Christian Living, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
John Beeson
What if Paul Could Coach You on Your Prayer ...

Most people pray. Many of those don’t even consider themselves Christians. In a recent survey, 61% of Americans said they pray.

If your prayers were recorded and played back to you, what would they sound like? How do you refer to God when you pray? Do you have ruts in your prayer life? What do you pray for most? 76% of Americans said their prayers focus on loved ones in crisis. What don’t you pray for?

What if I were to tell you that you could be coached in prayer by the Apostle Paul. If you’re like me, you’d pay a pretty penny to go to that seminar!

What if Paul Could Coach You on Your Prayer Life?
Family, Finance, Marriage, Parenting
John Beeson
Choosing Eight

I am blessed to have many special people in my life. My sister (Sarah) and her husband (Anders) are such people. At age 22, they might have been two of the least likely people you could have imagined to be where they are today: homeschool parents of eight kids. Neither their background nor their career trajectory would have given you a hint they would choose to have eight kids. Both came from families of four and Sarah was enrolled in medical school on the way to becoming a doctor. I had the opportunity to sit down with Sarah and Anders and listen to how God led them to choose to have eight kids.

Choosing Eight
Recommendations, Apologetics, Marriage, Family
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The thief’s good works: Jackson Gravvitt considers two different perspectives on the thief on the cross: does the thief demonstrate that our faith is solely because of Christ’s work or through our good works that flow from Christ’s work?

  2. Lessons from caring for a disabled child: Jamie MacGregor shares, “At first, we were told to terminate the pregnancy since it was likely that she would have disabilities. We responded that abortion was not an option. Then, we were told that we have no idea what it would be like to raise a child with special needs. The doctors were right. We had no idea how difficult it would be.”

This Week's Recommendations
Church, Family, Marriage, Orphan Care, Parenting
John Beeson
Blessed to Multiply

Weeks before I received my first calling as a pastor, the elders decided that they were going to seek tWho wouldn’t want to experience God’s blessing? So, then, how can we step into the blessing of God? One of the straightforward ways the Bible teaches us that he blesses us is through children. Look, for instance, at the book of Genesis, where blessing is directly correlated to having children:

 

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:28)

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” (Gen. 9:1)

The angel of the Lord also said to [Hagar], “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Gen. 16:10) acquire property and build a new facility for the church. They informed me that leading the relocation and capital campaign efforts would be part of my job. As a fresh seminary graduate, I had precisely zero requisite experience for the task. I had no experience in fundraising or contracting. And, of course, seminary did not include any preparation for the task.

 Over the course of those years, I had to learn a lot, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that leading a congregation through a capital campaign could be a significant spiritual blessing.

Blessed to Multiply
Church, Gratitude, Prayer, Religion
John Beeson
You and the Universal Church

Healthy Christians know that the Church is bigger than their church. We call this the universal church, the collective body of all followers of Jesus worldwide and across history. This spiritual entity is invisible, transcending denominations.

Unhealthy churches and denominations communicate directly and indirectly that they are the only true church. Unsound churches make the opposite error: not drawing any boundaries for who is outside of the orthodox church.

But what does this mean for the ordinary Christian? For many Christians, it doesn’t mean much at all. Their only meaningful connection to the church is with their church.

You and the Universal Church

Culture

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Finding rest in God’s eternality: Lara d’Entremont reflects, “On days like this, I long for eternal strength. I wish I never became weak or faint. I wish I could stay up into the late hours of the night finishing all these projects without taking a break. Sometimes I even try to push through, knowing I’ll pay for it that night as I try to fall asleep with a racing mind and throbbing feet.”

  2. Is the Bible pro-life? Scott Klusendorf begins, “Abortion-choice advocates with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Planned Parenthood Federation of America contend that the Bible is silent on abortion, and that none of the Scriptures traditionally cited by pro-life advocates establishes the humanity of the unborn.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Why are people so fascinated with ‘lost’ books of the Bible? Michael Kruger takes this one on. “In the Western world, particularly in America, there is a perpetual distrust of authority, particularly religious authority. Jenkins writes: ‘Also quintessentially American is the distrust of external authorities such as the clergy, and the sense that through their affected learning, the priests have hidden the truth from the people.’”

  2. Odd one out: Another fun game by Google Arts

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. What are non-Christians’ view of God? Barna reports, “While a significant 30 percent of non-Christians who are not spiritually open is simply unsure what they believe about God, about half (47%) firmly do not believe there is a God or higher power.”

