogant. And why wouldn’t they be? For many who make it to the top of their field, we can see how that arrogance can be a driving force for their greatness.

A Humble God?
Christmas, Forgiveness, Theology
John Beeson
The Just and the Justifier

God became flesh.

Let that sink in. Christianity asserts that God—sovereign, immutable, omnipotent, other—the eternal God who has no beginning and end—became a human being.

 Because many of us have had exposure to Christianity from our early years, it is easy to miss how massive the theological implications of the incarnation are. The incarnation lays the groundwork for a God who chooses to participate in his creation. The incarnation denies the existence of an abstract and distant God, unmuddied by his handiwork.

The Just and the Justifier
Advent, Christmas, Theology
John Beeson
The Theology of the Manger

“God did not, as the Bible says, create man in his own image; on the contrary, man created God in his own image.” Ludwig Feuerbach dropped this theological bombshell three years before Friedrich Nietzsche’s birth. Feuerbach, a name forgotten by most, but who influenced Nietzsche, wrote these words in his book, The Essence of Christianity (1841). He argued that human beings project their own attributes and desires onto an imagined deity, creating God in their own image. This for Feuerbach, is the essence of Christianity (and indeed all religions), the deification of our human ideals. “What man wishes to be, he makes his God… God is the outward projection of a man’s inward nature.”

The Theology of the Manger
Death, Gratitude, Prayer, Suffering
John Beeson
Go To a Funeral

We Westerners avoid death.

 

When was the last time you walked through a cemetery? When was the last funeral you went to? Our churches no longer have cemeteries, those who are older head to retirement communities and then to head to long-term care or assisted care facilities. The number of funerals held in churches has diminished. Death has become professionalized, antisepticised, and remote.

Go To a Funeral

Greg Lavine

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Are Your Resolutions Slipping?

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Are Your Resolutions Slipping?

Did you set any New Year’s resolutions for yourself this year? Perhaps you committed to a diet, to a workout plan, or to regular devotional times.

 

Are you as devoted as much now to your resolution as you were four weeks ago?

 

Perhaps you’ve dropped the ball and become frustrated with yourself. Or you decided not to even make resolutions this year because you have failed to keep them in past years. So why not just give up on making resolutions forever? Because a good and wholesome character is the outcome of consistently and healthfully formed habits. Author James Clear encourages us, “Every action you take is a vote for the kind of person you wish to become.” Educational expert Sean Covey doubles down, “We become what we repeatedly do.”

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The Best of the Bee Hive in 2023

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The Best of the Bee Hive in 2023

Writing is part of the ministry God has entrusted me with. I blog first to pastor my dear congregation New Life Bible Fellowship through the ministry of words. My hope is that the three additional touchpoints during the week allow those God has entrusted to me as an under-shepherd to grow in their love for God, their wisdom, and to foster unity. I’m grateful for the many who read who aren’t part of New Life. I pray that my writing encourages and strengthens you in your walk and in your heart for your local church.

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The Power of Encouragement

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The Power of Encouragement

We are called to be those marked by encouragement. So, why is encouragement so hard for us? Why do we withhold praise? For some of us, we withhold encouragement because we just get busy. I like to write encouragement notes to volunteers and co-workers at New Life, but it’s surprising how quickly the weeks (and sometimes months!) go by between when I write them.

Some of us withhold encouragement because we are too focused on ourselves. It requires a humble heart focused on others and not ourselves to offer encouragement. To the extent that we are self-focused, we will never be able to be strong encouragers.

A Living Miracle

A Living Miracle

A week and a half ago, Pastosr Greg (my Co-Lead Pastor at New Life Bible Fellowship) and his family went through a harrowing 72 hours with their eldest son, Levi. What follows is Greg’s testament to our miracle-working God. I pray it speaks hope and fills your soul with gratitude for the kind God we serve.

-John

I have experienced many of what I call “small miracles” in my life. Each was a gift from God, so I do not use the term “small” to diminish the glory of God in any way. They were extraordinary “coincidences” that could only be arranged by an all-knowing God. They were healings that followed prayer so particularly that it made all who knew smile. Funds have arrived out of nowhere just as a bill had to be paid. Jesus has calmed storms of oppression so clearly I could almost hear him say, “Peace be still.” But my soul is still awed from a miracle we witnessed last Friday.

I will back up. Levi, our firstborn, is in large measure a miracle child. He has a genetic anomaly and we almost lost him in two surgeries before he was eighteen months old. He is autistic, fights mental health battles against depression and being bipolar, and lives in a group home. Last Wednesday his staff found him around noon unconscious and unresponsive on his bedroom floor.

"Thanks for talking with me."

"Thanks for talking with me."

There is an older lady I see at the gym that has become a friendly acquaintance. She used to come in with her husband. He was in worse health than she was and nearly blind. She would walk him in, take him to the treadmill, get him situated, and go do her workout while he walked slowly on the treadmill.

She’d go back to check in on him in-between every exercise. It was a gift to watch her love him. I first spoke with them a few years ago when I introduced myself, told them how beautiful it was to watch them together, and asked how long they had been married. In total, 75 years they told me. They both celebrated 50 years with their spouses before they were widowed. Then they married and now they were coming up on 25 years themselves. Amazing!

He passed away a couple of years ago. She comes to the gym alone now. This past week a friend and I saw her doing reverse sit-ups and decided to say hello. We told her that she was making the rest of us look bad because she was so incredible. We visited for a minute or two wishing each other a wonderful Thanksgiving. As we parted, she turned to us and said, “Thanks for talking with me.”

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