Recommendations, Biblical Studies, Gratitude, Wisdom
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The exhausting work of being your own foundation: Christopher Cook says, “And as much as I wish it were different, the Word of the Lord from Isaiah does not promise the storm will lift on your timeline; it promises a foundation that will not move while the storm within (and without) rages. The counterfeit tells you to become stable enough to stop being afraid.”

  2. Our motive for obeying God shouldn’t be gratitude: John Piper says, “There is an impulse in the fallen human heart—all our hearts—to forget that gratitude is a spontaneous response of joy to receiving something over and above what we paid for.

This Week's Recommendations
Counseling, Identity, Relationships
John Beeson
How To Waste Your Counseling

Our counselor sat behind his oak desk, a wide smile peeking out from under his white mustache. “Where do I know him from?” I asked myself. His gentle eyes reassured me. Angel and I slid into the love seat facing him. It was my first counseling session. Angel’s, too. We were here for pre-marital counseling.

My anxiety grew as I placed where I knew him from. I had taken his daughter to winter formal a few years back. My heart rate rose a bit. Any chance of genuine transparency went out the window with that connection.

How To Waste Your Counseling
Christian Living, Evangelism, Identity, Leadership
John Beeson
The Millstone of Leadership

As a young man, I dreamed of being called to lead a revival for God. I was inspired by my pastor, who had led a church that had multiplied from a medium-sized congregation to a congregation of over 6,000. I read stories of heroes of the faith who had led revivals: Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, DL Moody, and Billy Graham.

I prayed God would use me to lead. I dreamed of preaching to crowds and seeing many come to faith. I had the opportunity to lead Bible studies on my high school campus and was excited to try to figure out how to lead others in studying the Bible.

The Millstone of Leadership
Recommendations
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. 8 experiences people don’t have anymore because of cell phones: Eden Gordon begins her list, “Boredom used to be a defining aspect of daily life. Whether you were waiting in a doctor’s office, standing in a checkout line, or simply spacing out, there was a lot more time spent simply doing nothing before there were phones waiting and ready to fill every spare moment.”

  2. For now, for today: Andrea Sanborn asks, “What was different about Jesus’s prayer? The words were familiar, but on his lips, they lingered. Tasted sweet.”

This Week's Recommendations
Biblical Studies, Death, Fear, Hell
John Beeson
The Healing Horror of the Apocalypse

I really dislike horror movies. I’ve only seen a handful in my life, and I’ve never enjoyed the experience. But the American public gobbles them up. I remember a time when horror movies only came out around Halloween; now it seems there isn’t a time of year when at least one horror movie isn't playing in theaters.

Experts have researched what the draw of horror movies is. They call the experience “recreational fear”: the ability to navigate fear in a safe environment. The audience experiences an adrenaline rush of danger, and then the sweet relief of escape. Horror movies can provide an emotional release for anxiety, stress, or grief.

The Healing Horror of the Apocalypse

Culture

, , , , , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , , , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The grief we learn to carry: Stacy MacLaren says, “Grief research has given us language for something grieving people have known in their bones forever: losing someone you deeply love isn't like sustaining an injury that eventually disappears once you've healed correctly. Grief is, in part, a massive act of learning.”

  2. Some of the strangest Old Testament laws and what they mean: Christine Palmer explains, ““You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes” (Lev. 19:26). To remain in right standing with the Lord, under no circumstances may the cove­nant people eat meat with its blood,

, , , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Why the internet is making men and women hate each other: Samuel James writes, “We’re on the threshold of a vicious cycle. Men and women are declining relationships with each other, which means they are more likely to be suckered in by the algorithmic gender silo. But the more they take in a biased, imbalanced view of the other, the less interested they are in relationship.”

  2. Mutant virtues: Jacob Crouch says, “These mutant virtues parade themselves out in the public square as though they are the real thing. So-called justice, instead of being the righteousness of God on display,

, , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The exhaustion that comes from chasing rest: Aimee Joseph begins, “Americans are notorious for needing vacations from their vacations. We work extra hours to save up an exorbitant amount of money so that we can plan an extended vacation for rest. During this “restful” vacation, we try to see all the sites, snap all the pics for all the posts, and eat at all the highest-rated restaurants. If our step counts outpace our spending, we have succeeded!”

