Christian Living, Culture, Politics, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Vulgar Authenticity

Who is your favorite celebrity? Your favorite political pundit? Your favorite politician?

Why are you drawn to these individuals? Maybe it is their personality. Perhaps it is because you respect their convictions. Possibly, it is because of their unique style.

Taylor Swift might be the most beloved celebrity in the world. Many have commented that one of the reasons that Swift has cultivated such a devoted following is her accessibility and down-to-earth qualities, from what she wears to the love stories she writes about in her music.

Vulgar Authenticity
Christian Living, Biblical Studies, Religion, Spiritual Growth, Theology
John Beeson
The Faith of Unbelief

Bart Ehrman has perhaps done more to undermine the credibility of the Bible than anyone else in my lifetime. But his story didn’t begin that way. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar and skeptic. Ehrman grew up in a Christian home, attended a conservative Bible school, and then found his way to a liberal seminary where his faith in the God of the Bible unraveled. That seminary happens to be the seminary I would attend a couple of decades later.

For Ehrman, everywhere he looks he sees holes in the biblical story. The inconsistencies that he sees have led him to determine that he cannot trust in the God of the Bible.

The Faith of Unbelief
Christian Living, Culture, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Don't Numb Your Feelings

“Don’t listen to your feelings; remember what Jesus did for you!”

“Don’t be guided by your feelings; listen to what God commands you to do!”

In just the past week, I heard both of these warnings. Two very different Christian speakers urged their audiences to shut down their feelings. These admonitions resonate. They contain truth. It is correct that our feelings don’t override truth, nor do our emotions negate what God has done. Neither do our feelings give us an out for what God commands us to do.

Don't Numb Your Feelings
History, Spiritual Growth, Suffering, Wisdom
John Beeson
Lord, Reach Your Justice Down

I had outsized emotions as a child. Games, especially, would get the best of me, whether cards or boardgames or sports. In response to a stroke of bad luck, a hot surge of anger would erupt, followed quickly by tears and then embarrassment.

Emotions are God’s gift to us in many ways. They are one of his kind ways of showing us where our deep attachments lie.

Our son started his freshman year at the University of Arizona this fall. It’s been a great experience for him, but not without its adjustments. The climate of a secular school is quite different than the Christian school he graduated from

Lord, Reach Your Justice Down
Culture, Generosity, Nature, Relationships
John Beeson
Marshmallows and Friends

Most have heard of the famous Stanford marshmallow experiment. In 1970, psychologist Walter Mischel invited kids into his lab. A child was offered a marshmallow that they could eat, or, if they waited until the researcher returned, they were given a second marshmallow. About one-third of the kids waited approximately fifteen minutes for the additional reward.

The study then tracked those children over time and found that children who waited for the second reward tended to have higher SAT scores and lower body mass indexes. Later tests have challenged those outcomes, but it hasn’t stopped parents everywhere from running the experiment on their kids, often with humorous results.

Marshmallows and Friends

Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. One in Three Practicing Christians Has Stopped Participating in Church: A sobering report from Barna.

2. Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2020: I always appreciate these recaps from Christianity Today. Gordon Govier reports, “Turkish archaeologist Celal Şimşek discovered sacred items used in Christian worship while excavating a house in Laodicea. The peristyle house—built around a central garden or courtyard—was located next to a theater and was likely owned by wealthy people. The apostle Paul sent an epistle to the church at Laodicea, which is mentioned in Colossians but appears to have been lost. The church is also mentioned in Revelation…”

3. Don’t Be an Esau: Ray Majoran exhorts us to not sell our birthright for stew. He says, “In 2020, I saw many (professed) Christians giving up their birthright for a bowl of soup.”

