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

Suffering

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A Prayer for 9/11

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A Prayer for 9/11

Twenty years ago terrorists brought down the Twin Towers. Our nation had to come to grips with the brazen evil set against it. Today, fears of terrorism have spiked as the mishandling of the pull-out in Afghanistan has empowered the terrorist organizations again.

In the face of grief and danger, our hearts naturally turn to fear, anger, and blame. Instead, God invites us to turn to him.

Would you join me in using Psalm 10 as a prayer for our hearts today?

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses[a] and renounces the Lord.

God, it is so hard to understand why you would allow evil in this world. It is such a challenge to see those who are wicked prosper. We come to you and ask why? Why do you not bring justice? Why do you not protect the defenseless?

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. How to Meet God at Your Lowest Point: Jane Marczewski guest posts over on Ann Voskamp’s blog. She has cancer and has been given only a 2% chance of survival. Jane recently auditioned on America’s Got Talent and received the golden buzzer. You’ll want to read her post and then watch her memorable performance. She writes, “I have heard it said that some people can’t see God because they won’t look low enough, and it’s true. Look lower.”

2. Not this Man, but Barabbas! Keith Mathison nails it here, “I hear and read Christians almost every day saying that their biggest concern is the direction in which the United States is headed. Or they are most concerned about the collapse of Western civilization. Granted, many people are concerned about these things because of their love for their children or grandchildren… The problem occurs when our main concern is fundamentally a political concern.”

3. 5 Cultural Shifts We Need to Know to Reach Our Neighbors: Mark Clark begins with this truth, “The highest good is now individual freedom and happiness.” All five are helpful in considering how to reach our neighbors with the gospel.

4. Romanticizing Death: A fellow Tucson pastor, Rod Hugen reminds us that to understand the power of Jesus conquering death we must come face to face with the ugliness of death. He concludes, “I live in the time when death is still the enemy, but with the sure knowledge that death is defeated and will one day be no more. It is an exhilarating time, freeing me to seize life and to take joy in the journey, knowing that Christ’s resurrection is a reality. Death defeated is far superior to death romanticized.”

5. PT Barnum’s 10 Most Famous Human “Freak” Show Attractions: If you’ve seen The Greatest Showman you’ll appreciate how this video humanizes the various people that Barnum promoted (and often exploited) in his show.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. How My Mind Changed About End-of-Life Care: Justin Taylor explains well the challenge of considering how to make end-of-life decisions. He shares that, “Many Christians—myself included—have assumed that being pro-life means extending life as long as possible. If, for example, a feeding tube can provide the food and water, or a ventilator can pump oxygen, then we should always use all the means at our disposal to preserve a human life.”

2. No Condemnation, but What About Consequences? Courtney Reissig reflects on her cervical cancer and concludes, “Sin is serious. Sin has consequences, sometimes deadly ones. But sin has a remedy. In him, it is finished. Shame has no place. There is no condemnation for those who trust in Christ—not now, not ever.”

3. How to Know You’ve Become a Pharisee: Randy Alcorn offers this parable. He begins, “Imagine yourself moving into a house with a huge picture window overlooking a grand view across a wide expanse of water enclosed by a range of snow-capped mountains.”

4. Save Me From Myself: My friend Anne Imboden transparently shares about her struggle with social anxiety, the fall-out of that struggle, and God’s transformative work in her heart. She begins, “There’s a big part of my story most people don’t know about. I don’t share it very often and when I do, the response is usually one of surprise. No, I’m not talking about my ten years of playing softball. Though really, why is everyone so dumbfounded that I have a history of athleticism? (Actually, don’t answer that.) I’m talking about depression and social anxiety; demons I faced for years in my early adulthood. “But you’re such an extrovert!” “I’d never have known! You’re so comfortable in a crowd!” “Really? You’re always so confident around people!” These things are all true, though my extroverted tendencies have been dialed back considerably since my recovery.”

5. Ouch!: If you like physical comedy, enjoy this 60 seconds of ridiculousness.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Growing My Faith in the Face of Death: Tim Keller reflects on his spiritual journey through his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, “This change was not an overnight revolution. As God’s reality dawns more on my heart, slowly and painfully and through many tears, the simplest pleasures of this world have become sources of daily happiness. It is only as I have become, for lack of a better term, more heavenly minded that I can see the material world for the astonishingly good divine gift that it is.”

2. Is the World Getting Better or Worse? Yes. Colin Smith explains this question is at the heart of the parable of the weeds. He says, “You look at the weeds of evil in the world and you wonder: How can there be a God who is good when his world is in a mess like this? Is God really in control? Can I actually believe in a sovereign God in a world like this?”

3. Four Evangelical Approaches to Race, Politics, and Gender: I found this way of breaking down contemporary Christian perspectives on these hot button issues by Kevin DeYoung illuminating.

4. Four Barriers That Keep You From Being a Multi-Directional Leader: Trevin Wax’s thoughts on what he calls “multi-directional leadership” are significant for any leader today. He explains the difference between this and “one-directional leaders”: “One-directional leaders are skillful in spotting and thwarting threats to the sheep that come from a single direction of the field. But because they focus on fighting battles on one front, they leave the flock vulnerable to problems from other sides.”

5. 600 Drones Recreate VanGogh’s Famous Paintings: This is pretty fun.

