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

persecution

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. A Prayer and a Prayer: My friend John Starke compares two prayers, “The first prayer, “Lord, give me patience,” is a prayer that she has learned she ought to pray. But the second is something deeper than a request “give me,” but a lament.”

2. The 50 Countries It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus in 2021: Open Doors’s new list includes North Korea, Afghanistan, followed by Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, and India as the top ten. This Christianity Today report begins with the sobering news that, “Every day, 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith. Every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked.”

3. Our Patriotic Idolatry: Danny Friederichsen with a timely warning, “Patriotolatry is dangerous because it flies under the radar for so many American Christians. After all, it can feel dangerously like faithfulness.”

4. The Blessing of Our Weariness: David Qaoud with a great reminder and encouragement, “weariness is a reminder that God created you to get stuff done for his glory (Ephesians 2:10). To use an N.D. Wilson expression, “Life is meant to be spent.” Workaholism is bad, but laziness is equally so…Weariness reminds us that idleness is sinful and that our lives are meant to be poured out for the glory of the triune God.”

5. Secret Sins Will Hurt Others: Greg Morse reminds us how significant our battle against sin is, “In this, Satan is a crafty spider, spinning a web of concealed threads sticking to those we never intended to harm.”

6. How to Respond to the News About Ravi Zacharias: Speaking of secret sins: this week a report was issued about an in-depth investigation of Ravi Zacharias which revealed a horrific history of sexual sin and cover-up. Randy Alcorn offers wisdom in how to consider such a devastating report.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. What You Need to Know About the Devil’s Tricks: Andrew Menkis illuminates the attacks of the enemy as they relate to beliefs and persecution. He draws parallels between today and the first-century Roman context and then encourages us, “First, as Christians, we can be joyful in the face of persecution because we know God uses it to sanctify us. We learn to walk in faith when we are persecuted. Knowing that we are united to Christ by faith gives us confidence that He will sustain us through all trials that come our way.”

2. How to Expose the Idols of Your Heart: Joe Carter begins, “Few stories in the Old Testament tend to make us feel more superior to the Israelites than the tale of the golden calf in Exodus 32:1–6. How backwards they must have been to think you could make a god out of metal! How silly to think bringing offerings to a statue would bring peace, joy, and happiness! The entire story is almost too absurd to believe. Or at least, until we examine our own idols.”

3. 3 Blessings of Seeing Our Sin: Ed Welch suggests that, “Suffering feels like our biggest problem and avoiding it like our greatest need—but we know that there is something more. Sin is actually our biggest problem, and rescue from it is our greatest need. There is a link between the two.”

4. The Biggest Threat Faced By the Church: Keith Mathison begins, “What is the biggest threat faced by the church today? Many in the U.S. seem to think the answer is government tyranny.”

5. Hamidolph: If you like Hamilton, you have got to see this. One of the most fun things I’ve seen in a while.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Kids Spending 500% More Time in Front of Screens During Quarantine: James Lang suggests that, “The trouble with excessive screen time is that it eclipses healthy behaviors that all children need.”

2. Will Hell Really Last Forever? This is a thoughtful and thorough response by Greg Morse. I find this part of his argument most persuasive: "The answer is clear enough in Revelation 16:8–11, where people under God’s judgment 'gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.'”

3. 4 Disturbing Trends in Global Persecution: Please pray for Christ's church. The fourth in Aaron Earls's report is, "Christianity is on the verge of disappearing in Iraq and Syria. The presence of terrorist groups and conflicts in both Middle Eastern countries have led to the rapid decline of the Christian populations. Before the extended conflicts began, Iraq and Syria had 3.7 million Christians. Now that has dropped to around 946,000, according to Open Doors."

4. Here come the Skinny Cows: Mark Deymaz and Harry Li with a disturbing forecast of dramatically decreased giving to churches in the coming years. They explain four factors that might lead to a decline of up to 30% drop in giving. One of the four factors is a decrease in giving to religious institutions, "Individual giving in general is trending down, the report said, but religious giving is being hit by other factors like the growing disaffiliation of Americans with religious groups."