4. Wait for it: Susan Lafferty with a delightful reflection on anticipating what we’ve already seen.

5. When God Goes Big and I Go Small: Tim Challies says that our impulse to wriggle out of sweeping biblical commands is dangerous. He says, “The Bible speaks in broad words, in great sweeping statements. There are times to interpret those words and statements, to apply wisdom to them. But first we must deal with them as they are, to allow them to hit with all of their force, all of their impact. Then, and only then, do we ask our “what if” questions.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. 15 GOOD News Trends from 2020: How refreshing is this article by Joe Carter? It includes good news about terrorism, abortion, and numbers in the prison system. He concludes with this piece of good news, “The U.S. Supreme Court continued a pattern of preventing restrictions on religious liberty. The Supreme Court closed out its 2020 term with three significant victories for religious liberty—continuing a 10-year series of wins for religious freedom.”

2. The Six Costs of Sin: William Boekestein with an excellent breakdown of just how costly sin is. He says that, “Reflecting on the manifold cost of sin can warn our souls against wandering from the safe path of faithfulness.”

3. The Beauty and Burden of Nostalgia: Jared Wilson explains why, as good as nostalgia can be, it is also dangerous. He explains first that, “This is what nostalgia promises us—an exit from the tyranny of progress, the chaos of everything we see on the news and in our neighborhood.”

4. Love, According to E.B. White: My friend Brianna Lambert explains how E.B. White gives us three different stories to explain three different definitions of love, “In the course of these three novels, E.B. White slows down and invites his reader to learn three very unique definitions of love.”

5. Atheism’s Empty Soul: Alan Shlemon explains the inevitable end of naturalism, “Atheists don’t have a livable worldview. I don’t say that to gloat. Several atheists who have been candid with me have told me life is ultimately empty and devoid of meaning. That doesn’t mean they can’t feel happy, follow a set of morals, or believe their life is significant in some way. But their denial of God has serious repercussions.”

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New Year's Eve Recommendations

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New Year's Eve Recommendations

1. Mental Health Declines Among Americans, Except Weekly Churchgoers: Fascinating study by Gallup that Aaron Earls explains. He says that, “Those describing their mental health as excellent has been between 42% and 51% since 2001. In 2020, that fell to 34%.”

2. Are We Experiencing Another Reformation? George Barna says that based on a new survey, “’American Christians are undergoing a post-Christian Reformation,’ says Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at the CRC. Unlike the Protestant Reformation was to return to the foundational teachings of the Bible, this modern movement is one where Americans are redefining biblical beliefs according to secular values.”

3. Should Christians Use the Enneagram? This is a well-balanced article by Tyler Zach, who shares some fascinating history of the Enneagram and concludes, “After decades of the church deploying reason-based apologetics, the door is wide open for us to use a self-awareness tool like the Enneagram to connect hearts and minds within a culture that has split itself.”

4. Pornhub Removes Majority of Videos: Fantastic news as the anti-trafficking ministry Exodus Cry has taken on the pornography giant. A recent expose by the New York Times revealed that, “Videos of assault involving underage girls, rape, and other exploitative content continue to be posted and reposted on the user-generated porn site, and the company is not doing enough to stop it.”

5. A Friend Who Sticks Closer Than… a Hobbit? Carissa Jones with a wonderful post on friendship and hobbits. She concludes, “We need those friends in our lives. Those who will carry us to the throne room when we are too weak and weary to take ourselves. We need to be those friends as well, sharing others' burdens when we can and lifting them up when we cannot. And when we've reached the end of our earthly journeys, may we look at our friends and proclaim, ‘I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things.’”

6. The Gentle Tug of Spiritual Disciplines: Craig Thompson reflects on how the tug of spiritual disciplines is different than the tug of his dog, “Toby makes sure that he is the center of my attention when he needs something. The Lord tends to call to us in small whispers. Listen carefully. Your spiritual disciplines may never demand your attention. But they do promise rest and communion with the Lord if you will just slow down.”

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Christmas Eve Recommendations

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Christmas Eve Recommendations

1. Is Christmas a Pagan Rip-Off? Kevin DeYoung explains why what we’ve learned about the date that was chosen to celebrate Christ’s birth is wrong. He concludes, “While we can’t know for certain that this is where December 25 came from—and we certainly can’t be dogmatic about the historicity of the date—there is much better ancient evidence to suggest that our date for Christmas is tied to Christ’s death and conception than tied to the pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and Sol Invictus.”