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How to Avoid Being Satan’s Miserable Comforter

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How to Avoid Being Satan’s Miserable Comforter

The heavenly host surrounds the Almighty. The Enemy enters. “From where have you come?” God asks the Opposer. Satan sneers, “From going to and fro on the earth.” God asks him to consider his servant Job, “a blameless and upright man.” Satan mocks, “Does Job fear God for no reason?”

Like Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, the Adversary saunters across the scene and challenges his foe, “Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you?” Unlike Dirty Harry, Satan does not work alone. He manipulates, coerces, and cajoles us to join him in his cause to multiply the ranks of those who curse God.

Job’s wife is the first to be lured by Satan, “Curse God and die!” she urges husband. Job’s friends soon join in. “Miserable comforters are you all[!]” (Job 16:2) Job sputters, provoked by their arrogance and lack of empathy.

You’ve been there, haven’t you? You were passed over for a promotion and it stung. “God has something better,” your friend assures you before empathizing. Miserable comforter.

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Suffering and Satan's Purposes

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Suffering and Satan's Purposes

“I’m done with God.” “No one will ever understand.” “I’m never trusting anyone again.” “I can’t pray.” “I won’t pray.” I’ve heard all of these statements from people in the midst of suffering. The unrelenting blows of suffering can twist our hearts away from God.

Satan has purposes for your life. Satan has intentions for your suffering.

When you face suffering, remember that the enemy intends to use your suffering to draw you away from God. When Peter warns us of the work of the enemy, he cautions, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The enemy is not to be taken lightly. He desires to devour you.

The context of this warning is worth noting. Peter continues, “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9). The enemy is prowling around those who are suffering. Like a wounded animal, when we suffer, the enemy smells blood.

Satan has used this blunt instrument since Job, and he uses it today. Don’t be ignorant of what the enemy wants to do with your suffering.

Satan intends for your suffering to cause you to:

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Maundy Thursday Recommendations

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Maundy Thursday Recommendations

1. 2 in 3 Americans Believe in the Resurrection…But… Aaron Earls asks author Rebecca McLaughlin for her response to a recent poll on Americans’ belief in the resurrection.

2. Waiting With Faith: Tim Challies begins, “Have you ever bitten into a green tomato? Have you ever sunk your teeth into a fall apple during the heat of summer or into a summer strawberry during the cool of spring?”

3. Hide and Seek: Chris Thomas isn’t just a friend, he’s one of my favorite bloggers. You’ll thank me for reading this beautiful story of the gospel at work in Chris’s relationship with his adopted son. He concludes, “I don’t need to run anymore. I don’t need to live in fear anymore, to pretend anymore. I am in Christ, that is enough.”

4. How Can I Help My Marriage Get Unstuck from the Past? Garrett Higby offers good advice from a biblical counseling perspective here. He says that, “ignoring unresolved issues from the past that shade or distort almost every conflict, make them easily offended, and create compensatory patterns or unrealistic expectations.”

5. Engaging Our Emotions, Engaging with God: Alistair Groves begins, “Emotions are tricky. Everyone has them. Everyone struggles with them. Many struggle with how they feel more than anything else in their lives. Then there is the sea of other people’s emotions in which all of us swim. I suspect most of us consider emotions to be more of a liability than an asset.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Can We Do Better Than the Enneagram? Psychologist Sarah Schnitker believes we can. She says, “At present, there is scant empirical evidence that the Enneagram accurately describes human personality or spirituality. The nine types do not align with any scientifically evaluated models of personality.”

2. The Dangerous Love of Ease: Greg Morse warns us, “We might assume that there is no danger in a world that feels so safe. If no one is violently banging at the door, we assume we don’t need the same strength as poor or persecuted Christians. We do. We too need Christ’s strength in the prosperity we face.”

3. Anger with God Amidst Great Pain: Brad Hambrick considers how to walk with someone who is angry with God. “As a theologian, our first question might be, “Is it right for our friend to be angry at God?” As a counselor, our first question would be better stated, “Do you mind telling me about the things that have been hard and the ways you see God being involved with your pain?” That doesn’t mean there is a contradiction between being a theologian and being a counselor. It does mean that the order in which topics enter the conversation is likely to be different.”

4. You Weren’t Meant to Be Isolated: Michael Kelley reflects, “COVID has robbed us of many things, but it also presents us as church leaders with this opportunity—to help people embrace the nature of the true community of the faith.”

5. YouTube Wins 2020 Teacher of the Year Award: From Babylon Bee (with a wink, of course), “"Where some teachers' unions have failed our students, YouTube has been there 24/7," said the event's emcee. ‘YouTube has done a better job than almost any schoolteacher in 2020, instructing kids in any practical topic they wish to know about. YouTube never gets tired or cranky or hungry, and if you don't like the worldview of a particular video, you can just turn it off instead of being brainwashed.’”

6. How Amazon’s Super-Complex Shipping System Works: Holy moly. Crazy stuff. The logistics involved are mind-boggling.

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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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Summer Reading Recommendations

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Summer Reading Recommendations

Summer is upon us. Our summers are going to look very different this year, but I hope yours includes reading. I’ve included a more serious non-fiction work (Larry Crabb's Shattered Dreams) and a fun fiction series (Andrew Peterson's The Wingfeather Saga) that all ages will enjoy below. If you’ve read either, I would love your feedback. And let me know what you’re reading this summer!

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