  2. How the customer review changed the world: Samuel James nails the impact of democratization on the contemporary world, “The word for this is democratization. Democratization is literally the process of democracy, or the process by which democracy emerges.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The question your kids shouldn’t be asking: Melissa Edgington begins, “Sometimes Christian parents feel a bit lost in the culture while raising kids. You wonder how to handle the internet, social media, shows, and music. You wonder how much to tell your kids about some of the things they’re encountering in their social circles, like gender and sexuality. You aren’t even sure what you think about some of these things or what a biblical response is to some of the more complicated questions and demands of the culture they’re experiencing. But there is one decision you can make as a Christian parent that is easy.”

  2. America’s abandoned megaprojects: Did you know that a dome was almost built over Manhattan?

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Almost a quarter of the world feels lonely: Ellyn Maese shares, “Global results indicate that the lowest rates of feeling lonely are reported among older adults (aged 65 and older), with 17% feeling very or fairly lonely, while the highest rates of feeling lonely are reported among young adults (aged 19 to 29), with 27% feeling very or fairly lonely.”

  2. Q&A about assisted reproductive suicide: Aaron and Jennifer Wilson tackle some difficult issues here, “In the United States alone, there is an estimated surplus of 1 to 1.3 million human embryos—many of whom are available to be adopted.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. When you long to know the ‘why’ behind your sorrow: Tim Challies asks, “It’s very hard to see why it has happened. Why would God allow this unremitting pain? Why would God permit this distressing sickness? Why would God take that person I love? If God cares and God loves and if God ordains and God controls, why would this be his will? How could this ever make sense?”

  2. Six things women in your church wished you knew about pregnancy loss: Mary Holloman offers us some wisdom in comforting those who have suffered loss (Angel and I are among the many who have suffered the loss of a child in pregnancy), “The overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters in Christ cared for me so well during that difficult time. However, I was shocked at the number of insensitive comments and platitudes I received from others

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. 3 core beliefs of the transgender movement: Samuel Ferguson with a helpful analysis, “We can’t understand the transgender movement if we don’t grasp how it relates to our culture’s obsession over the question Who am I? Traditionally, our identity was something we received, and it was therefore relatively stable.”

  2. The house seems large today: Tim Challies with a poignant reflection I identify with as our children launch. “The house seems large today. Just a few years after we got married Aileen and I bought the only house we could afford at the time—a little townhouse in an older neighborhood. We never left, never moved on, never traded up. It was big enough for our needs and we happily raised our children here. Though it often seemed too small, today it seems a bit too large.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. 5 ways the world would be worse without Christianity: Sharon James with an excellent rebuff of this cultural push-back, “Christians are instructed to “check their privilege” and “do the work” to repudiate Christianity’s toxic legacy. But what would the world really be like without Christianity?”

  2. How Asian artists picture Jesus’ birth: I just loved these pieces that are so different from Western portrayals.

  3. A church is not just a truth-dispensing center: Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund conclude, “Our love for one another is not only meant to be clearly observable by the watching world. It’s to be so strikingly Godlike that it cannot be explained except by the reality of the gospel. The gospel doctrines of the incarnation (“you sent me”) and of justification (“and loved them”) will become more visible and nonignorable through the love we show one another in Christ.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. What are people of no faith looking for in faith conversations? Barna reports, “In our survey, responses are clear: The top thing people look for in a conversation with a Christian is that they “listen without judgment.” People of no faith are also hoping for honesty about questions and doubts, and they don’t want forced conclusions. The best learning environment, they express, is one marked by care and consideration.”

  2. Contributing factors to a crushed spirit according to Proverbs: Lee Lewis evaluates what causes a crushed spirit and offers hope. “Proverbs offers much more than a simple diagnostic to help discern the crushed in spirit. The book offers wisdom for helping a person see the different criteria and contributing factors that can lead to a crushed spirit.”

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Would You Forgive Me for My Narcissism?

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Would You Forgive Me for My Narcissism?

In the ancient myth, the hunter Narcissus was acclaimed for his beauty. Many sought Narcissus romantically, but he spurned them all. One day on a hunt, Narcissus paused to rest by a pool of water, stooping for a drink, he caught sight of his own reflection. He fell in love with his reflection and stayed by the pool staring at himself for the rest of his life.

 

The American Psychiatric Association defines narcissistic personality disorder as, “a pattern of need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. A person with narcissistic personality disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance, a sense of entitlement, take advantage of others or lack empathy.” Do you have some narcissism in you? I do.

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