Identity, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Death, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Our Desires Lead to Death

“I am what I feel” sums up expressive individualism.  Our culture frames identity around discovering what our deepest desires and longings are. To know our longings is to know ourselves.

 

In Billie Eilish’s 2023 song “What was I made for?” written for “Barbie,” Eilish reflects on the confusing journey to understand her feelings. It’s this journey, she assures herself that will lead to her happiness.

Our Desires Lead to Death
Spiritual Growth, Christian Living, Forgiveness, Wisdom
John Beeson
A Dire Warning for Me? Where?

“The end is near!” “Repent!”

Have you ever seen a statement of prophetic warning spray-painted on a wall or in a subway station? got to be honest, I don’t take much notice to such warnings. But what if those warnings were for me and for you?

A Dire Warning for Me? Where?
Identity, Parenting
John Beeson
Do You Have a Graduate in Your Life?

We are feeling all the feels. Our youngest, Soren, is about to graduate from high school. This has been a season of reflection for Angel and me and a season of preparation. In our children’s ministry hallways at New Life next to each age level we have containers that represent how many days of influence remain for you as a parent before your child launches. I recognize, of course, that there is no finish line for parenting, but one’s influence and role changes significantly in each season.

 As we look back on our parenting, the most important things we taught our children were who God is and who they were.

Do You Have a Graduate in Your Life?
Fear, Identity, Prayer, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Exchanging Intrusive Thoughts for God-talk

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.

Exchanging Intrusive Thoughts for God-talk
Biblical Studies, History, Religion
John Beeson
The Pillaging of Hezekiah

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).

The Pillaging of Hezekiah

How should a Christian respond to COVID-19?

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

Here are some of the most helpful resources that I’ve found on COVID-19 (the coronavirus). I hope they are helpful for you as well.

1. Should Christians Be Anxious About the Coronavirus? Wise counsel from Todd Wagner, who says, “Follow the example of those who’ve acted faithfully in the past. In 19th-century England, when thousands were dying of cholera, Charles Spurgeon visited homes to care for people. The church of Jesus in Wuhan China, the virus’s epicenter, is faithfully leading even today.”

2. Love in the Time of Coronavirus: Andy Crouch with a lengthy and nuanced article regarding how to lead well through this pandemic.

3. Spurgeon and the Cholera Outbreak of 1854: Geoff Cheng shares the story of how Charles Spurgeon responded in the midst of a cholera outbreak. He shares that Spurgeon reflected that, “If there ever be a time when the mind is sensitive, it is when death is abroad. I recollect, when first I came to London, how anxiously people listened to the gospel, for the cholera was raging terribly. There was little scoffing then.”

4. When the Deadly Outbreak Comes: Counsel from Martin Luther: Andrew Davis shares the story of Martin Luther’s ministry in the middle of an epidemic, “In August 1527, the plague had struck Luther’s city of Wittenberg, and many of Luther’s fellow citizens ran for their lives. Luther’s prince, Elector John, ordered Luther to leave immediately to save his own life, but Luther chose to stay to minister to those stricken.”

5. CS Lewis on the Coronavirus: 72 years ago CS Lewis responded to the atom bomb. His words ring true today in the midst of this crisis.

6. What is a Pandemic? A brief survey of the six pandemics of the past hundred years.

Run Toward the Fire: a Response to COVID-19

Run Toward the Fire: a Response to COVID-19

How do you quantify fear? How do you measure anxiety?

None of us knows what lies ahead of us with the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. When scientists’ predictions range from tens of thousands to 10 million deaths worldwide,[i] you realize that it is impossible to gauge what the impact will be.

That uncertainty is fuel for fear; it fans the anxieties of our hearts.

Fear Not

But, dear Christian, we are not called to fear. We are not called to anxiety.

“[W]hich of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Jesus asks in Matthew 6:27. We know Jesus is right, but how do we stop the cycle of anxiety in our hearts?

John reminds us that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Where do we find the answer to anxiety? In love. God’s love, to be specific.

“Fear not,” God says to us, “for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God” (Isaiah 41:10). God doesn’t promise us that our circumstances will change. He promises himself. In the midst of crises he’s still God and he’s still with us. What more could we ask for? In Hebrews we are reminded again of this beautiful promise, “[W]e can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).

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