2. Five Misconceptions About the Christmas Story: Michael Kruger explores the ways we get the story wrong. Spoiler alert, #5 is the same as DeYoung’s article above.

3. Vaccines and the Christian Worldview: Albert Mohler considers how Christians should think about vaccines. He offers seven points for consideration. He begins, “First, Christians do not believe in medical non-interventionism. Instead, we believe in the moral legitimacy of medical treatment.”

4. Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth: Warren Peel reflects, “Can you imagine the weight that must have rolled off Mary’s shoulders when she heard Elizabeth’s greeting?”

5. The Thrill of Hope for a World in Sin and Error Pining: Thanks for this, Benjamin Vrbicek. “Behind each idol our hearts could create for worship—whether the idol of work or money or sex or approval or power or whatever—is a pining for something deeper, something we know we want but can never seem to grasp. Perhaps to describe pining we could use the language of “thirst” and “desire,” as Revelation 22:17 does: “And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”…Long lay the world pining—then and now.”

6. Ten Hilarious Church Christmas Fails: The kid with #7 in the Twelve Days of Christmas is my favorite. Or the kid who yell-sings. So funny.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Jesus Wasn’t Born in a Stable—and That Makes All the Difference: Ian Paul explains how we misunderstand the inn, stable, and manger in the Christmas story. He suggests the importance is found here, “Instead, if Jesus comes to us, rather than us coming to him, if he visits in our very homes and comes as a surprising, disruptive, but ultimately welcome presence, one who will turn our world upside-down and change it forever, then that makes all the difference.”

2. Are Masks a Conscience Issue? Erik Raymond frames this delicate issue, “Is it accurate to say that wearing a mask is a conscience issue? By now, you realize the importance of the answer. If “yes,” then churches requiring church members to violate their conscience is a serious concern. If the answer is “no,” then Christians should stop using conscience as a reason for refusing to wear a mask.”

3. Nobody Like Him: Darryl Dash asks the question: what is it about Timothy that makes Paul say, “I have no one like him.”

4. Temptation is No Simple Enemy: Marshall Segal considers simplicity through the lens of Samson. He begins, “We expect temptation will march through the front door, dressed like a wolf, announcing itself loudly as it comes. But temptation often prefers the back door, and the bedroom window, and that crack between the floorboards.”

5. A Visiting Dawn: My friend Chris Thomas considers what it means to live in the dawn. “This is the dawn that gave birth to every dawn since. This is the dawn from on high, the eternal light that shines in our truest home. The dawn that banishes any need of lamp or torch to light our way. This dawn will know no end, nor will it reach the Zenith of existence to fall and fade away. This is the dawn that visits us in that first Advent, and the one that dwells with us ever since.”

6. How Does that Annoying Fly Dodge Your Swatter? Wow. God’s creation is amazing.

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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. COVID Vaccines May Work, but are They Safe? I appreciate this well-considered conversation of vaccines by Dr. Charles Horton at World. He explains how the vaccines work and whether or not they are ethically sourced. If you like this piece, I recommend subscribing to the World and Everything In It podcast.

2. When Looking for a Church, Beware the ‘Right Fit’: Excellent piece by Australian pastor, Murray Campbell. He shares, “There are good reasons for joining and leaving a church, and not so good reasons. There are sensible reasons and sinful reasons. But among the most common is what I often call a spiritualized version of natural selection.”

3. In Praise of the Average Pastor: Darryl Dash with a moving post. He begins, “Few search committees look for one. Few young men aspire to become one. But it’s what most churches need. I’m grateful for the average pastor.”

4. Should We Expect Our Jobs to Make us Happy? Barnabas Piper uses a great metaphor of weak household hooks and compares them to the weight of our happiness we try to hang on our jobs.