5. 4 Principles for Talking to Your Kids About Sex: Julie Lowe’s short article is on point. Her final point is, “Fourth, talk soon. Be the one who shapes your child’s view on sex and sexuality. It is far better to proactively inform your child’s view on a subject, than to have to go back and debunk an inaccurate view.”

6. Hawaii's Forest Eater: Stunning up close footage of the devastating 2018 volcano in Hawaii.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.       Modern Research About Happiness Repeatedly Reflects Biblical Principles: Randy Alcorn walks through eight findings about happiness from psychological research and their eight biblical parallels.

2.       The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to be a Christian: Of particular interest to me is India not only remaining #10 on this list, but unfortunately taking the top place in a new designation. Jayson Casper explains, “India ranks first in the new category of physical or mental abuse, which includes beatings and death threats. The continuing rise in the subcontinent of a militant Hindu nationalism contributed to 1,445 of the reported 14,645 cases worldwide.”

3.       Patrick Lencioni's Personal Leadership Crash: This Carey Niewhof podcast is gold. It's loaded with helpful leadership insights about a leader's health.

4.       National Giving Trends: Lifeway recently published a report on national giving trends. A few takeaways: the national giving percentage has remained at 2% for decades. Diving deeper, "giving to religious causes receives the largest amount of gifts when compared to other sectors. It is at 31%. However, in the 1980’s, religious giving received 58% and has been on a steady decline every year. This is not good."

5.       Can The Cosmic Crisp Live Up to Huge Expectations? You might have heard of the new breed of apples that just hit store shelves. But can the apple pay back the huge investment that has been made in it?

6.       What Does the Bible Say About Divorce and Remarriage? Tom Schreiner answers this difficult question.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.       But Women are Visual Too--Right? An interesting response by social researcher and gender and relationship expert Shaunti Feldhahn. Her bottom line answer to this question is: " We as women have literally never experienced that back-of-the-brain, biological-pleasure temptation that men face every day." It's worth reading the whole article.

2.       6 Things Never to Say to a Bereaved Parent: Angela Miller with thoughtful advice. I love that she doesn't just tell the reader what not to say, but also what to say. For instance, instead of telling a bereaved parent, "Time heals all wounds," Miller suggests, " What would feel healing/helpful to you right now? ~ Is there any way I can help carry your burden? ~ What do you need most today? ~ I am with you. Always."

3.       Ten Questions for Those Who Are Pro-Choice: Andrew Haslam asks important questions for someone to consider as they wrestle with the question of abortion. I appreciate this question: "Why is a woman's body pitted against her baby's?"

4.       3 Postures Leaders Don't Need On Their Leadership Team: Eric Geiger explains why the consultant, senator, and critic hamper leadership teams.

5.       The Fight for Indian Democracy and Persecution in India Continues to Rise: Please keep India in your prayers. “Since BJP has come into power in 2014, minorities in India have lived in constant fear. Persecution of Christians have increased.”

6.       Tyler the Ex-Evangelical: Lutheran Satire has an amazing way at illuminating truths with a wry smile.

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The Faces of God’s Movement in India

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The Faces of God’s Movement in India

Just last month the updated world watch list was published. The list ranks countries that have the highest level of persecution of Christians.[i] Sandwiched between Iran and Syria, India ranked as the country where Christians endure the tenth most persecution in the world. That’s worse than Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and China. India is a very difficult place to be a Christian.

Numbers are one thing, faces and stories are another. Over the past two weeks we had the privilege of meeting hundreds of God’s saints in India who are not merely enduring extreme persecution, but doing so joyfully. Over the course of two weeks we had personal conversations with dozens of these pastors and their wives. Only one said he had not experienced significant persecution and opposition. Every other couple we met lived under the constant threat of violence and most had been beaten and thrown out of their homes at least once.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,”[ii] Jesus said.

Let me tell you some of the stories of these blessed ones[iii]:

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