  2. Are you as connected to the church as you want to be? Benjamin Vrbicek says, “The biggest wet blanket in ministry

, , , , , ,

The Cost of Awkward

, , , , , ,
The Cost of Awkward

The next day, the extended family hosted a party for us. As we drove up to the farm, the pressure of meeting a whole group of strangers began to mount. I felt like the boyfriend from the city visiting his girlfriend’s family farm in a Hallmark movie. To quote Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell), I was “shaking in my custom baby-seal leather boots.”

The men headed outside to lawn chairs while the women stayed inside. I drifted outside with a group of men I had never met and sat down. I had a beer in my left hand like the rest of the guys, but unlike everyone else…

, , , , , , ,

The Joy of Patriotism

, , , , , , ,
The Joy of Patriotism

‍ ‍

I was 22 years old when Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network al Qaeda orchestrated attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, on September 11, 2001. What followed was the most significant swell of patriotism I have ever experienced. 79% of adults displayed an American flag, “God Bless America” was inserted into every baseball game, and “United We Stand” was emblazoned on shirts everywhere….

If you are too young to remember the 911 attacks, you likely struggle to imagine a country so united in its patriotism. In our divided age, we’ve almost become numb to the possibility of patriotism.

, , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Should Christians flip tables like Jesus? Alan Noble concludes, “Scripture intentionally emphasizes humility and servanthood over anger and strong language. We should do likewise. We must follow Jesus knowing his actions are different from our own. We do not need to imitate his every act to be his faithful follower.”

  2. Burnout looks different across the org chart: watch for these signs: Daisy Auger-Dominguez begins, “Workplace burnout is often discussed as if it were a single condition with a single solution: fewer hours, better boundaries, more resilience. That framing is incomplete and misleading.”

, , , , ,

The Joy Thief

, , , , ,
The Joy Thief

‍ ‍

Who is the person you compare yourself to most often? Perhaps it is a family member, friend or a co-worker, perhaps it is even a celebrity.

‍ ‍

 

‍ ‍

We human beings are comparison machines. We’re constantly evaluating the stimuli around us.  Social media has exacerbated the issue, giving us instant access into the highlight reels of thousands of friends and celebrities. Psychology Today reports that, “According to some studies, as much as 10 percent of our thoughts involve comparisons of some kind.”  Friend, this kind of toxic comparison is harmful.

Much has been written on the threat of comparison

‍ ‍

, , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Jesus is awkwardly exclusive, radically inclusive, and stubbornly objective: Rebecca McLaughlin says, “Jesus never ruled an empire, raised an army, or even wrote a book. Most of his followers were poor. They weren’t the power brokers of their day. And yet, the Christian movement spread like wildfire after Jesus’s death, and it’s been growing ever since.”

  2. It’s not about you: Laura Story says, “We have to admit that oftentimes our spiritual lives tend to be self-centered rather than God-centered… If God answered every one of your prayers, would it change the world or simply change your world?”

, , , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The quiet grief of adult friendship: Pranav Jain reflects, “Somewhere between “Let’s catch up soon” and “Sorry, life has been hectic”, adult friendship became one of the most emotionally significant and least discussed losses of modern life.

  2. Created to play: Brianna Lambert says, “Scientists admit that of all creatures, humans play the most, noting, “We are built to play and built through play” (Stuart Brown, Play). And God does just that. He builds us through our hobbies and gives us his own titles.”

, ,

Diversity, Pentecost, and God’s Glory

, ,
Diversity, Pentecost, and God’s Glory

There is a temptation for Christians to reject what the world values. Understandably, we would be suspicious of those things which secularism honors. But sometimes there is a baby in the bathwater.

There are few things more sacred in the modern West than diversity. But this is a baby worth preserving. Diversity was God’s before it was the world’s.

Let’s consider God’s glorious plan for diversity.

Ethnic diversity enters the biblical picture in a strange fashion, with the odd story of the Tower of Babel. As the descendants of Noah multiply, they form plans to protect their legacy.

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!