5. Do Not Trust Your Anger: Ray Ortlund begins, “Our world, including our Christian circles, gives us opportunities galore for anger. It’s not as though provocations lie on only one side of the theological, political, or cultural divides. Bob Dylan was right: ‘Everything is broken.’ No wonder, then, that a whole lot can light the fuse of our anger.”

6. Think Twice Before Changing Churches: 2020 might feel like exactly the right time to change churches. Ivan Mesa argues why that isn’t the case. He concludes, “Sometimes faithfulness means walking out. More often than not, though, it means staying put.”

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Thanksgiving Recommendations

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Thanksgiving Recommendations

1. What’s God’s Will For You in 2020? Eric Geiger suggests the answer is connected to today’s holiday.

2. How Do I ‘Count It All Joy’: I smiled when I saw Joel Smit’s article, which is similar (but deeper) than the reflection I offered this week on the same passage. He shares, “These seemingly cold words of James are actually filled with warm gospel truth and hope as they point the troubled soul to the root from which the true healing balm comes.”

3. Surviving the Holidays: Kerry Patterson shares the story of the Thanksgiving he was a moron and what he’s learned from that lousy holiday where he just had to be right: “Here’s my plan. I’m going to start every discussion by asking what I really want. Does everyone really have to believe what I believe? Do I really have to win each and every point?”

4. Blessed Are the Unoffendable: Abigail Dodds shares a message so contradictory to our flesh and to the culture. She shares the danger of taking offense easily, “Offended people can become unassailable. Recalcitrant. Too hard-hearted to hear an appeal. When we are offended, we believe ourselves to have the moral high ground; therefore, we feel justified in making the one who has offended us a villain.”

5. Don’t Adopt That One: Emma Scrivner with a powerful reflection on adoption.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Loose Change: I appreciated this reflection on the author’s grandfather with a memorable spiritual lesson.

2. It is Well With Me: Finding Peace in My Suffering: My friend Brie Barrier shares her story riddled with suffering, “Ten years ago, I remember laying in a hospital bed with a serious case of pneumonia. Every breath hurt. In fact, everything hurt…and I was terrified. I dare you to find anything more frightening than fighting for a breath that won’t come.”

3. Three Leadership Lessons for All of Us: Brianna Lambert draws leadership lessons from the book of Deuteronomy. Her first is, “Leaders steep their followers in the past.”

4. Americans’ Confidence in the Church Raises for the First Time in Seven Years: This is encouraging news from Gallup.

5. How Does Google’s Monopoly Hurt You? Thanks to Tim Challies for this recommendation. This is disconcerting, to say the least. One can only hope if Google continues to betray trust at this level that a true competitor will emerge.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. 3 Warning Signs Politics is Becoming Your Religion: Eric Geiger begins by drawing from CS Lewis’s classic book The Screwtape Letters, where one demon coaches another on how to twist patriotism in the heart of Christians, “Let [your patient] begin by treating … Patriotism or Pacifism as part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the ‘cause,’ in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce in favour of the British war-effort or of Pacifism.”

2. Facebook is the Mainstream Media Now: Will Oremus reports that “The distinction between social media and media is becoming obsolete.”

3. That Time I Went After an Older, Godlier Man: Tim Challies shares the moment he saw the man he raked over the coals, “I felt good about it until the day I saw him across the hallway at a conference. He was there and then gone and ours eyes never met, but in that moment I felt the hot flush of shame. The memory of what I had written and the arrogance with which I had written it flashed into my mind. Seeing him humanized him.”

4. All That Sparkles is Not Gold: This is some wonderful storytelling that packs a spiritual punch.

5. How Satan Might Use the Pandemic: Cassie Watson reflects on the wisdom of a Puritan writer who lived long ago in light of a very timely issue.

6. When Words Entered the Dictionary: Cool tool from Merriam-Webster. It’s interesting to see history through language. These were from my birth year: “California roll,” “compact disc,” and “first world problem.” How about you?

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