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

why is prayer so hard?

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Do You Struggle With Prayer?

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Do You Struggle With Prayer?

Whose prayer life is what they want it to be? Mine certainly isn’t what I hope it will be one day. Just this morning I decided that I would take out my earbuds during my workout and use the time for prayer. Minutes later I found my mind wandering, counting my reps, and even checking my phone for incoming messages. Why would I deny listening to and talk with my Creator and Savior? And yet I refuse this opportunity more frequently than I would care to admit. I want to say yes, but I say no. How do we improve our prayer lives? This is the question that Kevin Halloran tackles in his practical book, When Prayer is a Struggle.

Halloran invites us to experience the life of prayer God longs for us to have with him. Halloran reminds us that our prayer life and our faith are interrelated. The health of my prayer life is directly connected to the strength of my faith. He says, “Prayer is the natural overflow of a growing faith.” We don’t pray as we ought because we struggle with our faith. Does my life depend on the active work of God today, or is it mere intellectual assent to his existence? My prayer life reveals it is too often the latter.

Halloran encourages us to lean into our prayer life with God not trying to get it “right,” but to engage God and grow our faith. I love the quote from Jared Wilson he shares, “You may think your prayers are nothing to write home about. That’s fine. You are not writing home, but heaven. God is merciful. He accepts your lame prayers. What he wants is not your eloquence but your heart.” Our prayer life isn’t meant to be a demonstration of our eloquence or intelligence or spirituality, but the expression of a vibrant relationship with the Caretaker of our souls.

Halloran wants us to utilize the Bible in our prayer life. Scripture ought to feed our prayer life. It gives us words to say to God when we don’t know what to say, it directs us to God’s heart when we feel distant from him. If you want to dive into this particular topic more, I would encourage you to read Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney alongside Halloran’s book.

My favorite chapter is probably Chapter 4 where Halloran engages the question, “Why doesn’t God listen?”

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