Intrusive thoughts are unwelcome and hard to control. I can remember having intrusive thoughts from the time I was a child. When we drove, I often felt the compulsion to press one foot down on the floor between the telephone poles (and yes, I also hopped over the cracks in the sidewalk). At other times, when walking alone, I remember the persistent thought, “He’s watching you.” I would search the bushes and trees for the one my mind told me was watching me.
The aged prophet Isaiah showed up at the bedside of the middle-aged king. Hezekiah was only about 39 years old and terminally ill. But the prophet was not bringing good news, “Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover” (Is. 38:1).
The weak king cried out to God, “’ Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight’. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.” (Is. 38:3).
“We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in US history. It is greater than the First and Second Great Awakening and every revival in our country combined...but in the opposite direction.” This is the conclusion of the largest and most comprehensive study of dechurching in America by sociologists Ryan Burge and Paul Djupe. In The Great DeChurching, pastors Jim Davis and Michael Graham unpack why and how over the past twenty-five years, forty million of those who formerly attended church no longer do so.
Jerusalem, Israel
3:15 am, April 13
I sat up in bed to a wailing sound I had never heard before, but knew immediately: an air raid siren. Our building rattled to the booms of interceptors from Israel’s missile defense system hitting their inbound targets. I pulled back the curtains and watched as sprays of light streaked the sky.
Iran launched 170 drones, 20 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s purported attack on an Iranian embassy in Syria.
Nothing is more iconic to the Tucson landscape than the saguaro. The emblematic cactus is to the Sonoran Desert what the palm tree is to Miami: hard to imagine without it. Saguaros typically live between one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five years, not sprouting its trademark arms until around thirty to seventy years of its life and growing to around fifty feet tall.
For those Sonoran Desert natives, we intuitively know where saguaros thrive. They love the rocky (both granite and volcanic) soil at the foothills of the five beautiful mountain ranges that surround Tucson.
Intrusive thoughts are unwelcome and hard to control. I can remember having intrusive thoughts from the time I was a child. When we drove, I often felt the compulsion to press one foot down on the floor between the telephone poles (and yes, I also hopped over the cracks in the sidewalk). At other times, when walking alone, I remember the persistent thought, “He’s watching you.” I would search the bushes and trees for the one my mind told me was watching me.
Jerusalem, Israel
3:15 am, April 13
I sat up in bed to a wailing sound I had never heard before, but knew immediately: an air raid siren. Our building rattled to the booms of interceptors from Israel’s missile defense system hitting their inbound targets. I pulled back the curtains and watched as sprays of light streaked the sky.
Iran launched 170 drones, 20 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s purported attack on an Iranian embassy in Syria.
The competition for your devotion is fierce.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit India four times. One of the first things that strikes you as a Westerner is how different religious devotion manifests in this country. In this Hindu nation, the competition for devotion is manifested in the temples—some lavish, some simple—erected to the 33 million Hindu gods. The gods scuttle for devotion based on geographic region, power, and personality.
I grew up in the age of Neil Anderson and Frank Peretti, two Christian authors who used their pens to try to enlighten their audiences about the power and pervasiveness of the spiritual world. I can still picture the claws descending from heaven on the cover of Peretti’s This Present Darkness that spooked me as a child.
As I developed theologically, especially through the influence of Reformed thinkers, I began to set aside these influences, which now felt naïve. To focus on the demonic forces of the world seemed to leave people with magical worldviews, where they held very little power over their own actions, and diminished the importance of mortifying the flesh as disciples of Jesus.
We just returned from two weeks in southern India. Down is still up and up is still down. And I’m not just talking about jet lag (although that is very real, too). India is a country that is not only physically distant, but also spiritually distant. That is both a hard thing and a good thing.
India is one of the most antagonistic nations on earth toward Christians. In Open Doors’ recently published World Watch list, India is listed as the 11th most persecuted nation on earth for Christians, including a 99% rating for violence.
‘Bothsideism’ about Hamas is moral failure: Russell Moore offers clarity on the horrifying atrocity in Israel. He begins, “Sometimes certain moments in history reveal in minutes what was concealed for decades. And sometimes those moments of revelation come with hearing oneself say the words, “Yes, but …” or “But what about …” The aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel is not one of those times. In this case, saying who is to blame—and who is not—is not factually or morally difficult at all.”
The baobab: the strangest tree on earth: Have you ever seen one in person? They’re wild. Don Batten and Jerry Bergman share, “They are among Earth’s longest-lived flowering plants, and under normal conditions can grow for over 1,000 years. One baobab was estimated to have lived for 2,600 years. They grow to over 22 metres (75 feet) tall, with a trunk circumference that can exceed 26 m (85 ft).”
As Jesus sleeps: Ed Welch encourages us, “There are, it seems, reasons to worry. Some of his disciples would live homeless and hand-to-mouth. To be penniless is as dangerous as a severe storm. But our God does not worry. His face toward you reveals his rest and favor. During the turbulence of life, his face also reveals his compassion and care.”
On the other side of a church split: Abigail Rehmert, a pastor’s wife, shares, “The heartbreaking drama of the last year beckoned my heart toward resentment, bitterness, and pride. I have been reminded that each day, I must inspect my heart and eyes for the planks that lodge there.”
Every state’s most popular Halloween candy: This is a pretty fun list. Arizona is Hershey Kisses… go figure.
Clone-a-lisa: Need a silly diversion that puts your art skills to the test? Vole has you covered.
Love it or loathe it: Instacart reveals America’s top 15 most polarizing foods. To show you how weird I am, I like all 15! How about you?
A forgetter’s prayer: Melissa Edgington confesses, “I forget. I forget who my Father is. I forget what my Savior looks like. I forget “fear not.” I forget “come to me, and I will give you rest.” All of the reasons to be courageous fade.”
There is something greater than the great commandment: Jacob Crouch begins, “When the lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, Jesus gave Him the perfect answer. We call it “The Great Commandment,” and as we read the impeccable wisdom of Jesus, we are encouraged, challenged, and humbled. Christians throughout all time have been, rightly, energized to love God more through this high calling. But I have to say this: There is something greater than the Great Commandment. Before you strike me off as a heretic, hear me out.”
50 preaching tips in 15 minutes (video): HB Charles’s wisdom is gold.
Bird’s impressive courtship dance moves fail to impress partner: I feel like I’m watching myself in middle school. Poor guy.
“We don’t go there.” I’ve heard many express that sentiment about their family. I think of couples who refuse to talk about sex, or the family that hides dad’s explosive anger. When such toxic behaviors become normalized, they turn into dysfunction. From the outside, anyone can recognize these areas of avoidance as a sign of dysfunction. The pain of pressing into such challenging areas hinders the full formation and growth of healthy familial relationships.
During a crisis, we feel a sense of urgency to step in and take charge. But we must wisely sit in the backseat if we want our assistance to have long term effectiveness. If the affected population is not bought-in in terms of leadership and on-the-ground help, aid fails. In fact, there have been many instances where outside help has shown to be unnecessary and unhelpful. In short, “Avoid paternalism. Do not do things for people that they can do for themselves.”
Biblically Accurate Angels Would Be Pretty Scary: Over at History Defined the various descriptions of angels in scripture are considered and the results don’t look at all like the offerings from Precious Moments. For instance, “The prophet Ezekiel’s vision of cherubim is depicted in the Book of Ezekiel in which they are portrayed as having four faces — one of an eagle, one a human, one an ox, and finally a lion. Cherubim have straight legs, four wings (one set covers their body while the other is used for flying), and bull hooves for feet.” [For what it’s worth, I believe that the author’s conclusion that the authors are struggling to find appropriate language for heavenly creatures is true, although I also think many of these images include biblical allusions that speak to their character more than their appearance.]
Stop Throwing Pastors Under the Bus: I hesitate to include this as it feel self-serving, but I appreciate Brent McCracken’s perspective here. Without letting pastors off the hook, he encourages congregants to consider their motives when they are quick to criticize, “Are our calls for a pastor to denounce that particular sin in “the culture” matched by our invitation for him to call us out on our own sin?”
Shaken to Bear Fruit: Tim Challies reflects on how his son’s death shook him. He begins, “The strange machine along the streets of Madrid seized my attention. Its long arms reached out and wrapped themselves around the trunk of a tree. Its motor vibrated those arms at high speeds so they could shake the tree violently. Its net sat suspended just beneath the lowest branches. As the machine buzzed and roared, a hundred ripe oranges fell from the branches to land in the net below — a hundred ripe oranges that could feed and satisfy a hundred people. That machine was carefully designed to release the fruit from the tree — to release it by shaking.
A Reflection on Barna’s Open Generation Report: This is important for anyone with a heart for the rising generation. Nick Hartman highlights some important findings, “One of the most striking discoveries of Open Generation, vol. 1, was that an overwhelming majority of teenagers call themselves Christians. 52% of teenagers identify as Christians, but this study also noted that ‘only 50 percent among teens who identify as Christians say Jesus was resurrected; not even half (44%) say Jesus was God in human form.’”
When You Feel Overwhelmed: Lauren Washer begins, “My eye started twitching about ten days before he left, and at my annual well visit on the day prior to his departure, my blood pressure was higher than it has ever been.”
Sign up to get The Bee Hive delivered to your inbox and receive a free 50 Books That Changed My Life (and Might Change Yours, Too) download!
